At the intersection of DevOps and Millennials

Watch out workforce, Millennials have officially overtaken Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation. According to population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, those aged 18-34 total more than 80 million, surpassing the 74.9 million Baby Boomers. Of that, Millennials currently make up 34% of the workforce. As the Baby Boomers move into retirement, Pew Research Center estimates that by 2020, close to 50% of the workforce will be run by Millennials.

There is more to Millennials than just sheer volume. Not only do people of this generation have the highest level of education, but they are also considered multi-tasking extraordinaires.  Couple this with their higher level of compassion, and it’s no wonder that Millennials have been named the next greatest generation.

When it comes to their careers, Millennials have a strong stance on collaboration, team-based projects and an unstructured flow of information at all levels. In fact, a culture of collaboration is one of the top things a Millennial is looking for in an employer. This collaboration generally takes the shape of an open atmosphere in which they can share ideas and innovative strategies. In these types of environments, Millennials feel comfortable working together to arrive at new ideas. The first generation to be raised entirely in a connected world, they often opt for quick, efficient and casual ways of working.

“We’re in the midst of a momentous generation swap that will ultimately change management and leadership as we know it,” Geil Browning wrote in Inc. “The Baby Boomers have known traditional top-down leadership their entire careers. As they retire, that linear structure will not be as prevalent.”

The technology industry is no stranger to Millennials and their collaborative instincts and non-traditional workforce roles. As a generation that has grown up in a world that is electronics-filled, their tech-savvy skillset is almost a sixth sense. As Millennials step into leadership roles in tech companies, they bring all of these core elements that make them unique to the industry. This is where DevOps and Millennials intersect.

DevOps, by nature, consists of collaborators, communicators, and developers. Short for Development and Operations, this hybrid role takes a holistic approach to software development and IT updates by promoting collaboration between all stakeholders, allowing organizations to focus their efforts on business efficiency and product development rather than on keeping systems afloat.

“DevOps provides a framework that meets the demands of today’s business climate by promoting internal and external collaboration, ensuring that our customers’ business goals and technology objectives are aligned optimally,” said Vijay Ijju, Concentrix Catalyst.

Demand for DevOps is growing rapidly because businesses are seeing great results, and organizations using DevOps practices are overwhelmingly high-functioning. According to a recent State of DevOps report, people in these roles deploy code up to 30 times more frequently than their competitors, and 50 percent fewer of their deployments fail.

To integrate Millennials and DevOps into a workforce, organizations need to consider it as a cultural shift, not just a technology makeover. The faster they can expand their infrastructure to allow for such collaboration and communication, the faster these organizations can take the competitive edge away from traditional enterprises. If research is any indication of the capabilities that Millennials have, the technology industry should continue to look toward this generation for insight and inspiration. After all, they do have the potential to have a lasting impact for the U.S. economic performance for decades to come.

Learn more about how DevOps can bring you faster-to-market services.