5 SaaS tools for developers
Whether you’re managing an agile-mode project, reviewing collaborative code, or improving the performance of an application or website, there’s plenty of solutions with SaaS.
From GitHub to Jira via New Relic, Docker Hub or Logmatic.io, here is a selection of five tools with their main features and pricing. They cover the problems of collaboration between developers and code sharing, as well as project management, application simulation and performance testing.
1. GitHub
The platform (based on Git) brings together more than 5.8 million active users. Its main contributors are Microsoft, Facebook or Docker. With GitHub, a developer can “fork”, ie make a copy of an existing software and modify it without altering the original code. The solution also offers a collaborative dimension with the possibility of creating a wiki associated with a repository. Recently, GitHub launched Projects, a project management tool for agile method development, but also reviews, a code revision service. If the deposit of public sources is free, subscriptions are proposed for the hosting of private codes in unlimited mode, ranging from 7 dollars to 21 dollars per month.
2. New Relic
New Relic is a well-known tool for supervision teams. Presented as a dashboard, it monitors the availability and performance of web and mobile applications in real time. New Relic will analyze the code whether it is written in Ruby, Java, PHP, Node.Js, .Net, Python or Go. Over the years, its portfolio has been enriched. The New Relic Browser module is dedicated to site monitoring. New Relic Infrastructure follows the state of VMs or containers. As the name suggests, New Relic for AWS analyzes the services of Amazon Web Services. Very complex, pricing depends on the volume of data, the number of days of logging or the level of support desired.
3. Backfire.io
40% of Internet users abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Based on this observation, Blackfire.io evaluates the performance of PHP applications. Edited by the French SensioLabs, this tool continuously analyzes the execution time of a script. In the form of a dashboard, it allows you to identify the blocking elements. Complementary to New Relic, Blackfire.io helps to go back to the source of the problem deep inside the code.
The Profiler version is offered at 19.90 euros per month. The € 82.50 premium version also allows you to define automatic test scenarios based on acceptability thresholds. Alternative profilers for PHP applications include xDebug or XHProf.
4. Trello
A simple and effective project management tool, Trello has over 14 million users since its launch in 2011. IT teams but also business departments such as HR or marketing. Inspired by the agile method Kanban, Trello distributes a list of tasks in three columns: “to do”, “in progress”, “done”. As they run, simply drag and drop the corresponding cards from one column to another. Trello also offers checklists, deadlines and a system of notifications. With connectors, Trello can integrate with Dropbox, GitHub, Mailchimp, Salesforce or Slack. This integration is only possible in the “business class” version at $ 9.99 per user per month. An “enterprise” version also appeared in September.
5. logmatic.io
Edited by a French start-up, Logmatic.io is a real-time log analysis platform. From the data generated by servers, connected objects, a website or a mobile application, Logmatic.io will propose tracks of continuous improvement in the form of decision support tables. As part of DevOps, the tool can be used by developers as well as by their operational colleagues. In the event of an operating incident, Logmatic will quickly find source of the problem. From 49 to 349 euros per month, the price of the subscription depends on the volume of data and the period of historization.