If you're my kids, the term, “continuous integration,” might have you thinking about how much time you’ve spent lately with the family, and “continuous delivery” is what's been happening on the front porch the past few weeks. But to a software developer, these terms mean something entirely different. Combined and abbreviated as CI/CD, the term refers to a powerful way to develop, test and deliver software.

What exactly is CI/CD?

CI/CD is the practice of continuously integrating and testing code, followed by the continuous delivery of that code to the target. In simple terms, it’s the process of constantly updating and validating software so that it can be rolled into production systems as quickly as possible.

And it’s how we’re going to begin releasing SAS Viya, SAS’ cloud-enabled, in-memory analytics engine.

A new way to deliver SAS software

Instead of delivering SAS Viya in major ship events that can create a delay between the time the developer adds the feature and when it can be used, or require down time while the update is installed, you’ll now be able to get SAS Viya updates and new features right away with automated delivery and installation, and minimal disruption to your work. The update would not be a wholesale change to every bit and byte of the software, but would instead run against a microservices-based containerized architecture orchestrated by Kubernetes, so changes would be incremental. The benefits? Limited downtime, and unlimited enhancements.

That’s what CI/CD promises to deliver, and I’m excited that the next release of SAS Viya will adopt this practice. In addition, our customers will be able to select the release intervals that align to their organization’s standards and policies. Those looking to stay on the cutting edge could pick monthly updates, whereas regulated or more conservative organizations could update every six months. The new software update method will also allow SAS Cloud customers to simply experience the latest and greatest from SAS without a bunch of manual intervention.

Helping you innovate faster

We understand that the changing needs of our customers require constant innovation, and this new approach will let us bring our innovations to your data scientists, business analysts and application developers, quickly so that our customers can continue to bring their innovations to the world.

Stay tuned for more technical details on release version methods, cycles, support policies and delivery mechanisms.

Learn more at www.sas.com/viya.