The DevOps landscape continues to evolve rapidly. As more organizations embrace DevOps to stay competitive, the landscape is shifting to include more diverse players and specialized offerings.
But what's next for the space?
Gartner's latest Magic Quadrant for DevOps Platforms report highlights the latest developments and standout players in the space, including Bitrise's growing impact on mobile DevOps.
To dig deeper into these trends and the impact they will have in the space, especially for mobile development, we caught up with Daniel Balla, Chief Strategy Officer at Bitrise. We talked about the key trends shaping the industry, how Bitrise is leading mobile-first development, and how AI will lead to more personalised app experiences in the future.
Let's dive right in.
Q. What are your main takeaways from this year's Magic Quadrant for DevOps report?
DevOps has reached an important maturity point in its evolution, and this year’s report highlights that. Gartner's opening prediction that 80% of organizations will adopt DevOps platforms by 2027 shows how far the industry has progressed since DevOps first appeared in the mid-2000s.
It's clear that DevOps is moving toward continuous growth and evolution, and as Gartner points out, organizations need the right platforms in place to capitalize on all its benefits.
For me, one of the more interesting observations from this year’s report is how diverse the DevOps landscape has become. Gartner points out that a big reason for the surge in DevOps platforms is the need for software teams to manage a wide range of app architectures—cloud-native, mobile, edge, IoT, and more. As demand for seamless digital experiences continues to grow, I expect this trend to continue.
The rapid growth we are seeing in the DevOps market means it’s getting harder to categorize solutions neatly into one group. We're at a point where there's no one-size-fits-all solution anymore. Every business has unique needs, so picking the right platform for your goals is key to gaining a competitive advantage.
Over time, I think we'll see new market definitions and quadrants appear to reflect just how many different kinds of DevOps platforms there are now. This will be good for both vendors and the customers. This will provide a broader picture of the ecosystem, which will make it easier to navigate the options available and make the right choices.
As DevOps continues to mature, we're going to see more flavors of DevOps platforms take shape. As the industry evolves, I think the way we define and categorize DevOps will almost certainly adapt and evolve with it.
Q. Bitrise received an honorable mention in this year's report. Can you describe how Bitrise fits into the wider DevOps ecosystem?
We're thrilled Bitrise got an honorable mention this year. It's a huge accolade for the platform we’ve built, but more importantly, for the problems we solve for our customers.
With Bitrise, you get a mobile-first DevOps platform. We make this distinction as our platform can also provide core DevOps functionality for the web, but our specialism and core focus is mobile. The reason for this is we can see from our customers and the industry that mobile is the future. Businesses are increasingly turning to mobile apps to drive profitability and deliver customers what they need, which requires a different more specialist DevOps approach. One that can keep pace with the rapid and changeable nature of the mobile environment and the different user experience and testing it requires. This is exactly where Bitrise excels.
While our platform doesn't neatly fit into the traditional DevOps categories covered in this year’s report, it's an integral part of the increasingly diverse DevOps ecosystem we are seeing emerge today. In fact, as mobile continues to dominate as the first and most used touchpoint for users, mobile DevOps is likely to become its own category, similar to the way DevSecOps, FinOps and MLOps are gaining traction.
Q. What key trends do you see impacting the DevOps landscape most in the future?
I don't like to speculate too much, but I believe AI integration will definitely impact the app ecosystem significantly. Apps are here to stay, but the experience we can offer will evolve with AI. It’s not about changing the core technologies that underpin apps but rather how data is used to create more personalized experiences and improve users' interactions with apps.
For example, Apple's approach to AI through Apple Intelligence is interesting. Instead of just allowing apps to interact with AI, they use App Intents, which lets AI models pull specific data from apps in a controlled way. This integration allows AI to access relevant information without disrupting the app marketplace or how users use the apps. As AI becomes more integrated, I see it leading to highly personalized app experiences. For instance, your phone could learn your preferences, behaviors and needs, automatically pulling up information for tasks like trip planning without you needing to search for the right app. That's pretty cool.
AI-driven personalization can also help improve app retention. Mobile platforms excel at this because they're deeply integrated into users' lives, with access to sensors and the operating system, making interactions feel more personal. AI could take this kind of personal experience even further, but it's important to remember that it isn't a magic wand.
There are challenges that need to be considered and addressed, especially around privacy and copyright, as well as a well-designed and well-thought-out user experience.
More competition in the space will also drive innovation for everyone’s benefit, especially the customers. The fact that Apple and Google have opened up their apps stores to now offer alternative payment methods is a big step forward, but there’s more to be done. If regulators continue to drive more openness in the market, we’ll see more competition, innovation, and better experiences for users and vendors alike.
Q. As the DevOps market matures, where would you like to see software development teams focus their efforts in the future?
Measuring what matters is one thing I would like to see development teams focus on. There is often a lack of real measurement of actual performance and efficiency. In reality, it's really hard to determine if your product engineering team or your DevOps team is making a meaningful impact without knowing what success looks like for your team and business.
There is still a lot of confusion about how it should be done. Many teams struggle with figuring out how to measure their impact effectively. While standard metrics like DORA metrics are traditional indicators for general purpose DevOps, but are harder to apply to mobile development in a meaningful way.
Mobile metrics like hot fix rates, delays in releases, and release frequency help teams benchmark in a more meaningful way. We focus a lot on this area at Bitrise and are always working on improving. We know how beneficial it can be to measure what matters most for your business and will reflect your impact accurately. It feeds into everything you do and is the key to achieving success with DevOps.
Ultimately, it comes down to data. Having the right data helps in choosing tools, optimizing processes, and automating effectively. It allows you to make informed decisions about balancing performance and cost. Some cutting-edge teams are completely obsessed with these metrics, with the goal of squeezing every bit of performance out of their efforts. And then there are other teams who want the performance but don't know how to achieve it or measure it.
Data is definitely the gateway to finding the right metrics to measure. Bitrise’s Insights’ product can help teams measure more data points and customize the way those insights are measured so teams can benchmark and get actionable guidance on how they can improve.
We plan to drive more insights for customers in this space as we know first-hand how vital it is to maximize the value of DevOps and ensure your approach drives continuous improvement. Measuring performance is a crucial step and I hope software teams will focus more on it in the future to generate value and increase impact.
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