Choosing the correct IaC tool

#terraform #infrastructureascode #puppet #ansible

How to Choose the Right IaC tool ?

Cloud strategy:
Are you single-cloud (AWS / Azure) or multi-cloud/hybrid?

If AWS-only → CloudFormation is very strong.
If multi-cloud/hybrid → Terraform or Pulumi shine.

Team skillset:

If your team are software developers comfortable in Python/TypeScript → Pulumi may fit.
If team are infra/devops engineers and you want a declarative DSL → Terraform.

Configuration vs provisioning:

If the focus is on provisioning infrastructure (network, compute, storage) → Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation.
If focus is on configuring/making servers converge to a desired state (installing packages, OS config) → Ansible, Puppet, Chef.

Ecosystem & scale:

Larger enterprises may need features like drift detection, auditing, compliance controls. Tools like Puppet/Chef, or robust workflows around Terraform may matter.

State & lifecycle management:

E.g., Terraform’s state file, locking, remote back-ends.

Understanding how updates happen, rollbacks, change sets (CloudFormation) is important.

Emerging/modern patterns:

Use of general-purpose languages for IaC (like Pulumi) and “infrastructure from code” (beyond just text templates) is gaining ground.

Also interesting: Kubernetes-native abstractions (for container workloads) and GitOps patterns.

Scenario	Recommended Tool	Why
Multi-cloud / hybrid infra	Terraform	Provider-agnostic, reusable modules, strong ecosystem
AWS-only environment	CloudFormation	Tight AWS integration, built-in drift detection
Developer-driven org (Infra + App in code)	Pulumi	Uses familiar languages, good abstraction
Config management or hybrid servers	Ansible	Simple agentless automation via SSH
Azure-centric setup	Bicep	Simpler syntax over ARM templates
Legacy enterprise infra	Puppet / Chef	Rich compliance and policy frameworks