GitHub Actions is a powerful automation and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) platform integrated into GitHub repositories. In the context of FinOps, GitHub Actions serves as a versatile tool for automating cost optimization tasks, implementing best practices, and streamlining cloud resource management workflows. Launched by GitHub in 2018, GitHub Actions has quickly become an essential component…
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a suite of cloud computing services offered by Google that play a crucial role in the FinOps landscape. Launched in 2008, GCP has rapidly evolved to become a major player in the cloud computing industry. It provides various services that enable organizations to build, deploy, and scale applications, store and…
HashiCorp is a software company specializing in infrastructure automation and management tools. Founded in 2012, HashiCorp has become a key player in the DevOps and cloud infrastructure space, offering a suite of products that help organizations streamline their infrastructure operations, enhance security, and optimize cloud costs. HashiCorp’s products are designed to address the challenges of…
Origins of Infrastructure as Code With the rise of cloud computing and the need for rapid, reproducible, and scalable infrastructure deployments, IaC emerged as a solution. By codifying infrastructure, organizations can automate and streamline the provisioning and management of resources. Principles and best practices of IaC Principles and best practices of IaC include: Benefits of…
An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a comprehensive software application that provides developers with a centralized platform for writing, testing, and debugging code. IDEs are essential tools in modern software development, offering a suite of features designed to enhance productivity and streamline the development process. Definition and Core Concepts An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is…
Jenkins is an open-source automation server widely used in FinOps and cloud cost management for continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. Developed in 2011 as a fork of the Hudson project, Jenkins has become an essential tool for automating software development processes and optimizing cloud resource utilization. In the context of FinOps, Jenkins plays…
Microsoft Azure is a comprehensive cloud computing platform provided by Microsoft. It offers a wide range of services and solutions for businesses and developers to build, deploy, and manage applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers. Azure has become a critical player in the cloud computing landscape, providing scalable and cost-effective solutions for organizations of…
Open Policy Agent (OPA) is an open-source, general-purpose policy engine that enables unified, context-aware policy enforcement across the entire stack. Developed by Styra in 2016, OPA has gained significant traction in the cloud-native ecosystem. In the context of FinOps and cloud cost management, OPA plays a crucial role in enforcing cost policies, automating compliance checks,…
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a suite of cloud services designed to help businesses run their applications and workloads in a scalable, secure, and high-performance environment. OCI offers a broad spectrum of services, including compute, storage, networking, database, and analytics solutions. Key features of Oracle Cloud include: In the cloud market, Oracle positions itself as…
Origins of Platform Engineering As software development practices evolved and the need for rapid, continuous delivery became evident, the role of Platform Engineering emerged. It bridges the gap between traditional IT operations and development teams, ensuring streamlined processes and consistent environments from development to production. Role of a Platform Engineer Platform Engineers focus on: Benefits…
Origins of Pulumi Pulumi, founded in 2017, sought to redefine Infrastructure as Code by allowing developers to use standard programming languages (like JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Go, and .NET) rather than domain-specific languages or YAML. The idea was to harness the power of existing programming ecosystems while managing cloud resources. How Pulumi Works At its core,…
Reserved Instances were introduced by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2009 as a way for customers to reduce their cloud computing costs by committing to a specific amount of compute capacity for a predetermined period. Since then, other major cloud providers, such as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform, have adopted similar models. The primary…