What Is DevOps?
DevOps practices focus on automation and continuous improvement.
Development and operations teams often rely on DevOps to automate and integrate the processes between IT teams and software development. But what is it exactly? It is a term used to describe a group of concepts that combine software development (Dev) and information-technology operations (Ops). The primary purpose is to provide continuous delivery and high software quality, while shortening the system’s development life cycle. With DevOps, IT teams can learn to become more efficient and deliver greater value to businesses and customers.
How Does DevOps Work?
DevOps continues to gain popularity in both web-native organizations and larger enterprises. However, it is not always entirely clear what it consists of and what it can offer businesses in terms of functionality. DevOps is essentially a “culture” that promotes a variety of capabilities such as automation, collaboration, continuous testing, continuous monitoring, continuous delivery, and rapid remediation.
It encourages operations and development engineers to work together throughout the lifecycle of a project, from the design and development process to release and customer support. DevOps practices also help IT teams work together more efficiently and respond to bugs and customer needs.
Different Types Of DevOps Practices
There are many types of DevOps practices that focus on automation and continuous improvement. Some of these practices include the following:
- Continuous development: This practice focuses on the planning and coding phases of a DevOps lifecycle.
- Continuous testing: With continuous testing, automated, prescheduled and continued code tests are written and updated.
- Continuous integration: Also known as CI, this practice unites configuration management tools with other development and testing tools to determine if the code is ready for production.
- Continuous delivery: Continuous delivery aims to automate the delivery of code changes to a staging or pre-production environment.
- Continuous deployment: Also known as CD, this practice automates the release of new or updated code into production, often with the use of container technologies.
- Continuous monitoring: This practice consists of ongoing monitoring of codes in operation, as well as the underlying infrastructure.
- Infrastructure as code: During various stages of DevOps this practice can be used for automation purposes. Developers can add infrastructure code from within their development tools. This practice can be useful for IT teams that wish to continually monitor environment configurations and track their changes.
The Benefits Of DevOps
DevOps can provide businesses with a host of benefits designed to enhance efficiency and boost production. One of the biggest benefits is the greater speed. DevOps allows businesses to move at a faster pace and more quickly adapt to changing markets.
Faster Completion Of Projects
When IT teams are equipped to work at a higher velocity, they can complete projects faster and promptly respond to customer concerns. DevOps can also result in a more rapid delivery of products.
The quicker that a business is able to release new features or fix troublesome bugs, the more efficient a business becomes, helping companies gain a competitive advantage.
Greater Delivery Reliability
Another major benefit for businesses is greater reliability. Businesses can ensure that the quality of their application updates and system changes are up to par for a more reliable delivery. When businesses are able to remain reliable, it creates a positive experience for the end users. DevOps practices such as continuous monitoring and logging can help companies keep track of their performance in real-time.
Improved Collaboration Among Team Members
DevOps has also been found to improve collaboration among teams. Under a strong model, businesses can build effective teams that can work together closely, share responsibilities, and accept accountability. When teams are able to collaborate without frequent disruptions or delays, projects can be completed at a quicker rate resulting in greater revenues.
Other major benefits include the ability to operate and manage your infrastructure and processes at scale. Systems are likely to change throughout the project lifecycle and it is important to respond appropriately. DevOps practices such as automation and consistency can help businesses more effectively manage these changes while reducing certain risks.
Speak With The Custom Software Developers At Orases
DevOps is essentially the union of people, products, and processes to promote the continuous delivery of value to end users. With it, businesses can learn new ways to speed up the operational processes in which an idea goes from the development stage to deployment. These practices require IT teams to be able to effectively and frequently communicate with one another.
Businesses that wish to remain competitive in today’s marketplace should consider making the transition to DevOps. Many companies have discovered that it is an excellent way to gain a competitive and sustainable business advantage. It is also safe to say that many more companies will be embracing DevOps in the immediate future. For more information about DevOps, its practices or benefits, reach out to the custom software development experts at Orases by calling 301.756.5527 or by requesting a consultation online.
Orases is a full-service, digital technology agency based in Maryland. Founded in 2000, we have become a trusted provider of custom software, website and application development services and solutions that drive efficiency and provide measurable cost savings and revenue gains to our client partners.
Contact us