This document discusses how software supply chain automation can help organizations meet the challenges of continuous delivery in the cloud using DevOps principles. It argues that supply chain should play a role in defining the DevOps architecture for cloud-based software delivery for several reasons: 1) Supply chain expertise in manufacturing draws parallels to delivering software; 2) Supply chain can contribute to the software delivery pipeline for continuous deployment and end-to-end traceability; 3) Supply chain can help with use cases like software licensing, version and defect management, and event monitoring to improve customer satisfaction. Defining the DevOps architecture with involvement from supply chain can help accelerate and improve the quality of software releases.

1. 1
Abstract— With the transition to Cloud based approach
to sell software products, features, and services, many
organizations have started to evolve their software
release processes using “Continuous” and DevOps
principles. This, of course, reduces time to deploy,
enables better quality control, and increases innovation
cycles. DevOps in the cloud helps both accelerate the
release schedules and increase frequency of software
releases with more focus on quality and reliability in
production. The goal of continuous release and
deployment is to release new features to customers as
soon as possible and with highest quality standards
possible. This document explains how software supply
chain automation can help meet the challenges of next
generation of software and service deliveries while
meeting operational efficiency and making intelligent
decisions with end-end traceability. The primary
question this document answers is “why” and “when”
the supply chain should play a role in defining the
architecture of DevOps in this transition to Cloud era.
I. INTRODUCTION
Innovation leaders have been developing and deploying
software in the “cloud” even before the term was coined.
The approach has been both inward and outward.
Inward, e.g. our manufacturing execution systems enable
Contract Manufacturers (CMs) to request services over
Internet, in cloud architecture. These systems centralize
people and assets, give top floor to plant floor visibility
and enable migration to a set of “use as you need”
software resources. Looking ahead and outward, we are
undergoing a transition, instead of selling point software
products, we are selling software solutions delivered via
easy-to-consume, solution-oriented bundles – on the
Cloud.
“Agile” brings about another dimension to software
iterations, which are now spun out faster than in the past.
Hence, our teams need to put strong processes and tools
in place to ensure an all channel communication, i.e.
from engineering to services to supply chain. Breaking
these barriers and the information available in delivery
pipeline, we are better prepared to achieve our quality
goals. Breaking through these barriers, however,
requires a greater level of abstraction in order to control
complexities and unlock the next level of visibility and
effectiveness.
“DevOps” has strong affinities with Agile approaches,
and it complements well with the benefits of cloud
services. It is the mindset that demands strong
interdepartmental communication. On one hand, “Dev”
is used as shorthand for development or engineering in
particular, it is a wider term including all the groups
involved in developing the product,” which can include
Hardware and test and other kinds of disciplines. While
one the other hand, “Ops” used as shorthand for
operations in particular, it is again wider and means “all
the people involved in operations of the end product,”
which can include IT, Technical Services and Supply
chain departments.
“Software Supply Chain” driven by Cloud Computing
and Agile principles has created an opportunity to
contribute and to make use of the DevOps movement for
organizational success.
II. CURRENT STATE OF OUR CLOUD MOVE
For a Cloud Transition, whether for services or for
software, it is essential that we be “continuous” in the
approach. This can be achieved with DevOps in Cloud
and our process needs to be as fluid as the deliverables.
Deployment and distribution needs be automatic in order
to meet the demanding delivery requirements.
Companies should make efforts and advancements to
support their customers’ DevOps needs. License
Management is one example where we need automated
software conveyor belts. Few of our current state
capabilities should include:
DevOps in the Cloud & the Role of Supply Chain
Atul Dhingra

2. 2
A. Software or Firmware Deployment, Activation and
License Management
An application stack that automatically discovers the
customer infrastructure, deployment topologies &
further automates software activation workflows.
This cloud based system needs to house inventories of
licensed features to enable secure communication with
network devices and obtain and validate product
authorization keys (PAK), device licenses and
configuration details. This framework should also
manage customer licenses and on the fly activation of
the software features on managed devices.
B. On-demand provisioning
Provisioning for standard operating environments or
customer profiles based on where the Products are
placed in edge, core or access space helps automating
device and service configuration.
C. Event Monitoring and Analytics
Smart features on devices apply proactive end-to-end
synthetic event monitoring, tied to faster problem
identification and resource isolation. Software or
Hardware Failures and the specific analysis needed ties
together Engineering, Services and the Supply chain.
D. Vulnerability Management & Audit Compliance
The enhanced control with detailed reporting capabilities
that facilitate defect management via the cloud. This
involves keeping latest approved software versions and
audit compliance information where a new fix is needed
but not yet deployed.
III. WHY SUPPLY CHAIN SHOULD PLAY A ROLE
Top reasons being expertise, focus and an exhaustive list
of use cases, each explained further as,
Lessons to Learn from Expertise in Manufacturing
Supply Chain: Supply chain expertise on delivery
pipeline for traditional technology, quality and product
operations draws a close parallel to how software
deliveries are to be done. The parallel is realized with
various development organizations being the
“manufacturers” and software applications being the
“products”. As we adopt the supply-chain model for
delivering software, it is natural to adopt DevOps to
enable release and deployment creating a delivery
pipeline. This architecture will help continuous
deployment of software in an efficient and traceable
manner. A Software Supply Chain applies the idea of a
supply chain to software, systems and service delivery.
Since the underlying framework and value of adopting a
supply chain model remain the same as that for a
manufacturing supply chain, there are lessons to learn
from traditional supply chain. As is the case with any
value chain, a core project team owning the planning and
quality measurements (software release team in this
context) and other capabilities being spread among the
other suppliers (Services and Supply Chain in this
context). In the delivery pipeline, different suppliers may
own different stages of the pipeline but what ties them
together is a common tools set – i.e. the DevOps tools in
the current scope of discussion (providing a way for
passing assets through the pipeline, enabling continuous
delivery as in traditional Supply Chain)
Use Cases for Cloud based method of SW deliveries: An
important use case is of delivery pipeline via DevOps
tools. In this pipeline, supply chain gets to contribute to
design, and so the process can feedback into Supply
chain quality and data systems (QDS) for end-to-end
traceability for component, software, firmware, Failure
Analysis and & Field Impact Analysis. Another
important use case will be end-end management of S/W
License SKU, S/W image & vPart Management and
Service Contract Management. In a nutshell, maintaining
traceability and visibility throughout the software supply
chain for prompt and agile recall.
On-demand provisioning can get visibility into profiles
and map them to potential defects that customer will hit
and provide prescriptive workarounds. Events
monitoring can increase the interlock with various
support groups to improve customer satisfaction metrics.
With increasing focus on software, overall objectives of
reducing communication overhead and tracking effort
for engineering, services and supply chain included and
centrally communicate fixes and updates to products can
be met. Deployment architecture with supply chain
shaping the process will also expand the scope of any
BOM created for SW products and services to cover
commercial, open source and vendor SW in a more
elegant manner.
[Quote] Just as technology innovations such as just-in-
time manufacturing have reshaped the physical supply
chain, DevOps has reshaped the application supply
chain. [1] [Unquote]
REFERENCES
[1] Managing the DevOps Supply Chain MSP Hub Oct
2015
[2] Why Continuous Everything Needs A Supply Chain
Approach | DevOpsDays Austin 2015