DevOps tools, platforms and benefits in public cloud environments

Today, it is essential to assume that our DevOps strategy includes our cloud infrastructures. That is why we have done a small analysis of the capabilities offered by the main cloud providers, following the line of the recently published articles on Backup and DevSecOps.

Main Cloud Providers  

Microsoft Azure 

Azure DevOps is Microsoft's solution for DevOps on its cloud platform. It provides tools for project planning, tracking, and management, code version control, continuous integration and delivery, monitoring, and cloud infrastructure management. Azure DevOps also includes tools for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), testing, automation, and application monitoring, enabling development and operations teams to work together more effectively. 

In addition to Azure DevOps, Azure also offers a wide range of cloud services that can be integrated into a DevOps workflow, including Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Functions, Azure App Service, Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, and many more. The Azure cloud platform is highly scalable and can provide a large number of resources for application deployment, making it an excellent choice for implementing DevOps solutions. 

Amazon 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the most widely adopted and comprehensive cloud platform in the world, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centres globally. Millions of customers, including fast-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies, are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster. Here are some ways to use DevOps on AWS: 

• Infrastructure automation: AWS CloudFormation and AWS Elastic Beanstalk. These tools allow for the quick and consistent creation of cloud infrastructure and applications, which is essential for DevOps. 
• Continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD): AWS CodePipeline, AWS CodeBuild, and AWS CodeDeploy enable CI/CD in software development and delivery. These services allow for the automation of software building, testing, and deployment processes. 
• Monitoring and infrastructure management: AWS CloudWatch, which enables monitoring and analysis of application and service logs and metrics in the cloud. 
• Security and compliance: AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), which enables management of permissions and access to resources in the cloud. It also provides compliance services such as AWS Artifact and AWS Config, enabling compliance with regulations and policies. 

IBM 

IBM Cloud is a platform that combines a Platform as a Service (PaaS) with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to provide an integrated experience. The platform scales and supports both small development teams and large enterprises. Deployed globally in data centres around the world, the solution created on IBM Cloud is activated quickly. 

IBM Cloud provides solutions that enable higher levels of compliance, security, and management

IBM Cloud provides solutions that enable higher levels of compliance, security, and management, with proven architecture patterns and rapid delivery methods to run critical workloads. Available in data centres worldwide, with multi-zone regions in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, it is enabled for local deployment with global scalability. Here are some ways DevOps can be used on IBM Cloud: 

• Infrastructure automation: IBM Cloud Schematics and Terraform. These tools allow for the rapid and consistent creation of cloud infrastructure and applications, which is essential for DevOps. 
• Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): IBM Cloud Continuous Delivery, which enables the implementation of CI/CD in software development and delivery. These services allow for the automation of software building, testing, and deployment processes. 
• Infrastructure monitoring and management: IBM Cloud Monitoring with Sysdig, which enables the monitoring and analysis of application and service logs and metrics in the cloud. 
• Security and compliance: IBM Cloud Security and Compliance Centre, which enables the management of permissions and access to cloud resources. It also provides compliance services, such as IBM Cloud Compliance, to enable compliance with regulations and standards. 

Google 

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is the suite of infrastructure and services that Google uses internally and now makes available to any company, making it applicable to a multitude of business processes. When we talk about Google Cloud Platform (GCP), we are referring to all the Google tools available in the cloud that were previously offered separately. This set of services offers very different features; from machine learning to artificial intelligence, to big data, all under the umbrella of cloud computing. Here are some ways DevOps can be used on Google Cloud Platform: 

• Infrastructure automation: Google Cloud Deployment Manager and Terraform. These tools allow for the rapid and consistent creation of cloud infrastructure and applications, which is essential for DevOps. 
• Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): Google Cloud Build and Google Cloud Deploy, which enables the implementation of CI/CD in software development and delivery. These services allow for the automation of software building, testing, and deployment processes. 
• Infrastructure monitoring and management: Google Cloud Monitoring and Google Cloud Logging, which enables the monitoring and analysis of application and service logs and metrics in the cloud. 
• Security and compliance: Google Cloud IAM, which enables the management of permissions and access to cloud resources. It also provides compliance services, such as Google Cloud Compliance, to enable compliance with regulations and standards. 

Advantages and benefits 

The adoption of DevOps in IT infrastructures and systems offers a series of advantages and benefits, below are some of the most relevant ones: 

• Greater efficiency and speed: DevOps encourage collaboration and communication between development and operations teams, allowing for quicker and more efficient identification and resolution of problems. Additionally, process automation and continuous integration help accelerate the software delivery cycle. 
• Improved software quality: Continuous integration and automated testing allow for early detection of errors and issues in the software, which helps improve software quality. 
• Greater flexibility and adaptability: DevOps enable companies to quickly adapt and respond to market changes and customer needs. 
• Cost reduction: Process automation and continuous integration reduce the costs associated with software delivery, while increasing efficiency and productivity. 
• Enhanced security: DevOps can also improve the security of IT systems by enabling early detection of issues and the implementation of security controls and measures in a quicker and more efficient manner.