Earlier this month, we launched our new Cloud Curate tool, which helps users build an inventory of reusable resources to streamline how they run cloud infrastructure and environments.
To understand why, it helps to understand how Cloud Curate works and the nature of how our Torque users create and run environments.
Watch this demo to see how Torque simplifies the management of cloud infrastructure:
How Cloud Curate generates Infrastructure as Code (IaC) files
With read-only access to cloud accounts (currently supporting AWS and Microsoft Azure), Cloud Curate automatically discovers and provides a detailed inventory of the services deployed via those accounts, including a breakdown of the cloud services used and regions where resources are deployed.
Once discovered, Cloud Curate allows the user to select resources and generate open-source Terraform files defining the configurations in less than a minute. These files can be downloaded and quickly integrated into Git repositories, simplifying resource codification and accelerating operations in the cloud at scale.
Cloud Curate also categorizes resources into three statuses to provide clear visibility:
- Codified: Resources converted into Terraform files via Cloud Curate.
- Managed: Resources deployed via Torque, whether codified by Curate or pre-existing IaC modules.
- Unmanaged: Resources deployed directly in cloud accounts without Torque governance.
This visibility helps DevOps, platform, and engineering teams identify shadow IT, unmanaged ClickOps, and valuable resources that can be codified as Infrastructure as Code (IaC) modules.
By making resource discovery and codification seamless, Cloud Curate empowers teams to create stateful, managed environments efficiently.
Why we introduced the ability to codify cloud resources as Infrastructure as Code
For years, Quali’s Torque platform has helped users manage their cloud resources by acting as a central hub (or control plane) for everything stored in their Git repositories. Torque supports tools like Terraform, OpenTofu, Ansible, and Kubernetes by discovering resources, streamlining the provisioning of infrastructure defined in those files, and automatically orchestrating them into Environment as Code (EaC) blueprints.
These blueprints simplify how teams create and launch cloud environments. Developers can easily provision resources through a self-service experience, without needing to submit a ticket to DevOps or deal with complex configurations. Torque also ensures security, enforces cloud policies, and integrates smoothly with CI/CD pipelines, Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs), and other tools developers use daily.
This approach, however, relies on a vast and constantly updated inventory of reusable cloud resources. As we spoke with the DevOps and platform engineering teams who use Torque, we discovered how valuable it would be for users to be able to expand upon their inventory of cloud resources quickly and easily.
Cloud Curate accomplishes that.
Why should users rely on Torque to manage IaC generated by Cloud Curate?
Once users create IaC modules with Cloud Curate, they can download and integrate them into their repositories, ready for provisioning like any other IaC module.
Torque empowers users to:
- Streamline provisioning: Developers can launch pre-configured cloud environments via a self-service catalog, while administrators simplify the process by predefining variable values. This reduces errors and eliminates the need for deep IaC expertise.
- Create environments using AI: Torque uses generative AI to create environments by turning natural-language prompts into reusable Environment as Code (EaC) blueprints. It analyzes user requirements, identifies the necessary resources, and automates orchestration, enabling fast, accurate provisioning without requiring advanced technical knowledge.
- Centralize credential management: Torque securely manages cloud credentials, enabling infrastructure provisioning without direct access to credentials, enhancing security and while reducing tickets for DevOps and IT teams.
- Automate Day-2 actions: With event-based triggers, scheduled workflows, and one-click actions, Torque automates maintenance, compliance, and performance tasks. This minimizes manual effort, ensuring environments remain stable, secure, and efficient.
- Map IaC dependencies: Torque’s IaC Impact Mapping visually displays relationships between IaC assets, blueprints, and environments. This helps teams assess changes and avoid disruptions to active environments.
- Enforce cloud governance: Custom policies prevent the deployment of infrastructure that violates security, performance, or cost standards. Torque ensures compliance while democratizing cloud access.
- Track activity: Torque provides visibility into live resource usage, ownership, and activity trends via detailed dashboards. This helps teams identify performance issues and productivity challenges.
- Optimize cloud costs: By tracking resource costs and flagging idle infrastructure, Torque identifies cost-saving opportunities, helping teams reduce unnecessary expenses without impacting productivity.
The introduction of Cloud Curate’s capabilities to codify cloud resources into IaC modules is just the latest step toward streamlining the creation of stateful, managed environments.
But it is a major leap in that journey, and automates a critical step for users looking to accelerate operations at scale.
To learn more, book a demo with our team.