Paul Stovell tells us about the story of Octopus Deploy.

From the description:

In 2011, while stuck in a meeting, I started hacking on an idea. The idea became a prototype, and then a product. It is now used by thousands of customers around the world, and employs 8 people.

In this presentation, I’ll take you through the short history of Octopus Deploy, and where we are going. I’ll also share some of the lessons we’ve learnt, and mistakes we’ve made, along our journey building software that is installed on-premises by thousands of customers in different environments. I’ll discuss how building software as an ISV is fundamentally different to Enterprise software, and tools and approaches that you might use if you decide to start your own product company.

Take the Poll!

Will you adopt Octopus Deploy?

About the speakers

About the speakers

Mr Octopus Deploy

Paul Stovell is the creator of Octopus Deploy, an automated deployment tool for .NET applications.

Prior to founding Octopus Deploy, Paul worked for an investment bank in London building WPF applications, and before that he was a developer at Readify, an Australian .NET consulting firm. He has worked on a number of open source projects and is an active user group presenter.

Paul was a Microsoft MVP for WPF from 2006 to 2013.

Related videos

Related videos

Microsoft Teams Etiquette: Simple Habits That Make Meetings Better | Adam Cogan

Whether you’re working remotely or in the office, small habits can make a huge difference in Microsoft Teams meetings. In this video, Adam Cogan shares practical etiquette tips to help meetings run more smoothly—from introducing people who join the room, to announcing yourself when joining a call, using screen sharing respectfully, and ending meetings with a recorded summary that can automatically create a Product Backlog Item (PBI).

These simple communication habits improve collaboration, reduce confusion, and make hybrid meetings more inclusive and productive.

Treat Your Code Like Uranium | Adam Cogan

Adam Cogan shares a striking story comparing two World War II factories—one ordinary, one handling uranium—and the surprising lesson that the uranium workers lived longer because they followed disciplined, risk-aware practices. He connects that idea to software teams: the best outcomes come from careful habits like automated tests, telemetry, pull requests, retrospectives, shared rules, and good tools. The message is simple: treat software delivery with the same respect as dangerous work, and you’ll reduce stress, avoid chaos, and get better results.

3 Tips for Better Video Recordings | Adam Cogan

Great coaching can dramatically improve how you present, communicate, and learn. In this video, Adam Cogan shares 3 practical coaching tips that SSW uses every day—from onboarding and role plays to improving video delivery. He explains why having a coach matters, why immediate interruption beats delayed feedback, and how repeating corrections helps lock in better habits.

TinaCMS + Fumadocs: Bring Visual Editing to Your Docs | Hark Singh

Discover how to connect Playwright with AI agents and unlock powerful workflows.

Stop Using 👍 Wrong in Teams | Adam Cogan

A quick communication tip from Adam Cogan: don’t use 👍 as a catch-all response when someone assigns you a task in Teams, Slack, or Google Chat. In the example Adam gives, if a task will take about five minutes, a thumbs up is too ambiguous because it does not clearly say whether you’ve read it, agree with it, are doing it now, or will do it later. Instead, use 👍 for agreement, 👀 to show you’ve seen the task and are actively working on it, and then replace 👀 with ✅ once the task is done. It is a small change, but it removes ambiguity and cuts down unnecessary follow-up messages.

How to record a done video in SSW | Sylvia Huang | SSW Rules

Sylvia Huang from SSW shares her SSW Cultural Exchange experience from Hangzhou, China to Australia

4 Essential Sales Tips for Engineers | Adam Cogan

Not a salesman? No problem. Adam Cogan shares 4 practical tips to help engineers navigate sales meetings with confidence. Learn how to stop “selling” and start solving, how to talk numbers without the awkwardness, and why being transparent about your process wins more clients.

Do you explain why you’ve deleted or updated an appointment? | Adam Cogan | SSW Rules

Ever wonder why a meeting was moved or cancelled? Adam Cogan explains the “Secret Ingredient” to professional scheduling: always include a version history and reason for change at the top of your appointments. Improve clarity, keep a record of changes, and hold participants accountable with this simple SSW Rule.

Chat first before changing others’ code | Adam Cogan

Changing someone else’s code? Don’t just dive in! Adam explains why it’s important to check the source history and talk to the original developer before making changes. A quick chat can save headaches and keep everyone on the same page. Perfect advice for devs working in teams!

SSW TimePro – Create a new tenant | Jeoffrey Fischer

Learn how to provision a new tenant in TimePro and sync it with an external Dynamics 365 CRM system.