oftware projects often suffer from an inefficient product development cycle. The major bottlenecks occur during code changes, testing changes, and deployment. The lack of coordination among team members leads to missed project deadlines. This results in client dissatisfaction and a loss of trust in the development team.
DevOps, or development and operations, allows you to set up a smooth software development process. It automates the software assembly, configuration, and deployment and helps avoid downtimes between project phases.
DevOps as a service is an approach to set up a DevOps pipeline quickly and efficiently with minimum effort from your side.
What is Dev Ops? How Is It Related to DevOps as a Service?
DevOps is a methodology that facilitates interaction between developers, testers, and other IT specialists by automating software development and deployment processes.
DevOps as a Service is a way to organize DevOps using external platforms and providers.
In other words, DevOps as a Service is the automation of development processes, not through your in-house efforts but with the help of third-party expertise.
DevOps as a Service includes the same practices as traditional DevOps, with the only difference being that they are provided by external contractors rather than your in-house team.
As a part of DevOps services, you can set up the following:
Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD). Most modern applications are developed using different platforms and tools, so a mechanism for integrating and deploying code changes is needed. Continuous integration is a practice that involves making small changes to code with frequent commits. Continuous delivery is a way to automate the deployment of applications to different environments, including production, development, and test environments. By using CI/CD DevOps practices, you can streamline the software development process and ensure faster delivery of new features.
Test automation. In the CI/CD process, automated tests are executed with every change to the code base. This allows for the immediate detection and elimination of critical errors before they escalate into major problems. While traditional CI/CD processes lack manual testing, in reality, manual testing is often conducted following automated testing to address interface and usability-related errors.
Infrastructure as a Сode (IaaC). Today development processes tend to eliminate manual work that is time-consuming and error-prone. Infrastructure as a Code allows you to configure IT infrastructure and manage virtual machines at the software level. By using IaaC, you can create a highly flexible and scalable IT environment. Speed and cost-effectiveness are the primary advantages of IaaC over traditional IT infrastructure.
Cloud services. The essence of managed DevOps services is to automate product development steps remotely. This is realized through cloud solutions that allow configuring infrastructure, development environments, code commits, and deployments using third-party resources. There are many cloud providers on the market now. At DashDevs, we mostly work with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud to set up an effective DevOps model for our clients.
Monitoring and logging. Software owners must be up to date regarding the software performance and problems that prevent normal software functioning. DevOps solution providers can set up an effective monitoring system that will quickly respond to any glitches and alarm administrators to take the necessary steps in response. In addition, the logging system will allow you to analyze the error history, identify bottlenecks, and eliminate these bottlenecks swiftly.
Secure software development lifecycle (SDLC). Security is a top priority for companies that value their reputation and aim for rapid growth. To create a truly secure and resilient app, it is essential to incorporate security practices throughout the entire product development cycle. A DevOps service provider can ensure the implementation of these security practices, such as continuous integration, automated testing, and vulnerability scanning. This will help ensure that you have a secure application from the start, eliminating the need to address security practices after the product is implemented.
Why do you need DevOps services?
In short, you need DevOps services to automate the software development process and prevent critical errors before the software is released.
Why is automation important? Because it allows you to detect errors in the code early on and minimize the presence of errors in production.
The US National Institute of Standards (NIST) states that the cost of fixing an error at the final stage is 30 to 100 times higher than at the design stage.
Thus, the primary reason for adopting the DevOps model is to create a high-quality, bug-free software product within a defined budget.