Provisioning
In plain terms
Setting up and configuring computing resources for use.
Going deeper
Provisioning allocates and prepares servers, storage, or services so they're ready to run workloads, often automated via IaC. It's the setup step before deployment.
Under the hood
Manual provisioning is error-prone; IaC tools make it repeatable and version-controlled.
Examples
Spinning up servers, Terraform, automated infrastructure, resource allocation.
Think of it like...
Like setting up and stocking a new store before opening day.