ShapeBlue
ShapeBlue is the largest independent global integrator of Apache CloudStack, delivering consulting, design/build, migration, support, and training services to Fortune 500 enterprises, Tier-1 telecoms, public cloud providers, financial institutions, research organizations, and managed service providers across the UK, USA, Brazil, South Africa, and India.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ShapeBlue does
ShapeBlue is the largest independent global integrator of Apache CloudStack, providing professional services to enterprises, telecommunications operators, public cloud providers, financial institutions, research organizations, and managed service providers. The company was founded in 2012 by Giles Sirett and is headquartered in London, with additional offices in Mountain View (USA), Cape Town (South Africa), São Paulo (Brazil), and Bangalore (India); since August 2022 it has been 100% employee-owned through the ShapeBlue Employee Ownership Trust. ShapeBlue never raised external venture capital after initial seed funding and has been profitable and growing organically since founding.
The firm's core technology is Apache CloudStack, a 100% open-source Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud orchestration platform that manages compute, networking, storage, and VM lifecycle across heterogeneous physical infrastructure — used as the substrate for private, public, and sovereign cloud deployments. Around this core, ShapeBlue delivers a portfolio of professional services: CloudStack Software Engineering (custom feature and integration development), CloudStack Infrastructure Support (2nd–4th line remote support, often retainer/subscription-based), IaaS Cloud Design and Build, CloudStack Consulting, CloudStack Training (instructor-led courses, bootcamps, and certification), and a VMware-to-CloudStack migration practice leveraging technical translation guides for customers affected by the post-Broadcom VMware environment.
ShapeBlue monetizes primarily through professional services engagements supplemented by recurring support retainers, training, certification, and an emerging managed service provider (MSP/CSP) enablement programme that includes six packaged service offerings (Fully Managed Cloud, Edge & Multi-Site Cloud, Application Delivery, VDI, GPU-as-a-Service, and Regulated & Sovereign Cloud). Go-to-market is hybrid: direct sales through cloud architect advisory sessions with Fortune 500 and Tier-1 telecom clients (Telia, KDDI, NTT, BT), supplemented by a global partner network and event-led demand generation through the CloudStack Collaboration Conference, CloudFest, and ShapeBlue Con. Distribution is global, and the firm is recognized as a top contributor to the Apache CloudStack open-source project, with multiple committers and PMC members on staff including the project VP and a release manager.
ShapeBlue firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ShapeBlue
- Legal name
- Shape Blue Ltd
- Website
- https://shapeblue.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ShapeBlue is the largest independent global integrator of Apache CloudStack, delivering consulting, design/build, migration, support, and training services to Fortune 500 enterprises, Tier-1 telecoms, public cloud providers, financial institutions, research organizations, and managed service providers across the UK, USA, Brazil, South Africa, and India.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ShapeBlue industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud Infrastructure Services
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Cloud Platforms (On‑Prem Cloud Stacks) (HDABABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cloud-Native Development (Containers, Kubernetes, Microservices) (BPAEACAD), Cloud & Infrastructure Support (Servers, Storage, Virtualization) (BPAAACAE), Cloud Computing & Infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP, Virtualization) (EDABAFAB)
Keywords
Where ShapeBlue is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
ShapeBlue business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- CloudStack Software Engineering Services: Custom software development and feature engineering services for Apache CloudStack
- CloudStack Infrastructure Support: 2nd to 4th line remote support services for CloudStack infrastructure, typically delivered as ongoing retainer or subscription
- IaaS Design and Build: Professional services for designing and implementing private/public cloud infrastructure
- CloudStack Consulting: Technical consulting expertise around CloudStack implementation and cloud services commercialization
- CloudStack Training: Instructor-led learning and hands-on lab training courses for building and operating CloudStack clouds
- VMware Migration Services: Migration services helping organizations transition from VMware to Apache CloudStack
- MSP/CSP Enablement: Partner programme enabling managed service providers and cloud service providers to build and sell CloudStack-powered service packages
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Advisory Sessions |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
ShapeBlue product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ShapeBlue is the largest independent global integrator of Apache CloudStack, delivering end-to-end cloud infrastructure services including IaaS design and build, custom CloudStack software engineering, 2nd–4th line infrastructure support, strategic consulting, instructor-led training and certification, and migration from VMware environments. The company helps enterprises, telecoms, public cloud providers, MSPs/CSPs, and financial institutions build scalable enterprise infrastructure and sovereign clouds on open-source technology.
Product overview
ShapeBlue is a cloud services company and the largest independent integrator of Apache CloudStack technologies globally. The core product is Apache CloudStack, a 100% open-source IaaS platform. Around this core platform, ShapeBlue offers a portfolio of professional services including CloudStack Software Engineering (custom feature development), CloudStack Infrastructure Support (2nd-4th line support), IaaS Cloud Design and Build (implementation services), CloudStack Consulting (strategic expertise), CloudStack Training (bootcamps and certification), and VMware Migration services. The company specializes in helping organizations build scalable enterprise infrastructure and sovereign clouds using open-source technologies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CloudStack Software Engineering Software engineering and development services to develop features and integrations for Apache CloudStack, for enterprises, telecoms, and cloud providers needing custom CloudStack capabilities.
- CloudStack Infrastructure Support 2nd to 4th line remote support covering management servers, hypervisors, networking, and storage of CloudStack infrastructure, delivered as an ongoing retainer or subscription for organizations running CloudStack in production.
- IaaS Cloud Design and Build End-to-end design and implementation of IaaS cloud infrastructures for both private and public cloud deployments on Apache CloudStack.
- CloudStack Consulting Professional consulting including technical expertise and commercialization of cloud services, helping organizations plan CloudStack adoption and cloud services monetization.
- CloudStack Training Instructor-led training combined with hands-on labs for building and operating CloudStack clouds, including Apache CloudStack Online Bootcamps regularly held throughout the year.
- VMware Migration to Apache CloudStack Migration services helping organizations transition from VMware environments to Apache CloudStack, including technical component translation and infrastructure redesign.
- Apache CloudStack Certification Official Apache CloudStack certification exam for validating expertise in the platform, taken by professionals pursuing CloudStack credentials.
Quantifiable outcome
- KDDI achieves 99.999% uptime for enterprise customers
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use ShapeBlue
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
ShapeBlue technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration12 records
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
ShapeBlue partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.
- proIOstrategicShapeBlue announced strategic partnership with proIO to deliver private cloud services in Germany. proIO serves as the regional implementation and consulting partner for CloudStack deployments in the German market.
- DIMSIstrategicShapeBlue and DIMSI formed strategic partnership to empower private cloud builders in France. DIMSI offers Apache CloudStack with ease of implementation for their managed service customers.
- NetAppcoreShapeBlue SA extended their distribution partner agreement for NetApp in South Africa, building on successful relationship that started in 2014. Expanded capabilities to represent full NetApp portfolio.
- Dell Technologies (PowerFlex)coreShapeBlue provides Dell PowerFlex integration with Apache CloudStack through dedicated storage plugin supporting SDC connections, configuration parameters, and volume metrics collection.
- Amazon Web Services (Kubernetes CAPI Provider)coreShapeBlue collaborated with AWS to develop Kubernetes Cluster API Provider for Apache CloudStack (CAPC), enabling Kubernetes cluster lifecycle management.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ShapeBlue competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mirantis: Mirantis is the leading independent systems integrator and services company around OpenStack and Kubernetes — the closest analogue to ShapeBlue in the open-source IaaS integrator space, serving Fortune 500 enterprises and telecoms with similar design, build, and managed service offerings.
- Cloudbase Solutions: Cloudbase Solutions specializes in deploying OpenStack and Hyper-V on Windows, providing consulting and managed services for private cloud — directly comparable to ShapeBlue as a niche open-source IaaS integrator targeting enterprise private cloud deployments.
Broad incumbents
- Canonical: Canonical (Ubuntu's parent) offers Charmed OpenStack and managed cloud services as part of a much broader Linux and Kubernetes portfolio. Comparable to ShapeBlue in open-source IaaS services, but at much larger scale and across adjacent categories.
- Red Hat: Red Hat OpenStack Services and OpenShift provide commercial open-source cloud platforms and professional services to large enterprises. Similar enterprise IaaS focus as ShapeBlue, but operating at hyperscaler-adjacent scale through IBM's go-to-market.
- SUSE: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Cloud (built on OpenStack) compete in the same enterprise private-cloud infrastructure space as ShapeBlue/CloudStack, with overlapping telco and regulated-industry buyer profiles.
- Rackspace Technology: Rackspace provides managed cloud services across multiple platforms (OpenStack, VMware, hyperscalers), including professional services and migration support comparable to ShapeBlue's offerings, but at much larger scale and broader portfolio.
- Cloudreach (Atos): Cloudreach (now part of Atos) is a UK-headquartered cloud transformation consultancy delivering migration, architecture, and managed services across AWS, Azure, GCP, and VMware — competing with ShapeBlue for enterprise private-cloud and migration engagements in Europe.
Emerging players
- Platform9: Platform9 delivers managed OpenStack and Kubernetes as a SaaS-style service, targeting enterprises that want open-source cloud without operational burden — overlapping with ShapeBlue's mid-market CloudStack private cloud value proposition.
- Jetstack (Venafi/TSC): Jetstack focuses on Kubernetes and cloud-native cert/operations services, including training and certification programmes comparable to ShapeBlue's CloudStack training and certification business, though in an adjacent (Kubernetes-native) ecosystem.
- Hystax: Hystax specializes in cross-hypervisor cloud migration and disaster recovery, directly relevant as a peer in the VMware-to-alternative-cloud migration wave that ShapeBlue is also addressing with its CloudStack migration service.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ShapeBlue social profiles
Digital presenceShapeBlue compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
ShapeBlue financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ShapeBlue leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
ShapeBlue subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
ShapeBlue funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ShapeBlue M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ShapeBlue
What does ShapeBlue do?
ShapeBlue is the largest independent global integrator of Apache CloudStack, delivering end-to-end cloud infrastructure services including IaaS design and build, custom CloudStack software engineering, 2nd–4th line infrastructure support, strategic consulting, instructor-led training and certification, and migration from VMware environments. The company helps enterprises, telecoms, public cloud providers, MSPs/CSPs, and financial institutions build scalable enterprise infrastructure and sovereign clouds on open-source technology.
Is ShapeBlue a public or private company?
ShapeBlue is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was ShapeBlue founded?
ShapeBlue was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ShapeBlue based?
ShapeBlue is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does ShapeBlue make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. CloudStack Software Engineering Services are the primary driver. The others are cloudStack Infrastructure Support, iaaS Design and Build, cloudStack Consulting, cloudStack Training, VMware Migration Services and MSP/CSP Enablement.
Who are ShapeBlue's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mirantis and Cloudbase Solutions. Broad incumbents are Canonical, Red Hat, SUSE, Rackspace Technology and Cloudreach (Atos). Emerging players are Platform9, Jetstack (Venafi/TSC) and Hystax.
Does ShapeBlue have an API?
Yes. Apache CloudStack provides a fully exposed REST API accessible through the Web UI, CLI, and automation frameworks. The CloudMonkey CLI tool is used to interact with CloudStack APIs. Example commands include list virtualmachines, deploy virtualmachine, and list hosts. The API is used by the UI, CLI, and infrastructure automation platforms. Developer documentation is at cloudstack.apache.org/docs/en-us/cloudstackInvocation/?style=CloudStack%20Documentation.
What industry is ShapeBlue in?
ShapeBlue's product category is Cloud Infrastructure Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABABAA, Private Cloud Platforms (On‑Prem Cloud Stacks), with a secondary code of BPAEACAD, Cloud-Native Development (Containers, Kubernetes, Microservices). Its NAICS code is 5415 and its SIC code is 7370.