Cloud/IaaS Management Platform Buyer’s Guide

Make your comparison easier. Make your PoC faster. Leverage the benefits of open-source.

If you are evaluating Cloud and IaaS Management Platforms or running a Proof of Concept, this guide is designed specifically for you. It helps you:

  • Make your comparison easier by focusing only on the capabilities that truly matter

  • Make your PoC faster with a clear checklist of functional requirements

  • Leverage the benefits of open-source without compromising on enterprise-grade features

ShapeBlue’s Cloud/IaaS Management Platform Buyer’s Guide provides a structured, technical framework for assessing and comparing CMP solutions side by side, so you can move from evaluation to decision with confidence.

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cloudstack iaas

What This Guide Covers?

ShapeBlue provides a technically grounded evaluation framework focused on the capabilities that matter most for real-world deployments, including:

  • Multi-tenancy & role-based access control
  • Automation & orchestration
  • Kubernetes & container integration
  • High availability & disaster recovery
  • Security, compliance & isolation
  • Edge and distributed cloud support

enterprises

Who Is This Guide For?

If you are currently in the evaluation or Proof-of-Concept (PoC) phase, this guide will help you:

  • Compare platforms objectively using clear, functional criteria
  • Avoid common architectural and operational pitfalls before going into production
  • Leverage the advantages of open-source - transparency, flexibility, and freedom from vendor lock-in
  • Select the right CMP to orchestrate your IT infrastructure with confidence

Choosе the Right Cloud Management Platform And Navigate your Evaluation Phase with Confidence

Open-Source Cloud Management Platforms – Feature Comparison Matrix

By downloading this guide, you will also gain access to the Open-Source Cloud Management Platforms – Feature Comparison Matrix. This matrix delivers a detailed, side-by-side comparison of three leading open-source CMPs — Apache CloudStack, OpenStack, and OpenNebula. It evaluates each platform against the functional requirements most frequently demanded by cloud service providers, enterprise IT teams, and hybrid-cloud architects. Key criteria include multi-hypervisor support, SDN capabilities, Kubernetes integration, self-service, disaster recovery, and edge readiness. Each comparison point is based on documented capabilities and real-world deployments, providing an accurate, objective view to support confident platform selection and strategic decision-making.

Below is a short excerpt from our Open-Source Cloud Management Platforms – Feature Comparison Matrix. It highlights how leading open-source CMPs address key capabilities such as automation, Kubernetes integration, multi-tenancy, and security.

Category

Feature

CloudStack

OpenStack

OpenNebula

Licensing & Commercial Use

Open-Source & Commercially Usable

White-Label Capability

No Vendor Lock-in

Apache 2.0 License

UI & endpoint rebranding

Yes

Apache 2.0 License

Via Horizon customization

Yes

Apache 2.0 License

Custom branding via Sunstone

Yes

Multi-Tenancy

Full Tenant Segregation

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Resource Limits

Network Bandwidth Limits

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes (per-NIC shaping, QoS policies)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes (via Neutron QoS)

Partial (via RBAC)

Yes

Yes

Partial (via vCenter integration)

Hypervisor Support

Multi-Hypervisor Capability

Live Migration

GPU Support

KVM, VMware, XenServer, XCP-ng

Yes

vGPU, PCI passthrough

KVM, VMware, Xen, LXC

Yes

Via Nova

KVM, VMware, Firecracker

Yes

with Firecracker or KVM

ShapeBlue

Choosе the Right Cloud Management Platform. Navigate your Evaluation Phase with Confidence

Make your comparison easier. Make your PoC faster. Leverage the benefits of open-source.

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