Santa Clara, California, will be home to the biggest gathering of Jenkins users in the world Sept. 13-15. This year’s Jenkins World conference will feature Gary Gruver, DevOps expert and author of “Leading the Transformation.” We had a chance to connect with Gary and hear his thoughts on the state of DevOps, continuous delivery and what he thinks the biggest trends are.

staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: As continuous delivery (CD) and DevOps continue to be adopted and advance, what specifically should we be on the lookout for?

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Which of the following best describes how you currently monitor and manage systems across your hybrid cloud environment?(Required)

Multiple separate tools for different environments

Multiple separate tools for different monitoring and management functions

Single consolidated dashboard

Custom built monitoring and management solution

No full monitoring and management solution

Don’t know

How valuable would it be for your monitoring and management solution to incorporate predictive analytics to help you identify and address system issues that are critical and not waste time or effort working through all the data and “noise” that is not critical?(Required)

Extremely valuable

Moderately valuable

Somewhat valuable

Slightly valuable

Not valuable

How do you most typically address potential system issues BEFORE they impact your operations?(Required)

Automated workflows and playbooks to remediate potential issues as soon as they are detected

An orchestrated response process that leverages automation, AI, and human expertise to rapidly respond to potential issues

Advanced monitoring tools such as predictive analytics and anomaly detection to proactively identify and address potential issues

Respond to issues as they arise, using manual processes and troubleshooting techniques

A combination of automated remediation, orchestrated response, and/or proactive monitoring to address potential system issues

Don’t know

Other

What methods does your organization use to control and monitor cloud/IT spending?(Required)

Centralized procurement processes

Pre-approved budget thresholds

Automated cost monitoring tools

Department-level spending controls

Regular cost audits and reviews

Cloud cost optimization platform

Approval workflows for resource provisioning

Native financial operations tools provided by the cloud provider

No formal controls in place

Don’t know

Other

Please specify:

Which methods do you rely on most to detect security vulnerabilities in your systems?(Required)

Automated scanning tools

Manual assessments

Vendor notifications

Threat modeling (for early detection)

None of these

Don’t know

Other

Please specify:

What are the TWO most common ways you prioritize vulnerabilities to address within your environment?(Required)

Based on potential impact

Based on exploitability

Regulatory compliance requirements

Based on CVSS scores

Risk-based analysis of multiple factors

First-in-first-out approach

No formal prioritization process

Don’t know

How do you typically handle system updates and security patches?(Required)

Automated updates and patches

Manually review and apply updates and patches on a regular schedule

A combination of automation and manual review

Apply updates and patches on an as-needed basis.

Outsourced update and patch management

No defined process

Don’t know

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Gruver: I believe the biggest opportunity for breakthroughs in CD and DevOps is in large, complex, tightly coupled systems. Most DevOps implementations have been with smaller teams—whether in small businesses or large businesses—that allow these small teams to work fairly independently. Currently, these are the fastest moving, most innovative DevOps implementations. That said, I feel the biggest opportunities for positive business impact are in the larger, more complex systems just because they are currently much less efficient. This is why I think we will see the biggest improvements in those environments, and innovations and updates will track towards these advancements.

 staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: How are technologies like containers becoming a bigger part of an automated pipeline?

Gruver: Containers make it easier and less complex to move to infrastructure-as-code, which is one of the big breakthroughs of DevOps. This space is moving quickly because of how important environment consistency is to companies. It will be interesting to see how this space evolves over the next few years.

 staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: What advice do you have for enterprises just starting their DevOps journey?

Gruver: Segment the applications down into different deployment pipelines to make the problem as small and less complex as possible. A deployment pipeline should include all the applications that have to be qualified and deployed together because of their architectural coupling. Then, optimize each deployment separately based on DevOps principles instead of forcing everyone to implement all the same DevOps rituals like was common with previous agile transformations. This is a topic I can spend quite a bit of time discussing and thinking about, as you can read more about in my book!

staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: What roadblocks still exist for companies trying to adopt DevOps?

Gruver: Finding executives that are willing to engage with their organizations and lead the DevOps transformation is a solid roadblock. It is still new concept in larger enterprises that require the multiple acceptance from members of the C-suite.

staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: What do you find most exciting about the current state of CD?

Gruver: It is finally scaling to large organizations where the majority of the code that is being worked with exists and therein are the biggest opportunities I see for improvement. This means that DevOps is being introduced right up the chain, extending it from just the realm of IT.

staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: What do you want Jenkins World attendees to know about your keynote?

Gruver: I am planning to provide a framework you can use to help align your large organization on your DevOps journey. My objective is for DevOps practitioners in organizations of all sizes to walk away with tips for implementation and a better understanding of best practices to apply to individual DevOps journeys.

staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: What does being “all-in” on DevOps mean to you?

Gruver: To me, being “all-in” on DevOps means that everyone one is committed to the DevOps principles and is working together to continually improve the development and delivery processes. In other words, they have the same approach to achieving the same goal.

staging-devopsy.kinsta.cloud: Where do you think DevOps adoption is today?

Gruver: Mature in unicorns and just getting started in large enterprises; hence, there are so many opportunities!

To learn more about Gary Gruver and his approach to DevOps, please visit his homepage. While you’re at it, download a sample of his latest book, “Leading the Transformation.” Interested in learning more about Jenkins World or attending this year’s Jenkins World? Click here and register with the code JWDEVOPSCUST to receive a 20 percent discount.