• Home
  • News
  • Big Data & Analytics
  • DevOps
  • Security
  • GDPR
  • AI & ML
  • Women in Tech
  • Cloud & Infrastructure
  • CIO
  • Deskflix
  • Events
  • Whitepapers
  • Spotlights
  • IT Leaders 250
  • Research
  • Delta
  • Tech Marketing Hub
  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  •  
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
     
    • You are currently accessing Computing via your Enterprise account.

      If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

      If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

      Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

      Email: customerservices@incisivemedia.com

      • Sign in
     
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Register
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      Is it time you switched to Database-as-a-Service?

      In this webinar learn how to leverage the advantages of in-VPC deployment, multi-cluster management, hybrid cloud replication, and more, all while delivering operational transparency and low TCO.

      • Date: 13 Apr 2021
      • Computing UK, London
      event logo
      How to overcome your Active Directory consolidation challenges

      In this web seminar we explore how best to go about assessing and modernising your AD as we reveal our research findings into AD health and readiness, consolidation challenges, and strategies for success.

      • Date: 20 Apr 2021
      event logo
      DeskFlix: DevOps

      Join us for this season of Deskflix: DevOps to hear from industry experts, leading partners, and your peers on all of the above. Available live or on-demand you’ll learn about best practice, the most common challenges, and gain valuable lessons on how to approach your 2021 DevOps journey.

      • Date: 21 Apr 2021
      event logo
      Desklix: Digital Workplace

      The Coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on our lives with most organisations making a sudden switch to mass remote working. As restrictions are progressively eased, the impact continues, with organisations having to decide when to allow staff back into offices, what proportion of remote working should be expected, and how all of this should be supported.Take part in this virtual event to put your questions to the experts, and see what your peers have learnt from the pandemic, and how they plan to apply this understanding to 2021 and beyond.

      • Date: 12 May 2021
      View all events
  • Whitepapers
    • LATEST WHITEPAPERS
      Darktrace 120x194
      Cyber AI Response: Threat Report 2019

      This white paper details 7 case studies of attacks that were intercepted and neutralised by Darktrace cyber defense AI, including a zero-day trojan in a manufacturing company's network. Learn how Darktrace Antigena AI Response modules fight back autonomously, no matter where a threat may emerge, extending to the Cloud, Email and SaaS.

      Download
      Darktrace 120x194
      Cyber AI & Darktrace Cloud

      This white paper explores how cloud is a security blind spot for many organisations who struggle with the limited visibility and control in this new environment, where their existing security tools are often not applicable.

      Download
      Find whitepapers
      Search by title or subject area
      View all whitepapers
  • Spotlights
    • Spotlights

      Welcome to Computing's Spotlight section, where we focus in on particularly important themes and topics of enterprise IT.

      Intel logo

       

      Endpoint Management and Security Hub

  • IT Leaders 250
  • Research
  • Delta
  • Tech Marketing Hub
  • About Us
Computing
Computing
  • Home
  • News
  • Big Data & Analytics
  • DevOps
  • Security
  • GDPR
  • AI & ML
  • Women in Tech
  • Cloud & Infrastructure
  • CIO
  • Deskflix
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
 
  • You are currently accessing Computing via your Enterprise account.

    If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

    If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

    Phone: +44 (0) 1858 438800

    Email: customerservices@incisivemedia.com

    • Sign in
 
  • DevOps

DevOps as a Service: when it makes sense to delegate

Demand for DevOps and cloud engineers has never been higher, which is why the service model is gaining popularity

DevOps as a Service: when it makes sense to delegate
DevOps as a Service: when it makes sense to delegate
  • John Leonard
  • John Leonard
  • @_JohnLeonard
  • 24 February 2021
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

The logic of adopting DevOps for digital is fast becoming unassailable. For those areas of the business where transformation is a must, the agility and flexibility embedded in DevOps make it a great match for handling rapidly changing requirements, as well as taking advantage of new cloud native tools and platforms such as containers and Kubernetes.

But unless you happen to be a Silicon Valley behemoth or a VC-funded rising star, you may find it difficult to attract - or afford - the premium talent with the skills, experience and maturity you need. Skills are one of the biggest bottlenecks to DevOps and a key reason for the steady rise in popularity of DevOps as a Service. We spoke with James Dunn, Head of Platform Development at cloud services provider Cloudreach, to find out more about the sort of services available and when it makes sense to delegate.

Skills at a premium

The first reason why companies are reaching out has already been mentioned: skills. Cloud engineering and architect roles have been at a premium for more than five years now and additional demand brought by the pandemic has only tightened the squeeze.

The main problem roles are DevOps engineers, cloud architects, DevOps leads and anyone who has experience building out the cloud - James Dunn, Cloudreach

"The main problem roles are DevOps engineers, cloud architects, DevOps leads and anyone who has experience building out the cloud, because there just isn't enough talent for the demand," said Dunn.

This scarcity is reflected in the salary demands. In the UK, DevOps engineers are paid £72,500 on average, according to CWJobs, rising to £92,500 in parts of London, with cloud architects commanding similar rates of pay, if not higher.

What's more, in most cases cloud architects are skilled in only one major cloud platform, whereas organisations of any size will likely use more than one public cloud provider as a result of developer preferences, mergers and acquisitions, global reach or simply to avoid being over-reliant on one provider, bringing the prospect of having to double up. Companies like Cloudreach can fill the gaps for as long as it takes firms to recruit or train the skills they need.

A second reason that organisations seek assistance is to get over a bump in the road. Often this is right at the start of transformation, because there's a lot to learn in a short space of time, but needs vary according to the type and size of business, said Dunn. Companies already experienced in DevOps and Agile practices most commonly reach out during the scale-up stage, whereas more traditional or larger firms often seek help earlier on.

You need to start by learning to engineer in the right way, using the correct processes and tools and then building the culture

"Many digital-native companies are already really far down the line using all the principles of DevOps, so they may only require consultancy when it comes to expansion.

"Large enterprises are looking at an earlier stage in their digital transformation journey because they aspire to be agile using DevOps methodologies, so want to create an entirely new culture. You need to start by learning to engineer in the right way, using the correct processes and tools and then building the culture."

The length of a DevOps contract will also depend on the organisation and its outsourcing strategy. For example, if a partner is brought in during a specific transformation process, typically the relationship will last until the primary goal has been reached, often a year or two, said Dunn.

"Throughout that time the organisation will need the help of the DevOps engineers to support the process of cloud migration within the business. After that the customer wants to be self-sustainable and may recruit to fill the role themselves."

From back end to UI

DevOps services are generally adopted at the ‘back end' - migrating operations to the cloud as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible - but as those set-ups bed in, Dunn believes the sector will pivot to have more of a customer-facing focus.

"It will definitely become more of a sellable product as IT organisations evolve," he said. "Companies will lean on their third-party DevOps partners as their understanding of the service develops. I expect we at Cloudreach will be asked to do more complex, embedded tasks like integrating DevOps within customer products and services, to help them build and engineer what's on the market."

Another area where he anticipates a heightened focus is security and availability.

"We'll see examples of DevOps aligning with Google's Site Reliability Engineering. This concept has existed for a while, but it's relatively unharnessed because it relies on the customer being quite mature in their digital transformation process."

This article was written in collaboration with Cloudreach.

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • DevOps
  • Skills
  • devops as a service
  • DevOps
  • cloudreach

More on DevOps

DevOps Excellence Awards: Entries close on Friday
DevOps Excellence Awards: Entries close on Friday

DevOps popularity surged last year, and we want to hear about your success

  • DevOps
  • 06 April 2021
Escaping technical debt: moving to the cloud at the Royal Society of Chemistry
Escaping technical debt: moving to the cloud at the Royal Society of Chemistry

'We needed a much more flexible and cost-efficient operation to keep up with the big players in the field', says head of DevOps Chris Callaghan

  • Cloud and Infrastructure
  • 29 March 2021
What are the right ways to approach DevOps? Register for Deskflix Season 4 now to find out
What are the right ways to approach DevOps? Register for Deskflix Season 4 now to find out

Learn from industry experts who have already faced and overcome DevOps challenges

  • DevOps
  • 18 March 2021
Interview: Zaizi, DevOps Excellence Awards winner
Interview: Zaizi, DevOps Excellence Awards winner

Growing its public sector client base made 2020 Zaizi's "best year yet", and there's more to come

  • DevOps
  • 22 February 2021
Interview: Sandhata, DevOps Excellence Awards winner
Interview: Sandhata, DevOps Excellence Awards winner

Integration is a key challenge in the DevOps space

  • DevOps
  • 12 January 2021
blog comments powered by Disqus
Back to Top

Most read

Nearly 500 million LinkedIn users' details posted for sale online
Nearly 500 million LinkedIn users' details posted for sale online
Home Office is creating a 'super database' on people's race, health and biometrics, report
Home Office is creating a 'super database' on people's race, health and biometrics, report
IR35: MPs urge government to protect contract workers from the malpractices of umbrella companies
IR35: MPs urge government to protect contract workers from the malpractices of umbrella companies
British software reseller files £270 million antitrust court action against Microsoft
British software reseller files £270 million antitrust court action against Microsoft
Is it time you switched to Database-as-a-Service? Join us on 13th April to find out
Is it time you switched to Database-as-a-Service? Join us on 13th April to find out
  • Contact
  • Delta
  • Marketing solutions
  • Enterprise IT Events
  • Incisive Media
  • Terms & conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Privacy Settings
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

im_logo

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading