What is DevOps?

DevOps is an abbreviation for Development and Operation’s Collaboration. It refers to several practices that encourage software development professionals (Dev) and Information technology operations professionals (Ops) to work together to efficiently design and develop systems software for companies or consumers.

Benefits of DevOps

Here are some potential benefitsof using DevOps in your business according to plutora.com:

Improves workplace productivity

DevOps encourages the automation of certain parts of the development system, which allows development staff to spend more time on other tasks. The automation component also helps catch potential errors or security threats that could harm the software and its efficiency. This helps limit the amount of additional work the development and operations teams need to commit to a project.

For instance, DevOps automation component might help speed up the employee onboarding process because it helped generate employee email addresses and passwords for new employees in a matter of minutes.

Creates room for innovation and creativity

Due to increased speed and the collaboration that DevOps provides to its practitioners, your company’s IT professionals have the opportunity to put more time into brainstorming ideas for new and improved systems. This could lead to a more streamlined workflow among the departments or new programs that customers love. One example of this might be if a company gains the ability to develop three new software programs for their customers due to limited edits they needed to make for existing programs.

Increases customer satisfaction

Whether your company sells software or simply wants to make the delivery process easier, incorporating DevOps into your current practicesleads to better quality software programs and a streamlined transaction process and ultimately more efficient product delivery.

For example, the automation of the order receipt phase allows customers to review their order details including the items they purchased, pricing, taxation, estimated date of arrival and customer service contact details as soon as they place their order. This limits confusion and gives them an automatic confirmation that their order was received.

Ensures unified results

By combining the efforts of the development and operations teams to work closely with one another, you ensure that there is a unified goal and outcome with each new software program, which prevents conflicting initiatives and contributes to a more efficient company. For example, before implementing DevOps, the operational IT staff may have found it difficult to revise coding errors or update coding due to their lack of involvement at the development stage.

After implementing, the development and operations teams share a code library that allows them to reference unknown coding sequences.

Aids in the process of change management

Change management is the process by which an organization’s leadership helps shift its internal practices and prepare employees for those changes. DevOps can help in the process of change management by setting an example and helping streamline internal and external processes. For example, a company uses its team of development and operations professionals to help automate a portion of the delivery process so customers can get real-time knowledge about their order’s delivery status.

Enhances the quality of company software

DevOps encourages development and operations teams to place an emphasis on product testing before launching the final product. This helps ensure that the software your company creates has limited errors to its design and functions. For example, the DevOps may create a CMS (content management system) that allows product managers to estimate the amount of time each project should take to complete.

Provides an additional perspective on IT security

Your business can benefit from heightened security initiatives within your software systems, due to the combined efforts of the development and operations teams. The DevOps concept stresses the importance of automation, which can catch errors that the human eye may not always see. In addition, your company may experience better IT security due to the fact that more people are responsible for checking each other’s work.

For example, a member of the operational IT department finds a coding error made at the development stage that would have allowed hackers to gain access to personal customer information like credit card numbers and addresses.

Overview of DevOps in the workplace

According to Amazon, here is how DevOps works effectively within your business practices:

1. Continuous integration
2. Continuous delivery
3. Microservices
4. Infrastructure as code
5. Configuration management
6. Policy as code
7. Monitoring
8. Logging
9. Collaboration
10. Communication

Frequently asked questions about DevOps

Does DevOps require coding?

Yes, DevOps does require coding. DevOps engineers are usually responsible for updating the coding for outdated or faulty software.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a DevOps engineer?

Here are a few potential roles and responsibilities of a DevOps engineer according to medium.com:

• Coordinate with IT professionals in both development and operations to design and update software systems
• Develop and make adjustments to continuous integration and delivery piplines
• Use configurations to automate workloads along one or more cloud providers
• Exemplify proficient knowledge in coding languages like Python, Ruby, Java and PHP

How do I find a good DevOps engineer?

You can find a good DevOps engineer(What is a DevOps Engineer? Key roles and duties) by understanding their job duties and qualifications necessary to complete the job. Viable DevOps engineer candidates typically have the following qualifications according to Maryville University:

1. Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, software development or a related area
2. Optional certifications in DevOps, systems administration, coding languages or other IT topics
3. Previous work experience in software development or systems administration
4. Good interpersonal communication skills

Write a job description using these qualifications and post it to Indeed to find reliable and experienced candidates.