OpsLogix: DevOps that makes Sense

by OpsLogix, on 08-Feb-2022 14:00:00

OpsLogix_and_DevOps

With the aim to cut down development cycles and time to market, increase the frequency of deployment and ensure high-quality software releases, it is no surprise that DevOps has come to be a popular approach to application development. 

DevOps

DevOps is a concept or approach to software and application development with various definitions. Though they may vary slightly, it refers to the development and operations team's combined and close efforts and collaborations in application development throughout the development lifecycle. 

The DevOps approach is not a technology but a combination of several practices such as; Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), cloud computing, and configuration and incident management. What can facilitate and accelerate DevOps is cloud-native, container applications. The way they are structured makes them flexible, faster to deploy than monolithic applications, and transferrable between teams which facilitates cross-functional collaboration. 

Unlike previous and current, silo-based approaches, DevOps makes application- and software development cross-functional, also benefiting the business through cost and time savings, facilitation of experimentation and innovation, and stable and reliant applications. 

There are eight stages within the DevOps lifecycle: Plan, Code, Build, Test, Release, Deploy, Operate, and Monitor - all essential to facilitate the approach. Though it's not a linear process, the last mentioned stage monitoring is crucial to ensure a stable and well-performing application. 

The overall DevOps concept involves closer cooperation between development and operations to enhance an application's overall performance and functionality. The monitoring is no exception. Learn more about monitoring container applications in "Containerization and Kubernetes Monitoring". 

By engaging software developers in monitoring applications, a task typically under the responsibility of the IT Operations, there will be a greater understanding of the performance of an application and input for future development. 

Balancing Dev and Ops

While the general idea of DevOps is nothing but improving the development and deployment of applications, there are some things to be considered. In the more traditional, silo application development structure, the teams work more in-depth with their areas of expertise and interest. 

Taking a DevOps approach requires a balance of levels of expertise within the teams. For most people, it's not possible or at least desirable to be an expert in software development and IT operations, but rather to acquire sufficient skills to enable DevOps as a more close-knit, integrated approach of both practices. 

Neither area, nor related tasks, are simple to learn, and therefore it may not generate any benefit to creating two teams where all employees are fully proficient developers and operators. The risk is becoming counterproductive in the striving for, what would be, one DevOps team rather than two separate ones, but with close collaboration and cooperation. 

DevOps and SCOM

Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) is a monitoring solution applied for companies in all industries to monitor the health of the infrastructure environment. 

Monitoring from a DevOps approach is somewhat different from a traditional silo structured application development. Monitoring is not isolated to the post-development and operational stage of the development lifecycle but integrated continuously throughout it. 

DevOps is an iterative process where updates and improvements to the application software are expected to be released more frequently and faster. Therefore, adding monitoring to earlier stages in the lifecycle is required. 

When monitoring and developing applications continuously, the new releases are ensured to perform better, while potential issues will be identified in a test- rather than a production stage. 

Using SCOM as a monitoring tool in DevOps will enhance the application development and performance by providing up-to-date insights on performance. By either developing customized management packs or off-the-shelf alternatives for SCOM, software development (Dev) and the IT operations team (Ops) will access all current information they may require to optimize application delivery. 

Therefore, SCOM can reinforce the underlying ideas and goals of the DevOps approach. Additionally, SCOM allows for the integration of many applications and MP's to enhance and simplify monitoring, improving the collaboration between teams. One example is the SCOM Connector for Microsoft Teams, which allows for communication around monitoring without the need to work in SCOM. Another one is the Kubernetes MP that makes it possible to monitor container applications in Kubernetes through SCOM. Read more about the upcoming Kubernetes MP in the Press Release

DevOps and OpsLogix

OpsLogix takes an active role in improving application delivery and availability through DevOps practices. We build close and functional relationships with our customers to ensure the delivery of products and services aligned with IT operations expectations, as well as overall business goals. 

With a team of skilled DevOps engineers and support staff, we provide a robust and extensive set of DevOps solutions that will help you gain a competitive advantage and deliver exceptional results. Whether you need an off-the-shelf or customized management pack for SCOM, a framework to support, set up, and structure your SCOM environment, or a fully managed Monitoring as a Service - our products and services will reinforce your DevOps efforts. 

Our most significant strength within the DevOps approach relates to the operational areas - as OpsLogix' primary focus is addressing monitoring, and more explicitly, monitoring in SCOM. Our DevOps engineers value service availability and are skilled in IT service management, incident- and support management using ServiceNow, and Agile frameworks like Scrum.

What we're all about

Although SCOM has traditionally been used to monitor on-prem environments, the platform now has certain cloud capabilities. Whether you have an on-prem or hybrid environment, we design, deliver, and implement infrastructure to support all options. 

Our products and services ensure production-grade and service stability for you to develop and deliver high-quality applications. Software development and IT operations often involve various internal- and external teams and vendors.

To support our customers in the best way possible and create a seamless experience when working with OpsLogix, we work with all stakeholders involved. This enables better support in project management, while goals and milestones are easier to estimate and reach. 

For us, it's essential to deliver high-quality solutions that support our customers in their operations. Therefore, working closely with customers to share ideas and insights for future improvements is crucial for our product and service delivery. 

How we deliver success

We strongly focus on the integration and automation of monitoring. That allows us to provide management packs and other products, easy to deploy and run with other systems while requiring little effort in the daily operations.  

Integration, not to be mistaken for CI as mentioned above, together with automation, streamline and scale down the manual tasks that IT operations are involved in to ensure a stable and well functioning environment. 

We hold excellent practical knowledge of SCOM and cloud technologies within Microsoft Azure. Making us a reliant and experienced knowledge- and operations partner for your IT operations. With years of developing products and services for organizations in various industries, we have gathered many insights in development and deployment that are highly valuable in IT monitoring. 

Besides developing management packs and services for SCOM, we are also experienced in delivering Infrastructure as Code (IAC), using tools like Terraform, ARM, and others. 

We are passionate about technology that delivers real value to your organization. This is what OpsLogix has been doing for years, and we continue to evolve as product,- service,- and knowledge providers. With our practical- and technical skills and know-how, we can support your DevOps processes in various ways.

Do you want to know more about how we can support you with DevOps processes or what it's like to work with us? 

Contact Sales Working with OpsLogix

Topics:MonitoringOpsLogixSCOMDevOps

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