What Makes A DevOps Consultant The Key To Business Success?

Want to hire or become a DevOps consultant but don’t know where to begin? Let us give you a headstart. This blog has been written to simplify DevOps for everyone! Learn everything from their roles, responsibilities, and essential skills to all the benefits of hiring DevOps consultants! 

A combination of development (Dev) and operations (Ops), DevOps is a methodology adopted by software development companies to automate operations and speed up the process. It shortens the SDLC while improving agility and quality. 

In simpler terms, it is a combination of philosophies, practices, and approaches that become the connecting link between the development and operations teams. This makes it an essential element in the current landscape. 

Many industries out of the technological domain connect with third-party DevOps service providers for complete support, while some hire DevOps consultants and outsource the team of engineers. The hiring model can differ, but the plethora of benefits companies can leverage remain the same. 

Who Is A DevOps Consultant? 

DevOps consultants are the strategizers. They analyze the requirements, determine possible solutions, and, based on that, design the complete roadmap, which the engineers then implement.

A reliable DevOps consultation service provider would help improve the complete development cycle by optimizing the IT infrastructure and updating the existing DevOps processes. They would also help devise the most cost-effective and beneficial strategy. 

The consultants analyze the infrastructure and assess the scope of improvement in the tools and resource inventories. Then, they convert all these observations into a roadmap that DevOps engineers follow to optimize the process and development.  

Optimized workflow, streamlined processes, and advanced methodology sound good. However, one thing to remember is to hire DevOps expert consulting services that complement your basic infrastructure. 

For Example – A business that (or wants to) work with AWS infrastructure should hire an AWS DevOps consultant, and Azure DevOps consulting services would best complement Azure infrastructure.  

Going further on, what does a DevOps consultant do? Let’s have a look at their roles and responsibilities. 

For an in-depth understanding of DevOps, explore DevOps – The Complete Guide

DevOps Consultant Roles And Responsibilities

Role Of DevOps Consultants 

• Ability to mediate the communication between the two teams
• Enhance the services by shortening the delivery time and increasing capacity
• Augment CI/CD approach for continual upgradation and automated processes 
• Ensure quality software development and full-fledged testing
• To be able to work directly with clients and coordinate with the team 
• Prioritize and plan everything for a seamless process  
• Design the best possible approach that aligns with the client’s requirements

Responsibilities Of The DevOps Consultants 

• Know how to automate infrastructure provisioning, configuration, and deployment 
• Experience in handling troubleshooting issues on different servers 
• Work on industry-level, complex, and scalable systems  
• Able to handle multiple queries simultaneously 
• Adeptly share the project details with people of varying technical backgrounds 
• Work closely with the client side for successful project development 
• Design a secure and standardized cloud service solution 
• Knowledge of configuration management tools 
• Keep a detailed record of all the processes 
• Mentor the juniors and lead the team effectively, not authoritatively  
• Simplify collaboration between the in-house resources and outsourced team 
• Continual updates and upgrades to ensure optimal functionality 
• Actively participate in every development step, including design and implementation 
• To be able to direct and lead the whole team effectively

Required Skills To Become A DevOps Consultant 

Apart from the roles and responsibilities the consultant DevOps must fulfill, you must consider certain must-have skills when hiring. These include both technical and non-technical aspects of candidates’ professional personality. Some essential skills are: 

Technical Skills 

• Graduation in computer science or any related field 
• A thorough understanding of the technicalities involved in different stages 
• Knowledge of configuration management tools like Ansible, Chef, or Puppet
• Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, Serverless Framework
• Strong understanding of CI/CD and familiarity with popular operating systems (Windows, Linux)
• Competently utilize the testing software for monitored and successful deployment 
• Expertise in relevant languages, including Python, GoLang, JavaScript, or Ruby 
• Script development and integration know-how 
• DevOps certifications from recognized sources like AWS, Microsoft, Kubernets, etc. 
• Have a complete understanding of SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS
• Know how to develop and deploy Cloud
• Should be able to deploy SaC for agile and secure code designs

Soft Skills 

• Excellent information grasping and communication skills to minimize (possible) gaps
• To be able to connect effortlessly with both the remote team and the on-site team 
• Share the best practices from past experiences without being authoritarian 
• To be able to trust the team enough and monitor the progress without micromanaging 
• Solution-directed approach for effective problem-solving and faster resolution 
• Good listening skills for proper planning and conflict management
• Have an open to discussion and always have a non-biased approach in case of conflicts
• Set expectations with the team and regularly ask for follow-up for effective functioning 

How Much Does A DevOps Consultant Earn? 

This question comes to mind for everyone wishing to enter the world of DevOps. Many determinant factors, such as seniority level, experience, skillset, overall knowledge, and geographical location (in the case of outsourcing), are involved in calculating the final salary. 

Resolving that is just as important as understanding the roles and responsibilities. The salary bifurcation has been done on two main grounds: location and seniority level. 

These two (location and seniority level) impact the cost the most. So based on that, here are some of the earning/salary specifications: 

Based On Location 

• Hiring a DevOps consultant salary from the USA can cost between $110,000- $167,000 annually. 
• The salary range for the experts can be between $120,000 – $160,000 annually when hiring from Australia. 
• The average salary in the UK is $65,633, with additional compensation. 
• When hiring from the UAE, the annual salary would be between $653 – $2722. 
• If hiring from India, the DevOps Consultant salary can be between $6000 – $ 30,000 per year.

Based On Seniority 

• Someone who has just started or has less than three years of experience would earn approximately $5500 – $10,000 
• A DevOps consultant with 4 – 8 years of experience would earn $17,000 annually on average.  
• Those with 11+ years of experience as DevOps consultants could have an average salary of $35,000. 

Extra insight: DevOps as a Service – All you need to know about DaaS

How Do DevOps Consultant Add Value To The Team

For those still wondering why they should add some DevOps consultants to their team, then here’s why hiring the consultant DevOps can be highly beneficial: 

Cost-Effective Process

DevOps expert consultations can streamline the process, significantly reducing the overall cost. These consultants become the bridge between the DevOps engineering team and the client. 

This minimizes the chances of errors, confusion, and possible rework. In addition to facilitating communication between the client and the team, the consultant also helps the internal teams collaborate and shorten the SDLC. 

Improved Flexibility And Scalability

Flexibility for easy scaling is essential for any business today, and DevOps consultants can make this happen. They follow a tried-and-tested methodology combined with the contemporary tech stack. 

Their years of experience throughout the different stages of DevOps help them design golden strategies that benefit the organization. With their expert skills, they listen, discuss, and improvise to design quality solutions through collaboration. 

Enhanced User Experience

The shortened development period works best for clients and the service provider, as the requirements can be fulfilled more efficiently. This allows companies to roll out the latest upgrades and features faster than their competitors. 

Contemporary technology guarantees the efficiency and longevity of the solutions. This improves their overall functionality, further increasing customer loyalty and powering business growth. 

Final Thoughts!

Whether you want to hire a DevOps consultant or become one, we hope this blog has benefited you. While these pointers can help you with the hiring process, it ultimately boils down to finding the right service provider. 

Today, outsourcing is the perfect option for expanding without spending a lot of time and resources. When it comes to finding a trustworthy source, OpenXcell is the answer. 

With over two decades of experience, we have continually adapted and upgraded our infrastructure to provide contemporary services that are at par with the current landscape. Our human resources of 500+ employees work diligently to provide quality solutions and hassle-free DevOps consulting services. 

We deliver custom solutions with complete transparency, agile development, and a client-oriented approach. So book a slot with our experts today and learn how to maximize the use of our DevOps services in your business. The first 30-minute consultation is free of charge!