Firms considering transitioning from traditional research & development (R&D) environments to DevOps must consider implementation challenges. Otherwise, they risk failure — the repercussions of which are far-reaching. What challenges should they expect? More importantly, what should they do to prepare?
Implementation Challenges Facing DevOps Teams
Although operations and development teams work toward the same goal, their roles have been fundamentally different for years. Information technology (IT) teams usually fear becoming nothing more than a safety net for inexperienced developers. Organizations often fail to adopt DevOps because they proceed without consideration for this cultural resistance to change.
Combining varying specializations to reduce silos and streamline communications is easier said than done. For one, professionals will be hesitant to take the lead since their behavior now reflects on the performance of two teams instead of one. Moreover, cross-functionality may disproportionately increase workloads, causing unintended friction and persistent rigidity.
Even if both teams look forward to collaborating, obstacles still exist. Transitioning from a linear development cycle to an iterative alternative can feel clunky. The traditional development timeline can take three to nine months on average — professionals simply are not prepared to adjust to such an incremental, fast-paced workflow.
These issues are even more pronounced when third-party vendors are involved. Approximately 60% of companies reported outsourcing at least part of application development in 2022, up from 56% in 2022. Various teams rely on this outside assistance to bolster skills gaps and retain elasticity when scaling, making integration difficult.
The same concept applies to those with legacy systems. Incompatibility is practically inevitable when transitioning to a microservice infrastructure that includes dozens of frameworks, languages and tools. Moreover, forcing teams to adapt to new workflows while navigating novel collaboration expectations can make them error-prone and frustrated.
Modern DevOps practices add another layer of complexity. Companies embracing cloud computing or automation may find the gap between operations and development teams has inexplicably widened. The reality is that using technology to bolster skills or manage workloads has similar effects to outsourcing.
Why Do DevOps Teams Face Integration Obstacles?
DevOps emerged out of necessity, so traditional R&D environments are not suitable to accommodate them. A clear separation of responsibilities exists, with development and operations only crossing paths when necessary. Deviating from sequential production phases and top-down communication policies is cause for concern and annoyance.
Naturally, quality assurance and feedback loops are entirely different. Developers wait to address issues until the end of the development cycle and struggle to incorporate varied feedback into the finished product. Despite the inevitable bottlenecks and inefficiencies, the familiarity of these processes often makes teams resistant to change.
At its core, DevOps is a cultural shift toward collaboration. When executives see the possibility of shortened development cycles and better results, they barrel ahead — forgetting to lay the foundation for effective cooperation. While transitioning from traditional R&D is not destined for failure, communication breakdowns often happen because unfamiliarity fosters reluctance.
Strategies for Overcoming Implementation Challenges
Overcoming DevOps implementation challenges requires a cohesive, strategic effort. Simultaneously changing the culture of two departments is no easy feat, especially at the enterprise level. Business leaders must communicate their new expectations, policies and workflows early on to minimize friction.
Upskilling and retraining are excellent strategies for making team members more competent and confident. Of course, companies need funds for those solutions. Financial support such as the Internal Revenue Service’s R&D tax credit may help in these cases. Organizations must incur expenses as part of qualified research activities to be eligible.
For the technical side of implementation, decision-makers should consider containerized microservices like Kubernetes — the most popular technology skill in DevOps tech stacks as of 2024 — to turn confusing applications and dependencies into a single lightweight package. Minimizing friction here can lead to better results elsewhere.
A Successful Transition Requires Extensive Buy-In
When a company undergoes a significant cultural change, buy-in from the board, executives, managers and team members is essential. If even one of those critical pillars is missing, the foundation will fail — they will be unable to sustain long-term growth. Business leaders must prioritize getting every relevant individual on board to increase their chances of success.
