What is the purpose of AWS CloudFormation?

The purpose of AWS CloudFormation is to automate the provisioning and management of AWS resources using templates. It allows users to define a collection of AWS resources in a declarative way, typically through YAML or JSON format, which can then be version controlled and reused. This enables developers and system administrators to consistently create and manage their cloud resources in a predictable manner, making infrastructure deployments more efficient and reducing the potential for human error.

By using CloudFormation, teams can deploy entire environments by running a single command or script, rather than setting up each resource individually through the AWS Management Console. This also facilitates infrastructure as code, which is a practice that promotes maintaining infrastructure through source control and versioning, mirroring software development best practices.

Other options, while important functions within AWS, do not align with the primary purpose of CloudFormation. For example, establishing security policies relates more to IAM (Identity and Access Management), analyzing cloud costs pertains to services like AWS Cost Explorer, and managing user accounts is something handled primarily through IAM as well.