Who should enter the ‘Cloud Platform of the Year’ category?

The ‘Cloud Platform of the Year’ category recognizes a cloud platform that provides foundational services for building, deploying, and managing applications. Eligible platforms may include platform-as-a-service offerings, middleware environments, developer platforms, or comprehensive cloud-native ecosystems.

Entries may showcase how the platform delivers exceptional Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) capabilities, emphasizing high availability, disaster recovery, and seamless elasticity. The category highlights advancements in cloud-native Computing, including container orchestration (such as Kubernetes), serverless architectures, and microservices support.

In addition, submissions should highlight innovations in multi-Cloud and hybrid interoperability, demonstrating how the platform simplifies complex migrations and allows for the consistent management of workloads across diverse environments.

Judges will look for evidence of how the platform integrates edge computing and AI/ML infrastructure, providing the specialized compute power required for high-performance workloads.

This category is open to hyperscalers, niche cloud providers, and specialized infrastructure vendors who are providing the “digital backbone” for the next generation of business innovation.

Programmer working with program code

Example Use Cases

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

Providing the foundation for modern digital services through resilient, scalable infrastructure. Cloud platforms deliver elastic compute, storage, and networking resources that adapt dynamically to changing business demands.

Typical use cases:

  • On-demand compute and auto-scaling environments
  • Container orchestration and Kubernetes management
  • High-availability architecture and load balancing
  • Multi-region deployment and failover configuration
  • Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) automation

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Improved system uptime and service reliability
  • Faster deployment of applications and services
  • Reduced infrastructure management overhead
  • Seamless scalability during peak demand

software developers working on multiple screens displaying code and application diagrams in a modern office Accelerating application development through integrated tooling and managed services. Cloud platforms provide developers with pre-configured environments, APIs, and automation capabilities to streamline innovation.

Typical use cases:

  • Managed databases and backend services
  • CI/CD pipeline integration
  • API gateways and microservices architecture
  • Low-code or no-code development environments
  • DevOps and automation tooling

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Reduced time-to-market for new applications
  • Increased developer productivity
  • Improved software release frequency and quality
  • Greater innovation velocity across teams

Focused Financial Analyst Studying Market Trends

Embedding security and governance controls directly into the cloud platform architecture. Modern cloud platforms provide centralized identity management, monitoring, and compliance tooling to protect digital assets.

Typical use cases:

  • Identity and access management (IAM)
  • Automated security monitoring and threat detection
  • Policy enforcement and governance frameworks
  • Encryption and key management services
  • Compliance reporting dashboards

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Reduced security vulnerabilities and incident response times
  • Improved compliance posture across regulated environments
  • Greater visibility into system access and activity
  • Stronger governance across distributed workloads

Architects working on project in office Enabling organizations to manage workloads seamlessly across public, private, and hybrid environments. Cloud platforms provide unified visibility and control across complex infrastructure landscapes.

Typical use cases:

  • Centralized workload orchestration across environments
  • Hybrid cloud connectivity and integration
  • Multi-cloud cost monitoring and optimization
  • Workload migration and modernization tools
  • Unified monitoring across cloud providers

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Simplified management of multi-cloud environments
  • Improved workload portability and flexibility
  • Reduced vendor lock-in risk
  • Greater cost efficiency and infrastructure transparency

Woman Trades Stocks Online

Powering advanced analytics and AI innovation through integrated cloud services. Cloud platforms provide scalable data processing, storage, and AI tooling within a unified ecosystem.

Typical use cases:

  • Managed data lakes and analytics services
  • Machine learning model training and deployment
  • GPU-accelerated compute environments
  • Real-time data streaming infrastructure
  • AI model monitoring and lifecycle management

Some examples of results from this application:

  • Faster development and deployment of AI solutions
  • Improved performance of data-intensive workloads
  • Reduced operational complexity for analytics teams
  • Greater ability to scale AI initiatives organization-wide

Hall of Fame: Previous Winners

SnapLogic Logo

SnapLogic delivered a Platform as a Service that genuinely unifies integration, automation, APIs, and AI-driven workflows in a single, governed environment. Its agentic integration capabilities and cloud-native architecture reflect where enterprise middleware is heading, not where it has been. The judges were particularly impressed by the platform’s scalability, usability, and real-world adoption. This made SnapLogic a clear winner at The Cloud Awards.”

The Cloud Awards COO, Annabelle Whittall

Best Platform-as-a-Service / Cloud Middleware 2025/26, SnapLogic
SnapLogic Logo

SnapLogic has earned this award for its innovative approach to integration and automation. Key distinguishing factors, including its low-code/no-code user interface powered by NLP, allow users to easily implement workflows and data pipelines with minimal effort. The platform enables faster time-to-value in integrations, and its hybrid, scalable i-PaaS architecture is primed for the future with Gen AI readiness. SnapLogic’s seamless, intuitive design makes it a leader in the integration space, empowering businesses to realize their integration goals more efficiently than ever before.”

Judge, Sameer Band

Best Platform-as-a-Service / Cloud Middleware 2024/25, SnapLogic

Rakuten Symphony’s Symcloud demonstrates seamless, robust end to end automated infrastructure for storage and network needs for enterprises developing 5G networks and mobile solutions. They are a well deserved winner of The Cloud Awards for Best PaaS / Cloud Middleware. Congratulations, Rakuten!”

Lead Judge, Raghu Pendyala

Best Platform-as-a-Service / Cloud Middleware 2023/24, Rakuten Smyphony

Areas to Highlight in Your Submission

Judges score nominations across these five key areas:

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

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

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

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

  • Relevance: What makes your cloud platform 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:

Integration

The platform’s user interface, developer tools, and interoperability with third-party services and systems.

Reliability

Includes factors such as SLAs, data durability, and redundancy to ensure continuous availability.

Analytics

Real-time monitoring, dashboards, alerting mechanisms, and performance analytics 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.