2020’s Best DevOps Tools by Category – From CI/CD to Collaboration

Introduction

DevOps integrates development, testing, deployment, runtime, and collaboration into a continuous delivery pipeline. Selecting appropriate tools for each stage is essential for building a reliable CI/CD workflow.

Tool Categories

Development and Build

Automation Testing

Deployment

Runtime (X‑as‑a‑Service, Orchestration, Monitoring, Logging)

Collaboration

Development and Build Tools

SCM + CI: GitLab & GitLab‑CI

GitLab provides a unified Git repository, CI runner, and package management in a single platform. The free tier includes all core features and supports both SaaS and on‑premises deployments.

Key technical advantages

Integrated CI runs builds in disposable Docker containers, eliminating the need for external build agents.

Native support for Git‑based workflows; CI pipelines are defined in .gitlab-ci.yml placed at the repository root.

Extensible via open‑source core and optional paid extensions.

Stable product since 2013 with long‑term support.

Typical competitors

GitHub (SaaS SCM, limited on‑prem HA and older CI features).

Jenkins (CI engine only, requires separate SCM).

Bitbucket + Bamboo (two products needed to match GitLab’s integrated feature set).

Database Version‑Control: FlywayDB

Flyway automates schema migrations by storing versioned SQL scripts. Migrations can be executed as a standalone binary or invoked from application startup, ensuring database schema stays in sync with application code.

Technical benefits

Version‑controlled migrations with easy forward and backward roll‑backs.

Supports command‑line execution and Java API integration.

Alternatives

Liquibase (similar feature set).

Flocker (container‑focused, limited applicability).

Automation Testing Tools

Integration Testing / BDD: Cucumber

Cucumber combines executable specifications with test code, enabling Behaviour‑Driven Development (BDD). It integrates with Selenium WebDriver for web UI automation.

Key technical advantages

Specifications are written in Gherkin language, producing living documentation.

Broad language support (Java, JavaScript, Ruby, etc.) and strong community backing.

Alternatives

Other BDD frameworks (e.g., SpecFlow, Behave) but Cucumber offers the most language‑agnostic implementation.

API Functional Testing: SoapUI Pro

SoapUI Pro provides a mature framework for testing SOAP and REST APIs. Test suites can be integrated into CI pipelines and executed headlessly.

Technical benefits

Extensive documentation and a visual test editor.

Supports data‑driven testing, security scans, and load testing extensions.

Alternatives

Selenium (UI‑focused, not API‑centric).

Load Testing: LoadRunner

LoadRunner supports a wide range of protocols (ODBC, AJAX, HTTPS, etc.) for performance testing under realistic load conditions.

Technical benefits

Rich protocol support reduces the need for multiple specialized tools.

Comprehensive reporting and analysis features.

Deployment Tools

Artifact Repository: Nexus Repository Manager

Nexus stores binaries for Java, NPM, Docker, and other formats, providing proxy caching for remote repositories and fine‑grained access control.

Technical advantages

Stable, long‑term support with an open‑source core.

Supports component lifecycle management and security scanning integrations.

Configuration Management: Ansible

Ansible uses agent‑less, YAML‑based playbooks to provision and configure stateless, cloud‑native environments.

Technical benefits

Runs from the control node, requiring no agents on target hosts.

Modules for cloud providers, containers, and OS packages.

Integrates with Molecule for playbook testing.

Alternatives

Chef (requires a Chef server, less suited for immutable infrastructure).

Puppet (strong for bare‑metal, limited native cloud support).

Infrastructure‑as‑Code: Terraform

Terraform defines cloud, on‑prem, and hybrid resources as declarative code (HCL). A large provider ecosystem enables management of most major platforms.

Technical benefits

Cloud‑agnostic: the same configuration works across AWS, Azure, GCP, OpenStack, etc.

State management and plan preview prevent unintended changes.

Alternative

AWS CloudFormation (AWS‑only, slower feature parity).

Runtime DevOps Tools

Cloud Platform (X‑as‑a‑Service): Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS offers a broad portfolio of compute, storage, networking, and managed services with a generous free tier for experimentation.

Key technical benefits

Industry‑standard APIs and SDKs for all major languages.

Extensive documentation and tooling (CLI, CloudFormation, CDK).

Container Orchestration: OpenShift

OpenShift builds on Kubernetes, adding Source‑to‑Image (S2I) builds, integrated CI/CD pipelines, and out‑of‑the‑box security policies.

Technical advantages

Built‑in authentication, role‑based access control, and image scanning.

All‑in‑one platform: container runtime, registry, CI/CD, and monitoring.

Observability: New Relic

New Relic provides SaaS‑based full‑stack monitoring, including APM, infrastructure, containers, databases, and end‑user experience.

Technical benefits

Unified UI for cross‑layer visibility.

Automatic instrumentation for many runtimes.

Log Aggregation: Splunk

Splunk offers both SaaS and on‑premise deployments for indexing, searching, and visualising log data at scale.

Technical benefits

Rich query language ( SPL ) for complex correlation.

Extensive ecosystem of apps and integrations.

Collaboration Tools

Issue Tracking: Jira

Jira provides agile boards, sprint management, and extensive integrations with CI/CD and monitoring tools.

Technical advantages

Customizable workflows and permission schemes.

Native REST API for automation and reporting.

ChatOps: Mattermost

Mattermost is an open‑source, self‑hosted alternative to Slack, offering full control over data and compatibility with Slack‑based bots.

Technical benefits

Deployable on‑prem or in private clouds.

API compatible with Slack integrations.

Documentation: Confluence

Confluence provides a hosted or self‑managed wiki with a plugin ecosystem for technical documentation, versioning, and permission control.

Technical advantages

Rich editor with macros for diagrams, tables, and code snippets.

Granular access controls and integration with Jira.