In a CI/CD environment, how does Docker enhance deployment processes?

Docker significantly enhances deployment processes in a CI/CD environment by allowing developers to maintain consistent environments from development through to production. Containerization enables applications and their dependencies to be packaged together in a container image, which can be deployed to any environment that supports Docker. This consistency minimizes the "it works on my machine" problem, facilitating smoother and faster transitions through the development pipeline, increased reliability, and reduced risk of environment-related issues during deployment.

The ability to have identical environments also supports the automation of testing and deployment workflows, ultimately helping teams to release applications more frequently and with greater confidence. In contrast, options that require manual configurations, create heavier image sizes, or increase reliance on physical servers would disrupt the streamlined and efficient processes that CI/CD aims to achieve.