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DevOps has made itself indispensable in the software industry by bringing the integration of multiple levels of the software lifecycle — from design and build to testing and deployment—thereby boosting both productivity and quality.
The market projections for DevOps reflect its success. According to a recent report, the global DevOps market size is estimated to reach USD 12,215.54 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18.95%. Given its ability to vastly accelerate value, DevOps is expected to remain critical for achieving customer satisfaction. To meet changing demands of the industry, the DevOps landscape is also evolving swiftly.
As we move past 2022, some important trends are expected to catch on
Custom application development will remain significant
Custom applications are where most of the DevOps tools and practices come into play. Be it a self-serve model (with its open-source tools, integration server, infrastructure code, build and deployment protocols, and security practices) or an all-in-one DevOps platform (like GitLab and GitHub), the demand for DevOps in custom applications will remain high.
New architecture systems will gain traction
The industry is also witnessing the rise of architecture systems such as serverless architecture, function as a service, microservices architecture, etc. These provide an alternative to traditional architecture models and help to streamline overall DevOps processes.
DevOps for enterprise platforms will come into focus
Enterprise platform development/implementation will gain momentum. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems like SAP, Salesforce, and Oracle come with their configuration and deployment methods. Within these are DevOps tools, which are essentially smaller versions of build and deployment processes like branching strategies, unit testing, quality gates, and version control of artifacts.
Low-code, no-code platforms will find more takers
Low-code, no-code platforms are already gaining popularity for their non-complex approach that works for internal-facing small business applications. These don’t need a typical DevOps lifecycle since there’s no build and deployment. Such platforms are expected to increase in adoption despite a constrained scope for typical DevOps processes. As DevOps tools mature, greater adoption will be seen in larger value streams like management and delivery platforms.
The focus will be on tighter integration and a more consolidated DevOps toolchain
We would see the DevOps community gradually move from a ‘best-of-breed’ approach to more integrated platforms for the sake of better integration. More consolidated DevOps practices will come into focus as people move away from processes that don’t integrate well. Using distinct, unintegrated DevOps tools takes a lot of effort to maintain, especially in terms of in-house expertise. Highly integrated, all-in-one platforms like Azure DevOps, GitLab, and AWS will see more takers in the future.
Dashboards and KPIs will boost performance management
Given the ongoing debate on remote work and output-based management, a lot of focus will be on data collection and metrics-based decision-making. We would see executives make greater use of dashboards, KPIs, and DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment team) metrics for improved decision-making capability and also for output management & tracking software lifecycle. We’d also see more and more organizations aggregating multiple tools and defining their metrics.
Observability, monitoring, and tracing will evolve further
There will be an increased focus on the adoption of proactive monitoring and observability tools. While there are already numerous tools for that, most of them are inefficient in monitoring and tracking. Developers nowadays seek monitoring tools that can detect issues before customers can report them. This can only be achieved with advanced observation, tracing, and monitoring capabilities. Such tools would proactively identify and flag potential risks. Reprioritizing monitoring will also bring greater accountability to SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) teams.
Reliability/Resilience Engineering and DevSecOps will gain prominence
As we move into 2023-24, reliability/resilience engineering, along with DevSecOps and Agile-plus-DevOps, will come into focus. Resiliency will have to be built into the applications and deployed as part of DevOps. Organizations will have to think about security from day one.
Also, they cannot solely rely on external measures/tools for ensuring security. If the applications are not designed keeping security in mind, they will remain vulnerable despite any amount of external security measures.
They will have to consider user stories from a security standpoint, get security protocols standardized across the enterprise, create checks and balances, training development and QA teams on secure coding practices, and have architectural requirements (like encryption, static and dynamic security analysis tools, etc.) in place, failing which the product wouldn’t qualify for deployment.
Materializing this would require significant investment in terms of tools and expertise, which might slow down the trend. However, where budget is not a constraint and customer satisfaction and quality are more critical, DevSecOps and reliability/resilience engineering will gain prominence.
What organisations must do to leverage the upcoming trends?
To incorporate/leverage these trends, organizations will have to prioritize reliability, security, and the people aspect of DevOps, which could prove to be potential success factors for them.
Focus on reliable delivery, not just speed
Organizations must focus on quality and deployment efficiency rather than only on the speed of delivery. That would require having reliable quality gates within integration and deployment pipelines, rollback mechanisms, API/Service version management, workload leveling, and DB automation. System Architects and Developers have to consider resilience and reliability engineering during System design when possible.
Move over external security
Depending solely on an external penetration (pen) test for security isn’t the best way anymore. Organizations must first ensure internal best practices like building security into applications, training developers for secure coding practices, and conducting security scans. Moreover, with the FTC, CCPA, and GDPR guidelines coming in, developers will have to ensure that auditability and security are built into the overall development process. It is also advisable to stay away from a big-bang approach.
Create a CoE model for Innovation and Talent
Organizations should invest in building a Centre of Excellence (CoE) model supported by Communities of Practice (CoPs) with people who can provide their expertise, build pilots, evaluate tools and help individual teams. Companies must invest in building a robust talent pool, upskilling and cross-skilling people, and rotating them across projects.
As the industry will eventually run out of people with cross-domain experience, specialized IT providers and consultants will prove helpful. Companies will also have to leverage external talent and not rely solely on in-house expertise. A two-pronged approach will prove most advantageous where companies can build a world-class in-house team while also leveraging expertise from outside.
As the current DevOps landscape continues to evolve, taking a boost from advanced technologies like AI and ML, the DevOps community will have to reassess certain priorities. The incoming trends are indicating a future with more seamless DevOps processes and more reliable pipelines. While achieving business objectives will remain constant, fresh perspectives on security, quality, and resilience will dominate conversations.