Latest from Michael

5 Prerequisites for a Successful DevOps Initiative
There are certain tools and attitudes that are essential to any successful DevOps transformation. The manner in which a DevOps transformation is performed will have huge implications on the level of agility the company is able to achieve. However, before that point is even reached, some vital foundations must be laid. It is from that […]
May 10, 2016 · 3 minAll articles by Michael Schmidt
Showing 1–14Does the Future of DevOps Lie in NoOps?
Why DevOps is more a bi-directional rather than a simple top-down approach DevOps is one of those buzzwords that nearly everyone wants to discuss these days. However, it often is interpreted as an extension of Development’s influence to the detriment of Operations teams. So much has changed in the past few years that it is […]
Release Automation: Bigger than DevOps
Why DevOps is not for everyone and how release automation helps in bimodal world So am I really going to write a blog calling DevOps a big hoax? Well, not exactly, but as a follow-up to my previous blog on the difference between DevOps and Continuous Delivery, I want to alert you to a few […]
DevOps and Continuous Delivery: Not the Same
DevOps and continuous delivery are the same thing, right? Far from it. We peer through the fog to understand the difference between the two related but distinct methodologies. We live in an era of apps. More and more of our personal, social and work life is governed by apps—communicating with one another through social apps, […]
Are You Ready for Your DevOps Transformation?
You’re done with missed release deadlines, long release cycles and risky releases. If your objectives are continuous application delivery to achieve fast feedback loops and reduced waste, DevOps practices provide the means to reach them. DevOps is all about agile transformation, which reaches beyond agile development into production to achieve continuous delivery. DevOps practices provide help […]
How Mature Is Your Automation Strategy?
Working in Operations can sometimes feel like walking up a down escalator. The business puts relentless pressure on your team to overcome bottlenecks, accelerate the overall delivery process and grow the volume and frequency of deployments. You’re also faced with a growing number of service level requirements and demand for higher release velocity—all stretched across […]
Continuous Operations: Implications on IT automation
With the increased adoption of cloud-based services, users are now accessing their applications through multiple channels and device ‘endpoints’. User experience expectations, which are constantly rising, now have to be met across multiple channels to avoid customers dropping of your website or app and never returning again. Minutes of service downtime or response slowdown may […]
How to accelerate your production integration activities
IT Operations is often accused to be the bottleneck in application release processes and a general constrain to agility. But why is that, what are the root causes of this issue and how can we address them? There is indeed a very big gap between the desired world of DevOps with Infrastructure-as-Code, Docker, Microservices Architectures, […]
How to align your DevOps and Cloud Initiatives
Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) practices, which in turn are made possible through infrastructure or platform clouds (IaaS or PaaS), solve many important issues related to continuous delivery and DevOps. Therefore, the implementation of IaaS and PaaS in a private, hybrid or public cloud model should always be aligned with your DevOps initiative. In a previous article, I […]
Where will DevOps be in 10 years’ time?
What will the DevOps landscape look like in 10 years’ time? Ten years ago, Agile was seen as new and different. Now it’s part of everyday life of most developers. Will it be the same with DevOps? It’s time to clasp the crystal ball and unravel where the future is headed. First things first. DevOps […]
Tailoring DevOps to your IT: A case study for SAP
I am frequently asked if DevOps principles can be applied to legacy environments such as SAP. They clearly can, with some tailoring. But you should be aware of certain constraints. An agile transformation from conventional IT (where the SAP software delivery process is split between business analysts, development, the QA department and IT operations) towards […]
Ten ways DevOps will benefit your IT department
When implemented properly, DevOps can transform your software engineering process and create value for both employees and customers, producing business performance and value. A fully working DevOps methodology will bring the following benefits: Increased service quality Perceived service quality and reliability depend on both the availability of a service in the absence of error (MTTF: […]
World’s First and Largest Online Marketplace for Business Application Automation Launches
The Marketplace of apps, add-ons and templates to solve common business challenges quickly Automic has announced the new Automic PlugIn Marketplace which provides customers, partners, developers and independent consultants with the ability browse, buy, download or contribute plugins to drive automation across their enterprises. The proliferation of cloud, mobile, and social technologies has resulted in the need for organizations […]
Eight steps to a sustainable DevOps transformation
DevOps is not a standard. It is more a philosophy described by a loose set of concepts and tools, many rooted in the agile methodology and continuous delivery. That often causes confusion about the potential scope of DevOps, and makes it difficult to determine a definitive start and end point for a DevOps initiative. Moreover, […]