Daniel Ward, a Software Developer/Consultant at Lean TECHniques and Microsoft MVP, shares insights into transforming infrastructure management by moving from configuration chaos to using programming languages like C# for infrastructure as code, advocating for tools like Pulumi over YAML for complex systems. He emphasizes the importance of gradual change, recommending the 10% rule to avoid overwhelming teams and ensuring sustainable transformation. Ward highlights strategies like quantifying the cost of inaction to overcome resistance, building consensus through "nemawashi" conversations, and driving viral adoption by demonstrating early wins. He argues that infrastructure as code aligns development and operations teams, suggesting platform engineering as a solution for creating reusable components and enhancing efficiency. Ward criticizes the limitations of configuration languages like YAML, advocating for the flexibility of programming languages, and highlights Pulumi's ability to offer both code-first and declarative infrastructure management, making it a preferred choice for scalable and maintainable infrastructure solutions.