List of the Top Cloud Infrastructure Automation Software for Platform9 in 2026

Ansible serves as a powerful automation engine designed to streamline processes such as cloud provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, and inter-service orchestration, while also addressing a wide range of IT needs. Its versatility makes it a valuable tool for enhancing operational efficiency across various IT tasks.

Terraform stands out as an influential open-source tool designed for handling infrastructure as code, providing users with a uniform command-line interface to engage with various cloud services. By converting cloud APIs into clear and declarative configuration files, Terraform allows individuals to articulate their infrastructure needs with precision. Users can craft their infrastructure using these configuration files, which utilize the HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL), making it easy to define resources through organized blocks, arguments, and expressions. Prior to executing any modifications to your infrastructure, running the terraform plan command helps confirm that the intended execution plan meets your expectations. To carry out the desired configuration, the terraform apply command enables the seamless implementation of changes across multiple cloud providers. Additionally, Terraform equips users with the ability to oversee the complete lifecycle of their infrastructure — from the creation of new resources to the management of existing ones, and ultimately the removal of those that are no longer needed, thus ensuring effective oversight of cloud environments. This comprehensive method of managing infrastructure not only streamlines operations but also minimizes the potential for errors during deployment, fostering a more reliable and efficient workflow. By adopting Terraform, organizations can significantly enhance their agility and responsiveness in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Harness is an AI-enabled software delivery and DevOps platform that provides tools for managing application development, testing, security, deployment, and operational costs. The platform includes continuous integration functionality for automating code builds, executing tests, and publishing software artifacts through configurable pipelines. Its continuous delivery capabilities allow engineering teams to deploy applications across multiple environments while managing approvals, release strategies, and automated rollback procedures. Harness supports progressive delivery through canary deployments, blue-green releases, and feature flags that control how application changes reach users. Infrastructure as code management capabilities help teams provision cloud resources, manage Terraform and OpenTofu workflows, detect configuration drift, and apply governance policies. The platform includes security testing orchestration, static application security testing, software composition analysis, and software supply chain security tools. Runtime protection capabilities address API security, application threats, and risks associated with deployed AI systems. Harness provides AI-powered agents that can assist with software delivery tasks, investigate pipeline failures, generate workflows, and perform operations within defined governance controls. Its cloud and AI cost management capabilities provide spending visibility, resource optimization recommendations, and cost allocation across engineering environments. Engineering intelligence features consolidate information about development activity, software delivery performance, security findings, and AI adoption into reporting dashboards. The platform integrates with source control systems, cloud infrastructure providers, security scanners, observability tools, and other development applications while offering centralized access management, policy enforcement, and audit logging.