Introduction to Cloud Automation

What is cloud automation? 

As an organization’s needs evolve, its cloud environments must grow in scale and complexity to match them — and those cloud environment changes often need to go into effect rapidly. However, manually managing or provisioning cloud resources is challenging enough as it is. When faced with the complexities of global scale and the need for agility and speed, a manual approach won’t cut it. Manual processes are inefficient and error-prone.

DevOps teams have turned to cloud automation tools and platforms to manage their infrastructure with efficiency, scalability, and reproducibility. Cloud automation handles tasks such as provisioning servers, managing workloads, and applying access control policies. These tools and platforms minimize the need for human intervention, allowing for faster, consistent, and more efficient DevOps.

In this article, we’ll examine key concepts related to cloud automation, looking at its key benefits and challenges. We’ll also consider how cloud automation can revolutionize an organization’s cloud resource management strategy.

Understanding cloud automation

Cloud automation uses code, tools, and infrastructure orchestration platforms to manage cloud resources. For example, an organization could write scripts to handle fine-grained identity and access management (IAM) for automated implementation across different teams. Handling IAM centrally allows teams to enforce policies consistently, reducing the risk of errors or permissions sprawl.

Cloud automation also streamlines repetitive manual tasks. By bringing speed and consistency, it lets DevOps teams focus on more strategic initiatives or complex tasks. Just as you would have with automation in any domain, cloud automation brings scalability; as cloud environments increase in complexity, an organization can maintain stability and speed as it manages those environments with cloud automation tools.

Core technologies and tools

What are the various tools that a DevOps team might use to manage cloud environments and streamline operations? Let’s consider some of the essentials in automating different aspects of the cloud infrastructure.

Infrastructure as code (IaC)

IaC involves provisioning and managing cloud resources through code. Engineers no longer spin up servers manually or configure security groups and load balancers through a cloud provider web console. Instead, IaC eliminates manual intervention, as all infrastructure configurations are declared in code. This reduces costs and enables frequent, repeatable deployments.

Terraform is a widely adopted open-source IaC tool that supports multiple cloud providers, including hybrid cloud setups. AWS offers tools like CloudFormation and the AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK) to manage AWS cloud resources. 

IaC code and templates are maintained with version control, allowing teams to track how setups change over time. These tools make it simpler for DevOps teams to define rollback strategies and determine if current infrastructure configurations have drifted from their original state. 

The use of IaC is foundational to ensuring a more streamlined and automated cloud management process. 

Continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline integration

CI/CD pipelines automate software delivery for faster and more frequent deployments. By integrating cloud automation tools with existing CI/CD pipelines, DevOps teams can connect the dots between building applications and deploying them to the cloud. For example, teams can easily integrate Terraform or AWS CDK-based deployments with pipelines from Jenkins, GitLab, or GitHub Actions.

Configuration management

Configuration management tools set up, configure, and maintain software and hardware elements within a cloud environment. Tools like Ansible, Puppet, and Chef allow teams to install software, manage users, and configure services. These tools enable consistent and repeatable configurations across cloud environments, reducing manual DevOps effort. 

Container management and orchestration

Container orchestration tools automate the deployment of containerized applications and microservices. They facilitate the management and scaling of these resources, supporting DevOps operations with reliable, scalable, secure, and cost-effective container deployments. 

Platforms like Kubernetes and Docker Swarm help efficiently manage container clusters by automating tasks — such as load balancing and service discovery — to ensure high availability and optimal performance. These platforms also simplify the management of container life cycles, allowing teams to focus more on application development and delivery.

The benefits and challenges of cloud automation

The benefits of cloud automation may seem obvious, but they are worth highlighting in more detail:

• Efficiency: Cloud automation reduces the burden on your DevOps team, improving their overall efficiency in deploying and managing cloud resources.
• Consistency: Codified configurations coupled with tools and platforms enable standardized and reproducible infrastructure setups. This allows teams to consistently and confidently replicate deployments.
• Scalability: Automation tools allow teams to scale their operations up or down with relative ease, ensuring that businesses can adjust nimbly to changes in demand. Cloud infrastructure complexities remain manageable, regardless of scale.
• Cost savings: Cloud automation tools significantly reduce the operational costs of repetitive tasks. Deploying updates to services, updating IAM permissions, or configuring network policies all become automated processes, freeing up DevOps resources for better allocation.

Cloud automation challenges

Despite these benefits, implementing cloud automation introduces certain challenges as well. These challenges (along with recommendations for solutions) include:

• Complexity: Cloud automation tooling for intricate and complex cloud environments can be tricky to get right. To reduce complexity, consider breaking down the environment configuration into smaller, more manageable components using IaC tools. 
• Skill gaps: Teams might lack skilled professionals experienced in automating complex cloud environments. Skill gaps can be addressed by partnering with external specialists or providing training programs to upskill your team.
• Cost management: Without careful oversight, cloud automation can lead to overspending on resources. Teams should conduct regular reviews, implement monitoring, and set budget-based alerts to catch these issues and avoid unnecessary expenses.
• Tool integration: Careful evaluation and early prototyping ensure tool compatibility and help teams select tools that integrate well with their existing ecosystem before full deployment.

Best practices for implementing cloud automation

The following cloud automation best practices are essential for effective implementation. These best practices include:

Defining clear objectives

Think through and establish your team’s goals in using a particular tool or platform. Since various automation tools serve different purposes, having clear objectives will help you track and evaluate their effectiveness.

Using version control

Mature DevOps teams depend on systems like Git to review changes, manage configurations, and collaborate on IaC templates and code. These tools ensure consistency across deployments and allow easy rollbacks if needed.

Monitoring and auditing

Use monitoring and log analysis tools to swiftly identify and alert you to any issues in your cloud environment resources. Regular audits of your automation processes help identify security threats, inefficiencies, and under-utilized services, allowing for early mitigation of potential issues.

Prioritizing security

Security should be a primary focus that is integrated at every stage of the automation process. From development to deployment, implement robust security measures in your application code and cloud automation code to minimize risks and allow early discovery of threats. 

Secure your automation tools and processes with CrowdStrike

Cloud automation enables teams to streamline operations for efficient provisioning and management of complex cloud environments. By automating tasks related to cloud resource allocation and configuration, teams reduce the need for manual intervention. This minimizes errors and improves scalability.

CrowdStrike Falcon® Cloud Security helps organizations secure their cloud automation workflows by scanning IaC templates to detect vulnerabilities before they affect the environment. The platform also has built-in cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools for continuous security and compliance monitoring of cloud configurations. 

Falcon Cloud Security also offers Kubernetes security posture management (KSPM) and container image scanning services to provide runtime protection and help ensure compliance. Falcon Cloud Security seamlessly integrates with existing CI/CD pipelines to identify and address vulnerabilities early in the development life cycle.