What is Infrastructure as Code and why it is transforming DevOps

James Kipsoi — Fri, 08 May 2026 03:29:43 +0000

In today’s tech world, success is measured by flexibility, speed, and the ability to accomplish important tasks efficiently within a short time.
That is where automation comes in.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the epitome of automation in infrastructure management. Instead of performing repetitive and cumbersome tasks manually through a GUI, IaC allows you to define infrastructure using configuration files. These configurations can then be deployed within seconds using simple commands such as terraform apply.

Declarative vs Imperative Approaches

There are two main approaches to Infrastructure as Code:

Declarative Approach

With the declarative approach, you define the desired end state and let the tool determine how to achieve it.

Example:

“I want 10 servers running.”

Tools like Terraform handle the process of creating and managing the infrastructure needed to match that desired state.

Imperative Approach

With the imperative approach, you define the exact steps required to reach the desired state.

Example:

“Create server 1, create server 2… create server 10.”

The challenge with this approach is that rerunning scripts can sometimes create duplicate infrastructure if state is not properly managed.

Why Terraform?

Terraform is one of the industry leaders in Infrastructure as Code. It allows you to manage infrastructure across both private and public cloud platforms.

Some reasons why Terraform is worth learning:

It uses a human-readable language for writing infrastructure configurations.
Terraform state helps track and manage deployed infrastructure.
It supports version control, making collaboration in infrastructure management easier.
It works across multiple cloud providers, making skills transferable.
My Terraform 30-Day Challenge

I am embarking on this 30-day journey to better understand Infrastructure as Code and Terraform in particular. My goal is to gain more hands-on experience in infrastructure management, automation, and modern DevOps practices.

Looking forward to learning, building, and sharing the journey.

DEV Community: James Kipsoi

What is Infrastructure as Code and why it is transforming DevOps