CloudDrove

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sweetspot AB - is a Swedish startup that is developing modern solution for golf industry in Sweden.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CloudDrove, and what were your goals?

We were hire CloudDrove from the very beginning of the project to help us with setting up AWS Cloud Infrastructure based on Kubernetes, Spot Instances and Docker containers.

SOLUTION

How did you select CloudDrove and what were the deciding factors?

Friends advice (another company). They work with CloudDrove as well.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We already had almost developed system but only running locally, so after the few meetings CloudDrove specialists suggested a strategy based on our requirements.

First of all we started work on DEV and TEST environments based on simple Jenkins setup and application wrapped into the Docker containers to deliver result ASAP.

While team continue development and testing application in DEV and TEST environments we've started work on PROD environment. Currently we moved our DEV and TEST environments into the Kubernates cluster together with AWS spot instances to make our DEV and TEST environments more powerful and cost effective.

It was not hard to do since strategy suggested by CloudDrove was developed very well.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

two senior DevOps

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Together with CloudDrove we've reached a main goals in the very beginning of the the project and continue working on that field.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Their DevOps were totally integrated into our internal processes and teams.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Don't need to talk a lot, they doing their job very well as professionals they are professionals in this area

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

There is always should be a place for improvements but from my experience working with CloudDrove everything was fine and we still continue our collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of EQULS, an app that connects athletes to recruiters. Whether athletes are 14 or are professional athletes, they can use our app to highlight their skills, be seen by scouts, and discover various opportunities. Additionally, recruiters can search for videos of athletes to identify the best match for their team or company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CloudDrove?

We wanted to hire a cloud service provider who could educate us on how to communicate while protecting our data. We wanted to ensure that any data that was uploaded, downloaded, streamed, or shared, was secure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In addition to consulting on our security, CloudDrove used AWS to configure cloud for us. They created an infrastructure that includes Route 53 to manage our load balances. We have three load balances that can automatically skew depending on the traffic. Additionally, our database clusters are backed up every day, and we have a few subnets to ensure that we have an ample amount of security. We also have multiple caching servers.

What is the team composition? 

I’ve only worked with one person for the entire project.

How did you come to work with CloudDrove?

One of my friends worked with our project lead and then referred him to us. I hired him specifically because I trusted that he could deliver solid work. It was only then that I found out he works for CloudDrove.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $10,000-$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April 2017- September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We are really happy with CloudDrove’s implementation. Despite several attacks on our servers, no data has been breached. It has been working wonderfully, and we haven’t had any problems. They understood our requirements and were able to deliver.

How did CloudDrove perform from a project management standpoint?

There was a miscommunication at the beginning of the project. However, our project lead traveled to sit down with us in person to make sure that they understood the project’s requirements. He was with us for a week, and from that moment on, we had no issues.

We preferred Skype or telephone for regular communication, but relied on Slack as well. For a major communication or commitment, we used email so everything was in writing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I trust them with my business. Before bringing in CloudDrove, I worked with a different team that violated my trust by spending more money without my approval and significantly increasing my bills.  However, I had enough confidence in CloudDrove that I knew I could share my secure keys, server keys, and access keys.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We could have cut down on miscommunication early on. I should have invited them to our office at the beginning of the project. It would have saved several precious days of productivity.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Sometimes, we failed to recognize what would be helpful in the near future and it can be quite expensive to go back and make changes. Listen to them because they bring some of the best technologies and strategies to the table. It’s great to have them around and get their opinions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and founder of a company that specializes in shooting real estate photography.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CloudDrove?

Since we’re a dynamic business that’s growing rapidly, we wanted our servers to be equipped to handle our workflow on a consistent and reliable basis.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CloudDrove worked hand-in-hand with our programmers to make sure our servers were optimized. They moved us over to AWS as a solution to our problem. In addition, they provide day-to-day maintenance to ensure the speed and smooth running of the server. They’ve also engineered the layout of the servers and work to make sure that they deliver a seamless UX.

What is the team composition?

I work with two people, one of whom is a project manager. They always work remotely.

How did you come to work with CloudDrove?

My project manager recommended them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $20,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started about 18 months ago in January 2018, and we have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We no longer have any issues with the speed of our servers. We’ve had zero downtime since we started working with them. Their work has been well-received by our internal team, as well.

How did CloudDrove perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re really good. They were careful in explaining exactly what they needed to do, and it made perfect sense to us. They executed their plan and successfully solved the issue we were facing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is outstanding. They do an excellent job of describing their process and what needs to be done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing really comes to mind. I’ve been satisfied with everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want an affordable solution that’s reliable, you can trust these guys.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a digital health company. We lower the pain and financial cost of chronic pain with our clinically validated digital solution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CloudDrove?

We needed to replace our existing cloud-based infrastructure with an architecture based on best practices that was secure, scalable, and SOC 2 Type II compliant.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CloudDrove provides cloud infrastructure and IT operations for our platform. Anmol is the Director of Security and is responsible for the entire cloud infrastructure stack.

What is the team composition?

We work with Anmol.

How did you come to work with CloudDrove?

I found Anmol on Upwork. He was located in Canada, had vast experience working with AWS, and was extremely knowledgeable during the interview process.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve had consecutive successful SOC 2 Type 2 audits and high uptime that exceeds 99.9%. These results have enabled enterprise deals.

How did CloudDrove perform from a project management standpoint?

Anmol delivers on time and is always available when I need him - we communicate via Slack, phone calls, text messages, and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

CloudDrove is always available, and we trust them to get things done with minimal oversight. Without Anmol's expertise, we wouldn't have been able to consecutively be SOC2 Type 2 certified by external auditors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CTO at Thriftify.ie. We are based here in Dublin,ireland. Thriftify provide e-commerce platform for charities retail.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CloudDrove?

AWS migration Project. We wanted to make use of latest scalable and highly available AWS technologies to power our platform. Our platform is used by 1000s of shops in Ireland and UK to evaulate donation and list them to online marketplaces. We need robust infrastructure to support 1000s of requests.

What were your goals for this project?

Reduce cost Improve availability

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Skye interviewed Historical projects Selected top two and then selected Clouddrove due to their ability of providing 24/7 support using multi-continental teams of engineers

Describe the project in detail.

After selecting the AWS vendor, we ran various discover meetings these meetings helped CloudDrove to produce detail project spec and corresponding technical design to lay the foundation of highly available and fault tolerant architecture.

What was the team composition?

1 Project manager 1 AWS solution architect 1 AWS engineers 1 Support manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

within 2 months, we have test AWS infrastructure to build, deploy our code to multi-region servers

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was very attentive to details. She helped us navigate some of the hardest decisions we ever made a tech company.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Flexible and ready to help. CloudDrove team was also able to think out of the box every time we hit a wall.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Better project workflow tool could have been employed to keep communication more open.