Posts Tagged ‘Software Configuration Management’

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Why Would Anyone use Git in their Enterprise?

January 26th, 2012 by thinds
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The secret’s out – AccuRev is releasing a seamless security and compliance related solution for the Git community called Kando on January 31st. To get a first look at Kando, register here for the webinar on 1/31/2012, at 1:00 PM EST.

You might be asking yourself, “Why in the world would a company focused on providing software development tools to enterprise organizations with mission-critical software development environments produce a solution for an open source version control tool?” I’ll tell you!

Git is increasing in popularity among developers working in small groups or collaborating on open source projects. It’s fast, flexible, and full of developer-friendly features. Git is a great tool for these smaller and more social types of development projects, and based on discussions about Git with customers, prospects, and analysts, it’s clear that there are more cases of enterprise organizations trying to use Git.

But poke around a few blogs, or read a few articles that discuss the use of Git in an enterprise environment, and I’m sorry, but you will uncover a few issues. As one article in BCW discussed, “Git is a version control system with an attitude of collaboration and sharing. There is practically no way you can enforce a specific pattern of access and sharing. If the people who’re using Git don’t want to follow your rules, the tool is not going to help you much.” Let’s be realistic – Linus didn’t originally design Git for use in an enterprise environment!

So, in which cases do enterprise organizations actually use Git?

1. Android Development

If you want to make changes to Android, you’re going to need Git. It’s unavoidable. This means any company creating mobile devices running on Android and working with Android source files has a real business need to use Git.

2. Linux Development

Same as with Android, if your company has a need to make changes to the the Linux kernel, you are going to need Git. Even if you don’t use Git when making those changes, you’ll eventually have to get them into Git.

3. Working with 3rd Party Vendors or Outsourced Teams Using Git

Similar to the Android and Linux situation, if you’re working with 3rd party vendors or outsourced teams who require that you merge your changes into their Git repository, you may be forced to use scripts or bridges to get your changes from your SCM into Git or vice versa, and that’s not a small task.

4. All of Your Developers Love Git

Let’s face it – Git has a cult-like following in the development community. Developers love Git because it’s fast, distributed, flexible, fairly easy to learn, and has a ton of developer-friendly features. It’s developed by developers for developers. Even if you understand the issues Git has with scaling in enterprise environments, it’s difficult to avoid Git when lots of your developers are pushing you to switch.

 

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Posted in AccuRev, Best Practices, enterprise, Software Configuration Management, Software Tools, version control

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Buying Software Tools is like Buying New Sneakers for Your Development Team

December 16th, 2011 by clucca
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sneaks Buying Software Tools is like Buying New Sneakers for Your Development TeamSCM tools have a profound effect on the day to day life of a developer. These types of systems have either helped or hindered development teams deliver software. SCM systems are like the “hub” of a development team. It’s where teams artifact important work, integrate changes, save important ideas and add features for customers. It’s the center of our development universe!

It’s all about the developers. They need to be free to innovate and get changes out the door quickly. But they can’t if they are stifled by tools that get in the way. Tools need to be able to ENHANCE the software development process. Many people think that source control is just a place to checkin / checkout code. But it’s more than that, it’s where the software development process comes to life. If the SCM system isn’t up to the task of a complex development process, developers can’t innovate.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand that you have a tooling problem, even if it’s staring you in the face. Think of an old pair of trusty sneakers that you have at your house. We all have a pair, they are many years old, beat-up, dirty, torn… but we still wear them. Our feet hurt when we wear them, but for some reason we refuse to get rid of these old sneakers. Until one day (usually after a sprained toe) we decide to buy a brand new pair and after a little breaking in… WOW our feet feel great! Why did I keep the other pair so long?

Software tools are often like this, there is an “if it ain’t broke (too much), don’t fix it” attitude. We often keep tools too long after their expiration date. You’ll hear it from your development team, moaning about the pains of merging code, switching workspaces, checking out … it’s enough to make you cringe. But still we don’t change. Your old SCM is the sneaker, and collectively as a group you and your team have a hard time recognizing when your feet hurt.

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Posted in Best Practices, SCM, Software Configuration Management, Software Tools, version control

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The Holiday Season is Already Here for Software Development Teams in the Travel Industry

September 30th, 2011 by AccuRev
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The holidays are still several months away, but for software development teams in the travel industry, Snowflake The Holiday Season is Already Here for Software Development Teams in the Travel Industrythe “hustle and bustle” of the season is already here.

If you think about the ways you make your business or personal travel plans today, you’ll begin to appreciate the increasingly complex software development challenges travel websites present – and the importance of advanced SCM tools.

Just 10 or 15 years ago, many of us were still making travel arrangements through an agent – on the phone or in-person.  We may have gone online to check out a hotel and moved to another site to check on flights – and yet another to rent a car.

Today, travel websites like Kayak and Orbitz bring together all these consumer options and more – and others include frequent flyer miles, preferred guest points and other information related to our travel plans, often involving outside partners.  All of these variables are changing rapidly and are updated dynamically and in real time on travel websites.  This places greater demands on software development teams – teams that are increasingly distributed across multiple time zones and locations.

Also important to note is that the changes and updates these teams are called on to make are increasingly “business-critical.” A software glitch or a site crash can result in major revenue losses, not to mention the residual consumer frustration and damage to the brand.

More variables, more frequent updates and a more business-critical focus — now magnify all this during the many times of peak travel or weather-related interruptions and one begins to understand why more advanced SCM tools are required in the travel industry today.

Basic software development tools may have been fine for some organizations in travel — smaller airlines or hotels with more basic informational web sites that aren’t designed to process high volume reservations and transactions.  But such basic sites are becoming a rarity in the travel industry, leading more and more travel and hospitality businesses to turn to more advanced software development solutions.

AccuRev’s SCM solutions are designed to handle today’s most complex software development challenges, which explains the growth we’re seeing in travel and hospitality business customers.

So when the holidays draw near and you go online to book a hotel, schedule a flight or rent a car, you can thank all of those software developers that have been working hard behind the scenes to make sure the site is up and running 24/7.

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Posted in AccuRev, Requirements, SCM Resources, version control

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