Eliminating Manual Work: USAF’s Journey to Deployment Automation

Challenge

The USAF faced considerable manual work when deploying and maintaining its Microsoft Active Directory solution. The process involved building, modifying, and re-using scripts in various languages, such as PowerShell, JSON, and YAML. Without automation the static variables contained in these scripts required manual customization for each target device and system, engineers spent a lot of time manually editing them, resulting in inconsistent processes across the organization.

Deployment automation was essential as it was clear that the manual editing was inefficient, and there was a deeper need to standardize processes. Individual engineers often create custom automation solutions to streamline their work. While effective in the short term, these unique solutions tend to cause process drift and inconsistency over time, costing organizations both time and money. This problem is ubiquitous across the IT industry but was particularly acute for the Air Force, where frequent personnel turnover made it imperative to have standardized processes. Without standardization, the departure of an engineer typically means losing the custom solutions they had built, requiring an organization to start from scratch and invest additional resources to recreate lost processes.

Our Answer

The USAF sought to eliminate manual tasks, standardize processes, reduce errors, and accelerate deployment speed. Arganteal provided a deployment automation solution that captured effective scripts, built libraries for variable substitution, and created standardized workflows. This platform for storing and standardizing workflows enabled the USAF to address process drift and talent loss.

With Arganteal’s deployment automation solution, scripts that were once scattered across various repositories (GitHub, BitBucket, engineer laptops) were captured, organized, and stored for future use. Utilizing Arganteal’s ADepT platform, the creation of standardized and automated workflows with reusable scripts sped up deployments and reduced required resources by up to 90%.

This strategic approach ensured that the organization’s investment in talent was retained over time and allowed solutions to be used across teams and tasks. In an environment like the Air Force, where personnel turnover is frequent, it significantly reduced the time needed for onboarding new resources. New personnel could quickly leverage existing workflows and solutions. Arganteal’s solution not only streamlined processes but also bolstered the USAF’s ability to adapt and innovate in the face of evolving challenges.

Business Outcomes

• Increased Efficiency and Cost Savings: Reduced resource costs by 90% and increasing deployment speed by up to 90%.
• Reduced Risk of Errors: Standardized and automated workflows minimized the risk of error and inconsistencies, improving the quality and reliability of deployments,
• Enhanced Knowledge Retention: Capturing and organizing scattered scripts allowed the USAF to retain valuable intellectual property and to ensure continuity despite personnel turnover.
• Improved Team Collaboration: Standardizing process allowed for better collaboration among teams, with simplified knowledge sharing and fewer hand-offs.