The Future of DevOps Innovation in 2024

What Will Definitely Happen in 2024

We have three common-sense predictions for DevOps in 2024:

• DevOps will continue to grow
• Cloud will be a critical component of DevOps
• Security will merge with DevOps to form DevSecOps

We predict a few common sense shake-ups of the DevOps world in 2024. The first is that DevOps is not going to die. Both in 2018 and 2019, naysayers predicted the death of DevOps; the approach to continuous delivery was simply too expensive, they argued. But as we march into 2024, DevOps has never been stronger. The cost of acquiring tools, training, and skilled engineers continues to come down. Products such as Slack and Microsoft Teams illustrate that remote teams can be as effective with DevOps as local teams.

A second trend that shows no pace of slowing is the adoption of cloud services to complement the work of your DevOps team. Amazon’s AWS continues to grow and invest deeply in building tools that make it easier and more comfortable for DevOps teams. 

A third area we can firmly slot into the common sense category is the merging of security with DevOps. DevSecOps (development, security, and operations) have been on a collision course for several years. Scripting your environments for rapid scale can only be successful if the security of your network is rock solid. 

Solutions That Have Matured and Will Become Commonplace in 2024

The maturity of DevOps will continue to follow these trajectories:

• Open-source tools will continue to dominate 
• Skills to deliver DevOps solutions will be more freely available
• Delivery of DevOps will become commonplace

Open-source tools are the heart and soul of DevOps. Whether you’re using Jenkins, Kubernetes, Chef, or programming with PHP, the goal for many years has been the adoption of open-source solutions. 

Open-source is so essential for the future maturity of DevOps solely because it’s trusted. You have many choices as a software engineer, but the one that you gravitate toward is the one you trust. Open-source lays bare how the solution is built. A great example of an open-source solution that is now mature and has a trusted audience is Kubernetes, which continues to gain momentum and provide the tools needed for scalable networks running in the cloud.

A second key area to watch in 2024 is the maturing of programs, such as those run by Simplilearn, to offer a broad range of training to upskill people who want to be part of DevOps. Practice for GitHub, Docker, and Ansible are now gathered together in structured programs. You no longer have to hunt the internet to find articles and videos that loosely link DevOps skills together. Now you can feel confident in the courses you take to upskill your resume and be a valued member of any DevOps team.

Many companies are still struggling with rapid delivery. A stop-gap method for many is the adoption of Agile delivery. It’s a good step away from Waterfall delivery, but common problems such as testing and consistent delivery still plague Agile. 

We’re now seeing companies that experimented with DevOps in 2018 and 2019 making a move to have DevOps be a delivery model supported by the CIO. The cost of running a DevOps team is going down as the skills and tools become more readily available. In 2024, you’ll start seeing DevOps teams driving mission-critical processes for companies. 

What Are the Crazy Predictions for 2024?

Forecasting the crazy ideas that will be adopted in 2024 is the fun part! Though unexpected, you may see these unanticipated yet practical outcomes in 2024:

• Big companies doubling down on DevOps
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning impacting DevOps
• The truly unexpected

In 2019, Microsoft bought GitHub, and IBM acquired RedHat. Both moves shook the DevOps industry. Don’t expect the momentum to slow in 2024. Companies such as Amazon, Facebook, and Salesforce will continue to scoop up small to large open-source projects. DevOps is the next “big thing,” and smart purchases will have strong returns on investment. 

The second big move in 2024 will be an accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve the efficiency of DevOps teams. Google has long boasted its use of deep learning to manage the temperature of its data centers, leaving time for their teams to work on other projects. Expect the same level of AI and ML to be applied to DevOps tools, as well. 

The genuinely unexpected move for DevOps will come from Microsoft, Google, or Apple. One of these companies will make a bold move to Open Source, a crown jewel product to take the solution to the next level. An example could be Microsoft making Windows open source to combat the dominance of Google’s Android. 

Getting Ready for 2024

DevOps is in a great space. It’s still new to many people and has the glamour of attracting new delivery models. Also, DevOps is a proven and mature delivery model that is now ready for prime time. In many ways, the most significant prediction for 2020 is that DevOps will become business as usual for software delivery. Simplilearn's DevOps Engineer Master’s Program and the Post Graduate Program in DevOps is built around a structured learning path recommended by industry experts.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Our team will get back to you at the earliest.