What is DevOps, and why is it so important for data management?
As a relatively young concept, DevOps revolves around provisioning data quickly and synchronizing application data in database changes. It is easier said than done, however; challenges in data automation, slow components, application modernization, and team environments require solutions for optimal DevOps functionality.
DBTA hosted a webinar, sponsored by Delphix and MariaDB, titled, “Data Management and DevOps: New Challenges and Solutions,” featuring speakers Brian Muskoff, senior director of product management at Delphix, and William Hoang, director of developer relations and engineering at MariaDB. The speakers dove into the world of DevOps, its relevance and advantages, as well as the current challenges and solutions posed by data management and DevOps.
Muskoff discussed DevOps challenges and the ways in which the DevOps Data Platform, an offering from Delphix, can rectify those issues. As an automated, secure test data management solution, the DevOps Data Platform delivers DevOps APIs (like masking and discovery) to meet the demands of the field as well as the demands of CI/CD data. Tapping into real production data, DevOps Data Platform extracts that data in near-real time to an immutable time machine. The platform automates the delivery of data-ready test environments, ensuring efficient test execution for action upon receiving test results. Further, the DevOps Data Platform automates sensitive data discovery as well as masks with multi-cloud referential integrity. Muskoff explains that masking goes hand-in-hand with data agility; as many enterprises have sensitive data at risk in non-production environments, masking sensitive data is a key component of modern test data management. DevOps Data Platform increases developer productivity while eliminating wait states, reducing waste, and ensuring compliance with secure data practices.
As Hoang sees it, DevOps is imperative for grunt work elimination, increasing productivity without compromising for scale or security. For successful DevOps integration and functionality, Hoang suggested that the following techniques be employed to improve productivity:
- Automate: automate as many tasks as possible, reducing toil in the development and operations of complex systems.
- Cross functionality: utilize this intersectional discipline that employs the talents of multiple enterprise departments for organizational learning.
- Security: promote a safe and secure system to work and develop.
- Scaling operations: identify bottlenecks and improve feedback for upstream units.
Hoang introduced MariaDB SkySQL monitoring as a useful tool for DevOps, where users have access to continuous monitoring of their systems at the frequency of their choice. As a platform emphasizing all-in-one-place values, users can greatly reduce their workloads through its personalizable alerts and functions. Continuous evaluation is key towards the upkeep of DevOps according to Hoang, and MariaDB SkySQL can aid in that maintenance. Hoang also discussed his recommendations for optimized DevOps, ranging from cultivating an enterprise culture that can sustain DevOps, to using tools appropriate for your system and operations.
You can view an archived version of this webinar here.