What are the main Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning vendors?

Representative vendors include Equinix Metal, Hivelocity, OVHcloud, Leaseweb. B4 Pro scores the full set.

When should I use bare metal versus a public cloud VM?

Bare metal is worth the evaluation when performance isolation, specific hardware configurations (GPU models, NVMe ratios, high core counts), or steady-state cost efficiency matter more than cloud flexibility. VMs on AWS or Azure make more sense for variable workloads, short-lived compute, or applications that benefit from cloud-native managed services.

IT Operations · Engineering, IT & AI

Should you build or buy Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning?

Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning gives organizations access to physical servers — not shared with other tenants — with API-driven OS provisioning, network configuration, and lifecycle management. It combines the performance isolation and cost efficiency of dedicated hardware with the operational convenience of cloud-style provisioning.

The build-vs-buy decision for Bare Metal Cloud doesn't apply in the conventional sense — building a global physical server network is not a viable option for any non-hyperscaler, so the decision is which provider's hardware configuration, geographic footprint, and pricing model best fits the workload.

Domain: IT Operations
Function: Engineering, IT & AI
Industries: Cross-industry

Last assessed June 2026 · re-scored quarterly via The Continuum.

Build it, buy it, or bridge?

	Build it	Buy it	Bridge (buy, then extend)
Cost shape	Not viable — requires global datacenter infrastructure, hardware procurement, and operations team	Hetzner/OVH significantly cheaper than hyperscalers for dedicated compute; Equinix for premium SLA	Combine dedicated bare metal for steady workloads with public cloud burst capacity
Time to value	Not applicable	Servers provisioned via API in minutes (depending on provider); no hardware procurement	Bare metal for baseline; cloud for overflow — each provisioned on-demand
Differentiation captured	Not applicable	Tenant isolation, predictable performance, specific hardware configs (GPU density, NVMe ratios)	Dedicated performance for core workloads; cloud flexibility for variable demand
AI feasibility today	Building a bare metal provisioning network is not feasible outside hyperscaler scale	Equinix Metal, OVHcloud, and Hetzner offer GPU-optimized configurations at lower cost than hyperscalers	Bare metal neoclouds for AI training/inference at scale; public cloud for experimentation
Who it fits	Not applicable for any standard organization	AI inference, high-frequency trading, storage-intensive, or latency-sensitive workloads	Companies with predictable baseline compute and variable burst or development needs

The B4 call

B4 has a verdict for Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning.

Build, Buy, Bridge, or Beware, with the five-dimension scorecard and the reasoning behind it. Unlock the call, and every other category, with B4 Pro.

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When building Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning makes sense

There is no viable build path for bare metal cloud provisioning for any standard organization. The asset is physical hardware at global scale — racks, network interconnects, power infrastructure, and operations staff across multiple datacenters. Equinix Metal, OVHcloud, Hetzner, and Leaseweb have built those networks over years and operate them as the core business. What does merit evaluation is whether to own physical hardware at all versus renting it from a provider, and that question applies to colocation or self-hosted deployments — but even there, the server management and provisioning layer typically uses the provider's tooling rather than custom-built orchestration.

When buying Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning makes sense

Buying bare metal cloud makes sense in every context where the workload justifies dedicated hardware over public cloud VMs. The primary use cases are AI inference and training (where tenant isolation and specific GPU configurations matter), high-frequency trading (where microsecond-level latency and single-tenant networking are requirements), and storage-intensive applications (where per-GB costs on cloud object storage become prohibitive at scale). Hetzner and OVHcloud offer significant price advantages over AWS, Azure, and GCP for predictable steady-state compute. Equinix Metal targets the premium end with global interconnect and low-latency network SLAs. The evaluation between providers should focus on hardware configuration availability, geographic presence, and support quality — the provisioning mechanics are similar across the major players.

Bare metal provisioning is physical infrastructure. Providers like Hetzner, OVHcloud, and Equinix Metal operate global datacenter networks with API-driven server provisioning, OS imaging, and network configuration. There is no build path here because the asset is physical hardware at scale.

The decision between providers turns on geography, hardware configurations, network SLAs, and price. Hetzner and OVHcloud offer significant cost advantages over hyperscalers for workloads that need dedicated compute without cloud abstraction layers, typically AI inference, high-frequency trading, or storage-intensive applications. Buying earns its keep in every case. What's worth evaluating is which provider's hardware configuration and geographic footprint matches the workload, and whether the marginal cost difference between providers justifies any migration effort.

Representative vendors

Equinix MetalHetzner and 3 more, scored in B4 Pro

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Frequently asked

What is Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning?: Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning gives organizations access to physical servers — not shared with other tenants — with API-driven OS provisioning, network configuration, and lifecycle management. It combines the performance isolation and cost efficiency of dedicated hardware with the operational convenience of cloud-style provisioning.
When does building Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning make sense?: Building is not a viable option — the asset is physical global infrastructure. The relevant evaluation is which provider's hardware, geographic footprint, and pricing model best matches the workload.
When does buying Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning make sense?: Buying makes sense whenever workloads require dedicated hardware — AI inference, high-frequency trading, storage-intensive applications. Hetzner and OVHcloud offer significant cost advantages over hyperscalers for predictable dedicated compute needs.
What are the main Bare Metal Cloud / Dedicated Server Provisioning vendors?: Representative vendors include Equinix Metal, Hivelocity, OVHcloud, Leaseweb. B4 Pro scores the full set.
When should I use bare metal versus a public cloud VM?: Bare metal is worth the evaluation when performance isolation, specific hardware configurations (GPU models, NVMe ratios, high core counts), or steady-state cost efficiency matter more than cloud flexibility. VMs on AWS or Azure make more sense for variable workloads, short-lived compute, or applications that benefit from cloud-native managed services.

The B4 Index scores every software category on two axes, strategic differentiation and AI feasibility, to classify it Build, Buy, Bridge, or Beware. See the full methodology.

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