The main definition for Infrastructure as Code is managing and provisioning common infrastructure components using machine readable definitions.
History
It was not too long ago when system engineers were manually configuring servers and applications. This process works, but it is slow and has room for plenty of mistakes. Cloud computing came along and things started to change. Companies needed a way to keep up the agility and provide a consistent environment. Infrastructure as Code was born.
Benefits
Infrastructure as Code provides benefits to companies and information technology engineers. The benefits can be broken down into three categories.
- Cost
- Speed
- Risk
Cost
Without Infrastructure as code, you will need to have many types of engineers to deploy infrastructure entities. The cost of employment of those engineers is going to get expensive. There is also another cost that should be reflected on and that is effort. For instance, lowering effort can help information technology staff refocus and put more effort in providing value in other avenues.
Speed
Without the manual configuration, you can really speed up the deployment and configuration of resources. The speed of Infrastructure as Code can help through all phases of software life cycle. This allows multiple teams to have insight into the process and flow. In conclusion, this can exponentially speed up the process when you are talking about hundreds of builds.
Risk
With automation, it removes the risk of human error and configuration drift. It also allows teams to deploy the same build multiple times without worries. Information security teams have peace of mind that the standards of security are applied to all instances across the stack. Above all, companies can rely on the process of building their mission critical applications stays with the company.
Conclusion
Infrastructure as Code can give you and your company the agility to meet the demands of the new age. It can also give you a more dependable and configuration consistent environment. I would recommend you start implementing some Infrastructure as Code in your environment!