terraform Archives | XOAP https://xoap.io/tag/terraform/ Platform for IT infrastructure and workplace automation Thu, 09 Oct 2025 10:52:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://xoap.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32x32.png terraform Archives | XOAP https://xoap.io/tag/terraform/ 32 32 How to automate AWS without using Terraform https://xoap.io/how-to-automate-aws-without-using-terraform/ Thu, 09 Oct 2025 10:52:34 +0000 https://xoap.io/?p=25916 Script your infrastructure and operations across accounts. No HCL, no state files. Just fast, flexible automation from a single UI.

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If you’re managing AWS infrastructure, there’s a good chance Terraform is on your radar or already part of your pipeline.

However:
a) It’s not always necessary.
b) You might not need it at all.

The effort of writing HCL, managing state files and stitching together modules can slow things down, especially for operational tasks, account bootstrapping or cross-environment scripting.

If you want fast, simple and flexible AWS automation, XOAP can be a great option, with or without Terraform.

Is Terraform really necessary?

While Terraform is great for building infrastructure, not every task is about provisioning VPCs or load balancers.

Much of what DevOps and cloud teams do looks more like this:

• Applying security settings at scale.
• Running scripts across multiple accounts.
• Automating patching, updates or cleanup.
• Enforcing compliance across environments.
• Configuring operating systems or installing apps.

📌 Read more about Securing AWS accounts automatically

Using XOAP

XOAP can provision infrastructure, not just manage existing environments. It does this through Scripted Actions and prebuilt automation templates that let you create and configure:

• EC2 instances.
• IAM roles and policies.
• VPCs and security groups.
• S3 buckets and encryption settings.
• GuardDuty, Config, CloudTrail and other AWS services.

Instead of declaring resources in HCL, you write scripts – or use ready-made ones available in your XOAP Workspace – that tell AWS exactly what to do, which gives you:

• More flexibility to define infrastructure your way.
• Easier cross-account and multi-region provisioning.
• The ability to use conditional logic, loops and dynamic inputs.
• Simpler onboarding with no need to learn Terraform internals.

XOAP can be your provisioning engine and your operations tool, especially if you prefer scripting over declarative IaC.

What this means in practice for AWS automation

By using your own scripts or XOAP’s pre-built templates, you can automate AWS tasks directly, across any number of accounts:

• Connect your AWS environments easily (via access key or role).
• Create production-ready Landing Zones fast.
• Run Scripted Actions using PowerShell, CLI or your preferred language.
• Apply changes instantly or schedule them across time zones and regions.
• Automate configuration, security, updates and more.

No IaC or state files. Just automation that works at scale.

📌 Read more about Automating entire AWS operations

Example: Automating patching across all your EC2s

Let’s say you want to update EC2 instances with security patches across five AWS accounts.

With Terraform, that means modeling your EC2 fleet declaratively, managing dependencies and state updates, and possibly writing a custom provider or pulling in external data.

With XOAP, it’s a Scripted Action: you select a patching script, pick the accounts and hit run.

Scripted Actions can also be scheduled to keep it fully automated.

This way, you get:

➜ Secure access to each account.
➜ Parallel execution across regions.
➜ Logging, audit trails and notifications.

📌 Read more about Automating Amazon DCV deployment

Already using Terraform? Even better!

If your team already uses Terraform for provisioning, keep going. XOAP isn’t here to replace it, but to complement it.

While Terraform covers infrastructure provisioning, XOAP handles:

• Day-2 operations like updates, restarts or application installations.
• Cross-account orchestration, particularly when it involves configuration that goes beyond the platform’s capabilities.
• Conditional flows based on runtime state, like remediation scripts.
• Orchestration of operational sequences.
• Central view of execution history and logs.

You can even trigger XOAP actions via API to keep your workflows clean and modular.

Try XOAP now

If you’re spending time on repetitive tasks, dealing with multi-account complexity or just want a simple path to automation, XOAP can help. And if you’re already deep into Terraform, XOAP goes a step beyond.

💡 Read also:

→Automating entire AWS operations
→Securing AWS accounts instantly
→Automating Amazon DCV deployment

Terraform is a registered trademark of HashiCorp, Inc. XOAP is not affiliated with or endorsed by HashiCorp.
Results may vary depending on AWS account configuration, access permissions and workload complexity.

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]]> XOAP is a game-changer, even if you already use Microsoft Autopilot https://xoap.io/xoap-is-a-game-changer-even-if-you-already-use-microsoft-autopilot/ Tue, 22 Jul 2025 14:06:55 +0000 https://xoap.io/?p=24659 Even with Microsoft Autopilot in place, XOAP takes device management further by offering full lifecycle control, security and multi-tenant support.

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Microsoft Autopilot has become the go-to solution for many IT teams when it comes to modern device provisioning. It simplifies the setup process, saves time, and enables a seamless experience for end users. But what comes after the initial provisioning or what about the use cases Autopilot doesn’t cover?

That’s where XOAP steps in and adds tremendous value, even for companies that have already standardized on Autopilot.

1. Autopilot covers the start, XOAP covers the full journey

Autopilot focuses on out-of-box provisioning, getting new devices ready for users. But enterprise IT often needs much more:

  • What about existing devices?
  • How do you ensure devices are compliant and secure from day one?
  • How do you manage multiple tenants and environments efficiently?

XOAP fills these gaps with a powerful, centralized platform that supports the full device lifecycle – from imaging to application deployment and configuration hardening.

Moreover, XOAP makes it easy to image systems directly from the console across major cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Imaging with vSphere and Nutanix is also supported.

For bare metal devices, XOAP fully integrates with OSDCloud, allowing fast and flexible deployment using:

This gives you powerful imaging across cloud, virtual, and on-prem environments.

2. One interface for every deployment type

In reality, most organizations are hybrid:

  • Autopilot for new devices
  • Classic imaging for training rooms or shared environments
  • VMs, Citrix or RDS hosts for specialized scenarios

XOAP gives you a unified UI to manage all of these, removing silos and reducing operational complexity.

3. Security and compliance baked into the deployment process

Provisioning a device is one thing; making sure it’s secure and compliant is another.

With XOAPs Configuration Management module, you can:

  • Enforce CIS, STIG, or BSI compliance automatically during or after deployment
  • Integrate Windows LAPS, firewall settings, and configuration policies by design
  • Use configuration as code to ensure all systems remain aligned with security policies

This level of control goes far beyond what Autopilot alone provides.

Read more about:

→ CIS compliance
→ STIG security standards
→ NIS2 compliance

4. Smarter software deployment across environments

Autopilot doesn’t install software, except in Autopilot Pre-Provisioning scenario, formerly known as ‘white glove’.  Usually that’s handled through Intune. But what if you need more?

With Application Management module, you get:

  • A rich, reusable package library
  • Centralized packaging support across multiple tenants
  • A solution that works beyond Intune, including SCCM, hybrid setups, and disconnected environments

It’s a modern take on application delivery, with better flexibility and fewer limitations.

5. Multi-tenant management made easy

For MSPs or large enterprises managing multiple tenants, Intune becomes difficult to scale.

XOAP solves this by offering:

  • Unified control for all tenants
  • Reusable scripts, packages, and compliance templates
  • Per-tenant customization without duplicated effort

A major efficiency booster for complex environments.

6. Visibility and troubleshooting finally made simple

One of the biggest pain points with Autopilot is the lack of visibility when something goes wrong.

With central insights and reporting, you get:

  • Transparent, real-time status reporting
  • Detailed logs and execution history
  • Proactive alerts before small issues become big problems

Especially useful in hybrid environments where Intune, SCCM, and on-prem AD coexist.

XOAP is the natural evolution for Autopilot-powered environments

Microsoft Autopilot is a solid starting point, but XOAP transforms it into a powerful, secure, and scalable automation strategy:

  • More control
  • Better compliance
  • Broader reach
  • Unified automation

Autopilot gets your devices ready – XOAP makes them productive, secure, and compliant.

Want to see XOAP in action? Book a personalized demo today.

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]]> Rethinking infrastructure as code in 2025 https://xoap.io/rethinking-infrastructure-as-code-in-2025/ Fri, 06 Jun 2025 10:28:41 +0000 https://xoap.io/?p=23415 Infrastructure as code in 2025 is no longer just about provisioning cloud resources. It's about speed, automation and solutions that match modern development workflows.

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Table of contents

Infrastructure as code has come a long way. What started as a breakthrough in cloud provisioning has now become a standard part of how teams build and manage modern applications.

But as development practices have matured, expectations around infrastructure have shifted. Today, we’re not just defining cloud resources; we’re orchestrating fast, automated, and dynamic environments that match the speed of software delivery.

It’s a good time to ask: Are the tools we’ve used still the right ones?

Terraform’s role in the early days

As we rethink infrastructure as code in 2025, it’s natural to revisit the tools that defined its early adoption – and Terraform is at the top of that list. When it first became popular, it introduced a new way of thinking about infrastructure. It let teams describe their environments in code, track changes in version control, and apply updates in a controlled, repeatable way. At a time when most infrastructure was long-lived and manually managed, this was a major improvement.

Teams could use Terraform to build production systems with confidence. It worked well for environments that changed slowly, were managed by dedicated ops teams, and followed careful planning and review processes.

The way we work has changed

Today, software moves faster. Developers deploy code more often, infrastructure is spun up and torn down as part of test pipelines, and different teams contribute to the same codebase. Changes are no longer occasional; they’re constant. That shift has put pressure on tools that weren’t built with this kind of speed and flexibility in mind.

Terraform can still handle these cases, but it often needs extra tooling and a lot of coordination. Managing shared state, writing wrapper scripts, and organizing modules across environments takes time. It works, but it can be heavy. And when you’re moving fast, that weight starts to matter.

Modern infrastructure might need something extra

The new reality of software delivery demands infrastructure that fits directly into automated workflows. Instead of provisioning being a separate task, it’s part of every commit, every pull request, and every deployment.

This has led to new expectations. Teams want infrastructure changes to be easy to review, easy to test, and easy to track. They want developers and operations to be able to contribute without deep knowledge of tooling. And they want infrastructure to follow the same principles as their application code: fast feedback, versioned history, and safe automation.

Wrong fit for infrastructure

DevOps and Agile were built for software delivery, not infrastructure operations. Infrastructure prioritizes stability, predictability, and security – not constant iteration. Furthermore, applying DevOps patterns to infrastructure ties high-cost experts to day-to-day tasks. Those experts should focus on architecture and strategy, not routine operations. Result: wasted talent and rising costs.

A quiet shift toward already existing solutions

In response, existing solutions have been around for a long time that still follow the core ideas of infrastructure as code, but with different priorities. Instead of being dependent on state files and extensive tooling, they are often enough to fulfill the needs of modern infrastructure deployments. We are discussing cloud-provider SDKs and command-line interfaces (CLIs).

These tools offer first-class feature access without the Terraform delay. And they give you finer control and custom logic through programmatic control and additional conditional logic, which is sometimes cumbersome or verbose in Terraform.

Often, the approach to implementing small-scale tasks leads to easier maintainability, faster execution, more predictable deployments, and less stress for the teams involved.

Last but not least, it reduces abstraction overhead; native tools do exactly what the API says, no translation or misalignment.

We could still say that with Terraform, you have one language that you have to learn to automate your entire infrastructure deployment on different platforms, but although you are using only one language, you still have to adjust all resource definitions to the cloud-specific parameters. So, why not use platform-specific tools directly from the start?

Evolving with the times

Infrastructure as code in 2025 goes beyond basic provisioning; it must plug directly into fast, automated workflows. Terraform earned its place when environments changed slowly and were long-lived, but today’s rapid, continuous changes add coordination overhead (state, wrappers, module orchestration). Many teams are quietly shifting parts of their workflows to cloud-native SDKs and CLIs for first-class features, finer control, less abstraction, and more predictable deployments.

The goal isn’t to get rid of what works, but to find tools that grow with your team’s needs. As the world of infrastructure changes, solutions will change too. For example, XOAP is one of the new generation solutions built for fast-paced development (and no extra complexity). Experts define the foundation once (images, platforms, policies) and operators handle daily work independently via GUI and automation. Outcome? Stable infrastructure, experts freed to focus on high-value work, and lower costs aligned with the new generation of tools designed for fast-paced delivery (without extra complexity).

You can see how it works for free, just click the “Start for free” button below!

You may also be interested in:
→ Why configuration as code is essential for modern DevOps
→ Why automation matters and how IT teams can get started
→ Feature-rich alternative to Ivanti

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