DevOps has definitely lived up to the hype through proven efficiency. However, there are still some misconceptions circulating in the air. In this article, we will shed some light on the truths and fallacies about DevOps.
DevOps engineer is a line item
Development Operations was another solution for optimising communication to increase product development speed as an expected consequence.
Supposedly, DevOps engineers can assess security risks via automation and tools with an understanding of firsthand processes ā the development cycle, testing, and product architecture. The developer must understand how his product works in certain conditions, how to deploy its development, and what environment characteristics to tweak to increase performance.
Eventually, it brought up the emergence of developers with a DevOps approach. You’ve probably seen companies throw a DevOps title at someone and expect instant transformation. Doesn’t work that way. Real DevOps success comes from breaking down silos between your dev and ops teams, not creating another one.
No tools ā no DevOps
You’re not buying your way to success with the latest monitoring stack or CI/CD platform.Ā
Sure, tools matter ā but they’re maybe 30% of the equation. The real magic happens when your developers stop throwing code over the wall to operations, and ops folks aren’t seen as the “department of no.”Ā
Start simple: get your dev and ops people in the same room for one weekly standup. Watch what happens when they actually talk through deployment pain points together rather than trading blame through Slack channels.
The teams that nail DevOps first focus on breaking down those old silos, then let the tooling follow naturally. It’s backwards from how most organisations approach it, but the results speak for themselves.Ā For example, to prepare your QA team for automation, you can use aqua cloud to make it easier for developers to enhance their Software Development Life Cycle.
But again, you can go with or without any tools.
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DevOps is a mirror of CI/CD
CI/CD pipeline and DevOps are to be confused more often than you can imagine. We believe the reason is that both of them rely on automation. Itās also the root of a misconception about agile and DevOps, as they also incorporate automation.
But let’s dot the i’s and cross the t’s in this question: DevOps is used as one of the development practices within an agile approach to streamline the Software Development Life Cycle.
Hook up Jenkins integration for CI/CD pipeline
Automation is a silver bullet
Automation is a very handful thing while deploying new features. Unfortunately, even though it can quickly eliminate obvious problems, you need manual efforts to process insights and feedback from this automation. DevOps remains a people-oriented process, and automation is just an “exoskeleton” for all human efforts.
Best Practices: Infrastructure, Automation, and Observability in Modern DevOps
True DevOps success comes from connecting the dots between infrastructure as code, containerization, and smart observability. Here’s your starting point: pick one tool like Terraform and automate just your staging environment first ā you’ll see configuration drift nearly disappear within weeks. Docker and Kubernetes containers keep your apps running the same way everywhere, which means fewer ‘it works on my machine’ headaches during deployments.Ā
But you need to throw in centralised dashboards for your test reports and build logs early. You want to spot trouble before it becomes a crisis, not after. Teams that combine these three approaches see deployment reliability jump significantly compared to those still doing manual infrastructure work. The key isn’t perfection from day one; you need to start with infrastructure automation, add containers when you’re comfortable, then layer in the monitoring.
DevOps treats every hiccup
They went hollering from the rooftops about how DevOps should be used in every team for any type of development. And itās sad to admit that itās the most common misconception about DevOps as the number of companies “bragging” about using DevOps is overwhelming.
DevOps aims to optimise expenses, increase ROI and speed development up, but it fits mostly for companies with chameleonic environments. The more often changes in a product during development, the higher the need for DevOps. If your product remains mostly the same, incorporating DevOps is unnecessary.
NoOps is the new DevOps
DevOps ensures faster and smoother deployments with steady improvement conducted by a professional. NoOps is supposed to exclude a professional from this description by relying only on tools and services to maintain all components.
However, true NoOps is still an unreachable dream as all releases require human supervision to take care of underlying infrastructure and hit every tick box of policies. So NoOps is not new DevOps; it is just another approach to development.
DevOps is Agile
The common myth that DevOps is Agile is almost unbreakable. DevOps borrowed many aspects of work from agile and can operate within this methodology. It makes them just like two best friends but not twins.
DevOps engineer = DevOps team
Having DevOps engineers doesn’t mean a DevOps team by default. DevOps is undoubtedly about people, but the core of this approach is DevOps processes and how people follow them. And if your engineers don’t address these processes as they should, then you have nothing to do with DevOps.
DevOps is a tool
Usually, this myth circulates among business owners with no IT background. Many tools help to incorporate DevOps into your work. For example, you can use aqua to hook up integrations for your testing automation within this approach. But regularly, itās not correct to consider DevOps as a tool.
DevOps guarantees non-stop releases
We wish there were something that actually could guarantee non-stop releases. Of course, you can deliver one release after another using DevOps, but their quality might be doubtful. DevOps can speed up releases, but the quality is a matter of your QA and development teams’ joint efforts.
DevOps is only for large enterprises
One of the most widespread DevOps myths is that some people believe it is exclusively suitable for large organisations with extensive resources. However, DevOps principles and practices can be tailored and applied effectively to businesses of all sizes, including startups and small to medium-sized enterprises.
DevOps replaces the need for specialised roles
There is a misconception that DevOps eliminates the need for specialised roles such as system administrators, security experts, and database administrators. In reality, DevOps encourages collaboration among these roles and incorporates their expertise into the development process.
DevOps is only about automation
While automation is a fundamental aspect of DevOps, it’s not the sole focus. DevOps emphasises collaboration, communication, and cultural changes within organisations. It’s about automating tasks and fostering a culture of shared responsibility and continuous improvement.
DevOps is only for software development
Some individuals mistakenly believe that DevOps principles are only applicable to software development projects. However, DevOps can be adapted to various domains, including infrastructure management, data science, and even marketing. It’s a versatile approach that enhances collaboration and efficiency across different sectors.
Debunking: DevOps Applies Across the Whole Organisation
DevOps is not just for dev and ops teams. Companies that see real results? They’re getting everyone involved. QA, security, product managers, data teams, even marketing folks. The magic happens when you break down those department walls and get cross-functional teams working toward the same goals. Start by identifying one project where multiple departments typically hand off work to each other – that’s your testing ground. Transform that workflow into a collaborative effort instead.Ā
Marketing teams using DevOps principles for campaign launches often spot customer pain points faster than traditional user research. The real win isn’t just faster deployments – it’s creating a culture where customer value moves seamlessly from initial concept all the way to delivery.
DevOps guarantees instant results
Another common misconception about employing DevOps is that it will instantly solve all your organisational problems and lead to immediate improvements in speed and quality. In reality, implementing DevOps practices is a journey that requires time, commitment, and continuous learning. While it can yield significant benefits, they may not be instantaneous, and success depends on consistent effort and adaptation.
Conclusion
Adopting DevOps has more advantages: clear and more stable workflow, faster and better product delivery, and better resource utilisation.
However, the IT industry is still full of myths about DevOps; itās essential to do deeper research before incorporating any kind of approaches, technologies or tools, as you can waste money and time on unnecessary improvements.
