For your IT career: Demand for DevOps is growing
5th Oct 2016
Careers that deal directly with using or working on the Linux operating system are pretty much everywhere you look. While most of them seem to focus on hiring developers or system administrators, many businesses are starting to look at bringing DevOps specialists in. In fact, according to the Linux Foundation, the current need for DevOps people is up by 25%!
So, what is it about DevOps that makes it look so appealing to theses businesses? DevOps allows companies to 'break up their Silos'; which is great because, as you probably already know, silo-like processes within IT often lead to confined thinking. In other words, many businesses aren't able to take advantage of their technological abilities because certain things might be too isolated.
Imagine that you have a company that produces software for some specific purpose; let's say something like - a cloud computing-based app for businesses. Traditionally, this would be a multi-step process where the software is painstakingly developed in line with a schedule. Afterwards, the software would pass to the operational squad where they would begin putting it to use in one or more ways. Of course this approach always leads to problems; namely, because the developers aren't always the best at seeing how the software might be used in the real world. Often times, the operational group will also find problems with some aspect of the software's design; of course by this time, it will be much too late (or expensive) to do anything about it.
In a situation where there might be a problem associated with the basic usefulness of software, businesses might have to invest additional funds to fix the problems (after the fact). Needless to say, this isn't a very efficient or (sound) means of creating software, as it requires people to reassess everything (perhaps even multiple times).
DevOps is able to create shortcuts in this regard; developers working hand-in-hand with operational staff in order to really 'get to the bottom' of what works and what doesn't. Developers gain access to the insights of those who will actually be using the software for whatever purpose and the operational group will have both more control over what is created as well as use of a more fully realized software product.
As expected, companies want to tap into the potential offered by DevOps, as it could be called one of the best approaches to bringing together separate IT disciplines under one unified heading. The DevOps approach allows a business to basically do three things: 1.) unify its processes, 2.) build better products, and 3.) save investment funds. The last thing in particular (saving funds) is arguably becoming vitally important for companies today.
Because of the global economic problems we are facing, businesses are constantly looking for ways to decrease their risks. Naturally, risk is associated with loss. Over time, the total amount of risk builds up to a point where it can become extremely dangerous and lead to critical failures in many different departments. If something like this were to happen, it could cause big problems for the stockholders in the company (which in turn will lead to other issues within the business itself, like restructuring or even bankruptcy). At the same time, the importance of IT is really taking off too. Right now, most of the world's major businesses are looking toward their IT departments for solutions to problems and new means of achieving growth.
Clearly, there's quite a lot of room for growth and development within the world of IT - just look at all the technologies that have emerged in the last few years. We've seen mobile markets explode, cloud computing become popularized, and Big Data rising to power. All of these things can be seen as areas of potential profit for businesses that have the IT assets on hand.
What DevOps allows for is a better means of tapping into what software truly has to offer. Given that software is really the driving force behind most facets of IT, it only makes sense that a better system of development for it to come into more widespread use. By adopting DevOps, most businesses are actually taking steps to protect their interests and capabilities.
If you're an IT professional (or taking steps to become one) training and/or certification in DevOps is highly suggested. In fact, you can achieve certification in DevOps with a program that's based entirely online, and what's even better, it's really quite affordable. Armed with DevOps certification, most employers will jump at the chance to hire you - especially if you have some additional qualifications under your belt. Additionally (and as previously stated), DevOps hiring is on the rise - which means that right now is an extremely good time to jump in and consider what it could offer you in terms of career potential.