Having Problems Deploying Your SoftwareAG webMethods Projects? – The Hidden Reason Why
Managing change within the SDLC for enterprise applications like webMethods is actually a very complex challenge which requires it’s own specialized solution. Deployment is just one step in the overall process. However, folks are still trying to use scripts to manage the end-to-end process. Scripts have their place. They are great for simple, easily repeatable processes. However, if the requirement is to manage a complex process, a software solution is really required.
At CrossVista, some of the complaints we hear most often from prospective customers tend to focus on deployment. They generally take the form of…
- “I can’t tell if a deployment completed correctly.”
- “There is no clear audit trail.”
- “We deployed the wrong stuff accidentally.”
- “It takes a long time to deploy.”
- “I have trouble doing a rollback… or confirming that it took place.
Basically, a bunch of questions about “deployment”. Now, here’s the funny thing… SoftwareAG provides tools that can handle virtually any of the above “deployment” scenarios just fine. So, if that’s true, then why are folks coming to CrossVista saying they have problems deploying?
What people do not realize is that their problems with “deployment” have absolutely nothing to do with the “physical act of deployment”.
The problems instead have everything to do with what happens upstream in your SDLC and how you manage change throughout the SDLC… regardless of your development model (i.e. Agile, CI, Waterfall, etc). Issues with the final production deployment are only a symptom of change management problems that can occur throughout your SDLC.
Regardless of the tooling used to manage your SDLC… and regardless of the technology you are managing (in this case SoftwareAG webMethods), your basic SDLC requires the following:
- You need a way to easily check your changes into version control for organization and tracking purposes.
- You need a way to easily track your changes within the context of an overall project baseline.
- You need a way to easily propagate (both code and config) changes into a test environment in an organized and consistent fashion.
- You need a way to easily repeat the move of (both code and config) changes to production.
- You need a way to easily manage your process, rollback, and rework when things go wrong.
- You need a way to easily know when things have gone wrong and to be able to rectify them.
The above is by no means a complete list but they are the first few things that come to mind. Now, since we’re focusing on SoftwareAG webMethods in this blog post, you might say, well… aren’t I doing all of this? The answer is probably both “yes” and “no”.
This is not SoftwareAG’s problem.
In more recent time, it has become trendy to use script automation tools (like Jenkins, IBM UrbanCode, etc) to manage and execute deployment scripts. However, those tools also tend to gloss over how much time and effort go into managing the scripts themselves. The demos are usually fantastic. You typically see a beautiful rich GUI executing a pre-existing streamlined process with various “adapters”. It looks effortless. (They skip over that the various adapters are basically just a bunch of custom scripts which in turn require a knowledgeable expert to create, edit, and update for each project… and each deployment.) These script automation tools are actually a great way to organize and execute several easily repeatable processes. We even have customers that leverage them to execute CrossVista processes… but those script automation tools are not sufficient to manage a complex SDLC for enterprise applications. Point is, the complexity of the challenge calls out for a software solution to manage the end-to-end SDLC for enterprise apps like SoftwareAG webMethods. All for the same reasons you no longer build point-to-point integrations.
You invested in a Ferrari like SoftwareAG webMethods because it allows you to more easily build complex solutions. Don’t drive it around using a tow truck of scripts.
Please visit www.crossvista.com or www.scriptlessdevops.com if you would like to learn more.CrossVista provides a “Scriptless” DevOps solution for enterprise applications that manages change across the SDLC from Development through Production Deployment and everywhere in-between. The scriptless engine is integrated with technologies such as IBM IIB, MQ and WAS, SoftwareAG’s webMethods platform, Informatica’s PowerCenter, Salesforce.com, databases, file based systems, and more. The engine eliminates the need for complex scripts normally required to support these technologies… no more writing a bunch of scripts to manage your processes.
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!