OpenStack is an open-source cloud computing platform that provides a suite of software tools for building and managing public and private clouds. It enables organizations to deploy and manage infrastructure as a service (IaaS) solutions, facilitating the creation of virtualized environments. OpenStack is designed to control large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources throughout a data center, all managed through a dashboard or via the OpenStack API. The platform is highly scalable and is used by a wide array of industries to increase operational efficiencies and flexibility.