In an era where software development and deployment are more critical than ever to business success, recognizing the pioneers and tools that drive innovation in DevOps has become a hallmark of industry progress. The annual DevOps Dozen awards have returned, shining a spotlight on the individuals, teams, and technologies that are redefining how modern software is built and managed. This prestigious event invites nominations from across the community to honor those who have made significant contributions, whether through groundbreaking platforms, mentorship, or cultural shifts within organizations. With a focus on emerging trends like artificial intelligence, platform engineering, and secure software supply chains, the awards this year promise to reflect the cutting edge of the field. Spanning 24 categories split between Community and Tools & Services, the program balances recognition of human leadership with technological advancements, ensuring a comprehensive celebration of DevOps excellence.
1. Spotlight on the Latest DevOps Recognition
The DevOps Dozen awards stand as a trusted benchmark for identifying leaders and innovations that shape the industry. Nominations are now open to the public, providing an opportunity to highlight those who have delivered impactful solutions, elevated teams, or mentored others in meaningful ways. This year’s program places special emphasis on areas like AI integration, platform engineering, and the critical need for secure software supply chains, reflecting the market’s direction. With a total of 24 awards, the categories are evenly distributed between Community and Tools & Services, ensuring that both the people driving change and the technologies enabling it receive due recognition. This balance underscores the dual importance of human ingenuity and technical prowess in advancing DevOps practices across enterprises and open-source communities alike, setting a high standard for what excellence looks like in this dynamic field.
Beyond the broad scope of categories, the awards aim to capture the pulse of current industry priorities. For instance, the inclusion of AI-focused categories highlights how machine learning and automation are becoming integral to DevOps workflows. Similarly, platform engineering is gaining prominence as organizations seek to streamline developer experiences, while supply chain security addresses growing concerns over software integrity. Nominating individuals or products in these areas not only celebrates their achievements but also signals to the wider community where future efforts should be directed. The process is designed to be inclusive, encouraging participation from all corners of the DevOps ecosystem, whether from small startups or global corporations, ensuring that every impactful contribution has a chance to be acknowledged and celebrated for its role in pushing the boundaries of software delivery.
2. Key Updates for This Year’s Awards
Several important updates define this year’s DevOps Dozen nomination process, ensuring fairness and quality. Community nominations remain free and accessible to all, inviting broad participation from practitioners and enthusiasts. However, for Tools & Services categories, a $300 nomination fee applies to filter out irrelevant submissions and maintain a high standard of entries; this fee is refunded if the submission does not advance to the finalist stage. Additionally, to keep the competition focused, commercial categories are capped at 10 finalists each, fostering a competitive yet manageable field. The final selection process combines public voting, which accounts for 40% of the decision, with expert judges’ evaluations making up the remaining 60%, striking a balance between community input and professional scrutiny for a well-rounded outcome.
It’s also worth noting specific eligibility restrictions to maintain clarity across categories. Tools and Services vendors are excluded from three designated Community awards, ensuring that these honors remain reserved for individual contributors and non-commercial efforts. This structure helps preserve the integrity of the awards by separating personal achievements from corporate products, allowing each to be judged on its own merits. Transparency in these guidelines ensures that participants understand the rules upfront, fostering trust in the process. These updates collectively aim to refine the awards’ focus, ensuring that only the most deserving entries are recognized while maintaining an equitable platform for all involved in the DevOps space to showcase their impactful work.
3. Exploring the Award Categories
The DevOps Dozen awards cover an extensive range of 24 categories, split into Community and Tools & Services segments. The nine Community Awards recognize individual and collaborative efforts, including honors like Top DevOps Community Evangelist, Most Innovative DevOps Open Source Project, and Best Application of AI in Enterprise DevOps Practices. Other categories celebrate contributions through content, such as the Best DevOps Article, Video, or Audio Podcast, as well as leadership with awards like DevOps Enterprise Leader of the Year. These categories highlight the human element of DevOps, focusing on advocacy, education, and innovation that drive cultural and operational improvements across organizations and open-source initiatives, ensuring that personal impact is duly acknowledged.
On the Tools & Services side, 15 categories target technological advancements and vendor contributions. Standout awards include Best Application of Agentic AI in a DevOps Tool, Best Platform Engineering Solution, and Best Supply Chain Security Solution, alongside recognitions for new tools, testing services, and comprehensive platforms. Notably, new categories for Agentic AI, Generative AI, and Supply Chain Security reflect the evolving priorities in the industry, emphasizing the growing importance of automation, developer experience, and software integrity. These categories collectively showcase how technology underpins DevOps success, providing a platform to honor tools that reduce complexity, enhance security, and enable faster, safer software delivery in an increasingly competitive landscape.
4. Understanding the Nomination and Selection Process
The nomination and selection process for the DevOps Dozen is designed to be transparent and equitable, encouraging wide participation. Nominations are open to the public, with Community categories remaining free to enter, while Tools & Services submissions require a $300 fee to ensure serious entries—this fee is refunded if the nominee does not reach the finalist stage. Once nominations close, finalists are selected with a cap of 10 per commercial category to maintain a competitive field. Following this, public voting opens across all 24 categories, allowing the community to weigh in on who deserves recognition. This structured approach ensures that every stage, from submission to finalist selection, is clear and accessible to participants from diverse backgrounds.
Winners are ultimately determined through a balanced scoring system, with 40% of the decision based on community votes and 60% on judges’ evaluations. This blend ensures that both popular opinion and expert insight play a role in the outcome. Finalists receive badges and visibility across a prominent tech network, while winners are awarded trophies and further spotlighted for their achievements. This process not only rewards excellence but also builds trust by prioritizing fairness and transparency. By limiting the number of finalists and incorporating dual evaluation methods, the awards maintain a high standard, ensuring that only the most impactful contributions in DevOps are celebrated for their influence on the industry.
5. Meet the Esteemed Judging Panel
A distinguished panel of judges brings depth and credibility to the DevOps Dozen awards this year. The lineup includes Alan Shimel, CEO, Founder, and Editor-in-Chief of Techstrong Group, Inc., known for deep industry insights; Mitchell Ashley, VP & Practice Lead of Software Lifecycle Engineering at Futurum, offering expertise in software trends; and Tracy Ragan, a Board Member of OpenSSF and CDF, representing community and open-source perspectives. Additionally, Garima Bajpai, a Senior DevOps Leader and Advisor, and Ketan Jani, Staff Site Reliability Engineer at Apple Inc., contribute practical, hands-on operational experience. Together, this panel combines leadership, technical knowledge, and community trust to evaluate nominations with a discerning eye.
The diversity of expertise among the judges ensures a comprehensive assessment of entries across all categories. Their backgrounds span executive leadership, daily DevOps operations, and advocacy for secure, innovative practices, allowing for a balanced perspective on what constitutes true impact in the field. This mix of viewpoints is essential for separating hype from substance, ensuring that awards are given to those who have genuinely moved the needle in software development and delivery. Their role underscores the awards’ commitment to recognizing both visionary ideas and practical solutions, reinforcing the credibility of the selection process for participants and the wider DevOps community.
6. Mark Your Calendars for Key Dates
Timing is critical for those looking to participate in the DevOps Dozen awards, with several important deadlines to note. Nominations are open now and will continue through mid-October, and early submissions are encouraged to stand out with clear, outcome-driven stories. Submitting early allows ample time to craft a compelling case for recognition, whether for an individual contributor or a transformative tool. Staying ahead of the deadline ensures that nominees are given full consideration during the initial review phase, maximizing their chances of advancing to the next stage of the competition.
Following the nomination period, finalists will be announced shortly after mid-October, at which point public voting will commence across all categories. This phase offers an opportunity for the community to rally behind their chosen candidates and tools. The culmination of the process occurs in early January at the Predict 2026 virtual event, where winners will be revealed amidst industry discussions on trends and forecasts. Keeping track of these dates ensures that participants and supporters alike can engage fully with the process, from nomination to celebration, amplifying the visibility of deserving DevOps achievements.
7. Why These Awards Matter to the Industry
The DevOps Dozen awards hold significant value beyond mere recognition, as they capture the intersection of tools, culture, and leadership in driving software excellence. While tools and platforms are vital for efficiency, the human elements—such as community evangelists who inspire better practices or leaders who transform organizational workflows—are equally impactful. By honoring both aspects, the awards highlight how collaborative efforts and technological innovation work hand in hand to improve outcomes like faster delivery, reduced toil, and enhanced security. This dual focus serves as a reminder that DevOps is as much about people and processes as it is about cutting-edge solutions.
Moreover, the awards act as a catalyst for progress within the field, validating impactful work and setting higher standards for the future. When a platform simplifies complex workflows or a leader champions secure supply chains, these efforts ripple through the industry, influencing best practices and priorities. Recognizing such contributions fosters momentum, encouraging others to innovate and elevate their approaches. The DevOps Dozen thus serves as a beacon, pointing to what works and what’s next, ensuring that the community continues to evolve in response to emerging challenges and opportunities in software development.
8. Reflecting on Past Champions
Looking back at previous DevOps Dozen winners from 2020 to 2024 offers valuable insights into the evolution of the field. Standouts like GitLab in 2020, recognized for Best End-to-End DevOps Tool/Service, set a benchmark with their integrated CI/CD platform, while CircleCI earned the Best CI/CD Tool title for reliability and speed. Similarly, Digital.ai’s Value Stream Platform bridged planning and delivery in 2020, and Shlomi Ben-Haim of JFrog was named DevOps Executive of the Year in 2021 for visionary leadership. Other notable winners, such as Red Hat OpenShift GitOps and Honeycomb, highlighted advancements in scalable workflows and observability, respectively, demonstrating the breadth of innovation during those years.
More recent achievements also shaped the landscape, with JFrog’s Software Supply Chain Platform and CloudBees CI/CDRO continuing to dominate in 2023 for comprehensive solutions and enterprise CI/CD leadership. In 2024, Harness Internal Developer Portal stood out for platform engineering, and GitLab Duo impressed with AI-driven workflows. These past winners did more than earn accolades; they redefined efficiency, security, and collaboration in DevOps. Their contributions provided frameworks and tools that countless organizations adopted, proving that recognition in these awards often correlates with lasting industry impact.
9. Steps to Nominate and Celebrate Excellence
Now is the time to champion exceptional talent and innovations within the DevOps community by participating in the nomination process. Submissions are open until mid-October, providing a window to spotlight individuals, teams, or tools that have made a difference—whether through a late-night fix, a transformative platform, or a cultural shift in delivery practices. Reviewing the guidelines is key: Community entries remain free, while Tools & Services nominations carry a $300 fee, refunded if not selected as a finalist, to ensure high-quality submissions. Taking action now ensures that deserving candidates receive the visibility they merit for their contributions to the field.
After nominations close, finalists will be unveiled post-mid-October, followed by public voting to help shape the outcome—spreading the word during this phase can amplify impact. The celebration culminates at the Predict virtual event in early January, where winners are announced, and finalists and winners alike receive badges, trophies, and broad recognition across a leading tech network. Engaging in this process not only honors past achievements but also sets the stage for future innovation. Nominations are live, so it’s time to highlight the stories of DevOps excellence that deserve to be told and celebrated.
