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Azure DevOps Integrates Octopus Deploy
Microsoft continues to expand its integration with third-party tools for Azure DevOps. The latest plugin is for Octopus Deploy, a software configuration management tool with a 1.2% market share. Azure DevOps and Octopus Deploy work together to present users better visibility into their software pipelines, all the way from idea to production.
The Agile philosophy and all its emergent sub-sets have literally taken the software development world by storm. Technology startups and mature software-product driven organizations are implementing Agile methodologies or are planning to do so in a quest to be quicker to market, influence buyer behavior, and gain traction with their users.
In traditional non-Agile environments, the one hand (software developers and quality assurance teams) truly don’t know what the other hand (IT operations) is doing. There is blind trust that everyone is intelligent enough to know how to fix any problem they experience in their isolated space (even if the origin of the problems lies somewhere else). Unfortunately, such is not usually the case. Expecting a release manager to fully understand the configurable nuances of complex code is wishful thinking. Similarly, a software developer and quality assurance expert will not be up to speed on the needs of engineering reliable deployment tactics.
Enter DevOps, one emergent (and might I add, most impactful) sub-set of Agile. DevOps intends to eliminate (or at the least reduce) any barriers to communication between software developers, quality assurance teams, and IT operations. With DevOps-inspired technology stacks becoming the neural networks of high-tech organizations, it is expected we will be entering a new phase of innovative products and services.
If there’s a process to optimize work, Microsoft has a tool to help you with it.
Microsoft has been at the forefront of providing the world of productivity software. From word processing (Word) to data analysis (Excel) and corporate presentations (PowerPoint), if there was need for a tool, Microsoft had it. It has taken the same stance on enhancing software development productivity and has been beefing up its flagship SDLC platform, Azure, with open-source technology. Microsoft’s open-source strategy has evolved to include support for rival operating systems (Linux), scripting languages (Python, R), version control (GitHub), and DevOps tools for continuous integration (Jenkins), configuration management (Puppet, Chef), etc. These integrations support implementation of tactical DevOps by providing a single platform that can be customized for variable needs.
The latest open-source integration is with Octopus Deploy, a small player in the continuous integration tool space, yet one that has been, slowly yet steadily, gaining credibility among open-source developers.
Our Take
Info-Tech’s recommendation is to watch Azure’s ever-expanding offering of tools and services. By working with smaller vendors, Microsoft is overcoming its checkered history with open source. In addition, Azure is growing to become a truly integrated one-stop platform for effective software development lifecycle management.
Want to know more?
- Implement Agile Practices That Work: Guide your organization through its Agile transformation journey.
- Make Development Teams Leaner and Improve Time-to-Release in Five Steps: Drive down your delivery time by removing your development inefficiencies and bottlenecks while maintaining high quality.
- Implement DevOps Practices That Work: Streamline business value delivery through the strategic adoption of DevOps practices.