DevOps is the infusion of software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops).

Traditionally, these departments are siloed. With this, software developers who write the code are not connected with the IT professionals who deploy and support the code. In DevOps, these siloes are broken down to pave way to efficiencies that the traditional approach could never hope to attain.

How does adapting the DevOps as a service benefit enterprises? What are the challenges that face those who will choose to take this route? Let’s have a rundown.

The Good

• Collaboration: Since the responsibility is distributed among the teams, productivity and efficiency are heightened.
• Faster Testing and Deployment: The efficiencies gained in the DevOps’ continuous integration and automation tools makes it quicker to test applications and deploy it to customers.
• Better Information Flow: With the siloes torn down, everyone is on the same page all the time. There will be no worries of miscommunication or someone being uninformed of each department’s decisions and actions.
• Transparency: DevOps is often used in conjunction with the cloud. The cloud provides more tools for documentation and communication to eliminate complexity and opaqueness in the development process.

The Hurdles

• Transition: Transitioning to a DevOps model entails more manpower, purchasing new tools, and even rebuilding existing applications. This isn’t something every enterprise could afford to do.
• Expertise: Not everyone has a DevOps expertise, making this a difficult position to fill in the company. In time, as companies continue to embrace the DevOps culture, this problem will fade out.
• Security in Cloud migration: As mentioned, the cloud is usually used along with the internal DevOps in the company. Migrating the tools and information in the cloud makes your enterprise vulnerable to security risks.
• Choice of toolsets: There is a myriad of DevOps tools that you can make use of. However, each requires a lot of getting used to. You cannot seamlessly change tools halfway. This will entail migrating all your existing projects and another period of getting used to the new tools. Now, given this makes choosing the right tool for your enterprise more difficult — you cannot just switch right away.