What is DevOps and its future predictions for 2024 and beyond?

WHAT IS DEVOPS AND ITS FUTURE PREDICTIONS FOR 2024 & BEYOND?

7 mins Oct 11, 2024 Sandip Singh CLOUD Views : 3412

The digital landscape has been constantly shifting. Businesses everywhere have felt it—sometimes a minor tremor, other times a full-blown earthquake. One such movement that has redefined software development is DevOps. You've probably heard the term thrown around at tech conferences, in boardrooms, or in passing conversations among developers.

But what exactly is DevOps? How has it transformed the tech world, and where is it headed as we march into 2024?

DevOps is not just a trendy buzzword; it's a fundamental change in how software development and IT operations collaborate. 
In simpler terms, it's the bridge between coding and deployment. Companies using DevOps practices see faster development cycles, fewer software failures, and more reliable rollouts.

A Quick Dive Into DevOps
DevOps, a combination of "Development" and "Operations," aims to eliminate the traditional silos between these two groups. Developers, responsible for building the software, and operations teams, tasked with maintaining it, often operate in isolation.

DevOps bridges this gap by promoting a culture of collaboration, automation, and continuous feedback. In doing so, it speeds up the software delivery process while enhancing quality.

Let’s not beat around the bush here. This model has revolutionized the tech world by simplifying complex software development processes, while boosting reliability and speed. But it’s not magic—it’s an evolving practice built on principles like continuous integration, continuous delivery, and automation.

Here’s where DevOps really changes the game: automation. Automated tools for testing, deployment, and infrastructure management reduce human errors and make the development cycle more efficient.

In essence, DevOps has brought the software development lifecycle closer to the concept of agility. Companies don’t have to wait months for their next software release. They can now deploy updates faster and address issues quicker. So, if you thought agile was fast, DevOps is agile on steroids.

What are the features of devops?

Let us take a look at the key features of DevOps:

1. Collaboration

Earlier with the development of software, various teams worked in isolation. DevOps brings these DevOps engineer teams together so that they can work in tandem with each other. This way, they bring out software that has passed through all the rigorous tests and practices.

2. Quantification

Everything that you work on needs a scale of judgment through which its progress or quality can be measured. When it comes to DevOps, the number of times deployment, failures, time is taken for every deployment can serve as quantifying factors. These factors can help you see how DevOps can help the rapid development of the software compared to traditional software development practices.

3. Automation

The development department generally offers an increased level of automation. But the same level of automation is not seen with the other operations going on simultaneously. DevOps offer the same level of automation within all the departments to enhance consistency and efficiency which were impossible to address with traditional methods and practices.

4. Holistic

With DevOps practices, the entire system, DevOps engineer’s teams, and the surrounding ecosystem are considered.

Which practices does devops follow?

DevOps follows the list of following practices:

  1. Configuration of self-service
  2. Provision automation
  3. Building continuously
  4. Continuous integration of the systems
  5. Continuously delivered
  6. The release management automation
  7. Incremental testing practices

What are the benefits of employing devops for system development?

DevOps brings about a lot of benefits when software development is under consideration. Let us take a look at the benefits it has to offer:

1. Collaboration and Communication Within the Team

We saw that the teams that work within a system development life cycle work with integration with each other. Thus, a quality testing team, development team, and security team work cohesively on the same system. This brings about increased efficiency and enhanced productivity. Moreover, all the teams working with each other can communicate the problems and requirements easily.

2. Gradual Updation 

The software system that the team works on, is rolled out gradually in the pieces of versions. First, its initial version is rolled out. Once, the second version is ready, the same is rolled out gradually. This way, if any version is faulty or has issues, the development team can address it and roll back the version.

3. Sharing the End to End Responsibilitis

Every member of the team works toward a unified goal. Thus, they share the responsibility of the system from the development until the deployment phase. Moreover, this leads to the team working with each other in tight integration.

4. Early on Solving the Problem 

All the tasks within the development lifecycle are performed as early as possible. Thus, all the issues, errors, or bugs within a system can be addressed as soon as they arise.

In addition to the above-listed benefits, there are other benefits of DevOps which are as follows:

Technical Benefits 

  1. Continuous delivery
  2. Decreased complexity
  3. Quick problem resolution

Cultural Benefits:

  1. Productive and efficient teams
  2. Easy employee management
  3. Opportunities for teams to develop professionally.

Benefits for the Businesses

  1. Quick delivery of the updates and the features
  2. Stable operation environments
  3. Enhanced communication and collaboration within the teams
  4. Focus shifts from bug fixation to innovation

What are the future predictions for devops for 2024 & beyond?

As the pandemic set in, it changed the way organizations work. All the teams started working from home using the computer and internet connectivity. It brought a lot of uncertainty across the business and IT sectors. Not only these, but almost every domain also stands affected.

This uncertainty brought a lot of digital transformation within the industries. Thus, with or without pandemic, the following trends will be seen in 2024 and beyond:

1. The Rising Popularity Of Microservice Architecture:

The term “Microservice” means a system is looked like a set or collection of services that the teams can work on, individually. When it is used with DevOps, the teams can choose to focus on individually formed units of the system.

This ensures that the delivery happens on time even though the resultant system is very complex in nature. With this approach, the teams can save a lot of time, cost, and resources while developing the system.

It also offers scalability, quick testing, and easier maintenance where the system becomes easily deployable. In addition to this, the teams can also offer customizations as per the requirements of the businesses.

2. Devsecops Will Be Adopted Increasingly

When a team is focused on achieving a certain level of security within the system, then the DevSecOps approach is applied. With the onset of the pandemic, the teams started working remotely which opened a lot of security loopholes within the system. In addition to this, the cyberattacks increased which brought up the requirement of security as a primary concern.

Thus, businesses will take up DevSecOps rapidly to ensure agile security measures. It also offers early detection of vulnerabilities.

3. Improving Agility Through Agileops

In the last few years, hybrid and multi-cloud strategic management has been a trend. Moreover, it has brought tremendous success to businesses worldwide. AgileOps works on an IT operational model that uses the approach of agile ways of working.

This brings about the development of high-quality and high-performance applications. With such applications, the applications become highly stable.

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4. AI and Machine Learning in DevOps
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have been infiltrating every corner of the tech world, and DevOps is no exception. These technologies are expected to play a major role in automating tasks such as predictive monitoring, anomaly detection, and even automated decision-making.

For example, imagine a DevOps team working on a deployment. Suddenly, the AI system detects an anomaly and automatically rolls back the deployment to prevent downtime. All without human intervention. That’s not just futuristic—it’s very much possible within the next few years.

As AI and machine learning models improve, they’ll become more ingrained in DevOps pipelines. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2025, 75% of enterprises will have integrated AI into their DevOps workflows. These advancements will make the development lifecycle more predictive and less reactive, allowing teams to focus on innovation rather than firefighting.

5. Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Deployments
In 2024 and beyond, companies will continue to move towards multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments. Gone are the days when businesses were loyal to just one cloud provider. Now, companies want the flexibility to run workloads across various cloud platforms to maximize performance and minimize downtime.

According to IDC, over 90% of enterprises will rely on hybrid cloud models by 2024. DevOps will be crucial in managing these environments efficiently. The ability to orchestrate workloads across multiple clouds, while ensuring consistency and security, will be a game-changer.

6. Low-Code/No-Code in DevOps
Low-code and no-code platforms are making waves in the tech industry. These tools allow users with minimal coding knowledge to create applications. The connection with DevOps? By 2024, we’re likely to see these platforms become an integral part of DevOps pipelines.

According to Forrester, the low-code/no-code market is expected to hit $13.8 billion by 2024. DevOps teams can leverage these platforms to automate and simplify workflows. It’s no longer just about developers and operations teams; business stakeholders can now get involved in building and deploying applications with minimal tech expertise.

Imagine a marketing team deploying a website update without relying on developers. That’s the power of low-code/no-code combined with DevOps. But remember, while these platforms simplify certain tasks, they won’t replace the need for skilled developers. Instead, they complement traditional development practices by handling simpler projects and tasks.

Challenges That Lie Ahead

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses. As DevOps evolves, new challenges will arise. One of the biggest hurdles will be the continued need for cultural change. Companies need to fully embrace the collaborative nature of DevOps, or they risk falling behind.

Then there’s the complexity. As DevOps practices become more automated and integrated with technologies like AI, machine learning, and multi-cloud environments, they also become more complicated. Teams will need to stay updated on the latest tools and processes to avoid potential bottlenecks.

And let’s not forget about the talent gap. As DevOps becomes more specialized, companies may struggle to find qualified professionals who can manage the growing complexity. A 2023 report from LinkedIn revealed that DevOps engineers are among the most in-demand tech roles, but there’s a shortage of candidates with the right skill sets.

Wrapping It Up:

DevOps will be a highly adopted approach from 2021 onwards as it ensures team collaboration and development of applications through incremental launches. This approach also saves the businesses a lot of time and cuts down on the costs significantly. DevOps also offers a development model that accustoms the changing market requirements and demands.

FAQs

1. Is DevOps just a trend, or will it stick around?
DevOps is here to stay. It’s become the backbone of modern software development. As companies prioritize faster releases and better collaboration, DevOps will continue to evolve and remain relevant.

2. How will AI change DevOps in the coming years?
AI will automate repetitive tasks like monitoring, testing, and even deployment. It will help teams predict issues before they happen, making the development process smoother and more efficient.

3. What’s the difference between DevOps and DevSecOps?
DevOps focuses on collaboration between development and operations, while DevSecOps integrates security into every stage of the development lifecycle.

4. Will NoOps replace DevOps?
NoOps won’t replace DevOps entirely. Instead, it will automate infrastructure management tasks, allowing DevOps teams to focus on more strategic activities.