Embedding Devops in the Enterprise

by Patrick Debois

With the term "devops" picking up steam, vendors are now (re)branding their tools as devops tools. Similar to unit-test tools that supported an agile workflow, the current discussion on deployment automation supports the devops ideas. Even though tools have their merits, after reading the August 2011 issue of Cutter IT Journal -- "Devops: A Software Revolution in the Making" -- it should be clear that tools are merely one aspect of devops and must be complemented with other aspects. The nice thing about tools is that they give you something concrete to discuss, as compared to the more intangible notion of "culture." Within large enterprises, tools are probably the easy part. Therefore, in this issue, we would like to focus on the harder aspects, like "people and processes," or as the Agile Manifesto puts it, "Individuals and interactions."