
DevOps Matters to the CIO


John Musser, Founder & CEO, API Science
Developers Play a Broad Role
A really big part of what distinguishes DevOps from past models is how developers play a much broader role today. DevOps encourages infrastructure to be treated as code, and so we’re seeing code, and coding skills, applied not just in traditional development phase, but across into test, into operations, and ultimately the full lifecycle.
This helps break down many of the traditional cross-functional boundaries within IT and creates more of a shared language, more shared goals and ownership, and accrues benefits that aren’t just technical, but benefits processes and teams.
Early Days of DevOps
We’re still at the early days when it comes to DevOps and the cloud. Like so many trends in our business, DevOps, despite the amount of press it gets, is only fully embraced by a small subset of traditional IT shops. And this is not surprising— change takes time, established processes and teams need to adapt, and companies will gradually adopt some or many of these ideas and practices over time.
Just as we’ve seen variations like hybrid cloud come into vogue, especially in larger IT shops where it’s not practical to jump into the cloud head first, the same will likely happen with DevOps. DevOps is not an all-or-nothing proposition, and so we’ll see adoption models that don’t have to be all-in. If your company is adding DevOps on top of all internal systems it’ll look very different than if you’re doing DevOps in a microservices plus cloud-based shop.
Good DevOps Focuses on Monitoring
The time that a usual DevOps team spends in managing cloud-based servers depends on the nature of the business and the team of course, but overall managing the instances themselves is a modest piece of the puzzle. Where does the bulk of the time go? Well, it’s pretty diverse. For example, good DevOps practice puts a lot of focus on monitoring. Good monitoring takes time: time to plan, time to implement, time to refine. And because teams are always learning more about how their systems behave in production, there’s always going to be an active feedback loop to create better tools, process and practices. This is where much of the time goes. But it’s time well spent.
DevOps is about Speed and Agility
DevOps matters to the CIO because the CIO has too much on his or her plate: a project backlog a mile deep, a need to modernize processes, a need to break down barriers across IT teams, and a desire to deliver more value to the business faster. DevOps, even when done in small steps, can show bottom line results. If nothing else, DevOps is about speed and agility, and these two capabilities provide a powerful foundation to address the overloaded CIO’s plate.
DevOps as the Next Step in Evolution
If you believe, as many do, that agile methods are an improvement over more traditional software development processes, then it can help to look at DevOps as the next step in that evolution. Agile helps get software to market quicker, answers questions faster, and reduces risk of project runaways. DevOps does many of the same things, it just helps move many of those goals across more of the IT lifecycle. It helps products get to market faster, it helps teams get customer feedback faster, and it helps reduce fear of basic things like just being able to deploy to production.
DevOps can make a Difference
Traditionally, the wall between developers and operations has been pretty high. It’s a wall across which many battles have been waged; a wall across which finger pointing was often the norm, not the exception. DevOps, by virtue of more shared tools, processes and people, can make a visceral difference. Does it mean the wall is gone for good? Not entirely, but anything that helps tear down that wall is good for both the CIO and the business.
Featured Vendors
EDITOR'S PICK
Essential Technology Elements Necessary To Enable...
By Leni Kaufman, VP & CIO, Newport News Shipbuilding
Comparative Data Among Physician Peers
By George Evans, CIO, Singing River Health System
Monitoring Technologies Without Human Intervention
By John Kamin, EVP and CIO, Old National Bancorp
Unlocking the Value of Connected Cars
By Elliot Garbus, VP-IoT Solutions Group & GM-Automotive...
Digital Innovation Giving Rise to New Capabilities
By Gregory Morrison, SVP & CIO, Cox Enterprises
Staying Connected to Organizational Priorities is Vital...
By Alberto Ruocco, CIO, American Electric Power
Comprehensible Distribution of Training and Information...
By Sam Lamonica, CIO & VP Information Systems, Rosendin...
The Current Focus is On Comprehensive Solutions
By Sergey Cherkasov, CIO, PhosAgro
Big Data Analytics and Its Impact on the Supply Chain
By Pascal Becotte, MD-Global Supply Chain Practice for the...
Technology's Impact on Field Services
By Stephen Caulfield, Executive Director, Global Field...
Carmax, the Automobile Business with IT at the Core
By Shamim Mohammad, SVP & CIO, CarMax
The CIO's role in rethinking the scope of EPM for...
By Ronald Seymore, Managing Director, Enterprise Performance...
Driving Insurance Agent Productivity with Mobile and Big...
By Brad Bodell, SVP and CIO, CNO Financial Group, Inc.
Transformative Impact On The IT Landscape
By Jim Whitehurst, CEO, Red Hat
Get Ready for an IT Renaissance: Brought to You by Big...
By Clark Golestani, EVP and CIO, Merck
Four Initiatives Driving ECM Innovation
By Scott Craig, Vice President of Product Marketing, Lexmark...
Technology to Leverage and Enable
By Dave Kipe, SVP, Global Operations, Scholastic Inc.
By Meerah Rajavel, CIO, Forcepoint
AI is the New UI-AI + UX + DesignOps
By Amit Bahree, Executive, Global Technology and Innovation,...
Evolving Role of the CIO - Enabling Business Execution...
By Greg Tacchetti, CIO, State Auto Insurance
Read Also
The Journey to Swift Digital Transformation
Will data protection law reform open the door to easier international...
Virtual Immersive Learning: The Next Frontier in Higher Education
Making the Case For Moving from Health IT to Health Analytics
Data as a Business
