Deploy

Deploy is a term with multiple related meanings centered on placing something into operation or active use. In military contexts, to deploy means to move forces or equipment into a position where they can operate. In information technology and software engineering, deployment refers to the process of delivering and enabling an application or service in a live environment where users can access it. This includes packaging software, provisioning infrastructure, configuring settings, and coordinating with other systems.

A typical deployment follows development and testing and may involve stages such as development, staging, and production. Modern deployments often rely on automation and infrastructure as code to reproduce environments and reduce human error. Key goals are to minimize downtime, ensure correct configuration, validate functionality, and enable monitoring and rollback if problems arise.

Deployment strategies vary to balance risk and speed. Blue-green deployment provides a parallel production environment to switch between, while canary releases incrementally expose a subset of users to a new version. Rolling updates gradually replace instances, and feature flags can enable or disable new functionality without redeploying. Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines automate builds, tests, and releases, supporting frequent, reliable updates.

In summary, deployment is the process of making software, services, or resources available for use after development, with practices designed to maximize reliability, controllability, and speed of delivery.