Cloud Infrastructure Automation, explained
Cloud Infrastructure Automation platforms play a crucial role in enabling companies to oversee, govern, and optimize their multi-cloud and multi-Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) environments. As those environments grow in complexity, selecting the right solution is essential to maintaining visibility, security, and operational efficiency while reducing toil.
Cloud Infrastructure Automation ensures efficiency, visibility, security, compliance, and cost optimization in increasingly complex cloud ecosystems, helping organizations maintain control over both managed and unmanaged cloud resources.
This guide outlines the key evaluation criteria and purchasing steps to ensure you select a Cloud Infrastructure Automation platform that meets your organization's unique needs, with an emphasis on critical features such as Cloud Asset Management and inventory, plus automation (of IaC management, provisioning, and orchestration).
Key evaluation criteria for a Cloud Infrastructure Automation platform
Companies use cloud infrastructure automation technology in DevOps practices to reuse preconfigured infrastructure and ensure configuration visibility at all times. These tools can ensure continuous delivery and save developers time in configuring infrastructure, as well as reduce downtime.
According to G2, “a number DevOps-focused configuration management software tools will have the ability to automate cloud infrastructure, but that capability is not inherent to all configuration management tools.”
All cloud infrastructure automation tools, however, must:
- ✅ Facilitate the definition and orchestration of cloud infrastructure
- ✅ Allow the recreation of that infrastructure state in a templated form (minimizing a developer’s need to reconfigure infrastructure)
- ✅ Automate the enforcement of the infrastructure definitions
- ✅ Integrate with the DevOps tools you already use and love
And that’s just the beginning...
The right tool for your organization must also fit your niche use cases, account for nuances and edge cases, and cater to the unique complexity of your increasingly difficult-to-manage cloud footprint.
To start, you first need to identify what your needs are, then understand the kind of solution that would solve your most frustrating cloud management headaches.
Step 1: Identify your key requirements
Start by assessing the primary drivers for your Cloud Infrastructure Automation investment. Some critical questions to consider include:
- ❓ Do you need a streamlined way to automate IaC deployments within your CI/CD pipelines, ensuring consistency and reducing manual errors?
- ❓ Do you need comprehensive cloud asset scanning across multi-cloud environments, including detection of unmanaged resources and ghost assets?
- ❓ How important is real-time drift detection for your organization? Do you need flexible remediation options?
- ❓ What are your regulatory and internal compliance needs? Would a unified governance-as-code approach benefit your organization?
- ❓ Is built-in cost estimation essential for budgeting and forecasting your cloud expenditures?
- ❓ Do you prefer hosting your own state files for greater independence?
By prioritizing these needs, you can focus your search on solutions that will bring value to your team and organization.
Step 2: Zero in on core features
When evaluating Cloud Infrastructure Automation platforms, look for solutions that address the following key feature areas. These criteria will ensure you choose a solution capable of meeting modern, multi-cloud, and IaC demands.
01. Automated workflows for seamless IaC deployment
Automating IaC deployments within CI/CD pipelines ensures consistency, reduces manual effort, and accelerates workflows. A strong Cloud Infrastructure Automation solution should integrate with VCS to automate provisioning and updates across multiple IaC frameworks, enabling seamless deployments. Look for managed workflows to standardize infrastructure changes or integrations with existing CI/CD pipelines for enhanced visibility.
The best solutions also include built-in guardrails to enforce policies, prevent misconfigurations, and block non-compliant deployments—ensuring security, cost control, and governance at every stage.
02. Cloud scanning & comprehensive cloud asset management
Without cloud asset management, your team may lack visibility into critical, unmanaged resources, leading to compliance and security risks. A Cloud Infrastructure Automation solution should offer full cloud scanning and cloud asset management, providing comprehensive visibility across environments, including unmanaged resources and ghost assets.
What should you look for? Ensure your platform of choice can deliver a next-gen CMDB (Configuration Management Database) with a complete asset inventory, supporting AWS, GCP, Azure, and on-premises systems.
03. Real-time drift detection and scalable remediation
Need to track frequent configuration changes and prevent unauthorized modifications before they impact production? Then you may want to look out for solutions with real-time drift detection that is event-driven—not just based on periodic scans—for timely insights and action.
Set your sights in search of a Cloud Infrastructure Automation solution that will support both Git-to-Cloud and Cloud-to-Code remediation paths to maintain code consistency and address unauthorized changes in real time.
Even better? If you can track down a platform that detects and then proactively and automatically remediates drift, especially a smart solution that leans on AI recommendations, so you never contend with the “too many alerts, not enough action” problem again.
04. Codification and multi-IaC support
Multi-IaC support allows your organization to work within any IaC framework while ensuring consistent management of resources across cloud environments. If that sounds like something you need, make sure one thing is on your requirements list: the ability to codify assets across multiple IaC languages, with support for dependencies and module creation (following industry best practices).
When evaluating solutions, verify that the platform you’re considering supports all major IaC tools, including Terraform (latest versions), CloudFormation, and Pulumi, and check if it can codify both managed and unmanaged resources.
05. Unified governance-as-code for full compliance control
Comprehensive governance avoids potential compliance gaps that could result from limiting policy enforcement to CI/CD stages alone, as seen with some Cloud Infrastructure Automation solutions. For complete policy enforcement without compliance gaps, look for an integrated governance engine that enforces policies across all cloud stages—code, CI/CD, and runtime—addressing compliance proactively.
And what makes an integrated governance engine? Governance packs for compliance, tagging, and unmanaged assets. Additionally, guardrails to prevent deployment of non-compliant resources are crucial.
Strong governance also helps control cloud waste by ensuring resources are properly tagged, monitored, and deprovisioned when no longer needed—reducing unnecessary costs and improving overall cloud efficiency.
06. Business continuity and disaster recovery
Ensuring cloud resilience means protecting not just your data but also the infrastructure that powers it. A strong Cloud Infrastructure Automation solution should provide independent backup and recovery for infrastructure configurations, safeguarding against disasters, cyberattacks, and accidental misconfigurations.
Look for automated backups of your entire cloud footprint, including multi-cloud, Kubernetes, and SaaS environments, to minimize downtime and simplify compliance with frameworks like SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. Seek out a platform with self-hosted state file capabilities that helps ensure business continuity by reducing dependence on third-party hosting, providing greater control over critical infrastructure data.
Step 3: Perform a needs-based evaluation against top providers
Once you’ve outlined your requirements, evaluate leading solutions based on how well they meet these criteria. Platforms like Firefly offer strong capabilities across the board, including advanced continuous cloud scanning, real-time drift detection, multi-IaC support, and comprehensive governance.
Use a feature comparison checklist to track the presence or absence of each critical feature across competing solutions. This checklist should include:
- ✅ Automated workflows for seamless IaC deployment
- ✅ Cloud scanning and cloud asset management
- ✅ Real-time drift detection with scalable remediation
- ✅ Codification and multi-IaC support
- ✅ Unified governance-as-code for full compliance control
- ✅ Business continuity and disaster recovery
This checklist will help you quickly identify which platforms align with your priorities.
To make things easy, you can get our simple Request for Proposal template here.
Step 4: Run a proof of concept (PoC)
Once you have a shortlist of solutions, run a PoC with each to validate their features in your specific environment. This allows your team to experience the usability, ease of integration, and effectiveness of each platform firsthand.
Consider evaluating the PoC based on:
Integration with existing CI/CD and IaC tools
Check that the solution integrates seamlessly with your current DevOps pipeline and IaC languages without requiring extensive setup or changes.
Responsiveness of drift detection
Verify that drift detection captures unauthorized changes in real-time, avoiding downtime or security risks.
Governance policy deployment
Test how well governance policies enforce compliance across unmanaged and managed assets in multiple cloud environments.
Step 5: Review total cost of ownership (TCO)
Consider the total cost of ownership by factoring in not just the platform’s licensing fees but also hidden costs, such as those associated with third-party tools. For instance, some Cloud Infrastructure Automation tooling providers require external cost estimation tools like InfraCost, which can add significant costs.
(So, an integrated solution like Firefly, which includes cost estimation, may prove more economical in the long run.)
Step 6: Make a decision
After completing the PoC and TCO analysis, your final decision should be based on which solution best meets the prioritized requirements identified in Step 1.
Ensure alignment with key stakeholders and consider additional benefits such as:
- ❓ Does the platform’s roadmap align with your future needs? For instance, Firefly offers scalable governance and drift management, which continue to evolve for multi-cloud environments.
- ❓ What does vendor support and reputation look like? Choose a vendor with strong support and customer testimonials indicating successful deployments in similar environments.
Cloud Infrastructure Automation Software Buying Checklist
When evaluating Cloud Infrastructure Automation solutions, use this checklist to ensure you’re considering key aspects before making a decision.
1️⃣ Deployment & Automation
☐ Does the solution integrate seamlessly with existing CI/CD pipelines?
☐ Can it standardize and automate Infrastructure as Code (IaC) workflows?
☐ What guardrails and policy enforcement mechanisms are included?
2️⃣ Cloud Scanning & Asset Management
☐ Does it provide full visibility into multi-cloud environments?
☐ Can it detect unmanaged resources and cloud waste?
☐ How comprehensive is its asset inventory?
3️⃣ Drift Detection & Remediation
☐ Does it offer real-time drift detection?
☐ Can it remediate drift automatically or require manual intervention?
☐ Does it support both Git-to-Cloud and Cloud-to-Code workflows?
4️⃣ IaC Codification & Multi-IaC Support
☐ Which IaC frameworks are supported (Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi, etc.)?
☐ Can it codify both managed and unmanaged resources?
☐ Does it support module and dependency management?
5️⃣ Governance, Compliance & Security
☐ Does it enforce policies across all cloud stages (code, CI/CD, runtime)?
☐ Are built-in policy packs available for compliance (e.g., tagging, security)?
☐ Can it create and enforce custom policies?
6️⃣ Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
☐ Does it offer independent backup and recovery for infrastructure configurations?
☐ Can state files be self-hosted for data sovereignty and compliance?
7️⃣ Integrations & Ecosystem
☐ What cloud providers and IaC frameworks does it support?
☐ How well does it integrate with DevOps, security, and monitoring tools?
☐ Does it offer an API for custom integrations?
8️⃣ Cost & ROI
☐ What are the total costs, including licensing, integrations, and support?
☐ What is the estimated ROI and cost savings from automation?
☐ Are there hidden fees or additional costs for scaling?
9️⃣ Vendor Reputation & Support
☐ What is the vendor’s track record in cloud automation?
☐ Does the company provide responsive customer support?
☐ Are case studies and references available?
Use this checklist as a guide to compare vendors and ensure your selected Cloud Infrastructure Automation solution aligns with your operational needs and business goals.
FAQs addressed: A deeper dive into Cloud Infrastructure Automation
Selecting a Cloud Infrastructure Automation platform requires careful attention to the visibility, compliance, drift detection, and cost control needs of your organization. A solution like Firefly, which provides full cloud visibility, real-time insights, and robust governance capabilities across multi-cloud and multi-IaC landscapes, aligns well with these criteria, offering a foundation for secure, efficient, and cost-effective cloud management.
But if we haven’t yet addressed all your concerns, here are a few more frequently asked questions we can help clarify.
How does Cloud Infrastructure Automation differ from IaC orchestration platforms?
Cloud Infrastructure Automation platforms focus on visibility, governance, and drift detection across entire cloud infrastructures, including both managed and unmanaged resources. IaC orchestration tools primarily help deploy and manage infrastructure as code but often lack comprehensive cloud scanning, policy enforcement beyond CI/CD stages, and real-time drift detection across all cloud assets. Firefly combines CAM with IaC management capabilities, offering integrated IaC provisioning and policy enforcement across the cloud.
Why is real-time drift detection important in Cloud Infrastructure Automation?
Real-time drift detection enables immediate detection of unauthorized or unintended changes in cloud configurations, helping teams address issues before they impact security, compliance, or operational integrity. Event-driven drift management, as provided by platforms like Firefly, allows proactive monitoring, ensuring deviations are quickly identified and remediated.
How does Cloud Infrastructure Automation support governance and compliance?
A robust Cloud Infrastructure Automation solution enforces policies across all stages, from code and CI/CD to live cloud environments. Platforms with governance-as-code capabilities offer policy packs for compliance, tagging, and guardrails to prevent non-compliant resources from entering production. Firefly, for instance, enables policy enforcement across both managed and unmanaged assets, ensuring comprehensive compliance across cloud environments.
What is ghost drift, and why does it matter in cloud asset management?
Ghost assets are resources that exist in the cloud but not in your IaC state files, often because they were deleted manually. Detecting these assets is crucial to avoid unmanaged resources that could pose security risks, incur unnecessary costs, or complicate compliance efforts. Firefly’s cloud scanning identifies and tracks these assets, unlike some competitors that only monitor managed IaC assets.
How does multi-IaC support impact our cloud management?
Multi-IaC support allows you to manage and codify resources across various IaC languages, such as Terraform, CloudFormation, and Pulumi, providing flexibility and consistency in environments using multiple IaC frameworks. Firefly’s multi-IaC compatibility lets you centralize management and avoid dependency on a single framework, which is especially useful in diverse or multi-cloud environments.
What are the benefits of self-hosted state files?
Self-hosted state files give organizations control over their infrastructure data, reducing dependency on Cloud Infrastructure Automation vendors for data continuity. If a vendor hosts the state file, an outage on their end could prevent access to critical infrastructure data. Firefly allows customers to host their own state files, enhancing data sovereignty and business continuity.
Why is vendor dependency an important consideration in Cloud Infrastructure Automation?
Vendor dependency becomes a risk when Cloud Infrastructure Automation platforms host essential data, such as state files, or when they require third-party integrations for key functions like cost estimation. In cases of vendor downtime or policy changes, your organization could lose access to critical data.
Firefly mitigates these risks by allowing self-hosted state files and providing integrated cost estimation without requiring external tools, reducing dependency on outside providers.
