Today's fast-changing market challenges companies to release software on time and within budget. The rapid pace of innovation and technological change means today's plans are often out of date as soon as they are created. Against this backdrop, discipline-centric teams, often geographically remote from one another, struggle to communicate, let alone move applications into production. Automated tools by themselves cannot meet these challenges.
By using IBM® UrbanCode Release you can lay the track between pre-production and production and reliably run releases down the track. The release train can be provisioned by any type of rolling stock (automated, manual, and ad hoc processes), and carry any type of freight. The release train's predictable schedule drives the release process. By using IBM UrbanCode Release you can integrate and synchronize team-based planning to arrive at a clear, open, and transparent plan. All stakeholders know the schedule and key milestones, and can be assured that the releases depart on schedule and arrive on time.
As with any process that occurs over time, unforeseen events happen. With IBM UrbanCode Release you can identify problems as soon as they occur, accommodate unexpected events, and determine which features can be deferred until the next train leaves. IBM UrbanCode Release's real-time feedback means that plans can be refined and rescoped to handle unforeseen issues as they arise.
IBM UrbanCode Release's web-based front end ensures that the real-time collaboration between teams, which is the key to successful releases, is easy and intuitive, and makes long brutal releases a thing of the past. IBM UrbanCode Release provides complete visibility into every facet of the software release lifecycle, which is essential for predictable, and stable software deliveries.
IBM UrbanCode Release can coordinate multiple deployments in any combination: deployments running concurrently with one another; deployments dependent on the output or status of other deployments. Dependencies can be ordered and coordinated with middleware and networks. With IBM UrbanCode Release you can use current processes by interleaving manual tasks with automated process, and provides integration with tools such as IBM UrbanCode Deploy and IBM UrbanCode Build.
Capturing the differences between release artifacts and processes is the basis for auditing and compliance reporting. IBM UrbanCode Release's tools capture and log all activities throughout the release cycle, from pre-production through production. Key metrics are available for: compliance, governance, data aggregation and reporting, auditing/logging, and version/change control. In short, you can determine project status at any point and measure every aspect of the release cycle.
A partial list of features include the following items:
Real-time collaboration unites release teams with centralized task coordination and execution
Web-based front end provides comprehensive picture of current, past, and future releases
Template-driven release design
Extensive and open plug-in system provides integration with most popular third-party tools
Flexible team- and role-based security system
Built-in integration with IBM UrbanCode Deploy and IBM UrbanCode Build