Businesses are always looking to adapt and improve their ways of working to stay ahead of the competition and satisfy customers. One way to achieve this is the adoption of the DevOps model, a collaboration-focused methodology that promises faster product development with the highest level of quality. However, making this shift is not as simple as flipping a switch.

Therefore, many businesses are relying on DevOps consulting services to make this transitional journey efficient and smooth. At Ronas IT, we often use the DevOps approach in our application and website support and maintenance services, so we would like to share some of our expertise in this article. Here, we explore the concept of DevOps, the role and benefits of DevOps consulting, as well as key considerations for choosing optimal DevOps consulting service for your business.

What is DevOps

DevOps, a blend of "Development" and "Operations", is a way of working that many different businesses are starting to use. At its core, DevOps focuses on encouraging software development teams and IT operations teams to work together better. This teamwork helps to continually update and improve products and services.

It aims to make the software development process faster while still producing top-notch software that benefits customers and the business. It’s all about making the development and operations team understand each other’s needs and work collaboratively, boosting overall productivity.

The idea behind DevOps is to speed up the process of making and updating products. It can help businesses bring products to market faster, make deployments successful more often, lower the risks of new releases, fix issues quicker, and recover faster when things go wrong.

How it works

DevOps is not just a concept but an approach to problem-solving. It works by combining certain principles, practices, and tools to enhance collaboration and communication between software developers (Dev) and IT Operations (Ops). Here’s how it works:

1. Culture change: The fundamental principle upon which DevOps works is fostering a culture of collaboration. It aims to break the silos between the Dev and Ops teams, encouraging them to work together and understand each other’s needs and problems. This lays the foundation of the DevOps ecosystem.
2. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): This is where the actual magic of speeding up the development process happens. Developers continuously merge their changes into a central repository, after which automated builds and tests are performed. It helps to catch bugs faster and improves software quality.
3. Infrastructure as Code (IaC): DevOps practices also include managing and provisioning computer data centers through machine-readable definition files, rather than physical hardware configuration or interactive configuration tools. This allows for consistent environments which can be easily replicated.
4. Automation: DevOps doesn’t stop at continuous integration. It emphasizes automating the deployment process as well, meaning code changes go live without manual intervention. Automated deployment pipelines help reduce the risks and simplify the process.
5. Monitoring and learning: Regular application performance monitoring is followed for recognizing problematic patterns. Learning and improving from each incident is a key principle of DevOps. It’s not only about monitoring the performance of applications but also about continuous feedback, learning, and improvement.

By integrating these practices, DevOps helps businesses speed up their delivery processes, improve application quality, and better respond to customer requirements. Therefore, it is more than just a tool or software; it’s a methodology that transforms a business into a more efficient entity, providing quick and high-quality solutions consistently.

Why do companies use DevOps consulting services?

The DevOps model can be appealing to organizations because of its many benefits. However, making the transition to this model can be a challenge, especially for businesses unfamiliar with a collaborative work environment. To adopt this model, a company needs to make a big culture shift and introduce new technical practices and tools. This is where DevOps consulting services come in.

Consultants provide valuable expertise to help organizations smoothly transition to the DevOps model. They help avoid potential issues that could slow down or block the transition process. Changing the company culture is an important part of this. Working with DevOps consultants can help break down barriers and create a collaborative culture between software developers and IT operations.

Technical knowledge is also crucial. Adopting the DevOps model means using many different technical practices and tools. A skilled DevOps consultant can guide businesses in choosing the right tools that best align with their needs to streamline their software delivery process. A good DevOps consultant can also provide educational sessions and practical training to help staff members understand and feel comfortable with the new system.

But it’s not enough for DevOps consulting services to simply set up a DevOps model and then leave. Ongoing support and guidance are essential, too. Achieving full use of DevOps is a journey. After helping a business get started with the initial transition phase, DevOps consulting services should continue assisting with monitoring, fine-tuning, and improving strategies as the business changes.

The process of DevOps consulting

Here’s a breakdown of how we provide DevOps consulting services at Ronas IT:

1. Assessment: We begin with assessing your company’s business needs and existing software delivery practices, identifying gaps, and evaluating the readiness to adopt the DevOps method.
2. Strategy development: Based on the assessment, we devise a tailor-made DevOps strategy for your business. This strategy includes clear steps for adopting DevOps practices, recommended tools for automation, and guidelines to foster a DevOps culture.
3. Implementation: We guide your team through the implementation process, ensuring the smooth integration of DevOps tools and practices into your business. We’ll collaborate with the team and share knowledge to help staff understand and embrace the new work culture.
4. Automation: Our DevOps consultants can help automate repetitive tasks across your software delivery lifecycle, including coding, testing, and deployment, to improve speed and reduce errors.
5. Continuous improvement: We continually monitor the performance and results of the implemented DevOps strategy, using the insights gained from constant feedback for ongoing improvements.
6. Support: We provide ongoing support and guidance to ensure your DevOps journey is successful and sustainable.

Let’s highlight one of our project stories for a better understanding. We worked with a retail company that needed a quicker and more efficient way to develop their software — the client’s name is under NDA. We started by looking closely at their current system and finding ways to make it better. It turned out that the company’s departments worked separately from each other which slowed down the work and caused a lot of errors and misunderstandings. They also used to do some tasks manually like collecting data in Excel tables and syncing data across their apps.

Our team came up with a specific plan that included new tools for automation, and a work process that encourages teamwork and collaboration. With our help, the client moved to this new approach smoothly. After the changes, they were able to get their software ready 30% faster, fix bugs quicker, and reduce crashes by half, and their teams started working together much better. We continue to support them, helping them adjust to new needs and challenges.

In essence, a DevOps consultant drives transformation within a company, making it more flexible, efficient, and aligned to current technological trends. By navigating you through the complexities of this significant transition, a DevOps consultant is instrumental in helping your business stay competitive.

Factors to consider when choosing DevOps consulting services

1. Relevant experience and expertise:

   It is essential that your prospective DevOps consulting service has experience and expertise relevant to your industry and business goals. An experienced consultant will have a deep understanding of the specific challenges you face and have proven solutions to overcome them. They will be able to guide your transition to a DevOps model smoothly and efficiently.

2. Range of services offered:

   DevOps is a broad field, spanning culture change, automation, CI/CD implementation, monitoring, and much more. Make sure that the consultant you choose offers a comprehensive range of services covering all essential aspects of DevOps. Having a complete package from one provider can simplify the transformation process and ensure consistency.

3. Client reviews and feedback:

   Check the feedback from previous clients to gauge the consultant’s reliability, professionalism, and efficiency. This can provide valuable insights into their work methodology, client relationships, and potential success with your project.

4. Costs and scalability:

   The cost of consulting services should fall within your budget while offering a clear return on investment. Furthermore, ensure their services can scale and adapt according to your growing needs. Your DevOps needs today might be different from your needs in the future — your consultant should be able to support this evolution.

5. Technical capabilities:

   A proficient DevOps consultant must have strong technical skills in areas such as CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code, automated testing, cloud technologies, and more. They should have a track record of successfully implementing these technologies in their past projects.

6. Case studies:

   Request case studies from potential consultants. These provide tangible proof of their experience and demonstrate their approach to real-world problems. Analyzing case studies gives you a sense of the results you can expect and can help you make a more informed decision.

Selecting the right DevOps consulting service is critical for an efficient and successful transition to DevOps. Consideration of these factors can guide your decision, ensuring that your chosen consultant aligns with your business’s objectives and growth plans, and is capable of delivering the desired results within the stipulated budget and timeframe.

Conclusion

Reliable DevOps consulting services have a key role in increasing a company’s efficiency and productivity. They provide expert guidance throughout the transition process — from initial assessment and strategy creation to implementation and ongoing support. This helps organizations take full advantage of the DevOps model, allowing them to consistently and quickly deliver high-quality products and services, leading to happy customers and improved overall business performance.

However, remember that selecting the right consultant is crucial for a smooth and successful transition. Consider their experience, a range of services, client reviews, cost, technical capabilities, and case studies to make an informed decision. A competent DevOps consulting service is composed of experienced professionals who have a deep understanding of industry trends and technologies. They also connect with the business needs of the companies they serve and have a commitment to high quality and professionalism. This makes them the go-to choice for businesses thinking of transitioning to the DevOps model.

At Ronas IT, we start by figuring out your business needs and finding a way to help your company fulfill those needs. You can contact us for a free consultation to get started — just fill in the form below.