Infrastructure automation is no longer an initiative focused solely on operational gain and has become a strategic requirement for companies that need to increase efficiency, reduce risks, ensure compliance and sustain increasingly complex hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
In 2026, organizations from the most diverse sectors are accelerating investments in this front because manual processes no longer follow the speed required by business, especially in the face of increasing adoption of AI, distributed applications and cloud-native architectures.
By automating provisioning, setting up, implementing security policies, updating management and environmental recovery, companies reduce human errors, increase the availability of services and make their operations more predictable. In addition, automation creates a solid basis for AI, DevSecOps and observability initiatives, allowing infrastructure teams to act more strategically instead of spending time on repetitive tasks.
Modern infrastructure requires a new form of management
In recent years, corporate infrastructure has undergone a significant transformation. Formerly centralized environments in physical data centers now coexist with multiple cloud providers, distributed workshops, containers, Kubernetes, edge computing and microservice based applications, which brought flexibility, but also exponentially increased operational complexity.
Today, an infrastructure administrator can be responsible for hundreds or thousands of servers, Kubernetes clusters, virtual machines, border devices and hybrid environments. Manage all this manually is not only inefficient, it is a risk factor.
According to the State of DevOps Report, organizations with high automation have significantly faster delivery cycles and lower rate of failures in changes when compared to teams with predominantly manual processes. In addition, companies that adopt mature automation practices can reduce the average recovery time and increase operational stability. Those conclusions are used in the annual analyses of the report.
Another relevant data comes from Gartner, which projects that more than 70% of organizations will have implemented structured automation for infrastructure and IT operations until 2027, driven by the need to support hybrid environments, AI and large-scale digital operations.
What changed in 2026?
Artificial Intelligence Growth
AI models require highly available, scalable and consistent infrastructure. Training models, running inferences and integrating smart applications requires standardized environments capable of being provided quickly.
Without automation, any expansion of the infrastructure also increases operational effort.
Expansion of hybrid environments
Few organizations operate exclusively in public cloud.Most keep a combination between data centers themselves, public cloud, private cloud, edge computing and containers.
Manage settings manually between these environments increases inconsistencies and makes audits difficult.
Automation ensures that policies are applied in the same way throughout the infrastructure.
Security is no longer an isolated process
Operational system updates, patch application, configuration control and access policies need to happen continuously.
When these activities depend on manual processes, they increase the chances of vulnerabilities remain open for long periods.
Automation allows you to apply security policies in a standardized way, reducing attack surfaces.
Lack of specialist professionals
Finding experienced infrastructure professionals continues to be a global challenge.
Instead of expanding teams indefinitely, companies are investing in tools capable of automating repetitive tasks, releasing specialists to activities of greater strategic value.
The main benefits of infrastructure automation
Reduction of human errors
Much of the inavailability in corporate environments is still related to changes made manually.
Infrastructure as a Code eliminates differences between environments and ensures operational consistency.
Much faster provisioning
Servers that used to take days to be configured can be made available in minutes.
This gain accelerates projects, reduces service lines and improves the experience of business areas.
Standardisation
Automation ensures that all machines receive exactly the same settings.
This reduces differences between development, approval and production environments.
Continuous Compliance
Regulatory standards require control over configurations, audits and traceability.
Automated tools allow continuous verification of whether environments remain consistent with defined policies.
Increased availability
Automated recovery procedures significantly reduce the time needed to restore services after incidents.
Infrastructure as Code became standard
One of the pillars of modern automation is Infrastructure as Code. In this model, servers, networks, storage and settings cease to be created manually and become defined in code.
This allows:
- Versioning
- Replayability
- Audit
- Standardisation
The infrastructure follows the same principles used in software development.
The Role of Automation in DevSecOps
Another important movement in 2026 is the consolidation of DevSecOps. In this model, security stops happening only at the final stage of the projects, it becomes part of the entire life cycle of the infrastructure.
Automation allows you to execute:
- automatic patch application;
- configuration validation;
- compliance verification;
How Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 strengthens this strategy
One of the platforms that has come to be highlighted in this scenario is the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (RHEL 10).
In addition to the stability recognized in corporate environments, the solution incorporates resources focused on automation, intelligent management and operational simplification.
Among the highlights are:
- Red Hat Insights, which uses predictive analytics to identify risks before they affect operations.
- Image Mode, which simplifies operating system management through immutable images, reducing inconsistencies between environments.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Lightspeed, an AI-powered assistant that helps administrators troubleshoot problems, generate commands and interpret configurations.
- Enhanced integration with DevOps pipelines and corporate automation tools.
These resources help infrastructure teams reduce repetitive activities, increase operational reliability and accelerate the adoption of modern management practices.
How to start an automation strategy
Automation does not mean automate everything at the same time. Mature organizations usually follow gradual evolution.
The first initiatives usually involve:
- Standardization of environments.
- Infrastructure inventory.
- Automation of supply.
- Centralized configuration management.
- Automatic patch application.
- Monitoring and observability.
- Integration with DevSecOps pipelines.
With this approach, gains appear quickly without compromising the stability of environments.
The role of PARS in this journey
Implementing an automation strategy requires more than technology. It is necessary to align architecture, governance and processes to ensure that the tools deliver consistent results.
As partner and distributor of Red Hat solutions, PARS supports companies in the adoption of platforms aimed at infrastructure automation, operational modernization and hybrid environment management. In addition to licensing, it offers specialized support for identifying solutions that are most suitable for each organization’s scenario, contributing to a more resilient, safe and prepared infrastructure for the challenges of digital transformation.
The growth of artificial intelligence, hybrid environments and demands for availability has transformed the automation of infrastructure into a strategic priority for companies of all sizes.
More than reducing operational tasks, automation means building a consistent, scalable and ready infrastructure to sustain continuous innovation. Organisations investing in this approach can respond more quickly to market changes, strengthen their security position and increase operational efficiency.
As technologies such as Infrastructure like Code, DevSecOps and smart platforms evolve, automation ceases to be a competitive differential and becomes an essential element for business continuity.
Are you still in doubt? Read our FAQ:
Why did infrastructure automation become a priority in 2026?
Because corporate environments are more complex, distributed and dependent of high availability. Automation reduces errors, accelerates operations and improves safety, allowing teams to monitor the speed of business demands.
What is the difference between infrastructure automation and infrastructure as a Code?
Infrastructure automation is a broad concept that includes automated supply, configuration and management processes. Infrastructure as a Code is a practice that allows to define these resources by means of code, facilitating automation and standardization.
How does automation contribute to security?
It enables automatic patch application, configuration standardization, centralized policy management and continuous monitoring, reducing human failures and vulnerabilities.
Does Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 offer automation resources?
Yeah. RHEL 10 incorporates features such as Red Hat Insights, Image Mode and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Lightspeed, which simplify infrastructure management, increase operational consistency and support automation initiatives.
Are medium size companies also benefiting from automation?
Yeah. Regardless of the size, organizations operating hybrid environments, using cloud or need to ensure high availability can gain relevant gains in efficiency, safety and scalability.
