Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform: Dominating Infrastructure Automation in 2024
Hi friends, I’m thrilled to share a significant milestone in the automation ecosystem. The latest Forrester Wave™: Infrastructure Automation Platforms, Q4 2024 report confirms what many of us in the industry have believed for years—Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is leading the charge as the market leader. This independent analysis, conducted by one of the most trusted names in the industry, highlights Ansible’s unmatched capabilities and strategic direction.
Why Ansible in 2024 and Beyond?
Forrester’s detailed evaluation, released on November 25th, 2024, underscores the competitive edge of the Ansible Automation Platform. Even with its version 2.4 being evaluated (while version 2.5 just launched), Ansible stood out for its comprehensiveness and robustness. This affirms the relevance of learning and mastering Ansible not just for today, but for the transformative years ahead in IT automation.
Here’s why Ansible is worth your time and effort in 2024 and beyond:
- Wide-Range Capabilities: It excels in infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and orchestrating application lifecycles.
- Community-Driven Ecosystem: Ansible benefits from a vibrant, collaborative open-source community, continuously enhancing its modules and integrations.
- Event-Driven Automation: The addition of event-driven features significantly reduces manual intervention, positioning it as a solution for proactive, intelligent automation.
Forrester Wave Highlights
The report evaluated 11 major players, categorizing them into Leaders, Strong Performers, and Contenders. While competitors like Microsoft, Broadcom, and Canonical showcase unique strengths in areas like blueprint automation and niche Linux environments, Ansible outpaces them with a balanced scorecard:
- Strategic Vision: Forrester praised Ansible’s partner ecosystem and its focus on enabling a unified automation experience across hybrid environments.
- User-Friendly Design: Ansible remains accessible to professionals of all skill levels. Its YAML-based playbooks and agentless architecture simplify adoption.
- Customer Feedback: Users applauded Ansible’s responsiveness to feature requests and overall reliability, while seeking enhancements in documentation and backend integrations.
Comparing the Competition
- Microsoft Azure Automation introduces services like Bicep and Arc, yet its focus on the Microsoft stack limits its flexibility for heterogeneous environments.
- Broadcom’s VMware Automation offers strong private cloud solutions but lacks broader hybrid capabilities.
- Canonical’s Juju is an emerging contender but remains niche-focused with its Ubuntu-centric approach.
The Path Forward
Ansible’s leadership in Forrester’s evaluation validates its pivotal role in modern IT. As hybrid and multi-cloud environments grow, the need for reliable, scalable automation tools becomes critical. With tools like Ansible Lightspeed, which leverage AI for faster playbook creation, Red Hat continues to innovate, ensuring that Ansible remains indispensable.
Whether you’re managing Kubernetes clusters, automating network devices, or deploying applications across cloud providers, Ansible equips you with the tools to succeed. If you’re asking whether it’s worth learning Ansible in 2025, the answer is a resounding yes. The automation revolution is here, and Ansible is at its forefront.
Let’s continue to lead the charge in transforming IT operations. Follow me for more insights and have a fantastic automation day. 🚀
Luca Berton
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