Infrastructure as Code on Azure: Bicep vs Terraform in 2026

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The IaC Landscape in 2026

Infrastructure as Code has become table stakes for any serious Azure deployment. The two dominant tools in the Azure space — Bicep and Terraform — each have compelling strengths, and the choice between them significantly shapes your team’s workflow.

This post covers the practical trade-offs based on real-world experience managing large Azure estates.

Bicep: Azure-Native, Tight Integration

Bicep is Microsoft’s domain-specific language for Azure Resource Manager. It compiles down to ARM JSON, which means it has day-zero support for new Azure features — the moment a resource type is available in ARM, you can deploy it with Bicep.

Azure Update Manager: What It Actually Replaces (and What It Doesn't)

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Common Misconception

I keep seeing people frame Azure Update Manager as a WSUS replacement. It’s not — at least, not directly. What it actually replaced was Azure Automation Update Management (the v1 solution that used Log Analytics workspaces and the Updates OMS solution). That was deprecated in August 2024 and fully shut down on 28 February 2025.

WSUS still works and still has its place, particularly for air-gapped environments and organisations that need granular approval workflows for specific KBs.