How "old" DevOps is?

Ever wondered how long DevOps has been transforming software development?

It has been changing software development for over a decade, with its roots tracing back to the mid-2000s. The term itself emerged around 2009(!), when Patrick Debois, a consultant from Belgium, used it as a way to describe the collaborative movement between development and operations teams. Prior to this, the industry saw the rise of Agile methodologies in the early 2000s, which helped to improve collaboration within development teams. However, DevOps expanded this collaboration by bridging the gap between development, operations, and even testing/QA teams.

Since its inception, DevOps has evolved significantly, with the rise of CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), containerization, and automation tools like Jenkins, Atlassian Bamboo, GitHub Actions, Docker, Kubernetes, Puppet, Terraform, Ansible and so forth. Its adoption has been accelerating particularly in the last 5 to 7 years, as organizations grow and increasingly focus on faster delivery cycles, scalability, and high availability.

Beyond tools and automation, DevOps encourages a culture of collaboration, continuous feedback, and shared responsibility. By breaking down silos between teams, it enables faster troubleshooting, better resource utilization, and more efficient workflows. This cultural shift is just as important as the technical advancements, ensuring long-term success in modern software development.

So, in essence, DevOps has been a key driver of change in software development for over 15 years, and continues to shape the future of development and operations today.