Where you might need DevOps as a service

Dynamically evolving technology puts intense pressure on modern enterprises to deliver competitive software products of the highest quality at great speed. DevOps methodology combines best practices from development and operations to minimize the gap between traditionally isolated departments, allowing organizations to accelerate development while optimizing product quality. DevOps as a Service (DaaS), on the other hand, is a solution that allows companies to get professional support from development and operations teams without the cost of assembling and maintaining internal groups of experts.

What is the meaning of DevOps as a Service?

The software development process, deployment, and other essential IT tasks can be outsourced to a specialized service provider that has the necessary DevOps tools, allowing companies to leverage the DevOps methodology without having to set up and maintain their own DevOps environment.

Typically, DaaS provides comprehensive service solutions that save a lot of time and financial resources and allow companies to focus more on their core activities. DaaS service provider can help its customers with development, software testing, deployment process, and post-roll-out support, including monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization of software products.

DevOps as a service model

To better understand the meaning of DaaS, it is helpful to take a closer look at the typical model used by providers of such services.

Typically, the work begins with setting up the necessary infrastructure, including servers, a network, a cloud management platform, and other resources. The provider can also offer its customers tools that enable the adoption of DevOps practices, such as frameworks for automated testing and continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) platforms.

The DaaS provider helps its customers design and implement effective DevOps processes and provides guidance and support for implementing DevOps methodology, troubleshooting, and workflow optimization.

To protect their customers' software, DaaS providers take complex care of security and ensure regulatory compliance.

What are the benefits of DevOps as a service?

The main advantage of DevOps as a Service is that you get comprehensive support for the software delivery process from day one, without interrupting production while you assemble a team of experts and build a DevOps infrastructure in your organization.

Here are more details on the benefits of working with a DevOps as a Service company.

Ready-to-use solutions for software development and deployment processes

One of the biggest benefits of DevOps services is access to a fully-functional infrastructure with storage, servers, networks, and DevOps tools. Companies can save a lot of money by not having to invest in hardware and pay licensing costs to use innovative and interoperable tools. Development and operations teams take care of the cloud environment and other solutions used for configuration management, automated testing, and continuous integration.

Of course, DaaS also supports companies with the expertise of specialists who have already mastered DevOps practices. These experts will take care of every phase of app development and deployment.

Flexible and scalable DevOps processes

An organization's needs can change unexpectedly, and there is no guarantee that requirements will not change at any stage of software development.

DevOps services simplify the management of such situations by making it easy to scale down the DevOps infrastructure or expand it along the way. The experienced team will quickly adapt their DevOps tools and DevOps practices to achieve the best results under changing conditions.

Industry-level security and compliance

Developing secure software that is compliant with relevant regulations can be challenging. At the same time, security or compliance mistakes can have serious consequences.

Working with professional DevOps teams helps organizations avoid unpleasant scenarios and ensure that their software is developed according to industry best practices for access control, data protection, and compliance with relevant regulations.

When is DevOps as a service better for my company?

The DevOps methodology has many advantages over traditional software development processes, and in certain cases, organizations need to use the DevOps approach to make their projects successful. This is especially true when working with applications that have a cloud-based architecture or microservices. In this case, opting for DevOps as a Service has its advantages. If one of the scenarios described below applies to your business, DevOps as a Service might be the best possible solution for you.

Companies with limited resources

The services offered by DevOps are particularly useful for small businesses and startups that do not have sufficient resources to build their infrastructure. DevOps as a Service provides companies with external expertise and resources and takes care of the development and deployment pipeline.

Companies with a focus on core business

For certain companies, working with DevOps as a Service provider is a great chance to focus on their core operations. Even if they have the financial resources to build their infrastructure, the nature of their business may make it more profitable for them to outsource DevOps tasks to a team of specialists.

Companies experiencing rapid growth

Companies that need immediate digital transformation due to their rapid growth will especially appreciate the scalability which is also one of the benefits of DevOps as a Service.

As much as companies try to maintain their flexibility to easily adapt to changing business needs, sometimes it is extremely difficult to keep up with the ever-changing conditions. For this reason, a company undergoing accelerated expansion may benefit more from enlisting the help of a professional DevOps as a Service provider than investing in building the entire infrastructure from scratch and assembling a team of professionals.

Moreover, a company may not need its own infrastructure and DevOps team because the scale of its business has reduced. This does not necessarily mean that such a company has to abandon the use of DevOps best practices as well as deployment, continuous integration, and development tools. It is enough to switch to a DevOps as a Service provider, which may prove more cost effective for those companies that are downsizing.

Companies with particularly high-security requirements

Security is essential to almost any modern software product, but there are industries that have to meet particularly stringent standards. These include the financial and healthcare sectors, where compromised security can lead to disastrous results.

Clearly, it is essential for companies working on software products for such industries to work with DevOps professionals with excellent expertise. In this situation, working with an experienced DaaS team can be a better choice than the lengthy process of building your own DevOps department.

How do you choose the best DevOps as a Service provider?

To get the most out of your collaboration with a DevOps team, be sure to consider the following recommendations when choosing your service provider.

Analyze DevOps as a Service pricing options

Although it is never advisable to choose goods or services based solely on price, this criterion is still one of the most important, as your choice should be aligned with the budget.

Prices for DevOps as a service vary widely and depend on numerous factors. These include not only the expertise of the developers and the scope of tasks they are willing to take on but also their geographical location and the number of projects they can work on simultaneously.

In addition to differences in pricing, there are also differences in pricing models.

One of the most popular models is subscription-based pricing, which includes a fixed monthly or annual fee for services. Typically, the price includes a predefined set of resources and services and varies based on the number of users and capacity of the infrastructure.

Some DaaS providers prefer the reverse approach, charging customers for resource consumption rather than requiring upfront payments. The final cost may also depend on the number of deployments and builds.

If you want to be more flexible with your payments and also assume that resource needs may fluctuate, you may be more interested in a "pay-as-you-go pricing model. It can be seen as a combination of the two pricing models mentioned above, as it requires monthly payments but allows companies to choose exactly the resources and services they are interested in at the moment.

Finally, in certain cases, it is also possible to negotiate individual prices, especially for large enterprises and advanced projects.

Assess the technology package, not just the capabilities

Of course, expertise is a key factor in the quality of DaaS, and you should choose a provider with a proven track record. However, also pay attention to the importance of the tools and technologies offered by the DaaS provider. Not only should they be industry standard, but they should also be compatible with your existing tools.

Also check the service offering of the DaaS provider, as not all teams can provide end-to-end support.

If you want to be more flexible with your payments and also assume that resource needs may fluctuate, you may be more interested in a "pay-as-you-go pricing model. It can be seen as a combination of the two pricing models mentioned above, as it requires monthly payments but allows companies to choose exactly the resources and services they are interested in at the moment.

Finally, in certain cases, it is also possible to negotiate individual prices, especially for large enterprises and advanced projects.

Assess the technology package, not just the capabilities

Of course, expertise is a key factor in the quality of DaaS, and you should choose a provider with a proven track record. However, also pay attention to the importance of the tools and technologies offered by the DaaS provider. Not only should they be industry standard, but they should also be compatible with your existing tools.

Also check the service offering of the DaaS provider, as not all teams can provide end-to-end support.

Pay attention to security and compliance

It is highly recommended to discuss such aspects as the DaaS provider's security measures before you decide to cooperate with them. Mention your expectations of their compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Understand Service Level Agreements

Working with any service provider without clear service level agreements (SLA) can be risky, as it can be difficult to rely on your DevOps wizards if there are no defined response times, availability guarantees, or problem-resolution processes.

Choosing the right DevOps team will be much easier if you consider the points discussed in this article, while such specialists will be your key to higher productivity, better quality, and greater profits.