From Pets to Cattle - Learning to Let Go and Automate

Learn to transition from manual server management to complete infrastructure automation in this 45-minute conference talk from PowerShell Summit 2025. Explore the fundamental mindset shifts required to move from treating servers as unique "pets" to managing them as disposable "cattle" through automation. Discover how to overcome attachment to manual customizations by embracing standardization, including naming conventions and system configurations. Examine modern tooling concepts such as imperative versus declarative approaches, idempotency, and reusability that support automated infrastructure management. Understand the significant advantages of maintaining disposable infrastructure, including improved change management, enhanced scaling capabilities, and robust disaster recovery processes that align with executive priorities and business objectives.