In the not-too-distant past, standard practice for software development was to silo or separate software developers into two distinct teams - development and operations. More recently, the DevOps process was adopted to combine the two disciplines. The end result is a faster, more secure, and simply better software development and deployment process.

One of the key features of DevOps is the automation of specific processes. Using artificial intelligence (AI) can help with all aspects of the software development lifecycle, including suggesting code, detecting anomalies, and continuously monitoring deployed software. This can ensure your software is developed and deployed more quickly, with fewer bugs and increased protection against attacks.

At Inclind, we offer a range of website design and development services, including DevOps, website design and development, support and maintenance, site redesigns, custom integrations, and accessibility audits. Our team has used the DevOps approach for over 15 years, giving us the experience and knowledge necessary to guide your company as it transitions to DevOps or searches for the right AI tools to improve the process. Reach out today to learn more about our DevOps and related services.

What Is DevOps?

DevOps combines software development (dev) and operations (ops) to increase software development and delivery's efficiency, security, and speed. The use of DevOps - as opposed to a more traditional process - can give businesses a competitive advantage.

With DevOps, the software development and operations teams are no longer siloed or kept apart. In some situations, the two separate teams are brought together to work throughout the lifecycle of an application, from development and testing to deployment and operations. DevOps practices allow these teams to work together to accelerate software delivery using collaboration, automation, quick feedback, and iterative improvement (making changes as the team works instead of at the end).

The DevOps process comes from an agile approach to software development, which uses a cross-functional method of building, testing, and deploying software more quickly and securely. Companies that adopt a DevOps process encourage collaboration, which is not a traditional feature of the information technology (IT) industry.

There are several key features of the DevOps methodology, including:

1. Automating testing, builds, releases, and other manual processes.
2. Collaborating and communicating throughout the team
3. Continually improving to minimize wasted time and effort
4. Focusing on user needs with short feedback loops.

As one of the key components of DevOps is automation to reduce human error, it only makes sense that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). AI involves computer systems that perform tasks in a way that simulates human intelligence, while ML is a branch of AI. These groundbreaking technologies can find patterns, spot bugs in code, analyze security data, make suggestions within workflows, and even automatically respond to attacks and breaches.

How Can Artificial Intelligence Be Used in DevOps?

As noted above, automating manual processes is a key feature of DevOps. There are many facets of software development and deployment where human error can cause problems. AI and ML can enhance the development cycle, increase efficiency and speed, improve accuracy and consistency, better manage resources, and enhance security.

Automated CI/CD

AI can be implemented in the DevOps process in several key ways. First, many teams use AI for continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment (CI/CD). With CI/CD, AI software automates building, testing, and deploying code. Any code changes that meet the criteria can be integrated into the code base and deployed to production environments immediately. This can reduce errors and improve the quality of the software.

AI Code Suggestions

Second, AI technology can suggest code while developers are working. This can lead to a software development team's ability to code faster and, ultimately, to a faster software release.

Automated Testing

Third, developers can use AI to automate testing processes. AI can automatically run tests on new code so developers can spot and fix bugs or issues. This can help get code ready for deployment even faster.

Automated Software Monitoring

Fourth, AI can be used to monitor software systems and applications continuously. If an issue arises, it can send an alert so software ops teams can respond to problems and reduce or prevent downtime.

Automated Trend & Pattern Recognition

Fifth, AI can be used to support continuous improvement work. It can analyze data from different sources, such as user feedback, logs, and performance metrics, to identify trends and patterns. The DevOps team can then use this to make improvements and optimize future software development and delivery processes.

AI can be used for a variety of other tasks, such as:

• Suggesting code reviewers
• Detecting anomalies in log data and other data
• Performing root cause analyses on any issues that arise
• Detecting vulnerabilities in code and suggesting ways to fix them

While AI and ML are essential tools in the DevOps process, human oversight is still necessary. These technologies are only as good as the data they receive - and as the developers that built them. Reviewing the software’s suggestions and working to ensure accuracy is vital, particularly when critical decisions are involved.

More Efficient DevOps with Inclind

DevOps is widely viewed as the future of software development and deployment, mainly when AI is utilized to enhance and improve the process. However, making the transition to DevOps - and knowing what tools to use - can be challenging. Inclind is here to help.

We offer various DevOps services, including consulting, continuous integration and delivery (CI/D), infrastructure management, process automation, and security and compliance automation. Our experienced, award-winning website developers have used a DevOps culture since 2007. We are constantly learning and educating ourselves to provide our clients with the highest quality DevOps services.

We're available if you’d like to learn more about our DevOps services for your company. You can fill out our online contact form or hit the live chat button to talk to one of our experts about your website.