DevOps is all the rage in the trendiest IT circles. Many organizations are spinning up their own DevOps team, while others are building entirely new organizations around the idea. With the recent growth of ultra-scaling startups like Uber and AirBNB, DevOps is the next standard in how IT organizations produce great outcomes in a faster and easier way.

Why is DevOps hot right now? Traditionally, IT organizations have been run as independent silos, with specialists working within their departments and communicating when needed with other branches of the company. This has lead to a centralized IT department — with demand coming from a sprawling developer community within an organization. With today's 24/7/365-Internet-facing projects and tight timelines, business leaders have realized that it's a tedious and inefficient way to run IT — hence, the rise of DevOps.

What is it? DevOps, broadly stated, is a way for organizations to integrate their IT and developer environments into a continuous delivery system that allows faster, more agile outcomes from IT teams. By having everyone work together rather than in silos, and involving everyone in the process, problematic designs or challenges can be addressed earlier in the development lifecycle. In addition, by having everyone involved with at least a bird's eye view of the project, all members have a better understanding of the challenges involved, reducing drama and accelerating deployments.

In this slideshow, Marty Puranik, Atlantic.Net, provides five tips for getting DevOps started in your organization.