CI/CD with Robert Erez
Summary
CI/CD remains one of software engineering's hardest problems, but the real insight isn't about Git or GitOps dogma—it's about roll-forward mentality over rollbacks. Robert Erez, who shipped Outlook.com plugins to 400M users weekly via canary deployments, reveals how progressive delivery techniques enable faster shipping than traditional change advisory boards.
Key Takeaways
- Use canary deployments to low-risk audiences (like New Zealand for geographic/timezone advantages) before full rollout. This technique enabled weekly shipping at scale when CAB boards required monthly approval.
- GitOps isn't universally necessary—the absolutism around 'everything in Git' breaks down in practice. Teams should evaluate based on actual needs, not ideology.
- Avoid designing rollback strategies; instead prioritize roll-forward architecture. Most teams claiming rollback capability haven't tested schema changes, relying on luck rather than design.
- Kubernetes isn't just for cloud—enterprise customers run it on-premises and in extreme environments (research vessels at sea), expanding deployment flexibility beyond native cloud assumptions.
- Progressive delivery at scale requires understanding details matter enormously. Implementation choices (canary vs blue-green, feature toggles timing) directly impact deployment velocity and safety.
Related topics
Transcript Excerpt
It's kind of funny. You know, we talk about Kubernetes being cloud native. The reality is a lot of customers actually use Kubernetes for running on premise. I was talking to another one of our customers actually just the other day. They've got Kubernetes clusters running on research vessels. >> Research as in like >> as in boats >> on the ocean. >> They've got Kubernetes clusters out in the open sea. >> What is GitOps? >> GitOps is potentially not necessary for all teams. Some of this absolutism that sometimes exists may not be necessary. >> I don't hear too much chatter about roll backs. >> Roll backs. This is always a spicy one. Customers can go, "Yeah, we roll back all the time." And then when you ask them what do you do if you've got a schema change they kind of stop and realize that i…