When it comes to managing cloud resources efficiently and repeatably, infrastructure-as-code (IaC) is a must. If you’re using AWS, there’s a robust set of tools to choose from, each with its own strengths and trade-offs. Let’s break them down:

🔹 Terraform

  • 🌎 Multi-cloud support: Ideal if you’re managing infrastructure across multiple providers.
  • 📚 Easy to learn: HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) is human-readable and accessible for new users.
  • 📦 Mature ecosystem: Extensive module library and strong community support.
  • 🔄 Plans: Preview updates to your stack before applying them.

🔹 CloudFormation

  • 🏢 AWS-native: Best for deep integration with AWS services.
  • 🛠️ YAML/JSON-based: Straightforward but can get verbose for complex infrastructures.
  • 🔄 Change sets: As with Terraform, great for previewing updates to your stack before applying them.

🔹 Pulumi

  • 💻 Code-first: Write infrastructure in familiar programming languages like Python, TypeScript, or C#.
  • 🔗 Flexible integrations: Works well for teams already using these languages for application development.
  • 🌟 High productivity: Ideal for developers looking to reuse existing coding skills.

🔹 AWS CDK (Cloud Development Kit)

  • 🔥 Developer-friendly: Use real programming languages like Python, TypeScript, or Java to define your infrastructure.
  • 🛡️ Built-in safety: Synthesises CloudFormation templates, so you get the reliability of AWS-native IaC with a modern approach.
  • 📈 Scalable patterns: Leverage reusable constructs for complex architectures without reinventing the wheel.
  • 🎯 Perfect for teams deeply embedded in AWS: CDK simplifies the experience, making infrastructure feel more like application code.

So, which one should you choose?

  • CloudFormation: Ideal if you want deep AWS integration and simplicity.
  • CDK: As for Cloudformation, but with the added expressiveness of writing in the programming language of your choice.
  • Terraform: Best for multi-cloud strategies or large ecosystems.
  • Pulumi: Perfect for developers who value expressiveness and want to use familiar programming languages.

At Blackstack, we use Terraform for our own deployments, mainly for the mature ecosystem of integrations that comes with it.

That said, we help clients navigate these options to find the best-fit tool for their AWS journey.

Whether you’re optimising CI/CD pipelines or planning a multi-cloud architecture, let’s start the conversation - contact us below 👇