When you ask most people to explain the highest DevOps tendencies in 2024, you’ll probably hear buzzwords like AI or DevSecOps.
These are actually stylish matters. However based mostly on the work I do on an on a regular basis foundation serving to companies plan and execute DevOps methods, I’m noticing a distinct set of salient tendencies on the earth of DevOps. Though a lot is being mentioned about how applied sciences like AI may influence DevOps, the largest adjustments I’m seeing proper now contain different kinds of options and strategies.
Right here’s a have a look at what I view because the three most essential DevOps tendencies at current, in addition to a breakdown of how they’re poised to vary DevOps instruments and processes.
Pattern 1: Coverage-based administration and IaC allow drive DevOps safety innovation
Safety has all the time been a precedence for many DevOps practitioners. However proper now, I’m seeing DevOps groups adopting new methods in a bid to enhance the safety of the functions and environments they assist.
One large-scale change is larger use of cloud-based coverage administration as a method of implementing safety greatest practices in cloud environments. Groups are configuring cloud providers and assets utilizing the code-based configuration frameworks that cloud suppliers assist, then scanning the configurations to detect dangers.
This method makes it attainable to implement cloud governance constantly, centrally and mechanically. As an alternative of merely writing governance insurance policies and hoping that engineers bear in mind to comply with them when they’re configuring cloud assets, companies are more and more constructing automated governance guardrails through policy-based administration.
In an identical vein, increasingly more of the DevOps groups I work with are embracing static code evaluation of Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) templates as a method of detecting dangers. As with policy-based administration of cloud assets, an IaC-centric method to infrastructure provisioning makes it attainable not simply to automate infrastructure administration, but additionally to establish safety dangers earlier within the improvement lifecycle.
What’s extra, some groups are making use of cloud coverage and IaC code scanning as a means of warning one another about safety coverage adjustments that may trigger an utility or service to interrupt. They do that by inserting configuration adjustments into their code utilizing “audit” mode if their configuration framework helps it, or by merely configuring IaC scanners to flag adjustments if an audit function will not be accessible. This permits engineers to detect whether or not a change may trigger an issue for an present deployment.
That is essential as a result of inside many organizations, the safety staff operates individually from utility groups. When the 2 teams lack an environment friendly means of speaking with one another about adjustments, they might find yourself disrupting one another’s operations – a problem I wish to name the “proper hand/left hand” downside. Configuration scanning gives a scientific means of making certain that every group is on the identical web page when it comes time to introduce adjustments – and the “audit” mode method gives a grace interval that permits time to react earlier than a change really takes impact.
Pattern 2: Doubling down on DevOps automation with GitOps
One other overarching pattern that’s presently reshaping DevOps is the usage of GitOps to make DevOps automation extra environment friendly and constant.
GitOps is the usage of Git (or an identical supply management system) to handle automated DevOps workflows. It includes defining configurations utilizing code, then making use of them by way of options like GitHub actions.
Whenever you go for GitOps, you progress DevOps automation controls from particular person workstations to centralized supply management repositories. The result’s the flexibility to trace and handle all automated workflows through a central hub, which will increase effectivity and mitigates points like totally different engineers working with totally different variations of the identical automation frameworks on their private desktops.
As well as, GitOps mechanically generates information of what has modified and the way it has modified, since each motion is logged by way of the supply management system. This isn’t precisely documentation within the conventional sense, however it does imply that GitOps comprehensively paperwork each change – which is helpful as a result of human engineers have a tendency to not be so thorough in relation to documenting their actions.
To make sure, GitOps will not be with out its challenges. Implementing GitOps successfully requires extra expertise – particularly, experience with each IaC frameworks and supply management methods – that not all DevOps engineers possess. I additionally discover a bent on the a part of some groups to arrange GitOps pipelines, however depend on guide approvals as a substitute of automated actions to set off adjustments – an method that largely undercuts the worth of automating pipelines within the first place.
Nonetheless, these are challenges that groups can resolve by way of schooling and by totally leaning into GitOps. As well as, strategies like automated testing of GitOps configuration code might help to construct groups’ confidence in automations and scale back reliance on guide approvals.
Going ahead, count on to see increasingly more adoption of GitOps strategies amongst groups searching for to level-up their method to DevOps automation. Automating particular person DevOps processes like software program testing and deployment gained’t be sufficient; really environment friendly organizations will flip to GitOps as a means of automating their total DevOps workflows, from end-to-end.
Pattern 3: Investing in developer expertise
Making software program supply processes extra predictable and environment friendly is merely a step towards the final word aim of DevOps, which is to assist builders turn into extra productive and glad with their jobs.
To that finish, I’m noticing a substantial amount of curiosity and funding proper now within the realm of developer expertise. That is enjoying out by way of two interrelated kinds of initiatives.
One is platform engineering, which includes creating DevOps groups who concentrate on sure capabilities – resembling community administration or safety – and designating them to assist these capabilities all through the group. This method reduces cognitive overhead for builders by liberating them from having to deal with kinds of work that aren’t their fundamental focus. In different phrases, as a substitute of forcing builders to be DevOps generalists, platform engineering lets totally different groups concentrate on doing what they know and revel in greatest – resulting in higher productiveness and better ranges of job satisfaction.
The opposite main pattern presently enjoying out within the realm of developer expertise is developer self-service. This implies the flexibility of builders to acquire the technical options they want on-demand, with out a difficult procurement course of. Normally, organizations allow self-service by implementing Inside Improvement Platforms, or IDPs, which host ready-made infrastructure assets and software program environments that builders can deploy on a self-service foundation.
There are dangers inherent in these tendencies. They require specialised kinds of expertise, and when poorly carried out, platform engineering and IDP options can create extra issues than they resolve. Nonetheless, when you make sure that your groups have the requisite experience, and if you deploy a fastidiously deliberate IDP that provides builders entry to the assets they really want, you’re prone to see a major discount in friction inside your group, and a lift in developer productiveness and happiness.
Conclusion
Admittedly, discussing DevOps tendencies that middle on safety, automation and developer expertise is probably not as thrilling as debating whether or not AI will take away DevOps engineers’ jobs. However if you wish to know what’s really altering on the earth of DevOps – versus which conversations are most hype-worthy – these are the locations to look.
Safety, automation and developer expertise are additionally among the many domains of DevOps the place there’s a substantial amount of alternative at current to innovate – and, certainly, the place adopting new instruments and strategies will probably be vital for organizations that don’t need to be left behind as DevOps evolves.