Let’s address the elephant in the room. When we say the magical words of CI/CD, we’re only implying continuous integration. We hear critics eulogizing CI, yet casually ignoring the second element. It’s like delivery has never been there. But this is a one-sided version of DevOps.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not devaluing the importance of continuous integration. It’s still one of the cornerstones for the DevOps methodology. But no CI is an island, because integration is just a precursor to continuous delivery.
 

In its essence, continuous delivery is the ability to get changes of all types to production - safely, quickly, and sustainably. This means that a code always remains in a deployable state so that it can be rolled out with a single click upon demand. Yeah, you must already know it by now.

But what if we tell you that if you aren’t doing CD, you suck at DevOps? Why? Because classic tech operations don’t play their part until after deployment into production. Therefore, it’s impossible to follow the ‘shift left’ principle if there is a huge, error-prone rift in your software delivery pipeline.

Alongside a more holistic approach to DevOps, continuous delivery is a winner when it comes to:
- Low-risk releases (low-risk events can be executed upon request)
- Faster time to market (helps avoid the drudgery of re-work)
- Higher quality (duh)
- Lower costs (fewer incremental changes account for reduced expenditure)
- Happier teams (CD makes releases less painful)
 

Let me guess. Right now, you must be thinking: If delivery is THAT important, why isn't CD pipeline automation the main objective? Well, building, maintaining, and optimizing a CD pipeline calls for narrow-context skills and tooling throughout the whole value stream. This implies that this process cannot be executed at the snap of your fingers. That is why companies target continuous integration first and then proceed with continuous delivery. This brings us to our next point.

When it comes to the ‘shifting left’ approach, a winning combo of CI and CD can beat the barriers to success (yet, only tools-wise). This approach advocates the idea of automating and introducing a variety of activities earlier into the software build cycle. What’s in it for your company? How about a cost-effective option to expose and fix defects and other issues earlier?

Shifting left is not a magic pill to every software development challenge. Yet, it’s inherited the ‘fail fast, fix fast’ attitude which lets us eliminate code instabilities and enhance quality. A seismic shift to better software, delivered with unprecedented speed.

But shifting left does not boil down to tools only. It’s also about human qualities and practices - those that actually make DevOps work. It’s about developers obtaining faster response time without sacrificing quality. It’s about sales and business departments getting more for less. It’s about business leaders responding to market conditions faster and more effectively. It’s also about getting continuous feedback for every step of a build-measure-learn cycle. It’s about continuous everything.
 

DevOps brings the concept of continuity at the heart of agile development in the form of continuous integration, continuous testing, continuous delivery, continuous deployment, and continuous operations. And while some of the elements like CD don’t get the required emphasis, it’s the combination of all that delivers continuous value to the customers.
 

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