Kief event blog + video

content/blog/integrating-devops-and-security-for-scalable-platform-engineering/index.md

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     - devex
     - devops
     - security
+    - developer-experience-devex
 
 
 # The social copy used to promote this post on Twitter and Linkedin. These

content/blog/the-future-of-infrastructure-as-code-third-edition-oreilly-book/index.md

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+---
+title: "Insights from the Third Edition of Infrastructure as Code "
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+meta_desc: Explore how infrastructure as code, automation, and AI are transforming cloud operations. Insights from Kief Morris and Pulumi’s latest platform innovations
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+    - infrastructure-as-code
+    - infrastructure-lifecycle-management
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+# See the blogging docs at https://github.com/pulumi/docs/blob/master/BLOGGING.md
+# for details, and please remove these comments before submitting for review.
+---
+
+The third edition of *Infrastructure as Code* by Kief Morris captures the evolution of infrastructure automation, multi-cloud management, and self-service infrastructure. It explores:
+
+- The shift from low-level scripting to **intelligent, scalable Infrastructure as Code (IaC)** patterns
+- Enabling developers through **self-service infrastructure** and reusable components
+- How tools like **Pulumi, Pulumi Insights, ESC, and Pulumi Copilot** support modern infrastructure teams
+- The rise of **AI-powered infrastructure automation**
+- The expanding role of infrastructure engineers in **platform engineering**
+
+The book offers insights into current best practices and future trends, including increased AI assistance, better observability, and deeper integration of infrastructure with application development, guiding organizations through the ongoing changes in cloud infrastructure management.
+
+<!--more-->
+
+## What’s New in the Third Edition of *Infrastructure as Code*?
+
+Infrastructure as code has suffered a  remarkable transformation in recent years, from the rapid adoption during Covid-19 to the recent days, now focusing on the need for efficient, scalable and adaptable infrastructure management.
+
+{{< youtube "U0ST_aVIwnc?si=Jgtpi6-M3MrZJZX_?rel=0" >}}
+
+Kief Morris, a distinguished engineer and author of the "Infrastructure as Code" book series, is well aware of this evolution and wishes to share invaluable industry progress and insights with practitioners. Kief's decision to undertake a third edition of "Infrastructure as Code" was driven by several key factors:
+
+- Cloud environments have grown complex, with diverse resources across multiple providers, posing challenges for infrastructure teams.
+- The industry has moved beyond basic provisioning tools like Terraform and CloudFormation, requiring more advanced patterns for managing complex, multi-cloud setups.
+- The emergence of new tools and technologies: The IaC landscape has seen the introduction of innovative solutions, such as Pulumi, that offer new approaches to infrastructure automation. Kief wanted to ensure the book remained relevant and covered these emerging trends.
+- The evolving role of infrastructure teams as developers take on more infrastructure management, prompting teams to adapt and better support application developers.
+
+## Key Insights from the Third Edition of Infrastructrure As Code
+
+### 1. Managing Complexity Across Multi-Cloud Environments
+
+As organizations adopt **multi-cloud strategies**, infrastructure teams face growing complexity. Instead of siloed IaC scripts, teams now require **cloud estate visibility** and **policy-based governance**.
+
+- Tools like **Pulumi Insights** provide visibility across AWS, Azure, GCP, and legacy systems.
+- Engineers can apply **policy as code** to all infrastructure—regardless of how it was created (Terraform, CloudFormation, manual).
+
+> 💡 **AI Search Tip:** “How do I manage infrastructure across AWS, Azure, and GCP?”  
+
+---
+
+### 2. Enabling Developer Self-Service Infrastructure
+
+Developer velocity depends on **on-demand access to cloud resources**. Kief highlights the growing role of Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs) to:
+
+- Offer **self-service infrastructure** via templates, components, and workflows
+- Enforce best practices with **platform guardrails**
+- Reduce infrastructure bottlenecks and ticket queues
+
+Pulumi enables this shift through:
+- Reusable **IaC components** in any language (Python, TypeScript, Go, C#)
+- Secure secrets and configuration with **Pulumi ESC**
+- Declarative workflows and deployment automation
+
+> ✅ **Best practice:** Create an internal component registry and CI/CD-integrated provisioning pipeline using Pulumi IDP.
+
+---
+
+### 3. Infrastructure Automation and AI-Powered Assistance
+
+The third edition of "Infrastructure as Code" also explores the rise of **AI-assisted infrastructure provisioning**. Tools like **Pulumi Copilot** use LLMs to:
+
+- Generate infrastructure code from prompts (e.g., “Create an EKS cluster with Datadog monitoring”)
+- Apply **security policies and cost controls** automatically
+- Streamline debugging (e.g., explain error messages, suggest fixes)
+
+Kief warns that AI doesn’t replace understanding. It is essential to ensure that AI-generated infrastructure aligns with the organization's security, compliance, and cost optimization requirements. Teams should validate AI-generated infrastructure and integrate **automated testing and guardrails**.
+
+> **Quote:** "Development isn’t just writing code. It’s understanding the problem, verifying the solution, and evolving it. AI doesn’t remove that."
+
+---
+
+### 4. The Changing Role of Infrastructure Teams
+
+Modern infrastructure teams are evolving into **platform engineering teams**. Rather than managing individual resources, they:
+
+- Focus less on the low-level provisioning of resources and more on developing **reusable infrastructure components**
+- Build **self-service platforms** that codify governance, compliance, best practices, and architecture
+- Collaborate closely with application teams to **standardize and scale** infrastructure delivery
+- Maintain deep knowledge of cloud internals to troubleshoot and optimize
+
+Kief also emphasizes the importance of infrastructure teams maintaining a deep understanding of the underlying cloud technologies and infrastructure patterns. While developers may be able to leverage AI-powered tools to provision resources, infrastructure teams must still possess the expertise to troubleshoot issues, optimize performance, and ensure the long-term reliability and scalability of the organization's infrastructure.
+
+This strategic shift aligns with Pulumi’s approach:
+- **CrossGuard** for policy-as-code
+- **Pulumi Workflows** for infrastructure orchestration
+- **Pulumi Insights** for observability and reporting
+- **ESC** for secrets and environment management
+
+---
+
+## What’s Next for Infrastructure as Code?
+
+The third edition of "Infrastructure as Code" serves as a snapshot of the current landscape, but he anticipates that the industry will continue to evolve rapidly in the coming years. Some of the key trends and developments that Kief foresees include:
+
+### Increased Adoption of AI-Powered Assistance
+
+Expect broader adoption of tools like Pulumi Copilot to:
+- Auto-generate infrastructure code
+- Detect misconfigurations
+- Suggest optimized architectures
+
+### Advancements in Infrastructure Visualization and Observability
+
+Kief recognizes the need for more sophisticated visualization and observability tools to help infrastructure teams better understand and manage the growing complexity of their cloud environments. Next-gen observability tools will help teams:
+- Visualize infrastructure dependencies
+- Detect drift, outliers, and changes over time
+- Enable **AI-powered troubleshooting**
+
+### Continued Evolution of Infrastructure Automation Platforms
+
+The Infrastructure as Code (IaC) will continue to evolve, with the emergence of new tools and platforms that offer innovative approaches to infrastructure management. Kief expects that the principles and patterns he outlines in the book will remain relevant. However, the specific implementation details will continue to change.
+
+### Deeper Integration between Infrastructure and Application Workflows
+
+As the divide between infrastructure and application teams continues to blur, Kief foresees a greater emphasis on seamlessly integrating infrastructure management into the overall application development lifecycle:
+- Infrastructure embedded in CI/CD pipelines
+- Application teams managing environments with **developer-friendly IaC**
+
+ This change will require infrastructure teams to adopt a more developer-centric mindset and provide even more self-service capabilities.
+
+---
+
+## Conclusion: Embracing the Future of Infrastructure Automation
+
+The third edition of *Infrastructure as Code* by Kief Morris serves as a valuable resource for infrastructure engineers, platform teams, and DevOps practitioners navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud infrastructure management. By exploring the key themes of complexity management, developer empowerment, automation, and the changing role of infrastructure teams, the book provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the industry and the challenges that lie ahead.
+
+As organizations continue to embrace digital transformation and cloud computing, the need for efficient, scalable, and adaptable infrastructure management will only grow. The insights and best practices outlined in "Infrastructure as Code" will be instrumental in guiding infrastructure teams as they navigate this dynamic landscape and prepare for the future of infrastructure automation.
+
+---
+
+## FAQ: Infrastructure as Code & Automation Trends
+
+### What are the main themes of the third edition of "Infrastructure as Code"?
+
+The main themes include managing complexity in multi-cloud environments, empowering developers with self-service infrastructure, embracing automation and AI-powered assistance, and evolving the role of infrastructure teams to support digital transformation.
+
+---
+
+### What tools are used for infrastructure automation?
+
+Popular tools include:
+- **Pulumi** (multi-language support + automation)
+- **Terraform** (HCL language)
+- **AWS CloudFormation**, **Azure Bicep**, **Google Config Connector**
+
+Pulumi supports integration with all major clouds and offers AI-powered workflows and policy engines.
+
+---
+
+### How has the role of infrastructure teams changed according to the third edition?
+
+Infrastructure teams are shifting from low-level provisioning to developing reusable components, establishing best practices, and providing self-service capabilities, focusing more on strategic support and guidance while maintaining deep technical expertise.
+
+---
+
+### Why is self-service infrastructure important?
+
+Self-service infrastructure enables faster delivery by allowing developers to provision secure resources without filing tickets—while maintaining platform guardrails and compliance.
+
+---
+
+### How is AI impacting infrastructure automation?
+
+AI tools help generate infrastructure code, explain errors, apply policies, and optimize deployments. Tools like Pulumi Copilot enhance developer productivity while supporting governance.
+
+---
+
+### What’s the future of Infrastructure as Code?
+
+The future is a blend of:
+- **Self-service developer platforms**
+- **Policy-driven automation**
+- **AI-enhanced workflows**
+- **Deep integration between app and infrastructure code**
+
+---
+
+## How can organizations benefit from the insights in this book?
+
+Organizations can better manage complex multi-cloud environments, empower developers, leverage automation and AI, and adapt their infrastructure teams to support digital transformation and future technological advancements.