Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Centralizing automation to drive business value: A real-world story (COP102)

Summary

• Pete Cruz and Jeff Jones from Ticketmaster discuss the broader context of cloud automation beyond provisioning and retirement of resources.
• They emphasize the importance of orchestrating cloud environments with other services like network, security, and IT service management, using Ansible automation platform.
• Ticketmaster faced challenges in unifying automation practices across teams with varying skill levels and technology stacks.
• The goal was to democratize automation, making it accessible to all teams, and to maintain aging systems while adopting new technologies.
• Key strategies included starting with curious engineers who identify opportunities, and creating readable, shareable, and maintainable automation using Ansible.
• Successes included quick wins with simple scripts, centralizing automation in source control, and using AWX (open source Ansible) before moving to Ansible Automation Platform for better maintenance and compliance.
• The move to the cloud helped Ticketmaster focus on automation rather than maintaining the toolset.
• Ansible Automation Platform increased speed, reduced human error, and ensured consistency in line with corporate and regulatory standards.
• Ansible can be deployed in various environments and is available through the AWS Marketplace, offering benefits like AWS billing integration and counting towards committed spend agreements.
• The Certified Collection for AWS includes all necessary roles, modules, and playbooks for AWS automation.
• Additional resources like Ansible Automation Labs, training, and certification are available for those interested in learning more.

Insights

• Centralizing automation is crucial for organizations with diverse teams and technology stacks to ensure consistency and maintainability.
• Ansible's human-readable syntax and the ability to share and maintain automation scripts are key factors in its adoption and success at Ticketmaster.
• The transition from open source tools to supported platforms like Ansible Automation Platform can alleviate the burden of maintenance and improve compliance with security and regulatory standards.
• The integration of automation tools with cloud services like AWS can streamline operations and contribute to the overall business value by reducing manual intervention and errors.
• The availability of Ansible through the AWS Marketplace simplifies procurement and integrates with existing AWS financial agreements, making it an attractive option for AWS users.
• Continuous education and certification are important for teams to stay updated on automation best practices and to leverage the full potential of tools like Ansible.