Terraform is a tool that automates and manages infrastructure through code. But what exactly does it do, and should your organization consider adopting it?
This article discusses everything you need to know about Terraform DevOps, including how it works, its core principles, and how to use it.
Understanding Terraform in DevOps
To understand how Terraform fits into DevOps, we first need to look at the core goals of DevOps itself.
DevOps is a combination of practices, tools, and cultural philosophies that focuses on collaboration, automation, and continuous delivery.
Instead of working in isolated teams, developers and operations staff work together throughout the software’s lifecycle, hence the name “DevOps.”
The main goals of DevOps include:
- Delivering software faster and more reliably
- Reducing manual processes through automation
- Improving communication between teams
- Ensuring consistent, repeatable deployments
- Optimizing consumption costs in cloud infrastructure deployments and operation
Terraform is an excellent DevOps tool because it lets them define infrastructure, which includes servers, databases, networks, storage, and security settings, using code.
That code can be saved in control systems like Git, shared with teammates, repeated to recreate the same setup over and over again, and automate it so teams don’t have to manually configure the setup from scratch.
What Is Terraform and Its Role in DevOps?
Terraform is an open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool that helps DevOps teams set up, manage, and automate various infrastructure tasks using human-readable configuration files.
It’s one of the most secure and reliable tools for managing cloud infrastructure, and is currently being used by multi-billion dollar corporations like Oracle, EPAM Systems, IBM, JPMorgan Chase Bank, and CGI.
DevOps teams can use Terraform to:
- Automatically manage infrastructure across multiple cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) and on-premises environments using IaC using a single platform
- Maintain infrastructure state through built-in state management, which prevents configuration drift, tracks resources, and supports rollbacks to previous states if needed
- Manage multiple environments (QA, development, staging, production, etc.), with shared configurations, improving team-wide productivity and cost-efficiency
In short, Terraform helps DevOps manage their entire IT ecosystem via IaC instead of manually configuring cloud nodes or physical hardware.
Why Use Terraform in DevOps?
Terraform is arguably the best tool for infrastructure management, supporting more than 3,000 integrations and 250 partners, including Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Confluent.
It has over four billion downloads as of May 2025, and has been used by major corporations like Adobe, Uber, JPMorgan Chase, Oracle, and Toyota Motors.
Here’s why you should use Terraform in DevOps:
Scalability and Multi-Cloud Flexibility
Unlike other IaC services like AWS CloudFormation, Terraform doesn’t lock you into a single cloud provider. It supports over 250 platforms, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, allowing teams to build, scale, and manage infrastructure across multiple environments quickly and easily.
Reduced Errors and Controlled Deployments
Instead of blindly applying changes, Terraform provides a detailed preview of infrastructure updates before they happen. This lets DevOps teams review changes, catch potential mistakes, and approve updates with confidence.
Seamless Rollbacks
In case of failure or undesirable changes, Terraform has a rollback option that allows teams to quickly and safely revert configurations without having to troubleshoot everything from scratch.
Integration with CI/CD Pipelines
Terraform seamlessly fits into continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) workflows, allowing infrastructure changes to be tested, reviewed, and deployed alongside application code.
Speed and Efficiency
Terraform automates infrastructure provisioning, reducing manual steps and speeding up deployments. Teams can write code once and apply it across multiple projects, allowing them to focus on building and delivering applications instead of writing code over and over again.
Core Principles of Terraform in DevOps
Terraform follows two core principles that make it especially valuable in fast-paced DevOps environments:
Visibility and Tracking Changes Across Environments
With Terraform, all infrastructure changes are recorded in code and version control systems like Git. In this way, teams can easily track who made changes, when they were made, and what exactly was modified.
Collaboration with Teams Across Borders
Terraform’s state files are accessible by all team members, allowing them to review files and suggest changes before deployment.
How to Use Terraform in DevOps
Here’s how to use Terraform in DevOps:
Terraform Azure DevOps Provider for Cloud Integration
The first step to using Terraform in DevOps is to connect it with your cloud and CI/CD tools. A popular choice is Azure DevOps, formerly known as Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio Team System.
To use Azure DevOps, go to the website and sign in with your Microsoft or organizational account. Enter basic details (title, description, etc.), then click on the “New Project.”
Once the new project is all set up, you’ll be redirected to the project’s dashboard. From there, you can begin managing repositories, pipelines, and more.
Automating Infrastructure with Terraform DevOps Tutorials
Automating infrastructure is one of the first things you should do when using Terraform, as it helps reduce manual errors and speeds up deployment cycles.
Automating your infrastructure with Terraform is fairly straightforward, but if you find yourself lost or struggling, you can always turn to Terraform DevOps tutorials.
You can find these tutorials on the HashiCorp Developer website, YouTube channels like DevOps Directive, and other websites dedicated to DevOps functions.
Transitioning to Infrastructure as Code
Transitioning to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with Terraform allows DevOps teams to abandon manual, error-prone infrastructure for a more reliable and automated process.
Terraform makes this transition easy by letting you define cloud resources like servers, networks, and databases in human-readable configuration files.
Build a Collaborative Terraform Team with Staff Augmentation
If your current team doesn’t have enough people or experience with Terraform, consider bringing in outside expertise like Tangonet Solutions to work alongside your team.
Our experts can help set up infrastructure projects, optimize workflows, improve code quality, and provide hands-on guidance to build your team’s skills.
Top Best Practices for Terraform DevOps Implementation
When implementing Terraform in DevOps environments, make sure you’re following these best practices:
Lock Remote State Files for Consistency
Terraform lets you store state files remotely in platforms like AWS S3 and Azure Blob Storage, allowing teams to share and manage infrastructure state centrally.
However, this opens the possibility of multiple users making changes at the same time, which can lead to conflicts or corrupted state files.
To avoid this, enable state locking. State locking ensures that only one person or process can modify the state at a time, maintaining consistency and preventing errors during deployments.
Here’s an example of how simple it is to set up remote state with locking using S3 for storage and DynamoDB for locks:
- Step 1: Create an S3 bucket to store your Terraform state:
| aws s3api create-bucket –bucket my-terraform-state –region us-east-1 |
- Step 2: Create a DynamoDB table for state locking:
| aws dynamodb create-table \ –table-name terraform-locks \ –attribute-definitions AttributeName=LockID,AttributeType=S \ –key-schema AttributeName=LockID,KeyType=HASH \ –provisioned-throughput ReadCapacityUnits=5,WriteCapacityUnits=5 |
Configure your Terraform backend in main.tf:
| terraform { backend “s3” { bucket = “my-terraform-state” key = “path/to/your/terraform.tfstate” region = “us-east-1” dynamodb_table = “terraform-locks” encrypt = true } } |
Note: Make sure to run terraform init after adding or modifying your backend block.
Use Workspaces for Multi-Environment Management
Terraform workspaces let you manage different environments, such as development, testing, and production, using the same code.
Each workspace keeps its own separate state, so changes in one environment don’t affect the others.
For example, let’s say you want to manage the infrastructure of a web application for dev, staging, and production. Here’s how you can do it:
- Step 1: Create separate workspaces for each environment using the command:
| terraform workspace new dev terraform workspace new staging terraform workspace new production |
Step 2: Use terraform.workspace to set environment-specific variables. You can customize resources based on the current workspace by using the built-in terraform.workspace variable.
For example, in your variables.tf file:
| variable “instance_type” { default = “t2.micro” } And in your resource definition: resource “aws_instance” “example” { ami = “ami-12345678” instance_type = var.instance_type tags = { Name = “example-${terraform.workspace}” } } |
- Step 3: Apply configuration for each workspace:
| terraform workspace select dev terraform apply terraform workspace select staging terraform apply terraform workspace select production terraform apply |
Why Choose Tangonet for Terraform DevOps Solutions?
Tangonet is a technology services provider specializing in nearshore remote tech teams and IT consulting. Here’s why you should choose Tangonet for Terraform DevOps Solutions:
- Nearshore Expertise with Cultural Affinity: Our teams are based primarily in Argentina, making real-time collaboration with North American clients easy and efficient. Our engineers and developers share similar work styles, business values, and language with US and North American clients.
- Extensive experience with Terraform and DevOps: Our team of experts has been working with Terraform and cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud for many years. We’ve completed dozens of DevOps projects for clients across the globe. We help organizations automate infrastructure, scale operations, and streamline deployment.
- Tailored Solutions and Support: Tangonet offers staff augmentation and consulting to accelerate Terraform adoption, optimize workflows, and maintain governance and security.
Book a consultation today to learn how our team can support your organization.
