What does "DevOps service for Sitecore" mean for organizations? Well, they need to be able to deliver new features and fixes to their Sitecore solutions quickly while maintaining stability and security.
The DevOps methodology aims to address this need through a culture of collaboration between development and operations teams. When implemented properly for Sitecore, DevOps can help reduce lead times, automate processes, and get valuable software deployments into users' hands faster.
QEdge will explore how DevOps improves the software development lifecycle (SDLC) for Sitecore projects. We will outline some common DevOps services that Sitecore agencies offer, as well as best practices for implementing certain techniques.
What is DevOps for Sitecore?
DevOps refers to both a set of practices as well as a software development philosophy focusing on collaboration and automation.
When applied to Sitecore, the main goals of DevOps include:
- Faster release cadences through continuous integration and deployment
- Increased deployment frequency from days/weeks to hours/minutes/seconds
- Earlier feedback on potential issues through automated testing
- Minimizing security and compatibility risks for each release
- Standardizing and documenting environments and processes
This is achieved by having development, testing, and operations teams work together throughout all phases of the SDLC. They share ownership of the code, use tools to monitor production environments, and receive immediate feedback on how changes affect the overall system.
Common DevOps Services for Sitecore Projects
Many Sitecore agencies offer specialized DevOps services and consulting to establish processes that streamline Sitecore delivery.
Some of the most common include:
Infrastructure Automation with Tools Like Terraform and Pulumi: This allows automated provisioning of servers and environments in clouds like AWS and Azure through code. It ensures consistent, repeatable deployments.
Continuous Integration/Deployment: Tools like Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, and Jenkins support continuous integration pipelines that build, test, and deploy Sitecore components and packages automatically upon code changes.
Testing Automation: Fixtures and frameworks like Selenium and SpecFlow can automate frontend and API tests, catching errors early. Behavior-driven development ensures tests align with requirements.
Containerization: Docker and Kubernetes allow packaging Sitecore solutions into containerized applications for simplified, portable deployments across environments.
Monitoring and Analytics: Services integrate monitoring dashboards for mean time to recovery, deployment statuses, and other key metrics to track Sitecore performance and stability.
Security Auditing: Regular security audits and compliance checks help remediate vulnerabilities and ensure no production risks arise from new code or configurations.
By implementing these DevOps practices through a qualified partner, organizations can develop Sitecore solutions more efficiently at production-ready quality.
DevOps Best Practices for Sitecore Projects
In addition to specific services, agencies recommend certain DevOps best practices for Sitecore implementations:
Infrastructure as Code: Infrastructure should be stored in code repositories along with application components. Teams provision identical copies of pre-production and production environments programmatically.
Trunk-Based Development: A single code repository and branch avoid lengthy merges while enabling continuous integration testing across all changes.
Feature Flags: New functionality can roll out incrementally to subsets of users via toggles before fully releasing, reducing risk.
Monitoring Dashboards: Teams gain visibility into deployment successes/failures, change failures, error rates, and response times through integrated monitoring tools.
Developer Environments: Standard environments configured through scripts help developers efficiently test and validate changes locally before committing code.
Continuous Testing: Automated testing cycles run with each code change to surface errors upfront rather than later in the process.
Config as Code: Like infrastructure, configuration details belong in source control to ensure productions match pre-production environments.
Implementing these practices transforms development culture and enables more incremental, autonomous deployments. It gets changes tested and validated faster for safer Sitecore releases.
Why Partner with QEdge for DevOps?
For organizations adopting or improving DevOps processes for Sitecore, working with an experienced agency offers clear advantages over going it alone or relying solely on in-house resources.
As a reliable Sitecore agency, QEdge provides end-to-end DevOps services and guidance.
Some key benefits of partnering with QEdge include:
- Team of Sitecore certified developers, architects, and consultants
- Over 15 years of Sitecore project experience across industries
- Proven methodologies and accelerators for scaffolding DevOps pipelines
- Flexible resourcing options from dedicated DevOps teams to project consulting
- Mature DevOps practices are already in place for clients to model after
- Guidance on tools, techniques, and best practices from established experts
- Managed DevOps services available to avoid the overhead of building in-house
By leveraging QEdge's DevOps expertise, clients gain accelerated learning curves, optimized processes, and focal points for improvement from the start. Teams access proven pipelines, documentation, and on-demand support to establish advanced Sitecore delivery models. Overall, partnering elevates DevOps maturity faster at lower costs versus building solutions in isolation.
Conclusion
In summary, adopting a DevOps approach transforms how organizations develop and deliver Sitecore solutions. When implemented through an experienced DevOps partner, clients streamline processes to maximize productivity across all functions.
Automating manual tasks, engaging in continuous integration/delivery, and establishing production-grade tools and services elevate delivery speed, quality, and visibility for Sitecore implementations. QEdge offers a strategic DevOps partner fully dedicated to the Sitecore ecosystem.
