Defining the value of continuous deployment for an Agile world

Table of Contents

  1. Summary
  2. From Agile to DevOps to automation
  3. What is continuous deployment?
  4. The value of continuous deployment
  5. Leveraging distribution
  6. Steps to success
  7. Key takeaways
  8. About David S. Linthicum

1. Summary

As DevOps pushes deeper into enterprises, companies are beginning to understand the value of methodologies and approaches based upon Agile. However, many do not go much further with the technology’s larger-value features, which include continuous and Agile deployment. And many in enterprise IT fear this less-understood concept as a path to lower productivity and application quality.

On the ops side, many businesses lack the organization and tools to make a continuous deployment work in their companies. They don’t understand the approaches and technology, so the traditional methods continue to be safe harbors that deliver diminishing value to the business. However, the value of DevOps and emerging concepts such as continuous deployment is clear.

To dispel the fears about continuous and Agile deployment, businesses must take control of the deployable application artifacts, understanding who created them and for what reason as well as how they derived them and from what sources.

This report will help IT executives understand the value that continuous and Agile deployment approaches and technology can bring to most enterprises. It will identify the continuous and Agile deployment inhibitors — specifically the cost drivers within operations. It will also focus on the organization, or the understanding of what people and process issues need to be resolved before this approach can bring value. Finally, it will explain how to define the value of concepts such as continuous deployment to developers as well as end users.

Key findings in this report include:

  • The ability to move to continuous deployment breaks down most of the barriers between development and the end user. Manual processes are removed and the automation from development to deployment ensures that the end users get quick value from new and existing applications.
  • The business model an organization leverages to prove the value of continuous deployment should include cost savings and increased profits, as well a consideration of the investments made and the strategic value.
  • Organizations should consider automation tools that can manage binaries, as well as code, and focus on bringing production-ready binaries directly to the end user.
  • The larger value that continuous deployment brings is a tighter working relationship between development, operations, and the end user. This provides core benefits unto itself, separate from the more easily defined benefits of efficiency. While most organizations have difficultly defining this value, they should make every attempt to do so.

Full content available to GigaOm Subscribers.

Sign Up For Free