Company Overview

Cloudways was founded in 2009 by Pere Hospital and Aaqib Gadit, headquartered in Malta, with roots in Pakistan. Cloudways is an innovative managed cloud hosting platform that allows users to quickly deploy and manage websites on multiple major cloud infrastructures without requiring server management skills. In 2022, it was acquired by DigitalOcean for approximately $350 million.

Cloudways' unique pay-as-you-go model and intuitive control panel make it a popular choice for developers and digital agencies managing multi-site hosting environments.

Related providers: Cloudways Server Services

Core Products

  • Managed Cloud Hosting: Pre-configured managed hosting on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode (Akamai), AWS, and Google Cloud
  • CloudwaysCDN: Integrated CDN acceleration service powered by StackPath, with global multi-node distribution
  • CloudwaysBot (AI Assistant): Intelligent AI bot that monitors server performance in real-time and provides optimization recommendations
  • Staging Environment: One-click staging environment creation with secure deployment to production
  • Breeze (Cache Plugin): Cloudways' own WordPress caching plugin with page and browser cache integration
  • Cloudways API: RESTful API for automated server management and deployment integration
  • Cloudways Mobile App: Mobile management app for monitoring and managing servers anytime, anywhere

Core Strengths

Multi-Cloud Choice: Supports five major cloud providers: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud
Fully Managed Operations: Server security updates, firewall management, automated backups, and monitoring alerts handled by Cloudways
Pay-as-You-Go: Hourly billing with no long-term contracts, flexible scaling
CloudwaysBot AI: Intelligent monitoring and alerting, proactively identifying performance and security issues
Team Collaboration: Multi-user permission management suitable for development teams and digital agencies

Key Milestones

  • 2009: Cloudways founded by Pere Hospital and Aaqib Gadit, initial team based in Pakistan
  • 2011: Officially launched managed cloud hosting services
  • 2015: Expanded to support DigitalOcean, Vultr, Google Cloud, and other cloud providers
  • 2019: Launched CloudwaysBot AI assistant
  • 2022: Acquired by DigitalOcean for ~$350 million
  • Present: Continues operating as a DigitalOcean subsidiary, serving tens of thousands of clients globally

Market Position

Cloudways' main competitors in the managed cloud hosting market include:

  • WP Engine: Premium WordPress hosting platform, direct competitor in WordPress hosting
  • Kinsta: Google Cloud-based premium hosting platform, competing in the performance-oriented segment
  • RunCloud: Similar cloud server management platform, competing on control and pricing
  • ServerAvatar: Server management panel targeting developers and agencies
  • GridPane: White-label server management platform for agencies