IaC Thunderdome: Bicep vs. Terraform!

As organizations increasingly adopt cloud technologies, managing infrastructure efficiently becomes paramount. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools play a crucial role in achieving this goal. In this session, we delve into a head-to-head comparison between two popular IaC tools: Bicep and Terraform. Specifically, we explore their strengths, weaknesses, and suitability for data infrastructure scenarios.
During the session we will dive into the following aspects:

1. Language: When you have understood the concept of Infrastructure-as-Code both Bicep and Terraform code is quite readable. Bicep is a relatively new language while Terraform is more mature and have a rich ecosystem. How are they licensed and how will that affect you in your scenario?
2. State and Backend: How do Bicep and Terraform handle state management? What are the implications of incremental deployment in Bicep and how do Terraforms required use of a state file affect scalability? How is configuration drift handled in the two tools? How do you make sure to secure your IaC backend from bad actors
3. Infrastructure Targets: Bicep is Azure exclusive while Terraform has multi-cloud support. Besides the obvious, how does that affect you, if at all?
4. CLI Tools: We do a comparison between Bicep’s integration with Azure CLI and Terraforms CLI. Furthermore we show practical examples of using CLI commands for deployment.
5. CI/CD: How can you streamline your IaC delivery with tools like Bicep and Terraform, especially when you have multiple team members contributing to your cloud? How is testing handled and do regression-testing of IaC exist? We’ll have a look at possibilities using GitHub for this.

The session concludes with decision factors for Bicep or Terraform, so when should you use what taking factors like cloud environment, project scope and team expertise into account. We will give you some best practices for making an informed decision. Join us for an insightful session where we dissect Bicep and Terraform, equipping you with the knowledge to make informed choices for your data infrastructure projects.

Understand the role of Infrastructure as Code in modern cloud and data platforms Compare Bicep and Terraform in terms of language, ecosystem, and licensing Evaluate differences in state management, deployment models, and drift handling Assess Azure-only versus multi-cloud implications for data infrastructure projects Identify decision criteria and best practices for choosing between Bicep and Terraform