What Do Users Look for in a Release Automation Tool?
At IT Central Station, 2,722 users follow the release automation category -- which includes product reviews and questions published by enterprise tech professionals.
What Do Users Look for in a Release Automation Tool?
Lidor Gerstel, DevOps Engineer at a Comms Service Provider with 501-1,000 employees:
“It's all about how much you can get out-of-the-box in the solution that you are inspecting: where you need to cater to your own needs or script your actions to deploy processes.
Dashboards and visualization come and go, but the main functions of the solutions need to be all about application delivery to environment first.”
AHMJ Tromp, Software Development Consultant at a Financial Services Firm with 1,000-5,000 Employees:
1. Loosely coupled integration with existing build, test and deploy tooling, including platforms.
2. Starting from your current way-of-working, introducing an orchestration tool (handling multiple pipelines, role authorizations, notifications) with the possibility to mix manual and automated tasks. And then, from here onwards step-by-step replace the manual tasks by automated ones.
3. Try to avoid a "spaghetti" configuration of multiple scripts in multiple tools in multiple languages.
4. No big bang introduction, start small and learn.
Michelle XIE, Automation Test Developer at a Software R&D company with 51-200 employees:
1. What is your company's expectation from automation including budget, time and scope?
2. Tools selection based on your company's needs.
3. Architecture/Infrastructure based on your company's needs.
4. Which departments should be involved?
5. Does current company culture support this change or not? If not, how to train the company to use the release automation correctly and efficiently?
6. Metrics that shows if this project is successful or valuable
And based on my experience, most companies (when they started the release automation), do not know the exact answers to these questions. So, what I did is: started from a small project and worked with a team, created the pipeline for them, and show them what happened and what we should do. Involved the departments, and trigger their interest to understand how they can benefit from it. So when I run the demo, I use the free tools such as Jenkins. The [only] cost is the server. We use AWS; Write your scripts, create the pipeline to show them how to release automatically; What these reports mean (Yes, not everybody can understand the report/result!)
A Software Development Senior Manager at a Software R&D company with 1,001-5,000 employees:
“The tool or product has a decent support group. Seriously, no matter how well the software is built, you will find some use case they did not document. TeamCity was amazing in this aspect.”
I'm naturally biased as the CEO of a Release Automation technology company.
However, the most common advice I try to give in the market is to find a technology that's scalable, provides standardized release pipeline templates across any underlying architecture and is maintenance free.
I offer a commercial tool built specifically for enterprise requirements including reporting, dual-mode interface and infinite scalability from Mainframe to Docker.
What I see most common in the market is script-based or workflow-based open source tools used for release automation. While this can work for a handful of applications, once you get to the critical mass of 25 or more applications, this approach simply does not scale. And who wants to write and maintain all of that plumbing code?
Commercial release automation tools are fully supported, include all of the requirements for the enterprise, require no scripting and are far less expensive than taking a people-centric open source approach that does not scale.
Hope this helps.
Release Automation is crucial for enhancing software deployment efficiency and reliability. Key aspects include:
Consistent Deployment
Faster Time-to-Market
Reduced Errors
Improved Collaboration
Scalability
Its importance lies in providing a structured and standardized process that ensures every deployment is uniform, reducing the likelihood of environment-specific issues. Consistent deployment...
Release Automation is crucial for enhancing software deployment efficiency and reliability. Key aspects include:
Consistent Deployment
Faster Time-to-Market
Reduced Errors
Improved Collaboration
Scalability
Its importance lies in providing a structured and standardized process that ensures every deployment is uniform, reducing the likelihood of environment-specific issues. Consistent deployment leads to more predictable results, making it easier for teams to identify and resolve problems. Faster time-to-market is another significant benefit. Automated processes eliminate manual steps, speeding up the delivery of new features and bug fixes. This accelerated pace can be critical in competitive industries where speed is vital for maintaining an edge.Another element of importance is the reduction of human error. Manual processes are prone to mistakes that can lead to costly downtime and defects in production. Automated systems help minimize these errors, ensuring that deployments are executed as intended every time. Improving collaboration among development, operations, and QA teams is a further advantage. With Release Automation, communication becomes clearer and more straightforward, facilitating teamwork and reducing friction. Scalability is another critical aspect. As companies grow, they need systems capable of managing increasingly complex processes. Automated solutions can handle numerous simultaneous deployments, making them indispensable for scaling businesses.
Estimating the cost-effectiveness of using AWS services for manufacturing at a retailer company involves a comprehensive analysis. To make an informed decision, you should consider factors like the scale of operations, current infrastructure costs, expected efficiency gains, and scalability needs. For more insights into making such assessments and understanding the potential time and cost savin...
Regional Manager/ Service Delivery Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Jan 25, 2022
Hi @reviewer1767168 ,
Hope my below response will help you .Cloud computing is booming across a variety of industries, especially with the growth of remote work. Even though it’s a time-consuming process, the cloud can provide extensive financial benefits like budget savings and increased workplace productivity.
Public vs. private clouds
When moving your data and applications to the cloud, you need to decide between a public or private cloud environment. Public clouds are hosted by providers like Amazon or Microsoft, and each one can host several different companies. The data is segregated to keep it organized and secure, but this multitenancy keeps prices low. Additionally, public clouds are maintained by the vendor, reducing operating costs for the company purchasing cloud space.
Private clouds, on the other hand, are hosted by the company storing their data on the cloud. There is no data from other companies on these clouds, which is often required for businesses in highly-regulated industries to meet compliance standards. Because there is only one company per cloud environment, the cost is often higher than with public clouds. This also means that the organization itself is responsible for maintenance.
To offset the higher costs of private clouds but still adhere to compliance requirements, some organizations opt for hybrid cloud or multicloud environments. With a hybrid environment, companies can place their sensitive or regulated data on private clouds, while keeping everything else on a public cloud. Hybrid clouds offer more flexibility and reliability than using a single cloud environment.
Reduces the necessary amount of hardware
An advantage of public cloud computing is the reduction in hardware costs. Instead of purchasing in-house equipment, hardware needs are left to the vendor. For companies that are growing rapidly, new hardware can be large, expensive, and inconvenient. Cloud computing alleviates these issues because resources can be acquired quickly and easily. Even better, the cost of repairing or replacing equipment is passed to the vendors.
Along with purchase costs, off-site hardware cuts internal power costs and saves space. Large data centers can take up precious office space and produce a large amount of heat. Moving to cloud applications or storage can help maximize space and significantly cut energy expenditures.
Less demanding labor and maintenance
Cloud solutions can also lead to a dramatic decrease in labor and maintenance costs. As a result of the hardware being owned by vendors and stored in off-site locations, there is less demand for in-house IT staff. If servers or other hardware need repairs or upgrades, it is the responsibility of the vendor and doesn’t cost your company any time or money.
Eliminating routine maintenance can free your IT staff to focus on important initiatives and development. In some cases, this could even mean reducing staff size. For companies lacking the resources for an in-house IT staff, the cloud will help eliminate costly third-party hardware repair bills.
Higher productivity
In addition to the outright labor savings, cloud computing can be extremely cost-effective for enterprises because of the increase in workforce productivity. The deployment of cloud software is notably faster than conventional installation. Instead of the weeks or months that a standard company-wide installation may take, cloud software deployment can happen in a matter of hours. This means employees can spend less time waiting and more time working.
Adoption time is also decreased with cloud solutions. SaaS applications are typically available through a web browser and can be learned quickly and easily. Finally, most cloud storage and software applications are available anywhere with an internet connection. This is great news for enterprises that rely on travel or have telecommuting policies in place.
Lower initial capital investment
Typically, cloud solutions are available in a pay-as-you-go pricing model. This format provides savings and flexibility in several ways. Foremost, your company doesn’t have to pay for software that isn’t being utilized. Unlike an upfront license, cloud software typically only costs per user. Additionally, pay-as-you-go software can be canceled at any time, reducing the financial risk of any software that doesn’t work.
The up-front cost of the cloud is also lower than in-house solutions. For companies that need top-tier products but don’t have extensive funds immediately available, cloud solutions provide fantastic flexibility.
Cloud computing can help you save on investments in other areas as well. By storing data and applications on the cloud, your employees can access them wherever they are, improving work from home capabilities. This means you’ll need less office space and can lower your rent and utility payments
Estimating the cost-effectiveness of using AWS services for manufacturing at a retailer company involves a comprehensive analysis. To make an informed decision, you should consider factors like the scale of operations, current infrastructure costs, expected efficiency gains, and scalability needs. For more insights into making such assessments and understanding the potential time and cost savings, you might find this resource valuable: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/software-development-time-estimation/. It provides guidance on software development time estimation, which can be applied to evaluate the implementation of AWS services in your specific context.
Download our free Release Automation Report and find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, GitLab, Red Hat, and more! Updated: December 2025.
I'm naturally biased as the CEO of a Release Automation technology company.
However, the most common advice I try to give in the market is to find a technology that's scalable, provides standardized release pipeline templates across any underlying architecture and is maintenance free.
I offer a commercial tool built specifically for enterprise requirements including reporting, dual-mode interface and infinite scalability from Mainframe to Docker.
What I see most common in the market is script-based or workflow-based open source tools used for release automation. While this can work for a handful of applications, once you get to the critical mass of 25 or more applications, this approach simply does not scale. And who wants to write and maintain all of that plumbing code?
Commercial release automation tools are fully supported, include all of the requirements for the enterprise, require no scripting and are far less expensive than taking a people-centric open source approach that does not scale.
Hope this helps.