Organizations including Adobe, Amazon, Target, and Walmart have adopted the DevOps workflow to improve productivity and communication. In terms of other organizations, DevOps implementation is currently “all over the map,” Jeff Sussna, founder and principal of Ingineering.IT and author of Designing Delivery: Rethinking IT in the Digital Service Economy, told ZDNet.

“There are some companies that we see at the enterprise DevOps conferences that are all in and making really comprehensive progress,” Sussna said. “In general though, the majority of companies I see are sort of grappling with it bit by bit, still trying to understand what it is and how to do it.”

Research shows that DevOps adopters gain many benefits: High-performing organizations deploy 200 times more frequently, with lead times that are 2,555 times faster, according to a study of more than 25,000 tech professionals from Puppet and DevOps Research and Assessment. These high-performers are also twice as likely to succeed with product deployments without service impairments or security breaches.

We asked our panel of tech leaders, “Has your company implemented DevOps, or does it have any plans to do so?” The verdict? Six CIOs said yes, while six said no.

SEE: DevOps: The smart person’s guide

Architectural design firm Payette now uses DevOps. “Even as a smaller company we’ve seen value in the coordination of DevOps to streamline development updates working within the operating environment,” said Dan Gallivan, director of IT at Payette. “It has created a tighter IT group, improved communication and definitely produced smoother testing cycles and less downtime in production. It’s been a real measurable win for us.”

Technology professionals network Experts Exchange implemented DevOps about two years ago, said COO Gene Richardson. “Productivity and overall speed to market has improved more than 65% in the past two years because of it,” Richardson said.

Michael Spears, CIO and chief data officer at the National Council on Compensation Insurance, said his company plans to move toward a DevOps approach. “DevOps goes hand in hand with highly virtualized environments, agile methodologies, and eliminating constraints–all things we are working on at various stages of implementation and maturity,” he said.

DevOps implementations also vary from company to company. At business law firm Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP, “I think the real focus is on agile communication and client outcomes, versus delivery,” said CIO Jerry Justice. “[It’s about] creating a solid feedback loop so you can adjust targets and timings.”

SEE: How to become a DevOps engineer: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)

However, not all companies are ready to fully jump on board the new workflow. While Simon Johns, IT director at Sheppard Robson Architects LLP, said the firm has yet to implement DevOps, he also said that “there are elements of the ‘philosophy’ I would like to introduce into our workflows–build fast, fail fast type of situations.”

David Wilson, director of IT services at VectorCSP, said he doesn’t plan to implement the workflow. “After nearly 30 years of IT experience, I doubt any of those large software companies are really investing in this,” Wilson said. “The truest adage ever penned was ‘follow the money’ and that is usually at odds with ‘follow the efficiency.'”

This month’s CIO Jury included:

  • David Wilson, director of IT services, VectorCSP
  • Gene Richardson, COO, Experts Exchange
  • Michael R. Belote, CTO, Mercer University
  • Michael Hanken, vice president of IT, Multiquip Inc.
  • Cory Wilburn, CIO, Texas General Land Office
  • Michael Spears, CIO and chief data officer, National Council on Compensation Insurance
  • Simon Johns, IT director, Sheppard Robson Architects LLP
  • Dan Gallivan, director of information technology, Payette
  • Daniel Spees, director of information services, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
  • Inder Davalur, group CIO, KIMS Hospitals Private Limited
  • Jerry Justice, CIO, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
  • Corey Peissig, vice president of technical operations, Optimal Blue

Want to be part of TechRepublic’s CIO Jury and have your say on the top issues for IT decision makers? If you are a CIO, CTO, IT director, or equivalent at a large or small company, working in the private sector or in government, and you want to join TechRepublic’s CIO Jury pool, click the Contact link below or email alison dot denisco at cbsinteractive dot com, and send your name, title, company, location, and email address.