DevOps has helped the companies and corporations from around the world in speeding up the process of software deployment and development to the customers and has also changed the faulty machinery used by companies marketed as a faster way of software development. DevOps is more like a methodology than being a technological approach, but still, the technological aspect can't be neglected or cast aside by any means possible.
Therefore the fundamentality of the situation requires that the organizations or IT-based industries where DevOps is heavily practiced should continue to sharpen or update their current DevOps skills. Because without the updated knowledge of the systems, the stability can't be promised, scalability can't be promised, and therefore the deployment of the systems or software/tools in an efficient manner can't also be promised.
Following are the various reasons that suggest that companies that show following behavior or neglect the need to update their knowledge on the DevOps systems suffer ferociously;
- Inflexibility around DevOps procedures
DevOps without any doubt is a methodology rather than being a technical system but without particular insight to the developmental processes or respecting the pillars of the DevOps systems the whole concept would stumble and crash onto the ground. Therefore, it is required of the industries and or IT organizations to feature their specific settings of DevOps culture, automation and deployment and customize accordingly.
- Preferring speed over quality
Not even a millennial would do that as they consider the importance of quality over speed. DevOps is the name of continuous integration and deployment of the systems in a refined and effective manner. But nowhere does it state that the quality of the products or features introduced by the enterprise should be left behind.
If you are doing this; favoring speed-oriented delivery of the systems over the quality of the product being deployed then the time isn't far when you would have to close the gates of your organization to the outside world.
What happens when you have or encounters a cyber-incident at your DevOps environment? What strategies can you implement? Do you have any strategies figured out beforehand? If not then what are you doing running a DevOps oriented system or network with your organization? Because this isn’t something that you decide spot-on and should have a dedicated incident handling procedures and or practices already implemented for dealing with the cyber threats.
- Failing to update knowledge on DevOps
This isn’t something you could get through from by only having a limited knowledge of the DevOps fundamentals. You should learn and or know about the complete infrastructure and or fundamentals of the DevOps systems. Having a limited knowledge of a process would only make you startle in the future and running in circles to comply with standards and processes you don’t have any knowledge of.
- Neglecting security for DevOps development/deployment
It isn’t always about the quality or speed of the deployment and or the channels through which you deploy such settings and or software systems but also for the security of the software or tools that needs to be deployed. Don’t compromise over the security of the data or interventions that you plan on deploying or otherwise it would be for nothing.
After you have learned about various shortcomings that might be happening over your end, maybe it is time that you start doing some research on how to update your company’s DevOps skills. There are more than few options here and some of them will be discussed here shortly, for your ease;
- Determining your motivators
At first you and your company require some sort of motivation that can be helpful or beneficial enough to keep you in the loop of staying up to date with current trends of the DevOps systems. It can be the need to minimize or reduce the overall costs, speeding up the process of deployment, delivery of new features to the customers and or improving overall quality of the deployment cycle for the customers.
Motivation to staying in the loop has to come from within or you yourself need to advocate these things to your company executives as to start attending more to update skills of the professionals regarding DevOps.
- Communicate your goals
Whenever a company or IT based industry takes up the DevOps then it is automatically considered that they have aligned specific set of goals and or standards in collaboration with DevOps systems. Communication can play a key role as to present the executives of your companies with a variety of meanings or itineraries with DevOps. It is also vital for you to communicate the very reason following which the DevOps skills should be updated or sharpened to their latest installations.
- Manage change
Change is a continuous process but the hardest to come along, that is why it is necessary to make your team members at the company to understand the need to change the current flow in which various tasks are being done or concluded. If worn out or old methods or configuration systems are still being used to the date then it is your responsibility to make your team try new things and installation systems to make the process of development and deployment speed oriented and efficient. You will also require to exercise your management skills, communication and collaboration skills along with various soft skills.
Prepare yourself for technical barriers
During your career as a member of a dedicated DevOps team, you might come around a number of technical barriers. Some of them can be flung over while others not so much. But the inspiration to move onto the better technical prospects and improving your current technical setup is the key to success.
But only changing your current IT setup is not going to cut it, with it you would also require an insight to update your knowledge and acquiring the skills required to bring about that change. With DevOps configuration tools such as Chef, Puppet or Ansible, only integrating them within DevOps systems would not be enough as you would have to learn how these work and what are various updated presented to become efficient in process of deployment and development of the software systems in the future.