UpCloud is a Finnish cloud provider with its headquarters in Helsinki and a global data centre coverage. The combination of a rather narrow service portfolio with a wide, global distribution of data centres makes UpCloud unique. Furthermore, the support for a variety of developer tools is something that sets UpCloud apart.
Features & Services
UpCloud are currently offering the minimal IaaS feature set consisting of compute, Kubernetes, Storage, Networking and managed databases.
A list of services can be seen on the right and on the UpCloud Products page.
Given the worldwide distribution of data centres, the addition of a CDN service seems like a natural step.
Developer Experience
There is a variety of tools to work with UpCloud, all based on the UpCloud API. A Terraform provider, a Command Line Interface (CLI) and SDKs allow easy integration of automated UpCloud infrastructure provisioning into any landscape.
API
The UpCloud API is the basis for all other UpCloud developer tooling. The documentation of the UpCloud API is very extensive and easy to understand.
Terraform
UpCloud is maintaining an official Terraform provider.
CLI
UpCloud has a good and intuitive CLI. To get started with the UpCloud Command Line Interface, check out the documentation of the UpCloud CLI.
Console
To get a feeling for the UpCloud console, have a look at the documentation about the creation of a managed Kubernetes cluster. The guide contains screenshots of every step of the creation.
Other Tools
There is a number of other tools to work with UpCloud, such as Ansible, Packer, and SDKs for the languages Go, Python and PHP.
Data Centres
UpCloud operates 13 data centres across 4 continents. The UpCloud data centres are:
| AU-SYD1 | Sydney | Australia |
| DE-FRA1 | Frankfurt | Germany |
| FI-HEL1 | Helsinki | Finland |
| FI-HEL2 | Helsinki | Finland |
| ES-MAD1 | Madrid | Spain |
| NL-AMS1 | Amsterdam | Netherlands |
| PL-WAW1 | Warsaw | Poland |
| SE-STO1 | Stockholm | Sweden |
| SG-SIN1 | Singapore | Singapore |
| UK-LON1 | London | United Kingdom |
| US-CHI1 | Chicago | USA |
| US-NYC1 | New York | USA |
| US-SJO1 | San Jose | USA |
The UpCloud data centres located in Europe are added to our Data Centre Map.
Environmental Policy
According to the UpCloud ESG Report 2024, 70% of UpCloud data centres are running on renewable energy. The remaining 30% data centres are powered by mixed energy.
UpCloud aims to reduce their carbon footprint and are using carbon offsetting to achieve their goal.
The biggest element in the carbon footprint comes from data centre hardware procurement. UpCloud is just beginning to look into ways to lower this component of the carbon footprint. Other providers are ahead in this regard with processes for reuse and recycling of hardware.
Conclusion
It is going to be interesting to watch where UpCloud are taking their product. The foundation is laid with a large geographical footprint and a solid implementation of the (narrow) product portfolio. Coverage with developer tooling is extensive, with a wide range of tools for developers to chose from and a good documentation. The next step should be to expand the service portfolio in the same quality.
