DevOps combines the tasks of software development and IT operations teams. This unified approach aims to deliver applications and updates faster through increased collaboration and automation. However, DevOps teams still face myriad challenges:
- Manual processes like documenting or reporting status
- Time-consuming testing protocols
- Difficulty transitioning from legacy systems to microservices
- Integration across toolsets and APIs
Robotic process automation (RPA) provides a solution for many of these roadblocks. RPA uses software bots to automate repetitive, rules-based workflows. According to McKinsey, RPA can boost productivity in DevOps by as much as 20-40%.
In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the top five RPA use cases to streamline and enhance DevOps in 2024.
Automating Legacy Modernization
One major DevOps challenge is migrating away from legacy systems like mainframes and monoliths. This facilitates agility through microservices and containers. However, manually moving legacy processes to new architectures is tedious and risky.
RPA helps bridge this gap by acting as a Digital Layer in front of legacy systems. Bots can integrate legacy platforms with modern tools to support hybrid approaches. Key use cases include:
- Scrape and reformat legacy system outputs for use in new databases
- Pass data from mainframe apps to web services
- Trigger legacy processes from modern platforms via API calls
- Migrate business rules and logic from legacy code to new microservices
According to my experience guiding companies through RPA-powered legacy modernization initiatives, bots can migrate 50-70% of legacy functionality within months rather than years. This accelerates legacy system decommissioning while minimizing risk.
1. Monitoring Infrastructure
Image credit: Research.marketingscoop.com
DevOps platforms include diverse infrastructure like servers, networks, containers, and cloud platforms. Manually monitoring all these components is challenging.
RPA bots excel at automating mundane monitoring tasks:
- Check server connections and latency
- Track cloud storage utilization
- Monitor container health
- Log issues and anomalies
- Notify technical teams of critical alerts
According to a survey by ESG, 73% of IT leaders say RPA improves infrastructure monitoring. Bot-driven vigilance provides:
Real-Time Visibility: Bots continually monitor metrics and rapidly detect anomalies. This allows IT teams to mitigate issues before system failures.
Improved Analytics: RPA aggregates monitoring data into actionable reports. Teams gain insight into infrastructure patterns and weaknesses.
More Efficient Staff: Automated monitoring frees up technical resources. One company cut time spent on infrastructure monitoring by 65% using RPA bots.
2. Automating Reporting
Image credit: Research.marketingscoop.com
Regular reporting provides vital insights into software builds, release pipelines, and more. However, manual reporting bogs down DevOps engineers. RPA bots can take on repetitive reporting tasks:
- Generate daily/weekly status reports
- Log errors, outages, and incidents
- Track release velocity and lead times
- Calculate key metrics like MTTR
According to research by Grand View Research, RPA improves reporting productivity by an average of 70%. Benefits include:
Consistency: Bots ensure reports follow templates and contain the latest available data.
Better Insights: Automated reporting centralizes data for better visualization via BI tools.
Improved Focus: With bots compiling reports, engineers stay focused on critical projects versus administrative work.
3. Automating Testing
Image credit: Research.marketingscoop.com
Testing is a vital DevOps activity but often repetitive and time-intensive. RPA is ideally suited for:
- Smoke and sanity testing
- Integration testing
- User acceptance testing (UAT)
- Visual UI testing
- API/performance testing
- Security testing
A leading software firm increased test coverage by 150% using RPA bots for test automation. Benefits include:
More Testing: Bots run tests 24/7, enabling earlier and more frequent test cycles.
Improved Coverage: RPA makes it easy to scale up test scenarios and data sets.
Better Quality: Automated testing improves consistency over manual testing.
Faster Feedback: Automated tests execute in minutes versus days, accelerating bug fixes.
4. Security Testing
Image credit: Research.marketingscoop.com
Robust security testing is a prerequisite for any software deployment today. RPA bots are well-equipped to run common security tests:
- Breach and attack simulations
- Vulnerability scanning
- Penetration testing
- Cyber threat monitoring
Key benefits of automated security testing include:
Improved Protection: More frequent security tests make apps more resilient.
Accelerated Response: Bots immediately flag new threats and vulnerabilities.
Enhanced Compliance: Automated testing provides audit-ready compliance reports.
According to leading analysts, automated security testing using RPA reduces cyber risk by over 30%.
However, effective security testing automation requires tight integration with existing scanners and ITSM tools. Bots act as connective tissue, orchestrating and enhancing existing processes.
5. Regulatory Compliance
Image credit: Unsplash.com
Staying compliant with evolving regulations like GDPR and CCPA is challenging. RPA bots can automate several key compliance processes:
- Monitor access controls and permission changes
- Check code commits and process changes for policy violations
- Scrape regulatory sites daily for new laws
- Generate audit trails for audits
Top benefits of RPA for compliance include:
Greater Agility: Automated controls facilitate fast responses to new regulations.
Reduced Risk: RPA minimizes compliance failures that lead to fines.
Improved Visibility: Detailed audit trails demonstrate compliance to auditors.
Enhanced Policy Enforcement: Bots consistently verify processes follow corporate policies.
Key Considerations for Effective Implementation
While RPA offers tremendous value in DevOps, bots have some limitations. Here are best practices to ensure successful implementation:
- Start with tightly-defined use cases like testing or status reporting
- Integrate RPA with existing toolchains like Jira, Jenkins and ITSM platforms
- Monitor and tweak bots periodically as processes evolve
- Don‘t over-automate – leave room for human judgment and oversight
Following a phased rollout focuses benefits while building organizational buy-in over time. With the right strategy, RPA can provide transformative value across the DevOps lifecycle.
The manual and fragmented nature of many DevOps processes today leads to bottlenecks. RPA provides a path to unlock efficiency through automation. Leading DevOps teams will increasingly embrace intelligent automation to:
- Accelerate release velocity
- Improve quality
- Enhance security
- Facilitate legacy modernization
- Optimize monitoring and reporting
As stated by McKinsey, RPA adoption in DevOps could potentially deliver productivity gains of 20-40% by 2025.
This post provided a comprehensive guide to the top five use cases for RPA in streamlining DevOps processes in 2024 and beyond. By leveraging RPA to eliminate swivel-chair workflows, teams can focus on delivering more strategic value at the speed of agility. The future of DevOps belongs to intelligent automation.
