Getting attention on CG and in the future the CGDevX

In a recent conversation with David, an industry expert and contributor to CloudGeometry, we delved into the fascinating world of DevOps and its evolving landscape. Our discussion focused on exploring new approaches and tools that enable developers to maximize their coding potential while streamlining operations. Join us as we uncover key insights from our conversation and shed light on the future of DevOps.

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Upteam: Hi David, you recently wrote an article about Recent developments in the DevOps movement and the tooling playground, two concepts have emerged: NoOps and ZeroOps.

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David: As CloudGeometry, a cloud-first company that delivers expert engineering teams for SaaS and product development. So we are constantly thinking about how to improve hands-on cloud operations and the end-to-end software development process. So in “Mind the Gap” we wanted to do just that - look at new ways to think about processes and tools that enable great developers to focus more on coding – so they can do their day jobs and not get mired in spending a sos[rortionate time on infrastructure and operations related to it.

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Upteam: So are you saying that DevOps positions are going to go replaced or potentially transformed into a more discrete part of teams operations? More like SysAdmins back in the days of ‘on prem’ platform hosting. Still very important and significant to the operations, but somehow decoupled from everyday engagement.

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David: DevOps is here to stay. But decoupling is the wrong approach. What’s next is to look at better ways to iterate on the automation of processes and deployment efficiency between Dev and Ops. That means better feedback between upstream development assumptions and downstream deployment outcomes. We need are looking at new learnings through the lens of interactions in the software lifecycle across the way we plan our workloads, infrastructure provisioning, and CI/CD. From what we have seen with our Fortune 500 and global customers, the way forward is more frequent merges and richer learnings.

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Upteam: Interesting, so basically this is not a silver bullet that makes teams consider that they should not invest in their teams and tech knowledge.

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David: Not at all. There are actually two important things that need to be considered. As an AWS advanced consulting partner, we put a lot of emphasis on preparing our engineers, getting hands-on experience, and getting certified as Solution Architects or Cloud professionals. Our goals are to both sharpen their skills against the latest standards and technologies and to prepare them for real-world problem solving, where the best plans are the ones that can anticipate incoming change. Hoping that there are never any surprises is not a recipe for success. 

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Secondly, different customers need different targeted approaches to operational excellence. Relevant operational improvements need to be analyzed infrastructure by infrastructure, workload by workload. What fits one team and one organization might not apply to others. That’s why a Well-Architected Framework assessment helps better understand all of the client's context.

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Upteam: But still, how do you think development teams can be better facilitated and not always be on the run to buy more DevOps tools?

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David: Engineers do love their tools because they hope that the tools have canonized the correct assumptions to make their work more efficient. We understand that staying relevant and up-to-date is very important. The transparent, collaborative approach of Open Source environments and their communities benefit us and our customers.  

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That is why CloudGeometry made perfect sense for us to become a member of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. It puts us in a better position to understand and participate, and contribute to how tools empower project teams, evolve and change. It’s why we are placing an increasing focus on our Kubernetes expertise and having our DevOps professionals trained and getting CKA certified.

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We are looking closely at ways to extend cloud-agnostic tools like Terraform and cloud-native tools like ArgoCD platforms in our search for curating a toolbelt – with the flexibility to make infrastructure automation easier and less onerous.

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Upteam: Can you share more on this?

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David: What we think most organizations want is a developer-friendly, transparent, and easy-to-manage tool that is integrated with their build and their runtime environment in the cloud. For the Ops side of the DevOps collaboration, it means the developers as customers rather than know-it-all unicorns, and thinking through the division of labor more systematically.  is just a better way to unlock engineering agility to the max, so teams can focus more time on building apps. That’s what we are seeing across our client base.

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Our aim is to streamline SDLC process handoffs, by using cloud-first technologies. But to sustain operations velocity, in a reliable and secure manner, we can’t treat automation of Ops as “Zero-sum game” (a risk in aspirations for “ZeroOps” magic). The toolbelt we curate for our clients and our teams is ias this twofold purpose: One, to minimize their learning curve, and two, to provide the inputs to faster and more successful course corrections.  A clean division of labor unlocks collaboration among teams in new areas, like cloud spend management.

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Upteam: Thank you, David, and looking forward to discussing next time, when you can share progress.

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David: Yes, in a few months we will be able to show a demo and look to get more people involved. We are expanding our engagement to Open Source enthusiasts and experienced practitioners – for the people who believe in software as a team sport.

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As our discussion with David came to a close, we eagerly anticipate the future progress and developments in the DevOps realm. In the coming months, we look forward to showcasing demos, engaging with Open Source enthusiasts, and collaborating with experienced practitioners who share our belief in software as a team sport. 

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Stay tuned for more exciting updates and join us on this journey of continuous improvement and innovation in the world of DevOps.

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