Cloudforce

Cloudforce is an IT consulting and outsourcing company specializing in creating, migrating, and maintaining custom solutions within the Microsoft cloud ecosystem for businesses and government entities. The firm has transitioned to also focus on secure, generative AI solutions, particularly for regulated industries like education and healthcare.

Founded in 2010 by Husein Sharaf, Cloudforce began in Virginia before relocating to National Harbor, Maryland, in 2014. Sharaf, the company's CEO, is a self-taught technologist who started his career at Booz Allen Hamilton without a college degree before becoming an independent consultant for federal and commercial clients. His vision for Cloudforce was to leverage cloud technology to free businesses from cumbersome infrastructure and foster innovation.

The company’s flagship product is nebulaONE®, a secure AI platform built on Microsoft Azure. This platform allows organizations to deploy various AI models within their own private cloud tenants, addressing critical data privacy and compliance challenges such as FERPA, HIPAA, and GDPR. The business model combines the deployment of the nebulaONE® platform with expert consulting, change management, and engineering support, which has led to a 100% subscriber retention rate in 2025. The platform serves over 3 million users across more than 90 organizations, including prominent institutions like the UCLA Anderson School of Management, University of Maryland, and London Business School.

Cloudforce has received significant recognition, including being named Microsoft's 2025 Education Partner of the Year and a 2024 Microsoft Supplier of the Year. It has also been listed on the Inc. Regionals list of fastest-growing companies in the Mid-Atlantic for multiple consecutive years. In January 2026, the company secured a $10 million Series A funding round from Owl Ventures and Microsoft's venture arm, M12, to expand its AI offerings and grow its team.

Keywords: Microsoft cloud solutions, generative AI, IT consulting, cloud migration, nebulaONE, Azure, AI platform, data security, compliance, education technology, healthcare technology, regulated industries, cloud infrastructure, AI adoption, Microsoft Partner, Husein Sharaf, custom cloud solutions, change management, digital transformation