DevOps is not talking primarily about technology or tools; and yet tools and technology are a fundamental part.
For some time DevOps has become one of those concepts that have become fashionable in the ITC world, but nevertheless, since Patrick Debois created the movement years ago, few professionals have been able to define and specify and even harder to converge in its meaning, reality and objectives. Therefore, many approximations and definitions are valid and complementary; and at the same time they build an increasingly firm reality that grows at different speeds in which DevOps is making room to stay forever within organizations.
DevOps is to talk business
DevOps is not talking primarily about technology or tools; and yet tools and technology are a fundamental part. DevOps is talking about business, it's talking about reducing time to market and focusing on the business, it's talking about breaking the invisible walls that separate developers from the operation of infrastructures and bringing technology to the business; it is talking about agility, return on investment with a better user experience, capacity for innovation, and rapid start-up and updating of services. For all this, DevOps takes us to automation, standardization, scalability, continuous delivery, automated testing, monitoring, collaboration and industrialization and quality improvement. We also talk about docker, cloud, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, continuous integration, infrastructure as a code (IaC), ...
DevOps is to talk about culture
When we talk about DevOps we talk mainly about a culture, where all these concepts, technologies and tools interact to give the value that the business needs, more and more, to be more competitive, innovative, agile and able to obtain returns on investment and value more quickly.
How to start doing DevOps?
If the approach to the DevOps definition is complicated, the answer to this question is even more. It is key to start with a clear idea of what our business objective is. DevOps is not about huge or complex consulting projects, about heroes, ninjas or unicorns.
It is about promoting a cultural change in the organization and that the business, developers, operations personnel and quality management areas leave their silos and comfort zones and work together. It is about automating everything that can be reasonably automated, and using the necessary tools in that atomization.
It is about reducing risks with a higher rate of change but smaller, while improving the agility in IT systems and the positive impact on business and the end user. These are Quick Wins that will be translated, for example, in less time dedicated to fire fighting and more to improve the quality, stability, availability of their products and services, which is ultimately what is important.
And, above all, it is a commitment of the management of the organization with this new culture.
Miguel Ares. Project Manager