When it comes to big companies, here’s the truth: manual release management is dead. With the speed and complexity of modern systems, trying to push software manually is a recipe for failure. Without automation, you’ll crash and burn.
However, small and mid-sized companies often underestimate release automation, thinking manual processes save costs. That might work at first, but as your business grows, manual releases quickly become a costly burden, creating inefficiencies that stifle progress.
Without automation, each release demands manual work—copying files, running scripts, and checking configurations. This might be manageable at first, but as your product grows, so does the complexity. Errors pile up, creating a cycle of fixes and new issues. Instead of innovating, your team is stuck firefighting, while clients face unstable applications, leading to dissatisfaction and loss of trust.
This is a common trap for small and mid-sized companies. By neglecting release automation, inefficiencies become ingrained in the system, amplifying as the business grows. Each manual release process slows down innovation, adds risk, and diverts valuable resources.
One great way for small businesses to adopt release automation without incurring additional costs is by leveraging tools like GitHub Actions and AWS CloudFormation. GitHub Actions integrates directly with your repository, automating the entire build, test, and deployment pipeline. Meanwhile, AWS CloudFormation lets you manage your infrastructure as code, making deployments fast, repeatable, and error-free. In most cases, these tools come at no extra cost since they’re already part of the platforms you use.
While automation might seem like something reserved for “big players,” it’s equally important—if not more so—for small and mid-sized companies. The sooner you embrace it, the more agile and competitive you will become as you grow. Don’t let manual processes slow you down. Automate your release management now and set yourself on the path to sustainable success.
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