Microsoft launches policy-as-code tool for Azure

Microsoft launches policy-as-code tool for Azure

Microsoft introduced a policy-as-code tool to streamline policy implementations in its Azure cloud environment.

Organizations are increasingly using cloud environments for day-to-day operations. In order to keep things streamlined, certain policies and rules need to be integrated within their environments. Azure is a popular cloud environment widely used by several industries. Microsoft has recently made it easier for organizations to streamline the implementation of policies and compliance protocols.

Policy-as-code

Enterprises face challenges when implementing policies and rules in their cloud environments. In order to tackle this, Microsoft has introduced a new policy-as-code tool. The tool provides administrators with more control over their policy implementation. The tool’s purpose is to democratize scaling up compliance protocols within Azure cloud environments.

“The driver was looking at the over-engineered methods and incomplete solutions being used and trying to produce something that could easily be implemented and managed by people with little knowledge of infrastructure as code, while still being scalable and maintainable”, principal customer engineer Anthony Watherson said. “With an easy-to-understand deployment and management structure, the solution allows you to deploy policies, initiatives (set definitions), assignments, and policy exemptions at scale.”

Alternatives

While the complications and complexities experts have to deal with when using these tools at an enterprise level are inevitable, Anthony believes these processes can be streamlined. There are alternatives available in the market, such as HashiCorp’s Terraform infrastructure-as-code software. However, not all options are reliable in Azure’s cloud environment.

A policy-as-code solution is a strong move by Microsoft, but it does not guarantee the simplification of policy implementation. Only time will tell how streamlined the solution will be.

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