JFrog this week announced it has integrated its DevOps portfolio with Microsoft Teams to enhance collaboration.
Deep Datta, a senior product marketing manager for JFrog, said JFrog Artifactory repository and the JFrog Xray software composition analysis (SCA) tool have been integrated via a JFrog App for Microsoft Teams tool that is now available.
The goal is to make it simpler for DevOps teams to collaborate with other members of an organization that has standardized on Microsoft Teams for collaboration, said Datta.
In general, as more organizations are realizing how dependent their business is on software, individuals ranging from application owners to cybersecurity professionals are now looking to collaborate with DevOps teams, noted Datta. In fact, in many cases, business process workflows now need to align with DevOps workflows as businesses become more dependent on software, he added.
While many DevOps teams already use a range of collaboration tools, many of those same teams also need to access Microsoft Teams to engage individuals outside of those teams, said Datta.
The emerging challenge is the number of communication channels that DevOps teams now find themselves using. Each new communication channel added doesn’t necessarily supplant existing platforms; it’s not uncommon for DevOps teams to use Microsoft Teams alongside Slack as well as traditional email depending on the type of messaging and collaboration required. In some cases, for better or worse, DevOps teams find themselves required to juggle multiple collaboration platforms over the course of any application development project.
In general, the relationship between DevOps teams and the rest of the business is evolving in the age of digital business transformation. The pace at which applications are delivered and updated now has a material impact on business goals. Organizations are finding they need to align everything from marketing and customer support to financial planning with software development. A delay in one software development project can have a cascading effect that impacts every aspect of the business. The sooner information is shared via a collaboration platform the easier it becomes for the rest of the business to adapt and respond.
Naturally, not every DevOps team is excited about the level of transparency required. Many issues a software development team would previously have handled internally are now exposed to the agenda of the board of directors. Application delivery and update deadlines are influenced more heavily by revenue goals than the available developer expertise. The key to managing all those expectations is to communicate more frequently. However, all that communication can also take time away from building applications. It’s important to isolate development teams from distractions—like a constant barrage of messages shared with multiple lines of business and across multiple communication channels.
Of course, the only thing worse than all those messages is a failure to communicate critical information in a timely fashion. The challenge is to find a way to filter out all the noise and get critical information to the right person at the right time.