Containerization has replaced virtual machines to a great extent because containers are lightweight and make efficient use of the OS kernel. Docker’s efficient nature helps with software development, testing, delivery, and deployment in a DevOps environment, and all the benefits of Docker also apply to Kubernetes. Let’s explore some of the additional agile and DevOps benefits you can gain by using Kubernetes.

Fixing a bug in one area of the software may break something in another area. To detect whether defects have been introduced, we need to perform regression testing—executing certain test cases again to see whether a change has affected other existing features. But how do you make time for another testing cycle prior to every production release? You need to get QA involved earlier in the software development lifecycle.

DevOps does speed up your processes and make them more efficient, but companies must focus on quality as well as speed. QA should not live outside the DevOps environment; it should be a fundamental part. If your DevOps ambitions have started with only the development and operations teams, it’s not too late to loop in testing. You must integrate QA into the lifecycle in order to truly achieve DevOps benefits.

Faster DevOps processes also create new challenges. It was difficult enough to add security into a traditional waterfall software development lifecycle with monthly or quarterly releases, but now software updates are released several times a day! What can developers do to build and maintain more secure applications? Here are some ways to encourage better security practices throughout the DevOps lifecycle.