DevOps is witnessing a strong emphasis on speed while equally strong caution against disruption. Faster and disciplined DevOps teams are being trusted for fewer incidents and higher customer satisfaction. This reflects a collective effort within the DevOps community to learn from one another and provide guidance on what comes next after merging development and operations. These trends also manifest in DevSecOps where the development, security, and operations teams are collaborating to implement automation with cloud services and secure development practices. Technologies like Infrastructure as Code and Generative AI are leading to large-scale DevOps and DevSecOps transformations.

These observations have helped our DevOps and DevSecOps experts to predict what’s in store for the two approaches in 2024.

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DevOps Predictions 2024

1. AI-Driven Automation

AI and machine learning will play an increasingly prominent role in DevOps. Predictive analytics and intelligent automation will be used to optimize software development and deployment processes. AI-driven tools will help identify potential issues, automate routine tasks, and enhance overall efficiency.

2. Security-First DevOps (DevSecOps)

DevSecOps will become even more integral to DevOps practices. Security will no longer be a separate consideration but an inherent part of the development and deployment pipeline. Continuous security testing, vulnerability scanning, and code analysis will be standard practices, ensuring that security is prioritized throughout the development lifecycle.

3. Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Environments

As organizations continue to leverage cloud solutions, multi-cloud and hybrid environments will be the norm. DevOps processes will evolve to accommodate the complexities of managing applications and infrastructure across multiple cloud providers and on-premises environments.

4. GitOps and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Maturity

GitOps, which is centered around using Git repositories as a source of truth for infrastructure and application deployment, will gain traction. IaC practices will mature, enabling teams to manage infrastructure and configurations more efficiently, version-control them, and automate their deployment.

5. Enhanced Observability and AIOps

The adoption of observability practices, including monitoring, tracing, and logging, will expand. Advanced observability tools will provide deeper insights into applications and infrastructure, enabling proactive issue identification and resolution. AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) will play a role in analyzing vast amounts of data and providing intelligent recommendations for performance optimization.

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DevSecOps Predictions 2024

1. Further Integration of DevOps and Security Teams

The trend of breaking down silos between DevOps and security teams will continue, with a higher percentage of organizations adopting DevSecOps practices. Collaboration between development, operations, and security professionals will become the norm, leading to more streamlined and secure development pipelines. Organizations will increasingly adopt security automation tools that facilitate collaboration between DevOps and security teams. These tools will enable automated security testing, vulnerability scanning, and threat detection within the DevOps pipeline, promoting streamlined collaboration.

2. Cultural Emphasis on Security

The human element of DevSecOps will continue to gain attention, with organizations placing a strong emphasis on fostering a security-focused culture. Effective communication, collaboration, and empathy will be integral to successful DevSecOps strategies as teams recognize the role of people in security practices. Technology solutions for security awareness training and culture-building will gain importance. These tools will provide interactive training modules and simulations to instill security best practices, fostering a security-focused culture within organizations.

3. Shift Left and Continuous Testing

DevSecOps will continue to shift security checks left in the software development lifecycle, with a growing number of organizations testing earlier in the process. Continuous testing for security vulnerabilities will become standard practice, enabling early identification and mitigation of security issues. The shift left approach will drive the use of SAST tools that analyze source code for security vulnerabilities. These tools will integrate with integrated development environments (IDEs) to enable developers to identify and fix security issues during coding.

4. Simplified Toolchains and Visibility

Organizations will increasingly seek to simplify their toolchains to gain a holistic view of compliance and monitoring across the DevSecOps pipeline. The complexity of toolchains will be reduced, making it easier to draw insights and maintain security across the toolchain. Organizations will turn to toolchain orchestration platforms that simplify the integration of various DevSecOps tools. These platforms will provide visibility and management of tools across the pipeline, allowing for better compliance monitoring and insights.

5. DevSecOps Platform Adoption

The adoption of DevSecOps platforms will grow as organizations look for ways to increase efficiency, security, and automation. These platforms will become a fundamental part of DevSecOps strategies, providing tools and capabilities that support secure and streamlined development processes. DevSecOps platforms will witness substantial growth. These platforms will encompass a wide range of security and development tools, offering end-to-end solutions for secure and streamlined development processes. They will integrate with various DevOps tools and provide automation for security testing and compliance.

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It is clear that in 2024, DevOps experts will continue to prioritize speed and stability while strategizing for the integration of AI-driven automation. Technologies like multi-cloud, GitOps, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices, etc., are set to empower proactive issue resolution. DevSecOps, on the other hand, will further emphasize security culture, shifting security left, and simplifying toolchains. The adoption of DevSecOps platforms will rise, streamlining development processes. A collaborative and security-focused future is awaiting both approaches. It is high time software development experts work towards ensuring both efficiency and safety in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.