Heroku Shifts to 'Sustaining Engineering' Model, Signaling End of Active Development

Heroku has announced a significant shift in its operational model, moving to what it calls a "sustaining engineering model" focused on stability, security, reliability, and support. This announcement, made on the official Heroku blog, signals a fundamental change in the platform's trajectory and has raised concerns among its user base.

The term "sustaining engineering model" is not widely used in the industry, but based on the context provided, it appears to mean that Heroku will maintain basic operations and support while ceasing active development of new features. This is effectively an acknowledgment that the platform will no longer evolve or innovate, instead focusing solely on keeping existing services running.

Heroku's official statement attempts to reassure customers: "Heroku remains an actively supported, production-ready platform, with an emphasis on maintaining quality and operational excellence rather than introducing new features." However, this carefully worded message has done little to quell concerns about the platform's long-term viability.

The announcement is particularly frustrating for users because it lacks transparency about the reasons behind this decision. Heroku states, "We know changes like this can raise questions, and we want to be clear about what this means for customers," but then proceeds to provide minimal concrete information about the implications for users.

In a brief explanation of their strategic direction, Heroku mentions: "We're focusing our product and engineering investments on areas where we can deliver the greatest long-term customer value, including helping organizations build and deploy enterprise-grade AI in a secure and trusted way." This vague statement suggests that Heroku's parent company, Salesforce, is redirecting resources toward AI-focused initiatives rather than maintaining the platform-as-a-service that made Heroku popular among developers.

Heroku, once a beloved platform for developers due to its simplicity and developer-friendly approach to deploying web applications, has been owned by Salesforce since 2010. The acquisition initially raised concerns about Heroku's independence and focus, which now appear to have been prescient.

For many developers who have built their projects and businesses on Heroku, this announcement represents a critical juncture. The platform's ease of use and straightforward deployment model made it particularly popular among startups, hobbyists, and developers who wanted to focus on building applications rather than managing infrastructure.

The shift to a sustaining model effectively marks the beginning of Heroku's decline. While the platform will continue to operate and provide support, the absence of new features and improvements means it will gradually fall behind competing platforms that continue to innovate. This creates a precarious situation for businesses relying on Heroku, as they may find themselves on a platform that becomes increasingly outdated and potentially vulnerable to security issues without ongoing development.

For users considering their options, this announcement serves as a clear signal to begin migration planning. Alternative platforms like Fly.io, which was mentioned in the original post, offer similar ease of use with continued active development and innovation. Other options include traditional cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure, though these typically require more infrastructure management.

The Heroku situation reflects a broader pattern in the tech industry where platforms acquired by larger companies often lose their innovative edge as resources are redirected to align with the parent company's strategic priorities. It's a cautionary tale for developers and businesses about the risks of building on platforms that may not have long-term independence or commitment to their original vision.

As Heroku transitions to this sustaining model, the developer community will likely watch closely to see how quickly the platform stagnates and whether Salesforce eventually decides to sunset it entirely. For now, users are left with an ambiguous message that provides little clarity about their future on the platform, forcing many to make difficult decisions about whether to stay or begin the often painful process of migrating to alternative solutions.