The rapidly evolving business environment pushes companies to come up and deliver software solutions faster while keeping quality. DevOps is one of the ways to develop top-notch products at the highest speed. According to Statista, around 36% of surveyed companies apply DevOps practice in software development.

DevOps is a number of methods and approaches that combine IT operations and development. It helps businesses provide services continually and shortens time-to-market, increases efficiency, and minimises expenses.

The pandemic has led to a record high global talent shortage. In 2021, 69% of companies found it difficult to fill in vacancies, according to ManpowerGroup. Lack of qualified workers made it more challenging, expensive and time-consuming to gather an in-house team. Many businesses turn to DevOps as a service provider to save resources.

What is DevOps as a service?

Many companies adjust DevOps and migrate their tools and application to the cloud. It makes the processes more consistent, effective, and high functioning. According to the 2021 state of DevOps report, 90% of high DevOps evolution companies, 65% of mid-evolution and 25% of low-evolution companies use public cloud.

DevOps as a service, or DaaS, encompasses cloud-based tools that are applied during the product development process. It helps track all the operations performed during a software delivery and ensure a team is aligned and uses a common toolset.

DevOps as a service provider puts together a team of experts that designs and chooses the right tools and DevOps practices for a specific company or project, boosting the benefits. Moreover, DevOps as a service involves Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery and other DevOps methods that improve overall results and business value.

What are the top benefits of DevOps as a service?

In general, DevOps as a service offers immense advantages. Below there are some of the key benefits that DevOps as a service can bring for a company. 

1.     Faster time-to-market 

DevOps as a service model can facilitate the release of new features or updates by using the cloud to acquire more extensive computing power and data storage. Cloud-enabled automation testing solutions, for instance, help to test and write a code faster. 

Increased release frequency results in faster delivery or upgrade of a product. The faster a company can add features and eliminate bugs, the better your customer experience and satisfaction in today’s competitive market.

2.     Better collaboration 

With the help of the cloud-based DevOps as a service approach, companies are enabled to gather a more successful team. Developers, designers and other operation team members have access to all the information needed. Streamlined data flow saves time and minimises inefficiencies such as handover periods. 

3.     Enhanced security 

With the start of the pandemic and the global transition to remote work, cybercrimes are on the rise. Cybercrime costs are predicted to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. DevOps as a service have an additional branch that safeguards a company’s security, usually known as DevSecOps. 

An experienced DevOps-as-a-Service provider will make sure to implement the latest security practices at the start of the development process rather than at later stages. It helps to cut development costs and increase the reliability of the system. DevSecOps involves many security practices. It helps identify and prevent the most common cloud cybersecurity malfunctions, assesses the system and detects its weak points, conducts frequent security and compliance tests, prevents DDoS attacks and more.

4.     Mentorship and support 

With DevOps as a service partner, a company gets access to the talent pool of skilled DevOps experts. In case an issue arises with the development pipeline, these qualified specialists will manage the cloud infrastructure. In addition, the in-house team can improve their expertise by learning from external specialists. DevOps engineers can help your internal IT team learn to run the DevOps system by offering the necessary tools and resources. What’s more important is that DevOps as a service provider introduces automation approaches that enable the in-house team to focus on more critical activities. 

Key disadvantages of DevOps as a service 

Despite many advantages, there are still some concerns about DaaS implementation. Let’s look at some of them: 

  • Shortage of skilled specialists. Before hiring an in-house or external DevOps team, ensure they have the required knowledge and hands-on experience of testing, debugging, development and tracking tools.
  • Security. Despite the security DevOps as a service offers, there are still some concerns. Some DaaS providers deliver the product fast while neglecting the security practices. Moreover, cloud-based services can pose security risks that are not usual. Ensure to find a DevOps as a service partner that understands the importance of cybersecurity and know how to implement best security practices.

Final thoughts

DevOps as a service has the potential to accelerate the growth of your business and improve customers’ satisfaction. It helps to start with DevOps methodology without allocating major resources. 

Reliable DevOps as a service provider will streamline the product planning, deployment, and delivery processes. DaaS partner will take care of the selection of suitable approaches for your business and custom-tailored solutions.

Also Read: Why DevOps is Key to Digital Transformation