DevOps combines traditional “develop, build, test and deploy” steps with the hosting operations management into one continuous process. DevOps process integrates each step seamlessly and automates some of them to speed up the release of new product versions. Furthermore, it adjusts the run-time environment to best fit the needs the evolving product’s needs.
You can utilize DevOps in the traditional hosting environment but the true potential of transitioning to DevOps is unlocked only once you move to the cloud.
Conversely, you can deploy to the cloud, but use traditional processes. Then much of the cloud’s value – in cost savings, flexibility, agility and constantly improving capabilities will likely to be lost for your company.
That’s why DevOps and the cloud are better together. They support full integration across the development lifecycle and into deployment, and easy scaling as application use grows.
Further, the cloud has fostered new and innovative technologies, from containers to machine learning on demand to serverless architectures, that change the game for software products or services over the Web.
If your company lives and dies by monetizing your software products, here are the Top Ten reasons why combining DevOps and the cloud results in a much bigger bang for the combined buck.
If your company lives and dies by monetizing your software products, here are the Top Ten features that will make you wave the flag for DevOps in the cloud.
Enhanced Security
Cloud providers have done an excellent job in protecting their infrastructure. Yet they stop short of making it safe for you and your product in what AWS refers to as “shared security responsibility” DevOps practices ensure that security does not stop with the cloud itself. It encompasses all aspects – from code checks for vulnerability to automated pre-release penetration testing all the way to the latest security patches.
In addition, the monitoring team, which is the natural extension of the DevOps uses cloud provider’s and third-party tools to monitor the site, respond to attacks, and rapidly recover from any breaches.Shared Sense of Ownership
This represents an important cultural aspect of the DevOps transformation. Because silos have been broken down between development, test, release, and operations, every team member comes to have a strong affiliation to the product and its success.
Rapid Rollback
With good scripts and flexible cloud environment we can quickly solve a big problem by simply rolling back to a stable release. Often it is simply a matter of pointing the application DNS address back to the original code, which still exists and is actively running. By minimizing the cost of experimentation the Cloud lets team members experiment and fail quickly (and cheaply) which fosters the innovation and commitment to overall success.
Continuous re-architecture
Clouds offer a variety of run-time options that have never been available before. The Compute platform, for example, ranges from VM to Container to Docker to Kubernetes to Serverless. Each approach holds its own advantages but switching from one to another requires tight coordination between the product’s code and the cloud management scripts (and vice versa). Integrated and ongoing DevOps involvement provides the means to update the architecture. In fact, due to the relatively easy experimentation in the cloud, multiple architectures can coexist and relative advantages measured before committing to a particular approach.
Utilization of New Tools
From data access to analytics, the cloud providers are constantly coming up with new exciting tools that make it enticing to utilize them for your product, and to glean new information from the wealth of data available. Someone (DevOps) needs to keep track of the new tools and services, evaluate their stability and availability and the cost of using them, as well as enable the move to them if deemed appropriate.
Single versus multi-cloud DevOps
There is a tradeoff that each one of Kanda’s clients will need to make. Dedicating to one cloud utilizes the advantages of that cloud as much as possible. Yet it may lock you into a particular approach that may not make sense in the future. It is similar to using code and libraries specific to a particular operating system; they may offer ease of implementation, but at the expense of lock-in to that platform. There are decisions to be made on cloud strategy and an experienced partner can help you make the best decisions for your application and organization.
Flexibility
The cloud provides a number of different options for deploying a concept and its implementation. And as your team’s experience in the cloud grows, you can take advantage of that flexibility for creative uses. For example, you may use serverless approaches for long-lived applications that shouldn’t have to be moved to different clouds, while keeping highly dynamic applications in containers for easy change and movement. At the same time, DevOps practices let you deploy and change code fast, letting you take advantage of the flexibility of cloud deployment.
Breaking up the Monolith
Microservices and other ways of reducing the complexity of the application make it possible to build and deploy faster using containers. DevOps teams can quickly define and build containers and their interactions, while cloud providers have the infrastructure to deploy in containers, or with code only in a serverless environment.
Operating Cost
There are many pricing options for cloud deployment and services, including compute instances, memory, and storage, and making the choices that best meet your application requirements can save 60 percent or move over running that application in a traditional data center. And with your DevOps team closest to the cloud, it is in the best position to determine what is needed to be successful.
Monetize your Product immediately
Whether you are running an e-commerce site or a mission-critical application, you don’t have to wait to provision the data center and deploy the application into production, a process that can take weeks. And DevOps teams can get it into production fast. Even if the application requires more features, you get it out there fast and collect data on usage for future releases. Make sure you have the resources to deliver and start making money fast.
Many teams are highly experienced at building software but can use help with automation, integration and cloud management. Finding expert resources to provide this help could mean the difference between a successful and unsuccessful transformation.
Many teams who find the DevOps model of software development and deployment compelling aren’t sure how to get started. Others may have certain skills that contribute but lack critical experience in DevOps engineering. Some may have existing applications that they want to move to a cloud computing environment with a minimum of changes, while others may be starting an entirely new application. In the latter case, they often want to immediately move into a DevOps model and deploy directly to the cloud. But DevOps without the cloud is achievable, as is cloud deployment without full DevOps, so teams may want help evaluating what approach is best in their circumstances.
Experienced software engineering outsources like Kanda Software can help fill any of these roles, from providing critical skills to creating an entire application. Our experienced DevOps engineers can quickly determine the right tools and approach for your business, and implement a DevOps plan that works for you.