Sync data from any source to any destination with CloudQuery CLI. Simple, Fast, and Extensible Data Movement

Organizations that reach Stage 4-5 answer critical security questions in seconds instead of days. The gap between containing a breach and watching it spread often comes down to inventory maturity. Full framework:

Stage 5: Optimized Real-time decision making with predictive analytics. Automated remediation. Proactive issue identification. Capabilities: Trend analysis. Capacity planning. Policy enforcement. ML-powered anomaly detection. The gold tier for advanced operations.

Stage 4: Managed Services Centralized platforms with standardized queries. AWS Config, CloudQuery, or other inventory tools. Capabilities: Multi-account visibility. Relationship mapping. Historical tracking. Standardized queries. This is where most organizations should aim.

Stage 3: Internal APIs Custom-built APIs to query cloud infrastructure. Centralized data access. Limitations: APIs break when AWS changes services. Constant maintenance required. Development resources diverted from business features. Breaking point: Maintenance exceeds value.

Stage 2: Repeatable Scheduled Lambda functions. Basic automation running nightly. Limitations: No real-time visibility. Missing relationship mapping. Difficult to debug. Maintenance burden grows as AWS APIs change. Breaking point: Scripts become too complex to maintain.

Stage 1: Ad-Hoc Manually clicking through AWS console dashboards. Running one-off API queries. Excel spreadsheets. Limitations: No automation, no consistency, massive time investment for every question. Breaking point: Questions become too frequent or urgent.

Most cloud asset inventory projects fail not because of technical complexity. They fail because teams optimize for data collection instead of decision velocity. Here's how organizations evolve from ad-hoc scripts to systems that answer questions in seconds 🧵

The key insight: Don't force cloud resources into datacenter models. Build for APIs, ephemeral resources, and constant change. Results: Security queries in seconds, not hours. Real-time compliance. Zero agent maintenance. Full architecture guide:

Architecture decision 4: Continuous sync vs batch processing API calls return current state in under 1 second. Sync every 15 minutes instead of daily. Security asks about public S3 buckets? Query data from 15 minutes ago, not 18 hours ago.

Architecture decision 3: SQL vs proprietary query languages Engineers already know PostgreSQL. Zero learning curve. Write joins across resources. Filter with WHERE clauses. Proprietary languages add weeks to adoption. Teams resist learning new syntax.

Architecture decision 2: Native schemas vs ITIL Configuration Items Store AWS API responses directly. EC2 keeps all 50+ attributes: vpc_id, security_groups, iam_instance_profile, subnet_id. ITIL Server CI only captures 10 fields. You lose 80% of cloud context immediately.

Architecture decision 1: Event-driven vs periodic snapshots CloudWatch Events + EventBridge stream infrastructure changes in real-time. <5 second latency from change to queryable data. No agents. No discovery schedules. No reconciliation logic needed.

Traditional approach: Install agents, schedule scans every 24 hours, reconcile duplicates, export reports. Problem: By the time you reconcile, hundreds of resources changed. Auto-scaling launched new instances. Spot instances terminated. Lambda functions ran and stopped.

We analyzed why traditional CMDBs fail in cloud environments. The architecture is fundamentally incompatible. Agent-based discovery, scheduled scans, ITIL data models — all designed for infrastructure that doesn't change. Here's the architecture that actually works for cloud →

Total observability across multiple clouds, with self-service for engineering, product, and GRC teams? See how Reddit does just that with CloudQuery --> https://t.co/2ucgTy4297

We'll be publishing results early next year: - Top trends and titles - Tools being used - How challenges are being addressed Stay tuned!

Take our 5 minute survey for the Cloud Governance & Data Visibility 2026 Pulse! If you're a platform engineer, governance leader, or just help manage your company's cloud platform: we want your perspective. Take it here --> https://t.co/nOqCEMj0EV

Reddit's story is a perfect example of what happens when you start thinking of your cloud asset inventory as a foundational system instead of a checkbox. They've created a shared, queryable system of record that is a cross-company accelerant instead of a dreaded liability.

Live today: How Reddit secures its cloud with CloudQuery! https://t.co/2ucgTy4297

Fresh baked case study coming out of the oven! 🍞 Reddit uses CloudQuery to get complete visibility across their entire cloud, and makes that data accessible for self-service. We'll post the full interview next week, stay tuned!