The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word FRONTEND
F
R
O
N
T
E
N
D
Buddy explains!

The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does FRONTEND mean?
FRONTEND noun- That part of a hardware or software system that is conceptually closest to the user; the user interface.