Top 12 cloud orchestration tools of 2024
List of top cloud orchestration tools
- Microsoft Azure Automation
- AWS CloudFormation
- IBM Cloud Orchestrator
- Pupper Bolt
- BMC Multi-Cloud Management
- Kubernetes
- Morpheus
- CloudHealth
- Cloudify
- Red Hat Ansible
- CloudBolt
- Terraform
There has been rapid growth towards the adoption of cloud software in businesses around the world. More and more organizations have been relying upon their data and cloud computing.
Automation in the cloud gives a lot of benefits, such as cost-effectiveness and improving the performance workflow system.
As cloud computing[1] deals with huge amounts of data, this is hard work for IT teams as they are required to arrange cloud resources successfully. As a result, IT firms have turned to new technology.
Thus, cloud orchestration[2] comes into the picture. These tools automate an enterprise’s workload, saving costs and time while enhancing efficiency.
This article will discuss the fundamentals of cloud orchestration tools, their distinction with cloud automation, and some of the best cloud orchestration tools that organizations can use.
What is cloud orchestration?
Cloud orchestration is the use of programming technology in automating tasks, resources, and infrastructure in public and private cloud infrastructures.
Cloud orchestration technologies allow IT teams to better manage their cloud infrastructure through streamlining processes and resource allocation across the cloud environment.
The demand for cloud orchestration in businesses has grown exponentially. In fact, Gartner predicts that 95% of all digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms by 2025.
Cloud orchestration software ensures coordination and connects complex computing systems into cohesive systems relevant to perform specific business functions.
Cloud orchestration vs cloud automation
Most often, cloud orchestration and cloud automation are used interchangeably. Cloud automation deals with a single task.
Thus, cloud automation focuses on the automation of the single element in the cloud system, to be repeated with minimal operator intervention.
On the other hand, cloud orchestration is the superset of the automation process. It is an end-to-end process that enables the IT team to take a set of automated processes. These processes are brought together into a specified workflow that fully automates service delivery.
12 best cloud orchestration tools in 2024
Here are the best cloud orchestration tools in the market that organizations can check out:
1. Microsoft Azure Automation
Microsoft Azure Automation is one of the most sought cloud orchestration tools in the market. It works within Microsoft’s cloud service platform.
It enables one to integrate different management systems seamlessly. This is useful for automating tasks when dealing with hybrid cloud configurations.
Azure Automation’s features include:
- Data recovery through virtual machines and SQL workload
- Deploying configuration files, reporting and analytics
- Tracking changes across services to easily identify probable issues
2. AWS CloudFormation
Amazon Web Services cloud formation enables one to model resources in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) or Yet Another Markup Language (YAML). Both can be automated and deployed in a cloud-based infrastructure.
AWS CloudFormation provides an easy way to quickly and efficiently provision and manage multiple related AWS and third-party resources in a – repetitive, predictable, and orderly manner.
3. IBM Cloud Orchestrator
The IBM Cloud Orchestrator tool focuses on data management and governance capabilities over IT services.
It is a comprehensive cloud orchestration tool that simplifies the task. One can use open source technologies to establish enterprise-class cloud services that can be turned across hybrid cloud environments.
More specifically, IBM Cloud Orchestrator tool features include:
- Managing OpenStack heat
- Supporting public, private, and hybrid cloud environments
- Customizing the self-service catalog
- Storing persistent data
4. Puppet Bolt
Puppet Bolt is also one of the most sought configuration automation tools that help software teams specify configuration for various cloud resources. The tool maintains partnerships and integrations with Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and VMware.
With Puppet Bolt, it offers an advantage in managing all aspects of cloud-based infrastructure, from computing to storing to networking resources.
Puppet Bolt handles multi-platform server configuration while ensuring security and compliance policies enforced across cloud services.
5. BMC Multi-Cloud Management
BMC Multi-Cloud Management produces software and services that support businesses moving into digital operations. It seamlessly manages multiple clouds and their data in various ways.
This tool allows users to simplify data for multi-cloud storage, thus, creating and performing a hassle-free data migration process.
There’s also a feature of predictive services management and monitoring of clouds across hybrid environments to determine any issues quickly and easily.
6. Kubernetes
If a company is focused on deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications, Kubernetes is a great cloud orchestration tool to use.
It is known as the de facto standard for enterprise container orchestration. However, Kubernetes is not an actual infrastructure configuration management tool.
It supports deploying and operating cloud-based apps based on a containerized microservice architecture for any cloud.
Kubernetes is a good solution for large companies to manage complexity, making its traditional configuration management tools completely obsolete.
7. Morpheus
Morpheus is a unified multi-cloud orchestration and automation tool that aims to help developers with their self-service infrastructure.
One of its main features is the analytics module, which provides insights into resource utilization, and cloud spending. These can help users to compare costs in using cloud infrastructure and resources.
Morpheus offers a wide range of functions, such as;
- Building service catalogs
- Establishing complex multi-cloud structures
- Access stack visualization tools
- Governing and controlling access to cloud resources using multi-tenant policies
- Connecting service catalogs to ServiceNow
- Creating policies for workflows
- Keeping track of configuration management activities
8. CloudHealth
CloudHealth is VMware’s latest software platform. It is a GUI-based cloud orchestration and management tool focused on managing hybrid cloud services for businesses.
This tool offers a wide range of features and functionalities, including multi-platform visibility that provides reports and data analytics through a dashboard.
The dashboard significantly helps most small and medium-sized businesses to identify and monitor overall costs and discover trends relevant for budgeting based on growth models.
CloudHealth has built security, compliance, and governance to ensure there are no instances of data breaches and offers a holistic cloud orchestration function for businesses.
9. Cloudify
Cloudify is an open-source and multi-cloud orchestration platform that connects, automates, and manages applications and services.
This tool automates the configuration process in the cloud and supports different public clouds and those under active development.
Cloudify is a great choice for companies that need to configure, deploy, and remediate applications and network processes in multi-cloud and stack infrastructure.
10. Red Hat Ansible
Launched in 2012, Red Hat Ansible is among the cloud orchestration tools that offer businesses easy-to-use task-based infrastructure automation.
Ansible YAML DSL allows users to simplify tasks and manage all aspects of cloud infrastructure without installing a single agent.
Furthermore, Ansible can connect multiple vendors and services together. It has a one-venue approach to managing through wrapper modules with lightweight and swift deployability.
Integrations for Red Hat Ansible include Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing, Amazon Web services, Google Cloud Computing, VMware Rackspace, and Digital Ocean.
11. CloudBolt
CloudBolt is a cloud orchestration tool focusing on hybrid cloud management. It offers enterprise hybrid cloud platforms that aim to be self-serving and easily scalable.
This tool is geared toward orchestrating diverse infrastructure, including legacy services that need to be integrated with pre-existing and possible future platforms.
Cloudbolt main features include:
- Reporting and management from one location
- Easy to use
- Customer-centric
- Easy scalability that adapts with future integrations
- Transparency in cost and health of service
12. Terraform
Terraform is an open-source platform for infrastructure automation. This tool helps in configuring, provisioning, and managing cloud infrastructure as code.
Terraform tool helps automatically configure resources by building a graph database that provides insight into resource dependencies.
Terraform allows users to have their infrastructure across various cloud infrastructures through a single and consistent CL workflow.
Automate your processes through cloud orchestration
Cloud orchestration tools have their strengths, weaknesses, and learning curves. It is important to choose the right tool that will suffice the needs of business projects and the team.
With cloud orchestration, one can ensure a streamlined automation process in a complex cloud infrastructure.
That said, automating with cloud orchestration leads to increased efficiency and security. Aside from cost reduction, cloud orchestration tools also have features supporting DevOps reductions, all geared toward achieving business success.
Article References
[1] Cloud computing. Saini, H., Upadhyaya, A., and Khandelwal, M.K. (2019). Benefits of Cloud Computing for Business Enterprises: A Review. [online] papers.ssrn.com.
[2] Cloud orchestration. Kikuchi, S., Thomas, I., Jallouli, O., Doerr, J., Morgenstern, A., Baccelli, E. and Schleiser, K. (2018). Orchestration of IoT Device and Business Workflow Engine on Cloud.
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