Reasons to Hire an IaC (Infrastructure as Code) DevOps

Infrastructure as Code service is gaining more tracking every day as they offer distinctive benefits for businesses. DevOps IaC services refer to a specific approach to IT infrastructure management.

In this article, we’ll define what IaC services are and how they can boost a business. We’ll also cover the roles and responsibilities of DevOps IaC developers.

What IaC Is and How It Is Used

IaC means an approach to IT infrastructure automation of a company done in the software development manner. It ensures specific and constant routines and protocols for changing and provisioning the system’s configuration.

It ensures that DevOps procedures are free of errors and can be redeployed on multiple servers. It means that DevOps infrastructure as code works the same way as applications for general release. So instead of manually setting a server, a professional can run a template script that sets multiple servers in the desired configuration automatically.

IaC DevOps allows treating infrastructure the same way any other code will be treated. There is consistency in version control, monitoring, testing, and virtualization. With this approach, one DevOps professional can start even a hundred machines with just one press button.

DevOps IaC best practices include:

  • Managing infrastructure through source control;
  • Application of the unified testing and troubleshooting;
  • Increasing collaboration between operation and development teams;
  • No need for separate documentation as the code becomes a document in itself.

How Is IaC Related to DevOps? Pros and Cons of This Approach

CI/CD DevOps practices are necessary for a holistic and agile approach to software development in general.

DevOps refers to the multitude of practices, concepts, and processes that make software development faster and more effective. The core of this approach is automation.

So how does IaC relate to this? IaC is a concept that refers to the best practices of infrastructure management (including servers, storing, and managing networks).

IaC is one of the key practices of the DevOps system. IaC, CI/CD, DevOps, and DevSecOps all work together and implement the same principles to ensure a consistent and productive development process.

Infrastructure engineer directly influences the release cycle. And IaC practices help to set components of it extremely fast, which increases development speed.

IaC pros for DevOps are the following:

  • Easy learning curve. It is usually created with JSON or other high-level programming languages. It means that admins can write it as well as the development team;
  • Language flexibility. It can be done in declarative or imperative code languages (SQL or C++). The imperative method describes a step-by-step process to achieve the desired configuration of a server. The declarative method only sets the desired parameters without specification of particular steps that take it there;
  • Automation all the way. The best part is that IaC allows eliminating all manual labor in both the production environment and CI/CD pipelines. CI/CD, IaC, DevOps, cloud architecture together ensure the most productive way to manage software development, deployment, and release.
  • Advanced security with new multi-level practices.

But like any other approach, IaC has its cons, too, namely:

  • Relative complexity. IaC can be simple or complex; it depends on the specific approach to its implementation a business takes. It is a flexible principle that allows a high level of customization. It means that some organizations can set it up pretty quickly, but others will require a more detailed and long process.
  • Possible automation failures. No one is immune to errors, and automation tools are no exception. In the case of IaC, it means that the error can occur on all machines set with the same script at once, which can be a considerable risk.
  • Security needs to be taken care of by experts. If it is done wrong, IaC can lead to more issues, especially when working with a cloud.

Top Tools Used by DevOps for IaC

DevOps infrastructure and security as code can be done with a multitude of tools that all have their pros and cons. Let’s revise the most popular ones and their characteristics.

AWS CloudFormation

As the name suggests, this tool is usually used for companies working with the Amazon cloud. AWS DevOps infrastructure as code tool is an integrated service that ensures management via JSON or YAML. There are several excellent automation features to deploy resources repeatedly. As soon as the template is done, CloudFormation will do everything automatically. It is handy, easy to set, and secure.

Azure Resource Manager

This is another cloud-platform-specific solution for Microsoft software. ARM templates allow handling provision in one cycle. It uses JSON language and the declarative method. It is possible to declare several resources in one template, which is a plus. And templates are reusable an infinite number of times.

Google Cloud Deployment Manager

This software is used by infrastructure as code application code DevOps team that work with Google cloud. The configuration files use YAML, and templates are done with JINJA2 or PYTHON. One of the pros is that multiple resources can be deployed at the same time. The review feature allows getting an overview before applying the script to the system.

Terraform

This is a multi-cloud tool that can work with any provider. It can manage huge and complex infrastructures with ease.  The main advantage is that it is much more adaptable and flexible than other systems. But it comes with a con, too – it is more complex in its core. There are such features as preview, deployment replication, remote state, and version control.

Chef

It is one of the well-known tools among CI/CD professionals. It is Ruby-based and allows “cookbook” versioning. So it is extremely useful to handle rapid infrastructure growth and development.

There are lots of appellations for templates and ready-to-use templates available. So it can be quite fast to implement. However, one cookbook is responsible for one task that can run on multiple machines.

Ansible

This is a top choice for professionals working in the Red Hat environment. Its main benefit is a radically simple configuration procedure and language. And it takes automation to the max. It also ensures instant cloud management. A person just needs to describe how components of the system interact, and the solution will take care of it.

Puppet

Puppet is another agile and holistic tool that is used by Reddit and Google data centers. It works with any OS and has an advanced interface as well. It is also a Ruby-based DSL solution, which makes the learning curve easier. One needs to define the configuration state, and the tool automates the steps to achieve that.

Reasons to Hire IaC DevOps

DevOps, automation & IaC are the three factors that define the software development industry today. They are necessary to make it faster, more agile, and productive.

Here are the main benefits of such experts for companies:

  • Quick modernization. It helps to create reliable and flexible systems at a low cost. A lot of manual labor is done automatically, which frees the hands of employees. And it gives the opportunity to build huge infrastructure easily and fast and rapidly update and modernize it.
  • Measurable analytics. It is easy to evaluate the system’s efficiency with clear metrics and decide based on facts and figures.
  • It fits everything. IaC can be applied to cloud, VM, or servers – it fits any system.
  • Less maintenance. All the repetitive and manual tasks happen automatically, so there is less time needed to maintain infrastructure;
  • Full control over the system in terms of operations, maintenance, and security.
  • Consistency of the system as all upgrades and changes are applied to all machines at once, and there is strict version control.
  • Easy testing and troubleshooting;
  • Fewer downtime risks. There are no constraints to making infrastructure changes.

IaC DevOps professionals can revolutionize an organization’s approach to IT infrastructure and software development.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Skills of IaC DevOps Professionals

The main role of such experts is to implement and manage IaC procedures into the organization’s infrastructure. They evaluate and analyze requirements to figure out what can be automated. And they create templates and scripts for such automated operations. The responsibilities for IaC developers include:

  • Managing the implementation of IaC and DevOps procedures according to the company’s needs and requirements;
  • Refactoring and rebuilding existing systems to make them more efficient;
  • Or creating a roadmap for such automation in case there is no such system (for example, if it is a startup);
  • Establishing and increasing cooperation between teams and departments, such as operations and development, for example;
  • Creating a consistent and reliable system for the most effective software development, deployment, and release with the best practices;
  • Involvement in all parts of this process – system analysis, planning, development, testing, deployment, and troubleshooting.
  • Performance management and provision of upgrades when needed.

As it is a demanding position, a great professional needs to possess set hard and soft skills.

IaC DevOps professional hard skills:

  • Software development and coding experience – JSON, Ruby, JavaScript, Java, Python, SQL, C++, etc.
  • Knowledge of specific IaC tools that the company plans on using (Puppet, Terraform, or Chief);
  • Understanding deployment and configuration management tools like Git, GitLab, or Jira.
  • Deep knowledge of cloud solutions and relevant platforms;
  • Experience with testing, troubleshooting, and system maintenance;
  • Knowledge of source control systems and container;
  • Experience with security solutions and understanding the best practices.

The soft skills for such professionals are:

  • Strong communication;
  • Problem-solving approach;
  • Process-oriented mindset;
  • Agile experience;
  • Strong project management skills;
  • Collaboration.

Salary Rates for IaC DevOps Experts

The salaries for such professionals depend not only on the years of experience but also location. That’s why many organizations choose to outsource these tasks – it is much more affordable. Here is a comparison of monthly salaries for IaC DevOps professionals in five different countries:

  • US – $10,332
  • Ukraine – $3,100*

*Ukrainian salaries are provided based on Mobilunity’s Recruitment Team research on the local job markets. All salaries are net and do not include the service fee (in the case of hiring on a dedicated team model). The salaries are provided for comparison purposes and could not be entirely accurate. Contact us to know the exact cost of hiring a developer corresponding to the required parameters.

No wonder that Ukraine is one of the top outsourcing destinations in Eastern Europe. It offers qualified personnel at reasonable prices and with guaranteed quality.

Find out more:

Mobilunity Is Your Partner in DevOps Innovation

If you are interested in increasing your organizations’ success with infrastructure as code DevOps team or code review services from Ukraine, you’ve come to the right place. Mobilunity is an expert outstaffing partner that works with international partners on a multitude of IT projects.

We have more than a decade of experience in finding perfect teams for various businesses. Here are just some of our satisfied customers – Esurance (Switzerland), Zenchef (France), Opportunity Network (UK), Minedia (Japan), ICUC (Canada), and BYG-E(Denmark).

Mobilunity can find the best-dedicated team for your business and do it fast. We combine western management with eastern talent.

Looking for the IaC DevOps team in Ukraine? Find the right talents and hire infrastructure as code DevOps with Mobilunity!

All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.

Contact us
Go Up