7 Best DevOps Tools In-Demand in 2024

Navigating the DevOps toolbelt: Streamlining software delivery and operations

Usman Aslam
Towards AWS
Published in
12 min readAug 31, 2023

The DevOps philosophy continues to revolutionize the way organizations design, deploy, and manage their applications. The integration of development and IT operations not only accelerates software delivery but also enhances collaboration, reduces errors, and improves overall efficiency. As we step into 2023, the demand for robust DevOps tools is at an all-time high, with organizations seeking solutions that streamline their workflows and empower their teams. In this article, we’ll delve into some of the most sought-after DevOps tools that are making waves in 2023. Within this article, I’ll also provide you with a captivating insight — a unique statistic — about each of these remarkable DevOps tools.

1. Jenkins: Powering Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)

In the dynamic landscape of DevOps, where rapid and reliable software delivery is paramount, Jenkins emerges as a beacon of automation and efficiency. This open-source automation server has solidified its place as a cornerstone in the toolkit of DevOps practices, serving as the linchpin for seamless integration and delivery.

So, what renders Jenkins an exceptional tool within the realm of DevOps? Below, I delve into some of its features that contribute to its status as an exceptional tool.

1. Streamlining the Development Pipeline

Jenkins excels in orchestrating the intricate dance of code integration and continuous delivery. With its user-friendly interface and robust capabilities, Jenkins enables development teams to automate the integration process, ensuring that new code changes are smoothly incorporated into the existing codebase. This integration-centric approach eliminates the friction that can arise when multiple developers work simultaneously, helping to detect and rectify integration issues early in the development cycle.

2. Paving the Path for Automated Testing

The prowess of Jenkins extends beyond mere integration. It’s a catalyst for automated testing, a vital component in the DevOps journey. Jenkins enables teams to automate various levels of testing, including unit, integration, and end-to-end tests. By automating these tests, developers can swiftly identify regressions, bugs, or compatibility issues, ensuring the code remains robust and reliable.

3. Continuous Delivery Unleashed

Jenkins isn’t just about integration; it’s about delivery excellence. With its continuous delivery capabilities, Jenkins automates the process of deploying code changes to various environments, ensuring that each deployment is consistent, repeatable, and error-free. This automation dramatically reduces the manual intervention required for each deployment, accelerating the release cycle and minimizing the risk of human errors.

4. The Power of Plugins and Customization

Jenkins doesn’t operate in isolation; it thrives in collaboration. Its extensive ecosystem of plugins empowers development teams to tailor their pipelines to fit their unique requirements. These plugins cover an array of functionalities, from integrating with version control systems to connecting with testing frameworks and deployment tools. This flexibility allows organizations to craft workflows that align with their specific needs and technology stack.

5. A Vibrant Community

One of Jenkins’ standout features is its vibrant and engaged community. This community tirelessly contributes to the platform’s growth and evolution, constantly refining its capabilities and enhancing its compatibility with emerging technologies. This collaborative spirit means that Jenkins is always at the forefront of technological advancements, ensuring that it remains relevant and adaptable in an ever-changing landscape.

6. A Universal Fit

Jenkins’ versatility is a testament to its universal appeal. It doesn’t tie developers to a specific programming language or environment. Instead, it accommodates various languages, platforms, and tools, allowing organizations to leverage their existing tech stack while embracing the efficiencies of DevOps practices.

7. Embracing Excellence

In the bustling realm of DevOps, Jenkins shines as an enabler of excellence. Its ability to seamlessly integrate code changes, automate testing, and facilitate continuous delivery catapults organizations toward the pinnacle of software delivery efficiency. By harnessing Jenkins’ power, development teams can embrace a culture of agility, collaboration, and innovation while ushering in a new era of software excellence.

Interesting Statistic about Jenkins: As of 2023, Jenkins boasts over 1.5 million active installations worldwide, making it one of the most widely adopted automation servers in the DevOps landscape.

2. Kubernetes: Orchestrating Containerized Applications

Kubernetes emerges as the undoubted leader in the realm of containerization, orchestrating the symphony of modern software deployment. Amidst the surge in the adoption of microservices architecture, Kubernetes takes center stage as the ultimate orchestrator, adept at seamlessly managing complex containerized applications.

Kubernetes’ prowess lies in its unique capacity to fully automate the deployment, scaling, and management of applications across diverse clusters of hosts, transcending traditional barriers. This orchestration marvel streamlines the once-complex process, propelling applications to glide through the deployment pipeline with unprecedented ease and efficiency.

Beyond its technical prowess, Kubernetes ushers in a transformative shift in collaboration between development and operations teams. Developers can now immerse themselves fully in coding endeavors, secure in the knowledge that Kubernetes’ capable hands will ensure the flawless scalability and unwavering resilience of their applications. This symbiotic partnership frees organizations from the shackles of manual intervention, enabling them to embrace innovation at a pace previously deemed unattainable. As Kubernetes continues to redefine the contours of container orchestration, it stands resolute as the backbone of modern DevOps practices.

An interesting statistic about Kubernetes: In a survey conducted in 2023, 87% of organizations reported using Kubernetes in their production environments, reflecting its dominance as the de facto orchestration tool for containerized applications.

3. Docker: Simplifying Containerization

Docker has carved a remarkable niche as the vanguard of containerization in the ear of modern software engineering, revolutionizing the way applications are packaged, distributed, and deployed. With Docker’s ingenious technology, the intricate dance of deploying complex applications has been distilled into a harmonious symphony of efficiency and simplicity.

The essence of Docker’s brilliance lies in its capacity to encapsulate applications and their intricate dependencies within self-contained containers. This shatters the traditional barriers that once gave rise to the dreaded “it works on my machine” conundrum. By ensuring that an application behaves consistently across various environments, Docker eradicates the nightmare of inconsistencies that often plagued software development and deployment.

However, Docker’s impact transcends the realm of mere consistency. As organizations traverse the ever-expanding landscape of multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud strategies, Docker emerges as a beacon of compatibility. With its agile containerization, applications crafted within Docker containers can seamlessly traverse clouds, minimizing the compatibility quagmire that once hindered innovation.

Embracing Docker is more than a technological choice; it’s a strategic move that enhances an organization’s agility and adaptability. Docker empowers developers and operations teams alike, aligning their efforts towards a common goal — the swift and dependable deployment of applications. As Docker continues to redefine the contours of containerization, it cements its place as a pivotal force driving the DevOps evolution.

Interesting Statistic about Docker: Docker Hub, the container image repository by Docker, houses over 10 million registered users and hosts more than 20 billion container images, underlining its significant role in the containerization ecosystem.

4. Ansible: Automating Configuration Management

Ansible, a powerful automation tool in the DevOps landscape, empowers DevOps teams to automate configuration management, application deployment, and task automation. Its agentless architecture and declarative language make it accessible for both developers and operations professionals. Ansible’s playbooks provide a structured and reusable way to define tasks, making it a valuable asset in maintaining consistent infrastructure and reducing manual errors.

Central to Ansible’s prowess is its agentless architecture, a testament to its commitment to simplifying complexity. This architecture ensures that Ansible elegantly sidesteps the need for agents on managed nodes, paving the way for swift, non-invasive orchestration. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a proficient operations professional, Ansible’s declarative language paints a common canvas for both, allowing them to wield automation as an art form.

The heart of Ansible’s brilliance lies in its playbooks, the script of orchestration excellence. These playbooks encapsulate tasks in a structured, reusable format, breathing life into the concept of infrastructure as code. By scripting tasks with precision and foresight, Ansible’s playbooks serve as a dynamic blueprint for maintaining consistent infrastructure across environments.

Ansible ushers in an era where the human error that once shadowed manual configurations is relegated to the past. It pioneers a journey where administrators wield time as a weapon, a tool to sculpt configurations and deploy applications with a symphonic elegance. In the realm of configuration management, Ansible stands as a paragon of automation, empowering DevOps practitioners to shape the future with the precision of code and the artistry of orchestration.

Interesting Statistic about Ansible: With over 7,000 contributors and 47,000 commits on GitHub, Ansible maintains its position as one of the most actively developed and community-supported automation tools.

5. Terraform: Enabling Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

As the technological landscape evolves, so does the concept of infrastructure management. At the helm of this evolution stands Terraform, an embodiment of innovation that empowers organizations to embrace Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and revolutionize the way infrastructure is conceptualized, deployed, and managed.

Terraform’s significance rests in its capability to bring the tenets of software development to the realm of infrastructure. With a declarative syntax that reads like an artist’s brushstroke, Terraform allows teams to define their infrastructure in code, sculpting a canvas of servers, networks, and resources through elegant lines of logic. This shift to code-based infrastructure opens a portal to a new era where infrastructure becomes malleable, versionable, and shareable, just like the code that powers modern applications.

At the core of Terraform’s brilliance is its ability to paint a consistent landscape across environments. Infrastructure changes etched in Terraform scripts are not just fleeting modifications; they are blueprints of transformation, versioned and shared with an ease that fosters collaboration between development and operations teams. This collaboration serves as a bridge, uniting siloed domains into a harmonious symphony where the melody of development and the rhythm of operations create a masterpiece of innovation.

Terraform’s journey isn’t just about innovation; it’s about redefining the essence of infrastructure management. It’s about architects of the digital realm wielding code as a medium to shape and reshape the foundational constructs of their virtual kingdoms. It’s about embracing a world where infrastructure evolves as swiftly as applications, responding to the rhythm of business demands. Terraform stands as a beacon guiding us towards a horizon where infrastructure, draped in code, becomes a canvas upon which the future of technology is painted.

Interesting Statistic about Terraform: As of 2023, Terraform’s user base has grown to over 2 million users, signifying the growing reliance on Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles for managing modern infrastructure deployments.

6. GitLab: Unifying DevOps Lifecycle

GitLab offers an integrated platform that covers the entire DevOps lifecycle, from version control and continuous integration to security scanning and deployment. Its comprehensive suite of tools streamlines collaboration between development, operations, and security teams, promoting a holistic DevOps approach. GitLab’s single application ensures transparency, traceability, and efficiency throughout the software delivery pipeline.

At its core, GitLab is not just a tool; it’s a philosophy that embraces the holistic nature of DevOps. With a comprehensive array of tools spanning version control, continuous integration, security scanning, and deployment, GitLab becomes the weaver’s loom where developers, operations teams, and security experts gather to contribute their unique threads of expertise. This convergence transforms siloed processes into a collective effort that enriches the final fabric of software excellence.

GitLab’s allure lies in its ability to provide a single destination for every phase of the software journey. From the first keystroke to the final deployment, GitLab serves as the grand arena where development, operations, and security teams choreograph their movements, each step resonating with the rhythm of collaboration. The result? A harmonious dance that transcends organizational boundaries, elevating software delivery from a disjointed sequence of tasks to a synchronized performance of DevOps artistry.

In a world where efficiency is paramount, GitLab emerges as a beacon of transparency and traceability. Its unified interface fosters a culture of visibility, where every action is a stroke on the canvas of progress. This transparency extends beyond the technical realm, echoing into the realm of communication and collaboration. By providing a common platform, GitLab facilitates meaningful interactions, nurturing a shared understanding that transcends the barriers of departmental labels.

As we navigate the intricate landscape of DevOps, GitLab stands as a lighthouse guiding us towards a destination where collaboration, efficiency, and innovation coalesce. It reminds us that the true magic of DevOps lies not in the tools themselves, but in their orchestration into a symphony of continuous improvement. GitLab, the maestro of this symphony, invites us to participate, to contribute, and to witness the transformational power of unity in the DevOps journey.

Interesting Statistic about GitLab: GitLab reported a record-breaking number of monthly active users, reaching 37 million users in 2023, indicating its popularity as an integrated DevOps platform that spans the entire software development lifecycle.

7. Prometheus: Monitoring and Alerting for Modern Applications

As modern applications grow in complexity, the demand for robust monitoring and alerting solutions rises. Prometheus, an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit, caters to this need by providing a flexible and scalable platform for collecting metrics from diverse sources. Its powerful querying language and integration with Grafana enable teams to gain insights into application performance, diagnose issues, and ensure optimal user experiences.

Image Credit: prometheus.io

As applications metamorphose into intricate ecosystems, Prometheus emerges as a sentinel capable of collecting metrics from a multitude of sources. It’s not merely a watcher; it’s an attentive listener to the heartbeat of systems, collecting data that maps the pulse of application health. Whether it’s response times, error rates, or resource utilization, Prometheus listens intently, capturing these metrics in its repository of insights.

But Prometheus is more than just an observer; it’s a sage interpreter. Armed with a querying language that mirrors the complexity of modern applications, Prometheus deciphers the metrics into meaningful narratives of performance. Its querying prowess is a lantern that shines light on the intricacies of system behavior, revealing patterns that might otherwise remain obscured.

Yet, Prometheus does not stand alone. It’s joined by a trusted companion, Grafana, to form an alliance that transforms metrics into masterpieces of visualization. Together, they paint portraits of performance, creating dashboards that bridge the gap between raw data and actionable insights. Grafana becomes the artist’s brush, adding strokes of clarity and context to Prometheus’ foundational data.

But the true magic of Prometheus lies in its alchemy of insights. It’s not just about collecting data; it’s about the stories that data tells. It’s about the anomalies that surface as blips on a graph, the trends that transform into trajectories, and the correlations that reveal hidden connections. Prometheus is not just a monitoring tool; it’s a beacon of intelligence, guiding DevOps practitioners towards the shores of proactive problem-solving.

In a landscape where complexity reigns, Prometheus dons the mantle of simplicity. It embodies the philosophy that every metric, every data point, and every fluctuation can be harnessed for the betterment of applications. It’s not just about alerting; it’s about the art of anticipation. With Prometheus at the helm, organizations navigate the tumultuous seas of modern applications with a compass of insights, ensuring that performance is not a gamble but a calculated endeavor.

Interesting Statistic about Prometheus: The Prometheus ecosystem has witnessed explosive growth, boasting over 10 million downloads per month in 2023, showcasing its pivotal role in monitoring and alerting across diverse applications and systems.

Conclusion: Navigating the DevOps Landscape with the Right Tools

Staying competitive in the dynamic world of DevOps requires embracing tools that align with your organization’s goals and workflows. The DevOps tools mentioned above represent a mere fraction of the ecosystem, yet they exemplify the transformative impact that well-chosen tools can have on software delivery and operations. As you navigate the DevOps landscape in 2023 and beyond, consider the unique needs of your organization and the challenges you aim to overcome. By harnessing the power of these cutting-edge tools, you can propel your DevOps initiatives to new heights, delivering software faster, with higher quality, and greater efficiency.

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About the Author

Usman Aslam is a seasoned Principal Solutions Architect with over 16 years of expertise in the technology realm. Holding all 12 AWS certifications, Usman’s achievements underscore his dedication and profound knowledge. His journey spans Amazon Web Services (AWS), Capgemini, and Emerson, honing expertise in constructing robust cloud foundations, facilitating application migration, and spearheading the modernization of applications. Currently leading a team of Solutions Architects at an AWS Advanced Tier Consulting Partner in the United States, Usman drives seamless migration and modernization from on-prem to Cloud. Trusted by enterprises and startups alike, his exceptional skill set and leadership make him a valuable asset in their cloud journey.

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Published in Towards AWS

Where Cloud Experts, Heroes, Builders, and Developers share their stories, experiences, and solutions.

Written by Usman Aslam

Ex-Amazonian, Sr. Solutions Architect at AWS, 12x AWS Certified. ❤️ Tech, Cloud, Programming, Data Science, AI/ML, Software Development, and DevOps. Join me 🤝

Responses (6)

What are your thoughts?

I'll be honest I wasn't expecting to see Jenkins in a list of DevOps tools in 2023. I feel the current move is to migrate away from Jenkins, mainly due to it's management complexities.
Using CI/CD tools such as Bitbucket Pipelines, Github Actions…

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TBH, this is more like DevOps tools for the last 5 years or so. Anyone in the DevOps field is quite aware of the above as they’re the foundation.
Tools to look after in 2023, in my opinion, should be CrossPlane and the Argo stack.

Jenkins has been…

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I do have a bias am a Platform engineer at IBM,, but you mentioned Ansible, Kubernetes and Jenkins. All of thees are used simultaneously in Red Hat Openshfit and uses all the above mention tools, that are also listed in your article. Please don't…

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