Wikipedia

Draft:ClickOps

ClickOps is a term used in cloud computing and DevOps to describe manual, user interface-based management of cloud infrastructure, bypassing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices. It typically involves engineers making changes through web portals—such as the AWS Management Console[1]—rather than using version-controlled automation tools. ClickOps can lead to inefficiencies, misconfigurations, compliance risks, and increased cloud costs.

Definition and Characteristics

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ClickOps refers to instances where infrastructure is created, modified, or deleted manually via a cloud provider's graphical user interface (GUI) instead of through automated pipelines. Common reasons teams may resort to ClickOps include lack of automation tools, skills gaps, urgent firefighting scenarios, or transitional phases like mergers and acquisitions.

Common examples include:

  • Creating or modifying cloud resources using the AWS Management Console,[1]
  • Adjusting security groups manually,
  • Bypassing automated workflows even in IaC-enabled environments.

Risks Associated with ClickOps

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1. Productivity Drain

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Manual processes slow down deployments, especially when managing multiple resources such as numerous Amazon EC2 instances across regions and accounts.[2]

2. Lack of Repeatability

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ClickOps lacks audit trails and version control, making it difficult to track or reproduce infrastructure changes.

3. Increased Human Errors

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Manual processes are prone to misconfigurations that may result in performance issues, downtime, or system failures.

4. Compliance and Security Risks

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Untracked or unauthorized changes can bypass organizational security controls, complicating compliance efforts.

5. Configuration Drift

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ClickOps can cause divergence from the infrastructure's desired state, especially in IaC-managed environments using tools like Terraform.[3]

6. Cloud Cost Sprawl

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Unmonitored resource creation and mismanagement increase costs due to unused assets, redundant processes, and rework.

Identifying ClickOps in Practice

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Signs of ClickOps practices within a DevOps organization may include:

  • Regular use of cloud provider consoles over automated deployments,
  • Recurring configuration drift incidents,
  • Absence of version control for infrastructure changes,
  • Time-intensive bug resolution,
  • Difficulty tracing change history for audits or compliance.

Strategies for Eliminating ClickOps

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Infrastructure as Code Adoption

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Use tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, or AWS CloudFormation[4] to define infrastructure programmatically and enforce deployment standards. Teams may also explore modular orchestration tools such as Terramate[5] for more scalable IaC management.

GitOps and Version Control

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Implement a single source of truth using Git. All changes should be handled via pull requests to ensure peer review and trackability.

Policy-as-Code Guardrails

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Organizations can implement policy-as-code to enforce governance and compliance across their infrastructure. This approach allows predefined rules to be automatically applied during provisioning, preventing configuration drift, non-compliant resources, and security vulnerabilities.

Common tools and platforms for enforcing policy-as-code include:

  • Open Policy Agent (OPA)[6] – An open-source, general-purpose policy engine widely used in cloud-native environments.
  • HashiCorp Sentinel[7] – A policy-as-code framework integrated with HashiCorp tools such as Terraform Enterprise and Terraform Cloud.
  • AWS Config[8] – A service that continuously monitors and records AWS resource configurations and evaluates them against desired baselines.
  • Terraform Cloud[9] – HashiCorp’s SaaS offering with built-in policy enforcement.
  • Project Atlantis[10] – An open-source Terraform automation platform that integrates with pull requests and can be combined with policy engines like Sentinel or OPA.
  • ControlMonkey Terraform CI/CD[11] – A commercial IaC automation solution that supports policy enforcement in tandem with Terraform Cloud and Atlantis. For example:
    • The Required Tag policy ensures that all resources contain mandatory tags before deployment.
    • The Allowed Regions policy restricts provisioning to pre-approved cloud regions.

These tools help ensure only compliant changes are allowed into production environments, reduce errors, and streamline governance.

Automated Drift Detection

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Automation platforms such as Terraform Cloud, Project Atlantis, or ControlMonkey provide drift detection by regularly comparing the actual state of the infrastructure with its declared IaC configuration. These systems can surface misalignments and prioritize them by severity to ensure infrastructure integrity.

Engineer Upskilling

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Organizations should continuously train staff in automation-first approaches, reducing reliance on manual processes and encouraging standardization.

Reception and Criticism

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Although convenient in isolated cases, ClickOps is broadly criticized within DevOps for promoting unreliable and non-reproducible workflows. Advocates of cloud automation stress that IaC and GitOps practices are essential for maintaining scalable, secure, and cost-effective infrastructure in modern enterprises.

See Also

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References

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  1. ^ a b AWS Management Console. https://aws.amazon.com/console/
  2. ^ Amazon EC2 – AWS. https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/
  3. ^ Terraform by HashiCorp. https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform
  4. ^ AWS CloudFormation. https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
  5. ^ Terramate. https://terramate.io
  6. ^ Open Policy Agent. https://www.openpolicyagent.org/
  7. ^ HashiCorp Sentinel. https://developer.hashicorp.com/sentinel/docs/concepts/policy-as-code
  8. ^ AWS Config. https://aws.amazon.com/config/
  9. ^ Terraform Cloud – Sentinel Docs. https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/policy/sentinel
  10. ^ Atlantis. https://www.runatlantis.io/
  11. ^ ControlMonkey Terraform CI/CD. https://controlmonkey.io/platform/terraform-ci-cd/
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