Going cloud-native offers unprecedented benefits in terms of scalability, flexibility, and resilience for modern enterprises. But leveraging those benefits to the fullest requires the automation and streamlined processes that DevOps services bring to the table.
And as every VP of Engineering or cloud architect knows, DevOps is a tough skill set to recruit. Talent shortages, long recruitment cycles and intense competition place qualified DevOps professionals out of reach for many organizations who need them most. These difficulties are the main (maybe the only) factors limiting cloud-native growth.
In this article, we’re taking a look at why DevOps service providers are so central to cloud-native development, and the role of outsourcing in addressing critical bottlenecks. We’ll also suggest some interesting lessons from the world of sales, and consider the similarities between leveraging DevOps-as-a-service, and hiring a powerhouse VP of Sales.
DevOps: specialized, in demand & rare
DevOps incorporates development, operations, and business itself – a varied skill set that straddles different fields of expertise. Effective DevOps engineers need to master infrastructure as code (IaC), containerization, continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD), and cloud management. They need to do all of that while also managing the complexities of software development and IT operations to shorten the SDLC and increase the frequency and quality of deployments. It’s this versatility and makes DevOps so crucial to advancing digital transformation.
And because the field is constantly evolving to keep pace with rapid advances in the relevant technologies, DevOps must be lifelong learners, always adapting to the newest tools and methodologies.
Challenges of building an in-house DevOps team
The demand for experienced DevOps talent far exceeds supply: LinkedIn, Indeed and other platforms have seen a dramatic increase in job postings. To succeed in recruiting this talent, companies have to contend with stiff competition. DevOps experts with cloud-native security knowledge are in particularly high demand. If they do manage to attract professionals, organizations also need to ensure that they have a collaborative, de-siloed culture that can actually accommodate DevOps.
Salaries for skilled DevOps engineers are steep. Even if that cost can be absorbed, there are more costs down the line: building an in-house team requires ongoing investment in training to keep up with evolving tools and methodologies. This can amount to a major drain on time and financial resources.
Thankfully, building an in-house team is not the only way to integrate DevOps.
Hiring for high performance: a lesson from the world of sales
Companies hire experienced sales leaders to implement effective revenue strategies. When they’re looking for the right candidate, enterprises usually prioritize attributes like a deep (and demonstrable) grasp of market dynamics, and a history of success. If they have this knowledge, a VP of Sales can create a sales pipeline that’s more predictable and efficient.
To do that, this person draws on their extensive experience of strategic planning, negotiation, building customer relationships, and optimizing sales cycles. And in order to execute their vision, sales leaders are experts in specific tools like Salesforce, Hubspot, and other systems for managing leads and tracking growth.
Outsourcing DevOps to access rare skills
In the same way, a DevOps service provider brings a wide range of specialized technical capabilities that make a cloud-native environment more predictable and efficient:
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation to manage and automate infrastructure setup and updates. IaC helps ensure consistency and scalability, allowing DevOps teams to define, provision, and manage cloud infrastructure through code.
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): Setting up pipelines using Jenkins, GitLab, or CircleCI, which automate code integration, testing, and deployment. This minimizes human error, accelerates release cycles, and supports agile practices.
Containerization and orchestration: Deploying and managing applications using containers (e.g., Docker) and orchestration tools like Kubernetes. This provides flexibility in scaling applications and managing workloads efficiently in cloud-native environments.
Monitoring and observability: Using tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK Stack for monitoring system health and application performance. This ensures fast detection and resolution of issues, which is crucial in distributed cloud-native systems.
Why outsourcing DevOps works: 4 key benefits
1: Access to a pool of specialized experts
Outsourcing DevOps gives companies instant access to experienced professionals who are up-to-date with the latest tools and methodologies.
2: Cost-effectiveness compared to maintaining an in-house team
Outsourcing reduces the high costs of recruiting, training, and retaining DevOps talent internally.
3: Scalability and flexibility in services
DevOps providers offer flexible services that scale with business needs, from start-ups to enterprises.
4: Focus on core business objectives
By outsourcing DevOps, companies can concentrate on product development and innovation, leaving infrastructure management to experts who live and breathe DevOps.
Selecting an outsourcing provider for smooth, secure collaboration
Like any form of outsourcing, partnering with a DevOps service provider is a big step that organizations need to plan carefully. From the very beginning of the process of evaluating vendors, security and data privacy need to be top of mind. Companies should seek out DevOps services with robust security protocols and encryption strategies to protect their infrastructure. The discussion should also focus on vendors’ compliance certifications.
Finally, it’s important to ensure that vendors provide transparency and tools that allow their clients to maintain control over critical infrastructure, even when key processes are outsourced.
Questions to ask potential DevOps partners
- What security measures do you implement to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with industry regulations?
- How will your team collaborate with our internal development and operations teams to maintain smooth workflows?
- What level of visibility and control will we retain over our infrastructure, and how do you handle governance?
- Can you share case studies where you’ve successfully integrated with similar organizations?
- How do you ensure that your services scale with our growth and adapt to changing needs?
Choosing the right DevOps partner is about balancing trust, collaboration, and expertise, ensuring they can align with your long-term goals while handling the day-to-day complexities of cloud infrastructure.
Unlocking cloud-native success through DevOps expertise
Much like tech sales, DevOps has become a hyper-specialized discipline that every enterprise needs in order to modernize and pull ahead of the competition. With demand outstripping supply, outsourcing is the just-in-time solution for forward-thinking organizations. Enterprises are increasingly relying on DevOps-as-a-service to sidestep recruitment challenges and escalating costs, avoiding the pitfalls and getting straight to the powerful benefits that DevOps brings.
At Naviteq, we streamline the cloud-native journey for development teams, product companies, and start-ups. Our Devops-as-a-service model gives them the space to focus on what they really want to do: innovate and deliver value to their customers. This end-to-end solution includes maturity assessments, cloud migration, consulting, and ongoing optimization. Contact our team to plan your next step forward into seamlessly cloud-native infrastructure.
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