How to attach an owner to every cloud resource you find

Cloud resources often lack clear ownership, leading to inefficiencies and potential financial waste. In one case, a cloud instance was running without an owner tag, causing the team to waste time figuring out who created it. This highlights the importance of three key elements in managing cloud resources: continuous inventory, policies, and audit trails.

Firstly, a query tool such as CloudQuery can keep a constantly updated inventory of all cloud resources across different providers, allowing teams to easily identify resources without assigned owners. Running a query regularly can provide a list of these resources, making it easier to track down and address them.

Secondly, implementing policies to enforce the tagging of owners can prevent the creation of ownerless resources. Tools like Env0 can be used to evaluate policies against every plan before it is applied, ensuring that every new resource has an owner tag. This helps to automatically prevent the deployment of resources without the necessary owner information.

Lastly, maintaining an audit trail for each resource can help to preserve important information about its creation, even if the original owner leaves the organization. By capturing details such as the person who requested the resource, the approver, and the purpose of the resource, teams can ensure that critical information is not lost when employees change roles or leave the company.

By following these three principles - continuous inventory, policies, and audit trails - organizations can prevent the costly and time-consuming problems associated with untagged and ownerless cloud resources. Even as employees come and go, a system of record like this can help maintain a clear understanding of what resources exist and who is responsible for them, making it easier to manage costs and avoid unnecessary delays.