Serverless computing provides agility, but introduces a new model of IT. Here’s how the NoOps mode compares with legacy DevOps and cloud-native DevOps.
CIOs already had their hands full dealing with modernizing their infrastructures and wrapping new services and value around the public cloud—juggling two speeds of IT—before serverless came along. Now, serverless computing has introduced a third mode of IT that needs to be addressed.
However, each of these three modes has its place in the enterprise. Let’s examine the three modes of IT operations and where executives should focus for the biggest return.
Mode 1: Legacy DevOps
This mode of operations is the portion of enterprise IT that Oracle, Exchange, and other monolithic applications run. In the pets vs. cattle descriptor, these applications are the pets. For most organizations, this model runs atop of a virtualization platform such as VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, or KVM.
Vendors such as HPE with SimpliVity, Nutanix, and Datrium look to optimize cost and operations for the related infrastructure. This mode is the least agile of the three modes. For this reason, CIOs look to shrink this portion of the operating budget. However, due to cost, risk, and technical complexity, many of these applications will remain for years, if not decades, to come. To shrink the operational cost of this mode, enterprise infrastructure groups look to automation to reduce the overhead associated with these applications.
I call this mode Legacy DevOps, as IT staff may find more value here than end users or developers. As Legacy DevOps improves, the cost of managing legacy applications recedes. CIOs may then shift the resources to Mode 2 and Mode 3 operations.
Mode 2: Cloud-native DevOps