I chose CentOS because it's easy to understand and user friendly. If you read the code base and know the operation system that you're using and which folder contains which part, it's easy to use.
I started using CentOS because our website customers started to increase, and I couldn't manage them. I realized I needed to make a structured system to start this, and I installed the website panel from Windows. I started using Windows, but I was mostly making websites like Joomla, Mambo, and WordPress, which aren't compatible with the IIS system from Windows. I started having some problems with the email service from Windows.
For the past two years, I have been providing this solution to my customers. Currently, there are four people using this solution. One person does SEO for the back-linked part of a project. Another person works on UI/UX, and I also have a VHMGC engineer that knows the Smarty framework.
I'm using the terminal based version of CentOS, but I also prefer to use software that I build. For example, I use Plesk GUI, but if there's a problem, it's not fixed with my software interfaces. I have to log into the terminal and create it. I can use one of my machines that resides in my system with the proxy under the security. I have a lot of servers, so I'm able to log in on any terminal or the Windows space.
I'm a software engineer. I'm also working on a robotic base with the Raspbian base. Raspbian is the same as Linux, so I'm using the Debian part.
I'm using direct CentOS distribution from the ISO, but I'm not using the cloud. There are many differences between the cloud and dedicated servers.
There are a lot of sources on the internet that you can use to solve any issues, and people share their experiences. It's not a closed system.