Business Agility Through DevOps and Continuous Delivery

Image Credit: http://continuousdelivery.com The principles of Continuous Delivery and DevOps have been around for a few years. Developers and system administrators who follow the lean-startup movement are more than familiar with both. However, more often than not, implementing either or both within a traditional, large IT environment is a significant challenge compared to a new age, Web 2.0 type organization (think Flickr) or a Silicon Valley startup (think Instagram). This is a case study of how the consultancy firm I work for delivered the largest software upgrade in the history of one blue chip client, using both. Background The client, is one of Australia's largest retailers. The firm I work for is a trusted consultant working with them for over a decade. During this time (thankfully), we have earned enough credibility to influence business decisions heavily dependent on IT infrastructure. A massive IT infrastructure upgrade was imminent, when our