Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has revolutionized how organizations manage and deploy their IT infrastructure. By automating and codifying infrastructure management, IaC offers numerous benefits, including faster deployments, improved consistency and reduced manual errors. Before adopting IaC, ensure you fully understand what it is, if it is best for your organization and the five necessary steps to prepare your systems for the switch.
What is Infrastructure as a Code (IaC)?
IaC uses code to automate and support your computing infrastructure instead of manual processes and settings. When using manual settings, developers must regularly set up, update and maintain the infrastructure used to develop, test, deploy and secure applications. IaC can do it for you with increased speed and security.
If your business uses manual infrastructure management, you know how time-consuming and error-prone scaling your applications can be. Using the IaC model empowers your team to reach your infrastructure’s optimal state without the time-consuming manual effort. Ultimately, it automates infrastructure management so your developers can focus on more important tasks, such as building and improving applications, instead of deploying, managing, and securing environments. IaC offers a solution to control costs through repeatable, consistent infra deployments, reduce risks, and respond quickly to new business opportunities.
If you’re considering adopting IaC, set your business up for success by planning ahead with these five essential steps to ensure a smooth transition and successful implementation:
Step 1: Assess Current Infrastructure and Define Objectives
Before coding anything, inventory your existing infrastructure to understand the scope and complexity of what IaC needs to manage. This will ensure the identification of legacy infrastructure that may not be compatible with a lights-out end-to-end IaC methodology. Clearly define and map your objectives for adoption, such as improving deployment times, ensuring consistency across environments, enhancing security, or reducing operational costs.
Step 2: Select the Right IaC Tools and Platforms
Research and evaluate IaC tools that best suit your organization’s needs, technology stack and existing workflows. Consider factors like company support, compatibility with cloud providers and your team’s learning curve. Each popular IaC tool has strengths, so choose the one that aligns with your objectives and technical requirements.
Step 3: Develop Skills and Knowledge within Your Team
When done correctly, 70% of organizations with formal IaC training programs report higher employee satisfaction and productivity. Ensure you identify skill gaps in your team and provide training on the selected IaC tool(s) and best practices in IaC management. Lead by example, encouraging a culture of learning and experimentation. Taking the time to educate your team will allow them to become comfortable with the principles and language around IaC, taking full advantage of its capabilities upon implementation.
Step 4: Establish Version Control and Collaboration Practices
Implement a version control system (IaC release management structure) for your IaC configurations to track changes, facilitate collaboration, and enable rollback in case of issues. Many companies utilize Git repositories to ease the process. Define workflows for writing, reviewing and deploying IaC configurations, including peer review processes to ensure quality and compliance.
Step 5: Plan for Security, Compliance and Continuous Improvement
According to the 2023 State of Cloud Security Report, organizations that integrated security from the beginning into their IaC processes saw a 60% reduction in security incidents. Reduction in security events is possible when companies integrate security and compliance checks into their IaC process from the start. Some of these checks include:
- Defining security policies as code and using automated tools to enforce these policies
- Establishing a feedback loop for continuous improvement of your IaC practices
- Monitoring deployments
- Actively gathering team feedback
- Adjusting the processes and configurations as needed
Preparing for Infrastructure as Code is a strategic move that can significantly enhance your organization’s agility, consistency and efficiency. By exploring and preparing these five steps, you will be well on your way to feeling the benefits of IaC. These steps can be time-consuming. When rushed, companies often don’t receive the benefits initially proposed. Invest in your people and your infrastructure by letting us lend a hand. Our team of experts can support your company along every step. Start a conversation with us today to learn more!
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