What is provisioning?

This episode of Techsplainers explores provisioning through the lens of infrastructure as code, explaining why it is such a foundational part of modern IT operations. It breaks down provisioning as the process of setting up infrastructure and making resources available for systems and users, from servers and networks to applications, cloud services and devices. The episode also clarifies a common source of confusion by separating provisioning from configuration. Provisioning creates and allocates the underlying resource, while configuration tailors that resource for a specific workload or user need. From there, it examines several major types of provisioning, including server, network, application, cloud and device provisioning, showing how each supports a functioning IT environment. The discussion then shifts to automated provisioning and why it has become essential in DevOps-era organizations. It highlights how infrastructure as code helps automate provisioning through scripts and templates, reducing manual effort while improving speed, scalability, consistency and compliance. The episode also addresses the tradeoff of automation: while it reduces human error, mistakes in code can scale quickly if not reviewed carefully. Find more information at https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/provisioning 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."