# CloudStack > Apache CloudStack is an open-source software designed to deploy and manage large networks of virtual machines, as a highly available, highly scalable Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing platform. It is a Top-Level Project of the Apache Software Foundation and is used by numerous service providers and enterprises to power both public and private cloud offerings. - URL: https://optimly.ai/brand/cloudstack - Slug: cloudstack - BAI Score: 82/100 - Archetype: Challenger - Category: Cloud Infrastructure - Last Analyzed: April 10, 2026 - Part of: Apache Software Foundation (https://optimly.ai/brand/apache-software-foundation) ## Competitors - Citrix Hypervisor Xenserver (https://optimly.ai/brand/citrix-hypervisor-xenserver) - OpenNebula (https://optimly.ai/brand/opennebula) - OpenStack (https://optimly.ai/brand/openstack) ## Also Referenced By - Openstack Sovereign Cloud Stack (https://optimly.ai/brand/openstack-sovereign-cloud-stack) ## Buyer Intent Signals Problems: Custom Linux/KVM Scripting: Manually installing and configuring KVM or Xen on individual servers using custom scripts. | Public Cloud Lock-in: Relying entirely on public cloud providers like AWS or GCP, avoiding the need for private cloud infrastructure. Solutions: open source cloud orchestration software | how to build a private cloud with KVM | best enterprise cloud management platform 2024 | Apache IaaS projects | Standalone Hypervisors: Using basic virtualization tools like Proxmox or VMware ESXi without a cloud orchestration layer. Comparisons: alternatives to OpenStack