What is DevOps?

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

If you search “What is DevOps?” online, you’ll find many complex definitions.
In this article we’ll explain DevOps from the ground up.

DevOps = Dev (Developers) + Ops (Operations).
It is a culture, process, and set of tools that help teams:

• Build software faster
• Test software properly
• Deploy software safely
• Fix problems quickly
• Work together without fighting

Think of DevOps as a bridge between two teams that previously rarely communicated.

Before DevOps

• Developers write code → throw it to Ops
• Ops says the code is not working
• Developers reply “It works on my machine”
• Result: delays, arguments, slow releases

With DevOps

• Both teams collaborate from the beginning
• Automation tools are used throughout the lifecycle
• No surprises at the end
• Faster releases, fewer bugs

Key benefits

• Automation – reduces manual work
• Fast delivery – push updates quickly
• Continuous testing – catch bugs early
• Monitoring – always watch systems
• Team collaboration – work as one team

Popular Tools

• Git / GitHub
• Docker
• Jenkins
• Kubernetes
• Terraform
• Ansible
• AWS / Azure / GCP

These tools help automate everything from code to server to deployment.

DevOps Workflow

1. Plan – decide what to build
2. Code – write the application
3. Build – create executable files
4. Test – check for bugs
5. Release – prepare for deployment
6. Deploy – push to servers
7. Monitor – keep watch
8. Feedback – learn and improve

This cycle repeats continuously.

Example: Food Delivery App

• Developers add new features
• A CI/CD pipeline automatically tests the app
• Docker packages the application
• Kubernetes manages the containers in production
• Monitoring alerts the team if an API becomes slow

With this setup, updates can be released weekly without breaking anything—DevOps working perfectly.