Ansible is an open source automation platform that can help you with configuration management, application deployment and task automation.
It can also do IT orchestration, where you have to run tasks in sequence and create a chain of events which must happen on several different servers or devices. It can also do more advanced IT tasks such as continuous deployments or zero downtime rolling updates.
Ansible’s goals are foremost those of simplicity and maximum ease of use. It also has a strong focus on security and reliability, featuring a minimum of moving parts, usage of OpenSSH for transport (with an accelerated socket mode and pull modes as alternatives), and a language that is designed around auditability by humans – even those not familiar with the program.
Ansible is thus a very versatile tool. And best of all, it is getting more and more Buzzword Compliant. It even has Cow power and batteries included!