Provisioning and managing infrastructure in platform engineering involves evolving from manual and inconsistent processes to more automated, scalable, and adaptive approaches. By adopting automated and standardized processes, organizations can reduce errors, improve efficiency, and ensure consistent infrastructure management.
Focus areas include defining provisioning processes, managing infrastructure, and provisioning requests, and monitoring resource allocation.
Manual
In the initial stage, the organization emphasizes flexibility and quick responses to infrastructure needs, with IT or Architecture teams providing guidance through documentation. Developers manually set up infrastructure based on this guidance, leading to inconsistencies as different teams use varied methods. Access and provisioning requests are manually reviewed, causing delays, and developers handle provisioning on their own, increasing the risk of errors. The lack of formalized processes and reliance on manual checks result in siloed operations, increased downtime, and difficulties in maintaining a scalable infrastructure, making this approach unsustainable as demands grow.
Define provisioning processes: Developers manually set up infrastructure on a case-by-case basis, often using different methods and tools for similar tasks.
Respond to and manage infrastructure and service provisioning requests: Requests for infrastructure are handled manually on an as-needed basis, often through informal communication channels (for example: email, chat), with access gated by manual reviews from IT or Architecture teams. Individual teams or developers are responsible for provisioning.
Monitor resource allocation: Teams may rely on manual checks to ensure resources aren't
running out of capacity, but often only when issues arise.
Coordinated
As the organization recognizes the need for more consistent and efficient operations, initial steps are taken to centralize and standardize provisioning processes. Some teams begin to align their tools and methods, but without an organization-wide standard, variations persist. Centralized systems, like ticketing, are introduced to manage infrastructure requests, but this approach can introduce bottlenecks, as manual approvals and provisioning add overhead.
The transition towards centralization and standardization, while necessary, may slow down development and deployment cycles, highlighting the need for further streamlining.
Define provisioning processes: Some teams start using and modifying similar tools and scripts, but there's no organization-wide standard. Some teams manually provision resources, some teams use available tools and scripts.
Respond to and manage infrastructure and service provisioning requests: Requests are submitted through a centralized system (example: a ticketing system), and a centralized IT or platform team manually approves and provisions the infrastructure.
Monitor resource allocation: Teams start using standard tools to gather data on resource
utilization, but monitoring is typically set up for individual services or projects without a holistic view.
Paved
The organization is focused on establishing formalized and consistent provisioning processes throughout the entire operation. However, as the volume of infrastructure requests increases, the platform team may struggle to keep up, even with structured workflows in place. The challenge here's managing the growing demand without compromising on the quality of service or efficiency, pushing the need for more scalable solutions.
Define provisioning processes: Engineers use IaC templates to provision services. Provisioning processes are formalized and standardized across the organization. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices are widely adopted, with consistent templates and tools used by all teams.
Respond to and manage infrastructure and service provisioning requests: Requests are handled through a structured workflow, with predefined templates and defined processes to streamline provisioning (examples: paved paths, golden paths). Approvals may be required for certain types of requests.
Monitor resource allocation: A comprehensive set of metrics is tracked, offering clear visibility into resource allocation and utilization. Centralized dashboards monitor resource use across all services, providing performance insights.
Automated
To address the limitations of manual processes and enhance efficiency, the organization moves towards automating provisioning and integrating it into CI/CD pipelines. Automation reduces manual effort and ensures consistent deployment, with governance and compliance checks built into the workflow. However, this shift to "everything as code" demands a higher level of expertise in automation, scripting, and coding. Additionally, while templates streamline many processes, they may oversimplify complex scenarios, requiring continuous refinement to address unique edge cases effectively.
Define provisioning processes: Provisioning processes are automated and integrated into CI/CD pipelines, allowing for rapid and consistent deployment of infrastructure. Governance and compliance checks are integrated into the provisioning workflows.
Respond to and manage infrastructure and service provisioning requests: The platform team manages the request process through an automated self-service capability, allowing users to provision resources independently within controlled parameters. Authorized users have access to dedicated and shared, standardized, and preconfigured environment creation resources.
Monitor resource allocation: Automate scaling based on usage patterns
Adaptive
The organization is focused on optimizing resource allocation and performance through intelligent, proactive management. Provisioning isn't only automated but also adaptive, with systems that anticipate and respond to infrastructure needs in real-time. This approach
enables a balance between flexibility and governance, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently while maintaining compliance. The challenge at this level lies in managing the complexity of balancing centralized governance with the autonomy of decentralized teams, ensuring that governance standards evolve alongside organizational needs without stifling innovation.
Define provisioning processes: Provisioning processes are automated and integrated into CI/CD pipelines, allowing for rapid and consistent deployment of infrastructure. Governance and compliance checks are integrated into the provisioning workflows.
Respond to and manage infrastructure and service provisioning requests: Requests are automatically handled by an intelligent system that anticipates needs and provisions resources proactively, offering flexibility while maintaining governance.
Monitor resource allocation: Predict resource demand based on historical data and current usage patterns, automatically provisioning, or deallocating resources to maintain optimal performance and cost-efficiency.