Digital Transformation and the Role DevOps has to Play

Let us make the rather bold assumption that you are an IT Manager of a small to medium sized software company, and that you are aiming to introduce new technologies which have the potential to transform the way that your business operates, with the ultimate aim of producing better quality products, quicker, and more efficiently. The goal that you seek can be summarised in just two words; Digital Transformation. We give the example of an IT Manager here purely for illustrative purposes, though the principles and practices we cover are universal. 

Digital transformation is not just about adopting new technologies of course, it is also about driving cultural changes and giving individuals greater levels of agency and encouraging them to be more innovative and adaptable. In short, Digital Transformation can have a profound impact on software development companies and the teams who work for them. 

DevOps consultants can play an invaluable role in helping small to medium sized businesses undertake digital transformations. They will take the time to evaluate factors such as how ready you are to undertake a transformation, and if any team members require additional training or support before you embark on the next stage. DevOps consultants are extremely helpful in assessing security and compliance needs and can identify any potential weaknesses in advance. 

Consultants will also conduct a cost analysis to determine the financial implications of your digital transformation to ensure you have the budget for it, giving you the best chance of success. Once given the go-ahead, DevOps consultants draw-up a list of core aims and objectives before using this information to develop a fully tailored plan which addresses specific requirements and challenges that may be faced along the way.

By employing the help of a leading DevOps consultant you can gain from their extensive industry experience, and find new ways in which digital transformation can be approached. They’ll help you to navigate the intricacies of adoption and ensure that you mitigate against any risks that may be encountered along the way. 

We’ve put together a list of the top ten rewards that organisations can enjoy by embracing digital transformation with expert help from a DevOps consultant, and by keeping an open mind throughout their journey:

1. It’s time to change the way you work and imagine how technology can better serve you. By adopting agile methodologies, your organisation will have the ability to deliver solutions much quicker, and be able to adapt in realtime to market and consumer demands. By introducing more iterative development processes, and facilitating greater levels of collaboration, you entire workforce can evolve as one.
2. By moving to cloud platforms you gain the ability to be much more flexible and can scale up safely and sustainably. You’ll find new, more efficient ways to use your resources, which will in turn help you to reduce outgoings and allow team members to focus on their core objectives.
3. Unleash the true potential of your software development cycles through automation and DevOps. Automated workflows allow you to build, test, and deploy software more efficiently, and crucially, also more reliably. The DevOps approach allows for greater collaboration between development and operations, which in turn equates to a reduction in downtime.
4. Empower your organisation with the wonder of data. Embrace digital transformation’s ability to collect and analyse huge quantities of information. With advanced data analytics and intelligent tools at your fingertips, you can gain insights into behaviours, performance, and current trends. Armed with this knowledge you can make truly informed, data-driven decisions.
5. Develop deeper connections with your customers via digital transformation. By introducing new tools you can generate real-time feedback so that you can adjust your products and services on-the-fly. Chatbots and portals can help build better experiences for your customers, ensuring that they return to you time and time again.
6. All good success stories feature innovation of some form somewhere along the line. New technologies such as AI and machine learning can be employed to revolutionise the ways in which you work. DevOps consultants can outline the necessary steps you need to take before embracing these new technologies, and help you find the best tools to achieve your goals.
7. DevOps consultants can also help to establish continuous integration and deployment (CI / CD) practices. Continuous integration and deployment bring with them new levels of automation towards testing, building, and deployment of software, granting you the ability to rapidly deploy updates, as well as the introduction of new capabilities within a stable environment.
8. Security and compliance are two areas where DevOps consultants can really help small to medium sized businesses throughout their digital transformation. By introducing new practices and establishing a clear hierarchy of organisational roles and responsibilities, systems can be monitoring potential threats extremely efficiently.
9. The level of change that digital transformation can require often necessitates the need for training and culture change. DevOps consultants are able to train team members, helping them to better adapt to new technologies and ways of working with DevOps, and with a new understanding and appreciation of the need for collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. It’s a virtuous circle that continues to drive evolution, long after the DevOps consultant has gone!
10. Dealing with complexity. Transformation can be a complex undertaking, depending on the nature and structure of your systems and data. You may need to deal with diverse data formats and data dependencies, and have to cope with managing consistency and integrity during the extraction and transfer phases. Downtime and disruption therefore need to be minimised, and that can be tricky when you aren’t sure of the challenges that you might have to face. DevOps consultants are highly skilled at dealing with such issues, and they’ll help to keep disruption to a minimum, which can help preserve your brand image and reputation.