15 Essential Cloud Computing Tools for Modern Businesses

A pioneer in cloud computing, AWS offers an array of services catering to diverse business needs. With its robust infrastructure and global reach, AWS empowers organizations to innovate and scale efficiently. Although AWS offers various services to meet various business requirements, some users find setting up and managing services complex. The opacity of pricing and the lack of accessible support options can result in unexpected costs. Moreover, AWS support is primarily tailored for larger enterprises, which poses challenges for smaller businesses seeking assistance with cloud service issues. Consequently, many smaller enterprises explore alternatives to AWS to find solutions that better suit their needs and support requirements.

Key features:

• Broad service portfolio: Offers a vast range of services across computing, storage, databases, analytics, AI/ML, security, and more.

• Scalability and elasticity: Easily scale resources up or down to meet fluctuating demands.

• Pay-as-you-go pricing: Only pay for the resources you use, making it cost-effective for variable workloads.

• Security features: Offers a comprehensive suite of security tools and compliance certifications.

Tools and functions:

• EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud): Provides a wide range of virtual machine (VM) options with on-demand scaling for any workload.

• Lambda: A serverless computing service that allows you to run code without managing servers, ideal for event-driven applications.

• Redshift: High-performance data warehouse solution designed for large-scale data analytics.

• Amazon SageMaker: Tools and services for building, training, and deploying machine learning models.

Microsoft Azure stands out for its seamless integration with Microsoft products and services, offering a comprehensive cloud platform for businesses of all sizes. With its focus on hybrid cloud solutions, Azure enables organizations to modernize their IT infrastructure. Azure provides support for Linux, but its range of services for Windows is particularly notable. With a global network of data centers, Azure offers scalable solutions. However, exploring alternative solutions to Azure may be worthwhile for those who prioritize Linux options.

Key features:

• Microsoft integration: Integration with existing Microsoft products like Active Directory and Office 365.

• Hybrid cloud solutions: Designed for smooth integration with on-premises infrastructure for a hybrid cloud approach.

• AI and machine learning services: Offers advanced AI and ML services like Azure Cognitive Services and Machine Learning Studio.

Tools and functions:

• Azure Active Directory: Cloud-based identity and access management service for securing access to Azure resources and on-premises applications.

• Azure Synapse Analytics: Cloud data warehouse solution with built-in capabilities for data integration, exploration, and machine learning.

• Azure Cognitive Services: Pre-built AI services for facial recognition, object detection, and sentiment analysis tasks.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a rapidly growing platform known for its cutting-edge AI, machine learning (ML), and data analytics capabilities. GCP offers tools like TensorFlow for AI development, BigQuery for data warehousing, and Cloud Dataproc for large-scale data processing. It is ideal for data-driven businesses and those looking to leverage AI. However, less tech-savvy users may find navigating GCP’s product suite challenging. Businesses with significant data transfer requirements should also be cautious of potential cost escalations, especially in high-bandwidth usage scenarios. Consequently, some companies may explore alternatives to GCP to find platforms better suited to their technical expertise and cost considerations.

Key features:

• Focus on open source: Strong commitment to open-source technologies and open standards.

• Containerization expertise: Leader in containerization technology with Kubernetes Engine for managing containerized applications.

• Highly scalable infrastructure: Built on Google’s global network infrastructure for high performance and scalability.

Tools and functions:

• Kubernetes Engine: Managed Kubernetes service for deploying and managing containerized applications at scale.

• Cloud Spanner: Globally distributed relational database service with strong consistency and high availability.

• Vertex AI: A unified platform for building, training, and deploying machine learning models, with tools like AutoML for simplified model creation.

IBM Cloud, formerly known as IBM Bluemix, is a cloud computing tool offered by IBM that provides a range of services for building, deploying, and managing applications and services. With IBM’s legacy in enterprise computing, IBM Cloud offers solutions tailored for enterprise-grade workloads. While IBM Cloud caters to diverse business and compliance needs with its blend of deployment options, there are other options for those seeking simpler or more cost-effective solutions.

Key features:

• Security and compliance: Strong emphasis on security, focusing on compliance for regulated industries.

• AI for business: Offers industry-specific AI solutions tailored to various business needs.

• Bare metal servers: Provides dedicated physical servers with complete control over hardware and configuration for specific workloads.

Tools and functions:

• IBM Cloud Private: Enables businesses to build and manage a private cloud environment on-premises for secure cloud deployments.

• IBM Key Protect: Hardware Security Module (HSM) as a service for managing and protecting cryptographic keys used for encryption.

• IBM Watson: A suite of AI services, such as natural language processing and computer vision, for building cognitive applications.

DigitalOcean is a cloud computing platform tailored for businesses, simplifying application development in cloud environments. Administrators use it to set up frameworks, manage product catalogs, and store business data centrally. For developers, it streamlines workflows, DNS management, and application development operations. Enhancing website performance enables analytics and cloud server monitoring. Seamless integration with platforms like Docker, Joomla, and GitLab is achieved through its API, creating a comprehensive development ecosystem. This combination of features and support makes DigitalOcean a compelling choice for businesses seeking a simple, user-friendly cloud service platform.

Key features:

• Simple cloud infrastructure: Streamlined user interface and API for easy deployment and management of virtual machines and cloud resources.

• Developer-friendly: Geared towards developers with features like one-click app deployments, pre-configured images for popular frameworks, and integrations with popular developer tools.

• SSD cloud storage: High-performance storage for faster boot times, application performance, and data access.

• Competitive pricing: Offers hourly billing with predictable pricing structures for cost-effective deployments.

• Global data centers: Strategically located data centers worldwide for low latency and regional deployments.

Tools and functions:

• Droplets: Simplified virtual machines with easy scaling options for resource allocation based on specific needs.

• Marketplace: Pre-configured application droplets for popular frameworks like WordPress, Node.js, and Django, allowing for quick deployments.

• Block Storage: High-performance SSD block storage volumes for attaching additional storage to droplets for databases or applications requiring fast I/O.

• API Access: Provides a robust API for programmatic management of VMs, storage, and other resources, enabling automation and integration with developer workflows.

• Global firewalls: Manages security rules across all Droplets in a region, simplifying security configuration at scale.

Linode distinguishes itself with its strong network infrastructure and intuitive control panel, providing a secure and dependable cloud hosting environment for websites and applications. Designed explicitly for Linux virtual servers, Linode grants users full server management via its user-friendly web interface or SSH access. Catering primarily to developers, it delivers extensive optimization features for maximizing performance and scalability. Nonetheless, the lack of native support for Windows servers may restrict compatibility with certain applications.

Key features:

• Variety of cloud servers: Provides a range of virtual machine configurations with predictable pricing based on resources.

• Global data centers: Strategically located data centers worldwide for low latency deployments.

• Advanced networking: Features like private networking and VLANs for secure and isolated network environments within Linode.

Tools and functions:

• Nanode pricing: Offers a unique “Nanode” pricing tier with very low-resource VMs ideal for small workloads or development environments.

• Longview network monitoring: Provides advanced network monitoring tools (Longview) for in-depth network performance analysis and troubleshooting.

• KernelCare for extended security updates: Provides extended security updates for custom kernels beyond the standard support period, enhancing security for specific use cases.

Ansible is an open-source automation tool known for its simplicity and flexibility in managing infrastructure, applications, and network devices. With its agentless architecture and declarative language, Ansible streamlines IT operations and accelerates the deployment of cloud environments.

Key features:

• Automation Engine: Declarative language for automating infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment.

• Agentless architecture: Can manage systems without requiring pre-installed agents on target machines, simplifying deployment.

• Modular design: Uses modules for specific tasks, allowing for reusability and easy extension of functionalities.

• Security features: Offers [role-based access control](https://docs.digitalocean.com/glossary/rbac/#:~:text=Role-based access control (RBAC,role-to-role relationships.) (RBAC) and vault integration for secure automation.

Tools and functions:

• Playbooks: Reusable code blocks defining infrastructure configurations and deployment tasks, promoting consistency and repeatability.

• Inventory management: Flexible inventory management system for defining and grouping target machines across cloud platforms or on-premises environments. Learn how to set up Ansible inventories and ensure efficiency.

• Conditionals and loops: Allows for conditional execution of tasks based on specific server states and looping constructs for repetitive configurations.

• Vault integration: Securely stores sensitive information like passwords and API keys with integration to Ansible playbooks to avoid hardcoding credentials.

Terraform is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool used for building, changing, and versioning cloud infrastructure. With its declarative configuration language and provider-agnostic approach, Terraform enables infrastructure automation and management across various cloud platforms. This cloud infrastructure provider also offers adequate integration opportunities. Explore how to use Terraform with DigitalOcean for scaling your business infrastructure seamlessly.

Key features:

• State management: Tracks the state of infrastructure resources across deployments, ensuring consistency and avoiding configuration drift.

• Modules: Enables modularization of infrastructure configurations for reusability and easier management of complex deployments.

• Import existing infrastructure: Allows importing existing infrastructure resources into Terraform state, enabling management of both manually created and Terraform-provisioned resources.

Tools and functions:

• Declarative syntax: Uses a human-readable language (HCL) to define infrastructure’s desired state, allowing for easy comprehension and collaboration.

• State locking: Ensures only one user can modify the infrastructure state at a time, preventing conflicts and maintaining consistency across deployments.

• Terraform Cloud: Provides a SaaS platform for managing Terraform configurations, state, and collaboration across teams and projects (additional feature).

• Remote state backends: Allows the storage of the infrastructure state remotely in solutions like S3 or Consul for centralized management, disaster recovery, and access control.

• Resource provisioners: Enables executing custom scripts during infrastructure provisioning for specific configuration or customization needs.

Chef is an open-source configuration management tool based on Ruby, provided by Opscode under the Apache license. Managed via Chef Intra, a configuration management system software, it automates virtual system configuration, reducing manual tasks for improved efficiency. Chef offers features like backup, real-time data management, and scalable automation enabling reliable test deployments, flexible IT automation, and search-based configuration. With a focus on software and infrastructure changes, Chef generates reports on compliance, security, and outdated software.

Key features:

• Infrastructure automation: Provides a powerful language (Chef Infra) for automating the configuration and management of infrastructure across various platforms (cloud or on-premises).

• Declarative configuration: Uses a declarative approach where you define the desired state of your infrastructure, and Chef handles the steps to achieve it.

• Cookbooks: Reusable code components (cookbooks) for managing specific software, services, and systems configurations.

Tools and functions:

• Community cookbooks: Benefits from a vast ecosystem of community-maintained cookbooks, providing pre-built configurations for a wide range of software and services.

• Chef Inspec for compliance testing: Offers Chef Inspec, a separate tool for compliance testing, allowing independent verification of infrastructure configurations against security standards.

• Flexible node targeting: Enables flexible targeting of specific nodes or groups of nodes for configuration management tasks, ensuring granular control over infrastructure changes.

CloudHealth by VMware is a cloud cost intelligence platform designed to optimize cloud infrastructure costs, performance, and security. With its comprehensive features and analytics capabilities, CloudHealth enables organizations to gain visibility and control over their cloud environment.

Key features:

• Cloud cost management: Provides tools for cloud cost optimization, identifying unused resources, and recommending cost-saving measures across multiple cloud providers.

• Cloud FinOps: Enables a FinOps approach to cloud management, focusing on financial accountability and optimizing cloud spending.

• Cloud resource governance: Offers tools for setting spending limits, automating approvals, and enforcing cloud governance policies.

• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Identifies and helps using CSPM to remediate security misconfigurations in cloud environments.

Tools and functions:

• Showback and chargeback reporting: Granular cost reporting allows precise allocation of cloud spending to specific departments, projects, or users for improved cost accountability.

• Reserved Instance (RI) recommendation engine: Analyzes usage patterns and recommends optimal Reserved Instances for purchasing to achieve significant cost savings on predictable workloads.

• Rightsizing recommendations: Identifies and suggests downsizing opportunities for unused or under-utilized cloud resources, optimizing resource allocation, and reducing costs.

Apptio Cloudability is designed to analyze financial spending within businesses, pinpointing areas where costs can be reduced, and revenue growth can be optimized through detailed budget reports. Its standout features include secure API integration, tracking across multiple cloud services in real-time, and robust compliance management. The platform also provides dashboard analytics for in-depth insights. Cloudability offers subscription plans tailored to different user requirements, with options ranging from Pro to Enterprise.

Key features:

• Cost allocation and chargeback: Allocates cloud costs to specific departments, projects, or users for improved accountability and cost transparency.

• Reserved Instance (RI) management: Recommends optimal RIs for predictable workloads, helping businesses achieve significant cost savings.

• Rightsizing recommendations: Identifies underutilized resources and suggests opportunities for downsizing, optimizing resource allocation, and reducing costs.

Tools and functions:

• Machine Learning-powered cost anomaly detection: Leverages machine learning to identify unusual spending patterns and potential cost anomalies, helping businesses proactively address them.

• Integrations with cloud billing systems: Integrates with various cloud provider billing systems for seamless data collection and cost analysis.

• Customizable dashboards and reporting: Allows customization of dashboards and reports to visualize cloud costs according to specific business needs.

Lacework is a cloud security platform that provides comprehensive threat detection, compliance, and workload protection across cloud environments. With its machine learning-driven approach and real-time monitoring capabilities, Lacework helps organizations secure their cloud workloads effectively.

Key features:

• Runtime security: Detects and prevents security threats in real-time within running cloud workloads.

• Compliance management: Helps ensure compliance with security regulations and standards for cloud deployments.

• Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP): Combines runtime security with CSPM capabilities for comprehensive CWPP and data security.

• Focus on containers: Offers advanced security features designed explicitly for containerized environments.

Tools and functions:

• Cloud Workload Activity Monitoring (CWAM): Continuously monitors cloud workloads for suspicious activities, identifying potential malware, privilege escalation attempts, and unauthorized access.

• Lateral movement detection: Identifies attempts by attackers to move laterally within a cloud environment and compromise additional resources.

• Zero-trust architecture: Supports zero-trust security principles by enforcing least privilege access and continuous verification for cloud workloads.

McAfee recently launched MVISION CNAPP, a security solution made for cloud native applications. It ensures data protection, threat prevention, governance, and compliance throughout the application development lifecycle. MVISION CNAPP uniquely combines Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) for public cloud infrastructure with Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) for securing applications across various environments, including containers and virtual machines.

Key features:

• Container security: Provides comprehensive protection for containerized workloads, including vulnerability scanning, threat detection, and runtime behavior monitoring.

• API security: Secures APIs used by cloud applications, protecting against unauthorized access and data breaches.

Tools and functions:

• Shift left security: Integrates security tools into the development lifecycle, enabling developers to identify and address vulnerabilities early in the process.

• Workload discovery and classification: Automatically discovers and classifies cloud workloads, allowing for targeted security policies and resource monitoring.

• Sandboxing for unknown threats: Provides sandboxing capabilities for analyzing unknown threats in a controlled environment, preventing potential damage to production workloads.

Jenkins is an open-source automation server widely used for continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) pipelines. With its vast plugin ecosystem and extensibility, Jenkins enables developers to automate the build, test, and deployment processes, facilitating agile software development practices.

Key features:

• Pipeline as code: Defines CI/CD workflows in code for version control, collaboration, and repeatability across environments.

• Plugin ecosystem: Extends functionality with a vast library of plugins for various tasks, including code analysis, static code security testing, and container image building.

• Job scheduling and triggers: Schedules automated builds and deployments based on time intervals, code changes, or other triggers.

• Build distribution and execution: Enables distributed execution of build tasks across multiple agents for faster build and test runs.

Tools and functions:

• Automated pull request validation: Integrates with code repositories to automatically trigger builds, tests, and security scans upon pull request creation, promoting early feedback and continuous integration.

• Environments as code: Defines infrastructure configurations for development, staging, and production environments alongside the environment application code, ensuring consistency and repeatability across environments.

• Declarative configuration: Uses declarative YAML files to define pipelines, environments, and configurations, promoting readability and ease of maintenance.

Circle CI is a cloud-based service that automates software development by integrating with GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab repositories. Upon pushing new code, Circle CI initiates binary builds and tests across Linux, macOS, or Windows environments. It promptly reports any build or test failures, providing actionable insights for swift issue resolution.

Key features:

• Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): Automates the software development lifecycle, including building, testing, and deploying applications using CI/CD solutions.

• Container-based builds: Leverages Docker containers for isolated and consistent build environments across different systems.

• Test automation: Integrates with various testing frameworks for automated unit, integration, and end-to-end testing.

Tools and functions:

• Flexible deployment options: Supports various deployment strategies, including continuous deployment, canary deployments, and manual deployments with approvals.

• Parallel testing: Enables parallel execution of tests across multiple machines, significantly reducing overall test execution time for faster feedback.

• Artifact caching: Caches build artifacts across builds and pipelines, minimizing redundant downloads and accelerating subsequent builds.