Diving into DevOps

CollabNet and VersionOne Merger Combines DevOps and Agile Expertise

The two companies expect the combined organization to "set a new standard for integrated software delivery," and give them a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving DevOps marketplace.

• By John K. Waters
• August 8, 2017

CollabNet and VersionOne yesterday announced the completion of a merger that will lead to the integration of their product lines into "unified Agile and DevOps platforms." The two companies expect the combined organization to "set a new standard for integrated software delivery," and give them a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving DevOps marketplace.

The combined organization will operate under the CollabNet name and will be headquartered in Atlanta, the companies said in a statement. Current CollabNet CEO Flint Brenton will continue in that role, and VersionOne CEO Robert Holler will serve as chief strategy officer.

Both companies already offered DevOps and Agile solutions, which industry watcher increasingly agree are a natural combination. But CollabNet has a stronger history in enterprise version control and ALM, while VersionOne has a well-established enterprise Agile business. Both companies recently, and independently, began moving into the DevOps space. Joining forces supports the companies' shared vision that Agile and DevOps are interconnected practices that need to be managed with a single mindset and tool stack, Holler told me.

"We've both been going down our respective paths for 10 or 15 years," Holler said. "We took the Agile path and CollabNet took the traditional software development path. And we've both recently headed down the DevOps path. At the end of the day it just made sense for use to make this trip together."

There's likely to be some overlap in their product and services catalogs, but Holler insisted the two companies' technologies are largely complementary: VersionOne brings the release orchestration and management piece; CollabNet brings release automation, plus event monitoring, and operational and event management.

"This will be about the integration of an open solution that can work with our two companies' products," Holler said. "But also, one that can work with the swirl of products in this very fragmented tool soup we see out there today."

The companies' technologies won't be fully integrated overnight, Holler allowed, but he promised a seamless transition for existing customers as that process continues over several months. He also pointed to some near-term "solution synergies" among the companies' existing products, including:

• TeamForge and VersionOne ALM Connect gives TeamForge customers visibility and traceability of the flow of data and artifacts across ALM tools, including VersionOne Lifecycle .
• TeamForge and VersionOne Continuum gives TeamForge customers the ability to automatically package and deploy applications, and to provide visibility and traceability across the continuous delivery pipeline.
• VersionOne Lifecycle and TeamForge SCM provides VersionOne Lifecycle customers with enterprise-grade, Web-based code review and source control management capabilities .
• VersionOne Continuum and CollabNet DLM provides both product customers with value stream monitoring, measuring, tool chain orchestration, traceability, and lean performance management metrics and KPIs.

CollabNet upped its DevOps game late last year with a new product (DevOps Lifecycle Manager--DLM) and a partnership with Clarive Software, a Spain-based provider of DevOps software and services. The Brisbane, Calif.-based company was acquired in 2014 by Vector Capital.