Software development is a very dynamic field with software development and service delivery models changing every now and then. We have labour arbitrage and then the shared services model doing the rounds of the software industry. The latest on the scene is the DevOps software philosophy, which promises better time to market and seamless, collaborative software development. This movement is banking on the shoulders of the digital revolution, and aims to align software development, testing and deployment with the business needs.
DevOps is an agile and seamless development method that helps collapse the technology development stack. It uses the right infrastructure, apps and testing, all deployed in a software-defined environment. The philosophy draws from the strength of cross-functional teams, that parallely work towards the business objective. In effect, software work is aligned by business, rather than functional segregations. DevOps this rides over the common trait of working in silos, and makes software delivery seamless, collaborative and combined.
This concept is in striking antithesis to traditional software models such as labour arbitrage and shared services. What is making the DevOps model work in most companies is by having tight-knit teams work out of the same location, often sitting close to the business. This is an alteration from earlier models where cost advantages are gained by operating offshore. This may not always be possible, the advantage is that it can also work well in a distributed model where some components are onshore and some are offshore.
The fact remains that DevOps is and will continue to be disruptive. It holds the future of software, and companies must adapt to this change. Organizations must change their working models in line with this change. This means new technologies, new processes and new people to embrace this latest trend. Some companies such as Microsoft have successfully done so, even with a completely offshore team. For this, the team must truly buy in to the new way of working which consists of the following:
- Small and frequent updates to help innovate faster.
- Adopt a microservices architecture to make applications flexible.
- Continuous integration
- Continuous delivery
High-speed delivery and reliability are a must in a competitive industry scenario. Devops can make that happen and it is important to look forward to that.
Innovent have been executing DevOps for our clients dual shore for the past 4 years, now leaders in this delivery model. Contact us today to find out more