‘DevOps is still at a nascent stage in India’: Sunil Manglore, CA Technologies

Specific to India, can you share some key highlights of the study?

In the survey conducted by Vanson Bourne, it was found that 71% of Indian IT leaders are facing the pressure to launch new services or applications due to customer demand. This is second only to China (85%) in the region. 53% of Indian IT leaders feel that the biggest driver for the need of DevOps is the need to improve the quality and performance of applications. 94% of Indian IT leaders expect to see their software/ applications being made available across various platforms.

What are the major roadblocks for Indian organizations for adopting a DevOps approach?

DevOps is still at a nascent stage in India with only 26% of Indian organizations having implemented it till date. Even though 59% of Indian organizations intend to build application development capabilities through acquisition in the next 12 months, they are faced with a number of challenges. A few major challenges or roadblocks in the implementation of DevOps are:

Security and Compliance: Security tops the survey as one of the major obstacles in responding effectively to the application economy.

Lack of Trained Personnel: Indian organizations are finding it challenging in appointing the right individuals towards their goal of implementing DevOps. This is mainly because they don’t have too many employees who are trained in aligning the business strategies along with the processes.

Budget Constraints: 53% of Indian IT leaders feel that the biggest driver for the need of DevOps is the need to improve the quality and performance of applications. However, to do this, organizations need flexible budgets which is something that is not easily available to them. Most Indian companies are ridden with budget constraints and the cost of adopting DevOps is high with respect to training employees and getting the required software in place.

How can Indian organizations incorporate DevOps practices quickly in their own organizations?  What must be the starting steps?

As we know, DevOps means the coming together of Development and Operations. In a recent study conducted by CA Technologies, it has been found that 70% of Indian enterprises have committed to training their staff on the tenets of DevOps. This further goes to show that companies are increasingly adopting DevOps as a part of their business process.

Organizations need to tap into or rather pick up on the skills required by their employees. This is imperative as we have entered an environment where almost all processes in an organization are driven by applications. For DevOps, it is important that employees are aware of business strategies, as well as adept with the business processes in the organization.

This brings us to the key skills one needs to harness in this application-driven world. The top skills required for DevOps are knowledge of business strategies and an understanding of current business processes. There are those who leave this up to senior management, however, given the current dynamics, they will lag behind the rest of the competition.

In order to ensure that DevOps is a success in every organization that adopts the practice, we need to keep the following in mind:

• The outcome that is expected or desired from this adoption needs to be defined clearly to all employees. They need to be made aware of why DevOps is being implemented in the organization.
• The common goal of implementing DevOps practices across offices should be communicated to all teams. By doing this, teams will be made aware of what they are working towards and will collaborate effectively to achieve this goal.
• When planning the DevOps strategy, it is imperative that the right talent is identified within organizations. This means that individuals who are fully aware of the business processes and strategies need to be appointed towards working on the adoption of DevOps.

We believe a DevOps culture will enable businesses to better compete in today’s app-driven, cloud-connected, mobile-everything world. Additionally, we believe that 2015 will be the year that will see many companies embarking on their DevOps journey.