IT is not a commodity in a DevOps world
Let me start with a little rant: I am getting quite a few job offers and I am glad for the interest. I am not looking to change but the attention is very much appreciated. Let me point out though that all job descriptions look pretty much the same and they're all for similar companies (all "market leaders" or "highly innovative") paying similar rates/salaries.
I don't know if I am a good "DevOps Engineer" but I doubt companies will find really good ones with a standardised, bland approach. Here is my idea of a "good DevOps engineer": someone that will strive to improve IT quality and velocity to better serve the business, not just a "system administrator with puppet experience".
The benefits of a DevOps approach have started to come out, we are getting numbers and it is a differentiator in the market, for companies across the board. As the CEO of Citibank put it in 2014, "we see ourselves as a technology company with a banking license". It concerns traditional businesses too!
This is in stark contrast with the idea that IT should be commoditised by now. Surely, it's all the same software and hardware! What has been commoditised by cloud vendors is probably the part that adds the less business value. For the rest, we are going through the biggest transformation since the 90s. And I won't go into the whole customer experience revolution...
A true DevOps approach means everyone in IT is becoming a coder to bring to life various layers: Infrastructure as Code, Software Defined Networks, BigData and of course applications.
Which leads me to this: there is some creativity involved in coding, the same way there is creativity in solving mathematical problems. You can't be a market leader if you don't have a forward thinking, innovative approach to IT. And forward thinkers and innovators are not built in a factory.
Co-founder & CTO at Zalow | Entrepreneurial Technologist
9 年Definitely agree with what's being stated here. However, some of the blame is actually on the IT community themselves. The jobs look and pay similar and yet... they are filled shortly after being posted. I believe the sad reality is that many companies won't begin to question their approach until they see a smoking gun pointing to problems DevOps and DevOps-enabled resources are needed to solve, but can't be hired within their existing hiring process. I'm still amazed at the number of organizations that still presently view IT as only a cost center; they're a ways off from even pronouncing DevOps.
Co-Founder & Director at Sekuro - Cyber Security | Cloud Security | Digital Transformation
9 年Thanks for sharing Romain Bigeard. I will use this when speaking with clients and candidates.
Strategist, People Leader, Imagination-first Technology Consultant
9 年Spot on!!!