In today’s fast-moving environment, existing applications should constantly be updated at an  increasing pace. In addition, complications often arise between developers and operational teams. Fortunately, the DevOps approach can fix this problem. But what exactly is DevOps? And how important is it for your company?

More than a methodology for software development, DevOps is a culture, which is necessary to meet the current needs of companies developing software, websites, applications, etc.

With the traditional waterfall model, the requirements for software were clear and well-defined in advance. The definition of the product itself was also stable. Developers programmed the software, then the operational teams handled its implementation on the business systems or the web.

However, the world of IT is changing fast. Requirements change often, and software should be developed at an increasing pace. Not only should software and web applications be marketed faster, but it also should be possible to constantly update them, easily add new features and fix any bugs found. This leads to the Agile Development model.

Moreover, the team of developers should not be the only one to react quickly and efficiently; the operational team, which has to deploy and monitor the new applications, also has to react the same way. This leads to the DevOps approach. Many people associate this term with a closer collaboration between the developers, the creators of a product, and the ‘ops’, the operational team that handles the release, the deployment, the operation and the monitoring of the software.

But DevOps is much more than just this – it is a ‘state of mind’, a special approach to a problem – an approach that goes beyond everything that is of a purely technical nature; an approach whereby all levels of the company are involved, including finance and marketing, making communication a vital tool in this process.

Everyone (developers and system administrators, as well as network managers and business analysts) is now part of the same team. And everyone works towards a common goal: the success of the entire project – not just their own part.