One could imagine that checking one’s digital performance while not being an IT expert must be a utopia. Unless one knows what’s behind this ‘portmanteau’ word: DevOps. This group of practices combines the development of software and computing operations by creating a collaborative environment between application developers and their users. It’s never too late to throw your hat in the ring and adopt the DevOps tools and methods.
DevOps, what is that?
The word DevOps, a combination of the English terms development and operations, designates a collaborative or shared approach to the tasks carried out by the application development and computing operations teams of a given company.
Starting in 2008/2009, one finds the DevOps concept first in IT companies, then it spreads to the entirety of industries as digital as the need for interactions with the IT service providers grows.
If one zooms in on a more concrete definition, DevOps describes the adoption of the iterative development of software, the automatization, the deployment and the maintenance of programmable infrastructures.
The term covers as well the changes in the culture, such as the advent of trust and cohesion between the customer and the developer teams (among which, ERP integrators) or moreover, the alignment of the technological projects on the company’s needs.
The long-range DevOps objective is then to create a collaborative environment between application development and the users of these applications, whatever the industry of the company and its level of IT knowledge. DevOps allows the coordination and collaboration of previously cloistered roles such as development, computing operations and quality and safety engineering so as to create better performing and trustworthy products.
Residual brakes
Most companies that have not yet adopted DevOps explain away this delay by a lack of time, resources or even by the lack of relevance in their industry. Among the reasons cited, DevOps would involve changes considered to be too large in the organization and the IT departments and would require new skills and new professional roles that the company does not necessarily has available. On the other hand, the tools and platforms are expensive, including the training and resources to use them effectively. The development solutions and IT tools are so numerous that it is hard to find one’s way around. Others mention that automation turns out to be useless, fragile or even a money pit. Finally, deployment is more risky and may not succeed due to a "fail-fast" frame of mind that consists of multiplying tests, each giving rise to a new test that will take into account the past failure. In other words, setting up a DevOps culture in the company can seem complicated. The stakes, however, are worth considering.
The example of Netflix and the press
A victim of its own success, Netflix has experienced difficulties linked to the explosion of new memberships. On Christmas Eve 2012, Netflix had to deal with a partial outage that lasted some long time. "An hour of downtime can cost Netflix $200,000," said Yury Izrailevsky, then a vice president of cloud computing operations. "It’s at that moment that the company realized of the need for agility in order to anticipate and continuously remedy potential failures. Today, the platform evolves at the rythm of detected bugs, which are quickly corrected thanks to user feedback". Here, the DevOps culture has encouraged the development of frequent updates, increasing the reliability of the company's IT technologies. Another example is its application in the realm of the press, an industry that must reinvent itself as digital takes over paper media. To accelerate their digital transformation and to offer readers a new user experience, many groups have adopted DevOps to continuously improve their digital presence on the Web.
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Understanding DevOps is to adopt it!
Without being exhaustive, here are some advantages that DevOps can bring to the company, whatever its industry:
• Fewer "grain silos" and increased communication between the IT providers;
• Rapid and continuous improvement of the company's software solutions based on user feedback;
• Less downtime linked to development needs;
• Less menial work thanks to automation.
A multitude of tools allow the implementation of a DevOps strategy. This is the case of Microsoft's Azure DevOps suite. First by ensuring communication and planning, the Azure Board tool notably provides access to tables and backlogs adapted to the most complex projects in order to have precise monitoring of project progress. Then, by facilitating programming with Azure Pipelines, which makes it possible to create, test and deploy solutions with almost all existing languages. It is also possible to deploy one’s software continuously with Azure Resource Manager. The tool offers a working environment allowing the deployment of one’s application in all its stages of progress (testing, intermediate or production). Finally, to exploit its digital environment in an intelligent manner, Microsoft offers the Azure Monitor solution which provides an accurate view of the performance and use of its web applications, whether hosted in the cloud or locally.
More generally, there are dozens of tools to improve visibility and communication between a customer and their IT developer or IT service provider. Without being IT experts, it is now possible to understand the status of developments in progress on the digital environments of one’s company. Even better, user feedback helps to continuously improve one’s digital performance.
AZURE DevOps for GC Aesthetics with FiveForty°
Azure DevOps, the cloud communication platform, facilitates exchanges between "functional" and "developer people". Christophe Lucchini, CIO of the GC Aesthetics group, one of the worldwide leaders for esthetic services and reconstructive products, talks to us about this.
What features do you use on Azure DevOps?
Christophe Lucchini: First of all, we mostly use DevOps to communicate between the GC Aesthetics business users and the FiveForty° functional/developer. We have two majors uses for the platform. The first one is based on a "ticket" system created by the GC Aesthetics "key-users" to communicate with FiveForty°. The second concerns a FiveForty°-generated ticket upon receipt of an e-mail from GCA key-users on a dedicated FiveForty° address. The idea being to provide the most explanations possible on the encountered issues and the actions carried out on the ERP.
How many advantages do you count by using the platform?
Three, mostly: The possibility to attach files to the generated tickets. To have a discussion thread on the support/project requests. And, finally, the management of our "releases" on AX while ensuring the traceability in a quality-oriented goal. I am aware that this use of the platform remains limited since DevOps has other very interesting features that we are not using for the time being.
Seeing your current use, are you satisfied by the platform or you think that other tools may be more appropriate?
As of today, DevOps is very appropriate and is very useful to us. In fact, the platform allows us to have follow-up on current issues or projects all the while benefitting from direct communication with our partner. I even think that it might be possible to eventually use this platform within the GC Aesthetics IT department to replace our current cloud-based ticketing platform.
These days, how many GC Aesthetics users do you have on this platform?
We count about 25 users on the platform, mostly all AX key-users.
Any additional remark about the platform?
It’s a pity that we may not yet have the status of a release at the T moment. In effect, for a release to be issued, it passes through several steps that are not documented on DevOps. Today, I have, therefore, to set up a file outside of the platform for me to use as follow-up.
Perfect the communication between the user and the ERP integrator
The use of the DevOps Azure platform makes it possible, in particular, to optimize the handling of user feedback. In addition to allowing optimal monitoring of the tasks in progress thanks to a ticket system, it simplifies the monitoring of the performance of the updates by all the actors involved. It is thus possible for a user to interact directly with the development teams of their ERP solution, thus improving this solution continuously according to the feedback loop they themselves have with the software. Thanks to the agile methodology, which recommends shorter software development cycles, the ERP solution evolves as the specific needs of the company evolve.
A major trend that will continue to accelerate is migration to the Cloud, whether it concerns ERP solutions or simply the sites of the different companies. DevOps will be inextricably linked to cloud cybersecurity issues by allowing continuous correction of security vulnerabilities that could affect company software and data. The way software is developed, deployed and operated will continue to evolve in an "agile" way. We are now talking about "DevSecOps", which makes it possible to integrate security into the challenges of developing and operating software and, in particular, ERP. The brand new profession of DevSecOps is an extension of the DevOps approach. It consists of integrating the "security" dimension throughout the life cycle of an IT project (from development to production of software or a website) and automating it. The purpose is to ensure the best level of security at all levels to guard against attacks. Result: security becomes a shared responsibility between all the IT teams in charge of the project, by making them aware of the risk of flaws and by setting up indicators that inform about the vulnerability of the project in real time.
To conclude, when one wishes to improve performance, it is not too late to adopt DevOps, and in particular by relying on a software package such as an ERP to centralize your resources and data. Agile methodologies and "Continuous Improvement" are essential in order to stay at the best level and to best optimize its digital performance and the use of data. Regardless of a company's industry, the DevOps culture generates productivity gains, improved performance and the correction of flaws that could slow the growth of the company's activities. Not to mention the best response to customer needs and increased confidence in the applications developed.
By Jonathan Lascaux, Founder of FiveForty°
Sources :
- DevOps Articles
- introduction to DevOps : DevOps tutorial
- Whitepaper : “ The road to DevOps success”
- https://azure.microsoft.com/fr-fr/
- https://developer.ibm.com/ (IBM)
- https://www.bunnyshell.com/blog/how-netflix-does-devops
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