Optimizing Cloud Infrastructure Deployments: A Comparative Analysis of Release Automation Tools and their Impact on DevOps Practices and Business Agility

Abstract

Cloud infrastructure has become the backbone of modern IT services, offering unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. Release automation tools have emerged as critical enablers of cloud infrastructure deployments, particularly in DevOps environments, where speed and consistency in deployment are essential. This study presents a comparative analysis of various release automation tools, examining their impact on DevOps practices and business agility. The research focuses on the influence of tools like Jenkins, Ansible, Kubernetes, and Chef in automating deployment workflows, improving integration processes, and enhancing collaboration between development and operations teams. Through an empirical study involving 25 organizations from diverse sectors such as e-commerce, finance, and healthcare, this research explores how the adoption of these tools has influenced deployment times, system reliability, and the overall agility of businesses in managing cloud infrastructure. The findings highlight that while all tools contribute significantly to DevOps workflows, each offers unique strengths, with Jenkins and Kubernetes being particularly effective for large-scale deployments and real-time monitoring. The study also reveals how automation tools directly impact business agility, enhancing the speed at which organizations can respond to market demands, scale services, and deliver new features. The research concludes by offering strategic recommendations for organizations looking to optimize their cloud infrastructure deployments using release automation tools, with an emphasis on aligning tool selection with organizational goals, project size, and deployment complexity