Cloud Automation
Cloud automation is defined as a fundamental building block for the cloud computing paradigm. Automation aims at making all functionalities related to cloud computing efficient and as hands-off as possible by installing various software automation tools on the virtualization platform. It ensures that the system is performing optimally and that all requests related to allocation and deployment of resources are efficiently and quickly fulfilled. With automation, set-up of an entire fleet of uniform virtual machines can be done with a single click.
What can you automate in the cloud?
Technological advancements have made it easier for enterprises and organizations to automate more tasks now than ever before. Organizations can automate several types of tasks such as;
- Security
Security is elemental for any business operating within the cloud environment. The traditional methodology of manually setting up and running cyber-defence processes is hectic and tiresome. With the current nature of threats and attacks, you can suffer tragic financial losses due to weak security against the sophisticated attacks. Thanks to technology, you can automate security to detect and alert you spontaneously in case of a security incident.
- Creation of Backups
Although cloud services providers claim that you’ll immediately get your data in case of a breach, however, it doesn’t cost or hurt much to have backups of your data, so that in case of any system abnormality in the cloud, you don’t end up in the mayhem. This process can be automated to eliminate the mental stress of keeping dates or worries of manually creating the backups.
What are the most common cloud automation tasks?
Some of the tasks that can be made more efficient with automation include:
- Establishing Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC)
As opposed to the traditional technique of managing and provisioning the technology stack by configuring individual hardware items, the concept of Infrastructure-as-Code illustrates how software and codes can be employed to achieve the same. Platforms with virtualization capabilities can organize computing resources on the network into pools through automation, such that resources can be efficiently deployed by IT operators regardless of their location in the server room or their physical configuration. After which, the experts can draw directly from that pool of resources and allocate them as a requirement to define storages, virtual machines, VPNs, containers and other common configuration elements. This results in an IaC where users can bypass manual set-up to achieve the desired hardware configuration.
- Detecting and Addressing Zombie Cloud Infrastructure
An organization experiences a zombie cloud infrastructure if losses track of some of its cloud-deployed instances. A zombie infrastructure is made up of several unused elements that have been forgotten. As a result, these items still activate instances and generate monthly bills, yet the organization does not gain any value from the assets.
- Develop Version Control for Workflows
Some enterprise faces rigorous and strict regulations that are industry-specific for the data they gather from users. For organizations that handle sensitive information, cloud automation tools can come in handy when setting up version control for workflows, where data is put to use. This way, a regulator can be easily convinced that the same configurations were used every time the data was modified or accessed.
In conclusion, of the benefits that drive enterprises and organizations to cloud computing include;
- Reduced IT costs
- Continues deployment
- Drives innovation within an organization