At first glance, Serverspace might seem like the average Cloud infrastructure service provider. Yet beneath the waters lurks a company with the depth of expertise and solid vision. If you’re interested in moving to the Cloud, Serverspace can be a strong option.
The Serverspace brand came about as a rebranding of the ITGLOBAL.COM group of companies in 2019. In true modern digital fashion, the Amsterdam-based company today embraces overseas expansion.
Deploying a New Breed of Cloud
The term “Cloud” is pretty generic, and Serverspace offers various solutions in this regard. In addition, they also provide multiple services that complement their main Cloud platform offerings. At a glance, the Serverspace core Cloud portfolio includes;
- VMware Cloud
- vStack Cloud
- Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
- Block Storage
VMware Cloud Offers Tried and Tested Reliability
The more familiar for many is VMware, one of the top brands in Cloud computing infrastructure. Based on VMware ESXi software, servers on the platform are guaranteed 99.9% uninterrupted performance and infrastructure accessibility.
VMware’s industry reputation isn’t undeserved, and VPCs created on the VMware platform are highly secure. Servers on the platform can run out of data centers in the Netherlands, Russia, or Belarus, offering users a strategic advantage.
Championing vStack for Better Cloud Performance
However, Serverspace also offers Cloud servers deployed on vStack. vStack is a hyper-converged platform built on a combination of the bhyve (that reads as “bee-hive”) hypervisor and FreeBSD Operating System (OS). While this statement seems simple enough, reading more deeply into it will show its distinct advantages.
Bhyve is exceptionally lightweight, something that not all hypervisors can claim to be. Combining that advantage with the open-source nature of FreeBSD results in a robust product that’s high-performance, fast to deploy, and more cost-effective.
In 2020, Serverspace became the first Cloud service provider to integrate and deploy the vStack operationally.
According to the latest update from Serverspace, their servers on vStack platform can run out of data centers in the Netherlands, USA, Russia, Kazakhstan.
Isolated Private Cloud Infrastructure
For those cautious about trusting public Cloud infrastructure, Serverspace offers the opportunity to rent private Cloud space. VPCs at Serverspace are created in logically isolated parts of the public network, shielding them from most threats.
The closed-loop nature of Serverspace VPCs ensures companies get total control over their Cloud infrastructure. The result is a robust base of operations that easily meets compliance standards while offering excellent agility.
Expanding Storage Quickly and Easily
Regardless of your choice in the platform, data is something that will doubtlessly grow in volume. If you think that X GB of space is enough, you might be shocked at how quickly that gets eaten up.
That’s where Block storage comes in handy. These easily mountable storage volumes can quickly expand the storage space of your Serverspace Cloud servers. Virtualization is the critical element here, and storage volumes are elastic and easily managed.
Serverspace also makes sure to use fast storage hardware with low latency, making them ideal for database use.
Supporting Devs with API and CLI Tools
Serverspace isn’t all about supporting businesses but also those that support the business. That means the programmers and developers who work hard to integrate client services. Serverspace has API and Command Line Interface (CLI) tools for this group to ease the job.
The Serverspace API offers native secure access to control panels and gives everything needed to support high levels of development automation. Based on standard REST architecture, the Serverspace API is powerful yet should be familiar to most.
For everything it doesn’t cover, there’s CLI. This direct control method gives unprecedented control over servers, network interfaces, security keys, and more. All that’s needed to handle this is a simple terminal.
The Serverspace Difference: Managed Services
Aside from their core Cloud offerings, Serverspace also brings several other technologies to the table, including Private Network, Direct Connect, DNS, and Managed Services. With Cloud at its core, Managed Services is the obvious jewel in the Serverspace crown.
Serverspace can help manage your Cloud services to allow you to remain focused on business operation. Their expert deal comprised of certified professionals will handle everything from routine maintenance to ad-hoc requests.
Some examples of what they do are complete Cloud examinations, incident tracking and reporting, and 24/7 technical assistance. All you need to do is get in touch with them, and they’re available 24×7, 365 days a year.
The Hands-off Experience Isn’t Expensive
Manged services, in general, are pricey, given the technical nature of the Cloud. In context, however, Serverspace keeps these prices at manageable levels. The company offers three levels of managed services; Basic, Extended, and Pro.
Pricing for these services is on a per-server basis and dependent on the plan tier. Basic managed services, for example, cost only $49 per month per server.
Before you think that Basic services mean you get the bare minimum, that isn’t true at all. Even this lowest tier of service includes comprehensive server configuration and operational maintenance.
The distinguishing factor is that lower-tier services are more reactive, while the upper end includes proactive and reactive management.
Localizing the Cloud One Country at a Time
Headed by founders Konstantin Kudryashov and Vitaliy Gritsay, Serverspace is a great believer in technical expertise and localization. While most digital companies opt for a generic approach to the global market, Serverspace understands that a local presence can be impactful.
That’s the reason they register a separate domain for each market, offering access to products in the local currency. Beyond that, Serverspace fields special marketing teams for each market – covering Russia, Belarus, Europe, and the US at present.
Why Companies Like Serverspace Matter
Cloud hosting is something that’s been around for ages. By 2028, the Cloud computing market will reach a global volume of over $1.25 trillion. To put things in perspective, that’s a staggering Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 19.1%.
According to Head of Serverspace Ignat Tolchanov, the current Coronavirus pandemic has speeded up Cloud adoption.
“Companies seek new means of hosting workspaces outside the offices. The Cloud is the perfect solution that combines winning technology with a solid foundation built over the years. We’ve taken that credibility a step further thanks to the vStack platform,” said Ignat Tolchanov, Head of Serverspace.
Serverspace is Slashing the Cloud Price Premium
As technologies mature even further and expertise grows, providers can offer cost-effective products and services. For example, providers implementing the Managed Kubernetes service can cut labor costs on infrastructure deployment, something that Serverspace looks forward to doing soon.
Serverspace has already managed to slash prices to the bone. Thanks to their positioning as the first Cloud provider to offer the vStack platform, the product is comparatively cheaper than many alternatives.
To showcase this difference, compare the prices of a basic setup with 1 CPU, 1 RAM, and 25 GB SSD. For that configuration, a Windows server costs approximately $9.55 per month. Meanwhile, a vStack-based option can start from as little as $4.95 per month.
Of course, that’s just the basics. You can use the custom configuration tool at Serverspace to customize a plan suitable for your needs.
There’s Top-of-the-Line Hardware to Match
Aside from vital software platform advantages, Serverspace understands that the plan won’t work without the horsepower to drive things. That’s why they offer the latest Intel Xeon Gold Scalable CPU – known to be reliable workhorses industry-wide.
What’s Next for Serverspace?
Evolution is normal for any company, and even as it rests in industry leadership, Serverspace is already looking forward to its next generation of products. One highly anticipated item is its Managed Kubernetes (K8) service.
Managed K8s offer an exciting number of feature inclusions by nature. Technically, they are the bound combination of various Cloud containers. This combination, however, can be challenging to combine and deploy effectively, which is where the Managed service of Serverspace will excel.
In addition, Serverspace is looking forward to implementing persistent storage to boost services reliability even further.
Naturally, their crown jewel – vStack – isn’t getting ignored either. The team at Serverspace is developing an option to add network services to the vStack infrastructure. The aim is to include both NAT and Firewall for better network management and organization.
Conclusion: It’s Time to Re-asses the Cloud
We know that Cloud isn’t new. While there’s been phenomenal growth, age-old objections by some companies still abound. Some areas of concern include privacy, security, complexity, compliance, and more.
Yet, we can see new generations of Cloud service providers like Serverspace addressing these very concerns. vStack, in particular, seems designed to overcome many of these challenges specifically. Once you combine their Managed services and plans, the Serverspace proposition seems too good to ignore.
Perhaps it’s time we took a step back away from parroting the same old objections and re-assess the new Cloud. After all, the potential benefits are vast, and those that fail to adapt will quickly get left behind.
