What is Infrastructure as Code? — UK Software Development Guide
Direct Answer
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the practice of managing and provisioning computing infrastructure through machine-readable configuration files rather than manual processes. Instead of clicking through cloud consoles, infrastructure is defined in code (Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, Azure Bicep) and applied consistently across environments.
Infrastructure-as-code in the UK
IaC has specific UK compliance value. Cyber Essentials Secure Configuration control: IaC enforces consistent, audited configuration — no drift between environments due to manual changes. UK GDPR: IaC files in version control provide a documented history of infrastructure configuration changes, supporting ICO accountability requirements. FCA operational resilience: IaC enables rapid environment rebuild (reduced RTO) and documents the configuration of systems handling financial data. ClickMasters uses Terraform for all AWS and Azure projects — the IaC code is delivered to clients as part of the project handover.
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