DevOps (development and operations) is an enterprise software development phrase used to mean a type of agile relationship between development and IT operations. The goal of DevOps is to change and improve the relationship by advocating better communication and collaboration between these two business units.
DevOps in the Enterprise
In the enterprise there is a need to break down silos, where business units operate as individual entities within the enterprise where management, processes and information are guarded. On the software development side and for those working in IT operations there needs to be better communication and collaboration to best serve the IT business needs of the organization.
The DevOps Culture
One answer to breaking down enterprise silos is the move towards a DevOps-based culture that partners developers with operations staff to ensure the organization achieves optimal running of software with minimal problems. This culture is one that supports a willingness to work together and share.
The DevOps culture puts a focus on creating a fast and stable work flow through development and IT operations. One main goal of DevOps is to deploy features into production quickly and to detect and correct problems when they occur, without disrupting other services.
DevOps Professional Principles
DevOps is not based on stringent methodologies and processes: it is based on professional principles that help business units collaborate inside the enterprise and break down the traditional silos. The guiding principles of DevOps include culture, measurement, automation and sharing.
DevOps is considered to be a new approach to the more traditional application lifecycle management (ALM) process.
See related term: agile software development.
