CI/CD vs. EaaS: Choosing the Right Development Workflow

For complex projects with multiple teams, combining CI/CD with EaaS can optimize workflows by automating deployments while enabling efficient testing in isolated, production-like environments.

Keep reading to learn how to select the right approach for your team’s size, project complexity, and budget!

Understanding the basics of CI/CD is crucial for modern software development, especially when comparing it to EaaS workflows.

What Is CI/CD?

CI/CD combines Continuous Integration - where code changes are automatically merged into a shared repository - with Continuous Deployment, which automates delivering validated code to production.

Here’s how a typical CI/CD workflow looks:

This process helps teams work faster and more reliably.

Benefits of CI/CD

CI/CD offers several advantages that make development and deployment smoother:

To make the most of CI/CD, certain tools and practices are essential:

For a successful CI/CD setup, it’s important to maintain consistent environments across all stages while keeping the pipeline secure.

Ephemeral Environments as a Service (EaaS) expands on the concept of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) by offering temporary, purpose-built application environments. These environments package application code, configurations, and infrastructure in isolated setups.

EaaS environments are temporary, existing only for the time needed in the software development lifecycle. This makes them perfect for testing, staging, demonstrations, and training, while closely mirroring production setups.

Here’s a breakdown of EaaS capabilities:

EaaS works seamlessly with CI/CD workflows, enhancing the development process.

Here’s how EaaS integrates into CI/CD:

Here's a breakdown of how CI/CD and EaaS stack up on key features:

These differences shape how workflows function and how resources are managed.

Advantages of CI/CD:

Drawbacks of CI/CD:

Advantages of EaaS:

EaaS can significantly boost CI/CD workflows by addressing common challenges:

Selection Checklist

When deciding on the best workflow for your development needs, consider the following factors:

These factors can help shape your strategy when combining workflows for optimal efficiency.

Bunnyshell's EaaS platform supports these strategies with tools designed to simplify and improve your workflow.

Environment Management:

Integration Support:

Security and Compliance:

Cost Optimization:

CI/CD introduces a structured deployment pipeline, while EaaS (Environments as a Service) provides dynamic, isolated testing environments that significantly improve development processes.

Here’s how EaaS boosts efficiency:

These numbers highlight how automated provisioning and AI-driven orchestration can resolve common bottlenecks.

EaaS streamlines operations through automation and intelligent orchestration. As Mathew Abraham, a DevSecOps Leader, puts it:

To build on these gains, take the following steps to refine your development workflow:

Pinpoint Bottlenecks: Identify where delays occur in your team’s environment provisioning and testing cycles.

Analyze Resource Usage: Measure current cloud costs and overhead. Companies using EaaS have reported notable improvements, as Laura Michad, CTO of XPath.global, shares:

"The most measurable impact we have from Bunnyshell is going from a release once in 2–4 weeks, to having a policy to release multiple times per week, and nobody's stressed about it"

Develop an Integration Plan: Explore how EaaS can fit into your existing CI/CD pipeline. Integration with tools like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and major cloud providers ensures a smooth transition without disrupting workflows.

How does combining EaaS with CI/CD streamline development for large teams managing complex projects?

Integrating Ephemeral Environments as a Service (EaaS) with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) streamlines development by creating isolated, on-demand environments for each feature or bug fix. This ensures developers can work in parallel without worrying about conflicts or disruptions.

For large teams handling complex projects, this approach boosts productivity by enabling faster testing, seamless collaboration, and more reliable deployments. It minimizes bottlenecks, reduces errors caused by shared environments, and helps deliver high-quality software on time.

What factors should a company consider when choosing between CI/CD, EaaS, or using both together?

When deciding between CI/CD, EaaS, or a combination of both, companies should evaluate their specific project needs, team workflows, and operational goals.

CI/CD focuses on automating the build, testing, and deployment process, ensuring faster, more reliable releases with fewer errors. This is ideal for teams aiming to streamline production and improve software delivery speed. On the other hand, Ephemeral Environments as a Service (EaaS) offers temporary, automated environments for development and testing, helping eliminate "works on my machine" issues and fostering better collaboration among team members.

For many organizations, combining CI/CD with EaaS can offer the best of both worlds. This integration allows for automated creation of isolated environments for every pull request, enabling faster testing, better reproducibility, and enhanced efficiency. Ultimately, the choice depends on the scale of your project, team size, and the need for flexibility in your development workflow.

How does EaaS reduce infrastructure costs compared to traditional CI/CD workflows?

Ephemeral Environments as a Service (EaaS) can significantly lower infrastructure costs by dynamically creating and tearing down environments as needed. This means resources are only used during active development or testing, avoiding the constant expenses tied to maintaining long-lived environments.

In contrast, traditional CI/CD setups often rely on persistent environments that continue to consume resources even when idle. By using EaaS, teams can optimize resource usage, scale efficiently, and align costs with actual project demands, making it a more cost-effective solution for modern development workflows.