{"id":658092,"date":"2013-05-15T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T13:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=645458"},"modified":"2013-05-15T09:00:56","modified_gmt":"2013-05-15T13:00:56","slug":"want-to-let-users-test-drive-your-server-apps-devops-outfit-comodit-has-a-button-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/658092","title":{"rendered":"Want to let users test-drive your server apps? Devops outfit ComodIT has a button for you."},"content":{"rendered":"

ComodIT, the Belgian cloud management startup that\u2019s targeting enterprise devops<\/a> with its automated virtual machine provisioning and configuration product, just released a rather handy tool for developers and users of server-based applications. It\u2019s a \u201cdirect install\u201d button that \u00a0developers can put on their website, allowing the user to either easily install the app on their existing on-premise or cloud server, or to test-drive it for free in a cloud-based ComodIT VM.<\/p>\n

The feature can already be seen in ComodIT\u2019s own application store<\/a> and on the website of lifestreaming platform Storytlr<\/a>, but is now available for anyone to use. In effect, it makes the installation of server-based apps a lot more like that of mobile apps \u2013 an almost<\/em> one-click experience that even allows users to \u201cshare\u201d the apps in question on Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n

\"comodit_team_september2012\"<\/a>\u201cYou can embed the application \u2013 just copy and paste [a few lines of Javascript] and put it on your website. You add the direct install blue button and you allow anyone to install that application directly from your website,\u201d ComodIT CEO Daniel Bartz told me.<\/p>\n

Bartz suggested this approach would overcome the traditional open-source server software installation experience, which sometimes involves multi-page tutorials. The test-drive aspect is pretty neat too: when that option is chosen, ComodIT basically installs and runs the app for a free 100 minutes in an Amazon EC2 micro instance.<\/p>\n

It makes marketing a bit easier for developers and of course it steers people towards ComodIT\u2019s own distribution platform and wider services. As Bartz explained:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen you click \u2018direct install\u2019, in fact you connect to ComodIT and you create a server on which you will install an OS and all the things that have to be done for installing applications. We\u2019re automating the manual procedure \u2013 we do this like we do for any other pieces of ComodIT following the devops approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind the scenes, we\u2019re activating recipes for deployments. Within your ComodIT account you have access to all the recipes and descriptions that you usually have. The next step is deploying the application not only for testing but also for production, with all the ComodIT features like autoscaling and autobackup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bring the user onto the platform and, as we have a business model based on the number of servers you\u2019re managing with ComodIT, if you have more users installing the application through the direct install button, we\u2019re a happy provider.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a smart idea and one that could give ComodIT a boost as it competes with the likes of Opscode<\/a> and Puppet Labs<\/a> (see disclosure) for devops\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n

ComodIT was a finalist in our Structure:Europe LaunchPad competition last year. This year\u2019s Structure:Europe<\/a> will take place in London from 18-19 September and, if you can\u2019t wait until then for a high-level get-together around cloud automation and other such topics, don\u2019t forget that our San Francisco Structure event<\/a> is coming up on 19-20 June, too.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a video explaining how ComodIT\u2019s direct install button works:<\/p>\n