Pipeline to Production: Modern CI/CD Strategies with Docker, Kubernetes, and Cloud-Native Tooling

Abstract

This article explores modern Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) practices from a technical and architectural standpoint, focusing on the role of Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-native tools in streamlining software delivery pipelines. It outlines best practices for containerizing applications, automating build processes with tools such as Jenkins and GitHub Actions, and deploying microservices using Helm charts and Kubernetes manifests. Core challenges—including environment parity, secrets management, and rollback strategies—are critically analyzed. The paper also investigates emerging solutions like GitOps workflows, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), and service mesh integrations that enhance scalability, observability, and resilience. Through real-world deployment scenarios across major cloud providers including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), the article offers DevOps engineers, SREs, and cloud architects a practical guide to building robust, secure, and automated production pipelines.