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Published on: April 2008
Type of content: WHITE PAPER
Format: Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Length: 5 pages
Price: FREE

Overview:
The pinnacle of the software development process is the successful deployment of the newly developed or updated application to the end user systems. Botched deployments can sabotage even the best developed software. Successful release of software requires analysis, planning and implementation across a variety of departments, lines and business and contacts. When developers are geographically dispersed or multiple systems are involved, deployment becomes that much more complex. Adherence to a common roadmap or structured methodology is key to successful distribution of application updates.

Software distribution is the process of putting software into use or action, improving productivity and ROI. Deployment generally consists of three stages:

preparing for release,
releasing the application to operations and support and
releasing the application to the user community.

Graduating from Manual Deployment Methods.

Many organizations still use labor-intensive manual software installation methods. Manual distribution consists of an administrator walking to each computer to install an application. Or, valuable developer time is used to write and maintain scripts to perform distribution. These methods might be the right choice for firms with a few dozen employees, but as an organization grows, it becomes unmanageable and costly. Companies must simplify the management of highly distributed packages and track and monitor the files.

Performing proper installations manually can prove daunting. Enterprises must document each installation procedure step-by-step to ensure that application installations are consistent and follow proper approval chains. They also need to create a method to either manage setup CDs or to store the setup files in shared folders. And finally, it can take developers a great deal of time to write and maintain deployment scripts. For these reasons, manual installation makes little sense.

Manual deployment is complex and tedious. However, deployment can be automated in a fairly straightforward way, with structured, repeatable processes.