What Bigstep does

Bigstep is a bare metal cloud infrastructure provider headquartered in London, United Kingdom, founded in 2013 by CEO Lucas Roh. The company's core offering, Bigstep Metal Cloud, delivers non-virtualized, single-tenant physical servers on demand, differentiating from hyperscaler virtualized compute by providing 100% of system resources to each customer with no noisy-neighbor contention. The platform features instant provisioning (~5 minutes), deprovisioning in seconds, high-speed networking up to 4x10GbE, a proprietary distributed block-storage architecture using independent device pools connected via top-of-rack switches, and a 99.99% uptime SLA. Bigstep operates through two legal entities — Bigstep Cloud Limited (UK) and Bigstep Cloud SRL (Romania, registered 2014) — and runs datacenters in Great Britain and Romania with US and EU sales coverage.

The product portfolio includes four server configuration tiers (High Traffic, Killer App, Enterprise, Data Powerhouse) covering entry-level e-commerce to storage-heavy big data and CPU-intensive ML workloads, plus block storage (SSD/HDD), an HDFS-based Data Lake, and Managed Services / Advanced Managed Services add-ons. The platform is API-first with SDK downloads and a Terraform provider, enabling infrastructure-as-code deployment, and is integrated with major data and container ecosystems (Cloudera, MAPR, Hortonworks, Elastic, Couchbase, DataStax, Docker, Mesos, Splunk, Zoomdata, Datameer, EXASOL).

Bigstep monetizes primarily through usage-based billing for compute ($0.48/hour on-demand instances, ~$298/month subscriptions) and storage ($1.51–$3.33 per month per allocated unit), supplemented by subscription-based managed services ($150–$250/node/month, with Advanced Managed Services at a €1,450/month minimum on multi-year contracts). The go-to-market combines self-service web/API provisioning for SMBs and developers with direct enterprise sales and a marketing emphasis on content, benchmarks, and executive thought leadership. Certifications include ISO 27001 and GDPR; named enterprise customers include AlignAlytics (analytics), CitySprint (logistics), and major European retailers, with website logos including Jolidon, Golfbreaks, and Societe Generale.

Name

Bigstep

Legal name

Bigstep Cloud Limited

Website

https://bigstep.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Bigstep is a London-based bare metal cloud provider founded in 2013, offering non-virtualized single-tenant physical servers with instant provisioning, high-speed networking, and managed services for big data, analytics, ML, e-commerce, and application workloads across the UK and Romania.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Rental & Leasing (7377)

akta.pro primary industry

General-Purpose Compute (VMs & Bare Metal IaaS) (HDABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bare Metal Provisioning & Lifecycle Automation (HDABADAJ), Cloud Storage Core Services (Object/Block/File Storage as a Service) (HDABAAAK)

Keywords

• Bare metal cloud
• Infrastructure as a service
• Cloud servers
• Managed cloud services
• Block storage

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Bare Metal Cloud Services: Revenue primarily from providing on-demand and reserved bare metal server instances. Customers pay for compute resources (servers), storage (SSD/HDD block storage, data lake HDFS), and network (IPv4 subnets, traffic). Includes optional managed services and professional services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bigstep Metal Cloud is an infrastructure-as-a-service platform that provisions non-virtualized, single-tenant bare metal servers on demand with approximately 5-minute provisioning, high-speed networking up to 4x10GbE, distributed block and HDFS storage, and managed services. The platform is delivered via web console, API, SDKs, and Terraform provider, and targets high-performance, low-latency workloads such as big data, analytics, machine learning, and high-traffic e-commerce.

Product overview

Bigstep is a bare metal cloud provider offering on-demand physical servers without virtualization. The primary offering is Bigstep Metal Cloud, a platform that provides non-virtualized single-tenant bare metal servers with instant provisioning and high-speed networking. The product portfolio includes four server configuration tiers (High Traffic, Killer App, Enterprise, and Data Powerhouse) designed for different workloads from e-commerce to machine learning. Storage is offered through SolidStorage block storage (SSD/HDD) and Data Lake HDFS storage. Managed service add-ons range from basic infrastructure management ($150/month) to Advanced Managed Services for complex setups including Big Data and Kubernetes (minimum €1450/month). All configurations support on-demand and subscription billing models with datacenters in Great Britain and Romania.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bigstep Metal Cloud On-demand bare metal cloud platform providing non-virtualized, single-tenant physical servers with instant provisioning, high-speed networking up to 4x10GbE, and full resource availability for high-performance and low-latency workloads. Includes compute, storage, and network services controllable via web console, API, SDKs, and Terraform provider.
• High Traffic Plan Entry-level bare metal server configuration with 1x Intel Xeon E3-1585L v5 (4 cores @ 3.3GHz), 32GB DDR4 ECC, 2x10GbE networking, and 200GB SSD. Targeted at e-commerce platforms and high-traffic websites that need consistent performance under load.
• Killer App Plan Mid-tier bare metal server configuration with 1x Intel Xeon E5-2630 v4 (10 cores @ 2.20GHz), 64GB DDR4 ECC, 4x10GbE networking, and 200GB SSD. Designed for ride-sharing, food delivery, booking, and other transactional applications requiring reliable infrastructure.
• Enterprise Plan High-end bare metal server configuration with 2x Intel Xeon S 4114 (20 cores @ 2.2GHz), 256GB DDR4 ECC, and 500GB SSD. Built for enterprise-level projects, machine learning workloads, and advanced analytics requiring high compute power.
• Data Powerhouse Plan Storage-optimized bare metal server configuration with 2x Intel Xeon E5-2630 v3 (16 cores @ 2.4GHz) and 12x2TB SED HDD. Designed for big data and data analytics projects requiring high-capacity local storage.
• Block Storage (SolidStorage / DiskStorage) Network-attached block storage service for Bigstep Metal Cloud, available as SSD-backed SolidStorage or HDD-backed DiskStorage and billed based on allocated capacity (e.g., 100GB/500GB/1000GB options).
• Data Lake (HDFS Storage) Scale-out distributed file system built on HDFS for high-capacity data storage on Bigstep Metal Cloud, powering the DataLab feature with no separate IOPs charge.
• Managed Services Infrastructure management service for Bigstep Metal Cloud, providing full management of bare metal infrastructure starting at $150 per node per month.
• Advanced Managed Services Comprehensive infrastructure management service for complex Bigstep Metal Cloud deployments including Big Data, Kubernetes, and real-time pipelines, with a minimum charge of €1450/month or $250 per node per month under multi-year contract.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100-200% performance improvement for Elasticsearch workloads compared to existing dedicated servers (AlignAlytics benchmark)

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ClouderacoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for running Hadoop distributions on Bigstep Metal Cloud. Cloudera's enterprise Hadoop platform runs optimized on Bigstep's bare metal infrastructure.
• MAPRcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology ally for Hadoop distributions. MAPR's converged data platform optimized for Bigstep's high-performance infrastructure.
• HortonworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for Hortonworks Data Platform on Bigstep Metal Cloud. Focus on providing best-integrated, highest-performance big data infrastructure.
• ElasticcoreTechnology or IntegrationElastic search and analytics platform partner. Bigstep benchmarks show 100-200% performance improvement for Elasticsearch workloads.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• OVHcloud: OVHcloud is a European-headquartered bare metal and dedicated server cloud provider offering on-demand dedicated servers, private cloud, and hosted private infrastructure. It competes head-to-head with Bigstep on single-tenant European bare metal with similar cloud-like provisioning.
• Vultr: Vultr provides on-demand cloud compute including dedicated bare metal instances, block storage, and global datacenters, targeted at developers and SMBs. Its product mix, hourly billing model, and global footprint overlap directly with Bigstep's Metal Cloud offering.
• Scaleway: Scaleway is a European cloud provider offering bare metal instances, virtual servers, object storage, and managed Kubernetes, with a strong emphasis on developer-friendly APIs and EU data residency. It is a closely comparable European bare metal and public cloud alternative.
• Linode (Akamai Connected Cloud): Linode, now part of Akamai, offers developer-focused cloud compute, dedicated CPUs, GPU instances, and block storage with predictable hourly pricing. It is comparable to Bigstep on API-first, developer-friendly IaaS with single-tenant dedicated compute options.
• Leaseweb: Leaseweb is a global bare metal, dedicated server, and hosting provider with a large European footprint, offering on-demand and reserved bare metal plus managed services. It competes directly with Bigstep in European dedicated/bare metal infrastructure for enterprises.
• Equinix Metal: Equinix Metal (formerly Packet) provides automated bare metal servers across global IBX datacenters with cloud-style APIs and integrations. It is one of the closest pure-play bare metal cloud comparables to Bigstep Metal Cloud.
• Hetzner: Hetzner is a German provider of dedicated bare metal servers, cloud hosting, and storage products at competitive price points with datacenters in Germany, Finland, the US, and Singapore. It is a direct comparable to Bigstep on dedicated/bare metal IaaS for developers and SMBs.

Broad incumbents

• IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers: IBM Cloud offers bare metal servers as part of its broader enterprise cloud portfolio, targeting regulated and hybrid workloads. It competes with Bigstep in the same single-tenant enterprise segment but as part of a much larger IaaS/PaaS portfolio.
• Google Bare Metal Solution: Google Cloud's Bare Metal Solution provides dedicated, non-virtualized servers for specialized enterprise workloads, particularly SAP. It is a hyperscaler comparison point for Bigstep's single-tenant, regulatory-friendly positioning in EMEA.
• AWS EC2 Dedicated Hosts / Bare Metal: AWS offers EC2 Dedicated Hosts and bare metal instance types (e.g., i3.metal, m5.metal) alongside its broader cloud platform. It competes with Bigstep on raw bare metal performance but as a hyperscaler with vastly larger scale and feature breadth.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bigstepINC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2923988
• Xx.com/bigstepinc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bigstep