What is infrastructure as code?

This episode of Techsplainers explores infrastructure as code, the DevOps practice of automating infrastructure provisioning and management through configuration files rather than manual processes. It explains how IaC treats infrastructure like software, allowing teams to write, version, test and deploy infrastructure with the same rigor they apply to application code. The episode walks through the four-stage IaC workflow of write, version, provision and deploy, showing how configuration files, version control systems and automation engines work together to create repeatable, scalable infrastructure management. It also breaks down key implementation choices, including declarative versus imperative approaches and mutable versus immutable infrastructure, helping listeners understand the different ways organizations structure their IaC strategies. Along the way, the discussion highlights the major benefits of IaC, including faster provisioning, greater consistency, better security and compliance, accelerated development cycles, lower costs and protection against knowledge loss. It also shows how IaC fits directly into DevOps and CI/CD pipelines by ensuring environments stay aligned from development through production. The result is a practical introduction to one of the most important operating models in modern infrastructure. Find more information at https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/infrastructure-as-code. Find more episodes https://www.ibm.biz/techsplainers-podcast Narrated by Alice Gomstyn "AI tools may be used to transcribe this episode and support selected stages of the production process. All AI-assisted content is reviewed by the production team before publication."