Optimization and evolution are critical for success in the age of digital transformation. Notably, this management level necessitates a combination of day-to-day management, IT governance, and contingency planning.

These components are present in the most widely used IT management approaches and frameworks, such as ITIL 4 (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) and DevOps (Development and Operations). Still, it does not make deciding between them any simpler!

It is popular to pit these two frameworks against one another; this is a pointless dispute. ITIL 4 and DevOps are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they can be complementary, with each offering its own set of benefits for IT management and governance.

In this article, you will see why and how.

IT Management Methodologies

Before you go any further, be sure you understand each of the approaches.

ITIL 4

IT gets driven by service management processes, whether internal or external. ITIL is based on the concept of continuous service improvement, with quality and consistency as top priorities. The modules in ITIL 4 examine this from a range of viewpoints, with an “ITIL Master” overseeing them as part of a unified management structure.

DevOps

DevOps is a concept rather than a collection of rules. In essence, it tries to strengthen the link between development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams by allowing them to share insight, tasks, and goals to better the IT lifecycle.

DevOps cultures include several similar aspects for efficiency and reliability, such as frequent testing, continuous delivery, continuous integration, and pervasive automation. DevOps is, above all, about bringing about cultural change and developing long-term settings of flexibility and collaboration.

As you can see, even on a broad level, there are disparities. There are, however, several similarities.

Is it a Good Idea to Integrate ITIL 4 and DevOps?

ITIL 4 and DevOps complement each other well. This affinity is partly due to their goals not being mutually exclusive. One focused on service optimization and customer value, and the other focused on software development and operations cultural aspects. They each offer tools and best practices that the other does not, thus combining their strengths to create a more effective framework has become a popular option.

It is also worth noting that ITIL 4 was created with integration in mind explicitly. AXELOS prioritized this, announcing that ITIL 4 will be compatible with DevOps and Lean practically as soon as it was released.

ITIL 4 and DevOps Use Cases

The use cases for ITIL 4 and DevOps are virtually unlimited, but here are a few illustrations of the various difficulties they can address and how, in some instances, both methodologies become necessary to arrive at the optimum solution.

DevOps Speeds up New Releases

The agile methodology of DevOps enhances both speed and risk management, as small and regular releases are faster to produce and easier to roll back or correct in an incident.

DevOps Helps Get to the Bottom of Incidents

A culture of blamelessness is one of the most useful things DevOps brings to the table. This culture is not to say that engineers are not accountable for their missteps. However, it means employees may talk openly about their failures and have more frank discussions about what went wrong without fear of being fired.

Instead of focusing on an individual as the problem in a sequence of events leading to an incident, this culture shift allows teams to get to the bottom of incidents faster and focus on actual repairs and solutions.

ITSM Reduces the Number of Calls to the IT Service Desk

Knowledge management is an ITSM best practice that means the IT team develops documentation as they solve problems. Giving self-service choices for both internal and external clients can significantly reduce the pressure on the service desk.

ITIL 4 Reduces Customer Confusion

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are a best practice in ITIL 4. They can help prevent confusion and complaints by laying out what you have — and have not — promised in a product or to a customer.

Integrating ITIL 4 and DevOps

When you combine ITIL 4’s time-tested incident management protocols with DevOps’ emphasis on automating review processes, doing blameless postmortems, and taking a “you built it, you run it” strategy, you have a recipe for significantly fewer and shorter incidents.

ITIL 4 has been around for a long time and has evolved to meet the industry’s ever-changing needs. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when creating your processes; ITIL 4 is a tried-and-true starting point.

And where DevOps can add improvements — with blameless postmortems, automation, more collaborative approaches, among other things — ITIL 4’s processes can be tweaked and modified to make them even better.

Choosing the Right Methodology

DevOps may be the best option if:

• You believe that collaboration and communication across teams and departments are lacking;
• Undiscovered bugs and defects continue to cause problems before or after the introduction of new code;
• There is no rapidity or consistency in resolving issues;
• Too much time gets wasted on tasks that get completed using outmoded ways; and
• A blaming culture has developed as a result of segregated teams.

On the other hand, ITIL 4 may be the right decision if:

• You have a sloppy lifecycle for identifying, building, releasing, and optimizing required services;
• You are having trouble adapting to new opportunities or thriving in today’s extremely dynamic IT world;
• Your IT operations do not focus on the needs of stakeholders; and
• There is no standard service-level agreement in place that spells out what clients can anticipate from your services.

Finally, any option may be appropriate if:

• You want to increase IT and management communication and alignment.
• You would like to boost IT communication amongst diverse components.
• You need to improve the efficiency of your entire operation.

Conclusion

It is important to reiterate that ITIL 4 and DevOps are not mutually exclusive; they can work well together when employed properly.

Because digital transformation does not happen overnight, established businesses should start small with best practices and techniques appropriate for their needs, then learn, develop expertise, and scale up.

Ultimately, to determine what kind of arrangement would suit you best, consider industry experts from Run2biz. Run2biz creates strategies for the organization to achieve operational excellence by providing an immersive customer experience. Contact Run2biz today to learn more!