The IT industry is divided into two camps regarding the superiority of DevOps and ITIL, and these camps often use the ideas to criticise and disparage each other. When comparing ITIL vs. DevOps, many IT firms find that ITIL is essential for regulatory compliance, governance, and IT best practices that are in line with their organisational priorities. The concept of continuous integration/continuous delivery, or CI/CD, is the foundation of DevOps. DevOps views the highly structured ITIL methodology as incompatible with its own.
ITIL provides a more organised approach to IT service management (ITSM) that can be tailored to the needs of the business, whereas DevOps offers a viewpoint on addressing a difficulty encountered by the development and operations teams. In this article, you will see some of the misconceptions about ITIL and DevOps, amongst others. To learn more about DevOps, check out our DevOps course online.
Misconceptions About DevOps vs. ITIL
Similar to any technology or framework, individuals frequently form their own opinions about what it is and isn’t. This also gave rise to several myths regarding the systems. Let’s investigate and debunk some of these myths that have been raised by comparing ITIL to DevOps.
1.DevOps can take the place of ITIL
The most common misconception (which is undoubtedly untrue) is that DevOps can take the place of ITIL. Even though a lot of IT companies can attempt to do without the ITIL framework, they are still required to employ some parts of its operations, costing, and governance service management. Unlike ITIL, which provides guidelines for these processes, DevOps only offers a notion that is inadequate to make a total change. Â
2.DevOps only offers CI/CD, automated delivery
Continuous integration, continuous development, and automated delivery are all part of the DevOps philosophy, but it goes beyond that. The philosophy of DevOps integration is about eschewing outdated work structures and uniting to work toward a common objective in a respectful and cooperative manner.
3.The development process is slowed down by ITIL’s constant emphasis on documentation.
The ITIL framework is not merely a collection of guidelines to follow. It provides guidelines that are interpreted freely. ITIL can help us grasp the complicated IT procedures that the majority of firms have to handle and serve as a guide for decision-making in the event that we encounter a problem and need assistance. The purpose of ITIL is to serve as a framework, not as a rulebook of sorts.
4.ITIL/ITSM works only in big organisation
While it is true that large companies have adopted and profited from the ITIL approach, this does not imply that small businesses cannot or will not gain from following the ITIL framework rules. All organisations, regardless of size, must understand and acquire the skills necessary to handle a variety of IT service management processes, including knowledge management, operations, and incident management. The ITIL framework facilitates these and other process management activities. It is impossible for any organisation to function without its workforce, regardless of how haphazard or productive they may be. If not, a single occurrence outage could cause them to suffer a great deal.
Use Cases for DevOps and ITIL
There are an almost infinite number of applications for both ITIL and DevOps. We’ve put together several instances where you can see the best of both worlds and how, in certain circumstances, using both strategies may be necessary to arrive at the best answer.
1.Boost product delivery with DevOpsÂ
Software product delivery that is quick and automated is closely associated with DevOps. It also offers advantages for risk management. Smaller, more frequent product deliveries are easier to complete and can be rolled back in for resolution in the event of an issue.
2.Reduce IT help desk load using ITSM
By utilising ITSM best practices for knowledge management, the IT team can become more proficient at handling issues while concurrently documenting them. By giving customers access to self-service options that may be able to resolve their problems, this lessens the pressure on the IT help desk. Password resets, automatic ticket saving until human interaction is possible, bill payment, guiding users to potentially helpful actions, and other situations are when this is very useful.
3.Use ITIL and DevOps to manage and prevent issues.
By combining the automated review processes of DevOps with the tried-and-true best practices of ITIL, the person developing the software will also be in charge of offering remedies in the event of an incident. By determining the actual and potential causes of events and addressing common mistakes, this responsibility will lead to fewer incidents of incidents.
4.DevOps’s shifts in culture
Software developers may be open and honest about mistakes they make with the DevOps methodology without worrying about losing their employment. Using a “you built it, you fix it” mentality, DevOps decreases operational time on a problem by eliminating the need to go through a chain of command to determine whose error caused the incident. This is one of the major improvements to work environments.
5.Provide clear ideas to customers with ITIL
Service level agreements (SLAs) are a crucial ITIL best practice that give a precise description of what was and wasn’t delivered as promised. This helps to prevent confusion and lower consumer complaints.
6.Process optimization with ITIL and DevOps
The pinnacle of IT processes is ITIL. In the IT industry, it has been there for decades and has changed continuously to meet the demands of IT companies. Starting from scratch, DevOps may aid in improvisation and improvements along the way with continuous integration and development, blameless work environment, automation, collaborative work culture, etc., while ITIL can offer proven, tried-and-tested practices.
Can ITIL & DevOps be Used Together?
Competent IT companies will concur that they require both DevOps technologies and ITIL procedures. DevOps encourages automated development as well as a transparent, cooperative work environment. It offers a secure setting where software engineers may come together to exchange ideas and work toward a shared objective. ITIL best practices are tried-and-true techniques that have been used for a very long time in the IT sector, thus they don’t necessarily slow down development processes.
Although the more formal ITIL principles and the tried-and-true DevOps concepts may appear to be at odds, DevOps may build upon the ITIL best practices and fortify the framework to provide superior business results. Companies can start this integration process by identifying the critical ITIL procedures they would require at this time and by identifying potential trouble spots. Integrating DevOps can begin at any point where there are gaps or limitations.
The improved cooperation between the development and operations teams brought about by DevOps can further increase the transparency of important data. The software development lifecycle will undoubtedly benefit from close teamwork since it will clear up confusion and streamline processes.
When viewed through the perspective of the ITIL framework, the DevOps mindset may be developed and enhanced by its well-understood processes and concepts. ITIL can assist in offering a variety of strategies to adhere to when DevOps in the IT industry keeps developing.
Conclusion
ITIL procedures offer extremely regimented standards that center around standardization and measurements, but DevOps incorporates a human element by encouraging teamwork. There are benefits to both approaches. DevOps still needs to advance significantly, as ITIL is already a tried-and-true best practice. You can check out our DevOps online training free of charge to get more information about DevOps.
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