Self-Service Infrastructure Platform
A custom platform that enables developers to provision approved infrastructure on-demand via a simple interface, powered by the Automation API.
Overview
A Self-Service Infrastructure Platform is a common use case for the Pulumi Automation API, not a specific off-the-shelf tool. Companies build these platforms internally to empower their development teams. The platform codifies infrastructure best practices into reusable components (e.g., a secure S3 bucket, a standard microservice environment). Developers can then provision these components through a simple UI, API call, or CLI command, without needing deep infrastructure expertise. The Automation API is embedded in the platform's backend to programmatically drive Pulumi to create, update, or destroy the resources.
✨ Key Features
- Programmatic infrastructure provisioning via API (REST, gRPC).
- Web-based portal for user interaction.
- Codified infrastructure best practices and security policies.
- Abstracts away cloud provider complexity from developers.
- On-demand creation of ephemeral development and testing environments.
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Uses a real programming language for defining infrastructure components, allowing for greater flexibility and abstraction.
- Directly embeds the IaC engine, providing a more robust and integrated experience than wrapping a CLI tool.
Unique Value: Increases developer velocity and enforces organizational best practices by providing a simple, safe, and repeatable way to provision cloud infrastructure.
🎯 Use Cases (4)
✅ Best For
- Atlassian's Bitbucket DevSpeed team built a self-service dashboard for developers to provision cloud-based development environments.
- SANS Institute built a platform for instructors to provision virtual learning environments.
- Mercedes-Benz R&D built custom platforms to empower their teams to stand up cloud infrastructure when needed.
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Small teams where direct use of the Pulumi CLI is sufficient.
- Organizations without the development resources to build and maintain a custom platform.
🏆 Alternatives
Compared to using Terraform Cloud, building a custom platform with the Automation API offers unlimited flexibility in UI, workflow, and integration. Unlike simple scripting, it leverages Pulumi's robust state management, diffing, and declarative engine.
💻 Platforms
🔌 Integrations
💰 Pricing
Free tier: This is a custom-built tool; cost is based on the underlying cloud resources and development effort.
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