DevOps: Concept, what it is for and advantages

In this text, we explain the idea in a simple way, what it is for, its advantages and how to implement DevOps in your company.

What is DevOps?

DevOps is a culture based on integrative practices, models and tools, which allow the elimination of walls between two types of professionals working in software engineering – developers and operators.

Its purpose is to maintain a complementary and constant work rhythm, which meets the frequent demand for updates in complex systems of today's organizations.

Anyone who works in or near the IT department knows that the processes and responsibilities of the development and operational administration teams have ended up distancing these professionals, even encouraging a certain rivalry between them.

While developers work to deliver value to the user , meeting their needs through different functionalities, operators are concerned with the stability of the software.

As already highlighted at the beginning of this text, the functions end up complementing each other.

However, the experts who carried them out spoke little to optimize the tasks and obtain a more aligned result.

However, with the emergence of software with multiple functionalities and the need for continuous adaptation, this problem needed to be solved, and the solution found was the DevOps concept.

Inspired by the agile development movement, it proved effective in bringing the two categories of professionals closer together, adopting premises of simplification and standardization of interfaces.

Remembering that agile development presupposes the construction of software in a collaborative manner, relying on the commitment of multidisciplinary teams .

This model is opposed to traditional development, in which processes were executed in a cascade, that is, one stage could only begin when another was completed.

What is DevOps for?

DevOps serves to unify development and operations management teams, providing shortcuts to improve product quality , that is, software.

When this unity does not exist, the tendency is for the two sectors to work separately, which increases the chances of bugs, delays and misalignment in deliveries, reducing the efficiency of the programs.

The fluidity proposed by the DevOps philosophy makes it possible to meet the increasingly fast demands of the market, meeting the need for robust updates in an intelligent manner.

It is no wonder that the first companies to embrace this culture were major technology players, such as Adobe and IBM, as DevOps added agility and eliminated the mismatch in system creation.

Another great contribution of this concept is the pace of digital transformation – a process that injects a digital mindset into organizations.

By including agile methodologies, testing and frequent feedback in the dynamics of software construction, DevOps favors and accelerates the implementation of digital logic in companies .

This speed and flexibility are essential to accommodate the speed of change in today's world, including important changes to deliver positive experiences to system users.

How does DevOps work?

DevOps works by sharing responsibilities, procedures and processes in order to achieve a common goal: the development of complete, functional and quality software.

To do this, it is necessary to monitor and automate the steps for building these systems, using common tools that simplify and harmonize the work.

These factors give autonomy to the single team – made up of developers and operators – to conduct processes in the best way possible, optimizing tasks and valuing errors.

After all, agile models are based on flexibility and constant testing, using errors to improve programs.

In other words, for DevOps to be included in the company culture , it is necessary, on the one hand, to educate the team , emphasizing soft skills such as empathy.

And, on the other hand, coordinate actions so that optimization tools are used.

These mechanisms support one or more phases of software creation and delivery , helping to:

• Codification
• Compilation
• Test
• Release
• Deploy
• Settings
• Monitoring
• Planning.

How important is DevOps culture for companies?

Delays, constant failures and rework. This is often the result of a disconnect between operations managers and developers.

Without understanding their colleagues' work, they end up focusing on their own tasks, without considering other people's difficulties or ways of collaborating that help improve the product.

In this scenario, technology companies lose out because they deliver low-quality software.

Also the professionals themselves, for not recognizing the opportunities to optimize their work.

Finally, the client , for receiving programs that are not very functional and/or full of errors.

By proposing joint activities, DevOps adds empathy to the day-to-day running of companies and breaks the cycle of losses for everyone involved.

This culture provides a broad exchange of experiences, information, feedback, suggestions and tools.

This is what allows adjustments to be made by both developers and operators, who expand their understanding by working closely with their colleagues .

They begin to see their work in a broader way, knowing the basis, functionalities and infrastructure elements necessary for the system to run successfully and remain stable.

Why adopt the DevOps culture?

More than a rapprochement between teams, the DevOps culture ends up combining the development and operations teams, so that they become a single group .

Process optimization

The DevOps concept allows you to optimize a series of tasks, because it avoids rework and focuses on sharing tools.

Therefore, the specialist who identifies any problem or failure can correct it immediately, making the dynamics more agile.

Understanding the entire software construction and maintenance process also encourages different ideas , such as using new tools to simplify a step.

Once the process is tested and approved, it can become a standard that will be used in future projects, creating a learning flow .

Increased quality

Thanks to the greater level of empathy, developers and operations managers are able to put themselves in each other's shoes, understanding their colleagues' difficulties and collaborating to overcome them.

This factor adds an indispensable benefit to any business: increased quality of deliveries.

After all, as the saying goes, two heads are better than one.

Imagine, then, the potential of an entire team thinking together to develop a program that is not only satisfactory, but that really helps the user with their day-to-day demands.

With more quality, the chances of building customer loyalty or even delighting customers are higher.

Fast deliveries

The partnership between the development team and the operations team also optimizes the time needed for deliveries.

So, instead of waiting several hours for an update, the customer can see the improvements more quickly, delivering value to the user of your service.

This is one of the most interesting points for technology giants, such as Amazon and Netflix, which need to update their systems frequently.

Resource saving

We've already talked about saving time because of quick optimization and updates .

But in the context of DevOps, the idea is to promote an overall economy of resources, starting with the combination between the departments that create and make the systems work.

Adopting tools that simplify processes reduces the need for overtime, for example.

At the same time, standardization allows programs to run on different machines, reducing dependence on more powerful computers.

Security

The integration of teams and systems, combined with continuous deliveries, raise the level of compliance and, consequently, software security .

After all, they will be checked and updated several times, making it easier to identify and correct errors in the code, bugs and other points of attention.