Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers: 2010 Landscape and a Practical Selection Framework

This article reframes the original 2010 vendor roundup into a practical reference for DevOps engineers. You will find a categorized view of the providers that were listed, a repeatable workflow for shortlisting platforms, and a simple scoring template you can adapt for current cloud evaluations.

Originally published on 2010-03-09; fully revised and updated.

Source: Cloud Computing Selection: Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers.

What the original post provides

The original article is a historical snapshot of cloud-era tooling and service providers across infrastructure, integration, monitoring, storage, and traffic management. It is useful for understanding how cloud platform selection was framed at the time, but it should not be treated as a current-market ranking.

• Mixes infrastructure, platform, integration, and operations tools in one list.
• Includes both commercial and open-source options.
• Contains vendor capability statements, many of which are marketing-oriented.
• Does not include consistent pricing, benchmarks, or neutral test criteria.

Providers mentioned in the original post, grouped by function

Workflow for selecting a cloud infrastructure provider

Use a capability-first process instead of selecting by vendor category name alone. This reduces lock-in risk and makes trade-offs explicit before migration.

flowchart TD
    A[Define workload needs] --> B[Map needs to capability areas]
    B --> C[Create shortlist]
    C --> D[Check integration and portability]
    D --> E[Run pilot in staging]
    E --> F{Meets reliability security budget}
    F -- no --> G[Revise shortlist or architecture]
    G --> C
    F -- yes --> H[Plan migration governance operations]
    H --> I[Production rollout and review]

Capability comparison for shortlisting

Example provider scoring template

Use a weighted template so decisions are repeatable and auditable across teams.

evaluation:
  workload: "customer-api"
  required_capabilities:
    - integration
    - monitoring
    - storage
    - traffic_management
  weights:
    reliability: 30
    security_and_compliance: 25
    portability: 15
    integration_effort: 15
    cost_model_fit: 15
  providers:
    - name: "Provider A"
      score:
        reliability: 0
        security_and_compliance: 0
        portability: 0
        integration_effort: 0
        cost_model_fit: 0
      notes: ""
    - name: "Provider B"
      score:
        reliability: 0
        security_and_compliance: 0
        portability: 0
        integration_effort: 0
        cost_model_fit: 0
      notes: ""
  decision_rule: "Select top scorer only if reliability and security_and_compliance are both 4 or higher."Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Best practices when using this historical list

• Treat this as historical context, then validate each capability against current vendor documentation.
• Normalize terminology before evaluation (for example, distinguish infrastructure, platform, integration, and managed services).
• Require a pilot with measurable reliability, security, and operational criteria.
• Document portability and exit strategy requirements before committing to long-term contracts.
• Keep decision logs so architecture choices are traceable during audits and incident reviews.

Rajesh Kumar

I’m Rajesh Kumar, a DevOps, SRE, DevSecOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering expert passionate about sharing practical knowledge, real-world experiences, and industry best practices. I have worked at Cotocus and regularly write about technology, travel, investing, health, product reviews, and digital marketing through my various platforms.

I publish technical articles at DevOps School, travel stories at Holiday Landmark, stock market insights at Stocks Mantra, health and fitness guidance at My Medic Plus, product reviews at TrueReviewNow, and SEO and digital marketing strategies at Wizbrand.