Countless companies that thrive in their businesses all come across the same trouble - data storage. The need for a cloud provider was like a bubble that was only going to burst, and here we are today, with a self of them to choose from.

The name behind the OVHcloud provider is Octave Klaba. And the idea was formed like a spark in Octave's imagination when he couldn't find a good provider for himself - so he decided to create one!

Today, OVHcloud is a renowned French-based provider that promotes a comprehensive range of cloud products, VPS dedicated services, and a variety of web and server services for customers and companies worldwide.

Still, nothing works overnight. To be prosperous, you must be committed and courageous on the path to success. The adventures Octave Klaba faced on that path are genuinely one of a kind, and his journey to success can serve as an inspirational example to all minds alike.

Octave Klaba’s Childhood and Reaching the Country of Love - France

Octave Klaba is the son of Henrik Club - a Polish engineer working at the Warsaw Polytechnic. He made his first steps in Poland, where he spent his entire childhood. At first, Octave Klaba was a stranger to the modern style of big cities because he grew up in a rural area surrounded by mesmerizing green views of the fields and the nature of Poland.

However, there was more to him in life than the harmonious meadows in Poland, and he soon developed another affection. His passion for computer science grew over time, and unfortunately, Poland was not big enough to make his dreams come true. His family was going through a difficult period because their passports were confiscated, and they weren't able to leave Poland until 1990.

Finally, in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Octave Klaba and his family left Poland and moved to Roubaix, a small and charming town in France. Even though Klaba had little knowledge of the French language, he embarked on the most exciting adventure of his lifе.

There it all began. The most exciting period of Octave’s life was about to occur!

The First Blank Page of the Book of Life

After moving to France, the 16 years old Klaba turned a new page in the book of life. The challenges of living in France for Klaba were a bittersweet bite, but he worked hard to improve his French. His family was also trying to cope and accept the new environment and get used to the new culture.

Shortly after enrolling in the engineering course, he earned a computer science degree from ICAM Lille. Klaba was eager for new challenges, and at the same time, he launched a webmaster association titled Oles Van Herman on computer forums.

Klaba struggled with the idea of opening his own business, as most young bright minds do. At first glance, it was challenging to turn this idea into action because he didn’t have enough funds to do so. Still, every difficulty is easily solved, and every obstacle is easily transient if your family stands by you. Thus, with the financial help of his parents, Klaba was one step closer to realizing his long-held dream.

The key opened the lock on the new family business in 1999, and the name aimed to become well-known very quickly.

From Computer Passion to Business Implementation

With financial assistance of 7,000 euros, his parents helped Octave Klaba take his passion for computer science up a notch. Firstly, his father, Henryk Klaba, joined the ride and made the necessary economic changes to contribute to the invention of the water-cooling server. At the newly opened data center, two years after the founding of OVH, his mother Halina Klaba became general manager of finance. Also, his brother Miroslaw Klaba took his place as a specified person for research and development. Doing all that it took, from its beginnings in 1999 onwards, the OVH began to develop gently.

In the next five years, OVH began to expand significantly, and Klaba opened the first offices in Spain and his native country - Poland. OVH's head office is located in the city of Roubaix in France, where Klaba and his family live. To attract more customers and expand OVH's name, Octave Klaba has opened offices in Italy, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Last but not least, to complement its unique offering, the OVHcloud provider built its own fiber-optic network.

OVHcloud entered into the cloud industry in 2010 with a revolutionary, high-performance offer called the Hosted Private Cloud. After that, there was a Public Cloud offer. Then, in 2011 OVH became the European No. 1 web hoster awarded for its Hosted Private Cloud. The next place that surrendered to the outstanding services of OVHcloud, where Klaba opened new offices in 2021, was North America. In 2015, Octave became Technical Director in order to contribute to the development of OVHcloud.

Fuel up the Train to Keep it Going

The time from 2012 to 2020 was quite successful but also turbulent for Klaba. OVH has signed a cooperation with two of the world's most prestigious investment firms. For €250 million, KKR and TowerBrook Capital Partners bought a minority share in OVH. However, the Klaba family retained the majority stake in the firm and continued to work dedicatedly for even greater success. Klaba and the whole OVHcloud team gave new wings to the company, expanding to Singapore and Australia in 2017 and India in 2018. OVH cloud raised its latest €650 million in funding over 2 rounds on 29 June 2017. Moreover, in 2018, Klaba handed over the position of Managing Director to Michel Paulin.

Of course, even after stepping out from the position, he remained the most important person in the company. However, despite all the successes that followed Klaba’s OVHcloud, something unexpected happened in March 2021.

The Rise From the Ash

A big fire broke out at OVH's data center in Strasbourg, France, in March 2021. SBG2 has reported a significant loss, with early reports indicating damage to SBG1 and delays to services in all four Strasbourg locations. SBG2 was completed in 2016 and had a capacity of 30,000 physical servers.

Octave Klaba, the company's chairman, posted on Twitter that all of the company's employees were safe and secure. Also, SBG1 was partially damaged, but fortunately, SBG4 was unaffected. SBG3 wasn’t harmed by the fire as well, but remained without power. Consequently, the servers have been taken down temporarily.

Despite this devastating accident in the data center in Strasbourg in March - Klaba's OVHcloud came back to life from the ashes like a phoenix and returned even stronger!

The Sky's the Limit for OVHcloud

With great ambition, Octave Klaba accomplished his mission to encourage people with the freedom to expand their horizons. Nowadays, the OVHcloud provider connects all the farthest geographical points creating a community of dedicated and committed workers.

From a low investment of 7,000 euros and family support, today, OVHcloud is worth billions. In 2018, the five-year investment plans were launched and only started this year, worth from 4 to 7 billion euros.

Octave Klaba proved that if there is no road that satisfies your needs - then you will build it yourself. So, he created a cloud provider that developed significantly in the past 20 years. Today, OVHcloud offers many modern technical solutions, telephony services, and a palette of goods.

Sometimes, the road to success is difficult, as the path of Sisyphus was, and requires commitment and perseverance. But the view from the top of the mountain is always breathtaking. Octave Klaba and his OVHcloud team are currently at the peak of that mountain, enjoying the view of their successfully built empire. Now, they only aim for the sky - because only the sky's the limit for this leading and most trusted provider.