AWS CloudFormation Reviews

Name: AWS CloudFormation
Brand: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Rating: 4 (30 reviews)

4.2 out of 5

30 reviews
96% willing to recommend

What is AWS CloudFormation?

AWS CloudFormation provides a common language for you to model and provision AWS and third party application resources in your cloud environment. AWS CloudFormation allows you to use programming languages or a simple text file to model and provision, in an automated and secure manner, all the resources needed for your applications across all regions and accounts. This gives you a single source of truth for your AWS and third party resources.

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AWS CloudFormation is the #9 ranked solution in top Configuration Management solutions. PeerSpot users give AWS CloudFormation an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. AWS CloudFormation is most commonly compared to Microsoft Configuration Manager: AWS CloudFormation vs Microsoft Configuration Manager. AWS CloudFormation is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 69% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 22% of all views.

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Featured reviews

Udhay Prakash Pethakamsetty

Data Engineer Manager at Capgemini

Versioning makes our work easy. Everything has a version. If we use a specific version, we can use the features available for that particular version. It is really helpful. We can write it in JSON or YAML. It gives us a lot of flexibility. We can model and provision the third-party resources in the CloudFormation registry. We can also publish them to the AWS Partner Network. We can also work with the SAM templates. It is the most important thing I use when I work with Lambda functions. I can build the serverless application faster with the SAM templates. It’s an open-source framework. We also have a template builder. It is a command line tool. We can generate the templates. We can perform drag-and-drop actions on the builder. We can also create codes automatically.

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Bireshwar Adhikary

Senior Consultant at ATOS

There are three environments or microservices for support. The first is the sandbox which is like a playground where cloud engineers develop or deploy. The second is the UAT which is for clusters and other things. The third is the E2E environment for testing. These levels provide good support and a high level of availability. Support is very good for cloud hardening and resource tagging. In the non-pro environment, support is comparably less. It takes much more time to follow up or solve issues. On the weekends, you cannot get test study or dev team support because they are not working.

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Jean Dedji

Multi-Cloud Engineer at Zebra Technologies Corporation

If Amazon could extend CloudFormation to other cloud platforms, that would be good. Currently, it is only limited to AWS. The main reason some people avoid using CloudFormation is because it's restricted to a single cloud platform. In my previous role, we operated across multiple cloud environments including Azure and were preparing to integrate Google Cloud. Since our operations span multiple platforms, we needed a solution that could handle infrastructure as code for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. We opted to use Terraform, which supports multiple cloud providers, allowing us to manage our infrastructure seamlessly across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

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AWS CloudFormation mindshare

As of September 2024, the mindshare of AWS CloudFormation in the Configuration Management category stands at 1.6%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Sep 16, 2024

Valuable Features

AWS CloudFormation's most valuable features include ease of start using predefined templates, quick environment provisioning, automation capabilities, modular design with nested stacks, infrastructure as code, change management, reusability of templates, input handling, extensive documentation, and support for JSON and YAML formats. It facilitates faster deployment, version tracking, rollback capabilities, and multi-region resource deployment. Benefits include reduced setup time, simplified management, and enhanced scalability.

"The product uses a simple JSON file format, so it's easy for a beginner to start. But you can use Terraform once you get good hands-on experience and know the infrastructure and resources well."
"By using AWS CloudFormation, I can automate tasks like creating VPCs and load balancers instead of doing them manually each time. The features I like most include improved scalability, resource management, ease of deployment, template creation, and resource provisioning."
"CloudFormation itself is free to use. You will be charged for the resources you deploy using CloudFormation."

Room for Improvement

AWS CloudFormation is viewed as not intuitive with a steep learning curve, weak customization, lack of multi-cloud support, and insufficient documentation. Users desire better error handling, faster replication, and improved GUI. It struggles with cross-account dynamic references, verbosity, inline policies, and circular dependencies. Enhancements in auto-generation of files, flexibility in templates, Python compatibility, and handling new AWS services are also sought. Cost and JSON's limitations are additional concerns. Many prefer Terraform for its simplicity and multi-cloud capabilities.

"I prefer Terraform over AWS CloudFormation because AWS CloudFormation is specific to just AWS. But if I want to use a multi-cloud or hybrid setup, then Terraform works better. It uses a simple language, HCL. So, if you learn HCL, you can manage your infrastructures across different cloud providers. You don't need to be specific to one cloud provider."
"There are some limitations with JSON, as the code is written in JSON, which doesn't support commands, looping, or conditionals. This can make the code difficult to read and share across teams. Moreover, the tool only supports AWS."
"If Amazon could extend CloudFormation to other cloud platforms, that would be good. Currently, it is only limited to AWS."

ROI

Using AWS CloudFormation, companies reported swift recoveries that minimized financial loss during site downtimes, noted a return on their investments after three years, and experienced a hundred percent ROI.

Pricing

AWS CloudFormation is free to use, with costs incurred only for the resources deployed. The solution's pricing is considered affordable and scalable, dependent on usage. Users note that specific instances can vary in cost, but generally, it is not expensive. The FinOps team often manages cost calculations for optimization purposes. Users find the pricing better compared to other cloud providers.

"The tool's pricing depends on the page model."
"In general, pricing within AWS is relatively affordable."
"AWS CloudFormation's pricing is cheaper than that of other cloud providers."

Popular Use Cases

AWS CloudFormation is used to automate cloud deployment, create and manage AWS resources, and replicate environments. It helps with infrastructure setup, disaster recovery, application hosting, migration tasks, and DevOps engineering. Users create blueprints for deploying machines, infrastructure, and services, including EC2 instances, VPCs, S3 buckets, and IAM configurations. It is pivotal for provisioning AWS services, managing resources, and implementing infrastructure as code, enabling faster deployment and consistent environments across regions.

Service and Support

Customer service and support for AWS CloudFormation receive high praise for being prompt, effective, and responsive. Many find the support team knowledgeable and efficient, often resolving issues quickly. Some note that support quality varies based on the environment and subscription level. Overall, users appreciate accessible, high-level assistance and effective problem resolution, although occasional delays in non-production environments are mentioned.

Deployment

AWS CloudFormation's initial setup is straightforward and quick, typically taking 10 to 20 minutes. Users highlight its ease of use, especially given its seamless integration into AWS. The deployment time varies depending on the infrastructure's complexity, but it is generally fast. Minimal maintenance is required as AWS manages most tasks. Even individuals with no coding background find the setup process easy. The setup ease is often rated highly, around eight or nine out of ten.

Scalability

AWS CloudFormation is highly scalable, seamlessly handling deployments in any AWS region. Users rate its scalability between 5 and 10 out of 10, with most ratings falling in the 8-10 range. It supports thousands of users and resources without issues, integrating well with services like Auto Scaling. DevOps, software, and SecOps engineers frequently utilize it. The platform is praised for its flexibility, speed, and security features.

Stability

AWS CloudFormation is highly stable with ratings frequently between eight and ten out of ten. Users find it reliable with few concerns about crashing. Some mention a steep learning curve but praise the intuitive verification process. Occasionally, minor stability issues arise during server-level development. Generally, users encounter no significant stability issues, and performance is well-rated.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our AWS CloudFormation Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.