In 2018, the Federal Government recognized that it needed to modernize its networks and move from traditional infrastructure to a cloud-based environment. In January, President Trump issued executive order 13800, which enforces a policy of modernization across all federal agencies. The plan outlines four steps: build a secure foundation; transition to the cloud; enable cybersecurity risk management; secure agency data and IT supply chains.
This directive is where DevOps comes into play as one of the most effective ways for an organization to develop systems in order to manage distributed computing environments. But there are challenges associated with implementing these types of practices within government agencies because they focus on designing better services rather than just developing new products or technology.
The goal of service design is to create services that are effective, efficient, and engaging for the end-user. This type of design approach focuses on building products around the needs of who they are intended for rather than creating something with technology in mind.
The Federal Government is missing an opportunity to make significant progress towards modernizing its infrastructure by ignoring service design principles when moving towards cloud-based systems. Without taking these factors into consideration it will be difficult for government agencies to successfully implement DevOps practices.
A common challenge faced by organizations transitioning to a cloud environment is not just about developing new technology or tools but actually implementing them across various networks. Enterprises that previously relied upon large data centers may find themselves struggling because many of their employees do not understand how this new system works.
As a result, it is important to draw upon the lessons from some of the most popular DevOps practices and figure out how they can best be applied within a large-scale network.
The following five DevOps principles are important to consider when taking this next step:
- A culture of collaboration; building trust between workers.
- Transparency; make sure visibility is established at every step throughout the process.
- Automated testing; identify key pain points and plan accordingly for more efficient operations.
- Continuous integration
For an organization that needs to migrate certain aspects of its infrastructure to a more agile system, this proves somewhat daunting because many different teams work with various tools. As such, it is important that this process remains fluid, which means the organization needs to be able to work with various people from across different departments.
For example, a DevOps team may struggle to implement any changes if it does not have access to the necessary data centers. In order for a cloud infrastructure to work most effectively, many teams must collaborate so they can establish a sense of trust and transparency throughout the process. This is particularly important in terms of developing automated testing capabilities that best identify the areas of improvement.
This is crucial because it allows the DevOps team to further develop a cloud platform that remains in line with any business requirements and key pain points. The organization may be able to create new products or tools, which can integrate seamlessly across cloud infrastructures. As such, there must be a continuous stream of communication
This means that it becomes essential for the company to implement standard operating procedures during this transition period. By ensuring everyone follows similar protocols, workers can now communicate with each other more efficiently and perform more effectively.