In today’s digital arena, businesses must quickly react to, or even predict, customer desires and market demand. The development and deployment of innovative technology must happen just as quickly. Accordingly, IT leaders are abandoning the diametrically opposed goals that previously placed Development and Operations groups in conflict.
Traditionally, Development set out to build and deploy the capabilities the business needed, while Operations kept the infrastructure stable and fast. Development teams bundled new functionality and system improvements into periodic updates to appease the Operations teams’ resistance to any change that could disrupt system operations.
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| Operational Overview of IT – Before Digital | |||
| Department | Functional Perspective | Responsibility | Timeframe |
| Development | Silo | Build the functionality and capabilities the business needs | Quarters to years |
| Operations | Silo | Keep the infrastructure running smoothly with as little change as possible | Ongoing |
This chart captures the roles and responsibilities of Development and Operations groups in a traditional IT organization.
In this digital age, the diametrically opposed goals of Development and Operations are falling by the wayside. A united DevOps process and supporting culture, which requires both sides to see beyond their respective functional silos, unites IT staffers behind a single, shared goal: to enable the business to compete and win.
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| Operational Overview of IT – After Digital | |||
| Department | Functional Perspective | Responsibility | Timeframe |
| Development | Blended and collaborative | Build the scalable functionality and capabilities the business needs |
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DevOps explained: This chart shows how the newly melded DevOps model unites IT organizations in the digital environment.
While definitions of DevOps’ mission and culture vary from organization to organization, Sparq aligns itself with Gartner Group’s view of DevOps in the digital age:
DevOps represents a change in IT culture, focusing on rapid IT service delivery through the adoption of agile, lean practices in the context of a system-oriented approach. DevOps emphasizes people (and culture), and seeks to improve collaboration between operations and development teams. DevOps implementations utilize technology — especially automation tools that can leverage an increasingly programmable and dynamic infrastructure from a life cycle perspective.
IT organizations’ move to a DevOps model and culture refocuses technologists’ view away from technical infrastructure onto the needs of the business. This sea change in the way IT approaches its work requires speed, not for speed’s sake, but for competitive advantage. Through microservices, DevOps organizations can leverage digital tools and technologies to engage IT staffers and compress the speed-to-revenue cycle.
By embracing the DevOps model, it enables Sparq to deliver software in a frictionless environment. Our teams work seamlessly across the “old school” borders of development and operations to provide solutions at the right speed for your organization. In a digital world where delays result in a declining competitive position, Sparq can help set up your business for success. We’ve integrated the use of the latest technologies including development and release automation, behavior-driven development, cloud delivery and container management to continually deliver a bug-free product.
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