How to Optimize your DevOps Environment in the Cloud

Companies rely upon various DevOps solutions to improve productivity, scalability, and resiliency. Such cloud computing services as AWS (Amazon Web Services) may provide organizations with the right combination of services to meet their goals and allow them to enjoy the built-in efficiencies of a public cloud infrastructure. On the other hand, these solutions won’t suit all companies or even all apps within one organization.

Can Amazon’s cloud infrastructure and services benefit you? To learn about possible benefits and limitations, read these highlights from our Cprime webinar about optimizing DevOps with Cloud Computing.

How Can AWS Support DevOps

With Amazon AWS, setting up your services is almost as simple as getting an account. Amazon partners with hundreds of providers to offer you quick access to a number of leading tools. Just a few examples include GitHub for version management, Slack for collaboration, and Splunk for data visualization.

Besides developed, tested, and maintained applications and data storage, you also start with a fully developed infrastructure. The combination of hardware, software applications, storage, and a pay-as-you-go fee structure provides you with a very low entry barrier.

AWS DevOps vs. Home Grown Solutions

No doubt, Amazon makes it easy and budget to get started. Why doesn’t everybody use Amazon AWS for all of their DevOps tools? AWS offers a public cloud environment which may provide access to very good tools, but in some sense, these are still off-the-shelf versions when compared to custom software that you might develop and run yourself.

With that in mind, let’s consider a few concerns that you may have about running DevOps tools in a public cloud:

Security: AWS guarantees security, and provides you with very fine controls over who uses your data and how they use it. Still, some companies operate in highly regulated industries and/or maintain sensitive data.

Customization: If you invest in your own software, you can customize it to meet your exact needs. In other words, you will have apps that fit your business processes and won’t need to change processes to fit your tools.

Training: When you compare the cost of developing and maintaining your own bespoke apps from scratch, an investment in training for third-party apps may make sense. Still, if you’re already running in-house software, you may already have the expertise you need.

Consider a Hybrid Solution

Of course, you can reduce some concerns and enjoy more of the benefits by considering other solutions that lie between running your own custom software on your own infrastructure and consuming public cloud offering. For instance, you can create a private cloud for your organization where you run managed software. This solution can give you more control over data storage and security. At the same time, you still have to manage your cloud infrastructure. Also, you won’t have the same customization options as you would with in-house solutions.

Thus example highlights the idea of a hybrid solutions that you can consider for your particular goals. For instance, if you prioritize customization, you can also run your own custom code on AWS and use their infrastructure.

Conclusion

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-everybody solution, and not everything has to be deployed and hosted on AWS. Some tools may require more control, customization, or security than a public cloud infrastructure can provide. It’s important to assess your needs to make sure that you optimize for your needs and goals.

To learn more, listen to the entire webinar discussion about optimizing DevOps tool on AWS. Here at Cprime, a full-service consulting firm, we deliver the extraordinary, so you can too. Contact us today for help developing the perfect mix of technology to streamline and protect your organization.