What else beyond distribution for vendors?
Simple. Here are 10 awesome reasons to use Cloudsmith:
Controls: We provide well-defined controls (such as Role-Based Access Controls, or RBAC for short) for getting packages in and out, as well as controlling promotions, rollbacks and deployments; so you can lock down who can do what, where and when.
Visibility: We provide you with a world view to see the attributes (i.e. names, versions, types, metadata) and state of play across all of your packages, regardless of type/source; so you can see and discover all there is know about the packages you use.
Universality: We are able to "speak" the native protocol for a number of packaging technologies together (e.g. Python + Ruby + Maven/Java, etc.), as well provide APIs for easy/agnostic manipulation; so you have immediate compatibility with all of your tools.
Security: Be built to be secure by default without having to define and set it up (e.g. encrypted-in-transit, at-rest, automated GPG/RSA signing, sane perms, etc.); so you can shift security to the left and incorporate it as early as possible.
Provenance: Provide traceability for current and previous versions of packages (i.e. source of package, dependencies, environment state, etc.); so you can know and prove the origin of the software that you use.
Auditing: Provide you with access logs, metrics/statistics and accountability for uploads and downloads in the system; so that you can ensure the right people are accessing the right things in the right way.
Speed: Provide ultra-fast and worldwide distribution for packages as a standard feature, sometimes with "at edge" distribution; so that you can get your packages to where they need to go at high-velocity.
Availability: Provide an additional layer in front of public services to ensure you can still get your packages when the public service is down; so you can remain up and working when they're down.
Collaboration: Be collaborative, allowing you to synchronise workflow and process with colleagues, other teams and outside collaborators; so you can build community and collaboration with colleagues.
Cost: Be cheaper than planning it, coding it, maintaining it, upgrading it, and worrying about it, yourself; so you can concentrate on building and deploying your awesome products instead.
Plus much much more in terms of our awesome features - There's certainly enough to get you packaging and distributing like a champion. As for why we're different? Cloudsmith has an unparalleled focus on simplicity, security, support and innovation. Our mission is to reduce release automation friction to zero, and to make you look good while doing it.