Kobee foundation
The open Enterprise CI/CD solution to get your desired development and deployment process automated and under control
- companies using our solutions -
Kobee is the alternative to complex homegrown, incomplete or too specific solutions
Easy
Kobee is not your typical automation server or job runner that is dependent on 3d party plugins in order to work, instead it is a true CI/CD solution.
Reliable
Kobee is easy to set up because it integrates with your existing environment (Security system, Operating system, Databases) and is highy customizable and scalable.
Complete
Kobee provides default connectivity for the major Issue Tracking Systems and Version Control Repositories. It also provides the mechanics for toolchain orchestration.
Platform and environment independent
Kobee runs onLinux, Unix or Windows and supports different development environments. You can manage different projects (dsitributed, mainrfame,...) with the same application.
Easy customization through an open architecture
Every company has its own approach when it comes to developing software. Depending on the environment different workflows and tools are needed. Kobee simplifies the customization of the CI/CD process by using small flexible building blocks, callled Phases.
Phases are essential parts that are used to adapt the CI/CD framework to any development environment and can be considered as pre-defined, parameter-driven, packaged, reusable script containers.
Phases are responsible for:
- Executing the actions to automate the CI/CD process (or SDLC).
- Defining the workflow of the CI/CD processes.
Phases are imported into Kobee and allow further customization by exposing their parameters in the Kobee GUI which are editable to change the Phase behaviour, more specifically the Build and Deploy script parameters inside the Phase.
Phases are insertable at different hierarchical levels which provides an extra level of customization by using the principle of cascading order for parameters.
By using the Phases concept instead of monolithic scripts, Kobee is much more dynamic than most CI/CD solutions. Another benefit is that changing the CI/CD process is straightforward and no longer the work of experts.
Easy customization through open architecture
Core Phases provide basic functionality such as: VCR code retrieval, Code tagging, Issue Tracking integration, Artifact Building and Deploying, Compressing builds results, etc...
Solution Phases are certified pre-made Solution phases to support specific environments. Supported environments are:
- IBM z/OS mainframe
- Oracle ODI
Custom Phases can be used for any other action (database updates, 3d party tool integration... ). You can write your own Phases (using Ant, Nant, Maven or Gradle).
Further reading: Using and Developing Custom Phases
We support Jenkins through plugins
Our solution is also available to companies who already use the Jenkins automation server. We offer the same Kobee Build & Deploy functionality in the form of Jenkins plugins, however the Kobee solution offers more features, better usability and customization options.
There are a lot of differences. While Jenkins is basically an automation engine which can be used for CI/CD by installing extensions and using scripting for customization, Kobee is a dedicated CI/CD solution that delivers everything out of the box and doesn’t require scripting knowledge to set everything up.
In the long run moving from Jenkins to Kobee will save you time and money, thanks to its CI/CD by design nature and lower maintenance costs.
The list below contains the most important differences between Jenkins and Kobee.
 |
 |
|---|---|
| Core differences | |
| Enforces industry standards | No guidance |
| End user friendly | Requires CI/CD knowledge |
| Well documented | Depends on used plugins |
| Easy to customize | Requires programming skills |
| Default VCR integrations (incl. Code tagging) | Requires plugins |
| Default ITS (Issue Tracking System) integrations | Requires plugins |
| Unique workspace per build / Automatic cleanup | Single workspace for all builds / Manual cleanup |
| Approval management. / User Notifications | Requires plugins |
| Build archiving / Build History | Requires plugins / Only if Pipeline doesn’t change |
| Package and Release based projects | Release based only |
| Project dependencies | Requires plugins |
| Integrates with operational security system | Requires plugins |
| Reusable, parameter-driven Build and Deploy Phases | Scripts per pipeline, not reusable without modification |
| IBM z/OS specific differences | |
| Audit | Not available |
| Impact Analysis | Not available |
Antonio Motta - ICT infrastructure manager, RMA (Italy)
"Our goal was to have one product, that managed the whole build and deploy process for all the platforms we used to deliver our IT services.
We saved more than 2/3 on the software maintenance cost."
Jim McGrath - Data Warehouse Manager, Constellation Brands (USA)
"My internal team was excited about the possibilities your software offers and is anxious to hear next steps. Additionally, you should know that I have ensured my team knows the level of effort and support your team has provided.
It is hands down the best support I have seen from any vendor I’ve worked with."
Willy Mutsaerts - Technology Architect and Software asset management, P&V (Belgium)
"Kobee allowed us to modernize our mainframe development as we wanted to use an eclipse based development environment and needed to have a compatible life cycle management solution to replace our current mainframe only version control software.
And Kobee allowed us to interface with the mainframe and has extensive customization possibilities."
Watch Mr. Mutsaerts talk about Kobee:
Jerome Rouil - IT Team Manager, GMF COVEA group (France)
"We did a POC to verify if Kobee could support our different ways of deploying (on different types of platforms), our current way of doing development and the build and deploy scripts we were currently using.
Kobee allows us to work from everywhere, and to reuse existing scripts. We could use our existing security system (LDAP), SMTP for messaging and notifications.
We use Kobee for all our JAVA applications and SAS reporting that are deployed to 30 different locations"
Do you need more information
or do you want to talk about your current situation?
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