CloudFest
CloudFest operates the world's largest internet infrastructure festival, an annual four-day conference at Europa-Park in Germany serving cloud providers, MSPs, hosters, and cybersecurity vendors through tiered passes and sponsor packages. The company recently expanded to Miami with CloudFest Americas and produces the quarterly State of the Cloud Report.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersRust, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CloudFest does
CloudFest, operated by WHD Event GmbH (a privately held German company headquartered in Cologne), is the operator of the world's largest internet infrastructure festival. The flagship CloudFest Europe is a four-day annual event held at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, drawing 10,900 attendees in 2026 from over 80 countries, featuring 250+ speakers and 150+ partner companies spanning cloud service providers, MSPs, web hosters, cybersecurity vendors, enterprise IT, open source communities, and domain name registrars. CloudFest Americas, launched in 2026 at Ice Palace Studios in Miami and co-located with NamesCon, extends the franchise into the Americas with a two-day format targeting 2,000 attendees and 90+ sponsors.
The product portfolio extends well beyond a single conference. CloudFest sells tiered event passes (Standard €499, VIP €999, Vendor VIP €1,999), multi-tier sponsor packages (Diamond+, Diamond, Platinum, and general partners), and recurring lead-generation content via the quarterly State of the Cloud Report. Specialized event modules include HackerSpace (cybersecurity arena with Capture the Flag tournament), the CloudFest Hackathon (annual coding competition), Masterclasses and Barcamps, the World Server Throwing Championship, DSLAM speaker series, Speed Networking, Guided Tours, the WP [Business & Agency] Summit, and a Media Partnership Program. Technology footprint is light: CloudFest is an event platform rather than a software product, using profairs.de as its exhibitor portal backend, with no public API or SDK.
The business model is event-driven with diversified revenue across attendee passes (mass-distributed, low individual ACV), high-margin sponsorship revenue (concentrated at the top tier with Diamond+ slots at HPE, Verisign, WebPros, and Identity Digital), and emerging subscription content revenue via the State of the Cloud Report. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales for sponsorships with self-serve online registration for attendees, supported by a year-round content marketing engine across LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, and a dedicated blog.
CloudFest firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CloudFest
- Legal name
- WHD Event GmbH
- Website
- https://cloudfest.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- CloudFest operates the world's largest internet infrastructure festival, an annual four-day conference at Europa-Park in Germany serving cloud providers, MSPs, hosters, and cybersecurity vendors through tiered passes and sponsor packages. The company recently expanded to Miami with CloudFest Americas and produces the quarterly State of the Cloud Report.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CloudFest industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Internet Infrastructure Events
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venue Sourcing & Site Coordination (HSACAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Virtual, Hybrid & Livestream Event Coordination (HSACAAAO), Fairgrounds & Expo Parks (THAHAAAH)
Keywords
Where CloudFest is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rust
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
CloudFest business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Event Passes and Tickets: CloudFest generates primary revenue through selling event passes to attendees. Standard passes cost €499, VIP passes €999, Vendor passes include 1on1 meeting benefits, and Vendor VIP passes cost €1,999. The event serves cloud industry professionals including CSPs, hosters, MSPs, enterprise IT, web agencies, and WordPress developers.
- Partner/Exhibitor Sponsorships: CloudFest generates significant revenue from partner sponsorships. Companies become partners to showcase services, generate leads, grow brand awareness, and connect with decision-makers. Partner tiers include Diamond+, Diamond, Platinum, and general partners across hardware, software, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure sectors.
- CloudFest Americas: CloudFest Americas is a regional event held in Miami, Florida, serving as a convergence point for the cloud ecosystem across the Americas. This event generates additional revenue through separate registration fees, sponsorships, and partnership opportunities.
- State of the Cloud Report: CloudFest produces a quarterly business intelligence report that surveys the cloud leadership community. The report is offered as a free download with newsletter subscription, serving as a lead generation tool for the event and potentially for premium data services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Standard Pass - Core audience access |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | VIP Pass - Luxury experience |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Vendor Pass - For professionals selling to CloudFest's core channel |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Vendor VIP Pass - Enhanced vendor experience |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels12 records
CloudFest product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CloudFest operates the world's largest annual internet infrastructure festival at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, bringing together cloud service providers, MSPs, web hosters, cybersecurity leaders, enterprise IT, and open source communities for a multi-day program of exhibitions, keynotes, masterclasses, structured networking, and entertainment. The portfolio extends to CloudFest Americas (a regional event in Miami), the quarterly State of the Cloud Report, and supporting programs such as the Hackathon, HackerSpace, and WP [Business & Agency] Summit.
Product overview
CloudFest operates as a conference and event company offering a unified festival platform centered on its flagship annual CloudFest Europe event at Europa-Park, Germany. The core offering is a four-day internet infrastructure festival combining exhibitions, keynotes, masterclasses, and networking events. The portfolio extends to CloudFest Americas (a separate two-day regional event in Miami), the State of the Cloud Report (a quarterly research publication), and multiple specialized event modules including HackerSpace (cybersecurity), Masterclasses/Barcamps (hands-on learning), World Server Throwing Championship (entertainment), DSLAM (speaker series), Guided Tours, Speed Networking, CloudFest Hackathon (coding competition), WP [Business & Agency] Summit, and a Media Partnership Program. Additionally, the company sells tiered passes (Standard, VIP, Vendor, Vendor VIP) for access to its events. These products collectively create an integrated event experience combining business networking, education, entertainment, and industry research.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- World Server Throwing Championship: Annual competition where servers are thrown as far as possible, featuring men's and women's divisions with preliminary rounds and grand finals.
- CloudFest Hackathon
- State of the Cloud Report
- DSLAM at CloudFest
Products and services
- CloudFest Europe Flagship four-day internet infrastructure festival held annually at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, connecting cloud service providers, MSPs, web hosters, cybersecurity leaders, enterprise IT, and open source professionals through exhibitions, keynotes, masterclasses, networking, and entertainment.
- CloudFest Americas A separate two-day regional event held at Ice Palace Studios in Miami, Florida, serving the cloud and internet infrastructure ecosystem across the Americas. Co-located with the NamesCon global domain industry conference and targeting the Americas market.
- State of the Cloud Report A quarterly business intelligence report tracking trends shaping the global cloud computing and internet infrastructure industry, providing insights on AI adoption, security, sustainability, and industry benchmarks. Available as a free download with newsletter subscription.
- CloudFest Hackathon An annual standalone coding competition, hosted at hackathon.cloudfest.com, where teams solve open source challenges in real time across AI, accessibility, and sustainability tracks.
- WP [Business & Agency] Summit A one-day business growth summit bringing web agencies, CSPs, web hosters, and the WordPress ecosystem together for ROI-focused sessions, networking, and agency-hosting partner matchmaking.
Quantifiable outcome
- 43% C-Level Visitors - high concentration of decision-makers
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use CloudFest
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CloudFest technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
CloudFest partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
26 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE)coreDiamond+ Partner at CloudFest. HPE executives present keynotes on cloud infrastructure, data sovereignty, and trusted compute topics.
- VerisigncoreDiamond+ Partner. Verisign VP Sameer Thakar presents on domain name search in age of AI and product management topics.
- WebProscoreDiamond+ Partner. WebPros executives lead sessions on customer acquisition, retention, and web hosting industry insights.
- AmperecorePlatinum Partner. Ampere executives present on AI computing, Arm-based compute, and infrastructure topics.
- Dell TechnologiescoreDiamond Partner. Dell Technologies Fellow Radia Perlman speaks at CloudFest. Field CTO Johann Strauss presents on AI infrastructure.
- MicroncorePlatinum Partner. Micron presents memory and storage solutions for AI infrastructure.
- SupermicrocorePartner powering Loud in the Cloud party alongside NVIDIA. Presents on AI infrastructure and accelerated computing.
- NVIDIAcoreCo-powering Loud in the Cloud party with Supermicro. NVIDIA Blueprint featured in AI deployment masterclass.
- NamesConcoreNamesCon Global meets CloudFest Americas, bringing together domain name and digital assets industry with cloud ecosystem. Features domain auction and industry roundtables.
- 10WebcoreDiamond Partner. 10Web presents on AI-powered website building and hosting solutions.
- SynologycorePlatinum Partner. Synology presents on data sovereignty, backup, and security solutions.
- WithSecurecorePlatinum Partner. Powers BierFest event. Presents on cybersecurity and compliance solutions.
- KIOXIAcorePlatinum Partner. KIOXIA presents on storage solutions for AI and LLM inference optimization.
- Arrow ECS GmbHcoreDiamond Partner. Arrow ECS distributes technology solutions and presents at CloudFest.
- TD SYNNEXminorPlatinum Partner. Distribution partner showcasing technology solutions.
- ASBISminorPartner distributing Intel-based technology solutions across regions.
- IntelcoreCorporate Vice President Zane Ball represents Intel at CloudFest, presenting on industry engagement.
- BLACKWALLcoreDiamond Partner. Cybersecurity solutions. Powers Morning Run event.
- Identity DigitalcoreDiamond+ Partner. Chief Strategy Officer Ram Mohan presents on multilingual internet and digital inclusion.
- OpusDNScoreDiamond Partner. DNS solutions and services.
- Dutch Cloud CommunityminorWSTA founding members behind Server Throwing Championship.
- World Server Throwing Association (WSTA)minorGoverning body for Server Throwing Championship at CloudFest.
- WebHosting.TodayminorMedia Partner for CloudFest Americas. Industry news coverage.
- Hosting JournalistminorMedia Partner for CloudFest Americas.
- Domain Name AssociationminorMedia Partner for CloudFest Americas.
- I2CoalitionminorMedia Partner for CloudFest Americas. Internet infrastructure advocacy.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CloudFest competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Web Summit: One of the world's largest tech conferences, held annually in Lisbon with a similar festival-style format, multi-region expansion (Lisbon, Rio, Qatar), and a comparable mix of tiered pass pricing, sponsorships, and high-level attendees. Directly comparable in business model and scale ambition.
- SXSW (South by Southwest): Long-running multi-track festival conference in Austin, Texas combining technology, music, film, and culture. Comparable in festival-style format that blends business content with entertainment experiences rather than a pure trade show model.
- RSA Conference (RSAC): Annual cybersecurity conference in San Francisco drawing 40,000+ security professionals. Directly comparable on the cybersecurity event experience that CloudFest's HackerSpace and Capture the Flag programming offers, but operates at much larger dedicated scale.
- NamesCon: Domain name industry conference series already co-located with CloudFest Americas in Miami. Targets the domain/registrar/registry segment that CloudFest explicitly serves, making it a closest peer in terms of event focus and audience overlap.
Broad incumbents
- Dreamforce: Salesforce's annual flagship conference, drawing 170,000+ attendees to a single event with massive sponsor activation. Operates as the dominant destination event for the SaaS/cloud ecosystem, comparable in audience profile but with a single-vendor anchor.
- AWS re:Invent: Amazon Web Services' annual cloud computing conference in Las Vegas, attracting 50,000+ attendees and targeting the same cloud/infrastructure buyer audience as CloudFest. Operates with hyperscaler backing that CloudFest cannot match but competes for the same partner dollars and attendee mindshare.
- Microsoft Ignite: Microsoft's flagship enterprise IT and cloud developer conference, drawing tens of thousands of enterprise IT decision-makers. Targets the same enterprise IT segment CloudFest serves but operates with Microsoft ecosystem branding and budget.
- Google Cloud Next: Google's annual cloud conference covering cloud, AI, and infrastructure topics for developers and enterprise leaders. Comparable attendee profile and topic coverage, with hyperscaler-owned positioning that competes for cloud ecosystem mindshare.
Emerging players
- HostingCon: Long-running hosting industry conference that historically served the same web hosting community as CloudFest. Provides a partial overlap and remains a competing gathering place for the hosting services ecosystem CloudFest serves.
Regional players
- DMEXCO: Major digital marketing and digital economy exposition held in Cologne, Germany. Operates in the same home market (Germany) as CloudFest but focuses on digital marketing/advertising rather than internet infrastructure, making it a regional-formal peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CloudFest social profiles
Digital presenceCloudFest financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CloudFest leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
CloudFest funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CloudFest 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 CloudFest
What does CloudFest do?
CloudFest operates the world's largest annual internet infrastructure festival at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, bringing together cloud service providers, MSPs, web hosters, cybersecurity leaders, enterprise IT, and open source communities for a multi-day program of exhibitions, keynotes, masterclasses, structured networking, and entertainment. The portfolio extends to CloudFest Americas (a regional event in Miami), the quarterly State of the Cloud Report, and supporting programs such as the Hackathon, HackerSpace, and WP [Business & Agency] Summit.
Is CloudFest a public or private company?
CloudFest is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was CloudFest founded?
CloudFest was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is CloudFest based?
CloudFest is headquartered in Rust, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does CloudFest make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Event Passes and Tickets are the primary driver. The others are partner/Exhibitor Sponsorships, cloudFest Americas and state of the Cloud Report.
Who are CloudFest's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Web Summit, SXSW (South by Southwest), RSA Conference (RSAC) and NamesCon. Broad incumbents are Dreamforce, AWS re:Invent, Microsoft Ignite and Google Cloud Next. HostingCon is listed as an emerging player. DMEXCO is listed as a regional player.
Does CloudFest have an API?
No public API is recorded for CloudFest.
What industry is CloudFest in?
CloudFest's product category is Internet Infrastructure Events. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAAAD, Venue Sourcing & Site Coordination, with a secondary code of HSACAAAO, Virtual, Hybrid & Livestream Event Coordination. Its NAICS code is 56192 and its SIC code is 7900.