Top 5 DevOps Trends in 2023
Tags: devops, webdev
Published: 2023-04-04 16:30:51

What helps the Nerve.Ai team to be efficient and constantly improve the quality of products? I asked our DevOps expert Max V. to highlight the pivotal methods and techniques of work that are worth implementing. In the overview '5 DevOps trends in 2023', we're talking about the industry's proven and most exciting practices from a practical perspective.


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DevOps is one of the most sought-after and expensive experts in software development. By 2030, the global DevOps market could, according to some forecasts, reach more than $50 billion. The recently emerging technology is already recognized as an integral part of an effective IT product development process, and at the same time, the methodology continues its constant improvement. Max Vorontsov, team leader at Nerve.Ai, shared his vision of five DevOps trends that seem to be the most topical in the near future.

## DevSecOps
This is one of the key trends that have significantly influenced the culture of working with code. More attention has been paid to security issues with the introduction of the necessary procedures in the pipeline at all stages of the product development cycle. From gathering and analyzing information and planning to implementing and maintaining software, all the steps include checking and scanning configurations for threats. Information security is interlaced with all processes.
The increasing demand for reliability and security in the performance of systems has led to the appearance of a new position: SRE – site reliability engineer. It ensures the security and fault tolerance of systems. In small companies, these tasks are usually performed by a DevOps specialist.
There is infrastructure security – responsibility for it is delegated to the side of the cloud vendor. As for the security and fault tolerance of the application itself, it is the concern of the software development team. For example, an application may not be optimized and will require a lot of resources as a result. The task of the SRE is to prevent such a situation. In smaller studios, this responsibility lies with the DevOps specialist.

## Serverless computing
The interest in serverless architecture can also be explained: it is convenient and profitable. We assemble the application into a Docker image and transfer it to the public cloud all the care of container orchestration.
By buying the opportunity to write and deploy code without thinking about server performance, configuration, cores, and memory, we save resources. Delegating all the care about infrastructure to the cloud, small companies can optimize their budget because there's no need to pay for the services of a system administrator, a server, etc.

## Multi-Cloud Strategies
By buying the capabilities of several providers simultaneously, one can build an architecture that provides maximum flexibility for a solution. Let's imagine there are different availability zones. One cloud can be located in Central Asia and the other in Europe to provide fault tolerance and optimization.

## Microservice architecture
The applications have been built on microservices for a long time. In fact, this is no longer a trend but an industry standard.
At Nerve.AI, we use exactly such an approach: the decomposition of complex projects into components enables us to speed up the process of application delivery by several times.

## Kubernetes integration with DevOps
The convenience of Kubernetes comes from the ability to launch applications securely and gradually, transferring them from one environment to another. Kubernetes equips the team with an opportunity to automate many of the tasks that are related to deploying and scaling containerized applications.
If we're talking about really fresh trends in DevOps, then these are ChatOps and GitOps.

## ChatOps
Integrating chats with the development process is a huge shift towards making teams more efficient. The moment when work with infrastructure is transferred to Slack, Telegram, and other messengers shares life in small agencies to "before" and "after". How does it work? The developer creates some functionality, and it immediately gets in the chat for approval by the diverse specialists. A special application can be performed, for example, from a telegram chat. Using such an approach reduces bureaucracy, increases the speed and quality of communication, and minimizes all sorts of excessive manipulations.

## GitOps
The practice of using Git as a place to store the "original source" of the true description of the state of the system is getting more popular. Any interaction with the system happens exclusively through Git. The Kubernetes cluster synchronizes with our ConfigRepo repository and, in accordance with the description, determines what and how to deploy.
For example, an application needs two replicas because one can't manage. If earlier any changes were made manually, now one can edit the code in the repository, and the changes will be automatically implemented: Kubernetes will "adjust" to the new data.

## Benefits of GitOps
Consistency – if you change resources in Kubernetes, they will automatically return to their initial state.
Observability – the possibility of monitoring the synchronization status.
Security – the control of access to the repository: we set who is permitted to make changes and who isn't.
Automation – GitOps operator is keeping an eye on the synchronization, so no manual settings are required.

## Disadvantages of GitOps
The limitation of GitOps is asynchrony. If one of the developers adds a mandatory environment variable, but it is absent in the manifest, then everything will break. This point must be taken into account.
One more disadvantage is the increased complexity – there is another repository that should be monitored.
If we're talking about the experience of the Nerve.AI team, then GitOps and ChatOps are the practices that have helped essentially improve the development process. GitOps provides tools for controlling and managing system state through data change for Kubernetes. This equips one with the possibility to effectively use the infrastructure and have data for analyzing the effectiveness of the application. ChatOps has transferred the product development process into a space where it is easy to interact: agree on tasks, approve functionalities, and, if necessary, learn. Such barrier-free communication helps avoid wasting time and effort and inspires the team to complete tasks on time.

And how do you assess the potential of these trends, and which technologies have boosted your company's efficiency?