ShapeBlue @shapeblue

What does a remote-first cloud company really look like behind the scenes? Our Inside ShapeBlue YouTube series introduces the people behind the work, sharing their perspectives, experiences, and the role they play in shaping the future of cloud technology. From engineering to architecture and marketing, it’s a closer look at the team and the work they do every day. Explore the playlist! youtube.com/playlist?list=…

How does the cost of running your own cloud infrastructure compare with AWS, Azure or Google Cloud? ShapeBlue’s Cloud Cost Calculator and Cloud Pricing Report provide a practical way to compare the Total Cost of Ownership of hyperscaler workloads with on-premises infrastructure powered by Apache CloudStack. The customisable calculator models costs over 36 months, taking into account areas such as datacentre facilities, hardware, software, licensing and support. The accompanying report also explores a hypothetical mid-scale deployment, comparing equivalent workloads across AWS, Azure, GCP and Apache CloudStack. For organisations reviewing cloud spend or considering cloud repatriation, these resources can help build a clearer picture of the long-term financial implications of each approach. Download the Cloud Cost Calculator and Pricing Report: shapeblue.com/cloud-cost-cal…

ShapeBlue is heading to Community Over Code Glasgow, 11–14 Oct! Meet Giles Sirett, Daan Hoogland & Boris Stoyanov across 4 sessions in the dedicated Apache CloudStack track. Read more: shapeblue.com/meet-shapeblue…

Our 6 CloudStack-Powered Service Packages guide shows MSPs how they can turn existing infrastructure, operations, security and support capabilities into structured managed services. For customers, that can mean access to offerings such as fully managed cloud, edge and multi-site cloud, application delivery, VDI, GPU-as-a-Service and regulated or sovereign cloud services. The benefit is not simply having another cloud option. It gives customers services designed around their workloads, compliance requirements, and operational needs, while using open-source technology that reduces dependence on proprietary vendor roadmaps. For MSPs, the guide provides a practical framework for defining, packaging and delivering those services consistently — helping create clearer offerings for customers and a stronger alternative in a changing cloud market. Download now: shapeblue.com/6-cloudstack-p…

Yesterday’s event in Budapest showed how much interest enterprises across Eastern Europe have in exploring alternatives to VMware. Together with our partners at NTT DATA Hungary, we introduced Apache CloudStack to a highly engaged audience, with ShapeBlue’s CRO @Ivet_H_Petrova sharing insights into how organisations can approach virtualisation with greater choice, control and vendor independence. The strong interest and conversations throughout the event reflect a broader shift: more enterprises are looking beyond their existing virtualisation platforms and becoming more aware of the open-source alternatives available to them. We’re excited to see these conversations around Apache CloudStack growing across the region.

Apache CloudStack® Certification by ShapeBlue is the trusted way to validate your expertise in deploying and managing open-source cloud infrastructure with Apache CloudStack. It demonstrates real-world capability across architecture, operations and IaaS delivery using CloudStack. Whether you are a cloud architect, engineer, consultant or service provider, certification proves your ability to design, implement and operate production-ready CloudStack environments with confidence. Learn more and get certified! shapeblue.com/apache-cloudst…

A great day in Budapest, bringing Apache CloudStack to a wider audience together with our partners at NTT DATA, Inc. Hungary. Together, experts from ShapeBlue and NTT DATA explored how Apache CloudStack enables organisations to build predictable, future-ready and vendor-independent virtualisation infrastructure. Events like this are a valuable opportunity to bring together local expertise, practical experience and conversations around greater infrastructure choice and control.

ShapeBlue’s recent analysis by @msinhore, Principal Technical Marketing Manager, on Broadcom’s decision to end public downloads of the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) has been cited by The Register in its latest coverage of the change. The article looks at VMware’s response to concerns around VDDK access and the impact this can have on backup, recovery and migration workflows. Marco’s analysis highlights the practical challenges this creates for organisations and open-source projects relying on VDDK as part of VMware-to-KVM migration processes. Read our blog post: shapeblue.com/broadcom-vddk-…

Modern IaaS environments are rarely built around a single hypervisor, infrastructure tier or tenancy model. The goal is not to eliminate infrastructure diversity, but to make it easier to govern and evolve over time. Read the full article: shapeblue.com/multi-hypervis…

Many organisations are rethinking their VMware strategy, but knowing when and how to move can be challenging. This practical framework outlines the key considerations for evaluating a transition from VMware to Apache CloudStack, including technical readiness, commercial drivers and risk mitigation. It also explores how to plan and execute a phased migration while maintaining service continuity and long term flexibility. Read the full framework! shapeblue.com/framework-for-…

Today, we’re hosting Apache CloudStack 4.23 Unveiled - a first look at the latest release and some of the key updates across networking, security, storage and cloud operations. We’ll cover highlights including the CloudStack DNS Framework, Alarms and Monitoring Framework, modernised CLVM support, Async Job Management and VPC Conserve Mode. Join us on 10 September to discover what’s new in Apache CloudStack 4.23 and hear directly from our experts. Register now: shapeblue.com/apache-cloudst…

ShapeBlue will be joining the @ussignalcom Cloud + AI Readiness Virtual Summit 2026, taking place online on 22–23 September. The two-day event brings together infrastructure experts, technology partners and customers to explore some of the decisions shaping enterprise IT today - from VMware disruption and hybrid cloud strategy to workload placement, cloud economics and preparing infrastructure for AI. Our CEO, Giles Sirett, will take part in two sessions: 👉 Open Source at Production Scale: Momentum, Migration & Support Reality - 22 September, 1:50 PM ET 👉 Closing Panel: The Future of Cloud, AI, and Enterprise Infrastructure - 23 September, 2:20 PM ET We’re looking forward to contributing ShapeBlue’s perspective on open-source cloud infrastructure, migration and the role of flexible infrastructure platforms as organisations rethink their technology strategies. Register for the virtual summit: ussignal.com/cloud-and-ai-r…

Are you in the evaluation phase, comparing different cloud and virtualisation management platforms? If you are, then the CMP buyer's guide is for you! The 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. Download the guide today! shapeblue.com/cloud-manageme…

On September 15, ShapeBlue is joining forces with our partners at NTT Data Hungary for a special event introducing Apache CloudStack to a wider audience across Europe. Together, experts from ShapeBlue and NTT DATA will explore how Apache CloudStack enables organisations to build predictable, future-ready and vendor-independent virtualisation infrastructure. ShapeBlue’s CRO, @Ivet_H_Petrova, will join the event as a guest speaker, sharing insights into CloudStack’s capabilities and the opportunities it creates for organisations looking to take greater control of their infrastructure. We are grateful to our partners at NTT DATA Hungary for their trust, collaboration and commitment to bringing open-source infrastructure solutions to the region. We look forward to welcoming you on Tuesday, September 15, at Cellar Garden in Budapest! @NTTDATA #ApacheCloudStack #ShapeBlue #NTTDATA #OpenSource #Virtualisation

Only 2 days to go until our Apache CloudStack 4.23 Release First Look webinar. Join us on September 10th for a live walkthrough of some of the key capabilities in the new release, including updates across networking, monitoring, storage and cloud operations. We’ll take a closer look at features such as the CloudStack DNS Framework, Alarms and Monitoring Framework, modernised CLVM support, Async Job Management and VPC Conserve Mode, and discuss what they mean for CloudStack operators. 10 September 2026 3 PM BST | 4 PM CET | 10 AM EDT Register now: shapeblue.com/apache-cloudst…

Apache CloudStack 4.23 is here. The latest feature release brings new capabilities and improvements across networking, security and identity, storage, data protection and cloud operations. Highlights include the new CloudStack DNS Framework, Network Extensions, KMS-backed volume encryption, modernised CLVM support for KVM, NetApp ONTAP integration, KVM Backup on Secondary Storage, improved VPC networking, enhanced identity management and broader vTPM support. Our latest blog takes a closer look at the key features in Apache CloudStack 4.23 and what they mean for cloud operators and service providers. Read the full release overview: shapeblue.com/apache-cloudst…

ShapeBlue Migrate v0.5.0 is now available, bringing a simpler and potentially faster path for VMware-to-Apache CloudStack migrations on NFS-backed environments. The key addition is Direct NFS Reads for Changed Block Tracking. Instead of reading source disks through an ESXi host using VMware VDDK, the migration worker can now mount the NFS datastore read-only and access the disks directly. For suitable environments, this can mean faster delta syncs, less load on ESXi hosts and fewer dependencies on each migration worker. The existing warm-migration workflow remains the same - full copy, delta passes, final sync and planned cutover - and the new option is enabled per migration with automatic fallback to VDDK when required. v0.5.0 also includes improvements and fixes based on customer migrations and testing on real infrastructure. Learn more about ShapeBlue Migrate v0.5.0 and what Direct NFS Reads can mean for your VMware migration project: shapeblue.com/shapeblue-migr…

How can you build a practical cross-zone disaster recovery setup with Apache CloudStack? In this new demo, Abhisar Sinha shows how to use the NAS Backup and Recovery plugin together with the Create Instance from Backup functionality introduced in Apache CloudStack 4.22. Using two CloudStack zones and TrueNAS-based NFS storage, the demo walks through replicating backups between zones and then creating a new instance in Zone B from a backup originally taken in Zone A. It also shows how the same design can be extended for two-way disaster recovery, with backups replicated in both directions between the zones. Watch the full demo to see the configuration, replication workflow and cross-zone recovery in action: youtu.be/UTSVDCZyUHY

Our Sovereign Cloud Solution Brief explores how Apache CloudStack can provide an open-source, self-hosted foundation for building secure, compliant and vendor-independent cloud environments. It also looks at sovereignty requirements in Europe and the United States, technology choices across the stack, common pitfalls and a practical path from assessment through to migration and operations. The brief also includes a Cloud Sovereignty Readiness Checklist to help organisations identify gaps and ask the right questions before committing to a sovereign cloud strategy. Download the solution brief: shapeblue.com/solution-brief…