What Is Cloud Automation? Examples, Use Cases + More Essential Info

Let's dive into the definition and benefit of cloud automation, as well as some methods to approach this strategy in increasingly complex data center environments. 

Table of Contents

• What is Cloud Automation?
• Cloud Automation Examples
• Infrastructure as Code for Cloud Automation
• Start Automating in the Cloud

What is Cloud Automation?

Cloud automation is the use of technology to automate processes that would otherwise be performed manually in the cloud. Examples of cloud automation include configuring cloud servers, spinning up development resources, or setting up a network in the cloud.

More users in a data center architecture means more devices, more workloads, and more data than even the best IT team can handle manually. That's where cloud automation  steps in, giving IT teams the tools they need to handle all those routine tasks at scale.

Although cloud implies "up there, somewhere," in reality the cloud landscape can be down the hall: a private cloud in your own data center. It matters less where the servers hosting your cloud are, and more how you manage it.

The adoption of cloud or hybrid environments doesn't mean that work in the data center needs to stop while automation is configured. While this shift adds urgency for organizations to keep up with changing needs, there is still flexibility in the philosophy. 

Cloud Automation Examples

You can use cloud automation to...

• Provision and manage server capacity
• Spin up new environments and resources
• Configure software and systems
• Roll out software configurations at any time
• Bring systems online and offline as needed to balance load

Cloud automation is often used to provision new resources for users (including developers) and maintain a desired state across your cloud infrastructure.

Infrastructure as Code for Cloud Automation

This infrastructure as code approach to the modern, increasingly complex data center requires advanced cloud management tools, and cloud automation answers that need. The same software-defined approach to managing private cloud architecture works equally well for managing public clouds.

Bonus: By abstracting away the differences between clouds, sophisticated cloud automation software makes it easy to provision the resources the business needs at any given moment, without getting bogged down with where the servers actually sit.

Start Automating in the Cloud

Puppet Enterprise offers professional automation services to help you get started automating.

Not using Puppet Enterprise yet? 

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Learn More

• Watch the webinar to learn how to rein in cloud chaos with Puppet
• Download a simple guide on how to get started automating with Bolt

This blog was originally published on November 4th, 2013 and has since been updated for accuracy and relevance.