As a member of a small startup, it's essential to move quickly and efficiently. To do so, you must implement automation to streamline processes and avoid manual tasks. A collection of DevOps tools can significantly enhance your Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and increase engineering productivity. The challenge is determining which tools to use with so many options available.
This guide is here to help you maximize your SDLC speed.
Our principles
To ensure the company's growth without incurring additional expenses for maintaining current infrastructure (databases, servers, etc.), we follow two principles in our infrastructure strategy:
- Utilize pre-made solutions (such as SaaS and PaaS), but be well-informed about their works on each level;
- Assess and take on risks appropriately (for instance, if a service suggested by you and adopted by the company becomes unavailable, you will bear the responsibility).
Services
Google Cloud
If you're a startup, it's best to avoid physical servers and data centres, as they can be costly to maintain. Although it may be tempting to focus on automating server setup, it can consume a significant amount of time and resources, leaving you with limited capacity to focus on other essential aspects of your business.
Google Cloud is a very convenient platform for startups, providing a wide range of tools and services to help them grow and scale their businesses. Some of the key benefits of using Google Cloud for startups include the following:
- Google Cloud allows startups to scale their infrastructure and resources as their business grows without worrying about the overhead costs of managing physical hardware.
- With Google Cloud, startups can choose from various services, including computing, storage, and networking, and only pay for what they use, allowing them to adjust their resources as needed.
- Google Cloud is built on one of the world's largest and most advanced network infrastructures, making it highly reliable and available. This can help startups ensure that their services and applications remain up and running even during periods of high demand.
- Google Cloud offers a range of security features and certifications, such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2, to help startups keep their data and applications secure.
Google Cloud offers a convenient and cost-effective solution for startups looking to grow and scale their businesses while ensuring that their infrastructure is secure, reliable, and flexible.
Terraform and Terraform Cloud
Infrastructure automation is critical for startups as they grow and attract new customers. By automating infrastructure management from the beginning, startups can ensure that their infrastructure is scalable, efficient, and cost-effective.
Terraform can play a crucial role in this process, as it allows startups to define their infrastructure as code, making it easier to manage, update, and scale their resources. Additionally, Terraform integrates with popular cloud providers, such as Google Cloud and AWS, making it a flexible solution that can adapt to the changing needs of startups as they grow.
By thinking about infrastructure automation from the start, startups can avoid manual infrastructure management's costly and time-consuming process, allowing them to focus on growing their business and attracting new customers.
Terraform and Terraform Cloud can also be a very convenient solution for startups, as it helps automate the process of managing infrastructure as code. Some of the benefits of using Terraform and Terraform Cloud for startups include the following:
-
Terraform allows startups to define their infrastructure as code, which can help ensure consistency across their environments and eliminate manual errors.
-
Terraform Cloud allows teams to collaborate on infrastructure changes, making it easier for startups to manage their infrastructure.
-
Terraform integrates with version control systems, such as Git, which can help startups track changes to their infrastructure and revert to previous versions if needed.
-
Terraform automates creating, updating, and deleting infrastructure, freeing up time for startups to focus on other essential tasks.
-
Terraform can help startups reduce their infrastructure costs by allowing them to manage their resources more efficiently.
Terraform and Terraform Cloud can provide startups with a convenient and efficient way to manage their infrastructure while also helping to ensure consistency, collaboration, and automation.
I also wrote about how we use terraform in our company to automate everything. Including how to issue and revoke access from employees.
If you are already using a customized google cloud manually, read the article on how you can export it to terraform.
GitHub & GitHub Actions
For startups, GitHub and GitHub Actions offer a cost-effective and streamlined platform for collaboration, version control, and automation of software development.
Some of the key benefits of using GitHub and GitHub Actions for startups include the following:
-
GitHub makes it easy for teams to collaborate on code, track changes, and manage projects, which is especially important for startups with limited resources.
-
GitHub provides a robust version control system, allowing startups to track changes to their code, revert to previous versions if needed, and collaborate confidently.
-
GitHub Actions allow startups to automate many development tasks, such as building, testing, and deploying code, freeing up time for other essential tasks.
-
GitHub Actions has a vast library of pre-made components, making it easier for users to automate their software development processes. This extensive library of components allows for greater efficiency and reduces the time and resources required to build custom solutions from scratch.
-
GitHub integrates with a wide range of tools and services, making it a flexible platform that can adapt to the changing needs of startups as they grow.
I also wrote about how you can securely auth from a GitHub Actions in your Google Cloud projects.
CloudAMQP & MongoDB Atlas & Kafka Cloud
If you have already adopted a cloud infrastructure, it likely includes on-demand databases. For instance, GCP has CloudSQL, which makes it easier to interact with the database (message queue & real-data streaming solutions) from a support perspective. If you want to avoid the hassle of maintaining, updating, and restoring databases, consider using pre-made solutions. There are ready-to-use equivalents for all popular solutions that can be integrated with your cloud and region, thus avoiding any additional network latency.
CloudAMQP is a cloud-based message queue service that can be convenient for startups, as it provides a scalable, reliable, and managed solution for message-based communication between applications.
MongoDB Atlas is a cloud-based database service that can be a convenient solution for startups, as it provides a scalable, secure, and managed solution for data management.
Kafka Cloud provides a scalable, reliable, and managed platform for real-time data streaming.
ArgoCD
If you are utilizing Kubernetes, you may have considered the challenge of automating the delivery of your containers to various environments, such as test or production, with minimum human intervention and maximum quality. In that case, Argo CD is an excellent solution for you. It streamlines the deployment and management of your applications on Kubernetes clusters, continuously monitoring the desired state and making any necessary changes to keep your applications up-to-date and running smoothly.
Argo CD is designed for ease of use, scalability, and seamless integration with other Kubernetes tools.
In conclusion
When using cloud solutions from companies that have developed the product, you rely on their infrastructure and operations. It's essential to research their service level agreements (SLAs) and their uptime pages.
Additionally, while cloud solutions can offer a great deal of convenience and flexibility, it's also true that you may be limited in terms of customization. Depending on the solution, you may not have the ability to make significant changes or add new features, so it's important to carefully consider your needs and choose a solution that fits your requirements.
The benefits of cloud solutions are significant, but it's crucial to weigh the trade-offs and make an informed decision. By carefully evaluating the solutions available and considering your specific needs, you can find the best cloud solution for your startup and ensure that it supports your growth and success.
Good luck with your business!