In short
A Cloud Enabler is an organization that builds and operates cloud infrastructure to provide wholesale capacity to service providers. In the whitesky ecosystem, Cloud Enablers focus on infrastructure reliability and scale, while Virtual Cloud Operators (VCOs) focus on customer relationships and service delivery.
General definition
Cloud Enabler role (inspired by MVNE in telecom):
- Infrastructure ownership: Builds and operates physical infrastructure
- Platform hosting: Hosts the cloud software platform
- Wholesale model: Provides capacity to resellers, not end customers
- Focus areas: Datacenter, hardware, connectivity, redundancy
Cloud Enabler in whitesky
In whitesky, a Cloud Enabler is responsible for:
Infrastructure
- Procuring server, storage, and network hardware
- Deploying equipment in datacenter or colocation
- Ensuring power, redundancy, and physical security
- Providing connectivity and upstream network access
Platform hosting
- Hosting the whitesky cloud platform, operated by whitesky.cloud as a managed service
- Owning and housing the cloud locations (G8s)
- Hardware replacement, as agreed with whitesky
- Coordinating with whitesky for updates
Wholesale capacity
- Providing capacity to VCOs
- Maintaining service quality
- Scaling infrastructure as needed
- Meeting SLA commitments
Cloud Enabler vs Virtual Cloud Operator
| Responsibility | Cloud Enabler | VCO |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware & datacenter | Yes | No |
| Network & connectivity | Yes | No |
| Platform operation | Yes (with whitesky) | No |
| Tenant isolation & security | Yes | No |
| Branding & go-to-market | No | Yes |
| Customer contracts | No | Yes |
| Pricing & packaging | No | Yes |
| Managed services | No | Yes |
Related concepts
- Virtual Cloud Operator - The complementary role
- Cloud Enabler / VCO Model - Full model description
Learn more
Visit the Cloud Enabler / VCO Model page for a complete description of the model.