Cloud Foundry vs IBM Bluemix: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Cloud Foundry and IBM Bluemix

Cloud Foundry and IBM Bluemix are two popular platforms for developing, deploying, and managing applications in the cloud. While they share some similarities, there are distinct differences between the two.

1. Deployment and Infrastructure: Cloud Foundry is an open-source platform that can be deployed on various cloud infrastructure providers, offering flexibility in choosing the underlying infrastructure. In contrast, IBM Bluemix is a cloud platform offered by IBM, providing a fully managed environment without the need for infrastructure management.

2. Pricing and Service Models: Cloud Foundry follows a more community-driven model, allowing users to choose from various pricing and service options provided by different vendors. IBM Bluemix, on the other hand, offers a unified pricing model with different service tiers based on resource allocation and usage.

3. Capabilities and Integrated Services: IBM Bluemix offers a wide range of integrated services, including AI, analytics, blockchain, and IoT, allowing developers to easily incorporate these technologies into their applications. While Cloud Foundry also provides integration options, the variety and depth of integrated services may be more extensive in IBM Bluemix.

4. Vendor Lock-in and Portability: Cloud Foundry's open-source nature promotes interoperability and reduces vendor lock-in, making it easier to migrate applications across different cloud providers. IBM Bluemix, being a proprietary platform, may have some level of vendor lock-in, potentially limiting portability to other cloud platforms.

5. Enterprise Support and SLAs: IBM Bluemix provides enterprise-grade support, service-level agreements (SLAs), and a global support network, which may be advantageous for organizations requiring high availability and dedicated support. Cloud Foundry, being open source, relies more on community support and may not provide the same level of enterprise assistance.

6. Marketplace and Ecosystem: IBM Bluemix has a thriving marketplace with a wide array of third-party add-ons and services, expanding the range of capabilities and options available to developers. While Cloud Foundry also has a marketplace, the breadth and depth of offerings may be more extensive in IBM Bluemix.

In summary, Cloud Foundry provides a flexible and open-source platform with a focus on portability and community involvement, while IBM Bluemix offers a fully managed environment with an extensive range of integrated services and enterprise-grade support.