The DevOps industry saw a lot of change in 2018, and our blogs for the year discussed these developments and more. One of the most important advances of the year was the rise of the SMB as a DevOps mainstay; whereas massive adoption of DevOps was previously centered on enterprises, it is now the turn of SMBs to join the club.
Of course, because DevOps is a culture, and affects everything from the bits and bytes of database release automation to water cooler discussions, our blogs feature a lot of variety. We have found that our readers enjoy learning about this vast range of issues and benefit from our expertise in the DevOps industry. Read on to find out which topics were the most popular in 2018.
1. Inspiration!
Who would have thought? Our blog on quotes from both known and anonymous release automation practitioners was an enormous favorite. It seems that, after a long day of meetings and nose-to-the-keyboard, people want affirmation, commiseration, and just plain humor. This blog had some zingers, from managerial principles…
“Simply put, things always had to be in a production-ready state: if you wrote it, you darn well had to be there to get it running!”
…to jokes:
“So, what do you do?”
“I’m lean.”
“What?”
“I’m agile.”
“What?”
“Fine. I make websites.”
Looking back, these quotes still reveal some basic truths about the real DevOps world.
2. Database Basics
Database Design Best Practices: 7 Mistakes to Avoid
Most DevOps companies focus on applications, but the database also deserves a large share of attention. Organizations that properly set up database release automation right from the start will avoid a lot of the headaches that result from cutting corners during this phase. This blog reviews errors both on the technical side, such as inconsistent environments and faulty app design, to organizational considerations such as review scheduling and DBA-developer relationships. We also provide recommendations for practical solutions in each case. The conclusion: planning, follow-through, and top notch tools and platforms are essential to smooth database-side DevOps. (Want to begin your DevOps database transformation on the proper foot? Read our best practices for database management.)
3. The DBA Evolution
DBA Responsibilities: How They’re Changing and Why
Many factors are changing the work of DBAs – database automation, NoSQL, easy to install servers, and DBaaS are all to blame. This means that DBAs are no longer needed for some tasks, but there are many new responsibilities to replace what is becoming obsolete. The modern DBA needs to know about handling complex integrated technologies, frameworks, and software. Similarly, tasks such as capacity planning and server provisioning are coming to the fore. Such developments may result in confusion for some organizations, but the advent of DevOps will provide superior database release automation insights and ease the way for DBAs to adapt to new ways of work.
What will we be talking about in 2019?
DevOps has already inspired important transformations within enterprises and smaller organizations, and it looks like 2019 will see more interesting developments. For instance, the DORA report has identified databases as the missing links for CI/CD and DevOps, and suggests that companies focus on this in addition to the security aspects of the release pipeline.
Plus, our in-progress survey reveals new information about the true challenges of managing close to 80% of all database release pipelines! Join the survey, or subscribe to see its results.
Stay tuned to read the blogs that will reflect the latest DevOps innovations so that you can stay on top of the game.
