Bringing internal engineering gems into the light

Bill Doerrfeld | March 28, 2025

The latest edition of DirectorPlus explores how to externalize successful internal engineering projects.


Some internal tools are too good to keep hidden.


But how do you find these gems? And when should you externalize them?


I spoke with Spotify's Pia Nilsson about how to identify and externalize internal platforms — like they did with Backstage.


According to Nilsson, great internal tools solve a real business problem, serve an underserved need, don't introduce friction, and require ongoing support.


Catch it in the latest edition of DirectorPlus for LeadDev. And be sure to subscribe to DirectorPlus if you'd like this monthly column in your inbox.


Featured image credit: @chuttersnap


Read: Bringing internal engineering projects to the world

Sign up to the DirectorPlus newsletter for a new story in your inbox each month featuring on-the-ground insights from some of the industry's top engineering leaders. Or, if you would like to be featured in the series, please read this.

By Bill Doerrfeld February 28, 2026
While hardware usually gets the spotlight in physical AI, the real differentiator won't be hardware. It'll be the models.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 27, 2026
In the latest DirectorPlus, Workato's CTO explains how MCP-enabled integration catalyzed internal AI usage and ROI.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 18, 2026
My latest on InfoWorld reviews MCP servers from 5 major cloud providers
By Bill Doerrfeld February 18, 2026
How are organizations actually using agentic knowledge bases in practice? My article for The New Stack looks at six emerging patterns.
eBPF in Production Report
By Bill Doerrfeld February 12, 2026
My report for the eBPF Foundation explores enterprise eBPF case studies, production deployments, and real business outcomes across cloud-native environments.
Close-up of whole bean coffee Bottomless
By Bill Doerrfeld February 10, 2026
Longtime Bottomless user sharing why I love automated coffee delivery triggered by a smart scale, plus a referral link for a free first bag.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 5, 2026
MCP servers can quickly drain context windows without guardrails. Thankfully, there are ways around this, say the experts.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 4, 2026
It may seem like AI agents are suddenly doing everything across industries. But in reality, the pace of agentic AI is moving carefully, and very deliberately, in highly regulated environments like finance and banking.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 3, 2026
My latest feature for InfoWorld explores when it makes sense to scrape public web sources, and when official API integrations are the better choice for external data.
By Bill Doerrfeld January 30, 2026
What does it mean to go nano with your software updates — to "carve with a scalpel" instead of swinging a hammer? For my latest DirectorPlus piece, I caught up with Chainguard VP Dustin Kirkland to dig into that idea.