The term ‘DevOps’ is used frequently when discussing IT. But what exactly does it mean? This article will cover what DevOps is, where it came from, and how it can benefit your organization.
What is DevOps?
To put it simply, DevOps refers to the collaboration between software development and IT operations teams. However, that may not clarify exactly what DevOps is for you.
Most people define DevOps as a culture or movement rather than a process. It represents a change in IT culture to a collaborative and proactive approach to IT. DevOps environments emphasize people and culture while utilizing available technology.
Where Did DevOps Come From?
The term ‘DevOps’ was coined back in 2009, though the movement itself is considered to have grown out of the Agile approach. The values of both the Agile approach and DevOps are similar, though DevOps focuses on collaboration.
DevOps came around after companies began running into an issue. By completely separating their development and operation departments, they felt they had to choose between rolling out changes quickly and keeping a stable environment. DevOps created a solution to that problem. With continuous collaboration between the two departments, organizations can make fast, secure changes.
How Can It Help You?
Implementing a DevOps environment in your organization can significantly improve your productivity and proactivity. While every culture has its distinct features, there are seven common capabilities of DevOps cultures. Each of these capabilities can help your organization become more effective and profitable.
Seven Capabilities
1. Collaboration
Collaboration is the main force behind DevOps. Software developers and IT operations managers work together throughout the process. One significant benefit that this provides is the reduction of inefficiency and a fast-paced business process, which helps save time.
2. Automation
DevOps relies heavily on automation tools, though it is not entirely about the tools. DevOps implement the use of toolchains to automate a large part of the deployment process and the end-to-end software development.
3. Continuous integration
Continuous integration exposes potential issues before they can impact the system or users. It compels developers to work together more frequently, which helps expose issues and conflicts before releasing new versions of software.
4. Continuous delivery
While every organization determines their delivery schedule, the expectation of continuous delivery means that the team is always prepared for those deliveries.
5. Continuous testing
Continuous testing ensures that quality is everyone’s responsibility. Rather than only having one testing process, which could allow for mistakes and missed problems, every step of the process requires testing.
6. Continuous monitoring
Constant monitoring identifies issues quickly, which allows for rapid remediation.
7. Rapid remediation
With continuous monitoring, problems are identified and then resolved much faster than they would typically be.
Final Thoughts
DevOps is an approach that is highly recommended for organizations that want to become more agile through the continuous delivery of products and services.
DevOps has many benefits and businesses interested in implementing DevOps strategies should start by looking into tools that enable development and operations teams to communicate and collaborate efficiently.
How Can AlleoTech Help?
If you’d like to learn more about how AlleoTech can help with your DevOps strategy, reach out to us to speak with one of our DevOps consultants. We are experienced in advising businesses on how to improve the efficiency of their development and operations teams.