The Challenge
Realising that increasingly sophisticated websites needed a powerful platform on which to run, Sander Cruiming founded Cloud Provider to build a scalable, high performance and responsive cloud infrastructure based on a highly virtualised environment.
Cruiming’s vision of how the market was evolving proved correct: today, Cloud Provider’s IaaS supports websites with very high levels of traffic and interactivity for a broad base of around 800 customers in the Netherlands. An easy-to-use portal gives website owners and developers complete control over their clouds, enabling rapid creation, configuration and resizing of servers.
“We combine advanced technology with hourly charging and a personalised service to help our customers get the best from the cloud,” says Cruiming. “Our customers like our local approach, including the fact that our platform sits in a data centre in Amsterdam.”
Now Cloud Provider has taken another step into the future by building a next-generation cloud platform on the OnApp CloudPOD at Interxion’s Amsterdam campus.
At Interxion, we can grow as far and as fast as we like. They have data centres all over Europe that offer consistent levels of quality and service, combined with the convenience of a single account manager, service centre and master contract
Sander Cruiming
Founder, Cloud Provider
The Solution
Cruiming explains that this latest development wouldn’t have been possible if Cloud Provider had stayed with its previous data centre co-location provider, because space, power and connectivity options were all very limited. “In contrast, at Interxion, we can grow as far and as fast as we like,” he says. Interxion’s data centres provide 32 amps of power per rack, which supports the high-density computing needed to run an efficient cloud service.
But as Cruiming explains: “The cloud market is very competitive, so you have to keep control of costs, including data centre costs, of which power represents a significant proportion. Using as much power as possible from sustainable sources, as Interxion does, helps control those costs — as well as being better for the planet.”
Cloud Provider has also improved its network thanks to Interxion’s carrier neutrality. “We can select the bandwidth providers that fit with our requirements, and we have the flexibility to add or change providers as our business evolves,” says Cruiming. “In addition, being among the first customers to move into Interxion’s newest Amsterdam facility, we know there will always be space to expand.”
The availability of the OnApp CloudPOD at Interxion data centres meant that Cloud Provider could bring its new platform to market much faster, and start serving its waiting list of eager customers more quickly.
“Because CloudPOD consists of a preselected and proven combination of technology and services from trusted providers, we spent much less time on research and testing, and reduced our risk,” confirms Cruiming. “What’s more, our customers like to know what they’re buying. The partnership behind CloudPOD gives them peace of mind when it comes to quality and reliability.”
Beyond providing the right power, connectivity and scalability for cloud platforms, Interxion also creates a marketplace within its data centres where cloud platforms and their customers can do business. Being cloud neutral means that Interxion isn’t in competition with any cloud platform. In Cruiming’s view, this neutrality will become even more important in the future, as customers increasingly work with multiple cloud platforms to meet their complex requirements.
“A neutral data centre like Interxion can attract a wide variety of cloud platforms designed for different apps and workloads. So whereas we, for example, focus on high performance, another provider’s cloud will be more economical for large-scale data storage,” explains Cruiming. “Smaller providers will be able to compete more effectively by teaming up to meet the full range of any customer’s needs.”
With a track record of success in the cloud market in the Netherlands, Cloud Provider now has its sights set on moving into other parts of Europe. “Our expansion strategy was another reason for choosing Interxion, given that they have data centres all over Europe that offer consistent levels of quality and service,” says Cruiming. “They combine all that with the convenience of a single account manager, service centre and master contract that will cover all our future European locations.”