Highlights:

  • Harness offers a platform that simplifies the adoption of CI/CD for developers.
  • Armory’s platform simplifies workflows, allowing developers to create straightforward scripts for continuous deployment in specific application projects.

Harness Inc., a well-funded startup focused on developer productivity, has recently revealed its acquisition of the assets of competitor Armory Inc.

It was disclosed that the all-cash deal is valued at approximately USD 7 million. Armory had previously secured over USD 82 million in funding from investors such as Y Combinator, Insight Partners, and other institutional backers.

Founder and Chief Executive of Harness, Jyoti Bansal, said, “We view this acquisition as a testament to our commitment to the developer community and to simplifying and improving the developer experience.”

In the past, enterprise developers would typically release new features for their software every few weeks or months. However, certain cloud applications undergo updates several times daily in the current landscape. This increased release frequency is facilitated by a code management methodology called CI/CD, which stands for continuous integration and continuous deployment.

Harness offers a platform designed to simplify the adoption of CI/CD for developers. Traditionally, implementing this methodology involves deploying a complex array of open-source tools, requiring a substantial investment of time and effort from software teams. Harness’ platform comes with prepackaged CI/CD features, which it claims are notably easier to set up.

A CI/CD workflow consists of two primary stages. The first is continuous integration, involving the integration of a newly developed software update into the application’s codebase. The second step is continuous deployment, which releases the updated code into production.

Harness’ platform offers capabilities for overseeing both stages. The recently acquired Armory specializes in a more focused developer productivity tool, primarily designed to automate the continuous deployment process, which is the second step in the CI/CD workflow.

It can be challenging to make sure a continuous deployment pipeline functions consistently. Before deploying new code, developers must write scripts to check it for vulnerabilities, performance problems, and other problems. Software teams also need to be able to quickly roll back problematic code files in case they manage to evade detection and reach production.

The platform from Armory claims to streamline the process. With the software, developers can create a script that outlines the steps for implementing continuous deployment in a specific application project. From there, Armory uses the script to automatically create a code deployment pipeline.

The platform also claims to simplify several associated tasks. Before being put into production, newly created code files can be scanned by Armory for known vulnerabilities. The platform also has features that make software updates in Kubernetes environments easier to release.

After the recent acquisition, Harness intends to keep assisting current Armory customers with their platform deployments. Armory’s clients include Autodesk Inc., Informatica Corp., and other significant tech companies. Harness will also look into ways to incorporate Armory’s technology into its CI/CD platform.