Today, speed and quality are two indispensable traits a business requires to thrive online. Your business needs to focus on DevOps and cloud as a package to develop and deploy high-quality software quickly.
Many businesses have successfully digitised operations or adopted cloud computing for digital solutions. In 2018, up to 70% of businesses had a digital transformation strategy put in place. 50% of the correspondents in the survey saw IT automation as a key driver for the change. Other reasons included data analytics for risk management, social media, and more.
Events in 2020 will accelerate the digital transformation process for businesses that aren’t already providing cloud computing. Some data suggests that the global cloud computing market is expected to grow to US$832 billion by 2025. The lion’s share of this market will be in software as a service (SaaS). The abundance of businesses operating in SaaS will provide a more competitive challenge shortly.
To gain the edge on competitors, businesses will need to develop quality features and bring them to market as quickly as possible. They will need to maximise the potential of cloud computing using DevOps. DevOps and cloud computing are increasingly operating as a united driver for fast, continual development, integration, and software deployment.
What is DevOps, and why is it important?
DevOps definition: according to Amazon Web Services (AWS), DevOps is a “combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organisation’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity”.
Using a DevOps model, businesses can partner development and IT operations aspects of software development. By breaking down barriers between development (Dev) and operations (ops), new software can be produced, tested, and deployed at breakneck speeds. This is a key incentive for businesses looking to modernise their digital operations efficiently and quickly.
Under the DevOps model, engineers work on applications across the entire application lifecycle. This software development method means that engineering teams can reflect multiple disciplines and enable them to produce multiple facets of an application simultaneously. This leads to quicker development times. By automating processes, the development team ensures performance consistency.
With DevOps, app development is continuous.
A business can focus on continually developing, integrating, and delivering high-quality software with minimal interruptions to daily operations in a DevOps environment. With this focus on continuous improvement, developers can provide new features to users regularly. This is ideal, as the continuous deployment of quality features will lead to continuous customer satisfaction.
Why Cloud Computing is so Beneficial
Cloud computing refers to services that are provided over the internet. The majority of online applications and services we use are delivered through cloud computing. The cloud is at work in the streaming industry, telecommunications, online storage, marketing, etc. Cloud services are typically delivered through infrastructure (IaaS), platforms (PaaS), and services (SaaS) online.
Cloud computing is a key development that enables businesses to use big data to improve performance. Many businesses have emphasised it to make data-driven decisions that positively affect them going forward. Using the cloud, you can avail of process automation, allowing businesses to process high-volumes of information at high speeds without expending many resources.
Connect to cloud services from anywhere
There are many other benefits to cloud computing in business. You can make use of numerous features and can ensure consistent service delivery. It has many benefits, like the fact that it enables staff to work remotely, plus you’re protected from disasters. A business could avail of private cloud services to protect data and control infrastructure maintenance. Most businesses avail of public cloud services to lower costs while maintaining reliability.
By using hybrid cloud services, you increase the challenge of managing data across different virtual spaces. At the same time, a business benefits by improving the scalability of its digital operations. It offers improved data security, storage, and flexibility. This is ideal for developers who want to work in private virtual spaces while users avail themselves of services in the public spaces.
How DevOps and Cloud Computing Complement Each Other
DevOps and cloud computing are becoming perfect partners in achieving speed and productivity when it comes to software development. In many ways, they address various challenges that legacy application development faces. By joining DevOps and the cloud, there are fewer limitations set to development. You can also avail of DevOps tools that are usable on the cloud.
In development
Using the cloud system, it is easy to make suitable environments for apps development. The cloud offers a platform where developers manage every aspect of an application’s life cycle in one virtual place. This is beneficial to modern developers, as it is expected that remote working will continue. It also means relevant teams can access information in a centralised location without extra steps.
Numerous cloud-based tools enable businesses to automate their development processes. DevOps principles like continuous development, continuous integration, and continuous delivery become quick and easy tasks by automating build processes. The automation also limits the possibility of injecting human error into any DevOps process.
In testing
The partnership between DevOps and cloud encourages innovation in software development. Unlike legacy development, little to no time is wasted waiting for servers or hardware to be provided. Cloud-based servers can offer developers spaces to test code in search of improvements. This is also useful for experimentation with new cloud-based tools, features, and code in general.
Testing leads to high-quality software development.
Scalable Improvements
The cloud offers DevOps a platform with suitable infrastructure and environments where the sky’s the limit. As there is no physical infrastructure in place, it is easy to expand a business’s digital operations where necessary. With a few clicks, you can add servers or avail of open-source codes with little effort. This is suitable for growing businesses that wish to offer more features to users.
Stability
Considering the principle of continual development, a cloud system’s stability is a perfect partner for DevOps. It’s become apparent that most digital services are rarely down for maintenance, update, or repair in recent years. As cloud-based services rarely fail, more time can be spent developing beneficial programs and applications. Customers continually enjoy these features without any breaks in service.
How DevOps Will Impact Your Business
DevOps and cloud offer value in the way of virtual agility. Cloud computing already transforms IT operations and enables businesses to modernise systems. Following DevOps’ principles, it is possible to maximise the cloud’s operations by making them even more efficient. Using robotic process automation (RPA), you can increase productivity by designing bots that learn and implement processes.
For businesses involved in SaaS, it will be valuable to shift towards DevOps oriented computing. Through DevOps, you can rapidly develop features and assets without interrupting the user experience. These features could be outward or inward-facing. For example, developers can create applications for SaaS management. This would simplify software asset management and make it easier to track tool subscriptions.
Many businesses already automate some operations like aspects of SaaS marketing strategies. Businesses look to continually modify and update key processes, like sales funnels, based on data collected. As DevOps emphasises continual development, it would offer suitable solutions for processes that require incremental changes.
Final Words
The holistic approach DevOps lends to software development will give your business a competitive edge. It will require training, some cultural shifts in the business, and a focus on the long-term. In the end, you will be fast-to-market, provide consistent service, and remain agile.
