Why do we need an Application Release Deployment solution? The IT world is evolving at a rapid pace. Data center and homegrown applications are increasingly complex, application changes are rising in volume and frequency, and operations are deploying across multiple environments and infrastructure models (physical, virtual and cloud). In order to keep up with increasing business demands, development teams are adopting agile methodologies, and QA is employing automated testing. This white paper discusses why application release and deployment automation platforms are becoming increasingly vital for IT operations in global enterprises and explores the specific requirements of such a platform in order for it to prove beneficial, and effective, and offer a substantial return on investment.