I implement this solution for clients.
The primary function of Bamboo is to facilitate the creation of a CI/CD pipeline, which is the main use case for the tool. Its main purpose is to automate the pipeline, enabling a DevOps approach for both the client and the company.
One of the significant benefits of Bamboo is its built-in support for numerous clients and the ability to tailor its capabilities to your specific requirements. This high level of customization enables you to create pipelines that are ideally suited to your needs, making it an invaluable tool for conducting advanced testing.
The marketplace offers a wide range of pre-tested connectors that are readily available for use in your builds. However, if you cannot find a suitable connector, Bamboo also supports the integration of APIs, allowing you to seamlessly incorporate custom solutions into your system.
One area that could be enhanced is the governance process, particularly with regard to building approvals and transitions between stages. In comparison to other solutions, such as Jira, which features a workflow that supports approval processes, this capability is not natively available in Bamboo. To implement this functionality, integration with other solutions, such as GSM may be necessary. Although some add-ons, such as Adaptavist ScriptRunner, are available in the market to circumvent this limitation, they may not offer the exact functionality needed. Therefore, there is certainly room for improvement in this area.
Currently, Atlassian University does not offer a dedicated course for learning Bamboo. If you wish to embark on a learning journey to acquire knowledge about the solution, your only recourse is to seek out experienced users who are willing to share their expertise on learning platforms like LinkedIn or Udemy. However, this falls short of a structured classroom-based approach, which Atlassian should consider incorporating into their official university platform to provide a comprehensive learning experience for users. However, there is a lot of documentation, but this is not the same as training.
This lack of training might be due to the focus that Atlassian has on the cloud platform rather than on-premise.
I have been using Bamboo for a couple of years.
Bamboo is highly stable, as long as the compatibility and upgrades of relevant libraries and dependencies remain untouched. It can become problematic if upgrades or updates are made to dependent libraries or other software. If, for example, Java is updated to an unsupported version, this needs to be communicated clearly to the customer. Such updates usually fall under the purview of security and operations teams, who check for patches and other necessary updates. These factors can have a significant impact on performance. However, overall, Bamboo performs very well and is highly robust.
I rate the stability of Bamboo an eight out of ten.
Bamboo is scalable and it is easy to do. Theoretically, you can add as many nodes as you want. You don't need to incur additional licenses for the additional nodes added which is a large benefit.
We have clients that are small to large-scale enterprises. However, most of our clients are enterprise-sized, such as government entities. Approximately 40 percent of our clients are SMBs and 60 percent are enterprises.
I rate the scalability of Bamboo a nine out of ten.
Improvement in Bamboo support is needed, particularly regarding security-related inquiries. Responses to security questionnaires required by the customer's security team are often delayed. However, regarding technical support, their responsiveness is generally good, depending on the severity of the issue. They can also provide direct support sessions when necessary. Nevertheless, our experiences vary when it comes to security, particularly from the PC side, where we typically face delays in obtaining answers to questionnaires provided by the customer's security team.
I rate the support from Bamboo a six out of ten.
Neutral
The complexity of implementing Bamboo varies based on the client's specific needs. Installing and obtaining basic information is simple, but building a pipeline can be more challenging. This task is typically handled by a DevOps engineer.
Unless requested by the client, the implementation would not be handled by the partner, which can be quite challenging.
The installation and configuration can be straightforward.
Excluding the pipeline, the full implementation can be done in two days.
Typically, the implementation process involves setting up the infrastructure and ensuring that all prerequisites are met, including the necessary platforms and versions compatible with Bamboo. The deployment complexity varies depending on whether it's done on Linux or Microsoft Windows OS. The deployment process on Microsoft Windows OS is relatively straightforward, requiring the installation of prerequisites and a supported DB server. If deployed on a PC, a shared network folder with the appropriate security access is also necessary. These steps are well-documented, making them easy to follow. Therefore, deployment is not overly challenging. However, configuring the system from within can be more complicated.
I rate the initial setup from Bamboo a seven out of ten.
My advice is that if you intend to implement Bamboo, you should consider it as part of a complete DevOps solution. You must think about the other applications natively integrated with it, such as Jira, JSM, and Bitbucket. Bamboo's true power is realized when it is combined with these other solutions from the Atlassian suite. In this way, you can achieve much better value.
I rate Bamboo an eight out of ten.
I provided my rating of Bamboo based on its strong scalability and overall quality. While its support could be better, its performance is quite robust. However, there is a learning curve to understand how to set it up, making it challenging for new users. Nevertheless, for experienced DevOps engineers, it is pretty straightforward to set up.
