DevOps Trends

Research by Grand View forecasts that DevOps is becoming one of the go-to options for organisations today because the market is all set to cross USD 12.85 billion in the next four years, growing at a CAGR of 24.7% during this period. DevOps’ popularity is rising rapidly – thanks mainly to the approach's usefulness. DevOps is being increasingly associated with efficient deliveries and faster working. Digitalization is the new face of enterprise transformation. Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, and Machine Learning are set to disrupt development and operations. With this, the popularity of DevOps is set to move further from here.

In the days when the pandemic created a furore, businesses across the world adopted remote working. Using cloud-based systems and microservice architecture has become the need of the hour. DevOps must be futuristic, scalable, reliable, and secure in the changing times. DevOps mindset must be integral to a progressive work environment, accelerating DevOps adoption like never before.

What is DevOps?

It is a collaborative effort between Development and Operations, which helps connect the two teams. Rather than working as silos, they collaborate for Continuous Integration or CI and Continuous Delivery or CD. DevOps is one of the best approaches for producing and delivering high-quality development faster, bringing enhanced customer experience and augmented profits. In this write-up, we will discuss the top DevOps trends in 2021.

Top DevOps latest trends in 2021

1. DevSecOps that integrate security with DevOps is trending lately:

DevSecOps comes with enhanced data privacy. In 2021, this will become an integral part of DevOps, focusing on EU GDPR rules. The emphasis will now be on automating security into DevOps from the beginning. Doing so will help create a secure setup that is robust and fortified from cyberattacks and threats. As a result, the software meets all the required security standards and is geared with the latest security tools.

2. Enhanced adoption of DevOps this year as a major DevOps trend:

The pandemic has pushed most of us into the remote working zone. Across the world, if there is one thing that has supported smooth transitioning into the new zone and enabled seamless working, it is technology. Working with microservice architecture apps has become complex, though. Therefore, it is predicted that in 2021, the DevOps mindset needs to be adopted on a large scale so that organisations can take advantage of features like scalability and security.

3. AI is going to play a significant role in DevOps:

DevOps has derived key techniques from Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for optimized results. Some major areas where AI and ML are helping include saving time between different processes, enhancing test cases, etc. DevOps teams now use such advanced technologies to arrive at optimized solutions and best results.

4. IaC or Infrastructure as Code is one of the DevOps future trends:

IaC manages IT infrastructure—networks, servers, on-the-premise storage devices, and cloud devices—through configuration files. The entire infrastructure can be installed or set up with the help of the code, making the process fast, secure, and highly efficient during the SDLC.

5. Rise of multi-disciplinary or cross-functional teams:

DevOps uses cloud-based platforms, acceleration tools, and parallel workflow processes to reduce repetitive tasks, limit hardware usage, and encourage innovation. DevOps will focus your attention on tasks that are not the routine and monotonous ones that automation could have handled but require your specific skill set.

6. Cloud-based DevOps will become even more important:

Cloud-native working will gain more prominence this year to effectively use cloud computing processes. The demand for Kubernetes is on the rise, and one of the main reasons behind this is that cloud-native technologies were adopted to a great extent in 2020, and in 2021, more and more DevOps processes will be managed and executed via such apps.

7. Serverless Architecture:

DevOps will shift from traditional hosting methods to serverless computing, also known as Function-as-a-Service. Examples of this innovative technology have been proved by technical giants like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.  The technology helps boost productivity and brings in an enhanced element of scalability with faster deployment services.

8. GO by Google will become the first choice of DevOps:

GO is Google's brainchild, and the language has been rapidly adapted within the developers’ community in the last year. The language has lots of pros—it is light and open-source. It supports serverless architecture and works faster and with enhanced accuracy. More and more DevOps tools are now using the Go language.

9. Low Code DevOps:

DevOps is now focusing on low-level coding. The drag-and-drop feature, Graphic User Interface, low coding, visual programming, automated code generation, and user-friendly interface help DevOps speed up the development process and improve collaboration between the development and operations teams.

10. The use of automated testing:

Automation in testing in terms of software tools will become more active than ever before. The use of automated testing helps deliver error-free software. There is a growing trend to integrate DevOps with automated testing tools, increasing the process’s efficacy and seamlessness.

11. Growth of container registry:

Container registries have attracted considerable attention in recent years. This trend is expected to catch up fast in 2021. The demand for cloud-native apps and technology has increased the need for container registry and related services.

12. The importance of Observability:

This year will see the distinction between Supervision and Observability will get more obvious and well-defined this year. DevOps make the mistake of confusing and overlapping the meaning of both terms. But, this year, the definitions are going to get clearer.

13. SRE as a DevOps future trend:

Despite the old concept, this year's dependency on SRE or Site Reliability Engineering will be remarkable. With SRE, the division of work and tasks between operations and development is expected to be done seamlessly. Division of work becomes important because of the extensive and huge infrastructure.

14. GitOps:

Since working with microservice architecture has proved challenging, a declarative model like GitOps is needed. It can be synced at the source. Especially with features like merge and pull requests, the GIT repository can work as a single source of truth.GitOps can facilitate easier adoption of DevOps because of features like a single source of truth, established workflows, and a secure repository.

15. New tools for Kubernetes as a DevOps trend:

While universally, Kubernetes is adored as the go-to solution for DevOps teams, the technology is new, and therefore the tools are new too. 2021 will witness new tools' creation and the old ones' evolution. The newer tools must focus on data science, visibility, and secrets management. Even though there are power-driven tools like Hashicorp Consul and Vault, the pace at which Kubernetes is being adopted will make way for adopting new tools.

16. Hybrid structure:

DevOps will use a more elaborate hybrid design this year. The Pandemic has pushed most companies to work from home, and in 2021, many companies are still functioning with a scattered workforce. Therefore, organisations will need to use hybrid models to make work seamless for employees.

17. The growing importance of edge computing:

In 2021, edge computing will be used more extensively than ever before. With this kind of computing, apps can dynamically respond when data is served at the edge of the network. This means that data and application assets must be present at the edge, implying that infrastructural changes must be implemented. However, edge computing will enable DevOps to respond faster and more effectively to goals and make things flexible and scalable.

18. The decrease in the use of internal platforms and increased use of self-service capabilities:

The use of internal platforms will decrease this year. It is because such platforms take time and a lot of customization for effective working. Plus, there is a lack of standardization in these platforms.

19. DevOps will adopt Chaos Engineering:

Chaos Engineering is entirely based on making a system robust enough to endure unexpected turbulence and situations. After COVID-19, organisations are expected to build this technical aspect into their DevOps framework. Experts predict that Chaos Engineering could become the fourth or fifth level in the conventional maturity model.

Also, Read:How to Become a DevOps Engineer

20. The use of Application performance monitoring is fast becoming one of the latest DevOps future trends:

APM, or application performance monitoring, gathers feedback from developers simultaneously during deployment. This year, it is expected that APM will be used to reduce Meantime to Repair (MTTR) effectively. The objective and focus will be on enhanced user experience, so APM software is expected to be an integral part of infrastructure monitoring and analysis.

APM, or application performance monitoring, gathers feedback from developers simultaneously during deployment. This year, it is expected that APM will be used to effectively reduce Meantime to Repair (MTTR). The objective and focus will be on enhanced user experience, so APM software is expected to be an integral part of infrastructure monitoring and analysis.

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Conclusion

DevOps is a field that has evolved tremendously in the past few years and will continue to do so. While many trends are shaping DevOps, the top trendsetters of 2021 and beyond are yet to be seen. DevOps teams should focus on security and effectively managing the ever-increasing IT assets. Embracing trends such as DevSecOps, AI integration, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) will be crucial. Additionally, the rise of cross-functional teams, serverless architecture, and cloud-native DevOps highlight the field's dynamic nature. Simpliaxis offers comprehensive DevOps foundation training to help professionals stay updated with these latest trends and enhance their skills for the future.