Analyst(s): Mitch Ashley
Publication Date: November 19, 2024
By embracing AI, Kubernetes, and cloud-native advancements with your DevOps maturity, organizations can drive innovation, efficiency, and security in their software development processes, ensuring they remain competitive and deliver the software strategically to achieve business goals and outcomes.
Key Points:
- AI and Kubernetes rapidly transform software development, accelerating adoption and integration into DevOps pipelines and tools.
- Research from Q2-Q3 2024 indicates 56% of organizations report advanced DevOps maturity levels, with continued investments in CI/CD and cloud-native technologies.1
- AI’s role in software engineering is growing, with 2025 poised to deliver a wave of AI-driven innovations that enhance development, testing, and security.
Overview:
DevOps reaches new levels of maturity. Research by The Futurum Group reveals that 56% of surveyed organizations have achieved advanced DevOps maturity, with 22% scaling DevOps across the enterprise and 34% reporting high competence. CI/CD pipelines remain foundational, enabling frequent integrations and reducing conflicts. Nearly 30% of organizations use four or more CI/CD solutions to address diverse requirements.1 These advancements underscore the alignment of DevOps with cloud-native practices, such as containerization and microservices, essential for efficient and scalable application delivery.
Kubernetes transforms vendor products, applications, and operations. Kubernetes is evolving beyond application deployment to underpin vendor solutions, applications, DevOps pipelines, and toolchains. By 2025, Kubernetes will be a core component of DevOps and platform engineering, driving operational efficiency and innovation. Organizations are also adopting observability-driven design, embedding telemetry into applications with OpenTelemetry to enhance monitoring and system performance. This shift enables ITOps and SecOps teams to optimize application reliability and diagnostics.
AI is rapidly changing software development. The rapid introduction of AI-powered tools is revolutionizing software engineering. In Q3-Q4 2024, companies such as Microsoft, GitHub, IBM, and others launched AI copilots and automated agents to streamline coding, testing, and deployment workflows. AI-driven tools, such as those from Sonatype, Synk, and Veracode, advance DevSecOps by detecting and remediating vulnerabilities, enabling organizations to maintain compliance and reduce security risks. These innovations are transforming the software lifecycle, positioning AI as a critical enabler for productivity and innovation.
Strategic investments continue in development and testing. Organizations prioritize investments in DevOps platforms, test automation, cloud-native tools, and observability solutions. Development (41.5%) and testing (43.8%) lead investment areas as companies align software strategies with broader business objectives.1 AI-powered solutions, such as no-code agents and programming copilots, are becoming integral to achieving faster and more efficient development cycles. These strategic investments ensure organizations are equipped to deliver software that supports digital transformation goals and business growth.
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About the Futurum DevOps & Application Development Practice
The Futurum DevOps & Application Development Practice provides actionable, objective insights for market leaders and their teams so they can respond to emerging opportunities and innovate. Public access to our coverage can be seen here. Follow news and updates from the Futurum Practice on LinkedIn and X. Visit the Futurum Newsroom for more information and insights.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Tabnine Integrates AI Agents Into the Entire Software Development Life Cycle
What Makes Microsoft’s Autonomous Agents a Game Changer for Workers?
Beyond DevOps and MLOps: What Companies Need to Know About GenAIOps
