# DevOps Consulting Services and Cloud Engineering | SynconAI > DevOps consulting services: CI/CD pipelines, Terraform or OpenTofu, Docker and Kubernetes, monitoring, secrets, cloud cost control and self-hosted platforms. Publisher: SynconAI Canonical HTML: https://synconai.com/devops-consulting Markdown cite: https://synconai.com/devops-consulting.md Contact: contact@synconai.com ยท +61 2 7813 0221 ## What is DevOps and cloud engineering? DevOps and cloud engineering is the work of building the delivery path and the platform that software runs on: CI/CD pipelines in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps or Jenkins, infrastructure as code in Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi, CloudFormation or Bicep, Docker containers and Kubernetes, observability with OpenTelemetry, Prometheus and Grafana, secrets management and cloud cost control. It also covers self-hosted platforms such as Coolify and Dokku for teams that want to run applications on their own servers. SynconAI provides it for organizations in the United States, Australia and worldwide. - DevOps is the practice of building, testing and releasing software through one automated path, owned by the people who write the code. - Cloud engineering is the infrastructure underneath: networks, compute, databases and access, written as code so it can be reviewed and rebuilt. - Monitoring closes the loop. Logs, metrics and traces show how each release behaves once real users reach it. ## DevOps and cloud engineering services - CI/CD pipelines: Build, test, scan and deploy on every change, with approvals where they matter. - Infrastructure as code: Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi, CloudFormation or Bicep, reviewed like any other code. - Containers and Kubernetes: Docker images, managed Kubernetes or a simpler container service. - Observability: Logs, metrics, traces and alerts with OpenTelemetry, Prometheus and Grafana. - Secrets and access: Credentials out of code and into a vault, with least-privilege access. - Cloud cost control: Tagging, budgets, right-sizing and a monthly cost review. - Self-hosted platforms: Coolify or Dokku on your own servers, set up and kept patched. - Run and support: Patching, upgrades, on-call runbooks and a monthly plan if you want one. ## When does a team need DevOps help? Most teams call us after one of these. - Releases are manual: One person knows the deploy steps, and nobody wants to deploy on a Friday. - Servers nobody can rebuild: Infrastructure was set up by hand and only exists in the console. - Users report outages first: There are no alerts, or so many that nobody reads them. - The cloud bill keeps growing: Nobody can say which service or team the spend belongs to. - Secrets in the repository: Passwords and keys sit in code, config files or chat history. ## What does DevOps and cloud engineering include? Eight areas. Most engagements start with the pipeline and infrastructure code, then add the rest. - CI/CD pipelines: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps or Jenkins: build, test, scan and deploy on every change. - Infrastructure as code: Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi, CloudFormation or Bicep, with plans reviewed before they apply. - Containers and Kubernetes: Docker images built once, then run on managed Kubernetes or a simpler container service. - Observability: OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana or your cloud monitoring, with alerts tied to what users feel. - Secrets and access: A secrets vault, short-lived credentials for pipelines and least-privilege roles. - Cloud cost control: Tags, budgets and alerts, idle resources removed and sizes matched to real load. - Self-hosted platforms: Coolify or Dokku on servers you control, with backups and a reverse proxy. - Run and support: Patching, upgrades, runbooks and on-call handover to your team or a monthly plan. ## What does a CI/CD pipeline look like? One path from pull request to production. The same image moves through each stage, and the infrastructure under it comes from reviewed code. 1. Pull request: Code review on GitHub or GitLab 2. Build and test: Unit and integration tests 3. Security checks: Dependency, code and secret scans 4. Container image: Built once and stored in a registry 5. Infrastructure as code: Terraform or OpenTofu plan reviewed 6. Staging: Smoke and end-to-end tests 7. Production: Approved release, rollback ready 8. Monitoring: Logs, metrics, traces and alerts - Build once: The image tested in staging is the one that reaches production. - Approval where it matters: Production deploys wait for a named approver; lower stages run on their own. - Rollback planned: The previous release stays ready to redeploy, and database changes are written to allow it. ## Which tools do your DevOps engineers use? The platform layer by layer. We work with the tools you already have and add only what is missing. - Delivery (How changes ship): GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, Jenkins - Infrastructure as code (How environments are built): Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi, CloudFormation, Bicep - Runtime (Where apps run): Docker, Kubernetes, Managed container services, Coolify, Dokku - Observability (How you see problems): OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, Cloud monitoring - Security and cost (What keeps it safe and affordable): Secrets vault, Least-privilege roles, Image scanning, Budgets and tags ## Should you self-host or use a managed cloud? How much platform you need depends on your team, your load and where your data must live. We run our own website this way: on a self-hosted Coolify platform behind a reverse proxy. From You run more to The provider runs more: - Self-hosted platform: Coolify or Dokku on your own servers: push code, and apps and databases deploy. Smaller estates, tight budgets, or data that must stay in a set location. - Virtual machines: Cloud servers you patch and configure, built from infrastructure code. Legacy apps that need a full server, or software licensed per machine. - Managed containers: The cloud runs containers for you without a cluster to manage. Most web apps and APIs that need to scale without a platform team. - Managed Kubernetes: EKS, AKS or GKE, with the control plane run by the provider. Many services, several teams, and people to run the cluster. - Serverless: Functions and managed services billed by use. Uneven or event-driven load, scheduled jobs and webhooks. ## Is your application ready for production? The review we run before a go-live or after taking over a platform. Each gap gets an owner and a fix. - Delivery - Every deploy runs through the pipeline - Tests and scans block a bad build - Rollback tested in staging - Infrastructure changes reviewed as code - Operations - Alerts reach a named person - Logs, metrics and traces in one place - Backups restored in a test - Runbooks for the common failures - Security and cost - No secrets in code or images - Least-privilege access for people and pipelines - Patching schedule agreed - Budgets and alerts on cloud spend ## How does a DevOps engagement run? Five phases, run as parallel workstreams. The written proposal states the scope and milestones before anything starts. | Workstream | Timing and work | | --- | --- | | Pipeline | Current releases mapped (Assess to Assess); CI/CD live (Automate to Automate) | | Infrastructure | Estate inventoried (Assess to Assess); Environments as code (Foundation to Automate) | | Security | Secrets moved to a vault (Foundation to Foundation); Scans in the pipeline (Automate to Automate) | | Operations | Dashboards and alerts (Observe to Observe); Runbooks (Hand over to Hand over) | | Cost | Spend by service (Assess to Assess); Budgets and right-sizing (Observe to Observe) | | Your team | Training and handover (Hand over to Hand over) | ## Cost and timing The first step is a free 60-minute architecture review of your DevOps and cloud setup, with a written plan you keep. Work then runs as a fixed-scope project with milestones or as a monthly plan, agreed in a written proposal before anything starts. Plans: https://synconai.com/pricing ## FAQ ### What is DevOps and cloud engineering? Building the automated path from code to production and the platform underneath it: CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, containers, monitoring, secrets and cost control. ### What do DevOps consulting services include? Our DevOps consulting services cover CI/CD pipelines, Terraform or OpenTofu, Docker and Kubernetes, observability, secrets management, cloud cost control, self-hosted platforms and ongoing support. ### Should we use Terraform or OpenTofu? Both use the same configuration language. Terraform is under the Business Source License; OpenTofu is an open-source fork under the Linux Foundation. We help you choose based on licensing needs and features. ### Do we need Kubernetes? Often not. Many web apps run well on a managed container service or a self-hosted platform. Kubernetes fits when you run many services with a team able to operate it. ### What is Coolify? Coolify is an open-source, self-hosted platform for deploying applications and databases on your own servers. We run our own website this way. ### Which clouds do you work with? Our engineers work on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, and on your own servers. We describe the work in a written proposal before anything starts. ### Can we hire DevOps engineers through SynconAI? Yes. You can engage us for a fixed-scope project, on a monthly plan, or with engineers added to your team through our engineering team extension service. ### Will our team be able to run it afterwards? Yes. Everything lives in your repositories and accounts, with runbooks and training. A monthly support plan is available if you want one. ## Where we work DevOps and cloud engineering for organizations across the United States and Australia, and worldwide. Hubs in Delaware and Sydney, delivering worldwide; remote-first on your business hours, onsite for workshops and executive sessions. ## Related - Kubernetes and containers: https://synconai.com/kubernetes-consulting - AWS cloud engineering: https://synconai.com/aws-consulting - Salesforce DevOps and release management: https://synconai.com/salesforce-devops - Engineering team extension: https://synconai.com/engineering-team-extension ## Cite When citing SynconAI DevOps and cloud engineering, link https://synconai.com/devops-consulting or https://synconai.com/devops-consulting.md.