Global network, CDN, DDoS protection, DNS, Zero Trust, edge computing, Workers, cybersecurity, and developer services
Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a technology company that operates a global cloud network for performance, security, developer, and connectivity services, helping websites, applications, APIs, and corporate networks run faster and more safely on the internet.
What Cloudflare is
Cloudflare provides cloud-based services that sit between users and internet applications. Its network helps deliver content, block attacks, route traffic, manage DNS, secure APIs, protect corporate users, and run code close to users. Customers include individual developers, small businesses, large enterprises, public-sector organizations, and internet platforms.
Global network model
Cloudflare's strategy depends on operating a large distributed network rather than only a few centralized data centers. When traffic reaches a nearby Cloudflare location, the company can cache content, inspect requests, absorb attacks, apply security rules, and route data across its backbone. This architecture supports both performance and security services.
CDN, DNS, and application security
Cloudflare is widely known for content delivery, authoritative DNS, DDoS mitigation, web application firewall tools, bot management, API protection, and traffic acceleration. These products help websites stay available during spikes, reduce latency, and defend against attacks that target public-facing applications.
Zero Trust and corporate security
Cloudflare One is the company's Zero Trust and secure access platform. It helps organizations replace or reduce reliance on traditional perimeter networks by checking identity, device posture, application access, web traffic, and private network connections. This puts Cloudflare in competition with security, networking, and remote-access vendors.
Workers and developer platform
Cloudflare Workers lets developers run code at the network edge, close to users. The developer platform also includes storage, databases, queues, pages, media, AI-related tools, and observability services. The goal is to make Cloudflare not only a shield in front of applications, but also a place where developers build parts of those applications.
Business model and customers
Cloudflare earns revenue mainly through subscriptions and usage-based services sold to self-serve users, developers, and enterprise customers. Larger contracts often combine security, performance, networking, and developer products. The business depends on customer growth, product expansion, network efficiency, reliability, and trust in Cloudflare's role as internet infrastructure.
Reliability and responsibility
Because Cloudflare handles traffic for many websites and applications, outages or configuration problems can be highly visible. The company also faces policy questions about abuse, content moderation, cyberattacks, privacy, lawful requests, and how infrastructure providers should respond when their services are used by harmful actors.
Why it matters
Cloudflare matters because many modern internet services depend on invisible layers of security, routing, caching, identity, and developer infrastructure. Understanding Cloudflare helps explain why the internet feels fast and reliable when it works, why DDoS protection and DNS are critical, and why cloud security increasingly blends networking, software, and edge computing.