Cloud Management Platforms (CMPs) have made it easier to manage multi-cloud services and resources. Using multiple public clouds can be a nightmare for IT. Each has its own naming convention and way of doing things. There’s also the challenge of managing security, agility, and avoiding vendor lock-in. A fully featured CMP can help deal with these issues.
Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Management Platforms feted CloudBolt as one of the outstanding players in the Challengers category for its provisioning and orchestration handling. This is no walk in the park given the level of the competition in the market. Today, we’ll look at how CloudBolt stacks up against the competition with this CMP comparison.
Cloud Management Software Platform Comparison List Below
1. CloudBolt
CloudBolt is a cloud management platform that supports a variety of cloud technologies. It works with both public and hybrid cloud configurations to give users a single intuitive interface. CloudBolt makes it easy to import, sync, and manage legacy deployments and helps users build out new cloud environments.
CloudBolt supports 14 different resource handlers (public cloud and virtualization technologies). Users can also rapidly add new technology support. The software also integrates with configuration managers (Chef and Puppet), CMDBs (ServiceNow), IPAM solutions (Infoblox), and many other server management systems. This means that end-to-end builds take place in one UI. Users can rapidly provision the services, systems, and applications they need through the software’s intuitive self-service portal.
Features
- Private Cloud (VMware, OpenStack, Hyper-V)
- Containers (Docker, Kubernetes)
- Public Cloud (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud)
- Customer-Extensible
- Time-to-Value (easy installation)
- Built-In Testing (CIT)
- Public Cloud Power Scheduling
- Cross-Cloud Blueprints
- Brownfield and Greenfield (legacy and future)
- Agentless Integration
- Tech Agnostic
- Robust, Customizable Reporting
Benefits
- Self-service IT and User Empowerment
- Workload Flexibility
- Facilitates DevOps
- Governance, Security, and Operational Efficiency
- Service Lifecycle Management and Orchestration
- Role-based Access Control and Governance
- Implement Chargeback/Showback
- Automate IT Deployments
- Instant Insights: Dashboards, Reporting, and Analytics
- Visibility and Transparency
Verdict
CloudBolt is one of the most complete cloud management platforms.
2. VMware vRealize
VMware vRealize is a cloud orchestration software that provides IT automation, intelligent operations, and a developer cloud. It also delivers an excellent solution for managing a heterogeneous cloud. The software gives enterprises the best platform to proactively identify and fix issues and improve availability and performance. It also automates the delivery of production-ready infrastructure in multi-cloud deployments.
Features
- Robust, Customizable Reporting
- Tech Agnostic
- Agentless Integration
- Brownfield and Greenfield (legacy and future)
- Public Cloud (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud)
- Private Cloud (VMware, OpenStack, Hyper-V)
Benefits
- Proactively identify and fix issues
- Improve availability and performance
- Reduce time taken to respond to requests for services
- Fast track the delivery of applications across traditional and container-based apps
- Automate delivery of infrastructure across multi-cloud environments
Verdict
VMware vRealize is not as feature-rich as CloudBolt. However, it’s one of the best solutions for managing a heterogeneous cloud in this cloud management platform comparison.
3. Red Hat CloudForms
Red Hat CloudForms is an excellent cloud orchestration software for managing complex hybrid cloud environments. It helps IT do away with multiple management tools and redundant policy implementation. Enterprises also don’t need extra staff to manage operations. It provides unified management and operations in a hybrid deployment.
Features
- Private Cloud (VMware, OpenStack, Hyper-V)
- Public Cloud (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud)
- Containers (Docker, Kubernetes)
- Customer-Extensible
- Cross-Cloud Blueprints
- Brownfield and Greenfield (legacy and future)
- Agentless Integration
- Tech Agnostic
- Robust, Customizable Reporting
Benefits
- Provides greater operational visibility via continuous monitoring, discovery, and deep inspection of resources
- Enables IT staff to understand the relationship between resources
- Helps track down root causes of issues
- Helps with planning for the future
Verdict
Red Hat CloudForms gives users a single platform for automating workload life cycle management and self-service provisioning across public cloud, private cloud, hybrid multivendor virtualized, and container-based environments.
4. Cisco CloudCenter
Cisco CloudCenter is a hybrid cloud management platform that provisions infrastructure and deploys apps across more than 19 data centers, public cloud, and private cloud environments. It improves the speed and agility of IT and optimizes work for users. Users can quickly deploy and manage apps in any environment.
Features
- Private Cloud (VMware, OpenStack, Hyper-V)
- Public Cloud (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud)
- Containers (Docker, Kubernetes)
- Customer-Extensible
- Time-to-Value (easy installation)
- Cross-Cloud Blueprints
- Brownfield and Greenfield (legacy and future)
- Tech Agnostic
- Robust, Customizable Reporting
Benefits
- Simplifies multi-cloud management
- Makes it easy to design deploy and optimize workloads
- Increases efficiency by accelerating business processes through workflow automation and orchestration
- Helps reduce cloud spend and increase application efficiency
Cisco CloudCenter helps with the migration of apps to the cloud and simplifies management. Its application-defined technology gives users a way to start simple and grow as their cloud needs evolve.
Conclusion
CloudBolt is the most feature-rich and capable option in this cloud management platform comparison. While the rest are equally capable, it’s clear why Gartner featured CloudBolt in its 2019 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Management Platforms.