This article is written by proIO team.
We’re looking forward to the CloudStack Collaboration Conference 2026 (18th – 20th November 2026) in Edinburgh.
On Friday, 20 November, at 10:50, our CEO Swen Brüseke will speak about how we build managed services on Apache CloudStack and the wider open-source ecosystem.
At proIO, we don’t just provide access to a cloud platform. We operate the service behind it: from our data centre location and hardware to the virtualization layer, infrastructure and managed hosting. That end-to-end responsibility shapes how we think about open source and what it takes to run it well in production.
Open source is a foundation, not a finished service
Open source is part of our company DNA. It gives us transparency into the technologies we use and the freedom to make decisions around our customers’ needs. But a collection of open-source tools does not automatically make a dependable cloud service.
The real work is in bringing the components together and operating them over time. Apache CloudStack is central to our cloud platform, but it is one part of a larger system that also includes physical infrastructure, networking, storage, automation, monitoring and the applications our customers rely on.
Those layers have to work together and they also have to be maintained, updated and understood by the people responsible for the service. For us, architecture is not just about how a platform is built. It’s about how it behaves throughout its lifecycle.
We run the whole stack
Our managed hosting is built on our own CloudStack-based platform. We take responsibility across the stack, from the data-centre foundation and hardware through virtualization and infrastructure to the managed operation of servers and applications.
That matters because customers don’t want to spend their time coordinating separate providers every time a question crosses a technical boundary. They need systems that perform reliably and a team that understands how the pieces fit together.
We provide continuous monitoring, planned maintenance and proactive patch management. We define service levels, escalation paths and responsibilities with customers, and we support environments ranging from individual services to full-stack operations. That can include infrastructure as well as web servers, databases and other application components.
The aim is straightforward: customers can focus on their business while we take care of the technical operation. And because we operate the platform ourselves, we’re close to the practical consequences of the decisions we make.
Architecture has to work on an ordinary day
Infrastructure decisions are easy to discuss when everything is new. The more revealing test comes later: when a component needs an update, an application changes, hardware is replaced or a service needs to recover from a failure.
As an managed hosting provider, we have to consider those situations from the start. Can we diagnose a problem across the different layers? Can we update a component without turning the entire platform into a project? Can we restore the service in a controlled way? And can another member of the team understand and operate what has been built?
These questions are part of making a service dependable. They also help us think clearly about technological independence. Open source gives us choices, but practical freedom depends on how manageable those choices remain. Integrations, automation and operational knowledge all become part of the architecture. If they are difficult to change or only understood by one person, they can create dependencies of their own.
That’s why we aim to make our dependencies visible and manageable and we have to consider the operational cost of a decision, not only its technical possibilities.
Reliability is built between the layers
A cloud platform can provide powerful orchestration, but it still depends on the infrastructure beneath it. Redundancy in one layer cannot compensate for an avoidable single point of failure in another.
The same is true of updates and recovery. A component may work well in isolation, but its lifecycle and failure behaviour affect the wider service. The challenge is not simply to choose good technologies. It is to design and operate them as a coherent system.
That’s also where being responsible for the full stack makes a difference. We can consider how a decision in one layer affects the service as a whole and take responsibility for operating the result. When customer requirements change, we can discuss what needs to change, what should remain stable and how to make the transition safely.
Building services, not just platforms
Our view is that CloudStack is a foundation on which we can build. It gives us the ability to combine technologies and shape a platform around the needs of our managed services. But the platform alone isn’t the service. The service comes from the architecture, operational processes and people behind it.
That includes being transparent with customers about responsibilities and changes, and providing direct support from people who know their environments. Managed infrastructure should relieve customers of operational work without turning into a black box. Customers should know what we do, why we do it and how the service is managed.
At the CloudStack Collaboration Conference 2026, Swen Brüseke will share more about how we combine Apache CloudStack with a broader open-source ecosystem to create business value. He’ll discuss the architectural choices behind our stack, lessons from running CloudStack in production and the practical trade-offs of building on open source rather than buying proprietary alternatives. Including what works, what doesn’t and what we’ve learned along the way.
“CloudStack for MSPs: Building Solutions on Top of Open Source”
Swen Brüseke, CEO, proIO
Friday, 20 November 2026, 10:50
CloudStack Collaboration Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland
The full conference schedule is available on the CloudStack Collaboration Conference website.
For us, open source is not simply a way to select technology. It’s a way to build a service we can understand, operate and adapt while keeping the focus on what customers need from their infrastructure every day.
