Continuous configuration automation (CCA) tools enable the description of configuration states, customization of settings, software binaries deployment, and configuration state reporting. These tools are a programmable framework on which configuration and provisioning tasks can be codified, versioned and managed like any other piece of application code — frequently known as 'infrastructure as code.' Many of the tools in the market provide a repository to store and manage configuration content but can be integrated with or use (code) revision control systems in use by application development teams. System administrators and application developers use CCA tools to programmatically manage the configurations of applications, servers, middleware, databases and other IT infrastructure for both on-premises and cloud data centre environments. Most CCA tools have both an open-source and commercial offering.
Gartner defines DevOps platforms as those that provide fully integrated and orchestrated capabilities to enable continuous delivery of software using agile and DevOps practices. The capabilities span the development and delivery life cycle built around the continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, including planning, creation, artifact management, security, quality engineering, change management, compliance, environment management, deployment and monitoring. DevOps platforms support team collaboration, consistency, tool simplification and measurement of software delivery metrics. They are delivered primarily as cloud-hosted services with some options for on-premises deployment. DevOps platforms simplify the creation, maintenance and management of the components required for the delivery of various types of modern software. Platforms create common workflows and data models, simplify user access, provide production-like development and test environments, and provide a consistent user experience (UX) to reduce cognitive load. They lead to improved visibility, auditability and traceability for the software delivery value stream. This end-to-end view encourages a systems-thinking mindset and accelerates feedback loops. Organizations use DevOps platforms to minimize tool friction resulting from complex toolchains, manual handoffs and lack of consistent visibility throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC). This enables product teams to deliver faster customer value without compromising quality. The DevOps platforms market reflects the consolidation of technologies across development, security, infrastructure and operations to streamline software delivery.