NetOps and DevOps Want More Collaboration in a Multi-Cloud World
August 01 2017 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
F5 survey highlights a mutual focus on
balancing flexibility, control, and automation in scaling IT
capabilities
F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) announced the results of a recent
survey comparing the views of over 850 NetOps and DevOps IT
professionals on their respective disciplines and collaboration
practices. Traditionally, the larger IT market has viewed these two
groups as somewhat antagonistic toward one other. However, the F5
survey indicates they are largely aligned on priorities, with
converging interests around the production pipeline and automation
capabilities. Reconciling survey results with the current trend of
DevOps turning to outside solutions (such as shadow IT) to deploy
applications, an implication emerges that NetOps will need
additional skills to adequately support efforts tied to digital
transformation and multi-cloud deployments.
In parallel, F5’s Americas Agility conference takes place this
week in Chicago, featuring a dedicated focus toward topics relevant
to the interplay between NetOps and DevOps. With hands-on
experiences such as technology labs and training classes aimed at
helping operations and development professionals take advantage of
programmable solutions, the event explores how modern applications
are successfully developed, deployed, secured, and supported.
Key Survey Findings
- NetOps and DevOps respect each
other’s priorities – Within each group, over three-quarters of
NetOps and DevOps personnel believe the other function to be
prioritizing “the right things” within IT, signaling a common
understanding of broader goals, and opportunities to increase
collaboration between the teams. In addition, the groups are fairly
aligned on the pace that apps and services are delivered, with
frequency of deployments satisfying a significant majority of both
DevOps (70%) and NetOps (74%) personnel.
- Support for automation – Both
segments agreed that automation within the production pipeline is
important, with an average rating of significance on a 5-point
scale of 4.0 from DevOps and 3.5 from NetOps. Respondents also
reported more confidence in the reliability, performance, and
security of applications when the production pipeline is more than
50% automated.
- Dissonance around pipeline
access – A difference of opinion surfaced around the ideal
level of shared access to production resources. Forty-five percent
of DevOps believe they should have access to at least 75% of the
production pipeline, with significantly less (31%) of NetOps
respondents placing the access figure for DevOps that high, hinting
at a partial disconnect surrounding expectations and best practices
within IT. This misalignment can hamper efforts to streamline
processes and deliver applications the business needs to succeed in
a digital economy.
- Differences driving multi-cloud
deployments – The majority of DevOps (65%) admitted to being
influenced toward adopting cloud solutions either “a lot” or “some”
by the state of access to the pipeline via automation/self-service
capabilities. Related, a significant portion of NetOps (44%)
indicated that DevOps’ use of outside cloud technologies affects
their desire to provide pipeline access “some,” with an additional
21% stating that it influences them “a lot.” One result of this is
the use of multiple cloud solutions and providers across IT,
further complicating the process of delivering, deploying, and
scaling applications that support digital transformation
efforts.
“We see some interesting data points around network- and
development-focused personnel,” said Ben Gibson, EVP and Chief
Marketing Officer at F5. “While DevOps seeks more open access to
the deployment pipeline to drive the speed of innovation, NetOps
can be much more cautious around permissions—presumably because
they’re the ones that bear the responsibility if security,
availability, or performance are compromised. Despite different
approaches, both groups support each other’s efforts, and seem to
agree that more flexible technologies are needed to overcome
current business limitations, bridge disparate functions, and
position IT to better leverage public, private, and multi-cloud
environments. Overall, neither group’s responses seemed
particularly well aligned with the ‘us vs. them’ narrative that has
loomed large in the media to date.”
Bridging IT Functions between NetOps and DevOps
Taken together, the survey results point to a rising interest in
automation and self-service that can be linked to the rapid
adoption of cloud-based solutions, and the desired flexibility they
provide. NetOps and DevOps each demonstrate a willingness to
introduce emerging technologies and methods into the production
pipeline. However, the speed of innovation can also push
traditional IT operations teams beyond their current skill levels,
contributing potential resistance on the path to streamlined future
application rollouts. From the survey, DevOps reports a confidence
level of 3.6 on a 5-point scale in terms of if they have the skills
their job function requires, with NetOps’ self-assessment yielding
a slightly lower figure (3.4).
The survey findings are in step with F5’s belief that enhanced
education will play a larger role in bringing these two groups
together and rallying around shared goals. To that aim, F5 offers a
growing library of industry certification programs that help
customers tailor their application delivery infrastructures across
related disciplines and provide common frameworks for different
roles throughout the organization. With testing available at F5’s
Agility conferences and other venues, over 2,500 certifications
have been earned in the past year. In addition, F5’s vibrant
DevCentral community provides a means for over 250,000 customers,
developers, and other IT professionals to pool their collective
knowledge, learn from each other’s experiences, and make the most
of their technology investments.
Looking forward, F5 is focused on enabling shared empowerment
between NetOps and DevOps teammates, concurrent with their use of
multi-cloud solutions. The company’s programmable BIG-IP® products,
along with adjacent technologies such as its container-focused
offerings, provide compelling platforms for evolving IT groups to
apply valuable acceleration, availability, and security services to
make their applications, users, and operations practices more
successful. Further detail on the survey results and methodology
can be found in a companion report.
Additional Resources
- F5 survey finds DevOps and NetOps agree
on importance of automation and frequency of deployments – F5
blog
- Unpacking a multi-cloud approach – F5
blog
- F5 multi-cloud solution page
- F5’s Americas Agility conference
information
About F5
F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) makes apps go faster, smarter, and safer for
the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and
consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that
enable organizations to embrace the application infrastructure they
choose without sacrificing speed and control. For more information,
go to f5.com. You can also follow @f5networks on
Twitter or visit us
on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information
about F5, its partners, and technologies.
F5, Agility, DevCentral, and BIG-IP are trademarks or service
marks of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All
other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their
respective owners.
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F5 NetworksNathan Misner, 206-272-7494n.misner@f5.comorWE
CommunicationsHolly Lancaster,
415-547-7054hluka@we-worldwide.com
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