Who should enter the ‘Cloud Infrastructure Solution of the Year’ category?

The ‘Cloud Infrastructure Solution of the Year’ category recognizes the technology providers who design and deploy the high-performance environments that power today’s digital enterprises. This award celebrates excellence in the “structural” layer of the cloud – including compute, storage, networking, and security – focusing on how these components are orchestrated to deliver maximum efficiency and reliability.

Entries may showcase how the solution utilizes Infrastructure as Code (IaC), automated provisioning, and sophisticated load balancing to create highly adaptive environments. The category highlights advancements in network modernization, such as SD-WAN integration, low-latency content delivery networks (CDNs), and high-bandwidth interconnects that facilitate seamless data movement.

Submissions should demonstrate how the infrastructure design supports mission-critical workloads, ensuring that performance remains consistent even during peak demand or unexpected traffic surges.

In addition, submissions should highlight innovations in hybrid and multi-cloud networking, demonstrating how the solution creates a unified fabric across disparate environments while maintaining a zero trust security posture.

Successful entries will provide clear evidence of performance benchmarking, such as significant improvements in latency, throughput, or “time-to-deploy” for new environments.

Male DevOps Engineer and Female IT Consultant Work on a Tablet Computer Standing in Office Above the Rows of Servers in a Data Center Working on Research and Development of Artificial Intelligence

Example Use Cases

Cloud infrastructure solutions eligible for this award may either provide an outstanding broad solution, or exceptional specialized solutions in one of these areas (among others):

Programmer entering server room office using AI to review infrastructure diagnostics Delivering reliable, fault-tolerant infrastructure that ensures business continuity and service uptime. Cloud infrastructure solutions provide redundant, distributed environments designed to minimize disruption and maintain performance under peak demand or failure conditions.

Typical use cases:

  • Automated failover and disaster recovery configuration
  • Load balancing and traffic distribution
  • Real-time infrastructure health monitoring
  • Backup and recovery automation

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Improved uptime and service availability
  • Reduced downtime and recovery time objectives (RTO)
  • Greater confidence in business continuity planning
  • Enhanced resilience during peak traffic or outages

Male DevOps Engineer and Female IT Consultant Work on a Laptop Computer Standing in an Office Above the Supercomputer Enabling organizations to scale infrastructure dynamically in response to workload demands. Cloud infrastructure platforms provide flexible compute, storage, and networking resources that adapt in real time.

Typical use cases:

  • Auto-scaling virtual machines and containers
  • Software-defined storage and object storage management
  • Performance optimization for high-volume workloads
  • Workload balancing across compute clusters
  • Resource utilization monitoring and tuning

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Reduced infrastructure costs through efficient resource usage
  • Improved application performance during peak demand
  • Faster provisioning of new environments
  • Increased operational agility

Woman Programming Software Applications On Computer Embedding security at the infrastructure layer to protect data, applications, and workloads. Cloud infrastructure solutions integrate monitoring, segmentation, and threat detection directly into core architecture.

Typical use cases:

  • Network segmentation and virtual private cloud (VPC) configuration
  • Infrastructure-level encryption and key management
  • Firewall and intrusion detection systems
  • Identity-based access controls
  • Continuous vulnerability scanning

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Reduced security incidents and exposure risk
  • Improved compliance with regulatory requirements
  • Greater visibility into infrastructure-level threats
  • Stronger protection of sensitive data and workloads

Man checking data center Streamlining infrastructure deployment and management through automation and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC). Cloud infrastructure solutions reduce manual configuration and improve consistency across environments.

Typical use cases:

  • Automated provisioning using Infrastructure-as-Code
  • Continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) integration
  • Configuration management and policy enforcement
  • Environment replication for testing and staging
  • Automated patching and system updates

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Faster infrastructure deployment cycles
  • Reduced configuration errors and environment drift
  • Improved consistency across development and production environments
  • Increased DevOps efficiency and collaboration

Male & Female Developer devops team discussion around computer screens Extending cloud infrastructure capabilities across on-premises, hybrid, and edge environments. Solutions enable seamless workload distribution while maintaining centralized visibility and control.

Typical use cases:

  • Hybrid cloud integration and workload migration
  • Edge computing deployment and management
  • Unified monitoring across distributed environments
  • Low-latency infrastructure for real-time applications
  • Cross-environment orchestration and governance

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Improved performance for latency-sensitive applications
  • Greater flexibility in workload placement
  • Reduced reliance on legacy infrastructure
  • Enhanced scalability across distributed operations

Hall of Fame: Previous Winners

Vultr stood out for delivering truly global, cloud native infrastructure that organizations can deploy and scale with confidence. Its combination of performance, transparent pricing, and rapid provisioning makes advanced compute accessible without hyperscaler lock in. The judges were particularly impressed by Vultr’s real world adoption and its role in supporting modern AI and high performance workloads. This made Vultr a clear winner at The Cloud Awards.”

Lead Judge, Maneet Bansal

Best Cloud Infrastructure 2025/26, Vultr
Tessell Logo

Tessell has set a new benchmark in cloud database management with its unified multi-cloud platform, earning ‘Best Cloud Infrastructure Solution’ at The Cloud Awards. Delivering exceptional scalability, cost efficiency, and performance, Tessell’s innovative approach to database modernization and seamless integration with leading cloud providers makes it a transformative solution for enterprises navigating the complexities of the cloud era.”

Lead Judge, Maneet Bansal

Best Cloud Infrastructure 2024/25, Tessell

VAST Data Platform is compelling, highlighting a data management solution built for AI’s ambitious demands. It stands out for enabling AI-driven discovery through its unified storage and compute services, aiming to revolutionize how industries tackle significant challenges. The platform addresses the shortcomings of existing data infrastructures by providing improved performance for AI applications and offering a scalable, secure, and easily manageable system. They emphasize reliability, touting impressive uptime statistics, and prioritize security, meeting the stringent needs of regulated industries.”

Judge, Prerak Garg

Best Cloud Infrastructure 2023/24, VAST Data

Areas to Highlight in Your Submission

Judges score nominations across these five key areas:

  • Innovation: The features or technology that makes your cloud infrastructure solution unique - or transformed your market.

  • Impact: Evidence of the positive effect your cloud infrastructure solution has brought to your customers.

  • Scalability: How your solution grows or adapts to changing business needs, without significant upgrades or overhauls.

  • User Experience: How intuitive your cloud infrastructure solution is to use for users of varying roles or skill levels.

  • Relevance: What makes your solution a worthy winner in this particular category.

Although not formally scored, focus on these areas specific to this category, can help your nomination stand out:

Performance

Should be designed to deliver consistently high performance for applications and services hosted on it.

Reliability

Data replication mechanisms, fault-tolerant designs, and DR measures to ensure minimal downtime.

Integration

Demonstrate seamless integration capabilities with other cloud services, platforms, and tools.

More Cloud Awards Categories

Next Steps to Enter The Cloud Awards

To enter this Cloud Awards category, or any other category in The Cloud Awards, please follow these three simple steps:

  • Download the entry form. Open up the ‘Cloud Awards Simple Form’ document.
  • Complete your form. You only need to complete the form once, even if entering multiple Cloud Awards categories.
  • Submit your entry. Head to the ‘Submit Now’ section on our website, select ‘The Cloud Awards’ and the category/categories you are entering from the list, upload your form and any other materials you would like the judges to review, and process your fees.

Since 2011, The Cloud Awards been helping organizations across the globe gain the recognition they deserve for market-leading innovation in the cloud computing and software sectors.

For a detailed breakdown of all the benefits you receive as an awards entrant as either a shortlistee, finalist or ultimate winner, please see our “Why Enter?” page. The many benefits are replicated across all international awards programs. If you have any questions about this category, please contact us.