What is our primary use case?
We use Ansible for infrastructure code. We also use CloudFormation.
Ansible provides a central solution for automation for our customers.
We deploy this solution on AWS. We are a cloud company so that is why we don't have anything on-premises. We prefer a cloud approach, and we have almost everything in GCP or in AWS. The solution hasn't required us to change our existing infrastructure. We are using the server version 17. We use Ansible plus Ansible Tower, which is Ansible AWS.
The solution is user-friendly for our staff, although some activities are unique and are not being repeated several times, so we need to do those things manually.
How has it helped my organization?
We have around 25 people doing this same job. Before using this solution, we had more than 100 people for the same amount of work. This solution has definitely helped us to reduce and optimize our efforts.
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable features is automation. We are doing automation infrastructure, which allows us to automate regular tasks. This solution provides us with a service catalog, like building new services and automating daily tasks.
The language is very intuitive. The solution is easy to learn. The solution enables us to deliver incrementally. We are able to expand this facility by implementing more templates and using them digitally.
We are an international company, so we use this solution with a collaborative approach internationally.
The solution enables us to enforce the same security settings, so it's quite easy to maintain. There can be human mistakes, which can make security unreliable, so that is why we prefer this security policy.
What needs improvement?
We would like support for the post-integration of this product before cloud frameworks because right now their approach is to avoid using on-premises activities and move everything to the cloud. This is why we choose Ansible, but we would like Ansible to stay as close as possible to recent trends coming through AWS, for instance. We have a chance to automate those processes by using Ansible, so there is interoperability of those products.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution since 2015.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
The solution has reduced the amount of downtime for users. It can automate some maintenance activities, which are out of operating time. If those activities can be automated, that can dramatically reduce downtime. If those activities can't be re-automated, then it's semi-automated, which would mean human effort plus automation together. In general, yes, we can automate maintenance or downtime activities, but that depends on the input for this. If there is some sort of disaster, then there would be a different approach.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is very good, especially from Red Hat.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used Red Hat Satellite and Red Hat CloudFormation.
CloudFormation is like a showcase of our service catalogs. We provide that to our customers. It's tightly integrated with Ansible and frameworks. The customer can choose from the service catalog, and if it's automated, the customer can see how much it was from a cost point of view. CloudFormation reduces work activities on the ground.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was complex.
To deploy everything from the Red Hat portfolio took one week per customer.
Our strategy combines very closely with cloud, which is why our approach is complex. We are trying to persuade and migrate customers to the cloud, AWS, or GCP, and as an additional value, we can automate and more or less migrate it to an environment to bring new approaches and make this cloud solution beneficial to customers.
What was our ROI?
Yes. We saw ROI three or four years after implementing the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You don't need to buy agents on servers or deploy expense management when using the solution, which affected our decision to go with it.
We also bought this solution because it was better than some competitors, like Puppet and Chef, and because of the automation.
It has helped our organization save time when it comes to service deployment, moves, and updates. We used to have 120 employees, and now we have just 25 for the same amount of activities.
What other advice do I have?
I would give this solution 10 out of 10.
The lesson I've learned is that automation is the way because without automation, it's quite impossible right now to maintain a very large environment, especially in public clouds like AWS or GCP.
We're quite unique because we use the public cloud environment together with one product.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.