With the rise of Database DevOps deployments in 2020, companies of all sizes are now looking for solutions to ensure fewer code defects and lower lead times for change deployment. This is according to the fourth annual State of Database DevOps Report from Redgate Software. Redgate’s latest report highlights a major step change from last year’s findings, revealing a considerable increase in Database DevOps adoption among enterprises, as well as a steep rise in the number of DevOps deployments, with almost half of respondents reporting they deploy database changes to production weekly or more frequently. This development signals a positive shift as more companies look to embrace the pace of innovation in order to keep up with ever-changing customer and business demand.

Key Redgate report findings include:

• Shifting views on Database DevOps: Unlike 2019, where most respondents noted an “increased risk of failed deployments” as a top concern, slow development and release cycles and the inability to respond quickly to changing business requirements are now seen as the top two drawbacks to siloed database development. This was especially true for enterprise respondents, namely those with 1,000 or more employees.
• Database deployments on the rise: Frequent database deployments are on the rise with 49% of respondents now reporting they deploy changes to production weekly or more frequently. However, only 47% of those that deploy weekly or more frequently say they are using version control for their database, which means that many are making changes to the databases directly, and not storing those changes in version control. This directly ties to respondents also reporting that their deployments contain defects that require hotfixes.
• Companies need more code reviews: Code reviews can lead to fewer defects in the overall database development cycle, however, 26% of survey respondents said it is still somewhat or very difficult to get code reviews for database changes. A further 16% said that no code reviews are done for database changes early in the development cycle. A troubling discovery considering code reviews can also lead to lower lead time for changes to be deployed to production.
• Systems should be kept online for deployments: The survey found that a majority of respondents (55%) perform most or all of their business-critical database deployments while their systems are still online. And 75% of this group reported that 10% or less of those deployments caused defects that require hotfixes. Not only do deployments during business hours ensure there’s support available for any unintended consequences, but it results in higher code quality, faster and doesn’t disrupt the customers’ experience.
• The rise of automation across enterprise and SMBs: Forty-six percent of respondents are performing some form of deployment automation, a considerable rise from prior years. More than 60% of enterprise respondents believe the move from traditional database deployment to a fully automated deployment process can be achieved in a year or less. SMBs are even more optimistic at 66%. These are positive developments since automated database deployments can speed up software delivery with reliable, repeatable processes, increasing agility while removing deployment bottlenecks.

“Database environments are all about growth, and as our findings suggest, companies are quickly realizing that Database DevOps adoption is an increasing necessity in order to keep pace with the increasing demands of the business,” said Kendra Little, DevOps advocate for Redgate Software. “Early adopters have seen that implementing Database DevOps practices across projects leads to fewer hotfixes, however, it’s interesting how industries, like healthcare, have made the switch much faster than others. And while we recognize there are obstacles to adoption for companies, we believe that the long-term benefits prevail. Adopting DevOps best practices that promote automation, keep systems online and allow database teams to be more productive results in happier DevOps teams and end users. It’s a win-win.”

The 2020 State of Database DevOps Report was based on a survey of more than 2,000 developers, database specialists and IT leadership from North and South America, Europe, Russia, Africa, Asia and Australia and New Zealand.

Download the full 2020 State of Database DevOps Report, which includes a foreword from Microsoft Customer Success Engineer Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman, for all the details on the findings and to see what’s next in Database DevOps development.