VMware got its start in the enterprise, but it is rapidly moving into the small, lean startup environment. In fact, with its latest moves, it aims to become completely mainstream. One area where this is evident is in their open embrace of DevOps. DevOps is not a service or platform, but rather a movement or culture. Its goal is to automate software and infrastructure development and delivery by fostering an open environment among IT operations, development teams, and QA departments.
Using DevOps practices, businesses of all sizes can quickly and easily build, test, and deploy new software applications. A number of tools have sprung up to meet the needs of organizations delving into DevOps, including Docker, Jenkins, Puppet, Vagrant, and Chef.
How VMware is Trying to Prepare the Business World for DevOps
Can VMware make the successful transition from the enterprise environment to the world of small business and startups?
In this frame of mind, VMware has started hosting free Developer Days, which is an attempt to hang on to its existing user base of developers, while also expanding to bring in developers and IT professionals from smaller startup companies that have little or no IT staff on hand. VMware isn’t trying to compete with the larger DevOps events, according to them, but is working toward the advancement of all things open source and cloud.
While DevOps was definitely one of the most hyped buzzwords in 2015, a lot of industry insiders have questioned whether or not it will actually take hold within businesses and make a real, lasting impact in the way organizations develop and deploy software applications. VMware is doing their part to make sure IT professionals understand how DevOps can be successful. It involves breaking down the silos that typically exist between the developers and operations and delivering a continuous stream of successful development and deployment projects to life.
One of the most popular segments at VMware’s recent Developer Days event was the vCloud Air hack-a-thon. VMware allowed developers to compete to try to hack apps running in the vCloud Air environment. Hackers were given specific challenges to meet in order to win the grand prize, backstage passes to the VMworld party. The package included a Meet and Greet with the bands performing at VMworld, as well as an autographed Epiphone guitar and a Dell laptop. The event managed to summon about 1,000 new and experienced developers, but almost all are Silicone Valley natives who are always in search of the latest and greatest things. Few were representative of the tech industry as a whole, such as the massive established businesses on the East Coast and the meat-and-potatoes corporations that make up the bulk of the ‘flyover’ zones in between.
Will IT Pros and Developers Embrace DevOps? The Jury is Still Out
The hack-a-thon was a great way to get developers excited and involved, but it was also an excellent testing ground for the security and stability of vCloud Air.
Will all the pomp and circumstance translate into mainstream acceptance and utilization of DevOps?
According to Wikibon, there are a couple of obstacles that VMware will have to overcome for this to happen. First, the technical skills necessary to understand and properly take advantage of automation and container technology hasn’t fully evolved yet. That will take years, not weeks or months. Secondly, most businesses aren’t startups that can easily and quickly become what they want to be relative to the cloud. Most are mature businesses that have product lifecycles and ROI to consider when developing software applications.
So, DevOps and other innovations won’t change the business or the IT world overnight. These things take time, and only time will issue a verdict on whether or not these changes are here to stay. Are you a VMware user in need of better VMware monitoring software? That you don’t have to wait for.
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