CLOUDBROKER GMBH

Their core work

CloudBroker is a Zurich-based SME specializing in cloud brokerage and orchestration — helping organizations deploy and manage workloads across multiple cloud environments. Their core capability is abstracting cloud complexity so that end users, particularly manufacturers, can run compute-intensive simulations and digital twin applications without deep cloud expertise. Across their H2020 portfolio, they have progressively applied this cloud middleware expertise to manufacturing use cases, enabling SMEs to adopt digital twins and predictive manufacturing through cloud-based platforms.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CloudBroker's trajectory shows a clear pivot from general-purpose cloud technology to manufacturing-specific applications. Their early projects (DECIDE, COLA, 2016-2017) focused on foundational cloud orchestration, multi-cloud portability, and DevOps — pure infrastructure concerns. From 2017 onward, they began applying these capabilities to industrial problems: first cloudifying production engineering (CloudiFacturing), then fully committing to digital twin deployment for manufacturing SMEs (Change2Twin). This evolution from cloud middleware provider to manufacturing digitalization enabler is deliberate and consistent.

CloudBroker is moving from being a generic cloud infrastructure player toward becoming a specialized platform provider for manufacturing digitalization, particularly focused on making digital twins accessible to SMEs.

How they like to work

CloudBroker operates exclusively as a participant — never leading consortia but contributing specialized cloud infrastructure expertise. With 69 unique partners across 15 countries from just 4 projects, they join large, diverse consortia (averaging 17+ partners per project). This pattern suggests they function as a reliable technical component provider that integrates well into complex multi-partner setups without needing to drive the agenda.

Despite only 4 projects, CloudBroker has built a wide network of 69 partners across 15 countries, reflecting their participation in large Innovation Action consortia. Their reach spans most of Western and Central Europe, operating from Switzerland as a neutral hub.

What sets them apart

CloudBroker occupies a niche at the intersection of cloud brokerage and manufacturing digitalization — they don't just provide cloud services, they make complex multi-cloud environments usable for manufacturers who lack IT sophistication. As a Swiss SME, they bring neutrality and reliability valued in multi-national consortia. Their progression from pure cloud orchestration to digital twin enablement means they understand both the infrastructure layer and the manufacturing application layer, a combination that's uncommon among small cloud companies.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Change2Twin
  Their largest funded project (EUR 336,989), representing the culmination of their pivot toward digital twin platforms for manufacturing SMEs.
• CloudiFacturing
  The bridge project that connected their cloud expertise to manufacturing, focusing on cloudification of production engineering for predictive manufacturing.