You’ve probably heard a lot about cloud solutions lately, but you need to figure out what they are and if they’re right for your business.
Cloud hosting solutions can be confusing and overwhelming, especially when you need clarification on which is right for you.
We’ve created a list of the top 10 cloud solutions and their features to make it handy for you to find the perfect one for your business. With this, you can easily transition to the cloud and take advantage of all its benefits.
What are cloud solutions?
Cloud solutions are a type of computing that delivers software, storage, and other services to customers over the internet. Cloud solutions allow businesses to use resources as needed and to access the applications and data needed from any device with an internet connection.
Basic features of cloud solutions
Cloud solutions offer several basic features, including the following:
Scalability
Cloud solutions are designed to scale up or down to meet business needs. Cloud solutions allow businesses to add or subtract resources as needed. Cloud solution makes them a great option for businesses expecting rapid growth or fluctuations in demand.
Cost-effective
Cloud solutions typically offer lower costs than traditional hosting options. That is because you only pay for the resources you use, and you can often save on hardware and software costs.
Reliability and uptime
Cloud hosting solutions are highly reliable and have very high uptime. As a result, your data and applications will be available when you need them.
Flexibility
Cloud solutions are extremely flexible, which makes them a great option for businesses with varying needs. You can easily add or remove features, change plans, and more.
Security
This feature keeps data safe from unauthorized access or tampering,
List of top cloud systems
Methodology for ranking the top cloud hosting solutions
There are a lot of cloud service providers out there. It can take time to decide which one is right for you. This list has been curated based on the following considerations:
- Market share
- Global presence
- Ease of integration
- Scalability
- Cost
- Reliability
1. Amazon Web Services
Users turn to Amazon because it is a global firm that employs cutting-edge technologies. In addition, users may quickly learn the system thanks to various training materials. The drawbacks are that, over time, add-on solutions might grow costly.
They also need to provide support for a wide range of software applications. However, they generally only focus on a few potential options.
Services
Amazon offers many cloud-based services. They are categorized into
Compute
- Amazon EC2 – Virtual servers in the cloud
- Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) – Secure, reliable, and scalable application for container
- Amazon Lightsail – Manages virtual private servers
- AWS Elastic Beanstalk – Manages web apps
- VMware Cloud on AWS – You can build a hybrid cloud without custom hardware
Storage
- Amazon Elastic book store (EBS)
- Amazon Elastic file system (EFS)
- Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)
- AWS storage gateway
Database
- Amazon aurora
- Amazon RDS
- Amazon timestream
Networking &content delivery
- Amazon API gateway
- Amazon Cloudfront
- Amazon VPC
- AWS Cloud map
Analytics
- Amazon Athena
- Amazon Cloud search
- Amazon EMR
- AWS data exchange
Machine learning
- Amazon augmented AI
- Amazon DevOps Guru
- Amazon Forecast
Security, identity, and compliance
- Amazon Cognito
- Amazon detective
- AWS audit manager
- AWS cloud HSM
Pricing
It offers a pay-as-you-go approach for most of its cloud solutions. When you use AWS, you can pay only for the services you need and use them however long you want without being locked into contracts or having to deal with difficult licensing.
Paying for AWS is much like paying your water or electric bill- you’re only charged based on what you use and once consumption stops, so do the charges.
Other details
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Parent organization | Amazon.com |
| Language support | English Bahasa Indonesia, Deutsch, Español, Français etc. |
| Industry | Advertising and marketing, Aerospace and satellite, Automotive, Consumer packaged goods, Education, Energy, Financial Services, Games, Government, Health and life sciences, Industrial, Manufacturing, Media Entertainment, Nonprofit, Power utilities, Retail, Semiconductor, Sports, Sustainability, Telecommunication, Travel, and Hospitality |
2. Google Cloud
Google’s cloud hosting solutions are good for those who want to use different software types because they are flexible and easy to use. However, a con might be that Google has a smaller market share than other companies.
Additionally, their support may not be as great as other options. Lastly, similar to Alibaba Cloud, they offer a free trial period which could entice users.
It offers services in 20 regions, 61 zones, and 200+ countries.
Products
- AI and Machine Learning
- API Management
- Compute
- Containers
- Data Analytics
- Databases
- Developer Tools
- Healthcare and Life Sciences
- Hybrid and Multicloud
- Internet of Things
- Management Tools
- Media and Gaming
- Migration
- Networking
- Operations
- Security and Identity
- Serverless Computing
- Storage
Pricing
You need to pay only for what you use. New customers can use $300 in free credits to run and test workloads. All customers also have access to 20+ products they can use for free, with no monthly usage limits.
Other details
| Language support | English, Italian, Deutsch, etc |
| Industry | Retail, consumer goods, Financial services, Health and biological sciences, Media Entertainment, Telecommunications, Video games, Production, Supply chain and logistics, Public Administration, Instruction |
3. Microsoft Azure
Microsoft has established itself as a major cloud-managed service provider. Third-party systems utilize Microsoft Azure as a cloud hosting platform in the same way that Oracle and SalesForce can.
Familiarity with the Microsoft user interface is one of the biggest advantages, as with all Microsoft goods. They also have an excellent uptime of 99.9 percent+, which is fantastic because they can support and scale your growth strategy if you expect to expand.
This cloud service is excellent since it has a high level of security, and you only pay for what you use. On the other hand, Microsoft does not allow you to host your apps on various hosting sites. That is because they want to be the sole provider of services that you consume.
Products
Azure offers more than 100 products, some of which are
- AI + machine learning
- Analytics
- Compute
- Containers
- Databases
- DevOps
- Developer tools
- Hybrid + multicloud
- Identity
- Integration
- Internet of Things
- Management and governance
- Media
- Migration
- Mixed reality
- Mobile
- Networking
- Security
- Storage
- Web
- Virtual desktop infrastructure
Pricing
With its pay-as-you method, you only spend what you need to meet your organization’s budget and business goals. Migrating just one workload can save you money, and with complex deployments, the opportunities for cost savings are limitless.
It also offers free services for new customers. When you create an Azure free account, you will get plus $200 credit to use in 30 days. After 30 days, you can move to pay as you go to continue with these services.
More than 40 services are always free if you have an Azure account.
Other details
| Developer | Microsoft Corporation |
| Parent company | Microsoft Corporation |
| Industry | Energy, Financial services, gaming, government, healthcare, manufacturing, media entertainment, and retail. |
| Deployment | Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based |
| Support | Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, 24/7 (Live Rep), Chat |
| Training | Live Online, Webinars, Documentation, Videos |
4. Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba is a cloud service provider that offers a free trial. It lets businesses see how the solution works and if it is easy to use before deciding if they want to commit.
The company has a multinational support team with representatives that speak various languages. That is good for companies that have locations around the world.
Alibaba Cloud has a lot of resources, like tutorials and training to help users improve their solutions. Some things might be hard to understand and learn how to do, but Alibaba Cloud has a lot of information that can help. Note that you need to know how to code to manage this console.
Services
It offers more than 100 services, some of which include
- Elastic Computing
- Networking & CDN
- Database
- Storage
- Security
- Enterprise Applications & Cloud Communication
- Analytics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Media Services
- Hybrid Cloud
- Container & Middleware
- Developer Services
- Internet of Things
Pricing
It offers a free trial. In addition, it offers Pay-as-you-go-billing, which means you can pay for what you use without upfront payments. In addition, it provides flexible payment options.
Its support plan pricing to meet extra requirements is as follows.
Offers 4 pricing plans.
- Basic plan – It is free
- Developer plan – It costs 19.99 USD
- Business plan – iT starts from 100.00 USD
- Enterprise plan – It starts from 8000.00 USD
Other details
| Headquarters location | Hangzhou, China |
| Parent organization | Alibaba Group |
| Deployment | Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based |
| Support | Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support |
| Training | Video |
| Language support | English, Deutsch, Francais, Bahasa Indonesia International |
| Industry | Financial services, Retail, Supply chain, Gaming, media, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, ISV, Healthcare and Life sciences, Sports, Advertising, and marketing |
5. Oracle
Oracle is a software firm that caters to enterprises. It also offers cloud services, which allow businesses to utilize its programs without having to install them on their compIn addition, uters. Oracle’s cloud solutions are scalable, which means they can handle more users as the company expands.
In addition, Oracle puts more money into research and development, allowing it to deliver high-quality answers that work most of the time.
Overall, Oracle is beneficial for businesses because it helps them make decisions based on data. The cloud infrastructure offered by Oracle can store a lot of data, which is helpful for businesses.
However, the pricing model is complicated, and there are extra costs that you might need to know at first. Additionally, Oracle only sometimes integrates well with other systems.
Services
- Analytics and BI
- Cloud Regions
- Compute
- Containers and Functions
- Cost Management and Governance
- Data Lakehouse
- Database Services
- Database Tools
- Developer Services
- Distributed Cloud
- Integration
- Machine Learning and AI
- Multicloud
- Networking
- Observability and Management
- SaaS Applications
- Security
- Storage
- VMware
Pricing
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) offers simple pricing models that provide committed use discounts, software license portability, and rewards for OCI consumption in addition to uniform pricing across all global regions.
Following are the pricing models for OCI services
- Consistent Global Pricing
- Pay As You Go
- Oracle Universal Credits
- Bring Your Own License (BYOL)
- Oracle support rewards
Other details
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Founders | Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, Ed Oates |
| Founded | 16 June 1977 |
| Industry | Banking, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Retails, Life sciences, Telco |
6. IBM Cloud
IBM Cloud’s tools for businesses are exceptional, making IBM a top contender in the industry. With its beginnings as a hardware company, IBM has always had the superb infrastructure to efficiently handle things like storage cost and capability.
However, an element that trumps all of IBM Cloud is its secure uptime, essential in today’s age where digital media dominates almost every other field.
Products
- AI /Machine learning
- Automation
- Blockchain
- Compute
- Containers
- Databases
- Developer tools
- IBM Cloud paks
- Integration
- Mobile
- Internet of things
- Logging and monitoring
- Networking
- Quantum
- Security
- Storage
Pricing
- Free access to more than 40 services
- You will get USD 200 credit while signing up, which is valid for 30 days
- You will get access to more than 350 products at a discounted rate with a subscription upgrade
- Provides Pay-as-you-go Model with committed use
7. Rackspace cloud
Rackspace is a company that was one of the first to provide cloud solutions. As a result, they have been around longer than some of their competitors and have a more mature foundation in the cloud.
That means they can support a broad and diverse set of software solutions and host various technologies. Additionally, customers have been happy with their service and find it reliable. However, the costs for add-ons can add up, making their solution more expensive.
Solutions
Cloud technology
Multi-cloud, Public cloud, Private cloud
Cloud services
Cloud Adoption and Migration, Rackspace Elastic Engineering for Hyperscalers, Rackspace Elastic Engineering for VMware, Cloud Optimization, Onica by Rackspace Technology
Applications technology
E-mail and productivity, ERP, CRM, Digital experience
Applications services
Application modernization, Cloud Native, Internet of Things and Edge, Application operations, SaaS life cycle management
Data technology
Databases, Next generation data platforms, unstructured data, analytic platforms
Data services
Data modernization, Artificial intelligence&machine learning, Analytics & business insights, data strategy & governance, data management
Security technology
Cloud-native security, application security, zero trust, network security, and data protection.
Security services
Security strategy, Rackspace elastic engineering for security, detection and response, advanced monitoring and resolution
Industries
- Financial Services
- Government
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing
- Non-Profit
- Education
- SaaS & ISV
- Consumer Goods
- Oil & Gas
- Media & Entertainment
- Automotive & Transportation
- Food & Beverage
- Travel & Hospitality
- Retail
- Public Utilities
8. Salesforce
CRM software is excellent since it may be customized to your specific requirements. It can also connect to various other systems, making it an ideal choice for companies looking for much flexibility.
Another advantage of Salesforce is that, because it’s cloud-native, it’s more advanced than some previous products that have only recently begun embracing the cloud plaAs a result, technical assistance is better – something to bear in mind if you consider using Salesforce for corporate purposes.
Products
- Customer 360
- Genie
- Sales
- Service
- Marketing
- Commerce
- Tableau
- Mulesoft
- Slack
- Platform
- Net zero
Pricing
salesforce provides different pricing options for different products.
For small businesses, pricing plans are as follows.
- Essentials – It charges $25 per user per month (billed annually)
- Sales professional – It charges $75 per user per month (billed annually)
- Service professional – It charges $75 per user per month (billed annually)
- Marketing cloud account engagement – It charges $1250 per month up to 10,000 contacts (billed annually)
For sales, pricing plans are
- Essential – It charges $25 per user per month (billed annually)
- Professional – It charges $75 per user per month (billed annually)
- Enterprise – It charges $150 per user per month (billed annually)
- Unlimited – – It charges $300 per user per month (billed annually)
Other details
| Headquarters | Salesforce Tower San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Founder | Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, Frank Dominguez |
| Industries | Automotive, consumer goods, communication, education, energy and utilities, financial services, healthcare, and Life sciences, manufacturing, media, public sector, retail, technology |
9. VMWare
VMWare is a hosting service that may be utilized with many technologies. Therefore, it can be useful for businesses that want to utilize several solutions. VMWare can also handle multitenancy, which means it can serve numerous tenants at the same time.
It is, however, more difficult to set up than other alternatives. However, once it’s up and working, it becomes relatively simple to use.
Features
Multi-cloud environment
With this feature, you can build & operate cloud-native apps, connect & secure apps, automate & optimize apps, and access any app on any device anywhere.
App platform
It helps you build, run, secure, and manage all applications across any cloud with application modernization solutions and guidance.
Cloud and edge infrastructure
Allows you to run enterprise applications with a compatible cloud infrastructure over public clouds, data centers, and edge environments.
Anywhere workspace
Allows employees to work from anywhere, anytime.
Security and networking
Provides this feature as an in-built distributed service across users, apps, devices, and workloads in any cloud.
Pricing
It has three pricing plans, details mentioned below
| Protected capacity | Pricing | Effective monthly |
| On-Demand | $0.1293 / hour | $94.3890 / month |
| $936.0000 / 1-year | $78.0000 / month | |
| $2,527.2000 / 3-year | $70.2000 / month | |
| Protected VM | $0.0397 / hour | $29.0029 / month |
| $288.0000 / 1-year | $24.0000 / month | |
| $777.0000 / 3-year | $21.5833 / month | |
| Protected Ransomware Recovery VM | $0.0153 / hour | $11.1909 / month |
| $111.0000 / 1-year | $9.2500 / month | |
| $299.7000 / 3-year | $8.3250 / month |
Other details
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Deployment | Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based |
| Supported device | Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iPhone, iPad |
| Support | Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support |
| Training | Videos |
10. MindSphere
This company provides cloud services that help connect different factory components for a more streamlined experience. If your data center is trying to connect to a manufacturing system or you’re using robots, this company could be worth considering.
Conclusion
Cloud computing has become an increasingly popular way for businesses to manage their data and applications. In this roundup, we’ve gathered the ten best cloud hosting solutions that can help your business get started with the cloud.
These systems offer a variety of features and advantages, so be sure to read through our list and find the best option for your company.
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