OVHcloud

Overview

OVHcloud is a French cloud computing company that has expanded globally, with a significant footprint in Europe. Established in 1999, the company provides a range of cloud infrastructure services, including Public Cloud, Dedicated Servers, Hosted Private Cloud, and Web Hosting. OVHcloud distinguishes itself through its vertically integrated model, owning its data centers and fiber optic network, which it states contributes to its competitive pricing and control over infrastructure security and compliance. This integration allows OVHcloud to offer solutions that cater to specific regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and HDS for healthcare data, making it a choice for organizations with strict data residency mandates, particularly within the European Union.

The company's Public Cloud offering is built on OpenStack, providing a standardized and open-source foundation for virtual machines, object storage, and other cloud resources. This approach appeals to developers and organizations seeking flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in, aligning with broader industry trends towards open standards as noted by organizations like the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. For those requiring more control and isolation, OVHcloud's Dedicated Servers provide physical hardware resources, which can be customized and managed directly. The Hosted Private Cloud solution offers a VMware-based environment for enterprises looking for a managed private cloud experience, combining the benefits of virtualization with dedicated resources. OVHcloud's commitment to open-source is further evidenced by its support for various SDKs and a comprehensive API, enabling programmatic control over its infrastructure, which is a key aspect for DevOps workflows and automation.

OVHcloud's services are often chosen by users seeking alternatives to the hyperscale providers, particularly when cost-effectiveness for raw compute and storage, combined with European data sovereignty, are primary considerations. Its pricing model typically involves hourly billing for Public Cloud instances and fixed monthly costs for dedicated servers, offering predictability. The company's compliance certifications, including ISO 27001, SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, and PCI DSS, indicate its adherence to international security and operational standards. OVHcloud's developer experience is supported by documentation that covers its API and various SDKs, allowing for infrastructure management through languages like Python, Go, PHP, and Node.js.

Key features

• Public Cloud (OpenStack): Scalable compute, storage, and networking resources built on the OpenStack open-source cloud operating system, offering flexibility and API-driven control.
• Dedicated Servers: Access to bare-metal servers with customizable hardware configurations, providing full control over the operating system and software stack for high-performance workloads.
• Hosted Private Cloud (VMware): Managed private cloud infrastructure based on VMware vSphere, offering dedicated resources, advanced virtualization features, and enterprise-grade support.
• Web Hosting: Shared and dedicated hosting solutions for websites and applications, including domain registration and email services.
• Storage Solutions: Object Storage (S3 compatible), Block Storage, and Cold Archive for various data retention and access needs.
• Network Services: Global network infrastructure, anti-DDoS protection, and private network connectivity options.
• Database as a Service: Managed database offerings for popular engines such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MongoDB.
• Compliance Certifications: Adherence to standards including ISO 27001, SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HDS, and PCI DSS, addressing various regulatory requirements.
• API and SDKs: A comprehensive RESTful API and official SDKs for Go, Python, PHP, and Node.js to automate infrastructure deployment and management.

Pricing

OVHcloud's pricing model is structured to offer competitive rates, particularly for dedicated servers and public cloud instances. Public Cloud services are generally billed hourly, with options for various instance types based on CPU, RAM, and storage. Dedicated servers are typically offered with fixed monthly pricing, which can vary based on hardware specifications and geographic location. Storage services, such as object storage, are usually billed per gigabyte per month for storage capacity and data transfer. As of May 2026, the Public Cloud instances start from €0.003/hour.

For detailed and up-to-date pricing information across all services, refer to the official OVHcloud Public Cloud pricing page.

Common integrations

• OpenStack Ecosystem: As its Public Cloud is built on OpenStack, OVHcloud integrates with various OpenStack-compatible tools and services for orchestration, monitoring, and management.
• Kubernetes: OVHcloud offers a managed Kubernetes service, allowing integration with standard Kubernetes tools like kubectl and Helm for container orchestration. More details are available in the OVHcloud Managed Kubernetes getting started guide.
• Terraform: Infrastructure as Code (IaC) can be managed using the OVHcloud Terraform provider, enabling automated provisioning and management of resources. The OVHcloud documentation for Terraform provides setup instructions.
• Ansible: Configuration management and automation can be performed using Ansible, with modules available for interacting with OVHcloud APIs.
• Grafana & Prometheus: For monitoring and observability, users can integrate with open-source tools like Grafana for dashboarding and Prometheus for metrics collection.
• VMware Ecosystem: For Hosted Private Cloud users, integration naturally extends to the VMware suite of tools for virtualization management.

Alternatives

• Hetzner: A German cloud and hosting provider known for its cost-effective dedicated servers and cloud instances, particularly in Europe, often cited for its competitive pricing.
• Scaleway: A French cloud provider offering a range of cloud services, including bare metal, virtual instances, and serverless functions, with a focus on developer experience and European data centers.
• DigitalOcean: A US-based cloud provider popular among developers for its simplified UI, predictable pricing, and focus on virtual private servers (Droplets), managed databases, and Kubernetes.
• Google Cloud Platform: Offers a broad portfolio of cloud services including compute, storage, machine learning, and networking, with global data centers and advanced capabilities for enterprise workloads.
• Microsoft Azure: A comprehensive suite of cloud services for building, deploying, and managing applications through Microsoft's global network of data centers, supporting a wide range of programming languages and frameworks.

Getting started

To interact with OVHcloud services programmatically, you can use one of their official SDKs. Below is a Python example that demonstrates how to list your Public Cloud projects using the ovh Python SDK. First, ensure you have the SDK installed and configured with your API credentials.

import ovh

# Initialize the OVHcloud client
# Ensure your application key, application secret, and consumer key are set
# in ~/.ovh.conf or directly passed here.
client = ovh.Client(endpoint='ovh-eu') # Or 'ovh-ca' for Canadian endpoint

try:
    # Get a list of your Public Cloud projects
    projects = client.get('/cloud/project')

    if projects:
        print("Your Public Cloud Projects:")
        for project_id in projects:
            project_details = client.get(f'/cloud/project/{project_id}')
            print(f"  - Project ID: {project_id}, Description: {project_details.get('description', 'N/A')}")
    else:
        print("No Public Cloud projects found.")

except ovh.exceptions.APIError as e:
    print(f"Error fetching projects: {e}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}")

Before running this code, you need to install the OVHcloud Python SDK:

pip install ovh

And configure your API credentials. You can generate API credentials (Application Key, Application Secret, and Consumer Key) from the OVHcloud API Console. It is recommended to store these credentials in a configuration file (e.g., ~/.ovh.conf) as described in the OVHcloud Python client documentation for security.