ITSM
Erin Geiger, Director of Content at Lumos

How is DevOps different from traditional IT?

Discover how DevOps differs from traditional IT and ITSM. Learn about their similarities and the tools that support them.

Understanding the differences between DevOps and traditional IT can help you craft an effective IT strategy—and select the right tools to support your team. While both DevOps and IT aim to improve IT operations, their approaches are distinct. We’re taking a closer look at how these methodologies differ, including insights into ITSM and the ITSM vs DevOps debate. Let's get started!

What Is DevOps and How Does It Work?

DevOps is a methodology that brings together software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops)— it's all about breaking down silos between these traditionally separate teams, enabling them to work together throughout the entire software lifecycle. This includes development, testing, deployment, and operations.

The main DevOps principles revolve around automation, continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), and constant feedback loops. By automating repetitive tasks, DevOps reduces manual intervention, minimizing errors and speeding up processes. Continuous integration means that code changes are automatically tested and integrated into the main codebase, while continuous delivery makes deploying new code as simple and reliable as possible.

Imagine DevOps as the engineering team on a spaceship, constantly fine-tuning the ship’s systems, upgrading features, and ensuring everything runs smoothly for the crew. This continuous optimization keeps the spaceship agile and ready to tackle any mission with precision and speed.

What Is ITSM and How Does It Work?

IT Service Management (ITSM) is a structured approach to designing, delivering, managing, and improving the way IT services are used within an organization. It focuses on aligning IT services with the business's needs, so that every aspect of IT—from infrastructure to applications—is managed effectively to support business goals.

Imagine ITSM as the mission control center of a space expedition, where every procedure is meticulously planned and executed to guarantee the success of the mission. By implementing ITSM, organizations can enhance service quality, improve customer satisfaction, and increase operational efficiency.

How Does DevOps Differ From Traditional IT and ITSM?

A graphic depicting the differences between DevOps, IT, and ITSM.
The differences between DevOps, IT, and ITSM.

DevOps focuses on rapid, collaborative, and automated software delivery, traditional IT on infrastructure stability, and ITSM on service management and alignment with business needs. Each approach has its place, and can work together nicely. While they all have their different areas of focus, there should be a commonality when you compare the DevOps roadmap to IT and ITSM: leveraging technology and automation to reduce repetitive, manual tasks. 

What Is a DevOps Tool? What Is an ITSM Tool?

DevOps tools are essential for implementing DevOps practices, as they help automate and streamline the software development lifecycle. These tools facilitate continuous integration, continuous delivery (CI/CD), monitoring, and collaboration. DevOps tools and practices enable your team to automate testing, deployment, and infrastructure management, reducing manual tasks and speeding up the delivery process.

ITSM tools are designed to manage IT services and support IT Service Management processes. They help in organizing and optimizing tasks like incident management, service request fulfillment, and change management. 

While both types of tools aim to improve IT operations, DevOps tools focus on enhancing the speed and reliability of software delivery, whereas ITSM tools concentrate on service management and aligning IT services with business needs. Together, they help organizations leverage technology and automation to minimize repetitive, manual tasks, boosting overall productivity and efficiency.

The Right Tool for Your Organization: Lumos

Choosing the best tools to support your IT strategy is a make-it-or-break-it decision. Here at Lumos, our platform helps you streamline your operations and supports your DevOps, IT, and ITSM efforts. Whether it's improving incident management, automating service requests, or enhancing compliance, Lumos provides the capabilities needed to boost efficiency. By automating repetitive tasks, managing access requests, and integrating smoothly with your existing systems, Lumos allows your teams to focus on what really matters. Ready to revolutionize your IT operations? Try Lumos and experience the difference. Book a demo today!