DevOps or IT? The Right Team With The Right Culture

Traditional IT environments, so critical to most businesses, require a great deal of maintenance and monitoring in order to provide high levels of performance on a consistent basis. IT infrastructure includes computer hardware, operating systems, storage systems, and networking components in addition to the business software applications that support critical business functions. Keeping these elements running in harmony requires skilled technicians with in-depth knowledge of their specific segment of the total environment.

On the other hand, the DevOps experience is now more in demand than ever. The single areas of expertise and silos of knowledge are removed with software-defied environments that allow human resources to work together as a tightly bound team. This results in more effective use of resources with a dramatic improvement to development and operational agility. DevOps requirements include automation, integration, monitoring and collaboration within the IT infrastructure. Implementation of this approach nurtures a culture that removes barriers between operations, system administrators, engineers and developers, delivering the best results possible, and improving the value of IT to end users and customers.

There is no right or wrong approach. Winning IT strategies will embrace both cultures in order to maximize effectiveness and responsiveness. This paper will explore what a company needs, or should have in place, to create a DevOps culture capable of working hand-in-hand with traditional IT.