Infrastructure-as-code and its game-changing impact on rapid solutions development

Rapid solutions development has become the standard in the tech world, empowering organizations to be first to market and fast to acquire a return on their investment. However, achieving rapid development has become increasingly more difficult.

One of the main challenges to rapid development for today’s tech firms is the ever-increasing complexity of the tech world. New solutions must integrate with a virtually unending tech universe, and the factors that must be considered -- as well as the likelihood of conflicts -- have grown exponentially in recent years.

The tech workforce shortage is another key challenge, with some of the latest reports showing that tech talent is difficult to find. Without skilled teams for developing, testing, gathering feedback, and updating designs, tech companies can’t keep pace.

Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) gives tech firms the power for rapid solutions development despite those challenges. It provides the speed developers desire and much more, empowering an approach that is efficient, flexible, and able to provide consistent and reliable results.

The basics of IaC

IaC manages infrastructure via code, rather than manual processes, using configuration files and templates to specify the type of infrastructure needed. The infrastructure specified is provisioned and managed automatically based on the code.

IaC leverages coding languages optimized for describing infrastructure elements, such as JSON, YAML, and HashiCorp Configuration Language, which was developed specifically for tools like Terraform, Vagrant, and Packer. The languages declare the needed resources, such as virtual servers and memory, as well as defining capabilities such as storage capacity and configured users. The coding accomplished by these languages focuses on what is needed rather than on how it should be provisioned.

IaC platforms such as Terraform or CloudFormation process the template files and trigger the API calls needed to establish the infrastructure. The templates then monitor the infrastructure to identify and correct changes that depart from their specifications.

The benefits of IaC

Automation is one of the main benefits of adopting an IaC approach. By automating infrastructure provisioning, IaC allows configuration to be accomplished at a faster pace. Automation also reduces the risk of errors that can result from manual coding, empowering greater consistency by standardizing the development and deployment of the infrastructure.

IaC supports rapid solutions development by providing a modular framework. Developers can rapidly assemble and deploy its infrastructure blocks, reusing them as needed throughout the development process. When adjustments are needed, developers can simply update the code the blocks are built on rather than making manual one-off changes to infrastructure components.

Testing and tracking are more streamlined with IaC since the IaC code serves as a centralized and readily accessible source for documentation on the infrastructure. It also streamlines the testing process, allowing for automated unit testing of compliance, validation, and other processes before deploying.

Additionally, IaC empowers developers to take advantage of the benefits provided by cloud computing. It facilitates direct interaction with the cloud’s exposed API, allowing developers to dynamically provision, manage, and orchestrate resources.

Connecting to cloud resources also provides greater scaling capabilities. Scalability problems are common in rapid solutions development, where stability can be sacrificed for the sake of speed. By empowering automatic scaling capabilities, IaC can empower automated scalings, allowing for infrastructure to be adjusted dynamically as demand for applications and other resources fluctuates.

A solution for key cybersecurity concerns

Adopting the IaC approach for rapid solutions development also allows organizations to enhance cybersecurity controls. Most rapid development protocols run the risk of weakening security by rushing authentication models and failing to leave space in development timelines for sufficient security reviews. IaC addresses key vulnerabilities by replacing human agents with automated processes.

Stats show human users are responsible for 74 percent of cybersecurity breaches. In many cases, neglect or human errors in configurations keep key security measures from being applied. IaC addresses these weaknesses by automating update processes.

Adherence to security standards is one safeguard that can suffer from inconsistencies when entrusted to human users. IaC allows standards to be baked into the infrastructure through its coding templates, ensuring encryption standards, firewall rules, and other policies are enforced. 

Limiting human responsibility in the infrastructure process also enhances security by reducing the risk of social engineering attacks. Phishing, pretexting, and other social engineering attacks focus on gaining unauthorized access to systems by stealing user credentials. With IaC, fewer users have the type of credentials targeted by social engineering attacks.

Rapid solutions development promises great rewards to companies that can avoid the pitfalls inherent in the process. By leveraging IaC, developers chose an approach with fewer dangers. It empowers them to keep pace in today’s tech field and deliver impactful products without sacrificing quality, security, or the capability to effectively scale products to meet growing demands.

Image credit: cherezoff / Shutterstock

Yashin Manraj, CEO of Pvotal Technologies, has served as a computational chemist in academia, an engineer working on novel challenges at the nanoscale, and a thought leader building more secure systems at the world’s best engineering firms. His deep technical knowledge from product development, design, business insights, and coding provides a unique nexus to identify and solve gaps in the product pipeline. The Pvotal mission is to build sophisticated enterprises with no limits that are built for rapid change, seamless communication, top-notch security, and scalability to infinity.