Around a decade ago, startups used to set aside a portion of their capital for setting up infrastructure. The practice changed with the spread of cloud technology, as it helps companies save on infrastructure costs and divert the capital into other business aspects, such as hosting. Cloud ser vice providers such as Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft have specifically designed cloud programmes with free-of-cost services to help startups get started in the cloud. All service providers have partnered with global incubators and accelerators to support the startup ecosystem. If you are planning a new venture, it is advisable to contact a cloud hosting provider to take your business online. To help you decide which of the technology biggies is suitable for your business needs, this blog post discusses the top three free cloud hosting solutions for startups.
Read More: How to Build a Cloud Computing Infrastructure?
Free cloud hosting solutions for startups
1. Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon was first off the blocks to offer cloud service for startups. The technology giant is enjoying the advantage of starting early, as today, its cloud platform – Amazon Web Service – is one of the most preferred cloud platforms among free cloud hosting solutions for startups worldwide. Over the years, Amazon has improvised the platform to make it more attractive for start-ups. Its programme called AWS Activate offers a slew of benefits, such as promotional credits ranging between $1,000 and $15,000, technical training programmes, and free business level support.
Read more – 4 Ways Amazon Web Services Can Help Scale Your Business
AWS is an industry leader in cloud computing and offers a myriad of services to help you establish a robust cloud infrastructure. These include:
- Compute: A generic term in cloud computing, compute refers to the objects and concepts related to software computation such as networking, storage, processing power, and memory. AWS’s Compute Resources includes Amazon EC2, Amazon Elastic Beanstalk, and Amazon Lambda.
- Database: It is defined as a collection of data stored electronically. It contains vital (and sensitive) info related to different operations of any organization such as sales, marketing, product development, and human resource. Amazon provides two highly efficient Database Management Systems – Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon RDS.
- Networking: A type of IT infrastructure, cloud networking allows hosting of an organization’s network capabilities and resources in a private/public cloud platform, which can be managed internally or outsourced. Amazon provides two highly secure, efficient, and easy to use cloud networking platforms – Amazon Route 53 & Amazon VPC.
The aforementioned services can be setup and managed by an in-house team, however, it is advisable to hire a cloud hosting provider to minimize your time, cost, and effort. i2k2 Networks is a trusted web hosting company in Delhi NCR that provides a complete range of web hosting services – Dedicated, Colocation, and Managed.
2. Microsoft Azure
Microsoft BizSpark is one of the most popular cloud programmes among technology startups. Companies registered with BizSpark enjoy access to Azure, Microsoft’s flagship Cloud platform, free software, services, and technical support. Microsoft offers up to $120,000 of free Azure cloud credits to eligible startups. Startups enjoy using Microsoft Azure as it allows them to deploy thousands of instances in minutes. Features such as health monitoring, load-balancing, auto-scaling, operating system, and application patching, put Azure among the best cloud platforms.
Read more – Microsoft Windows Azure Platform: A Brief Overview
Microsoft offers nearly a couple of dozen service categories in Azure. Some of the most popular services are
- Storage: Microsoft Azure provides scalable cloud storage for both structured and unstructured databases, which makes it a preferable option for organizations managing large projects.
- Security: Azure’s security services, through advanced encryption, ensures uncompromised data security from cyberattacks and data breaches.
- Media & Content Delivery Network (CDN): Azure provides seamless media and CDN services to facilitate delivering high-quality content in different formats. This includes digital rights protection, encoding, on-demand streaming, and media playback & indexing.i2k2, a leading Microsoft cloud service provider, provides a full spectrum of Deployment Planning Services for Microsoft Azure cloud computing, including both Infrastructure-as-a-service (Iaas) and Platform-as-a-service (Paas).
i2k2, a leading Microsoft cloud service provider, provides a full spectrum of Deployment Planning Services for Microsoft Azure cloud computing, including both Infrastructure-as-a-service (Iaas) and Platform-as-a-service (Paas).
3. IBM SoftLayer
IBM SoftLayer is another well-known cloud platform that attracts startups from across the globe. Its 14 data centers in Asia, Europe, and the US promote it is a viable choice for startups, with IBM SoftLayer giving startups an option to choose their deployment infrastructure. IBM SoftLayer works on triple network architecture model with a dedicated backend network to ensure smooth and fast processing. To lure startups, IBM SoftLayer offers a monthly credit of $1,000 and allows them to use SoftLayer’s infrastructure to host their applications.
When it comes to cloud deployments, IBM’s Softlayer is a great choice. Its benefits include:
- Unified Management: Built on an integrated management system (IMS), Softlayer provides a variety of services such as billing, provisioning and de-provisioning of services, and logging. Softlayer provides a diverse set of APIs that execute every capability systematically to help organizations manage apps for both mobile and web version effectively and efficiently.
- Robust architecture with Dedicated Backend Network: Softlayer is built on a triple-layer architecture that helps networking data centers with points of presence (POPs) with safe, high-speed, and secure private network.
- Choice of Delpoyment Infrastructure: While other cloud solutions allows only a single way to deploy your infrastructure, IBM’s Softlayer offers three ways for the same – Bare Metal Servers (x86 or IBM POWER 8), Virtual Compute Instances, and Private Cloud.
Wrapping Up
Cloud hosting is an ideal platform for startups and small businesses seeking to create an online presence and optimize business applications and processes. It offers better data management, security, and managed services that help in improving productivity, profitability, and growth. If you are searching for a managed cloud hosting solution to boost your business growth, i2k2 Networks can help. We are a Noida-based global data center, hosting, and technology services company. We are an accredited partner with AWS, IBM Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, which allows us to deliver reliable hosting solutions. To discuss your hosting requirements and learn about our cloud hosting packages, fill out our contact form or call +91-120-466-3031 or +91-971-177-4040.