I'm exploring the idea of using GitHub Actions (GHA) for automation orchestration within our organization. It feels like many teams leverage GHA along with CI/CD platforms like Azure DevOps for running scripts and automations, particularly for manual workflows such as deploying labs in AWS and rotating secrets. However, I'm curious if there's a better alternative.
While automation options exist like Azure Automation, AWS Lambdas, or Azure Functions, they tend to be more programmatic and event-driven, which can be daunting for less technical folks who aren't comfortable with GitHub or code. I've experimented with creating custom Slack bots linked to Lambdas and Azure Automation for user interfaces, but it lacks quality reporting.
Currently, we have numerous automation scripts in GHA that deploy to various cloud services and require users to enter multiple parameters manually for new client setups. These processes often run sequentially through various scripts and CLI commands, and while GHA does handle much of this creatively, it doesn't seem like it's optimized for true automation orchestration.
I'm looking for alternatives that can simply execute scripts based on schedules, manually or via triggers, similar to ETL orchestration tools. Solutions like Prefect and Airflow come to mind, but I'm not fully familiar with their capabilities. Do they provide the self-hosted infrastructure, reporting, logging, and user interfaces needed? Has anyone here used GHA for more than just basic IAC deployments, and are there better options out there? Thanks for your insights!
2 Answers
CICD tools can definitely handle orchestration effectively if used correctly. Unfortunately, some teams don't prioritize proper setup, which leads to clunky processes like manually inputting parameters. It’s crucial to implement parameter and secret storage to streamline this. Tools like SSO can centralize access control, and you need to focus on logging and metrics for better decision-making. Many forget that IaC can extend beyond cloud services, like GitHub or CloudFlare, so make sure to utilize all available Terraform providers. I also like Concourse for its clean, maintainable automation capabilities!
Have you checked out Rundeck? It's a great option for job scheduling and automation orchestration. Might be worth your time to explore it further.
Interesting recommendation! Do you have any firsthand experience using Rundeck? I’d love to hear more about it.
I agree! If you could consolidate parameters into a single file for secrets storage, it would really simplify things.