** Please note: The SDA Community Edition is no longer available. **
(This is the conclusion of a 7-part series. Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.)
Reality: Deployment should be repeatable and predictable
In this series we’ve looked at a number of reasons why people don’t automate their deployments. I had a boss once who was fond of saying, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” He was right
50% faster to create
Numerous customers all tell the same story. With Serena Deployment Automation they typically spend only half the time they used to creating deployment scripts because they are able to design them graphically and re-use standard parts that have been built for them and are included in the tool.
The customers build libraries of their own standard deployment (and back out) techniques and this brings consistency and repeatability across the organization. This saves time when building the scripts and saves even more time when a deployment fails.
90% faster to execute
The “nut loose on the keyboard” has always been the limiting factor in any computer system. When deployments are automated there is no pause between steps while human-1.0 searches the network to see if the server restarted, no scanning the log for a completion code before running the next script, no calling the supervisor for the password … all things that add delay. And automation means running steps in parallel which human-1.0 doesn’t like to do.
25 billion deployments a day
The pace of deployment is the fastest accelerating aspect of our industry today. Fueled by smartphone applications business users expect deployments to happen with a daily cadence where once they were happy to get a monthly refresh. By 2020 there will be 25 billion devices connected to the Internet (that’s 3.5 devices for every person on the planet!) all in need of frequent updates from you.
Today there are 1.3 billion smartphone users and every one of them is a release management expert. Each day they decide which apps to update and which delete from their devices. They make these judgments based on a hundred factors that fuel their instinct for what’s good and what’s not, how much space they might save and how much battery they consume. Profound, technically complex decisions by users not trained or skilled in Information Technology but experienced in who delivers what they want with repeatable precision and without disruption.
Whether you are deploying to a mainframe or to a wearable device, on-premise or a cloud, you are part of a global distribution machine that thrives on speed. Fast response to consumer need turns an idea into an industry. But it is an unforgiving place too: expectations are for flawless execution every day because one failure can turn your “coolest” organization into the “coldest” has-been at the speed of a single tweet.
Delivering that consumer confidence only comes when you have the confidence in your ability to deliver. Automation is how you establish confidence and delivery it repeatedly.
Systems are best at repetitive. Humans are best at creative.
DOWNLOAD THE COMMUNITY EDITION FOR FREE TODAY
In order to help you get started with your automation, Serena has made their latest version of Serena Deployment Automation available in a Community Edition format that lets you experience the most up-to-date deployment automation technology for free.
