Everyone is talking about DevOps and the question is why is it such a hot topic? It’s been almost a year since we launched the DevOps Agile Skills Association (DASA) in April of last year. We recently sat down with three DASA Forerunner Partners to get their perspectives an DASA and the current state of DevOps.
So, what is a Forerunner you may ask? Forerunner Partners are champions of DevOps within their field or organization. We work with Forerunners to ensure that DASA has a 360-degree view of what’s key to companies looking to adopt DevOps principles. Today, DASA has 66 Forerunner partners that represent leading IT training, consulting, software and enterprise organizations from more than a dozen countries across six continents. Read the responses below to learn each Forerunner’s motivations behind becoming a partner of DASA in addition to their views on the feasibility of DevOps transformations for large and small clients and the role of training in this process.
Veikko Nokkala, Senior Consultant at Wakaru
1. What is the key reason you chose to become a DASA Forerunner Partner?
Our company Wakaru, has a strong background with training and consultation of ITSM and project management related frameworks such as ITIL, COBIT, TOGAF and PRINCE2. The need for agile methodologies has grown immensely in the last few years and DevOps is something I personally feel strongly about. Therefore when we first heard about DASA and the possibility to actually participate in the development of DevOps framework as a Forerunner I was hooked instantly. Now we have held our first DevOps Fundamentals courses and the feedback has been great, so it seems that we made the right choice by joining DASA.
2. Do you think a DevOps (digital) transformation is feasible for companies of all sizes and ages?
Yes, There is no doubt in my mind that DevOps can help companies big or small. Just reviewing DevOps principles that have been defined within the DASA Framework can give you insight on what can be achieved through agile methods. It is all about finding your own path to enlightenment where you will find the true success of DevOps and its principles.
3. How important is the role of training for implementing DevOps into an organization?
Crucial part of any DevOps journey is to understand the core concepts and themes of DevOps and training helps in that aspect greatly. Company wide training gives everyone the same language and common understanding of what is the goal of DevOps. Whether you are a DevOps evangelist who likes to spread the word among your friends or company, DevOps training gives you the possibility to validate and certificate your learning. Or if you are new to agile methodologies and wish to learn more about them DevOps Fundamentals training offers great insight on the topic.
Harold Petersen, Director Advisory at CSC Consulting ANZ
1. What is the key reason you chose to become a DASA Forerunner Partner?
In implementations of lean and agile capabilities across Dev and Ops for our customers, we have experienced and observed opportunities and successful approaches as well as challenges and pitfalls. We feel that IT organizations and practitioners now have a strong need for a capability uplift towards proven DevOps best practices.
The great technical solutions that are currently available to build a DevOps toolchain by themselves are not enough. People, process and culture aspects need to be uplifted to fully leverage the tool capabilities and achieve the value that DevOps and Agile promise. To date, there isn’t a globally accepted tiered accreditation program for DevOps professionals from foundational to expert level. Capabilities in the market place are far and few between and organizations struggle to find and select the right resources and expertise. It is important to professionalize DevOps, Agile and Lean capabilities, so IT organizations are ready to leverage the great digital enablement opportunities for any type of business.
As a Forerunner, we are keen to be an early contributor as well as gain early exposure to other contributions regarding existing and emerging best practices in the agile and DevOps space.
2. Do you think a DevOps (digital) transformation is feasible for companies of all sizes and ages?
Yes, but, it is important for each organization to identify its specific needs and requirements, apply it to the right services and environments and tailor people, process and tool chain aspects accordingly.
3. How important is the role of training for implementing DevOps into an organization?
Very important. As mentioned above, it is currently hard to find suitable resources and ascertain whether resources have the appropriate skills. As a result, implementations often fail to achieve the value that organizations are after. A general uplift of capability across the appropriate IT professionals around the globe is important, as well as an accreditation and reference framework to rate levels of capability.
Sjon Post, Program Manager at Computrain
1. What’s the key reason you have become a DASA Forerunner Partner?
It is one of the most important areas which has impact for the way a company is structured and organized surrounding the development and operations processes within the company. We want to deliver top solutions on this area for our customers who are looking at, or already working with, DevOps and believe DASA is an important part for delivering these solutions.
2. Do you think a DevOps (digital) transformation is feasible for companies of all sizes and ages?
Yes, but the transition will be bigger for more formally structured companies who have been using the waterfall approach for many years.
3. How important is the role of training for implementing DevOps into an organization?
Important, but there is also a big part of changing the culture in an organization, it has to be combined with training and change management for a successful implementation.
Want to know more about joining us as a DASA Forerunner Partner? Head over to our Membership page for additional details and benefits and to get started with the application process.
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