IT organizations often face issues when deploying applications in an Agile environment, in part, because there are more releases to deploy. Due to the nature of Agile, development teams are able to deliver working tested software in much shorter iterations. While this is great for the company, as they can have better flexibility and shorter time to market, it often creates a backlog for operations teams who need to deploy the applications as quickly as they’re being delivered.

Before Agile, releases usually took place every two to three months; whereas, now, issuing a release every two to three weeks is standard. As a result, the improvements in productivity and quality for development when using Agile can be quite astounding, gaining around 400-500 percent. So, with development teams delivering a practically constant stream of software packages, operations teams need to be able to deploy them just as quickly to keep business objectives aligned.

Deploying releases manually is a complicated process that is only exacerbated by issues of virtual sprawl and poor upkeep of scripts and instruction manuals. However, having an automated deployment process keeps these frequent releases on schedule and error free. With deployment automation software, IT organizations are able to bridge the gap between development and operations teams, enabling them to maintain the higher productivity levels, shorter time to market, and other advantages Agile brings to a company.

Deployment automation allows IT organizations to continue to safely and reliably deploy their software components in an Agile environment while maintaining good cooperation and delivery between development and operations teams.

This is a hot topic in the industry right now and will be the focus of an upcoming webcast that we are sponsoring and presenting in conjunction with CM Crossroads this Thursday, June 17, at 1pm EST. Andrew Phillips, VP of Product Development at XebiaLabs, and Bob Aiello, Editor-in-Chief of CM Crossroads, will discuss the issues IT organizations face when deploying applications in an Agile environment and how deployment automation can ensure seamless transitions.

Click here to register and join the discussion, and feel free to leave a comment below if you’d like a specific question answered. Hope to see you there!

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