What is GitLab?
GitLab is a unified DevOps platform combining source control, CI/CD pipelines, project management and deployment capabilities. Its deployment features allow you to deploy applications to internal or public infrastructure, track deployment history, and use feature flags.
It supports review apps, feature-flags-based releases, and has a strong presence in the DevOps space for teams wanting an all-in-one solution.
Why Teams Sometimes Explore Alternatives
Although GitLab is very integrated, some teams find:
- When deployments get complex (many machines, tags, environments) the abstraction may feel less dedicated.
- Scope and model for machine-target topology or variable scoping may require custom scripting or workarounds.
- Cost/licensing for enterprise features may rise as scale increases, and the deployment component may not be as focused as a dedicated tool.
Why Jaws Deploy Makes a Good Alternative
Jaws Deploy provides deployment-specific features built to manage complex topologies, variables, and multi-target deployments while integrating with GitLab CI/CD.
Highlights:
- Dedicated topology modelling: projects, environments, machines, tags, scoped variables.
- Step-based deployment logic and reusable templates: designed for deployments with both built-in and custom step support.
- Integration with GitLab: Works seamlessly with GitLab pipelines, allowing the build/deploy flow to continue but with a stronger deployment layer.
- Ease of adoption and lower ongoing maintenance: simpler to operate for dedicated deployment needs.
When GitLab May Still Be Right
If your team already uses GitLab for repositories, issues, CI/CD and you want to keep everything in one platform, deployment via GitLab can be very convenient. Also for smaller teams or simpler deployment footprints.
When to Consider Switching to Jaws Deploy
If deployment complexity is growing, you need better variable/machine/target modelling, or you want a dedicated tool with lower overhead that works alongside GitLab rather than relying on GitLab as the deployment engine.
Other Tools to Consider
- Azure DevOps – build/test/deploy in a unified Microsoft stack.
- Jenkins – CI/CD with deployment via many plugins.
- Ansible Automation Platform – automation + deployment focus.
- GitHub Actions – CI/CD with deployment support.
- Spinnaker – advanced for progressive, multi-cloud delivery.
Final Thoughts
GitLab provides a strong, unified platform for DevOps and deployment. But when deployment needs become more granular and complex—and you want a dedicated layer that simplifies variable/machine modelling and reduces maintenance—Jaws Deploy presents a compelling alternative.
