DEVOPSdigest

Many infrastructure technology teams believe they have mastered automation, but the data tells a different story. According to a survey of 413 infrastructure decision-makers commissioned by Spacelift and conducted by Panterra, 45% of organizations say they've achieved high levels of automation — yet only 14% demonstrate the patterns and practices of true infrastructure automation excellence.

This disconnect matters. The survey highlights a core challenge for modern infrastructure teams: the "Speed-Control Paradox." In their push for velocity, many organizations lose sight of governance, security, and scalability. However, a subset of high-performing organizations — those identified in the report as "Leaders" — have shown it's possible to achieve both speed and control through deliberate strategy and orchestration.

The 2025 Infrastructure Automation Reporthighlights the top three behaviors that separate Leaders from the pack:

1. Developer Self-Service with Guardrails

Leading organizations create high-velocity environments by empowering developers with self-service tools — while embedding automated safeguards.

This balance of autonomy and accountability reduces bottlenecks while maintaining operational stability. Leaders manage risk through practices like automated testing, drift remediation, and policy enforcement.

Key stats:

■ 61% of Leaders report streamlined workflows and reduced friction, compared to just 8% of less mature teams.

■ Leaders are 2x more likely to get deployments right on the first try.

■ They also experience fewer deployment retries, leading to more efficient pipelines.

"Speed plus simplicity minus risk is the winning equation," the report notes.

2. Platform Engineering for Standardization and Speed

Leaders don't rely on ad-hoc automation. They invest in platform engineering to create standardized, reusable templates and consistent processes across environments.

Platform engineering becomes the "operating system" of automation maturity — enabling not just velocity, but resilience.

Key stats:

■ 29% of Leaders have implemented centralized platform engineering teams, compared to just 7% of the broader respondent base.

■ Among Leaders, 39% plan to scale their platform engineering capabilities within the next year.

3. Orchestration Over Automation

True automation maturity goes beyond implementing tools. Leaders orchestrate the entire infrastructure lifecycle — provisioning, configuration, security, and governance — into a cohesive, automated pipeline.

In contrast, over half of less mature organizations take a week or more to deploy infrastructure changes, and 43% need to rerun their infrastructure deployments more than four times to get it right.

Here are some key stats the report revealed about leaders in infrastructure automation:

■ Leaders are 4x more likely to provision resources in under 4 hours.

■ Leaders are 5x more likely to deploy to production daily or more.

■ 58% of Leaders have reduced security incidents, and 56% report fewer compliance violations.

Ask Yourself: Are You Really There Yet?

The research defines a maturity continuum that most organizations fall along:

Experimenters: Trying tools, lacking standardization

Adopters: Automating some workflows, facing governance challenges

Optimizers: Progressing in governance and security

Leaders: Mastering orchestration, policy enforcement, and cost control

To determine your standing, ask:

■ Are we automating for speed alone, or orchestrating governance, cost, and security?

■ How much of our infrastructure is truly managed via Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?

■ Do developers have self-service tools, or rely on ticket-based workflows?

■ Is security embedded from the start, or reactive?

■ Are we measuring cost savings, risk reduction, and efficiency — or just deployment frequency?

How to Close the Gap

The good news? Any organization can achieve infrastructure automation excellence with intentional focus. Here's how:

■ Benchmark Your Maturity: Understand where you stand.

■ Balance Speed with Governance: Encourage developer autonomy with built-in guardrails.

■ Standardize with Platform Engineering: Align tools and workflows under a centralized team.

■ Measure What Matters: Focus on cost, quality, and security — not just velocity.

True automation leadership isn't about moving fast — it's about moving fast with certainty.