DevOps — As Easy As Pie
Similar to many acronyms in software development, DevOps may sound a lot more complex than it truly is, and my goal is to explain it as simply as possible. Surprisingly, it is not entirely about software development, rather it focuses on closing the gap between two essential departments in any Enterprise — development, and operations. Amazon defines DevOps as follows -
“DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes.”
How DevOps Works
But what exactly does that mean? Let’s think of DevOps as my grandma’s famous apple pie. While her recipe for the pie is most likely different from Martha Stewart’s, we can all agree that the quality of ingredients, proper quantity, directions, and the individual’s level of skill in baking are key elements that will indicate the tastiness of that pie.
All of these factors play a fundamental role in the automation, speed, and continuous integration of this pie. While anyone can follow a recipe for it, DevOps ensures that the pie is made to the highest level of standard by incorporating the culture, practices, and baking (software development) tools.
Benefits of DevOps
Now you might be wondering, why would we need this new concept if we have agile. In simplest terms, while agile is about doing the right work, DevOps focuses on doing the work right. Going back to the pie analogy, agile will follow the recipe of the pie and in the process, it may have burnt a bit but you were still able to deliver a pie.
In comparison, DevOps will integrate the best measurements, quality, and quantity from start to finish, reducing any room for error. In Enterprises, DevOps solidifies the notion that everyone is responsible for deployment and removes the lack of cohesion and infrastructure throughout the process. By adopting this philosophy, Enterprises can gain the following benefits:
- Faster and better quality product/service delivery
- Spend more time on innovation
- More automation
- Less resource idle time
- Greater scalability and availability
- Faster issue resolution
- Reduction in complexity
How to Adopt the DevOps Approach
While the DevOps model joins the collaboration of the development and operations departments, it takes more than a daily standup. This transition requires a change in the mindset and culture of the organization, regardless of the organizational structure. While some companies may hire DevOps Engineers to fulfill these duties, others may have to rely on the two departments working together to optimize developers' productivity and the operations' reliability.
Together, Enterprises can provide products and services swiftly, while gaining a competitive advantage and sustaining customers — as easy as pie.
