Cloudwith.me launches to make AWS cloud services easier for beginners to use

As a digital marketer a few years ago, Gilad Somjen was running a series of WordPress sites that he wanted to move to Amazons Web Services for hosting.

But when Somjen tried to create an account and sign up for AWS, he found the process impenetrable. He eventually hired an IT assistant to do it for him, but the ordeal sparked an idea.

“Maybe we could create a solution that would be easy enough for guys like me to use,” he said.

So he did. And the result is Dublin-based Cloudwith.me.

The service offers a simplified dashboard to make the onboarding process easier for beginners to grasp. Somjen said AWS offers a number of features superior to those on traditional webhosts, but newcomers aren’t in a position to take advantage of them.

After coming out of beta a few weeks ago, the company has now raised $500,000 in seed funding and is looking to expand its ambitions.

Cloudwith.me is hoping to add other cloud services, such as perhaps Microsoft’s Azure. The idea is create a marketplace for cloud service that allows users to choose the best one at the best price for their needs, while managing them all from a single Cloudwith.me dashboard. If signing up and switching providers is easier, Somjen says, then customers will be more comfortable doing so, and cloud services will have to offer better deals to lure prospective users and keep them happy.

The company currently has 10 employees, and the goal for the coming year for is to continue seeking cloud partners while educating users about the ease of accessing superior hosting services like AWS though Cloudwith.me. Somjen is hoping his service will be attractive to cloud companies as they look to connect with users amid increasingly fierce competition.

“There is a huge war in this industry,” Somjen said. “In the cloud industry, the amount of funds available for new ventures in unbelievable. And they’re looking for new solutions and new ways to help customers.”