If you’ve decided to make the move to Microsoft Azure, congratulations are in order – Azure can help you save money and run your organization more efficiently. However, actually figuring out how to get started with Azure can be somewhat daunting for those who are unfamiliar with the technology. Indeed, we get asked all the time…what’s a good way to get started with Azure?
Well, a great way to start is by adopting DevOps within your organization. DevOps can radically change the way your organization develops, tests, and supports new tools and services… almost always for the better!
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What Is a DevOps Approach?
Fundamentally, DevOps involves getting your developers to work more closely with your IT operations teams (with cloud-based technologies serving as the source of new hardware and software capabilities). In a traditional organization, developers need to request every resource they need from their IT Ops (Operations) team.
In a noncloud environment, this can be very inefficient and time consuming as approvals often take weeks, hardware and software need to be procured, and then all of this stuff needs to be installed and configured before developers can begin their work (think servers and supporting software). In a cloud-based system, a DevOps Team can very quickly spin up cloud-based servers and other supporting resources like databases and coding frameworks that gets your developers up and running in hours, instead of weeks.
The key to success is a set of governance and operating principles set up in advance to ensure your developers and IT Ops folks know their respective roles and how to follow corporate procedures. Fundamentally, these teams need to communicate and be empowered to make decisions. You may have noticed that the only role technology plays in this process is the ability to rapidly implement the decisions of the DevOps team.
If you have a good DevOps approach, you leverage the speed and agility of the Cloud without developers creating their own resources and tools that may compromise security or violate corporate regulatory and compliance obligations.
How Does Microsoft Azure Help?
Microsoft Azure’s infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provide developers with the infrastructure and coding resources they need to get their jobs done. Azure streamlines the introduction of new computing and development resources, unlocks the productivity of your development teams, and simplifies the work of your Ops department. Instead of waiting weeks to get started on new development projects, your business can get to work in hours…literally.
Final Thought
Perhaps the most important benefit of the DevOps approach with Azure is that it encourages a culture of open communication and collaboration between important teams of people while letting technology do what it does best…helping people do their jobs!
Moving your development to Azure and adopting DevOps techniques is one of the easiest ways to get up and running on Azure… and if you’re hesitant, keep in mind that your competitors are also be reaping the benefits of Azure – which means that you should be too!
