What is DevOps? Definition and impact on the development of your IT teams

We are hearing more and more about this term in company IT departments.

This veritable revolution in the way we work is based on greater automation and collaboration between teams, so that we can be increasingly responsive to changes in the market.

Want to take advantage of all the benefits of DevOps for your application projects? Find out more about the DevOps method, why and how to implement it, and which DevOps tools you can use to help you on a daily basis.

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What is the DevOps method?

DevOps: definition

DevOps is a set of working methods, best practices, values and tools that help to streamline processes and speed up the resolution of incidents and the delivery of new functionalities.

In companies that do not practice the DevOps philosophy, the Dev (development) and Ops (operations) teams are compartmentalised and have different objectives, which can lead to conflicts, delivery slowdowns or technical instabilities.

💡 DevOps makes them converge towards a common goal : the creation of value for the customer, thanks to the continuous delivery of new functionalities to meet market expectations, without altering the quality of the code in place or the stability of the system.

This organisational culture is based on three major pillars:

• Alignment of the Dev and Ops teams,
• automation of tasks and processes
• and continuous deployment.

The DevOps culture

DevOps has its roots in a number of existing methods:

• agile methods, most often Scrum, which are widely used by Dev teams
• ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) best practices, which enable Ops teams to provide a high-quality service,
• Lean management, which aims to optimise the quality delivered while developing a working environment conducive to collaboration and employee fulfilment.

The DevOps culture also goes hand in hand with an ethical and collaborative mindset, built around shared values such as transparency and change management.

How the DevOps method works

The DevOps model works via a continuous integration and deployment pipeline known as CI/CD (continuous integration / continuous delivery).

Continuous automation and monitoring :

• limit manual intervention
• make the various stages more fluid
• enable problems to be spotted quickly so that they can be corrected.

What are the five pillars of DevOps?

#1 A culture of collaboration and sharing

Culture is at the heart of DevOps. It encourages communication and collaboration between development and operations teams.
An effective DevOps team promotes transparency and shared responsibility to improve collective productivity.

#2 Process automation

Automation is crucial to ensuring efficient, error-free processes. It speeds up development and delivery cycles by eliminating repetitive tasks and also frees up time for teams, allowing them to concentrate on higher value-added tasks.

Using tools and software, deployments can be carried out continuously, reducing the risk of human error.

#3 Continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD)

Continuous integration (CI) ensures that code changes are integrated frequently and tested automatically. This helps to detect quality problems quickly.

Continuous Deployment (CD) pushes validated changes into production automatically, reducing the time between feature creation and availability to users.

#4 Continuous monitoring and feedback

A high-performance monitoring system enables performance or security problems to be detected quickly. It provides constant visibility of the state of applications in production.
Continuous feedback is essential for adjusting configurations and constantly improving the system based on real feedback.

#5 Integrated security

Security should be built in at the start of the development process, not added on at the end. This ensures that every code change is tested for security before being deployed.

DevSecOps introduces automated security testing into CI/CD pipelines, ensuring that potential vulnerabilities are fixed before they reach the production environment.

The DevOps culture sees security as a shared responsibility, strengthening system resilience against cyber threats.

👉Together, these pillars enable teams to increase the frequency of deployments while guaranteeing optimal quality and security. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the delivery of value while minimising risk.

What's the difference between DevOps and Scrum?

DevOps and Scrum are two distinct approaches to software development, but they serve complementary purposes.

DevOps

DevOps is a philosophy that aims to unify development (Dev) and operations (Ops) to improve the efficiency, quality and speed of the software delivery cycle. It is a practice that encompasses automation, continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD) and monitoring, with the aim of creating a constant flow between the creation, deployment and management of applications in production.

DevOps focuses on collaboration between development and operational teams to reduce silos, improve communication and optimise end-to-end processes.

Scrum

Scrum, on the other hand, is an agile framework focused on managing projects and organising development teams to improve the efficiency of work sprints. It relies on short cycles (sprints) and specific ceremonies (such as the daily stand-up, sprint review and retrospective) to deliver product increments on a regular basis.

Scrum focuses on the organisation of tasks within the development team, encouraging continuous improvement and adaptation to change. Unlike DevOps, which covers the entire software lifecycle, Scrum focuses primarily on the planning and execution of work within the development team.

Why DevOps? The 5 key benefits

Adopting DevOps isn't just about staying at the forefront of technology trends; it's a strategy for significantly improving your company's overall performance. Here are five key benefits of the DevOps approach:

#1 Increased productivity

Aligning teams around a common goal, combined with the use of shared tools, makes for smoother, less confrontational collaboration. This cohesion translates into greater team satisfaction and increased productivity.

☝️Grâce to DevOps, companies can:

• reduce delivery times
• minimise errors; and
• increase their capacity to innovate.

By eliminating silos, teams can work more efficiently, delivering quality products faster and at lower cost.

#2 Improved quality of delivery

By taking into account the specific constraints of each team, DevOps reduces the number of errors and improves code quality.

Frequent deliveries also enable customer feedback to be incorporated on an ongoing basis, ensuring perfect alignment with market expectations.

Automated testing and deployment ensure that every change is rigorously tested before it goes into production, reducing the risk of introducing bugs or regressions.

#3 Accelerated delivery

DevOps allows you to deliver smaller versions of the product more frequently, making deployments more reliable and processes smoother. This enables businesses to adapt quickly to changes in the market, increasing their agility.

By deploying changes more frequently, businesses can:

• Experiment with new ideas ;
• obtain feedback more quickly;
• adapt more quickly to customer needs.

#4 Improved security

Process automation reduces human error and increases system reliability.

Security becomes an integrated priority at every stage of the CI/CD pipeline. By automating security tests and integrating security practices right from the start of the develvelopment cycle, DevOps helps to reduce vulnerabilities and improve the resilience of systems to attacks.

💡Security is no longer an afterthought, but an integral part of the development process.

#5 Improving customer satisfaction

The ability to respond quickly to customer needs through continuous deployments is a crucial competitive advantage. This responsiveness enables you not only to satisfy customers, but also to ensure greater competitiveness in the marketplace.

By delivering new and improved features more frequently, you can respond to customer requests more quickly, which improves customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The 5 stages in implementing the DevOps method

Applying the DevOps method in your organisation requires careful planning and a step-by-step approach. Here are the main phases of implementation:

Step #1 Planning

This first stage enables you to define a number of essential elements before starting the project, such as :

• the functionalities to be developed ;
• the monitoring indicators
• the deployment schedule.

Planning also involves monitoring with dashboards, throughout the project. It is crucial to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned with the project objectives and that the necessary resources are available.

👉 Rigorous planning avoids surprises and ensures that the project progresses smoothly and in an orderly fashion.

Stage #2 Development

Development is the phase during which the software or application is designed and the code is written, taking into account the needs and constraints of each team. Thanks to automation, the code is compiled and integrated automatically.

This phase is based on short iterative cycles, with each iteration adding tangible value to the final product.

Continuous integration ensures that code is regularly :

• merged ;
• tested;
• and validated;

so that errors can be detected and corrected quickly.

Stage #3 Testing

This verification stage is directly linked to quality control of what has just been developed. Automatic test phases are run as soon as the code is completed, to detect any anomalies as early as possible.

The tests cover several aspects, such as :

• regression ;
• acceptance ;
• security
• performance.

Automated testing ensures that every change is rigorously evaluated before being put into production, reducing the risk of errors and incidents. ✅

Stage #4 Deployment

Once testing has been successfully completed, each new change is automatically deployed to production. Continuous deployment allows the product to be updated quickly and reliably, with the possibility of several deployments per day.

🚨This phase is critical to ensuring that new features and patches are quickly available to users, while minimising service interruptions.

Continuous deployment also reduces the time between development and the release of new features, which improves the company's responsiveness.

Stage #5 Operation and monitoring

This involves monitoring the system's performance and stability using the metrics put in place during the planning stage.

Checking compliance and managing the infrastructure can also be automated, thanks to Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Any problems identified are escalated as soon as possible to the development team for rapid correction.

Continuous monitoring ensures that the system is running optimally and that any problems are quickly identified and resolved.

6 best practices for a successful DevOps transition

There are a number of ways to make the implementation of the DevOps method easier, and they should not be overlooked for a successful roll-out.

#1 Adopt an agile culture

As the DevOps culture is based on permanent agility, it is easier to implement this approach in companies that are already working with Scrum or other agile methods. If this is not already the case, you may need to go through this stage first as part of the transition to a DevOps culture.

Agile culture creates a flexible working environment, where teams can quickly adapt to changes and new requirements.

💡Adopting Agile practices also facilitates the integration of DevOps principles, promoting collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement.

#2 Don't underestimate the need for change management support

Moving to a DevOps philosophy can be a real upheaval for your business. While it represents a superb opportunity to improve collaboration and performance, it can also be a difficult experience. You need to take account of what already exists and adapt, so that the transition is smooth and accompanied.

Well-managed change management helps to :

• minimise resistance;
• reassure your teams
• ensure the successful adoption of new practices.

This includes communication, training, and ongoing support to help your employees adapt to the new working methods so your chances of success will be maximised! 💪

#3 Develop skills

Do your employees have the necessary skills to work in DevOps mode? Are they familiar with the new processes and tools? Don't skimp on training, as they are the ones who will ensure the success of DevOps in your business.

💡Ongoing training is essential to enable your teams to familiarise themselves with new technologies, automation tools, and collaboration practices.

Technical skills and knowledge of DevOps best practice are essential to ensure a successful transition and maximise the benefits of this approach.

#4 Facilitate collaboration

Cross-functional collaboration between business, development and operations teams is at the heart of DevOps. It must therefore be seen as a mission in its own right, and not as a parallel task. That's why you need to include real collaboration workshops between the teams in the sprints, and allocate a sufficient number of hours to them, so that collaboration can take place under the best possible conditions.

Effective collaboration breaks down silos, improves communication and encourages the emergence of innovative solutions.

☝️Les collaboration workshops, regular meetings and modern communication tools are all ways of strengthening cohesion between teams and guaranteeing the success of DevOps projects.

#5 Measure performance

In order to measure the positive effects of implementing DevOps in your company, it is essential to put in place certain performance measurement indicators (KPIs). Defining common indicators for the Dev and Ops teams helps to strengthen cooperation and the feeling of belonging to a single team.

For example, you can measure :

• customer satisfaction;
• number of releases
• deployment time
• deployment failure rate;
• compliance with deadlines and budgets, etc.

KPIs are invaluable tools for assessing progress, identifying areas for improvement and ensuring that objectives are met. They also help to keep teams engaged by showing them the tangible results of their efforts.

#6 Recruit a DevOps engineer

The will to implement the DevOps method in a company is very often the responsibility of the CTO. On the other hand, operational implementation requires experience of these processes, and recruiting a DevOps engineer can be useful if you don't know where to start when moving to DevOps. But good Tech profiles, and DevOps developers in particular, are difficult to spot and recruit.

👉Using the services of a specialist platform can save you precious time, and help you find the rare pearl. An experienced DevOps engineer can :

• guide your company in setting up processes ;
• choose the right tools
• train your teams in best practice.

Their expertise is essential to ensure a smooth transition and maximise the chances of success.

The best tools for a successful DevOps implementation

One of the critical aspects of DevOps is the use of appropriate tools for each stage of the CI/CD pipeline. These tools play a crucial role in :

• process automation
• code management
• infrastructure monitoring
• and facilitating collaboration between your teams.

Here is a selection of essential tools:

Project planning, management and steering

Tools like Redmine enable you to manage projects efficiently, schedule tasks and monitor progress in real time. These tools are essential for maintaining visibility over projects and ensuring that all teams are aligned with objectives.

Source code management

Bitbucket and GitHub are popular platforms for managing source code, enabling you to collaborate on code, track changes and manage versions. These tools facilitate collaboration between developers and ensure that the code is always up to date and accessible.

Test automation

GitLab CI and Jenkins are powerful tools for automating tests, ensuring that every modification to the code is rigorously tested before being deployed. These tools are essential for guaranteeing code quality and reducing the risk of errors in production.

Continuous deployment

Chef and Kubernetes are key tools for managing continuous deployment, automating the production release process and ensuring that deployments are carried out quickly and reliably. These tools reduce deployment times and improve system stability.

Storage in the cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure DevOps offer complete solutions for storing and managing applications in the cloud. These platforms make it possible to manage the entire development lifecycle, from planning to production, including testing and monitoring.

Infrastructure monitoring

Nagios and New Relic are powerful monitoring tools that enable you to track the performance and health of your infrastructure in real time. These tools are essential for detecting problems quickly and ensuring that systems are running optimally.

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Are you ready to adopt the DevOps method?

By adopting DevOps, your business can truly transform its IT processes for a more agile, high-performance, customer-focused future.

DevOps is no longer an option, it's a necessity for businesses that want to remain competitive in a dynamic and constantly evolving market. By integrating this method, you can not only improve your productivity and the quality of your deliveries, but also ensure greater customer satisfaction and better security.

The key to success lies in gradual, well-planned adoption, supported by change management, ongoing training and the use of appropriate tools.

Whether you're a small start-up or a large enterprise, DevOps can help you achieve your goals faster, more efficiently and with greater quality. Don't miss this chance to transform your organisation and make your application projects a real engine for growth and innovation.