risual has constantly invested in capabilities to deliver cross-skilled and collaborative DevOps services to our clients.
In order to do this successfully we look at the optimal structure of our project groups and the roles required to deliver successful project outcomes. This often means we have DevOps Engineers (Microsoft Stack), Software Developers (Microsoft Stack), Lead Developers (Microsoft Stack), and Test Analysts; supported around the periphery by Project Managers, Architects and Service Delivery Managers all involved in collaborative work; each of these roles have cross-skill capabilities, meaning that they bring a broader cross-section of skills and technical knowledge to the work. Predominately, they are responsible for managing the development and operation of software applications and systems. They work to streamline the development process, increase efficiency, and improve collaboration between development and operations teams.
To give you an idea of the kinds of services they provide on a daily basis, here’s a non-exhaustive list:
- Automating the deployment and testing of code
- Managing and maintaining infrastructure
- Monitoring and troubleshooting issues in production
- Providing guidance and support for development teams to implement best practices for development and operations
- Implementing and maintaining continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines
- Managing and maintaining source control and versioning systems
- Implementing security and compliance measures.
In summary, DevOps teams are responsible for ensuring that software is developed, tested, and deployed in a smooth and efficient manner while ensuring that the software quality is high, the system is reliable, and that security and compliance are met.
Businesses of all sizes and industries can benefit from the services provided by DevOps teams; and demand for the roles and skills they have has been increasing and isn’t seeing signs of slowing down anytime soon. For context some common needs and scenarios for business and organisations on areas they could see benefit from using the skills and technical expertise derived from working with our DevOps team are:
- High-growth companies that need to quickly and efficiently deploy and scale their software applications
- Companies that have a high rate of software releases and need to automate and streamline their deployment processes
- Companies that operate in highly regulated industries and need to ensure compliance with security and data privacy regulations
- Companies that rely heavily on software to drive their business and need to ensure that their systems are reliable and available
- Companies that want to improve collaboration and communication between development and operations teams
- Companies that want to improve their development processes and increase their ability to deliver software quickly and efficiently.
Industries that still rely heavily on services that provide DevOps teams include:
- Financial Services
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Manufacturing
- E-commerce
- Gaming
- Logistics and supply chain
- Telecommunications
These industries have a high dependence on software systems and the need for reliability, scalability, security, and compliance. Therefore, they need to utilise dedicated DevOps teams or outsource it to a specialized company that can provide them with the necessary services risual is among one of those specialized companies.
Real life scenario? well sure let’s take a look.
Below is an example scenario to illustrate potential cost savings of bringing in DevOps experts:
Let’s say a company has a software application that is currently deployed manually by a small team of developers. The deployment process is time-consuming and error-prone, and it often results in downtime and lost revenue. The company decides to hire a DevOps team to automate and streamline the deployment process.
The DevOps team implements a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, which allows for automated testing and deployment of the application. The team also monitors and maintains the infrastructure, ensuring that the application is always available and performant.
By implementing these changes, the company is able to reduce the time and resources required for deployment, resulting in a reduction in downtime and lost revenue. Additionally, the company is able to release new features and updates to the application more quickly and efficiently.
Assuming the company experiences an average of 2 hours of downtime per month due to deployment issues, and each hour of downtime costs the company approximately £8,000 in lost revenue, the company would have saved £16,000 per month.
Additionally, if the company was able to release new features and updates to the application more quickly, it could potentially increase revenue from new customers or from existing customers who use the new features.
In addition to the revenue savings, the company also benefits from improved collaboration between development and operations teams, which can lead to better-quality software and improved customer satisfaction.
