Global DevOps at DevOpsDays Istanbul

As a global company, CloudBees works with customers and partners around the world to advance the practices of DevOps Release Management and Continuous Delivery (CD). Helping organizations extend Agile-based approaches downstream into IT operations through a practical and incremental approach, while leveraging existing tools and processes, allows us to guide customers on their DevOps journey based on the unique dynamics of the company.
I recently had the honor and privilege to see the reach of the DevOps movement firsthand when I participated in the first ever DevOpsDays Istanbul in Turkey. It’s amazing to see the positive impact and enthusiasm for advancing the software delivery process from different parts of the world, and through different lenses and styles.
My own journey to Istanbul started with DevOps workshop training we conducted in Hong Kong – when one of our partners - Kalitek, an Istanbul-based IT services firm with offices in London – invited us to join them at the first ever DevOpsDays in Turkey.
Accepting the invitation resulted in a truly amazing and energizing experience!
While DevOpsDays, and other similar events, are more common in the U.S. and Europe, this event marked the first conference of its kind in the country – and it was organized, treated and attended with the highest respect. The event was hosted by Borsa Istanbul, the country’s major stock exchange. Dress attire was business formal, which is way out of the norm for a U.S.-based tech conference. I liked it very much, and the dressiness of the event provided a sense of celebration and importance that was inspiring.
Like the rest of the world, software delivery in Turkey is now critical to just about every aspect of business, culture and education. The DevOpsDays Turkey event was well-attended from across the business and civic worlds, with a mix of young startups, commercial enterprises and executives from major banks in attendance. The Agile movement is very strong in Turkey, and now the collective software community there has its sights set on DevOps. The eagerness to learn was palpable.
For me personally I had the honor of ringing the opening bell for the Borsa stock exchange . What a thrill! I then was further honored to be the opening keynote speaker of the conference, sharing insights and practical approaches that we’ve developed together with our customers and partners around the world. Other large tech participants included Amazon Web Services, HPE, ebay and VMware.

Perhaps the greatest take-away for me from the conference was the openness and patience that people displayed. As part of the trip, we got to meet and have in-depth conversations with about a dozen C-level and senior executives from large enterprises. I found it interesting and refreshing that these meetings often lasted more than an hour, and were more focused on relationship building, sharing ideas and brainstorming. This demonstrated to me how important DevOps is viewed in regions outside of the U.S., and how much executive support is needed to make these initiatives work.
Agile, and now DevOps, are movements that are changing for the better how software is delivered at speed and with quality. Seeing firsthand the enthusiasm and innovation happening within the software community in Turkey is truly inspiring. I can’t wait to return to Istanbul, and other parts of the globe, to join in the collective work we all are doing to advance our industry, the DevOps movement, and the people it empowers that deliver and use software all around the globe.
Watch my opening keynote here .