What is DevOps? A Plain English Guide for IT Professionals

DevOps certification Australia is one of the fastest growing areas of professional IT development — and for good reason.

DevOps is one of the most talked-about approaches in modern IT — but many professionals still find it hard to define clearly. Simply put, DevOps is a set of practices, tools and cultural philosophies that help software development and IT operations teams work together more effectively. Furthermore, organisations that adopt DevOps consistently deliver software faster, more reliably and at lower cost than those that don’t.

Where did DevOps come from?

DevOps emerged in the late 2000s as a response to the friction between development teams and operations teams. Developers wanted to release software quickly. Operations teams prioritised stability. As a result, releases were slow, deployments were risky, and both sides blamed each other when things went wrong. DevOps broke down these silos by encouraging collaboration, shared responsibility and automation across the entire delivery pipeline.

What are the core principles of DevOps?

DevOps builds around the CALMS framework:

  • Culture — shared responsibility and collaboration between Dev and Ops
  • Automation — automating repetitive tasks to speed up delivery and reduce errors
  • Lean — eliminating waste and focusing on flow through the value stream
  • Measurement — using data to understand performance and drive improvement
  • Sharing — open communication and knowledge sharing across teams

What does a DevOps Engineer do?

A DevOps Engineer bridges the gap between software development and IT operations. They manage deployment pipelines, automate infrastructure, monitor system performance and work to reduce the time between writing code and getting it into production. In addition, senior DevOps Engineers often lead cultural transformation — helping organisations shift their mindset toward continuous delivery and improvement.

What is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps integrates security into the DevOps process from the very beginning. Rather than treating security as a final checkpoint before release, DevSecOps builds security checks and automation into every stage of the pipeline. Therefore, organisations can release software quickly without compromising on security.

How do I get DevOps certification in Australia?

PeopleCert offers a recognised DevOps certification pathway covering Fundamentals, Engineer, DevSecOps, Site Reliability Engineering and Leadership levels. You can sit all exams online from home through PeopleCert’s proctored system.

Ellumina offers the full PeopleCert DevOps range including DevOps Engineer, DevSecOps, Site Reliability Engineer, DevOps Leadership and DevOps Fundamentals — all fully online and self-paced.

Is DevOps certification worth it?

Yes. DevOps skills are among the most in-demand in the Australian IT job market. Moreover, certified professionals demonstrate to employers that they understand not just the tools but the culture and practices that make DevOps work in practice. For anyone working in software development or IT operations, DevOps certification is a strong career investment.