Cloud on the Open Network Edge: A Better Alternative to Hyperscaler Lock-In

It’s been an exciting Q1 as we roll out new products and features in our customer portal (Platform Gen 10 / Release 6.7), we are taking the next step in building a complete cloud platform at NetActuate, including private cloud, public cloud, and hybrid cloud options.

Along with updated experiences for Virtual Machines, Managed Kubernetes, and VPC, and continued investment in Storage, we are making it easier for customers to deploy, connect, and scale infrastructure across the global edge.

But this launch is about more than adding features. These upgrades affirm NetActuate’s position in the marketplace as a real alternative to the hyperscaler model.

For a lot of companies, the promise of hyperscale cloud has come with tradeoffs that get harder to ignore over time. Lock-in. Walled gardens. Rising complexity. Pricing that becomes harder to predict as usage grows. Basic infrastructure tasks that somehow turn into multi-team projects. Platforms that promise simplicity at the top, but often require deep specialization just to operate confidently at the bottom.

That is not the path we believe customers should be forced onto. 

We believe that cloud compute—in all of its forms—represents an opportunity to be easier to use, easier to connect, easier to understand, and easier to build around.

Built for Freedom, Not Lock-in

Customers should have the freedom to build the infrastructure platform that fits their business, not be forced into a default platform from a large cloud provider. 

This means being able to mix and match the infrastructure models that make sense for your application and your stage of growth. Virtual Machines. Managed Kubernetes. VPC. Storage. Bare metal. Colocation. Interconnects. Onramps to your existing clouds and datacenters. Private infrastructure where you need it. Cloud infrastructure where you want it. And the networking layer to tie it all together. 

That is a core part of what the Open Network Edge (ONE) means to us. ONE is built around openness, flexibility, and control. It gives customers a platform that works with their environment, not against it. It also gives them the ability to extend that environment through APIs, automation, and network-enabled workflows across the portal, so infrastructure is not just provisioned faster, but managed more intelligently.

A Simpler Cloud

A lot of cloud platforms talk about simplicity. Fewer actually deliver it.

Too often, the most basic tasks in modern infrastructure still feel heavier than they should. Launching compute. Standing up Kubernetes. Segmenting traffic. Connecting private infrastructure. Controlling ingress. Rolling out storage. It can feel like every task comes with another layer of complexity, another specialist, another billing surprise, and another toolchain to master.

We think infrastructure should be streamlined. Deployment should be fast. Networking should be understandable. Platform capabilities should feel connected instead of fragmented. Managed services should reduce operational burden, not create a new dependency maze.

That is the direction behind the launch of our cloud platform. 

Faster Compute, Simpler Kubernetes, Stronger Networking

Virtual Machines are often the fastest way to get production infrastructure online, and on our platform they deploy in seconds. That matters when you need to launch quickly, scale quickly, recover quickly, or move into new geographies without waiting on slow provisioning cycles.

Managed Kubernetes takes the same philosophy into cloud-native operations. We handle cluster and control plane complexity so customers can focus on applications, not babysitting infrastructure. At the same time, teams keep meaningful control over their environments. 

VPC brings the private networking layer into the same platform story. Customers can create isolated environments, attach workloads to dedicated network segments, define traffic and ingress policy, and connect cloud resources with private cloud, colocation, and physical infrastructure. Native load balancing in VPC adds another important building block for resilient application delivery.

Taken together, these services make it easier to deploy, connect, secure, and operate infrastructure cohesively in our customer portal. Get the latest technical documentation on these products and more on our newly updated documentation site.

Storage Options

Connecting Storage to compute and networking is a critical part of our platform. Our continued investment in Object, Block, and Custom storage reflects the same broader direction behind this launch. Customers need storage options that fit alongside compute and networking, not separate silos that complicate deployment and operations. This is especially important for edge and hybrid deployments, where performance, locality, architecture, and cost all matter.

Why Network-first Matters

NetActuate has built up its network over the last 20 years and it now represents the world’s 4th largest BGP peered network in 45+ global locations. NetActuate has done the hard work of building and connecting the network so companies don’t have to do it themselves! 

​​We believe being “Network-first” is an architectural model and a customer benefit. It’s a platform that gives customers the foundation to modernize on their terms and grow without becoming captive to a walled garden. 

Customers build infrastructure around how their applications actually need to perform; connect environments instead of being boxed into one; bring together cloud, private infrastructure, Kubernetes, bare metal, colocation, and existing datacenter or hyperscaler footprints while maintaining control of the architecture.

Flexibility matters because most real-world environments are a mix of old and new and constantly evolving. Legacy systems, regional constraints, cost pressures, latency requirements, compliance needs, and more need to be handled by teams trying to move fast without breaking what already works.

A Better Cloud for Customer Control

We are not trying to recreate the hyperscaler model; we are building something different.

A platform that is simpler to operate, that gives customers more control over architecture, that avoids unnecessary lock-in, that connects to what customers already have.

A platform that helps teams move faster without piling on complexity, a platform backed by people and services that extend what customers do.

A platform with faster self-service compute, easier Kubernetes operations, stronger private networking, integrated storage, and more flexibility across deployment models. 

For customers that want the benefits of cloud without the lock-in, complexity, and pricing pain, NetActuate is building a better alternative with the Open Network Edge.

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