Johannesburg, 17 Jul 2023
There is a growing demand for professionals who can bridge the gap between software development and operations, presenting a great opportunity for professionals to upskill themselves to fill the gap.
So says Augusta Vascellari, Business Unit Manager at Torque IT, who says professionals who understand DevOps and develop strong communication skills are in high demand in local organisations.
Vascellari says organisations are prioritising DevOps for several reasons. “One of the most important is that it improves collaboration by bridging the gap between development and operations teams, fostering better communication. This results in a more efficient and productive working environment, which in turn leads to better quality, faster problem resolution and even improved cost efficiency,” she says.
She explains that DevOps differs from traditional approaches because there is often a clear separation between development and operations teams in traditional software development and IT operations. “Development teams focus on writing code, while operations teams are responsible for deploying and maintaining the software. This siloed approach can lead to communication gaps, slower deployments and increased risk of errors,” she says.
In contrast, DevOps emphasises collaboration and integration between development and operations teams. It breaks down the barriers between these teams, promoting shared responsibility throughout the entire software development life cycle. Automation plays a significant role in DevOps, enabling streamlined processes, faster delivery and reduced manual errors.
Isaiven Moodley, Senior Training Specialist at Torque IT, says demand for DevOps training is picking up fast. However, many candidates enter the training with misconceptions about what DevOps entails. “One major misconception is that people think DevOps training is about what tools to acquire, but it’s not that at all. It’s about culture and practice. It is important to understand that DevOps is a cultural change, a different way of working. The tools you use are the last consideration. First, you have to get the culture right, and factors like automation are the last step.”
Moodley explains that culture and communication gaps are common problems in businesses. “Historically, the culture in IT was that you operated in a silo: business made the decisions and threw them to IT. Even within IT there are subcultures. For example, developers push for rapid change and operations want safe change, so they slow things down. DevOps helps teams work together and overcome conflicts to speed up release times because in the current market, speed matters.”
He says: “Most organisations right now are in a grey area – they know the best practice and where they want to get to. The demand is for the skills to drive change and better collaboration to help them move forward.”
Vascellari notes: “It is important that professionals stay up to date with the latest trends and tools in the DevOps ecosystem, as the field is continually evolving.”
Torque IT offers key PeopleCert DevOps certification courses to help professionals get to grips with the new approach to software development and operations.
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