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.
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
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
