Product vs. Platform: Picking the Right Lens for Security Engineering

Security leaders toggle between product thinking—shipping clear user outcomes—and platform thinking—building leverage for many teams. Knowing which lens to optimize for is how we protect runway.

When to think “Product”

• Clear user and value stream.
• SLAs and roadmaps drive prioritization.
• Adoption and satisfaction metrics prove success.

When to think “Platform”

• Leverage and common capabilities unlock time.
• Internal developer experience is the customer journey.
• Reliability, extensibility, and economics matter most.

Bringing it together

Leaders who articulate the lens behind an initiative help teams orient around the right bets. It becomes easier to fund shared primitives without diluting customer promises—and easier to sunset bespoke work that no longer returns value.