Mastering DevOps. The Top Nine Skills Every Engineer Needs

The world of technologies is constantly changing and developing. You should act fast if you want to succeed in this demanding environment.

One of the strategies to ensure the fast delivery of products is DevOps. Companies now use it to unlock business opportunities thanks to better quality software and more secure systems.

DevOps has gained widespread popularity in recent years, and you have likely come across the terms “DevOps engineer” and “DevOps culture”.

But have you ever wondered what they mean?

What is DevOps?

At its core, DevOps (development and operations) is a set of practices that aim to streamline the software delivery process, promoting collaboration and communication between development and operations teams. It involves automating manual processes, using tools to manage infrastructure and code, and monitoring applications to identify and resolve issues quickly.

DevOps seeks to break down the traditional barriers between software development and IT operations teams and create a seamless workflow from development to deployment. Doing so enables teams to work more efficiently, quickly identify and resolve issues, and deliver software that meets customer needs and expectations.

A DevOps engineer is a professional skilled in using these practices to deliver software quickly and reliably. They are responsible for developing and maintaining the tools and systems used in the software delivery process and ensuring the entire team works efficiently and collaboratively.

This leads us to the final point of defining DevOps. DevOps culture is a mindset and practices that promote collaboration, communication, and continuous improvement within teams. It encourages a shared responsibility for the success of software delivery and emphasizes the importance of feedback and learning from mistakes.

Why Mastering DevOps is Crucial For Engineers?

As software development becomes more complex and software delivery cycles become shorter, mastering DevOps has become crucial for engineers in many ways.

• Speed of delivery

DevOps allows engineers to automate the software development pipeline, enabling them to deploy software faster and more frequently. This results in shorter release cycles, which helps organizations deliver new features and updates more quickly and stay ahead of competitors.

• Quality assurance

DevOps encourages collaboration between development and operations teams, which helps to identify and resolve issues earlier in the software development process. This helps ensure that the software is high quality and meets user requirements.

• Reliability and stability

DevOps promotes continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), ensuring that code changes are tested and integrated into the software quickly and reliably. This reduces the likelihood of errors, downtime, and system crashes.

• Cost efficiency

DevOps allows engineers to automate repetitive tasks, reducing the time and effort required to deploy software. This results in cost savings for the organization and frees engineers to focus on more high-value activities.

• Agility and innovation

DevOps enables engineers to work collaboratively and iteratively, enabling organizations to respond quickly to changing business needs and market demands. This promotes innovation and helps organizations stay competitive.

It helps engineers to deliver software faster, with higher quality, and at a lower cost. It also promotes collaboration, stability, and innovation, enabling organizations to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced business environment.

The Top Nine Skills Every Engineer Needs

I asked the engineers team from Sunscrapers if there was a visual metaphor for a DevOps skillset, what it could be, and why. They decided that it could be a bridge. Since it is a structure that connects two points and allows easy and efficient movement between them.

In the context of DevOps, the bridge represents the ability to combine different teams, technologies, and processes. DevOps professionals are skilled in bringing together development, operations, and quality assurance teams and integrating various tools and technologies to guarantee seamless workflow from development to deployment.

Like a bridge, a DevOps skillset enables smooth communication and collaboration between other parts of the organization, allowing for efficient and effective delivery of software products.

But what exactly are the top skills that every engineer needs? Let’s see.

Automation

Automation is at the heart of DevOps. Engineers should have a strong understanding of automation tools such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef. They should be able to write scripts and create workflows to automate repetitive tasks, such as testing, deployment, and monitoring.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

IaC allows engineers to define and manage infrastructure in a code-like manner. They should be comfortable using tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation to create infrastructure as code.

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

CI/CD allows teams to build, test, and deploy code automatically. Engineers should be able to set up and manage CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins or CircleCI.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has revolutionized the way software is developed and deployed. Engineers should be familiar with major cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform and be able to deploy and manage applications on these platforms.

Monitoring and Logging

Monitoring and logging are critical for identifying and resolving issues in production. Engineers should be able to set up monitoring and logging tools such as Nagios, Zabbix, or ELK stack.

Collaboration

DevOps is a team effort. Engineers should be able to collaborate with other team members, including developers, testers, and operations personnel.

Problem-solving

DevOps engineers are often faced with complex technical challenges. They should be able to analyze problems and come up with practical solutions.

Communication

Effective communication is crucial in DevOps. Engineers should be able to communicate technical information clearly and effectively to non-technical team members.

Continuous Learning

Finally, DevOps is a rapidly evolving field. Engineers should be committed to continuous learning and staying up-to-date with the latest tools and technologies.

Conclusion

DevOps engineers must have diverse technical and interpersonal skills to build a robust and efficient software delivery pipeline. Collaboration and communication skills are essential to connect different teams, while automation, infrastructure-as-code, and continuous integration and deployment skills are vital building blocks for efficient software delivery. Cloud computing, security, monitoring, and logging skills help ensure a secure, scalable, and reliable infrastructure for software products.

Developing a well-rounded set of technical and interpersonal skills is crucial for any aspiring DevOps engineer. With the right skills and mindset, you can build a solid "bridge" between development, operations, and quality assurance teams and deliver software products that meet your organization's and its customers' needs.

To delve deeper into DevOps, check our blog posts:

• DevOps for beginners - where to start your DevOps journey?
• The ultimate guide to DevOps (+ 15 DevOps best practices from our team)

Contact us

If you require experienced DevOps engineers, Sunscrapers may help. With a proven track record of delivering high-quality software products and a team of skilled and knowledgeable engineers, Sunscrapers can provide the expertise and support you need to succeed in today's fast-paced business environment.

Our engineers possess diverse technical and interpersonal skills, including automation, infrastructure-as-code, and cloud computing, as well as strong collaboration and communication skills.

If you're looking for a partner to build a robust and efficient DevOps pipeline, please don't hesitate to contact us for more information. We'd be happy to discuss your specific needs and provide a customized solution that meets your requirements.