12 May DevOps for the Little Guy
If you have a business, you run some part of it on software. Or you have some smart kid in your business that does it for you. Regardless, you are looking for some technology to handle a specific problem for you, or you have software already… and you are trying to build your business around its limitations and you always wish it did a little more. The small business always has one of those two problems. In the big corporate world, solving those problems are usually done with the combination of two different departments. Problem solvers are in the Development department, and the people with the actual problems are in the Operations department.
As a small business owner, guess what? In your business, you are the person responsible for both departments, and they are critical how your business works and will grow successfully. Now the big boys have a new fancy term and discipline for this combination of what you do every day, called “DevOps”. Corporate culture is famous for creating new terms and management philosophies. Many are impossible to understand, and wrapped in what I call a healthy fear of missing out (“FOMO”).
DevOps is a business method for combining the technology and the way your business runs. This is an elegant way of declaring it a business process and giving it rules and regulations, mixing it together in a way that the “tech-stuff” you need to be done actually helps the “business-stuff” that needs the doing. Since technology is complicated stuff, a religion needs to be created in the corporate world to call attention to the problem. I feel a story coming…
Think about how many people you know who own a smartphone; whether an Apple, Samsung, etc. Don’t you think a mobile-friendly website would be beneficial to your company/business? Google certainly thinks so, which is why they are encouraging users to upgrade their sites. They have changed their search rules to support the way people now search the web. Updating your website will also add value to your company and business. You might decide to enhance your business with a mobile app. You might also decide take your business to the Internet and allow your customers to buy from you directly on your website. If you do, you need to make sure you develop this project with the way your business works and your customers in mind. Also, you need to consider enough skill and experience is required to make sure your tools grow with your company. That way of thinking is instant DevOps for the little guy.
DevOps is also more than just software deployment - it’s a whole new way of thinking about cooperation and coordination between the people who make the software and the people who run it.
James Turnbull, What DevOps means to me..., Kartar.Net
As with anything in life, there is an expectation of hills to climb before everything is said and done. When you dive in and begin to connect the dots between your business and technology, there are many things to think about. Things like security concerns, and the difficulty being able to justify the investment. Or the complex way your many different departments need to work together, and finding the right agency to do these things for you.
Still wondering if this is the direction for your company? Get a consultation and see what an effective DevOps agency can do for you and your business.