DevOps was designed to speed teams up. Sadly, it usually slows them down.
Manual work, tool sprawl, and endless audits bury developers in tickets instead of innovation.
Burnout is rising.
Security and compliance feel like constant fire drills.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) was supposed to eliminate manual tasks but has instead become a never-ending cycle of writing and maintaining code, adding to the very burden it was meant to remove.
Leaders are asking the same question - How can DevOps unlock engineering talent, so teams spend less time firefighting and more time building products that drive revenue?
That’s why we created the inaugural AI + DevOps Report. This is the first in what will become an ongoing effort to track how the landscape is shifting. Over 135 engineers, platform leads, and CTOs shared their realities with us.
The result is a data-driven snapshot of where engineering teams stand in 2026.
And specifically how AI is beginning to reshape the work.
Why This Report Matters
Software development has already been transformed by AI. Infrastructure is next. But DevOps isn’t the same as writing code. The risks are higher, the stakes bigger, and the path forward less clear.
This report highlights:
- Where teams are struggling the most
- What they actually want from DevOps
- How AI is evolving from copilots to agents that take safe, intelligent action
Whether you’re running a lean startup, a fast-scaling SaaS, or a compliance-heavy org, the insights here offer a roadmap to move from firefighting to intelligent automation.
Key Findings
1. DevOps is still too manual.
Nearly 30% of engineers lose a third of their week to repetitive infra tasks and audits. That’s not just inefficiency. It’s wasted potential. IaC was meant to solve this, and has ironically become part of the problem.
2. Security and compliance dominate.
62% of teams named it their top challenge. Most organizations still handle audits manually, using spreadsheets and tickets. And one in three said audits take over a week to complete.
3. Speed is the north star.
58% cite faster deployment and shorter lead time to change as their top priority heading into 2026. Yet only 29% of teams say they can deploy on demand.
4. AI is no longer optional.
67% increased investment in AI for DevOps this year, and nearly 80% are open to agent-based automation. But that’s only if it comes with guardrails like approvals and rollback options.
The message is clear: DevOps has become a bottleneck. Which means AI and automation aren’t nice-to-haves anymore. They’re survival tools.
The Human Side
Behind the numbers are people.
- 47% of engineers say DevOps overload drives burnout or frustration.
- Tribal knowledge still rules. Often only a handful of engineers know how systems really fit together. That makes scaling risky.
- Without change, teams risk running slower, not faster, as they grow.
How Teams See AI
The survey surfaced three big expectations for AI in DevOps:
- AI must act, not just observe. Summaries and copilots aren’t enough. Teams want execution.
- AI must be context-aware. Generic suggestions won’t cut it. Engineers need tools that understand their infrastructure and policies.
- AI must keep humans in control. Approval gates, rollback options, and audit trails are non-negotiable.
Trust grows when these boxes are checked… and adoption follows.
From Scripts to Agents
2025 was the year of copilots.
2026 will be the year of agents.
Teams are moving along a clear path:
- Manual → scripts and SSH sessions
- Automated → Infrastructure as Code (IAC), pipelines and dashboards
- Agentic → AI systems that take safe, intelligent action
Nearly 80% of respondents said they’re ready for agent-based DevOps… if the tools are reliable and integrated.
Why We Did This Study
At DuploCloud, we’ve seen firsthand that DevOps is becoming make-or-break for engineering orgs. Teams are stretched thin, firefighting, and duct-taping tools together. We wanted to put real data behind what we hear every day. And we wanted to create a benchmark teams can use to plan their next move.
The Road Ahead
DevOps isn’t just about uptime.
It’s about:
- Speed to revenue
- Team morale
- Trust and compliance
Currently, many teams view DevOps as a bottleneck.
But the good news is clear: AI is no longer experimental. It’s actionable. With the right guardrails, it can shift teams from reactive toil to proactive, agent-driven execution.
👉 This report is your playbook for what may be broken and what’s next.
What’s Next
We know not everyone has time for a 20+ page report. Over the coming weeks, we’ll break down the findings into:
- Blogs that dive deeper into each trend
- Infographics that spotlight the most important stats
- Bite-size insights you can share with your team
But if you want the full story now, it’s ready for you.
