The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted unprecedented circumstances on businesses across the world.
With almost no notice, nearly the entire business world has been thrust into remote working.
Embroiled in the new normal, the IT businesses are being tested on their agility, and the ability to deliver software products and services quickly to ensure business continuity.
However, the strong adoption of DevOps can help companies quickly deliver value to end-users.
Even though DevOps has been a goal for many IT firms for years, the work-from-home reality has shrunk the timeline for DevOps adoption.
DevOps has become a survival imperative for enterprises to ensure business continuity.
As per the market estimates, the DevOps market is anticipated to reach USD 10.31 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 24.7%.
DevOps Aiding Remote Work
DevOps is, by default, developed for remote workspaces. It features automated software development methodology which doesn’t differentiate if the team works remotely or on-premise.
Due to its autonomous and distributed nature, DevOps can give all the required boost to business deliveries during the ongoing crisis.
ALSO READ: 10 Ways DevOps Helps Digital Transformation
Leveraging DevOps During COVID-19 Pandemic
1) Relying on Continuous Delivery (CD)
DevOps aims to increase speed and flexibility with Continuous Delivery (CD).
CD facilitates automation of the software delivery process to enable assured and comfortable deployments. The DevOps team can use an automatic trigger to release error-free code into production frequently.
With CD, the DevOps team can-
- Frequently deploy working software
- Utilize a predictable deployment pipeline
- Ensure that code is in a deployable state
Conventionally, deployment is often considered a slow process that involves code freezes. However, with CD, the changes are almost insignificant and don’t require implementing code freezes.
2) Decoupling Release and Deployment
The economic uncertainty incited by the ongoing pandemic makes it hard to take risks. Introducing a new software product or service may further induce a financial burden.
However, DevOps can allow organizations to take bold risks during software development even in this uncertainty.
Separating ‘Release’ from ‘Deployment’ is the required DevOps strategy.
By separating release from deployment, the product team can manage the risk of releasing features to end-users, while the engineering team continuously delivers software.
One of the best ways to separate release and deployment is using a feature flag or feature toggle software.
3) Embracing a Holistic Approach
One of the DevOps’ aspects often overlooked is the cultural transition from a rigid IT Ops team to an agile DevOps team. Ensure to build a holistic approach by integrating different teams and processes during any digital initiative.
The holistic approach helps the DevOps teams to work collaboratively with product and development teams, facilitating more organizational cohesion. The DevOps team feels empowered to make decisions on par with customer-related business goals.
4) Moving Ahead with DevOps
During the COVID-19 crisis, a strong DevOps strategy not only helps end-users but also has positive implications for the organization internally.
DevOps helps IT businesses to deliver software products quickly while maintaining high quality and reliability.
It allows cross-functional teams to be more flexible and make smarter decisions during the uncertain conditions that require bold actions instead of small, incremental changes.
ALSO READ: Why Startups ‘Fail’ in DevOps?
In Conclusion
DevOps have all the qualities to help IT businesses to sustain in the ongoing pandemic. However, it’s imperative for the company and teams to effectively use DevOps methodologies and some best practices to exploit it as never before.
Interested in Learning More About DevOps? Veritis can help your organization implement the best DevOps practices.