Managing your company’s cloud data and storage appears simple enough on the surface until something goes wrong. However, even the best internal teams find it difficult to manage the cloud, its security, and your overall IT infrastructure while keeping them up to date and compliant under pressure.
That is where managed cloud providers come in, leveraging their expertise. These professionals can handle everything, from cloud configuration to security patch updates, relieving pressure on your teams.
There is no shortage of experienced providers in the UK who understand the ins and outs of various public and private clouds. Finding the best managed cloud provider for your company can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. To narrow things down, this article lists the top five providers of managed cloud hosting services.
1. BlackBox Hosting
At the top of this list is London-based BlackBox Hosting. They specialise in private, sovereign, and fully managed cloud hosting services for UK businesses, tailored from start to finish. You can access hosting services on Tier 3+ UK datacentres supporting IPv4 and IPv6, supported by top-notch security, expert backing, and dedicated UK-based support.
BlackBox Hosting’s strong infrastructure and security posture allows them to support predictable and reliable performance in critical operations. Their robust setup makes them a leading choice for private and managed cloud services, especially in highly regulated sectors such as fintech, healthcare, legal, government, and SaaS organisations. BlackBox Hosting’s wide service portfolio also includes DRaaS, Remote Desktop as a Service, application publishing, and co-location services.
Connect with BlackBox Hosting on their social channels, including LinkedIn and X.
Strengths
Tailored Cloud Infrastructure
BlackBox Hosting offers the design, implementation, and support for custom, fully managed private cloud infrastructure. This custom architecture delivers the control and consistent performance critical workloads require, whether it’s a small specialist software setup or a large enterprise.
Uncompromised Security
Creating tailored architecture is not enough; it must be supported by the best cybersecurity practices. BlackBox Hosting takes cloud security seriously. They operate on UK sovereign servers with continuous monitoring and protections, including DDoS and ransomware mitigation, which are essential to maintain high cloud security.
High Performance
BlackBox Hosting promised a 99.999% uptime guarantee for its scalable, resilient managed infrastructure, subject to SLAs. In practical tests, their standard virtual machines delivered significantly higher transactional throughput compared to some public cloud virtual machines. Expect faster, more consistent response times for database queries. This can be a core strength for businesses with high transaction volumes.
UK-Based Expert-Backed Support
BlackBox Hosting offers UK-based email, online ticketing, and phone support from experts who aim to respond to your queries within the hour. They offer standard and enhanced support, with both options including a dedicated technical account manager and dedicated cloud support engineers.
Challenges
Less Standardisation
BlackBox Hosting offers a bespoke managed cloud services approach, which may not be the best choice if you are looking for a fast, standard cloud build.
Read this Review from a BlackBox Hosting Customer
“Great Supplier & Service. Highly Recommended” – Kevin Cooper
Superb company to work with. Knowledgeable, helpful, experienced and responsive when you need them. Keen to resolve problems and give advice on solutions, even with your own equipment, helps with migrations and tying teams and companies together for the best outcome and following up afterwards.
We switched to BlackBox from another data centre ISP around 7 years ago and haven’t looked back.
2. Rackspace
Rackspace is a hosting provider with a global footprint. Under managed hosting services, they offer an expansive product portfolio of customisable bare metal servers.
Strengths
Enterprise-Grade Managed Hosting
Rackspace offers fully managed hosting on dedicated single-tenant servers. Their teams built hosting infrastructure designed for high performance and consistent uptime, especially for I/O-intensive applications.
Strong Managed Services Heritage
Rackspace is highly regarded for its managed cloud operations at scale, which organisations look for when outsourcing operations round the clock.
Challenges
More Aligned for Complex Needs
If you’re looking for hosting services for simpler workloads, Rackspace may not be the ideal solution, as they’re better suited for complex operations.
Market Volatility and Risk
As an organisation, Rackspace has faced well-publicised leadership and financial changes in recent years. Customers may want to tread with caution.
3. Hyve
Hyve is a UK-based hosting provider catering to hybrid cloud, managed hosting, dedicated servers, and multi-cloud deployments.
Strengths
Managed Private Cloud Options
Hyve positions its managed private cloud services around its strong, stable, and scalable infrastructure.
Breadth Across Hosting & Data Centres
Hyve’s managed services span cloud and colocation, offering customers services that support deployment, management, and monitoring.
Challenges
Multiple Choices
Hyve supports multiple models from private cloud to colocation, which can take longer to scope than picking a standardised platform.
4. OVHcloud
With data centres across 140 countries worldwide, OVHcloud offers a wide range of cloud and hosting services, from dedicated servers to VPS.
Strengths
Broad Cloud Hosting Portfolio
OVHcloud offers a wide choice of cloud services, including private and public clouds, dedicated servers, and networking services. You can tailor environments from simple to complex hosting configurations.
Competitive pricing
OVHcloud prices its plans competitively, positioning itself as a better alternative to hyperscale public clouds for compute and storage.
Challenges
Variation in Managed Services
OVHcloud’s managed cloud services are delivered through third-party providers rather than a single global managed platform. Clients can expect variation in service levels depending on the region of purchase and other factors.
OVHcloud is a solid option if you value customisation and flexibility in the cloud, offered by a global provider.
5. 20i
Strengths
Focused on Simpler Operations
20i offers managed cloud hosting and server options with a focus on simplifying scaling and operations, supported by its My20i control panel.
Autoscaling for Traffic Spikes
Through autoscaling features, clients can dynamically adjust managed cloud resources to meet demand.
Challenges
More Platform-Led
Compared to other providers on this list, 20i operates more as a platform-led business rather than a typical managed services provider (MSP). You will need to choose the appropriate service tiers for better operational management.
In Summary
Choosing the best UK managed cloud hosting provider is not just about picking someone who can handle servers and upload files to the cloud. It’s about selecting a reliable provider who understands your cloud and can keep it running without adding more complexity.
Whether you’re a public sector organisation trying to upgrade to new systems or an SME handling multiple platforms, find real value from a managed cloud partner that supports your operations for you. To find the provider that makes the most sense for your business, look beyond who offers the cheapest plan or the most features. Instead, look for a partner who can make the cloud work for you without making things harder.