GreenQloud

GreenQloud was an Icelandic cloud-computing software company headquartered in Reykjavik, with an office in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2010, it initially operated as a public cloud provider, offering infrastructure-as-a-service products such as web hosting and data storage. Its services were differentiated by the use of Icelandic data centers powered by renewable energy, supporting a brand proposition centered on lower-carbon cloud infrastructure rather than reliance primarily on purchased carbon offsets. The company’s early technology work built on cloud.com, the cloud infrastructure software project that later became Apache CloudStack. GreenQloud initially applied this technology in the provision of public cloud services. Its early positioning reflected the emerging interest in environmentally responsible data hosting, while also addressing the practical needs of customers seeking computing and storage capacity delivered through an infrastructure-as-a-service model. A major strategic change took place after Jonsi Stefansson became chief executive in 2014. Under his leadership, GreenQloud moved away from operating its own public cloud as its central business and became focused on software. The company concentrated on developing Qstack, a cloud and infrastructure management platform intended for deployment in private and hybrid environments. This pivot enabled GreenQloud to sell software for managing infrastructure operated by customers or service providers instead of depending primarily on a single public-cloud operating model. Qstack was released in 2015. By 2016, the platform supported multiple virtualization technologies, including VMware, KVM, and Hyper-V, as well as bare-metal provisioning. The product was intended to give organizations a common management layer across different infrastructure types. GreenQloud also described plans to extend Qstack with container-based application orchestration and an integrated Kubernetes server, enabling deployment of microservices and other workloads on scalable clusters. The company’s business scope therefore evolved from renewable-energy-powered public cloud hosting into cloud-management and infrastructure-orchestration software. Its global-market ambitions were supported by its Icelandic base and Seattle presence, while Qstack addressed organizations seeking private-cloud or hybrid-cloud capabilities and support for heterogeneous virtualization environments. In 2017, GreenQloud was acquired by NetApp. The acquisition followed GreenQloud’s software-focused transformation and was associated with NetApp’s interest in cloud automation, orchestration, and data-fabric capabilities. Public reference material does not establish a separate current operating status for the GreenQloud brand after the acquisition, so its present standalone status is left uncertain.

GreenQloud was established in Iceland in 2010 as a cloud-computing company. Its first business model centered on public cloud services, including web hosting and data storage delivered as infrastructure as a service. The company promoted Iceland as an advantageous location for cloud infrastructure because its data centers used renewable energy. This emphasis distinguished GreenQloud from hosting providers that primarily used carbon-offset purchases to support environmental claims. In its early development, GreenQloud built on technology associated with cloud.com, a cloud infrastructure software project that subsequently became Apache CloudStack. The company used this technological foundation while developing its own public cloud offering. Its original proposition combined conventional cloud capacity with a renewable-energy-based infrastructure narrative and an international service ambition. The company changed direction in 2014 when Jonsi Stefansson became chief executive officer. GreenQloud began reducing its emphasis on being a public cloud operator and pivoted toward becoming a software company. Its principal objective became the development of Qstack, a cloud and infrastructure management platform designed for private and hybrid deployments. This represented a shift from selling computing resources directly to selling tools that allowed organizations and service providers to operate and coordinate their own infrastructure. GreenQloud released Qstack in 2015. The platform was designed to manage cloud environments across multiple infrastructure configurations. By 2016, its supported technologies included VMware, KVM, and Hyper-V, along with bare-metal provisioning. This combination addressed customers that needed to manage virtualized and physical resources through a common cloud-management approach rather than commit to one hypervisor or deployment model. GreenQloud also planned to add container-based application orchestration and an integrated Kubernetes server in early 2017. The proposed capabilities were aimed at deploying microservices and other workloads on scalable clusters, extending Qstack beyond infrastructure provisioning into application and workload management. The company maintained its headquarters in Reykjavik and an office in Seattle while targeting the global market. Its identity consequently combined Icelandic renewable-energy credentials with enterprise cloud-management software intended for international use. In 2017, NetApp acquired GreenQloud. The transaction was linked to NetApp’s interests in cloud automation, orchestration, and data-fabric functionality. The available reference material does not document the subsequent standalone operation of the GreenQloud brand, products, or corporate structure in sufficient detail to classify its current status as active or defunct.

• 2017

  Acquisition by NetApp

  [1]GreenQlouden.wikipedia.org

  NetApp acquired GreenQloud in a transaction associated with cloud automation, orchestration, and data-fabric capabilities.

• 2016

  Qstack expands infrastructure support

  [1]GreenQlouden.wikipedia.org

  Qstack supported VMware, KVM, and Hyper-V, together with bare-metal provisioning.

• 2015

  Qstack is released

  [1]GreenQlouden.wikipedia.org

  GreenQloud released Qstack for deployment in private and hybrid cloud environments.

• 2014

  Pivot to cloud-management software

  [1]GreenQlouden.wikipedia.org

  After Jonsi Stefansson became chief executive, GreenQloud shifted from public cloud operations toward a software-only focus on Qstack.

• 2010

  GreenQloud is founded

  [1]GreenQlouden.wikipedia.org

  GreenQloud was founded in Iceland and began developing cloud-computing services.

A cloud infrastructure and management software brand that began with renewable-energy-powered public cloud services and later focused on software for private, hybrid, and heterogeneous cloud environments.

• Cloud and infrastructure management software · 2015

  Qstack

  Qstack was GreenQloud’s principal software platform and the focus of the company after its 2014 strategic pivot. Released in 2015, it was designed for private and hybrid cloud deployments and provided management across different infrastructure configurations. By 2016, it supported VMware, KVM, and Hyper-V environments as well as bare-metal provisioning. GreenQloud also planned container-based application orchestration and integrated Kubernetes support for microservices and scalable workloads.

• Infrastructure as a service · 2010

  GreenQloud public cloud services

  GreenQloud initially operated public cloud services that included web hosting and data storage. These services were delivered from Icelandic data centers promoted as using 100% renewable energy. The public-cloud business formed the company’s original operating model before GreenQloud redirected its resources toward Qstack and cloud-management software.

• 2017

  Acquisition by NetAppM&A

  Background

  GreenQloud had developed a cloud-management and orchestration platform aimed at private, hybrid, and heterogeneous infrastructure.

  Action taken

  NetApp acquired GreenQloud.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition was associated with NetApp’s cloud automation, orchestration, and data-fabric objectives. The available sources do not provide transaction financial terms or detailed post-acquisition brand arrangements.

  Source

• 2015

  Launch of QstackProduct launch

  Background

  GreenQloud’s revised strategy required a cloud-management product that could be deployed outside its own public cloud.

  Action taken

  The company released Qstack for private and hybrid cloud environments.

  Aftermath

  Qstack became the center of GreenQloud’s software business and was subsequently expanded to support several virtualization platforms and bare-metal infrastructure.

  Source

• 2014

  Pivot from public cloud operations to softwareStrategy

  Background

  GreenQloud had initially sold public cloud services, including web hosting and storage, from renewable-energy-powered infrastructure.

  Action taken

  Following the arrival of Jonsi Stefansson as chief executive, the company adopted a software-focused strategy centered on developing and selling Qstack for private and hybrid environments.

  Aftermath

  The pivot made Qstack the company’s principal offering and led to support for multiple hypervisors, bare-metal provisioning, and planned container orchestration.

  Source

1. 1GreenQlouden.wikipedia.org