Before skipping to the main benefits of Infrastructure as Code, let’s cover some basics first.
What is Infrastructure as Code?
Simply put, it is a model that codifies everything. Infrastructure as code or IaC refers to replacing standard operating procedures and the manual effort required for IT resource management with lines of code.
Instead of manually configuring physical hardware and cloud nodes, IaC enables automating IT infrastructure management through source code.
This code allows you to quickly and efficiently configure and deploy your servers, databases, networks, and other infrastructure. And what’s even better, it will enable you to do it in a repeatable, consistent way, which comes with many benefits.
Let’s take a deeper look at each one of them.
1. Simplicity and faster speed
There are many advantages to Infrastructure as Code, and one of the top ones is that it results in a massive increase in configuration speed and environment provisioning. It eliminates manual processes and the slack in the process, thereby accelerating the software delivery lifecycle phases.
Instead of waiting on the IT admin to manually complete the task, it’s easier to get more things done in less time with a code-based approach.
It has the potential to shorten the server delivery time from hours to seconds.
With IaC, it’s possible to spin up an entire infrastructure architecture by merely running a script.
You can quickly and easily deploy virtual servers, launch pre-configured databases, storage systems, network infrastructure, and any other cloud service you may require.
2. Increased efficiency
All of the above make your software development process much more efficient. The use of infrastructure as code leads to drastically increased developer productivity.
The software development life cycle becomes much more efficient when cloud architectures are easily deployed in multiple stages.
Organizations that adopt Infrastructure as Code can use Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment techniques with minimized human errors after the development stage.
You can boost the productivity of your engineering staff even further with Infrastructure as Code. By including a script in your IaC, you can shut down specific environments when they are not in use.
Without many orphan cloud components, your cloud account will be more organized and cleaner, increasing your team’s efficiency.
3. Greater consistency
Another critical benefit of IaC is consistency. Human error is inevitable, and it can lead to subtle differences in configuration. These differences are sometimes hard to debug.
Ad-hoc configuration changes and updates can cause mismatched development and jeopardize the deployment process.
In comparison to that, IaC minimizes the possibility of any errors or deviations. It completely standardizes the setup of infrastructure, allowing your applications to run more smoothly.
You don’t have to worry whether tasks are completed or not because your admin is busy with something else or it’s weekend.
4. Minimized risk
Infrastructure as code automates the processes, and even more. In the case your employees leave your company with knowledge on the ins and outs of your infrastructure setup, it serves as invaluable insurance.
IaC is a form of documentation of the proper way to instantiate infrastructure. It documents and logs every change to your server configuration so that it can be easily tracked down.
Sometimes it can be challenging to determine what adjustments were made when an engineer edits the deployment protocol. Infrastructure as code enables you to pinpoint and correct issues with a setup configuration easily.
So, if any issue with configuration setup emerges, IaC minimizes the risk of failure.
5. Reduced expenses and increased return on investment
With IaC, your engineers can spend less time on manual work and more time performing higher-value tasks. This is how automating the infrastructure deployment process increases productivity and saves your company money.
When time-consuming manual tasks are eliminated, and your engineers can focus on meaningful work, your hiring costs get reduced.
And since your IaC script can automatically spin down environments that are currently not in use, you get to save on cloud computing costs too.
6. Enhanced security
Infrastructure as Code model relies on automation that removes security risks linked with human error. When an IaC-based solution is implemented right, the overall security of your computing architecture (including the data stored within it) gets improved.
When the code results in a secure IT infrastructure, it can also prevent runtime issues caused by configuration drift.
As the first line of defense, codes are checked for vulnerabilities and reviewed by peers before being tested in the sandbox environment. Sensitive information and sensitive files are encrypted by default.
Also, continuous risk assessment is conducted to ensure the highest security standards.
Final thoughts
Infrastructure as code has the potential to accelerate and simplify your infrastructure provision process while saving your company time and money at the same time. It allows you to avoid harmful mistakes and keep your environments consistent and secure.
Finally, with more productive engineers working on important tasks instead of manual ones, your company can serve your clients even better!
