In the event you ask most folk to explain the highest DevOps tendencies in 2024, you’ll seemingly hear buzzwords like AI or DevSecOps.

These are definitely fashionable subjects. However primarily based on the work I do on an on a regular basis foundation serving to companies plan and execute DevOps methods, I’m noticing a unique set of salient tendencies on this planet of DevOps. Though a lot is being mentioned about how applied sciences like AI may impression DevOps, the most important adjustments I’m seeing proper now contain different sorts of options and methods.

Right here’s a take a look at what I view because the three most vital DevOps tendencies at current, in addition to a breakdown of how they’re poised to alter DevOps instruments and processes.

Development 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 bigger use of cloud-based coverage administration as a method of implementing safety greatest practices in cloud environments. Groups are configuring cloud companies and assets utilizing the code-based configuration frameworks that cloud suppliers assist, then scanning the configurations to detect dangers.

This method makes it potential to implement cloud governance persistently, centrally and routinely. As an alternative of merely writing governance insurance policies and hoping that engineers bear in mind to observe them when they’re configuring cloud assets, companies are more and more constructing automated governance guardrails by way of policy-based administration.

In the same 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 potential not simply to automate infrastructure administration, but in addition to determine safety dangers earlier within the improvement lifecycle.

What’s extra, some groups are making use of cloud coverage and IaC code scanning as a approach of warning one another about safety coverage adjustments which 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 just isn’t out there. This permits engineers to detect whether or not a change may trigger an issue for an current deployment.

That is vital as a result of inside many organizations, the safety staff operates individually from utility groups. When the 2 teams lack an environment friendly approach of speaking with one another about adjustments, they could find yourself disrupting one another’s operations – a difficulty I prefer to name the “proper hand/left hand” drawback. Configuration scanning supplies a scientific approach of making certain that every group is on the identical web page when it comes time to introduce adjustments – and the “audit” mode method supplies a grace interval that enables time to react earlier than a change truly takes impact.

Development 2: Doubling down on DevOps automation with GitOps

One other overarching development that’s presently reshaping DevOps is using GitOps to make DevOps automation extra environment friendly and constant.

GitOps is using Git (or the same 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.

While 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 by way of 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 routinely 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, nevertheless it does imply that GitOps comprehensively paperwork each change – which is useful as a result of human engineers have a tendency to not be so thorough relating to documenting their actions.

To make sure, GitOps just isn’t with out its challenges. Implementing GitOps successfully requires further expertise – specifically, experience with each IaC frameworks and supply management programs – that not all DevOps engineers possess. I additionally discover an inclination on the a part of some groups to arrange GitOps pipelines, however depend on handbook approvals as an alternative of automated actions to set off adjustments – an method that largely undercuts the worth of automating pipelines within the first place.

Nevertheless, these are challenges that groups can remedy by way of schooling and by totally leaning into GitOps. As well as, methods like automated testing of GitOps configuration code will help to construct groups’ confidence in automations and cut back reliance on handbook approvals.

Going ahead, count on to see increasingly more adoption of GitOps methods 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; actually environment friendly organizations will flip to GitOps as a approach of automating their total DevOps workflows, from end-to-end.

Development 3: Investing in developer expertise

Making software program supply processes extra predictable and environment friendly is merely a step towards the last 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 taking part in out by way of two interrelated sorts of initiatives.

One is platform engineering, which includes creating DevOps groups who specialise in sure capabilities – similar to community administration or safety – and designating them to assist these capabilities all through the group. This method reduces cognitive overhead for builders by releasing them from having to deal with sorts of work that aren’t their important focus. In different phrases, as an alternative 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 development presently taking part in 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, and not using a difficult procurement course of. Most often, organizations allow self-service by implementing Inner 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 sorts of expertise, and when poorly applied, platform engineering and IDP options can create extra issues than they remedy. Nevertheless, when you make sure that your groups have the requisite experience, and once you deploy a rigorously deliberate IDP that offers builders entry to the assets they really want, you’re prone to see a big discount in friction inside your group, and a lift in developer productiveness and happiness.

Conclusion

Admittedly, discussing DevOps tendencies that heart on safety, automation and developer expertise will not be as thrilling as debating whether or not AI will take away DevOps engineers’ jobs. However if you wish to know what’s truly altering on this planet 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 methods will probably be important for organizations that don’t need to be left behind as DevOps evolves.