Which statement best describes continuous delivery?

Continuous delivery is a software development practice that ensures code changes are automatically prepared for a release to production. This approach promotes a steady flow of updates and enhancements, allowing for more frequent deployment and faster iteration cycles. However, it does not necessarily eliminate the need for manual intervention during the final stages of deployment. This is where teams may synchronize releases with business initiatives, perform final testing, or make governance-related decisions, thereby reinforcing the need for collaborative oversight at critical junctures.

The concept of continuous delivery emphasizes the readiness of software to be deployed at any moment, yet it acknowledges that a fully automated deployment can sometimes lead to challenges without human oversight. Therefore, a traditional view of continuous delivery does consider the need for some level of manual involvement at different points in the delivery pipeline, especially when determining the timing and management of the deployment.

The other options either misunderstand the nature of continuous delivery or introduce requirements not inherent to its definition. For instance, while complete automation can enhance deployment efficiency, it's not strictly necessary for continuous delivery as a whole. The use of cloud resources is a factor that can facilitate continuous delivery but is not a requirement. Finally, long-term storage of data is more aligned with data management and does not pertain to the deployment process that continuous