How to hire DevOps without increasing your workforce

For tech companies, scaling their infrastructure is one of the most delicate aspects. If not done properly, they can reach a critical point where their deployments encounter errors in the production phase, their cloud bills skyrocket, and their developers spend more time troubleshooting than writing code.

This is why many CTOs responsible for technology and buyers involved in hiring IT talent have found themselves in the position of needing to hire DevOps urgently. And that’s when they face the harsh reality of the current market: tech talent is scarce, and specialists in development and operations are among the most sought-after profiles.

This situation means that creating an in-house department can take months and also incur enormous fixed costs. Hence, the model of recruiting DevOps through outsourcing is now the best option to compete effectively in the tech sector.

Why is the demand for DevOps growing?

DevOps play a fundamental role in software development and its lifecycle, as they connect code creation with its maintenance on servers. In this way, their work allows to coordinate and integrate development (Dev) processes with operations (Ops), engineering, and even security.

Thus, the growing adoption of cloud architectures, microservices, and agile methodologies by organizations has increased their demand in recent times. Thanks to their involvement, work teams can create applications more quickly and effectively, with the aim of developing reliable, high-value solutions for their clients, both internal and external.

In fact, today it is hard to imagine a modern tech environment where essential tools for launching and maintaining software are not used. For example:

Docker to package applications and their dependencies in lightweight containers agnostic to the platforms where they run.

Kubernetes to orchestrate these containers and automate their deployment.

Terraform for infrastructure as code, allowing the definition and deployment of cloud resources.

AWS and Azure as cloud platforms.

Jenkins and other continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) systems.

What causes the shortage of DevOps in the job market?

This tech profile is particularly valuable because it combines knowledge of development, systems, automation, security, and cloud computing. By hiring a DevOps, companies bring on board a versatile professional with hard skills and soft skills that are highly relevant to the sector. This allows them to avoid or address typical problems in IT projects:

Developers who must spend too much time on infrastructure tasks.

Deployments that present problems or friction.

Cloud projects that do not progress at the expected pace.

Difficulties in automating processes due to lack of experience.

bottlenecks that slow down the IT department's progress.

Thanks to their clear strategic component, DevOps can become a differentiating factor for their organizations. Hence, the demand continues to grow, and their salary range is among the highest in the sector: according to data from ManpowerGroup, DevOps Engineer profiles can earn up to 95,000 euros annually when they have over seven years of experience.

What does hiring DevOps bring to tech companies?

By incorporating these profiles, either directly or indirectly through outsourcing DevOps, companies strengthen critical stages of their tech projects.

Process automation

They are responsible for eliminating repetitive manual tasks and reducing operational errors. This is especially important in continuous integration and deployment of software, because DevOps can implement solid pipelines that allow automating their lifecycle (CI/CD) on platforms like Jenkins. In this way, once the pipeline is ready, the main work is limited to maintenance and optimization.

**Management of cloud environments**

These professionals enable the transition from monolithic architectures to microservices on platforms like AWS or Azure. Thanks to their experience in orchestration with Kubernetes or containerization with Docker, they can effectively complete the transition. They can also take care of the administration of these new cloud or hybrid infrastructures.

Infrastructure as code (IaC)

They also implement tools that allow creating reproducible and scalable environments, like Terraform. By automating their infrastructure through code, companies can deploy in minutes what previously took days.

Monitoring, security, and compliance

Hiring DevOps means gaining peace of mind. Their knowledge of development and operations enables them to detect incidents in time, so they can be resolved before impacting the business. It also significantly reduces the chances of technical errors or vulnerabilities, as they apply security and compliance mechanisms from the early stages of projects.

Hiring directly or outsourcing DevOps: which is better?

When a company decides to open a process to incorporate IT infrastructure specialists, it must first assess the impact that hiring DevOps may have on it (in terms of time and resources). We are referring to:

Long selection processes: in this case, validating the skills of a senior specialist can take between 6 and 10 weeks.

High structural costs: not only do high salaries pose a handicap, but other aspects must also be considered, such as social security contributions, benefits, software licenses, and of course, the resources invested in the selection process.

Risks of technical misalignment: given the high specialization of these profiles, it is not always easy to have a Human Resources team capable of reliably assessing whether the candidate masters the necessary skills for automation, orchestration, and continuous deployment of software.

A steep learning and integration curve: this is a common problem in hiring, regardless of the area and position. A new employee needs time (weeks or even months) to adapt to the work culture, especially if they also need to assimilate a considerable tech stack.

Why outsource DevOps work

In light of the risks of internalizing tech talent, the path of outsourcing DevOps offers a series of differential advantages:

Immediate access to specialized talent, saving a lot of time and resources.

Flexibility to scale teams according to the needs of each project. In this way, companies always have the talent they need.

Less administrative burden, as the incorporation of the professional is much simpler.

Focus on the core business. By delegating the management of infrastructures and deployments to external specialists, the internal development team can focus on creating new functionalities and optimizing the user experience.

How to choose the ideal partner to create a DevOps team through outsourcing

Current CTOs know that in such a demanding and competitive environment, every second counts. This is why, although they need the capabilities of DevOps, they try to avoid permanent hires until they have previously validated their business growth. To do this, they focus their efforts on selecting strategic partners who can provide them with these profiles quickly and with full confidence.

In this sense, technology directors prioritize that IT outsourcing companies offer:

A rigorous technical evaluation to determine the technical and human competencies of professionals.

A validated and accessible network of professionals from the first minute.

Contractual flexibility, allowing them to create tailored teams according to the needs of each project.

Continuous support, so that the client receives follow-up, support, and assistance from the provider.

**The human first approach, much more than outsourcing DevOps**

The traditional approach of external consulting is satisfied with seeking generic profiles for its clients. But at lateam we break this mold under a premise of transparency and a philosophy that puts people at the center. Unlike classic outsourcing companies, we do not go out to seek tech talent when we receive a request. Instead, we have a extensive network of IT professionals (including DevOps) who have already been validated and are ready to integrate into new work teams.

Moreover, we facilitate the fit of the professional with the help of technology, because our AI tool helps verify each profile and analyzes their technical fit for the vacancy. This allows filtering each search and obtaining results with different levels of match, so that CTOs and buyers can always make the best decision for their business.

And for companies that do not want to close the door on hiring DevOps, our model is also a solution. The key lies in our human first approach, because we are oriented towards long-term relationships. What does this mean? That if the organization decides at any time to incorporate the professional into its workforce, it can do so without any problem, because our contracts are completely flexible.

Hiring DevOps without hindering your company's growth

In a market where specialized talent is scarce, hiring DevOps quickly and flexibly can make the difference between successfully scaling or accumulating technical bottlenecks.

As we have seen in this article, opting for an outsourcing model allows you to access validated professionals, accelerate your cloud projects, and optimize your deployments without increasing your workforce. So, if you are looking to quickly incorporate DevOps experts with the highest guarantees, we recommend scheduling a call with our team or requesting talent to discover the best way to find the ideal profile for your project.

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