Cloud the Way It Should Be: Simpler, Affordable, and Flexible

In a recent interview with Tech Achieve Media (TAM) at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India, Mark Boost, CEO of Civo, discussed the company’s commitment to simplifying the cloud experience, making it more affordable and flexible for businesses. This conversation comes as Civo launches its new sovereign cloud region in Mumbai, Maharashtra, marking a significant milestone in the company’s global expansion.

With an INR 200 Crore investment, Civo’s new Mumbai region aims to address the growing demand for cloud-native and AI solutions in India, a market projected to reach $17.8 billion by 2027. The region underscores Civo’s focus on data sovereignty, transparent pricing, and cost efficiency, providing businesses with an alternative to the complexity and hidden fees often associated with hyperscaler platforms.

“We’ve actually had an Indian presence for about four years now, with 20% of our workforce based in India,” Mark Boost shared in the interview.

“As a fully remote company with team members across the globe, we have a significant number of people working from India. However, our operations here have primarily been from an operational perspective, not sales—until now. Given our existing presence and commitment to the region, the timing felt right to expand further. We’ve successfully launched regions in the US, Europe, and the UK, and it made sense for India to be our first region in Asia. This decision was a natural extension of the investments we’ve already made here.”

When asked about Civo’s approach in a crowded cloud market, Mark highlighted the growing shift away from hyperscalers due to rising costs and complexity. “I think we’re seeing a clear trend across all our regions where people are moving away from hyperscalers. The costs keep rising, and the complexity has become overwhelming. Understanding cloud bills with hyperscalers has become incredibly difficult, and now there’s a whole industry of software tools and consultants dedicated to helping businesses decode these bills,” said Boost.

“For us, it’s all about simplicity—not just in billing but also in how we provide our services. Take AWS, for example: getting started is incredibly difficult because of the sheer number of products, options, and configurations you need to deal with before you can even begin. With Civo, we focus on simplicity while maintaining powerful capabilities.”

Civo’s approach to pricing was also a key point in the interview. Boost emphasized the company’s commitment to transparency: “You know exactly what you’re going to pay month to month—no surprises. We also don’t charge egress fees, so there are no unexpected data transfer costs either.”

Mark also discussed Civo’s ongoing commitment to India, saying,

“Our goal is to come to India in a way that’s authentic, respectful, and serves the best interests of the country. We want to genuinely support Indian businesses—not just operate here superficially.”

He also highlighted the importance of local leadership in Civo’s strategy: “We have two external non-executives based in India. Our CTO, who is half Indian and half Sri Lankan, is also on the board. Kunal Khushwaha, our Field CTO, is from India as well.”

Looking ahead, Mark Boost sees significant potential for Civo in India, particularly as the company focuses on supporting businesses that need simpler and more affordable cloud solutions. “We’re not focusing too much on specific verticals at first,” he explained. “Right now, we’re probably best suited to the mid-market segment and highly technical startups, especially those working with SaaS products.” He further emphasized, “We believe there are better solutions, and Civo is one of them.”

For more insights into Civo’s vision for cloud computing and its commitment to simplifying the cloud experience for businesses in India, read the full interview with Mark Boost in Tech Achieve Media.