TechRepublic: 11 cloud IaaS providers compared

Takeaway: Thoran Rodrigues does a thorough comparison of 11 IaaS cloud providers based on the same group of criteria. See how the major players fared in his scoring comparison.

Cloud computing is a term that encompasses a lot of different things. From servers and infrastructure to office software, a lot of IT is now sold on a cloud-based, service model. This means that any comparison of cloud providers can not only be very complex, but can also end up measuring companies that don’t even compete with each other. To avoid this situation, different types of cloud services should be looked at separately. Today, we are going to focus on infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS).

IaaS providers are companies that provide the most basic IT needs – servers, networking, and storage – on a usage-based payment model. They typically make heavy investments in data centers and other infrastructure, and then rent it out, allowing consumers to avoid investments of their own. Even these providers, however, are not all pursuing the same business model. While the largest and most well-known are focused on the general public, with fully on-line automated set-ups, there are also some niche players that cater only to the enterprise market, as well as smaller companies that resell infrastructure from larger ones, usually with some added services.

Comparing companies

For the sake of this comparison, we are going to focus on IaaS providers whose services can be purchased directly on-line, without requiring contact with salespeople of any kind. They were selected based both on my knowledge of companies in this space and based on the availability of information about them on the web. I ended up with 11 companies, ranging from the large and well known to smaller, newer ones.

More of the TechRepublic article from Thoran Rodrigues

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.