The latest survey from Techstrong Research led by Mitch Ashley, with input from over 500 DevOps practitioners, reveals that DevOps is not only thriving, but is also set to grow and evolve significantly over the coming years. The data demonstrates that organizations of all sizes are increasingly investing in DevOps tools, practices and platforms, highlighting the growing importance of DevOps in today’s technology landscape.
As the publishers of DevOps.com, of course we are probably biased in the impact that DevOps has in the IT world today. However, reports and feedback like those contained in DevOps Next confirm what we suspect.
DevOps continues to evolve and grow, having a major impact on how we build, test and deploy software.
DevOps Adoption and Investment on the Rise
One of the standout findings is that 60% of respondents plan to boost investments in DevOps tools and platforms over the next two years, with 20% planning significant budget increases. These investments are aimed at improving key areas such as testing, code artifact repositories, observability, automated deployment platforms, internal developer portals (IDPs) and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools.
When it comes to Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) platforms, a notable 32% of organizations plan to replace or upgrade their CI/CD platform within the next 12 to 18 months while 23% are currently evaluating their future requirements. Despite this growing interest, only 16% plan to transition to an integrated DevOps platform in the same period, suggesting a measured approach to adoption.
AI’s Growing Influence in DevOps
AI’s role in DevOps is already making waves, with 32.7% of organizations using AI in their development processes today, and another 41.5% considering AI adoption. A striking 62.5% of respondents view AI as an extremely or very valuable addition to DevOps workflows, indicating that AI’s influence on DevOps is expected to grow even more in the future. However, only 9% have fully integrated AI into their DevOps workflows, suggesting significant room for expansion.
I know many in our audience may be tired of the hype around AI and having doubts about when and how much it will change the way we operate, but I would caution that it is still early in this game. I expect these numbers to increase over the coming months and 1-2 years.
The Emergence of Platform Engineering
Platform engineering is another trend to watch, though it’s still in the early stages of adoption. According to the survey, only 20% of organizations have adopted platform engineering as a methodology for managing DevOps at scale. This suggests that while platform engineering holds potential, it has yet to gain widespread traction, presenting an opportunity for growth in the DevOps ecosystem. In the classic “crossing the chasm” model, it is just moving beyond the early adopter phase and not quite at that mainstream market. However, I think as the movement and technology matures, it will be a valuable component of a majority of organizations software development and deployment efforts.
DevOps Is Thriving Across All Phases of Development
The survey reveals that DevOps is playing a crucial role in the Build and Test phases of the software development lifecycle, with 78.6% and 72.4% of respondents respectively indicating DevOps usage in these areas.
Additionally, nearly three-quarters (72.7%) of respondents apply DevOps on 50% or more of their projects, while 18.7% use DevOps on all projects. This is significantly higher than numbers we have seen in the past.
DevOps Is Delivering Real Business Value
When asked about the tangible benefits of DevOps, 81% of respondents reported increased velocity in delivering software into production environments* with 45.6% describing these increases as high. Similarly, 80% said DevOps enables their organization to achieve faster times to market, demonstrating the significant impact DevOps has on accelerating software delivery.
Beyond speed, DevOps is also making teams more productive, with 81% of respondents saying that DevOps improves developer productivity. This efficiency is reflected in the frequency of code releases, with 11.8% of organizations delivering software into production daily, 34.1% weekly, and 29% monthly. Thinking back to release frequency to when we first started DevOps.com, these stats are truly eye-popping.
Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
I don’t want to paint a picture viewed through rose colored glasses though. Despite these impressive gains, there are still areas where DevOps can improve. The survey shows that 16.3% of respondents rated DevOps impact as low in managing complexity, while 14.8% see room for improvement in increasing collaboration between silos, and 13% cited software security as a challenge.
While these are all minority percentages, they do show some obvious areas to focus on. These areas highlight opportunities for further refinement and innovation in DevOps practices.
DevOps Maturity Levels Show Promise
The survey also provides insights into DevOps maturity, with more than half (55.8%) of respondents achieving higher levels of DevOps maturity. Within this group, 34.4% are standardizing DevOps practices across their organizations, and 21.5% have reached a mastery level.
This indicates that a substantial portion of organizations are not just adopting DevOps, but are deeply integrating and refining their practices. This is a huge change from the “tiny bubbles of DevOps” trends we used to see in these kinds of studies.
The DevOps Journey Continues
The DevOps Next survey makes it clear: DevOps is not a fad or a passing trend. It’s a thriving, evolving practice that continues to deliver value across software teams and IT organizations. As investments in automation, AI and application security increase, we can expect even more growth and innovation in the DevOps space.
In a world where software delivery speed, quality and security are paramount, DevOps has proven itself indispensable. The journey is far from over – in fact, it’s just beginning. Organizations that embrace and adapt to these evolving DevOps practices will be best positioned to lead in the future. All of us here at DevOps.com are excited to see what the future has in store.
For a deeper dive into these insights, download the full DevOps Next report and see how DevOps is shaping the future of software development.