DevOps has transformed the way teams build, deploy, and manage software. Over the years, the tools we use have evolved rapidly—some have become industry standards, while others have faded away or emerged to solve new challenges. In this post, I revisit the concept of a “Periodic Table of DevOps” to compare the landscape in 2016 with 2025, highlight key changes, and reflect on what these shifts mean for developers, IT professionals, and organizations embracing modern workflows.
The periodic table lists all the chemical elements and groups them together based on some key properties. In 2016 I found an article about the periodic table of DevOps and wrote a blog post about it.
Periodic Table of DevOps Tools 2025
Periodic Table of DevOps Tools 2016
I thought it might be interesting to see what tools are still in use, and what are new.
Source Control
Git, the most popular source control system, is on both charts, in 2016 it was at position 3, and in 2025 it is at 2. GitHub, the most widely used web-based git repository, is also on both charts, moving from 1 to 10. Bitbucket (now owned by Atlassian) was a hosted git repository I used to use and is still on the chart, moving from 11 to 36. Subversion, a source control system I started my career with, has vanished off the chart in 2025. Not really a surprise due to the popularity of git now.
Cloud Platforms
In 2016 we had a whole column of Cloud Platforms, including Rackspace and OpenShift, in 2025 this has been reduced to the big three (Azure, AWS and GCP) plus OpenShift.
Containerization
In 2016 we had a column of tools like Docker, Docker Swarm and Kubernetes. In 2025 there are far more tools in this space, with the addition of tools like Helm and the various ways you can host containers on cloud platforms (like Azure AKS).
Build and Deploy tools
In 2016 Azure DevOps was still called Team Foundation Server, so this has spread out into the various ways you can use Azure DevOps, such as Pipelines and Code. Also since 2016 GitHub Actions has appeared on the market.
In 2016 I was also dabbling with TeamCity, this is no longer used that much so isn’t on the chart in 2025. Jenkins is still around on both charts.
Comms Tools
In 2025 Slack and MS Teams are the go-to tools for communicating with distributed teams, Slack was around in 2016, but Teams wasn’t a thing back then.
New Tools
New tools for monitoring like Grafana have appeared; back in 2016 I was exclusively using Application Insights from Azure.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
The DevOps landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade. Some tools have stood the test of time, while others have faded or emerged to meet new challenges. Here are the key takeaways:
- Git remains the backbone of source control, with platforms like GitHub and Bitbucket continuing to thrive.
- Cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP) have become central, reflecting the shift to cloud-native development and operations.
- Containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, Helm) are now essential, enabling scalable, flexible deployments.
- Monitoring and collaboration tools have evolved, with newcomers like Grafana and MS Teams joining established solutions.
- Legacy tools are disappearing, showing the importance of adaptability in tech.
As DevOps continues to evolve, staying curious and open to new tools is key. The periodic table analogy reminds us that the right mix of technologies can empower teams to build, deploy, and manage software more effectively. What tools will shape the next decade? Only time will tell.