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Does DevOps have a place in larger organizations?
... And can it be used effectively within enterprises? Why or why not?
Best Answer
Yes, as Robert clearly articulates, there is value -- and there are challenges.
There are also has implications for organizations subject to regulatory compliance in that they need to focus on auditing and effective controls to ensure that process doesn't get thrown out in the name of expediency.
70% of unanticipated service disruptions and long lead times for provisioning of new environments are due to a lack of cross-domain understanding. Configuration and change management cannot be effectively managed in silos. Meanwhile, businesses cannot expect a single individual to manage the entire process development through operations. There are two things that need to be fixed to make this all work: 1) simplify the environment and 2) increase collaboration. Both of these goals comprise the essence of DevOps. Hence, this is more critical in a larger organization than small ones because smaller organizations tend to have less distance between individuals (departments, managers, etc.).
Something I've noticed about large companies (and maybe this is only the case at certain enterprises) is that there's a lack of emphasis on developers. At least, there isn't the same emphasis I've seen at most startups where the developers are the foundation of the product. Maybe this sort of mindset is another reason why DevOps is a bigger challenge to deploy at large companies?
And that 70%? Is a big number. Wow.
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Given the nature of applications and IT in general, I would say that yes, DevOps can have a place in any organization, regardless of size. As lines of business become more engaged and are self-empowered to create business applications (either through the development of applications or acquisition of cloud-based services), then effective cooperation and communications between development and operations can be very beneficial. But it depends on a couple of things. First, the culture of the organization. In an enterprise characterized by rigid organizational boundaries, then injecting another organization between the lines of business (development) and operations may actually be counter-productive. You're simply adding one more step in the process to bring business solutions to market, and the other organizations will see them as a bottleneck.
Assuming that the organization is not hampered by rigid organizational boundaries, you still need to ensure that the DevOps team understands their charter and against what success factors they will be measured. DevOps should facilitate and improve communications, understanding and transition of ideas, needs, requirements and solutions. Being the "enforcer" of a rigid life cycle management process can result in alienation by both development and operations, creating an even wider chasm between the two organizations.