Global Automation Platform for UN Agencies
Designing and implementing large-scale automation solutions across UN infrastructure, cloud services, and the ServiceNow ecosystem for the United Nations International Computing Centre.
The Challenge
The United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) provides shared ICT services to over 80 UN System organizations, including UN Secretariat entities, Funds and Programmes, Specialized Agencies, and related organizations. The scope of their infrastructure spans multiple data centers, cloud environments, and thousands of endpoints across every continent.
UNICC faced several interconnected challenges that demanded a comprehensive automation approach:
- Legacy Infrastructure: The existing AWX deployment was outdated and required a complete modernization to the latest version while maintaining operational continuity.
- Scale and Complexity: With 20+ UN agencies relying on shared automation services, any solution needed to support multi-tenancy, strict access controls, and organization-specific requirements.
- Integration Requirements: The automation platform needed to integrate seamlessly with ServiceNow for incident management, HashiCorp Vault for secrets management, and various cloud providers.
- Security Mandates: As a UN organization, strict security requirements applied to all systems, including comprehensive audit trails, encrypted communications, and compliance with international standards.
Our Approach
We designed a phased modernization strategy that prioritized zero-downtime migration and knowledge transfer to UNICC teams. The approach centered on Infrastructure as Code principles from the ground up.
Phase 1: Assessment and Architecture
The initial phase involved comprehensive documentation of the existing automation landscape, including all playbooks, roles, inventories, and integrations. We mapped dependencies between systems and identified opportunities for standardization across UN agencies.
Key architecture decisions included:
- Kubernetes-native deployment using the AWX Operator for improved scalability and resilience
- GitOps workflow with Kustomize for environment-specific configurations
- Centralized secrets management through HashiCorp Vault integration
- Multi-tenant organization structure with role-based access controls
Phase 2: Platform Modernization
The migration to the new AWX platform was executed using fully automated GitLab CI/CD pipelines. Every component of the infrastructure was defined as code, enabling reproducible deployments across development, staging, and production environments.
We developed custom Execution Environments tailored to UNICC requirements, ensuring consistent runtime behavior across all automation jobs. These environments included specific Python versions, Ansible collections, and security tools required by UN agencies.
Phase 3: AI-Enhanced Operations
To address the challenge of managing automation at scale, we developed AI-driven microservices using FastAPI. These services provide intelligent incident analysis by correlating automation failures with infrastructure changes, historical patterns, and known issues.
The AI components assist operations teams by:
- Automatically categorizing and prioritizing automation failures
- Suggesting remediation steps based on historical resolution data
- Identifying patterns that indicate systemic issues before they become critical
- Generating natural language summaries of complex technical issues for stakeholder communication
Technical Implementation
The implementation leveraged modern DevSecOps practices throughout:
Infrastructure as Code
All infrastructure components are defined in Git repositories using Kubernetes manifests, Kustomize overlays, and Helm charts. Changes flow through merge request reviews before automated deployment.
GitLab CI/CD Pipelines
Multi-stage pipelines handle testing, security scanning, building custom container images, and progressive rollouts across environments. Automatic rollback capabilities ensure service reliability.
Secrets Management
HashiCorp Vault provides centralized secrets management with dynamic credentials for databases, cloud providers, and API integrations. No secrets are stored in code repositories or playbooks.
Observability
Comprehensive monitoring and logging enable real-time visibility into automation execution, platform health, and resource utilization. Integration with ServiceNow ensures incidents are tracked through established ITSM processes.
Results and Impact
The modernized automation platform has delivered significant operational improvements:
- Complete Infrastructure as Code: 100% of the automation platform is now defined and managed through code, enabling version control, audit trails, and reproducible deployments.
- Improved Reliability: The Kubernetes-native architecture provides high availability and automatic failover, significantly reducing platform downtime.
- Faster Onboarding: New UN agencies can be onboarded to the platform more quickly with standardized configurations and automated provisioning.
- Reduced Incident Resolution Time: AI-assisted incident analysis helps operations teams identify root causes faster and apply appropriate remediation.
- Enhanced Security Posture: Centralized secrets management and comprehensive audit logging strengthen compliance with UN security requirements.
Technologies Used
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