DevOps & Infrastructure

Your application is only as reliable as the infrastructure running it. The best code in the world means nothing if deployments are fragile, if servers go down without warning, or if your cloud bill spirals out of control. DevOps isn't about tools — it's about creating systems and practices that let you deploy confidently, scale efficiently, and sleep soundly.

The Problem with "It Works on My Machine"

Every development team has experienced the frustration. Code works perfectly on a developer's laptop but fails mysteriously in production. Deployments involve a series of manual steps that someone occasionally forgets. The staging environment doesn't quite match production, so bugs slip through.

These problems are symptoms of infrastructure that evolved organically rather than being designed deliberately. The solution isn't more careful manual processes — it's automation, containerisation, and infrastructure as code. When infrastructure is defined in version-controlled files and deployments are fully automated, consistency becomes the default.

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment

CI/CD pipelines are the foundation of modern software delivery. When a developer pushes code, automated tests run immediately. If tests pass, the code is built and deployed to staging. After verification, it moves to production. No manual steps, no forgotten configurations, no "it worked yesterday" mysteries.

I set up CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or whatever platform fits your existing workflow. These pipelines include not just testing and deployment, but security scanning, dependency updates, and any other checks relevant to your project.

Docker and Containerisation

Containers solve the "works on my machine" problem definitively. By packaging your application with its exact dependencies and environment, containers ensure identical behaviour from development through production. No more version mismatches, no more missing libraries, no more environment-specific bugs.

I containerise applications using Docker, creating optimised images that are small, secure, and fast to deploy. For simpler setups, Docker Compose coordinates multiple containers locally. For more complex deployments, I work with Docker Swarm or Kubernetes as appropriate.

Cloud Infrastructure

Whether you're on AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, or Vercel, I can help optimise your infrastructure for reliability, performance, and cost. This includes right-sizing instances (many companies overpay for resources they don't need), implementing auto-scaling for variable loads, setting up proper networking and security groups.

For teams that want reproducible infrastructure, I implement Infrastructure as Code using Terraform or similar tools. This means your entire infrastructure is defined in version-controlled files, can be recreated from scratch if needed, and changes go through proper review processes before being applied.

Monitoring and Observability

You can't fix problems you don't know about. Proper monitoring means knowing when something's wrong before your users do — or better yet, before it becomes wrong. I set up monitoring stacks that track application performance, server resources, error rates, and business metrics.

Alerting is equally important, but it needs to be done right. Alert fatigue is real — if your team receives constant notifications that don't require action, they'll start ignoring all of them. I configure alerts for genuinely actionable conditions, with appropriate escalation paths.

Security Hardening

Security isn't optional, and it's not something to add later. I implement security measures throughout your infrastructure: proper SSL/TLS configuration, security headers, firewall rules, network isolation, secrets management, dependency scanning for vulnerabilities, and regular security audits.

For teams handling sensitive data, I help with compliance requirements — GDPR, PCI-DSS, SOC 2, and similar standards. This includes not just technical controls but documentation and processes that auditors expect to see.

Cost Optimisation

Cloud bills have a way of growing faster than expected. I help teams understand where their money goes and optimise spending without sacrificing performance. This includes identifying unused resources, right-sizing instances based on actual usage, implementing reserved instances or savings plans where appropriate.

Often the biggest savings come from architectural changes — caching that reduces database load, CDN configuration that offloads traffic from origin servers, or code optimisations that allow running on smaller instances.

Practical First Steps

If your infrastructure is causing pain — whether that's deployment anxiety, mystery production issues, or concerning cloud bills — I can help. The starting point is typically an assessment of your current setup: what's working, what's fragile, and what's costing more than it should.

Whether you need a complete DevOps overhaul or targeted improvements to specific pain points, I'm happy to discuss your situation and explore how I can help. Good infrastructure isn't glamorous, but it's what lets your team focus on building great products rather than fighting fires.