What’s Next for DevOps? Four DevOps Predictions for 2023
Four key predictions for DevOps and how the space will evolve over the coming year.
The general prediction is that “Dev” and “Ops” will finally converge to the point that development and IT operations shops will no longer operate as distinct entities. We’re headed toward a not-very-distant future wherein Dev and Ops become a single team and function at forward-thinking businesses. Just as important, Dev and Ops will come under the governance of a process-based platform that enforces key technical and business requirements across all stages of the software delivery lifecycle – unlike existing tools, emphasizes Matthew Clemente, EVP at Lemongrass.
But achieving convergence of Dev and Ops requires overcoming a variety of challenges, of course. You can’t just say Dev and Ops become a single function and expect it to happen magically.
That’s why the longer answer to “what’s next for DevOps?” boils down to a series of more specific trends that will enable the unification of development and IT operations. Here’s what those trends entail and why they’re set to dominate DevOps practices in 2023.
See More: Low-Code Software: A Launchpad for Robotic Process Automation
Continuing to Embrace Low-code
Low-code programming platforms have been around for years, minimizing the amount of code engineers write to create or deploy software. But part of the reason low code is generating so much buzz at present is that it helps close the operations gap separating developers from IT operations teams.
Low-code makes it possible for IT Ops engineers who aren’t seasoned coders to contribute to the development of application functionality when necessary. At the same time, low code can help developers to play a more central role in writing configurations for software. By extension, low code streamlines IT operations. It lowers risk by allowing developers to create configurations themselves rather than trying to get IT Ops teams to interpret application needs based on developer guidance and implement configurations accordingly.
To be sure, there are plenty of challenges surrounding low code – like the risk that security vulnerabilities lurk in preconfigured code modules or performance limitations of software created using a low-code approach – and those challenges will limit the extent to which teams use low code. But in general, expect to see a continued increase in the adoption of low-code solutions in 2023 in order to drive convergence between Dev and Ops.
Increased Adoption of Kubernetes
Along similar lines, expect to see even more migration of workloads to Kubernetes in 2023 – and not just because Kubernetes has won the “orchestration wars” to become the de facto platform for hosting containerized applications.
Instead, part of Kubernetes’s appeal in the context of modern DevOps is that Kubernetes is a platform that both developers and IT Ops engineers can love. For developers, Kubernetes provides a consistent, predictable way to run apps, which means development teams don’t have to worry about addressing as many variables and edge cases when writing code. Likewise, for Ops, Kubernetes offers a systematic and highly reliable way of deploying applications at scale. Kubernetes thus brings Dev and Ops together in a way that few other platforms can.
Extending DevOps Automation Across the Business
Historically, automation in the context of DevOps, automation meant automating software delivery processes, like continuous integration (CI) and deployment (CD) of applications.
Going forward, however, we’re likely to see DevOps teams creating automations that extend to other facets of IT management and operations. Businesses will be making heavier use of automated testing to ensure application quality, for instance, and security teams will adopt automation to help remediate risks.
The main reason for these changes is that automation will help to bring even more velocity to Dev and Ops processes. Traditionally, workflows like software testing or security response could become bottlenecks for DevOps teams. By automating these processes as much as possible, businesses reduce friction and make DevOps even faster and more efficient.
Making Actionable Use of AI and ML
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) aren’t new. But until recently, the extent to which DevOps tools fully benefited from AI and ML was limited. Vendors often promised that their AI-powered tools could do fantastic things, but in practice, those things often boiled down to functionality like a relatively simplistic pattern or anomaly detection.
That has finally changed, however, as we’ve entered the “new age of AI.” AI-powered DevOps tools are now capable of truly advanced functionality, like automatically rightsizing workload configurations or detecting security risks in complex access control settings.
By taking advantage of next-generation AI and ML tools, Dev and Ops can work together even more efficiently because these tools address challenges that Dev and Ops both care about. The tools will help all stakeholders in DevOps to speak a common language and work toward common operations, security and compliance goals – steps that are essential for achieving the complete convergence of Dev and Ops.
See More: To Code or Not to Code: The Benefits of Automating Software Testing
Gearing Up for the Future of DevOps
Ultimately, we’re headed toward a future where Dev and Ops will become collectively governed by application-centric platforms that can connect the dots between all aspects of Dev and Ops – not to mention related functions, like security and quality assurance.
But those platforms don’t yet exist – at least not quite – and so for 2023, the overarching trend of the DevOps world will be to find ways for Dev and Ops practitioners to work more closely together than ever by taking advantage of the tools that they do have – such as low-code programming solutions and automations that can address processes beyond just software delivery. These developments will pave the way for a future where Dev and Ops fully unite, making DevOps not just a philosophy but an actual, self-contained function in the complete sense of the word.
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