DevOps is more than just a buzzword — it’s a methodology that’s helping enterprises become more agile and improve their IT performance. As the name suggests, DevOps combines tools, processes and people to improve an organisation’s overall ability to deliver applications and services more efficiently. In short, it can empower employees, and deliver stronger products and experiences for customers.
So, what’s the catch? To put it straight, DevOps isn’t always easy for organisations to get right. In fact, Gartner has predicted that, by 2022, 75% of DevOps initiatives will fail to meet expectations. We recently took part in a whitetpaper, surveying over 100 IT decision makers to learn about their approach to DevOps as well as any challenges. Here, we look at some of the most common problems preventing success.
Culture
DevOps is more than just technology and tools. It reflects a collaborative approach to IT – with teams working together to ensure that new software and services align with business needs. This approach can have great benefits but unfortunately it’s also where some of the biggest obstacles arise…
When we asked our survey respondents what their biggest challenge with DevOps was, over 30% cited the change of culture and processes – with this figure rising to 38% in larger enterprises. As with any new approach, it needs to stem from within the organisation and have the support of all stakeholders – only then will it be a true success. When it comes to DevOps, however, it seems the difficulty doesn’t just stop internally…
Talent shortage
Establishing new tech and processes in larger or older companies can be a headache because there’s often a need to maintain existing environments and legacy applications. As mentioned above, this may impact the support coming from within your team. And when organisations turn to external support, it seems the struggle only gets worse.
According to our whitepaper survey, cultural change is not the only challenge to achieving DevOps success; almost 20% of IT leaders believe talent shortage is their biggest barrier to DevOps initiatives.
You need competent people and the right tools from the beginning. Fortune magazine even goes as far to say that a successful DevOps engineer should have at least five years’ experience in various IT roles. Because this experience is so critical, it creates a shortage of DevOps talent. And, when you do find that talent, you’ll often find that there’s a cost for these specialist skills, which leads us onto our next point…
Budgets
The third most common barrier to successful DevOps initiatives is budget constraints, according to nearly 15% of our survey respondents. This factor is an even bigger issue for smaller businesses, jumping up to 18%.
A successful DevOps approach streamlines the workload of operations and development while creating new feedback loops that can improve applications and customer experiences. All of which delivers a clear return on investment by freeing up budget or growing a firm’s bottom line.
But when DevOps fails, it’s simply a wasted cost.
If budget is the primary concern, minimising risk is the best solution. Working with a partner that can provide the missing technical skills and help lead and manage the organisational change will help drive the success of your DevOps initiative.
Implementing successful DevOps methodologies requires the leadership and expertise to drive through the cultural change, but also the technical skills and budget to support it. A fully managed DevOps service gives enterprises the tools and pipelines they need to take the next steps, putting businesses, big and small, on the fast-track to success.
If you’re interested in exploring DevOps, speak to a member of the team today. Or keep an eye out on our social media channels for our whitepaper coming soon!
