When to choose a bare-metal cloud

I did something last week that I had not done for a while. I recommended a bare-metal cloud service to a client. They had a particular purpose, and it was the right technology to solve the problem.

In a typical public cloud environment, most users interact with virtual machines, which are operating system instances running on top of physical hardware. These VMs are separated from one another through a hypervisor, which allows multiple users to share the same hardware securely and efficiently. However, this abstraction introduces performance overhead and limits user control over the server’s physical resources.

Bare-metal cloud services, by contrast, provide users with exclusive access to the underlying physical server hardware: no hypervisor, no virtual machines, no additional abstraction. This purity means full access to raw compute power, such as CPU, GPU, and memory resources, without virtualization’s added latency or restrictions. In essence, bare-metal clouds bridge the gap between the flexibility of cloud computing and the robust performance of dedicated on-premises servers.

Because of this unique positioning, bare-metal clouds are becoming increasingly relevant for industries with specific high-performance requirements, particularly for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing or for workloads that need specialized hardware or low-latency environments.

Use cases for bare metal

Although bare-metal clouds are not for everyone, they shine in certain situations. Companies that thrive on high performance, seek cost optimization over short-term workloads, and need direct access to server hardware for customization are among the target audiences. Here are some critical use cases where bare-metal clouds present advantages:

Training AI and ML models. This intensive task demands enormous computational power. GPUs and other specialized accelerators, which bare-metal clouds can provide without virtualization overhead, are often essential for managing these workloads efficiently. Because many businesses train AI models periodically, bare-metal clouds offer a more attractive option than purchasing in-house hardware, which could sit unused for much of the time.

High-performance computing applications. Simulations, data modeling, and research analytics thrive in environments of low latency and full utilization of hardware resources. Virtualization can introduce performance inefficiencies that bare-metal servers eliminate, making them ideal for these performance-driven workloads.

Specialized workloads. Certain applications can benefit from hardware architectures beyond the standard x86 processors, such as Arm’s or IBM’s Z mainframe architecture. Bare-metal clouds allow users to access these nonstandard architectures for testing or running workloads designed explicitly for them—another area where traditional virtual environments fall short.

Highly regulated industries. Government, finance, healthcare, and other regulated industries may need dedicated servers to meet regulatory or compliance mandates. Bare-metal clouds provide the necessary isolation while maintaining the flexibility of cloud deployment.

Providers leading the bare-metal charge

Not all cloud providers offer bare-metal services, but a wide range of options is available for organizations to realize the unique benefits of bare-metal clouds. Here are some popular providers in this space, in alphabetical order:

Amazon EC2 Bare-Metal Instances. As a subset of AWS, these instances operate similarly to regular EC2 VMs, easing the transition for existing AWS users. However, Amazon’s bare-metal product sacrifices some control compared to specialized providers.

Azure BareMetal Infrastructure. Microsoft’s Azure platform provides robust bare-metal hardware and a variety of configurations, albeit with limited availability across global regions.

DigitalOcean Bare Metal GPUs. Explicitly designed for small and midsize users with artificial intelligence and machine learning needs, DigitalOcean offers bare-metal servers enhanced with GPUs.

Equinix Metal. Equinix’s global data center presence and infrastructure give them a broad geographic reach, although the service is set to sunset by 2026.

IBM Cloud. IBM’s bare-metal services stand out because they include architectures such as Z mainframe and LinuxONE in addition to standard x86 servers.

OpenMetal. Specializing in bare-metal offerings, OpenMetal utilizes open source OpenStack tools for management. Although it has fewer data center locations globally, its comprehensive management options make it a strong contender.

PhoenixNAP. Known for its infrastructure as code (IaC) capabilities, PhoenixNAP offers flexible ways to manage bare-metal resources with APIs, CLI tools, and more. However, it has a relatively limited geographic scope.

Rackspace. A veteran in the cloud space, Rackspace offers bare-metal services with extensive configuration options and strong support that cater to enterprise customers.

Vultr. A more affordable option, Vultr provides bare-metal servers in nearly two dozen data centers around the globe but does not offer options for GPU-enabled variants.

The downsides to bare metal

So, why are bare-metal options not used much? Enterprises must carefully weigh the trade-offs before committing to this architecture.

Higher costs. Bare-metal resources generally come with a premium price compared to VM-based cloud offerings. Bare metal delivers better performance, but it’s not always cost-effective for applications that don’t strictly require such an environment.

Limited application portability. Applications written for virtualized environments or tailored to the capabilities of specific public clouds may require significant reworking to run optimally—and securely—on bare-metal clouds. Additionally, bare-metal hosting services lack scaling and load-balancing features built into VM-based services.

Geographic limitations. Providers such as OpenMetal and PhoenixNAP operate from fewer data center locations, making them inappropriate for businesses facing global latency challenges.

Reduced flexibility. Using bare-metal hardware often offers little room for provisioning beyond what’s physically available; no additional memory or hardware expansions can be made dynamically. Businesses trade some of the flexibility of cloud computing for performance and control.

Like every meaningful technology decision, choosing bare-metal clouds requires aligning your infrastructure needs with your business strategy. When used strategically, bare-metal clouds can drive immense value but only when they serve a well-defined purpose. Given the number of situations uniquely suited for bare-metal clouds that I’ve seen, I suspect I won’t recommend them for another year.