DevOps Explained

Over the past few years, DevOps adoption has been on the rise. 83% of IT leaders now say their organizations implement some form of DevOps, according to the State of DevOps Report 2021. At this point, many companies understand this process gives them the ability to deliver software in a quick, reliable, and secure manner. If your company is considering a shift towards DevOps or doubling down on its efforts, learn more about the process and its many benefits. 

What Is DevOps?

While organizations traditionally separate development and operations teams, a DevOps structure allows these groups to work together. It’s a strategy for continuous development and deployment compatible with  Agile methods.

At its core, DevOps is an organizational culture that relies on the combination of people, techniques, and technology to deliver a valuable product. The teams responsible for development, quality assurance, and operations are no longer separated. Everyone collaborates each step of the way, from coding to testing and sustaining production.  

It’s also important to highlight what DevOps is not. DevOps is not a tool. There’s also no definitive structure for DevOps. This process relies on being adaptable in the face of radical changes in the world of software. 

Teams performing with a DevOps mindset take advantage of a variety of tools and practices, including but not limited to: 

• Continuous Integration and Delivery 
• Infrastructure as Code 
• Cloud Services 
• Telemetry Monitoring

DevOps’ Key Benefits

DevOps allows you to speed up deployment times and eliminate lulls in production. Some elite DevOps performers deploy new updates several times a day! These frequent releases will also help your team catch bugs in the system sooner, which speeds up maintenance. 

By automating processes from hardware provisioning to application configuration, you can reproduce any aspect of the running software with the same results. This improves your reliability and automates the more tedious continuous development and output steps. 

If you’re in an industry with tight regulations, such as healthcare or finance, DevOps helps you verify that you’re following all necessary steps. Plus, you can easily automate key processes related to compliance and track any changes made along the way.  

Finally, DevOps can improve your team’s productivity. One research study shows a 45% increase in employee productivity from groups using a combination of DevOps and Agile practices, compared with teams working only with Agile methods. Increased productivity means employees will feel less strain to meet tight deadlines or commit to overtime work, improving their work/life balance and overall morale.   

In Conclusion 

Companies that adopt DevOps practices end up with more robust solutions and save time and money by reducing human error. However, while the benefits are clear, it may be intimidating to figure out how to begin. Programmers has years of experience producing digital products and features with a DevOps mindset. Not only can we consult with your company, but we can also take your initiative all the way to deployment. That frees up your internal staff to work on other projects. Learn more about our digital product development service.