GitOps In IT App Development: What, Why, and How?

The world is creating around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every single day. That is like 2.5 billion Gigabytes of data every day. When you have such a huge production of data, managing it becomes really difficult. Cloud services were hence introduced to make data production and management processes easier. 

As per a report by O-Reilly, today, 90% of organizations are using the cloud. In fact, Deloitte’s report says that small and medium businesses that used cloud computing made 21% more profits and grew 26% faster. 

This is probably why there is a huge surge in the growth and development of cloud-native technologies, with the growth of cloud service being around 34% year over year.

This highlights the importance of platforms like GitOps even more prominent. When every brand today is shifting to DevOps and cloud-native development and computing, an integrated, all-in-one solution like GitOps becomes primary. This is especially true for infrastructure companies.

In this blog, we will learn how to use GitOps in IT app development.

What is GitOps?

GitOps is a way to manage and automate IT infrastructure and application deployments. At its core, GitOps leverages the version control system Git to control the entire software delivery process.

It brings the best practices of DevOps management to automate infrastructure processes. These practices could be version control, compliance, and CI/CD.

GitOps History

GitOps is a relatively modern approach to managing and automating IT operations, and its history can be traced back to the evolution of DevOps practices. 

In the mid-2000s, the DevOps movement emphasized collaborative efforts between development and operations teams, aiming to enhance the software delivery lifecycle. The concept came into the limelight with the advent of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in the 2010s. This also promoted the management of a company’s infrastructure through coding. This helped to foster version control and automation, especially for manufacturing firms. 

The emergence of containerization technologies and Kubernetes further shaped the landscape, providing consistency and efficient scaling. In 2017, Weaveworks coined the term "GitOps," introducing a paradigm where Git workflows and version control practices were extended to operations and infrastructure. This approach gained popularity for its simplicity, transparency, and alignment with declarative infrastructure principles. 

GitOps has since become integral to cloud-native environments, that has constantly been developing with the continuous advancements in cloud technologies and DevOps practices.

The Pillars of GitOps

GitOps functions primarily on three basic concepts or pillars. They are:

The Git Repositories

Git is at the central hub for defining and controlling the entire configuration and state of your applications and infrastructure. GitOps treats a Git repository as the authoritative source for your system's configuration. This includes not just your application code but also the specifications for your infrastructure.

IaC: Infrastructure as Code

The desired state of your infrastructure pipeline and applications is described in code, commonly referred to as Infrastructure as Code (IaC). This IaC is stored in a Git repository, making it easier to track changes and collaborate.

Automated Pipelines

The third pillar focuses on making the entire pipeline function on its own for continuous deployment. So, with this, the changes made in the Git repository trigger automated processes that synchronize the live environment with the defined state in Git. This automation streamlines the deployment process, reduces manual interventions, and promotes a reliable and consistent release workflow.

DevOps vs. GitOps

The table below highlights the key distinctions between DevOps and GitOps.

Why should you choose GitOps?

GitOps is capable of addressing crucial needs by aligning your goals with contemporary trends. That is why it is so popular. Other than that, here is why you should choose GitOps:

Faster Deployment Cycles:

Traditional deployment methods can be slow and error-prone. GitOps accelerates deployment cycles by using Git as the command center. 

Updates made in Git trigger automatic deployments, reducing time-to-market and enhancing agility.

Managing Distributed Systems:

Microservices, containers, and cloud services introduce complexity in system management. GitOps simplifies the orchestration of distributed systems. With configurations centralized in Git, it becomes a single source of truth, streamlining management and ensuring consistency across environments.

Microservices Architecture:

Coordinating multiple microservices can be intricate. GitOps aligns perfectly with microservices. Each service's configuration is version-controlled in Git, allowing for independent updates and effortless collaboration among teams.

Containerization:

Traditional approaches struggle to handle containerized applications efficiently. GitOps is made especially for containerized environments. It manages container classification and alignment, ensuring that changes made in Git are reflected consistently across your infrastructure.

Cloud Service Adoption:

The shift to cloud services demands a scalable and flexible management approach. GitOps manages the entire managing process with cloud services. It provides a structured method to define and control cloud infrastructure, ensuring that the entire system's configuration is codified in Git.

Automated and Streamlined Processes:

Manual processes are prone to errors and operational overhead. GitOps introduces automated and streamlined workflows. This not only reduces manual errors but also alleviates operational burdens, allowing development teams to focus on innovation rather than routine tasks.

How Does GitOps Work?

GitOps simplifies the entire software delivery process by structuring and containerizing the workflow, as we read above. This process has several key stages, from code commit to monitoring for changes. Let us understand this in detail:

Code Commit:

Developers can commit or make changes to the Git repository. This includes both application code and infrastructure configurations. Git becomes the single point of data distribution for the entire system. 

Automated Testing:

Automated testing tools (e.g., CI/CD pipelines) continuously monitor the Git repository. Any code changes trigger automated tests to ensure that new features or modifications won't introduce errors.

GitOps automates the continuous integration process. As developers make changes, CI pipelines automatically test and validate the changes. This ensures that the codebase remains functional.

Changes that successfully pass the CI phase trigger automated processes for deploying them into the live environment. This not only speeds up the release cycle but also enhances reliability.

Deployment Triggers:

Once the tests pass, deployment triggers are activated. GitOps systems detect changes in the Git repository and automatically initiate the deployment process. This ensures that the live environment aligns with the desired state defined in Git.

Monitoring for Changes:

Post-deployment monitoring tools keep a watchful eye on the system. If any discrepancies between the live environment and the Git repository arise, GitOps mechanisms swiftly correct them, maintaining consistency.

This also makes Git serve as the version control system, tracking changes over time. Developers can easily go back to previous versions if issues arise. This versioned history provides transparency and accountability.

Benefits of GitOps

1. Unified Management: Helps to establish a single source of truth for infrastructure, core components, and the application stack. 
2. Speedier Deployments: It makes deployments faster by automating processes, providing quicker feedback loops, enhancing control systems, and removing blind spots.
3. Improved Collaboration: GitOps allows teams to collaborate seamlessly, avoiding 
4. Strong Compliance: It is reliable for compliance implementation and auditing secure development processes.
5. Added Flexibility: It’s extremely adaptable and fits easily into diverse environments like multiple cloud platforms, containers, or hybrid setups, including on-premises deployments.
6. Deeper Observability: Makes applications more transparent and observable, allowing effective monitoring of uptime, performance, and security.

Conclusion

Including cloud-native software and pipeline structures for users is extremely important because they form the bedrock of modern, scalable, and efficient software development practices. 

Cloud-native tools are designed to operate to offer your business automation and rapid deployment capabilities. This aligns perfectly with the principles of GitOps. It enables teams to use the power of cloud services with automated workflow.

With Cubet’s skilled team, incorporating GitOps and Cloud solutions becomes a piece of cake for your business. So why wait? Book a demo call with us to learn how you can incorporate GitOps into your firm. Take the next step in advancing your software delivery processes—discover the benefits of Cubet’s solutions today!