Unlocking Innovation: Kratix and Platform Engineering at NatWest | OS in Finance Podcast

Unlocking Innovation: Kratix and Platform Engineering at NatWest In this episode of the FINOS podcast, Grizz Griswold interviews Chris Plank from NatWest Bank and Derik Evangelisa from Syntasso. They delve into the evolution of platform engineering, open-source technologies, and how NatWest uses cloud-native tools to deliver platforms as a product. Learn about the innovative Kratix framework, its role in enabling developers, and how open-source principles are being adopted in financial services. Whether you're a technical enthusiast or on the business side, this discussion provides valuable insights into modernizing IT practices and fostering innovation. 00:00 The Evolution of Team Collaboration 00:38 Introduction to the Guests 01:08 Overview of the Talk and Key Topics 02:00 Chris Plank's Background and Role 03:14 Defining Platform Engineering 05:52 Derik Evangelista's Background and Role 06:24 Understanding Kratix 10:41 The Journey of Platform Engineering at NatWest 16:54 Building with Kratix: A Technical Insight 19:35 Exploring FINOS Projects and Kratix Integration 20:01 Deep Dive into Kratix and Its Technical Aspects 22:31 The Concept of Golden Paths in Kratix 24:07 Real-World Applications and Industry Impact 29:50 Challenges and Lessons in Change Management 32:51 How to Contribute to Kratix and Future Prospects 37:26 Final Thoughts and Reflections Kratix: https://www.kratix.io/ Chris Plank: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisplank/ NatWest: https://www.natwestgroup.com/ Derik Evangelista: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derikevangelista/ Syntasso: https://www.syntasso.io/ Grizz Griswold: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aarongriswold/ Find more info about FINOS: On the web: https://www.finos.org/ Open Source in Finance Forum (OSFF Conference): https://www.finos.org/osff-2025 2024 State of Open Source in Financial Services Download: ⁠https://www.finos.org/state-of-open-source-in-financial-services-2024⁠ FINOS Current Newsletter Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.finos.org/newsletter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/finosfoundation/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FINOSFoundation About FINOS FINOS (The Fintech Open Source Foundation) is a nonprofit whose mission is to foster the adoption of open source, open standards, and collaborative software development practices in financial services. It is the center for open source developers and the financial services industry to build new technology projects that have a lasting impact on business operations. As a regulatory compliant platform, the foundation enables developers from these competing organizations to collaborate on projects with a strong propensity for mutualization. It has enabled codebase contributions from both the buy- and sell-side firms and counts over 50 major financial institutions, fintechs and technology consultancies as part of its membership. FINOS is also part of the Linux Foundation, the largest shared technology organization in the world. Get involved and join FINOS as a Member.