DevOps tools and techniques are a major building block in the industry today. The practices of DevOps have built an infrastructure that caters to the needs of the client first hand, without digressing focus from the working environment. DevOps is based on the principle of consistency and from it stems the practices such as continuous integration, continuous delivery and continuous monitoring. Such a full fledged end to end network facilitates faster delivery and improved credibility and reliance.

DevOps creates an integrated network across teams and channels that makes it much easier for everyone to work as a team and strive for the same goal. Furthermore, its compatibility with Agile makes it very accessible for big and small organizations across the world. It enhances the collaborative culture and establishes connectivity and communication in all teams.

This multidimensional approach to development and operations also promotes continuous testing at multiple fronts. Continuous testing helps with maintaining adequate end to end security which ensures the quality of delivery. Also, the practices of DevSecOps have improved the ways of DevOps and fixed the only missing link from DevOps – security. So, overall DevOps and its practices have succeeded in creating a framework that is continuously at par with the needs of professionals and expectations of the industry.
 

DevOps and its trends
 

With the demands and accessibility of DevOps, a lot of factors emerge on a daily basis that guide the trends in DevOps. Trends are an evolving practice of DevOps and a crucial part of the framework and its techniques. These trends are constantly updated, and DevOps owes a huge part of its success to these trends because they constantly fulfill the needs of the market. 

There have emerged a lot of trends in recent times, but there are a few defining ones whose effect is noticeable in the entire framework. Firstly, the principle of continuous delivery is upheld by coordination among different tools of DevOps, and that is made much more efficient by creating automated codes for continuous delivery pipelines. There has also been an increase in roles and responsibilities of developers and engineers. DevOps is shifting left with code and creating more automated models for security and infrastructure in order to create a more efficient system of delivery and to enhance the work culture. 

The threats to software evolve with the evolving software, and DevOps has also developed various trends in security management to be at par with these threats. DevOps provides an end to end security approach that accelerates the speed of software deployment and enhances the agility of the product. Threat detection, monitoring testing and fixing all fall under this security approach and work together to create a system that values security at every step. Security iteration also helps in budgeting time and resources efficiently.
 

Best practices in DevOps
 

DevOps is built on the foundation of practices that come together and collaborate to bring forth an efficient system of management. There are many practices of DevOps contributing at the forefront, but some have more critical value and are significant as building blocks of the framework. They are deployed at different stages of development and operations and are important in merging the teams and promoting collaboration. Some of these distinct practices are-
 

• Automation:
   

Automation is one of the best DevOps practices and has proven beneficial at different levels of management. Whether it be test automation or automation related to data and networking or any other sort, it is always comparatively better than any other method. Automation also helps keep up with the speed of the delivery and maintains credibility and reliability.
 

• Developer Dependency
   

A lot of work in DevOps is collaborative and thus it is seen that when most of the decisions are taken by developers, the process becomes much smoother with better communication. A developer knows the best tools and techniques to deploy in any situation and with more responsibility in the field, they find it easier to navigate through the process and the work becomes much easier to handle.
 

• Monitoring and Feedback
   

Continuous monitoring and feedback are one of the characteristic best practices of DevOps because it guides the delivery of the production and measures the success rate of the process. Monitoring helps in handling any bugs or threats in pipelines that may have arisen at any stage. Continuous feedback ensures that the team members are aware of the risks immediately so that they can monitor them, analyze them and fix them in time. This continuous process prevents any sort of delay in delivery.
 

• Transparency
   

The collaborative and communicative approach that DevOps follows is only possible because of transparent work culture. Real-time visibility is good for everyone- the organization, the employees, and the clients. When people are aware of what they are working towards, it motivates them and strives them to do better. Also, the collective knowledge of the project ensures that everyone is on the same page and saves a lot of time that could otherwise be lost in communication gaps between teams.
 

• Customer Satisfaction
   

DevOps regards customer satisfaction as a crucial aspect of ensuring success in any project. The various principles of DevOps- whether it be continuous integration, continuous monitoring, or continuous delivery, all cater to the needs and expectations of the clients from the project. It maintains a standard to hold on to and has been successful in establishing practices that enhance customer experience. This is also beneficial for the organization, for it does a lot for their credibility and reliability in the market.
 

• Integrated Pipelines
   

Integrated pipelines are one of the key components of DevOps and processes in Agile because it is needed in setting up the framework for delivery. Continuous integration helps in the detection of vulnerabilities at every single stage and thus takes off the burden from the security team at the end of the process. It also makes the security of every team’s responsibility and promotes a synergic atmosphere. Any delays that can arise due to miscommunication are eliminated or reduced to a great extent because of integrated pipelines.
 

• Security outlook
   

DevOps takes a first and foremost approach with issues about security and ensures that security is never a concern in big projects. The CI/CD system is vulnerable to threats from outside frequently because of its accessibility and needs constant security to function efficiently. Security breaches often damage the reputation of the organization as well as the career of professionals, and so it is not a part of the system that can be taken lightly. With DevOps, it becomes easier to isolate codes and networks and create an organized structure that limits the network’s chances of encountering risks and threats largely.
 

Principles of DevOps
 

DevOps is built on principles that have focused entirely on enhancing customer experience without compromising on the comfort of the developers and managers. These principles span across the areas of continuous integration, continuous monitoring, and continuous delivery, and continuous deployment. All these principles contribute to enhancing and speeding up application development and release and eliminating the barriers that arise on the way.

This method of deployment increases responsiveness to threats and risks and the product reaches the customer in the destined time. Communication between teams improves the working environment in general and motivates the employees in the right direction. DevOps is also based on the principle of compatibility between individuals and teams and this has changed how we view software development today. Methods such as performance review, appraisals, and regular evaluations are required in such a system, and these methods have also largely contributed to the development of work practices and the IT culture at large in general.  

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