DevOps for Startups: The Perks of Being Outsourced

Working on your own project is challenging. Competing with more prominent developers is even more challenging. In a modern developers world, production speed and quality are everything. So you should take care of prompt and excellent soft delivery, even under conditions of small staff.

DevOps helps eliminate several pain points, namely, providing a top delivery speed and keeping high quality. However, startups may not consider forming a full-fledged DevOps department as this step is beyond their limits. And here comes the solution — to appeal to outsourced DevOps teams.

This article aims to shed light on DevOps-as-a-Service and help startups to remain competitive.

Let's take a closer look!

A Brief Story of DevOps

Before you answer the question "Do I actually need DevOps?", make sure you realize what this methodology is.

Imagine DevOps as a bridge between the people who create the software (developers) and the people who make sure it works well in real life (operation teams). It's like using the tools that simplify teamwork and enable a company to build and run its software smoothly.

Instead of developers doing their thing and then throwing their work over the wall to operations, DevOps encourages everyone to work together from the very start. Thus, the teams detect bugs early, release new features faster, and ensure the software runs reliably.

It's all about making the whole process of creating and running software faster and less error-prone, which is especially important for startups aiming to be efficient and responsive to their customers' needs.

According to Forrester, DevOps only keeps growing in popularity as companies have appreciated its positive impact on processes. The consistent adoption of DevOps practices not only trims down release time but also amplifies the adaptability of enterprises, enhancing their resilience.

To Whom DevOps May Concern

Nearly everyone will benefit from DevOps: software development teams, IT companies, various businesses, QA teams, customers and many others.

With DevOps, organizations can release new products and services faster, raise software quality, reduce production costs and even positively influence customer impression. It automates many tasks in the software development lifecycle and lets IT teams focus on more strategic initiatives.

Moreover, DevOps can put its hand to improving customer satisfaction with the capability to deliver new features and bug fixes faster. It can also help organizations reduce the number of customer support tickets they receive.

Now, let's get back to startups, as they have a slightly different situation.

A startup in a development field is like a baby lion in a jungle: it has potential and probably will rock unless other fierce animals eliminate it. To raise the chances of success, a small business needs assistance — something to cover its basic needs and boost its potential.

DevOps can be a game-changer for startups, allowing them to compete with larger organizations. The methodology enables faster development and deployment of startup products and services.

However, forming an in-house DevOps team is a great challenge for small businesses. It demands high budgets, lots of effort to pick high-class specialists (or, at least, sensible ones) and some time for training newcomers. For a while, startup work is not accelerating; it's slowing down. And now remember what we said about the demand for top speed to be competitive.

Ineffective, is it?

So, handing some tasks to third-party companies can significantly ease your life. That's why outsourced DevOps is gaining momentum among startups.

DevOps-as-a-Service Be Like…

If you choose outsourcing, it's going to be like this.

You monitor the market and choose a third-party company which, in your opinion, best suits your business. This company gathers a skilled and knowledgeable group to create, build, and merge DevOps solutions and methods into your startup. They make sure everything they do is designed to fit perfectly with your goals.

Generally, the outsourced DevOps provides the following practices:

1. Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD). Continuous integration involves regularly updating your code repository. It entails incorporating significant code changes into the main branch, all while conducting automated tests to verify the correctness of modifications. When it's time to release a software build, continuous delivery comes. This practice primarily focuses on deploying the build and all its associated updates to a testing and production environment.
2. Testing Automation. Testing automation allows startups to find and fix problems in their software quickly and accurately. Consequently, the business gets fewer product errors, faster customer delivery, and a better overall user experience.
3. Configuration Management is a way to set up and control your software and systems quickly. It's like having a simple remote control for all your technology, making it effortless to make changes, maintain consistency, and avoid chaos in your digital operations.
4. Infrastructure Automation and Management. This approach takes care of routine tasks. Thus, it helps save employees' time, allowing them to concentrate on more urgent issues and manage complex infrastructures, keeping their productivity.
5. Cloud Services. Cloud services enable startups to store their data and run their software online. They allow companies to scale up or down easily, pay only for what they use, and access their resources from anywhere, helping them save money and be more agile in serving their customers.
6. Infrastructure as Code. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) substantially decreases unexpected and unrecorded variations among different environments. It synchronizes your infrastructures and empowers swift and precise testing processes.
7. Release Management. This approach provides startups with a smooth and organized way to introduce new features and updates to their software. It's like having a well-orchestrated plan for launching products that ensures things go smoothly, minimizing disruptions and customer frustration.
8. Automated Monitoring and Logging. Automated monitoring and logging opens a way to keep a close eye on the software and systems. It's like having a watchful guardian that tracks everything happening in your technology so you can quickly spot and fix any issues, ensuring your services run smoothly and customers stay happy.
9. Security Management. Security management means protection and peace of mind for startups. It helps them safeguard their digital assets and customer data from potential threats and breaches, ensuring their business operations run smoothly without worrying about cyberattacks disrupting their growth.

Why startups benefit from DaaS

POV: You work without DevOps now and don't clearly understand why you actually need these changes (and additional expenses, of course).

Well, DevOps has many advantages for startups, but we will mention only a few of them — the most critical ones.

First and foremost — speeding up a product release. 

DevOps streamlines the software development and deployment process, enabling startups to release new features and updates more quickly. We will never tire of repeating: top speed is crucial in the competitive development landscape.

Fast release is good, but it's nothing without improved quality.

DevOps automates many tasks involved in testing and deployment, letting startups improve the quality of their software. Basically, instead of dealing with routine tasks and standing still, you can focus on more crucial problems and, thus, move your product further. Automation helps startups to reduce the number of bugs in their software and improve the customer experience.

A combination of faster time-to-market and better quality gives a competitive advantage.

Startups that embrace DevOps can outpace competitors by delivering innovative solutions faster and more reliably. And this is vital in a fierce developing field.

And last but not least — reduced costs.

Startups often have limited resources, so they need to be able to operate efficiently. DevOps helps reduce costs by automating many of the tasks involved in IT operations, freeing IT staff to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Shall we start?

Traditionally, we only show the door — you're the one who has to walk through it.

As you see, DevOps-as-a-Service has many benefits for startups. It allows small businesses to boost their potential without hiring expensive specialists. Thus, you're playing cool, remaining competitive and reducing costs.

So, what can you do to start working with DevOps?

First of all — make a clear understanding of your goals. Check which gaps in productivity you have and would like to cover, make a picture of perfect team collaboration and think of what you lack in your processes. Then, correlate your goals with DevOps benefits and see whether they meet your requirements. And, of course, carefully choose a company to cooperate with.

Quema specialists are ready to help you with any issues on your DevOps journey. If you have any questions on DevOps choice or implementation, feel free to contact us — sales@quema.co