Cloud computing has, without a doubt, transformed the business world. Infrastructure /platform/ software-as-a-service models have made companies pick up the pace of development and achieve breath-taking results.
However, lately, some companies have put a question mark next to cloud computing – not because of specific issues but because we don’t seem to fully utilize the benefits that cloud offers. At last, a solution to boosting efficiency has appeared in the form of DevOps technology. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how it can affect and accelerate your cloud performance, and improve your business operations.
Automation is further facilitated
Businesses have long ago realized the benefits of automating certain tasks. Before that, employees wasted precious time performing repetitive assignments, with their heads in the clouds (not virtual, mind you) because after some time there was no need for any cognitive strain. This play was a perfect ground for mistakes, but unless they were serious, at that point mistakes were at least exciting.
Cloud service providers offer you an array of tools to manage your infrastructure – in this case, you can set the pace of automation, and ensure that it is error-free and efficient which ultimately leads to saving time. However, for optimal results, cloud services should be combined with DevOps because you can also tend to server management, selecting the right automation tool, testing, report generation, etc.
Deployment is improved
As you are probably aware, the deployment process isn’t singular but in fact, it consists of several interrelated activities. As with any complex procedure, there are many things that could go wrong, which is why these sub-processes should be automated. Cloud providers have the tools to aid rapid deployment but since every case is different, for a tailored solution, you better turn to DevOps.
For example, continuous integration tools (e.g. Jenkins and Bamboo) decrease human involvement in the deployment process to ensure it is performed without any error. That means that everything including code development, versioning, testing, the deployment itself, and even sending an email to the suitable team member is automated so that the whole process is done spick and span. This allows the (human) team to be able to focus on other tasks that demand their critical thinking and aren’t repetitive.
It allows monitoring to be proactive
Regardless of whether your infrastructure is in a data center or on a cloud, monitoring it is immensely important. Making sure everything runs smoothly is the key to optimizing performance and every bit of information can be helpful because one bug can retard the whole project.
Besides many other services, your cloud provider can also offer you monitoring services as a part of the package. However, the trick is that they come only in the form of email alerts when something is behaving irregularly. By using DevOps services, you can set different alarms for monitoring that help you notice on time if, for instance, CPU/server utilization is exceeding 80% or that the app fails to respond. This allows you to have a general idea about what segment might be misbehaving before you get down to fixing it which saves time and makes your team more alert.
Cloud server replication made easy
A backup mechanism is a must for every cloud service provider, however, not all processes are automatic since one still has to launch the servers manually and restore backup data on some other environment. Again, this leaves room for mistakes so if you want this process automated, DevOps has a solution.
To illustrate the importance of this segment: what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you see that you cannot order something from an e-commerce platform because although they promoted a massive sale, they didn’t prepare for increased traffic. You would think of them as unprofessional and irresponsible for not performing load testing. In this particular case, one mustn’t forget to also check the situation with the mobile version of the site, considering the popularity of mobile-aided shopping. With the help of automation and various tools, DevOps provides you with peace of mind regarding the backup mechanism.
It fosters team culture
With cloud and DevOps as a part of your business, the structure of operation has to change and some getting used to is necessary, especially from the side of your team. However, DevOps services prompt innovation and creativity of your teams because a lot of the repetitive workload has been taken from their table.
They will receive additional training, and also more opportunities for development because the workflow has been optimized. DevOps also motivates an improvement in communication and more efficient collaboration between teams who have to stay in touch for everything to work clockwork. In addition to employee engagement, you can also invite customers to some meetings so that they can also be in the loop about the entire project.
Wrapping up
As technology advances, things which were a competitive advantage quickly turn to mandatory elements, and this is what has happened with cloud computing and what is happening with DevOps. Coupled with the cloud, DevOps helps automate the infrastructure and improves the software products’ performance and as a result, TTM (Time to Market) is reduced and products are improved.
