Submitted by Kelsey Kusterer Ziser, the Editor of Upskill U at Light Reading

Just as service providers are moving away from traditional networks to all-IP virtualized networks, their software development processes are also undergoing a major overhaul. Yesterday's work silos can't keep pace with tomorrow's network needs, and many operators are increasingly using more dynamic, collaborative approaches like Agile and DevOps.

Service providers can't afford to wait months for code, but Agile and DevOps can speed cycle times to just a few weeks, improve collaboration between historically isolated departments and increase productivity through the emergence of meritocracies. Yet many operators are finding the transition to Agile and DevOps challenging as barriers like company culture and confusion over how to correctly implement these methodologies threatens to degrade the potential benefits of implementing Agile and DevOps.

Starting September 14, Light Reading, in association with Cisco, aims to unravel the misconceptions and challenges of Agile and DevOps in a four-course series at Upskill U. During this free, online series, lecturers from the Agile Alliance, Cisco, Tech Mahindra and more will explain the core principles of Agile and DevOps, what pitfalls operators should avoid and how service providers can successfully implement these methodologies.

Join Upskill U for these exciting lectures in the Agile and DevOps series:

• What Is Agile? (Wednesday, Sept. 14, 1:00 p.m. ET): Kent J. McDonald, Product Owner, Agile Alliance, explains how Agile methods emerged, the Agile Manifesto and 12 Principles, how companies are successfully implementing Agile, and more. This course prepares students for subsequent courses on Agile and DevOps.
• How to Implement Agile (Friday, Sept. 16, 1:00 p.m. ET): Alan Bateman, Director, Agile Transformation, examines common mistakes and covers the process of implementing Agile, from identifying company culture barriers, to making the business case, to the process behind building effective teams.
• What Is DevOps? (Wednesday, Sept. 21, 1:00 p.m. ET): Colin Kincaid, CTO, Service Provider, Cisco, defines DevOps, addresses the benefits and challenges to implementing DevOps, talks about why and how organizations interpret DevOps differently and explores case studies of successful DevOps teams.
• How to Implement DevOps (Friday, Sept. 23, 1:00 p.m. ET): Burt Klein, DevOps Strategist, Tech Mahindra, explains how to secure support for DevOps implementation, avoid common pitfalls that arise in DevOps architecture, streamline processes and more.

Whether you're experienced with Agile and DevOps or new to these methodologies, this series will help professionals at any stage of the game develop a better understanding of the key principles of these methodologies and how to correctly and successfully implement them. Each 45-minute live session includes Q&A with the speaker plus a live chat board, so audience members can ask expert lecturers and peers their most pressing questions.

Stay ahead of the learning curve and register today for Upskill U's Agile and DevOps series at http://www.lightreading.com/upskillu. I'll see you on the chat boards!