Affordable servers with the best price-performance ratio on the market

Start

Perfect balance of processing power, memory and storage

The high performance backbone of your mission-critical infrastructure

Core

For mission-critical data, fast storage, backup and streaming

Store

Dedicated GPU power with reliable performance and stability

Host your Hardware in our secured French datacenters

Dedirack

60 locations worldwide, starting at €4,99/month

Dedibox VPS

Dedibox - dedicated servers

Fully dedicated bare metal servers with native cloud integration, at the best price

Aluminium

Powerful, balanced and reliable servers for production-grade applications

Beryllium

Powerful dedicated server designed to handle high-workload applications

Iridium

Designed with huge local storage to keep, back up, and protect your data

Lithium

Power and stability of dedicated GPU hardware integrated into the Scaleway ecosystem

Titanium

Elastic Metal - bare metal cloud

Enjoy the Mac mini experience with great simplicity

Mac mini M1

Perform your daily tasks with speed and efficiency

Mac mini M2

Realize your most ambitious projects thanks to a new level of power

Mac mini M2 Pro

Latest Apple silicon chip for intensive use cases.

Mac mini M4

Apple

Dedibox and Bare Metal

Dedicated vCPU for the most demanding workloads (x86)

Production-Optimized

Secure, scalable VMs, equipped for high memory and compute demands (x86)

Workload-Optimized

Highly reliable and priced affordably Instances with shared vCPUs (x86 and ARM)

Cost-Optimized

A tiny instance to test and host your personal projects (x86)

Learning

Virtual Instances

Maximize your AI infrastructures with a versatile Instance

L4 GPU Instance

Universal Instance, faster than L4 and cheaper than H100 PCIe

L40S GPU Instance

Accelerate your model training with the most high-end AI chip

H100 PCIe GPU Instance

Dedicated NVIDIA® RTX 3070 with the best price/performance ratio

GPU 3070 Instances

Dedicated Tesla P100s for all your Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence needs.

Render GPU Instances

Experience an easy way to run your code on the cloud

Serverless Functions

Easily run containers on the cloud with a single command

Serverless Containers

Serverless Jobs

Serverless

Kubernetes exclusively for Scaleway products and resources

Kubernetes Kapsule

Multi-cloud Kubernetes for Scaleway and external providers resources

Kubernetes Kosmos

Container Registry

Containers

Compute

Build the next Foundation Model with one of the fastest and most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world

Custom-built Clusters

Rent a GPU-cluster from 32 to more than a thousand GPUs to speed up distributed training

On Demand Cluster

Clusters

Deploy AI models in a dedicated inference infrastructure. Get tailored security and predictable throughput

Managed Inference

Consume AI models instantly via a simple API call. All hosted in Europe

Generative APIs

Model-as-a-service

Accelerate the next generation of AI-enabled applications with the universal L40S GPU Instance, faster than L4 and cheaper than H100 PCIe

Maximize your AI infrastructure's potential with a versatile and cost-effective GPU Instance

Dedicated Tesla P100s for all your Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence needs

Render GPU Instance

GPU Instances

Amazon S3-compatible and Multi-AZ resilient object storage service. Ensuring high availability for your data

Object Storage

Cold Storage class to secure long-term object storage. Ideal for deep archived data.

Scaleway Glacier

Flexible and reliable storage for demanding workloads

Block Storage

Storage

Secure your cloud resources with ease on a resilient regional network

Virtual Private Cloud

 A single and secure entrance to your infrastructure

Public Gateway

Improve the performance of your services as you grow

Load Balancer

Buy domain names and manage DNS. Find your favourite extensions at a fair price

Domains and DNS

Centralize and simplify your Scaleway IP address management

IPAM (IP Address Manager)

Expose your HTTP services to the internet with security, reliability, and efficiency by design.

Edge Services

Establish a hosted connection from your infrastructure to your VPC via a partner's network

InterLink

Network

Managed Database for PostgreSQL and MySQL

Go full serverless and take the complexity out of PostgreSQL database

Serverless SQL Database

Managed Database for Redis®

Create a scalable, secure, and fully managed NoSQL solution

Managed MongoDB®

Databases

Build distributed and scalable client-server applications

NATS

Create a queue, configure its delivery and message parameters

Queues

Sent to a variety of devices and platforms through a single code interface

Topics and Events

Messaging and Queuing

Data

Monitor infrastructures in minutes with a fully managed observability solution

Cockpit

Hosting for individuals, professionals, and everyone in between.

Web Hosting

Ship your applications only in a few clicks.

Web Platform

Instant delivery of your transactional emails

Transactional Email

Speed up data processing over very large volumes of data with an Apache Spark™ managed solution

Distributed Data Lab

A purpose-built bridge between connected hardware and cloud.

IoT Hub

Managed Services

The easiest way to safely collaborate in the cloud

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Protect your sensitive data across your cloud infrastructure

Secret Manager

Easily track your consumption in an all-in-one tool

Cost Manager

Accurately track your environmental impact and make informed choices

Environmental Footprint Calculator

Security & Organization

Scaleway API

Deploy and manage your infrastructure directly from the command line

Securely and efficiently provision and manage Infrastructure as Code with Terraform

Terraform

Developer Tools

Tools

Gaming

Public Sector

Media and Entertainment

Retail and E-commerce

Financial Services

Industrial

Technology

Healthcare

Industries

Artificial Intelligence

Cloud Storage Solutions

Kubernetes Solutions

Serverless Applications

Managed Web Hosting

Use Cases

Apply for Startup Program

Founders Program

Early Stage Program

Growth Stage

For Startups

Solutions

All products

Product updates

Betas

Changelog

Blog

Ecosystem

Slack Community

Feature Requests

Scaleway Learning

Community

Events

Marketplace

Careers

About us

Customer Testimonials

Company

Partners Program

Find your partner

Become a Partner

Partnership

Resources

Pricing

Docs

Contact


Last November, at ai-PULSE, we told you where AI was heading: big, efficient, and open. Fast forward to last week’s AI Action Summit, and we saw it all play out in real time.
 
## Big: Scaling Up for the AI Era

AI needs infrastructure. That’s not news to us at Scaleway, but it’s now a message backed by serious commitments. French President Emmanuel Macron announced a €109 billion investment to reinforce Europe’s AI capabilities.

We’re doing our part. The iliad Group announced a massive [€3 billion investment](https://www.iliad.fr/en/actualites/article/the-iliad-group-is-investing-3-billion-in-ai) to build out the future of AI infrastructure. Our goal is to make sure Europe has the compute power to compete at the highest level. Because you need to reach a critical size to succeed in AI.

![AI Action Summit Business Day (France Digitale – David AROUS)](https://www-uploads.scaleway.com/ai_action_summit_at_station_f_720_10bb3aaa3c.jpg)

Scaleway was the first European cloud provider to invest in [GPU clusters](https://www.scaleway.com/en/custom-built-clusters/) back in 2023. That early move paid off: we still have one of the biggest pools in Europe and some of the best models today were trained on our infrastructure. But being first isn’t always easy. Staying ahead means constant innovation, and we’re working hard to ensure our compute, network, and storage remain fast, reliable, and built for the future.

We’re not stopping here. Our 2025 roadmap is ambitious: we want to make access to large-scale compute easier than ever. AI’s future depends on [solid infrastructure](https://www.scaleway.com/en/cluster-on-demand/), and we’re building it.

## Efficient: Doing More with Less

Even before the AI Action Summit, DeepSeek stole the show by proving that AI can be smarter, not just bigger. And at the summit itself, Kyutai showed why efficiency matters. Their [Hibiki model](https://kyutai.org/2025/02/10/hibiki.html) is a voice-to-voice AI translation system that can run directly on a smartphone. It is a perfect example of what happens when a team of smart people focuses on efficiency.

Indeed, raw power isn’t everything. If we were in Asimov’s Foundation series, Europe wouldn’t be the Empire flexing its might. We’d be the Foundation, outthinking the competition. In complex systems, smart always beats big.

And let’s be real: Europe isn’t ignoring the climate crisis. Growth needs to be smart. France has one of the cleanest energy mixes in the world, thanks to nuclear power. That means AI models trained on French infrastructure have a lower carbon footprint than most alternatives.

![Scaleway Environmental Footprint Calculator](https://www-uploads.scaleway.com/environmental_footprint_calculator_scaleway_console_1_d4dc232f39.png)

At Scaleway, we don’t just talk about efficiency. We track it. That’s why we launched the first version of our [Environmental Footprint Calculator](https://www.scaleway.com/en/environmental-footprint-calculator/). In 2025, we’ll keep expanding it, giving users clearer insights into the impact of the technology they use. Knowing your footprint matters. It helps you make smarter choices.

## Open: AI in an Uncertain World

The AI Action Summit also made one thing clear: we live in unpredictable times. Yesterday’s allies might not be tomorrow’s. That’s why openness matters more than ever.

Open source is our best safeguard against uncertainty. It lets you control your future. And it also keeps innovation accessible to all. Because open source is about giving back. India’s role as co-chair of the summit reminds us that AI shouldn’t just serve a select few. It should benefit everyone, everywhere.

For Scaleway, open source is the best way to keep our clients in control, not locked in. We believe in giving choices and alternatives. That’s why, when we built our Generative APIs, we set ourselves a strict rule: make it compatible with OpenAI’s API. The result? Anyone can switch to the [open-weight models](https://www.scaleway.com/en/generative-apis/) we provide by changing a single line of code.

![Scaleway Model-as-a-Service](https://www-uploads.scaleway.com/model_as_a_service_scaleway_console_1_217c3b481b.png)

Open source isn’t going anywhere. Thanks to the battle for talent, state-of-the-art open-weight models will keep emerging in 2025. The best contributors don’t want to build behind closed doors. They want to share their work with the world. They want to be on the right side of history, as [Sam Altman](https://www.vice.com/en/article/openai-ceo-sam-altman-says-theyve-been-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/) would say.

At Scaleway, we’re all in. We’ll keep deploying the latest and greatest open-weight models, ensuring that you stay in control.

## 2025: The AI Playbook Remains the Same 

Big. Efficient. Open. If the AI Action Summit confirmed anything, it’s that these three principles will continue to define AI in 2025.

Want to see what’s next? Mark your calendar for November 18th, because [ai-PULSE](https://www.ai-pulse.eu) will be back. And we’re just getting started.


small_slack-imgs.jpg

thumbnail_slack-imgs.jpg

slack-imgs.jpg

Big, Efficient, Open: The AI Future We Saw Coming

The ever-changing landscape of data management has given rise to a new era of database technology. Document databases in particular were designed to better handle the vast amounts of semi-structured and unstructured data generated by modern products and applications and to keep pace with the growing volume and variety of data that demands flexible, scalable, and fast processing.

In this article, we’ll dive into what document databases are, how they work, and why they’ve become a preferred solution for managing complex data, offering flexibility that traditional databases struggle to provide.

## A brief history of databases: from relational to document databases

Relational databases, the backbone of data storage since the 1970s, were designed for structured data. Built on a fixed schema, they efficiently organize data into rows and columns, enabling easy querying and analysis. However, as the types of data businesses generate have evolved—think images, videos, and IoT data—so too have the demands placed on databases. 

The rise of NoSQL databases in the early 2000s offered a solution to these new demands by providing flexible, schema-less architectures capable of storing vast amounts of unstructured data. Among these NoSQL options, document databases have emerged as a versatile tool that can adapt to the complexity and scale of modern data workloads.

### Back to basics: what is a document database?

A document database is a type of NoSQL database that stores data in document-like structures, most commonly using JSON or BSON formats. Each document represents a record, and within these documents, data is organized as key-value pairs, with the ability to nest arrays and objects. 

The beauty of document databases lies in their flexibility. Unlike relational databases, which require data to fit into predefined schemas, document databases allow data to be stored in its original, often messy form. This makes them ideal for managing unstructured or semi-structured data **without requiring significant reformatting or processing**.

## Structured vs. unstructured data

Data generally falls into two categories: structured and unstructured.

- **Structured data** fits neatly into predefined formats, such as spreadsheets or relational databases
- **Unstructured data**, on the other hand, doesn’t conform to a specific model. Examples include images, audio files, videos, and social media posts—types of data that relational databases struggle to handle efficiently.

Document databases bridge this gap by offering a flexible schema. This means you can store various types of data—whether structured, semi-structured, or unstructured—in their natural form, without having to alter or standardize them.

## How document databases work

In a document database, each document is self-contained, meaning the structure of one document can differ significantly from the next. These databases are highly adaptable because they allow changes to be made on the fly, without the need for complex schema migrations.

- **Flexible schema**: new fields can be added to documents at any time, providing agility in development and reducing the operational burden.
- **Variety of formats**: multiple data formats can be stored **within the same collection**, enabling you to manage diverse data types together.

This architecture makes document databases** highly scalable** and** easy to maintain**, especially in applications where data is continuously changing or evolving.

## Benefits of document databases

**Reduced operational overhead**
Traditional relational databases often require extensive data transformation to fit structured schemas, which can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. Document databases eliminate much of this overhead by allowing data to be stored in its original format, cutting down on reformatting efforts and freeing up resources to focus on more valuable tasks.

**Improved agility**
Document databases’ flexible schema design enables rapid iterations and updates without the need for complex schema alterations. This allows teams to ship new features faster and adjust data models as business needs evolve, fostering greater agility in product development.

**Performance**
When it comes to performance, document databases have a distinct advantage in handling hierarchical data. By storing all relevant information within a single document, these databases are able to retrieve and manipulate data with greater efficiency. In contrast, relational databases often require the use of joins to gather related data, resulting in increased read and write latency. This fundamental difference in architecture enables document databases to deliver faster and more responsive performance, making them an attractive choice for applications that rely on complex, hierarchical data structures.

## Use cases: when to choose a document database

Document databases are best suited in scenarios where data is **unpredictable, unstructured**, or **subject to rapid change**. Here are some common use cases where document databases are the better option:

**Internet of Things (IoT)**
IoT devices produce a continuous stream of data, often in different formats. Document databases can store this data as-is, enabling real-time processing and analysis without the need for data standardization.


**Content Management Systems**
Data is often semi-structured and constantly evolving. By storing content, metadata, and related information in a single document, CMS platforms can efficiently manage and retrieve complex data sets, such as articles, blogs, and user profiles. This flexible data model enables developers to adapt to changing content requirements, while also providing fast and scalable performance, making it an ideal choice for large-scale content management applications.

**E-commerce product catalogs**
Document databases allow for efficient storage and retrieval of complex product information, including descriptions, pricing, inventory, and customer reviews. By storing all product data in a single document, e-commerce platforms can quickly retrieve and update product information, reducing latency and improving the overall shopping experience. Additionally, document databases can handle large volumes of product data, making them an ideal choice for large-scale e-commerce applications with extensive product catalogs.

**Mobile and web applications**
They often require flexible data models to accommodate changing user behavior, new features, and evolving business requirements. Document databases are well-suited for these applications, allowing developers to store and manage complex, semi-structured data in a flexible and adaptable way. By using a document database, developers can quickly iterate and refine their data models, adding new fields, documents, or collections as needed, without the need for costly and time-consuming schema changes, making it an ideal choice for agile development teams and fast-paced application development environments.

## Relational vs. non-relational: how to choose the right database for your needs

When evaluating database options, the primary consideration is often the specific needs of the application or use case. For applications where data consistency and integrity are paramount, and complex querying and reporting are essential, relational databases are the preferred choice. Their robust support for transactions, constraints, and joins ensures that data remains accurate and reliable, making them well-suited for applications that require strict data governance and compliance.

On the other hand, document databases are the ideal choice for applications that require flexibility, speed, and the ability to handle unstructured or semi-structured data. Their flexible schema and high-performance data retrieval capabilities make them perfect for building lightning-fast applications that require rapid data ingestion and processing. Additionally, document databases can efficiently handle large volumes of unstructured data, such as text, images, and videos, making them a popular choice for big data and real-time analytics applications.

**Document databases for the modern data landscape**

Document databases offer a powerful, flexible solution for managing today’s data complexities. By allowing you to store unstructured and semi-structured data in its natural form, they eliminate the need for time-consuming data reformatting, reduce operational overhead, and increase agility in development.

If your organization is grappling with the challenges of handling growing data volumes, adopting a document database could be the key to unlocking more efficient data management and faster innovation. 

Learn more about our [Managed MongoDB®](https://www.scaleway.com/en/managed-mongodb/) database to discover how it can help streamline your data processes, cut costs, and accelerate your business growth.

Scaleway Blog

Latest articles

How to measure the energy consumption of your applications on Kubernetes with Scaphandre

The Best quotes from ai-PULSE 2023

Why CPUs also make sense for AI inference - interview with Ampere Computing's Jeff Wittich

Update: Details of fr-par VPC incident & response

Symbolic AI is dead… long live symbolic AI!

How to Optimize LLM Performance with NVIDIA H100 GPUs from Scaleway, by Golem.ai

“As a startup, if your cloud costs too much to run, it can kill the business” - GreenoSoil migration interview

“The way Scaleway develops its products is more ‘cloud-like’, so more suited to our needs” - Henrik Tudborg, KeepFocus

10 best practices to configure your VPC

How to optimize Object Storage security and reliability

2 reasons to upgrade your Kubernetes right now!

How Kubernetes powers Le Fourgon’s e-commerce & delivery reinvention

Most popular articles

Big, Efficient, Open: The AI Future We Saw Coming

What Is a Document Database? A Comprehensive Guide

Overcoming the challenges of Cloud environmental impact measurement