Blackboard transitioned from an on-premise enterprise software model to a cloud-based model through DevOps practices like automation, cloud infrastructure, and cultural changes. Previously, Blackboard had long development cycles of 6 months, high failure rates during testing, and poor communication between teams. By adopting automation, provisioning all environments through code in the cloud, and empowering developers, Blackboard reduced lead times to 1-2 weeks and gave developers visibility into production issues.