Sound DevOps strategies require a commitment to continuous integration

The goal of every DevOps team is to reduce the iteration time of software development cycles while maintaining the highest standards for software quality. Of course, stating such objectives is easy. Actually implementing practices and procedures that will bring these stated goals to fruition is a completely different matter; without proper guidance and direction, embarking upon a DevOps transition can cause more problems than it might solve.

The advice from those who have successfully implemented DevOps strategies is consistent: Development teams and stakeholders must come together and fully commit to a system of continuous integration, with a fully automated continuous delivery of software being the final destination in the DevOps journey.

All of which then begs the following questions: What exactly is continuous delivery? What goes into setting up and implementing a continuous delivery pipeline? How do continuous delivery and continuous integration map back to the common goals of organizations that are adopting DevOps strategies and best practices? This handbook on using Java and DevOps to ensure continuous delivery addresses these questions.

We'll focus on the biggest challenges surrounding the practice of implementing a continuous delivery pipeline for producing software. Eliminating manual processes is sometimes a difficult challenge for organizations to overcome, software consultant Eberhard Wolff says, but building a fully autonomous continuous delivery pipeline is well worth the effort, especially if the business is committed to the idea of embracing DevOps strategies.

There are some real challenges that organizations face when implementing continuous delivery chains, especially when microservices, containers and interdependent pipelines are thrown into the mix. Accelerating the continuous delivery process is key. After all, the faster the continuous delivery pipeline goes, the sooner that fixes and feature enhancements get to market.