The DevOps pipeline is the heart of modern software development. It facilitates communication and workflows between development and operations teams, allowing organizations to plan, develop, test, and deploy applications quickly and accurately.
While many of these processes can take place manually, DevOps automation tools allow teams to significantly enhance both the speed and reliability of existing processes—and apply them globally for scalable growth.
In this guide, we’ll preview the automation tools you need to better manage tasks, build modern applications, and scale resources more efficiently.
Get ready to rapidly and reliably build, test, and deploy code on a global scale with the help of the best DevOps automation tools available today.
What is DevOps automation?
DevOps automation refers to the use of specialized software tools and practices to streamline the entire DevOps lifecycle, including the software and application development process, initial development, deployment, and ongoing operations.
The main goal of DevOps automation is to bridge the gap between development and operations teams. This happens by automating repetitive tasks, thereby improving efficiency and reducing the likelihood of errors from manual fixes.
>> Deep Dive: Read the DuploCloud Complete Guide to Automation <<
By leveraging other DevOps tools, organizations can successfully enhance collaboration between teams and ensure a smoother, more efficient software development workflow.
💡 Core takeaway: DevOps automation aims to enhance the efficiency, speed, reliability, and collaboration while minimizing human error.
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Why is automation crucial for success?
Automation plays a pivotal role in the DevOps ecosystem, and selecting the right tool unlocks success when it’s time to test, deploy, and monitor.
By automating predictable (and often time-consuming) tasks, teams can shift their focus to more strategic activities and events. Think about what it would mean to have more time for refining the software development process or delivering greater value to customers. (That’s where the real value comes in.)
Automation not only accelerates the development process but also ensures that each stage is executed with precision. This laser focus on accuracy reduces the risk of manual errors and enhances productivity for everyone involved on seeing a project over the finish line.
The list: Essential DevOps automation tools you need
DevOps teams often use dozens of DevOps tools throughout their daily work. The following list contains the best options for automating core tasks within your DevOps workflow.
Infrastructure and configuration management: DuploCloud
DevOps teams manage suites of tools that enable them to manage and deploy large-scale cloud-native applications. Further, creating the infrastructure that facilitates the development of these applications requires hundreds of individual configurations across thousands of lines of code.
What’s the catch? Manually configuring these implementations requires extensive investment in time and labor, and a single mistake can introduce security vulnerabilities and cause poor customer experiences.
DuploCloud enables development teams to automate much of the DevOps configuration and provisioning process to facilitate development and deployment. Developers and DevOps teams can utilize a no-code/low-code interface to make necessary change requests to application infrastructure configuration, which DuploCloud then applies to automatically provision a secure and compliance cloud infrastructure.
DuploCloud and automation wins
DuploCloud’s automated process reduces the chances of introducing human error into configuration. It also ensures infrastructure adheres to standardized security and compliance requirements, such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR. Continuous monitoring alerts teams of potential vulnerabilities and can generate audit-ready reports within the platform.
Learn more about how DuploCloud automates provisioning to enhance infrastructure provisioning speeds by a factor of ten with its all-in-one DevOps Automation Platform.
Version control and continuous integration: GitHub
Deployment to production is only part of the CI/CD pipeline. Integrating robust version control into the development process enables teams to track code changes, improving transparency for employees and management at scale. Versioning allows teams to quickly roll back to known-working versions if developers introduce errors or security vulnerabilities. However, manually building and tracking these code changes can be tedious and time-consuming.
GitHub provides ready-made code repositories for start-ups and enterprise-level businesses, along with a slate of automation tools known as Actions. Actions enable developers to automate GitHub workflows, such as pushing code or releasing code to production to a number of platforms and containers. Teams can also implement automated quality assurance checks to ensure necessary processes are fulfilled without conflicts.
Containerization: Docker and Kubernetes
Containers provide a standardized way to package applications and necessary dependencies so they can run in a variety of environments. Docker is by far the most popular application for building and managing these containers, thanks to its efficient, lightweight, and secure architecture. And while development teams can manually generate Docker containers, Docker can also automate builds, taking source code from your repository and pushing the built image to a Docker container.
While Docker is an effective tool on its own, its full potential is realized when paired with Kubernetes. Kubernetes is an open-source tool that automates the deployment, management, and scaling of containerized applications (such as those built in Docker).
As applications reach more users, they need more instances to serve them, as well as to provide fall-backs in case one or more containers fail. Kubernetes allows developers to automate these processes, helping organizations ensure 24/7 application service to users worldwide.
Infrastructure-as-Code: Terraform
Manually configuring individual settings within Google Cloud or AWS to provision a public cloud instance is doable, but time-consuming and difficult to scale. Infrastructure-as-Code enables DevOps teams to set provisioning configuration within a few basic lines of code, allowing for easy replication, scaling, and automation of these processes. Terraform remains one of the most popular and effective Infrastructure-as-Code automation platforms in use today.
Terraform integrates with existing CI/CD pipelines to provide automated resource provisioning and deployment. It also allows teams to manage Kubernetes clusters and enforce policy through code, and provides version control tools to provide a history of changes and rollback options. With access to over 1000 technology providers, Terraform enables DevOps teams to effectively manage nearly all aspects of their infrastructure.
Testing: Selenium
Web developers must ensure that their applications work, but testing across the innumerable combinations of web browser and device configurations makes manual testing a complex, time-consuming task. Selenium automates the testing process in parallel across multiple virtual machines, driving application use through browsers in ways that users would interact with your product. Selenium can detect bugs and regressions, alerting developers where errors are in the application.
Benefits of DevOps automation
Modern software development relies on speed and accuracy to deliver high-quality products to end users (and ultimately, deliver impressive value to shareholders).
Agile development is highly adaptable and uniquely capable of quickly responding to consumer needs, but maximizing effectiveness requires the following checklist:
✔️ Optimizing CI/CD pipelines
✔️ Improving infrastructure management
✔️ Accelerating foolproof configuration
DevOps automation tools can save your business valuable time and money, minimize developmental silos, optimize compliance, and scale operations for a global audience. There are also a few more benefits of an automated DevOps workflow:
Faster, error-free app delivery
Speed and reliability aren’t just extra add-ons—they’re the qualities that give you a competitive edge in rapidly growing markets. With continuous delivery platforms, your software deployments evolve into a smooth, interruption-free process that allows you to go to market, faster.
DevOps automation tools don’t just ensure consistent product updates—they help you stay ahead by detecting issues early, enabling rapid iterations, and fostering a culture of quality-first delivery. Automation turns speed and accuracy into the default way to operate, empowering your team to deliver value in a snap.
Better collaboration across development and operations teams
DevOps automation tools play a crucial role in facilitating better collaboration across development and operations teams, including the operations team, and enabling teams to focus on higher-value activities.
Additionally, DevOps automation tools provide a common platform for development and operations teams to work together, share information, and track progress, which helps to improve communication and reduce misunderstandings. This enhanced collaboration not only accelerates the development process but also ensures that the final product meets the highest standards of quality and performance.
Choose the right DevOps automation tools
With so many tools available, it can be challenging to select the ones that best meet the needs of your organization and hit the mark on factors like budget, scalability, and adoption.
Here are some considerations to keep in mind when selecting DevOps automation tools:
- Usability: The tool should be easy to use and require minimal training and support.
- Scalability: The tool should be able to scale to meet the needs of your organization, both in terms of the number of users and the volume of data, particularly as those totals grow over time.
- Integration: The tool should be able to integrate with other tools and systems, including version control systems, continuous integration servers, and deployment platforms.
- Customization: The tool should be customizable to meet the specific needs of your organization.
- Cost: The tool should be cost-effective and provide a good return on investment.
Evaluating tool integrations and compatibility
When evaluating DevOps automation tools, consider how each one complements other systems you rely on. Take a look at these important reminders:
- APIs: Does the tool provide APIs for integrating with other tools and systems and sharing data across platforms?
- Pre-built integrations: Does the tool have pre-built or native integrations with popular tools and systems?
- Custom integrations: Can the tool be customized to integrate with specific tools and systems in your niche, or for an exact use case?
- Compatibility: Is the tool compatible with different operating systems, platforms, and devices?
By weighing these considerations, you can select DevOps automation tools that fit naturally into your workflows, boosting efficiency and making your processes run smoother and smarter.
Tie everything together with DuploCloud
Building and managing cloud-native applications has never been more exciting—or more achievable. But to unlock their full potential, seamless integration and flawless performance are non-negotiable. That’s where DuploCloud comes in.
DuploCloud empowers your team to take control like never before. Imagine provisioning infrastructure, managing compliance, and configuring your environment—all through a no-code/low-code interface that’s as intuitive as it is robust. And with 24/7 continuous monitoring, your team stays one step ahead, catching potential issues before they spiral into larger problems.
Ready to learn how DuploCloud can give your organization the tools to speed up deployment while reducing costs?
Contact us today for a free demo.
