A modern application is the result of the synergy of several components, including the infrastructure that enables its operation, scalability, and evolution over time.
In this article, we analyze the key role of application infrastructure and how today it is governed through an as-code approach, capable of meeting the flexibility requirements of modern businesses.
Application infrastructure: a complex system to manage
In the cloud-native era, infrastructure is no longer a set of isolated technical resources, created once and then left running for long periods. Every modern application requires flexibility and, therefore, relies on a complex infrastructure platform comprising compute, networking, storage, platform services, and security mechanisms that must evolve and function as a single, coherent system.
A modern application requires segmented networks, access rules, container orchestration, and load-balancing systems, as well as integrations with other systems and observability tools. The architecture is natively complex, but this complexity directly contributes to application performance, which in turn impacts the business.
Provisioning is no longer an episodic activity
Infrastructure provisioning has long since lost its episodic nature. Today, the need is no longer to create a one-off environment, but to instantiate an infrastructure design across different environments (development, test, and production) with similar but not identical requirements and an increasing level of criticality.
It is also necessary to respond to continuous changes driven by the implementation of new features, integration with external systems, management of load peaks, and even true architectural evolutions. Provisioning thus becomes a recurring activity that must ensure consistency and speed, as it directly affects a company’s ability to adapt to market dynamics, satisfy customers, and maximize productivity.
Infrastructure can slow down application development
For a long time, infrastructure was managed through manual configurations, operational procedures that were often informal, and a strong reliance on individual team knowledge. This model worked for many years, but in a dynamic ecosystem such as cloud-native, it quickly showed all its limits, also considering the natural turnover of professionals.
The problem emerged when software began to evolve at a completely different pace than in the past. Frequent releases, microservices architectures, DevOps approaches, automated orchestration, and ever-shorter development cycles made a structural mismatch evident: applications were becoming increasingly dynamic and modern, but the underlying infrastructures were not. It is precisely to address this need for control and governability that the Infrastructure as Code, or IaC, approach was born and became established.
Infrastructure as Code: the standard for managing cloud-native environments
Infrastructure as Code did not emerge as a fully formed paradigm, but as the result of a gradual evolution. Initially, automation focused on system configuration; later, it extended to cloud resource provisioning, eventually encompassing the entire application infrastructure. Today, also thanks to advanced models such as GitOps, IaC represents the reference standard for managing cloud-native environments.
What is Infrastructure as Code
The term Infrastructure as Code, or IaC, refers to an approach to infrastructure management in which resources such as compute, networking, Kubernetes clusters, and security policies are defined through readable, versionable code files. These files describe the desired state of the infrastructure and govern its creation, modification, and alignment over time.
By adopting an IaC model, infrastructure is no longer built through manual configurations but through formal specifications that represent its structure and dependencies. The code, managed by dedicated tools and services, thus becomes the central reference for understanding, replicating, and maintaining infrastructure architecture consistency throughout the entire application lifecycle.
Infrastructure as Code benefits: from efficiency to cost reduction
In practice, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has brought infrastructure provisioning and management back to a software-like process, generating tangible benefits both on the IT operational side and at the business level.
- Speed and efficiency
Automation eliminates slow, repetitive manual processes. By adopting scripts, it is possible to deploy entire complex architectures in just a few minutes, significantly accelerating application time-to-market.
- Environment standardization
IaC enables the creation of replicable environments starting from the same infrastructure design. Development, test, and production share the same base structure, adapted only through parameters, ensuring architectural alignment and simplifying release and maintenance activities.
- Traceability and versioning
Since infrastructure is defined by code, it can be managed through version control systems such as Git, enabling advanced paradigms like GitOps. This provides a complete history of changes, clarity on who did what, and the ability to perform immediate rollbacks to previous states in case of doubts or errors.
- Greater operational speed and efficiency
The ability to create, update, or reconfigure infrastructure through automated processes significantly reduces the time (and costs) required to support new application initiatives. Infrastructure becomes an ally of business speed rather than a bottleneck.
- Improved security
IaC allows security best practices to be codified directly into templates. Every created resource will automatically follow company policies and standards, reducing the risk of human error or vulnerabilities. In this sense, IaC becomes the foundation of security by design.
Infrastructure as Code is not (just) a tool: skills and governance
Infrastructure as Code is often associated with a specific tool, but this interpretation risks being reductive. In reality, IaC is an operating model that involves infrastructure, processes, and people. Let’s look at the components of this model.
A programmable infrastructure
IaC assumes that infrastructure can be governed programmatically. This means operating in environments that expose APIs and allow the automated creation, modification, and removal of resources, such as public clouds, modern private clouds, and DevOps platforms.
IaC tools to automate processes
Infrastructure as Code tools allow infrastructure to be described, the desired state to be compared with the actual state, and changes to be applied in a controlled manner. The IaC tool landscape includes both provisioning-oriented tools, such as Terraform or OpenTofu, and solutions focused on system configuration and management, such as Ansible. The choice depends on the technological and organizational context.
Integration into IT processes
To fully express its value, IaC must be integrated into existing processes. This includes the use of code versioning systems and integration with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps environments. Infrastructure thus becomes part of the application lifecycle, rather than an element managed separately.
Skills and governance of evolution
Adopting IaC requires skills that go beyond writing configuration files. It calls for infrastructure design capabilities, knowledge of cloud services and application platforms, attention to security, and an understanding of organizational dynamics. Without an adequate governance model, IaC risks generating complexity rather than reducing it, making it difficult to maintain control and consistency over time.
Our approach to software development and management
At Kirey, we guide the digital transformation of organizations, starting from software. We build tailor-made applications that integrate into business processes, designed with solid architectures and agile methodologies to ensure long-lasting results and precise alignment with business objectives.
Cloud-native applications, in particular, impose increasingly stringent requirements in terms of release speed, operational continuity, and the ability to manage change. Meeting these needs means adopting operating models capable of supporting rapid and secure evolution cycles, in which Infrastructure as Code plays a leading role.
Contact us to find out how we can support the evolution of your applications and the underlying business processes.
