DevOps vs. IT Operations

Traditional team structures are not effective because they don’t scale and often have opposing philosophies, limiting their ability to collaborate. As technology continues to evolve, more flexibility is required. DevOps is a culture that gives organizations the ability to respond to ever-changing and expanding market needs. When development and operations teams come together through understanding each other’s concerns and views, they are able to build and deliver resilient software products at a fast pace. When comparing Traditional IT Ops to DevOps, it’s clear to see how they differ and why DevOps is increasingly embraced by organizations worldwide.

What is DevOps?

DevOps is a cultural and operational movement that brings development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams together to enhance collaboration and productivity. This approach emphasizes continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), automation, and real-time monitoring to streamline software development and deployment processes. By breaking down silos and fostering a culture of shared responsibility, DevOps enables faster innovation, improved deployment frequency, and quicker recovery from failures.

What is IT Operations?

IT Operations, or IT Ops, encompasses the administrative and technical processes required to manage and maintain an organization's IT infrastructure. This includes hardware management, network administration, system monitoring, and support services. Traditional IT Ops focuses on the stability, reliability, and security of systems, making sure that all technology resources are available and functioning optimally to support business operations. This often involves more manual processes and a clear separation between development and operations teams.

What are the Similarities of DevOps vs IT?

While DevOps and IT Operations have distinct focuses, they share common goals of smooth functioning and reliability of IT systems. Both aim to improve system performance and maintain uptime and security, albeit through different approaches. They support business objectives by maintaining efficient, secure, and resilient IT environments.

“DevOps teams spend about 21% less time putting out ‘fires’ on a weekly basis and 37% less time handling support cases.”

What are the Differences Between DevOps vs IT?

How They Spend Time
DevOps teams spend 33% more time improving infrastructure against failure than Traditional IT Ops teams. In addition, DevOps teams spend about 21% less time putting out “fires” on a weekly basis and 37% less time handling support cases. DevOps teams also spend less time on administrative support due to a higher level of automation and self-service tools and scripts for support tasks. With all of this extra time, DevOps teams are able to spend 33% more time improving infrastructure and 15% more time working on self-improvement through things like education and training.

Failures and Recoveries
The average DevOps teams see only 2 app failures per month and recovery time is less than 30 minutes for over 50% of all respondents. 71% of DevOps teams can recover from failures in less than 60 minutes while 40% of traditional IT Ops need over an hour to recover.

Firefighting
A key practice of DevOps is to be prepared for the possibility of failures. Continuous testing, alerts, monitoring, and feedback loops are put in place so that DevOps teams can react quickly and effectively. Traditional IT Ops teams are almost two times more likely to require more than 60 minutes to recover, while recoveries in less than 30 minutes are 33% more likely for DevOps teams. Automated deployments and an infrastructure that’s programmable are key features for quick recovery.

Releasing Software
When it comes to releasing software, DevOps teams need roughly 36.6 minutes to release an application whereas Traditional IT Ops teams need about 85.1 minutes. This means that DevOps teams release apps more than twice as fast as Traditional IT Ops teams.

DevOps teams get more done and solve problems faster. They spend more time improving things, less time fixing things, recover from failures faster, and release applications more than twice as fast as Traditional IT Ops. With every member of the various parts of IT working together they all have the same goal, which is to bring quality software into the market.

Mission Cloud and DevOps

Working with an experienced management team is the first step to powerful and successful DevOps. Mission Cloud is here to help whether you are a small up-and-coming business or an established company. Learn more about Mission Cloud’s DevOps services. 

FAQ

• How does the integration of DevOps practices impact the role and responsibilities of traditional IT security teams?

Integrating DevOps practices significantly alters the landscape for traditional IT security teams, transitioning them towards a more collaborative, proactive security approach known as DevSecOps. This model embeds security considerations and practices early in the development process, encouraging continuous integration and delivery pipelines that incorporate security measures, automated testing, and continuous monitoring to ensure secure deployment practices

• What are the key metrics or indicators used to measure the success and efficiency of DevOps teams compared to traditional IT teams?

Key metrics for evaluating DevOps teams versus traditional IT teams include deployment frequency, change failure rate, time to recover from failures, and lead time for changes. These indicators not only measure the efficiency and effectiveness of development and operational practices but also reflect the agility, reliability, and speed at which new features and fixes are delivered in a DevOps environment.

• Can DevOps and Traditional IT coexist in an organization that is transitioning to a more DevOps-centric model, and if so, how?

DevOps and Traditional IT can coexist during a transitional phase to a DevOps-centric model. This coexistence is facilitated by gradually integrating DevOps practices and principles into traditional IT workflows, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration. This hybrid approach allows organizations to leverage the strengths of both methodologies, ensuring a smooth transition while minimizing disruption to existing processes.