In most large and medium-sized companies, IT infrastructure management falls into the “hard jobs” category. And that’s because network specialists have to manually configure and manage hundreds or even thousands of hardware and software components to keep enterprise applications and services running within the desired parameters. Managing large networks means increased IT department loads and operating costs, decreased availability of applications and services, and an increase in the risk of human error, as well as inconsistencies in configuration processes. All these challenges can be hurdled by adopting Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) methods. In this article, we will discuss IaC, and its main benefits.
What Is Infrastructure-as-Code & How Do You Integrate It with Your Process?
In a simplified form, IaC consists of managing and provisioning IT infrastructure using configuration files, instead of manual physical configuration processes or interactive configuration tools.
The Azure Well-Architected Framework has a great definition of IaC:
“Infrastructure-as-code (IaC) is the management of infrastructure—such as networks, virtual machines, load balancers, and connection topology—in a descriptive model, using a versioning system that is similar to what is used for source code. When you are creating an application, the same source code will generate the same binary every time it is compiled. In a similar manner, an IaC model generates the same environment every time it is applied. IaC is a key DevOps practice, and it is often used in conjunction with continuous delivery.”
The first step on the IaC path is to identify those “chunks” of infrastructure that can serve as “templates”. They are repeatable and can be clearly defined, not to mention that they can explicitly describe what they deliver. To do this, IT teams need to agree in advance on the data format they use, and choose one that can be easily understood by people and processed by solutions.
By adopting IaC methods, IT departments can test infrastructure configurations before actually implementing them; checking how they meet compliance and security requirements, and whether they can handle the application of each organization’s specific policies. This provides multiple opportunities for automation and increased operational efficiency.
Top Benefits of Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Here are some examples of benefits that Infrastructure-as-Code brings to the table.
Increased speed and consistency
A code-based approach means faster execution when configuring infrastructure—thus allowing the whole team to work quickly and more efficiently. Employees can get more done in less time because there’s no need to wait for the IT admin to manually complete the task at hand before he/she can get to the next one. Another important benefit of IaC is consistency. Managers don’t need to worry about tasks not being completed because admins are focused on other activities.
Scalability and cost reduction
By removing the manual component, people are able to refocus their efforts on other tasks, which greatly reduces costs. IaC also delivers stable environments rapidly and at scale. Businesses can use the IaC system to automate the management of data centers and to cut unnecessary financial expenditures—while redirecting IT experts toward different tasks. IaC also improves cross-team collaboration and alignment.
Improved security and reduced human error
Codified infrastructure opens the door to code-level security practices. Because all storage and networking services are provisioned with code, they are deployed in the same way every time. This means that high security standards can be implemented across the entire organization, without the need for a security gatekeeper to approve every change. Moreover, IaC can decrease downtime and increase reliability by removing the risk associated with human error—such as manual misconfiguration.
The Market Size of Infrastructure as Code Is Growing
According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the market size of IaC is expected to grow from $0.8 billion in 2022 to $2.3 billion in 2027, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24.0%.
“Streamlined operations, resources scalability, reduced IT costs, and in-built data protection and data recovery are some of the factors expected to drive the adoption of Infrastructure as code solutions,” the report states.
Conclusion
IaC allows companies to maximize efficiency, better manage their IT infrastructures, and minimize costs. Even though the leading adopters of IaC solutions are still large organizations, more and more SMEs are expected to implement the new technology within the next few years.
