ITIL and DevOps integration
ITIL or DevOps? No, ITIL and DevOps! DevOps is a topic that comes up frequently when interacting with customers and IT professionals. Many organizations have made the move to Agile development, but usually still have the further management processes organized in the usual way. Often, though, people are studying whether to move to DevOps after Agile development.
The question frequently asked in this regard is how DevOps relates to the existing ITIL approach. Is it obsolete? The truth seems to be that the two disciplines have much more in common than is often thought. To explain that, it might be good to review the concepts. ITIL: The Classic IT Management Framework ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) provides a comprehensive reference framework for IT management that clearly structures all processes within the organization.
This includes:
– Service Strategy
– Service Design
– Service Transition
– Service Operation
– Continual Service
Improvement When developing new applications, one starts with a service strategy and goes through a lengthy “waterfall” until deployment. This often results in the image of ITIL as a formal and dated IT management framework that may need rejuvenation or replacement.
DevOps: The Fresh Wind for IT Operations DevOps focuses on executing operational management activities faster and iteratively, including automation of testing and deployment activities. The goal is to eventually be able to roll out new software versions daily – or even several times a day. This contrasts with traditional management processes that are often slow and incremental, which can negate the benefits of an Agile approach. Two Concepts That Don’t Exclude Each Other The two concepts – ITIL and DevOps – are not mutually exclusive.
Fast and iterative processes require good organization and the right tools. Concepts such as Agile and DevOps allow room for inventiveness and creativity because the organization is in order in terms of processes and systems. Some key points in support of this synergy are:
– Organized processes and systems: These are essential for implementing fast and iterative processes such as DevOps.
– Overarching processes: Necessary to support business operations as a whole, including business cases, impact analysis and the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
– Back-end infrastructure services: A well-organized operations team is needed to manage network elements and provide services in accordance with SLA.
– User questions and problems: A well-organized Service Desk remains essential. Practical Integration of ITIL and DevOps In practice, we see an integration of both approaches:
1. Agile and DevOps for software development and deployment:
– Use of Agile for rapid development and improvement of products.
– Deployment of DevOps for efficient and frequent deployment of new versions.
2. ITIL for overarching management and support:
– Structuring overarching processes for business support.
– Organization of operational and infrastructure services for continuous service delivery.
Conclusion In daily practice, we see both DevOps and ITIL being deployed depending on where they add value. The perceived conflict between the concepts turns out in practice not to be so black and white. The key is to integrate both approaches in a way that leverages the strengths of each, leading to holistic and efficient IT service delivery.
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