For a long time, whenever there was a need to transform digitally, the waterfall model was the go-to solution. Organizations loved the model’s simplicity and clarity. All you needed to do was follow a well-known series of steps.

Despite the many advantages, however, many people are ditching the waterfall model in favor of the agile approach. Agile offers more flexibility, faster problem solving, and the ability to maximize collaboration. In the end, businesses also enjoy reduced overhead, thus lowering costs and increasing the profit margins.

Combining agile with DevOps promises better rewards as organizations are guaranteed improved automation.

What’s DevOps?

DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). The primary aim is to shorten development life cycles while promoting continuous delivery and software quality.

The approach has been gaining momentum since  2009. Most organizations love that DevOps improves employee engagement, customer experiences, and user satisfaction. A CA Technologies study recently found a 45% improvement in each participant’s NET Promoter Score (quantified customer satisfaction ratings) when DevOps is implemented successfully.

Of course, merging the development and operations departments also reduces costs. The CA Technologies report also shows that companies see a 38% reduction in IT costs after implementing DevOps.

Benefits of a DevOps Approach to Digital Transformation

Whether you’re pursuing a large-scale IoT transformation or minor automation in a small area, you should strongly consider the DevOps approach for the following reasons;

  • DevOps gives you a competitive edge

One of the priorities of digital consumers is the assurance that the provider will continue to supply the new features, security updates, and other improvements to the product reliably and conveniently. If the seller fails to deliver the updates, frustrations emerge, and mistrust ensues.

The DevOps approach solves the problem by making ongoing enhancements.  DevOps advocates for making small, consistent changes and getting feedback before moving to the next step. As a result, both developers and consumers benefit. Developers can create solutions that consumers want, having listened to feedback. Consumers are also more satisfied because the developer keeps delivering exactly what they want – and at the right time.

This is the best kind of relationship any organization would want. It promotes employee trust and brand loyalty. Your customers won’t need to look elsewhere because they know the solutions they desire are on the way. It also encourages consumers to spend more on your products – because they can trust you.

  • Enjoy reduced transformation costs

We’ve already seen that agile methods guarantee a boost in profitability by reducing operating costs while eliminating inefficiencies. Employing the DevOps approach has an even greater impact. For one, DevOps heavily relies on automation. So, you can achieve milestones more quickly and avoid extra costs that come with prolonged development processes.

Secondly, DevOps offers improved efficiency by advocating for reassessment and evolution of existing processes. Organizations must look for avenues to improve the entire operation and migrate towards systems, strategies, and practices that promote efficiency. Remember also that DevOps brings together the development and operations teams. It means a more streamlined workforce with reduced overhead and fewer expenses.

Above all, one of DevOps’ core principles is prioritizing what’s necessary now and leaving the other processes for later. Such an approach is beneficial in reducing transformation costs. You can focus on what’s most important now without compromising outcomes. The best part is that DevOps also identifies deliverables and helps you keep producing usable solutions as you move along.

  • DevOps increases security 

Security remains a primary concern for people transitioning to smart IoT products. Whenever consumers hear about data breaches and fellow consumers losing their credit card numbers and security numbers to hackers, they begin to worry about what awaits them. News platforms have recently worsened the problem by writing, almost always, horrifying headlines.

Using the DevOps approach won’t stop the headlines or end the risks associated with vulnerabilities. But it can lessen them. Continuous delivery, the hallmark of DevOps processes, requires incremental development with verifications through automated tests at every step across the deployment pipeline.

The automated process also offers more ways to improve security compared to a non-automated process. You can continually scan VM images for known software vulnerabilities and fail builds that contain known problematic packages. You can also run static analysis tools for calls to potentially dangerous system calls and fail builds as necessary.

Potential Challenges

Despite the many benefits, however, the DevOps process isn’t smooth sailing. You must prepare to tackle multiple challenges along the way.

For instance, a common obstacle is the need to broaden your perspective to address the hardware aspects of the transformation. That’s because digital isn’t only about software programs. Factors such as memory, speed, and other hardware components are just as important. You need to find a balance that allows you to transform these aspects too.

Another common challenge is culture shock. Digital transformations are about a change in approach/mindset more than anything. People accustomed to working a certain way find it hard to abandon the old ways to embrace the new culture. The problem worsens when you consider that DevOps and agile methods impact the entire organization – not just development and operations.

Finally, the DevOps learning curve is substantial. It’s not something that you can carry out overnight. The thought of “sitting” through the learning process may feel like a lost time to organizations that want to get the most products to the market in the shortest time possible.

A Big Decision to Make

In the end, it comes down to how much you want to transition to DevOps. The challenges are significant. But, if you’re prepared to learn, the rewards are massive. 

If you have any questions, the experts at United Perfectum are always ready to help.