Kubernetes and Terraform experts
SHALB is a Ukrainian DevOps outsourcing company. We help businesses cut infrastructure maintenance costs, boost the agility of development teams, automate CI/CD, and improve essential project processes all-round.
Our employees’ experience, use of the latest software, team coherence, and communication with end users allows clients to speed up software development, and after the release of the product, maintain its performance at a high level.
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Portfolio
Backendless, Airbeem, Ajax Systems, Hotline
Modern infrastructure with config managing for Bed
Bedrock Analytics, a US company, is one of the key players in the global market of retail analytics, in particular CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) data analytics. The company’s customers are manufacturers of beverages, food products, detergents and cosmetics that compete for a share of sales in supermarkets.
Problem description
The initial scope of work included two main points: containerization and migration to Kubernetes in order to reduce Amazon bills. However, the requirements were complicated by the need for a multi-cloud solution: it was necessary to deploy the technology stack of Bedrock Analytics on two public clouds, AWS and Microsoft Azure, simultaneously with the same code base. Their goal was to expand beyond the US and with larger partners that required Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure.
Among the factors that simplified the implementation of the task was its clarity from the customer’s side – Navdip Bhachech fully understood the scope of work and strict requirements of Bedrock Analytics, so communication was smooth. The challenge lay in the uniqueness of the solution.
Bedrock Analytics wanted the ability to deploy multi-cloud for the same application, which was quite uncommon.
Flexible and modern platform for Bank of Georgia
Bank of Georgia (BoG) is one of the leading companies in the banking and financial services sector. It has a wide network of service centers and ATMs throughout Georgia and representative offices in London, Budapest, and Tel-Aviv. BoG is one of the largest employers in Georgia that actively supports healthcare, education, environment, and other important social issues.
Problem description
Banks can be very traditional in some ways, but they cannot stay away from modern trends. In order to remain competitive, it is necessary to keep pace with the latest trends and best practices.
BoG was determined to become a technologically advanced bank. Driven by this realization, BoG decided to future-proof their systems and make them cloud-ready. So they started searching for a contractor that would help them achieve their goals.
We were asked to design a solid Kubernetes-orchestrated platform with the possibility to create and manage infrastructures, where BoG could migrate their microservices to. One of the key requirements was the system's fault-tolerance as it was supposed to run business-critical applications, and high availability of all architecture components. Also, the solution should have met strict security requirements, be integratable with existing security and authorization systems, and reside in BoG inhouse data centers.
Protected infrastructure for PartsTech
PartsTech is a US-based start-up that helps auto repair shops find the right parts. The company provides an online platform that links repair shops with distributors and manufacturers. Working with a large network of suppliers, both locally and nationally, PartsTech enables one-stop shopping for their customers.
Problem description
PartsTech has a cloud-based infrastructure that enables its customers to look for products’ pricing and availability in real-time. Needless to say, for their business to be successful everything should run like clockwork. Any infrastructure issue such as search not working or databases down could affect their customers and as a result, their sales.
Moreover, PartsTech planned to further grow its business, which meant an increasing number of customers and, therefore, more queries to process. That made reliable infrastructure of paramount importance. Still, the company’s existing infrastructure was hardly that, as PartsTech struggled with major downtime issues every couple of months.
To make things worse, they couldn’t find a reliable system administrator to oversee their infrastructure. At some point, as Olexy Sadovy, CTO at PartsTech recalls, they grew tired of this. So, when somebody from the PartsTech team recommended us, they were happy to get in touch and start working with SHALB.
Developing a high-tech orchestration platform
LotusFlare is a high-tech US company that provides a cloud digital commerce and monetization service for communications and media service providers. Having started as a mobile internet provider for areas with limited internet access, LotusFlare has grown to become one of the leading players on the US telecom market.
The company develops its own SaaS and operates the in-house built stack to provide cloud digital services to their customers. LotusFlare is dedicated to cloud native, which underlies the company’s development cycle and their core products.
Project outcome
Together with the LotusFlare team we created a core orchestration platform that is quick to deploy and easy to upgrade. The platform provides automated deployment of self-managed Kubernetes clusters to the cloud. You can think of it as a customized installer that allows for easy reproduction of infrastructures. LotusFlare are now able to roll out environments and set them up for new customers much faster than before.
Full control over system configuration and components allows LotusFlare engineers to use the cutting-edge Kubernetes version and try out the latest features available. The state-of-the-art technology stack ensures that the company stays technologically advanced and ahead of its competition.
The company has been using the platform in production for over a year and is extremely satisfied with the results. What’s more, the LotusFlare team has been constantly fine-tuning the initial solution so that it completely aligns with the company’s needs. Commenting on the project, Volodymyr Tsap said: “LotusFlare has a top-notch professional in-house team. We did mostly research and prototyping code, while they elaborated the rest of it.”
Delivering an event platform for e-commerce giant
Spryker Systems GmbH, (Spryker), is one of the key players in the market of digital commerce. The company provides a high-functional platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solution that enables its customers to run their online commerce businesses in the most advantageous and secure way. The platform enables B2B, B2C, D2C, and Marketplace capabilities out of one stack. It is one of the most advanced commerce platforms in the market with over 900 API-based modules, cloud-enabled, and enterprise-ready.
Project outcome
In two months, SHALB successfully delivered the work, meeting the client’s requirements. Working together with Spryker’s internal team, we developed a well-tested, configurably managed solution that, after further elaboration and integration, formed into the Spryker App Composition Platform.
Introducing the subscription model made life easier both for Spryker’s cloud customers and developers. First, it allowed for simple integration with 3rd party services for Spryker’s PaaS tenants: now they can subscribe to applications and obtain certain functionality in a seamless, no-code way. Secondly, it facilitated the development of the marketplace platform for Spryker’s tech partners. With the application subscription model in place, developers are spared the necessity of deploying similar functionality to multiple PaaS environments.
Reviews
the project
DevOps Services for Software Development Company
“I’m impressed with SHALB’s professionalism and the high quality of their work.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I'm a co-founder and CEO of International Sourcing Agency, a software development company that connects suppliers with their clients.
What challenge were you trying to address with SHALB?
We had a DevOps team that didn’t deliver on time or within scope. Therefore, we hired SHALB to provide DevOps services.
What was the scope of their involvement?
SHALB provides us with DevOps services. They took over the project from the previous team. Currently, they work remotely and offer monthly maintenance services.
What is the team composition?
My main contact person is the CEO. We generally work with at least 4–5 teammates from SHALB.
How did you come to work with SHALB?
We found them through a recommendation by a friend.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent approximately $100,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together around January 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Specialists from the bank side of our business and my partners’ side have rated the quality of SHALB’s work as pretty high. Since we started working together, we’ve only had one issue.
How did SHALB perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re always active and responsive and deliver everything on time. We use Jira for project management, and our communication is typically through Slack, Telegram, emails, phone calls, and many meetings.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I’m impressed with SHALB’s professionalism and the high quality of their work.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They need more senior people or to start education programs to help their newcomers grow faster.
Any advice for potential customers?
If you’re looking for real professionals and are ready to pay for value, then SHALB is the right partner for you — they bring value.
the project
Software Infrastructure Consulting for Payment Solutions Company
“SHALB is an expert in building software architecture; they did an excellent job.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CTO and founder of Corefy, a payment orchestration platform that allows merchants and payment providers to run their businesses on other platforms. We have around 200 clients, and we give them tools to manage their payment flow.
What challenge were you trying to address with SHALB?
We needed to migrate our infrastructure to a new platform because the one we were using had many problems and was not scalable. Thus, we hired SHALB to take care of this project for us.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Before working with them, we had an inadequate infrastructure with low-cost coverage and abysmal documentation, but SHALB provided us with consulting on how to build our new infrastructure using new technologies to cover our needs. Initially, they took our vision and gave us excellent recommendations for databases, and we decided to go with Kubernetes.
What is the team composition?
We worked with five people from SHALB, including Rita (Business Development Manager), who was our main point of contact.
How did you come to work with SHALB?
We had worked with them around eight years ago, and we had a good working experience. When this project arose, we contacted them again, and they were glad to help us.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent over $50,000.
What is the status of the engagement?
For this project, we began our partnership in January 2021, and we had to end our partnership in February 2022 due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Currently, we’re implementing the new infrastructure using the intelligence and knowledge that SHALB provided us with. After their intervention, we’ve seen a decrease in bugs in our system.
How did SHALB perform from a project management standpoint?
SHALB’s services were offsite, and we worked on a sprint-planning basis with fixed timelines. Whenever we gave them additional work, we would have to cover the additional costs. As for communication, we mainly communicated via Zoom and Slack.
What did you find most impressive about them?
SHALB is an expert in building software architecture; they did an excellent job.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They need to work on their problem-solving skills.
Any advice for potential customers?
Communicate with their engineers so that you can understand what you are getting into. Additionally, if you want to succeed, you need a team leader to be actively involved in the process.
the project
Managed IT Services for UK Tech Company
“I’m very happy with SHALB’s services and the work they’ve done for us.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CTO of Airbeem. We offer over-the-top (OTT) software as a service to people acquiring video distribution on websites, mobile applications, and set-top boxes.
What challenge were you trying to address with SHALB?
Our infrastructure is based entirely in the cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS). We also use a variety of third-party services from online video platforms (OVPs) and content delivery systems. We reached out to SHALAB for application support and 24/7 operational support for our cloud-based systems.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They built and continually manage half of our Terraform infrastructure as code (IaC). This technology works with our AWS intense continuance integration and facilitates a scalable business. They also manage half of our AWS systems that have been rolled out in the last year.
What is the team composition?
I work solely with Volodymyr (CTO & Co-founder, SHALB).
How did you come to work with SHALB?
I’m not sure. We were advertising in Kiev, which is where they’re located, and got connected somehow. We have a development resource in Kiev, so maybe that was it.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in August 2016 and the engagement is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
I’m very happy with SHALB’s services and the work they’ve done for us. They’re reliable and very responsive. Volodymyr is a talented guy and his team is reliable.
How did SHALB perform from a project management standpoint?
I’m not aware of how Volodymer manages his team. We communicate via email and Slack. Initially, we put our Jira systems together and that integration has been beneficial to our internal processes.
What did you find most impressive about them?
SHALB has specific expertise in the business of OVPs, AWS, and content delivery networks. I expect the relationship to prosper going forward.
the project
SysAdmin Support Team for SaaS Product
“They serve an extremely important function and we wouldn’t be where we are without their partnership.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the founder of a mobile and API services platform. We provide an online platform that enables software developers with server-side capabilities for mobile and web applications. Our tools allow developers to focus on UX and their client-side logic.
What challenge were you trying to address with SHALB?
We needed someone to provide continuous monitoring and support for our infrastructure, both from a development perspective and for our production servers.
What was the scope of their involvement?
As a development organization, our product lifecycle goes from development to testing, staging, and eventually production. It is an iterative process that needs support from their system administration team. Because it’s a large system, our software is deployed for both development and production.
They oversee the system for updates and configuration changes. They also monitor installations and support us if the system goes down. We have developers in different time zones for continuous coverage.
What is the team composition?
We don’t have dedicated resources assigned as account managers. There is a team of about 10 people, with a few at the helm of the company. We mostly interact with a large team of engineers and system administrators who answer in rotation. We have 24-hour coverage.
How did you come to work with SHALB?
We posted vacancies on a few job search sites for a system administrator. They reached out to us and introduced us to their outsource model. They were very proactive and seemed very knowledgeable. They had experience with systems and architecture similar to ours and injected the whole process with a level of confidence.
How much have you invested with them?
We pay a monthly retainer. The arrangement is scalable, so the retainer can grow with the size of the project.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in August 2015. They still provide support.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They are a very important part of our business as we grow. They serve an extremely important function and we wouldn’t be where we are without their partnership.
How did SHALB perform from a project management standpoint?
We don’t have a dedicated account manager, so we communicate with whoever happens to be on-call. They’re pretty involved in day-to-day tasks and are fairly disciplined. We communicate via chat or email with multiple people to resolve issues.
There is a tracking system in place, but it’s not the most effective. Sometimes, we submit requests that aren’t acknowledged very quickly. We aren’t always sure our issues are being addressed, which is something they could improve. They do listen to us, and I’m satisfied with them overall.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They offer a unique model for outsourced system administration and functionality. I don’t know of anyone in the field who does something similar, especially for SaaS companies. Coupled with their technical acumen, they provide powerful value.
Are there any areas they could improve
Switching to a better tracking system like Jira would be fantastic. The current system has poor visibility. We don’t get notifications that our requests have been received and are in queue. They could kind of improve communication and their management of customer expectations. Even just giving timing estimates would go a long way.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Make sure there is a clear understanding of responsibilities on both sides. Establish policies in your agreement, including daily operations and strategies for those critical times when there are system issues. If you are looking for basic assistance in support and system administration, I would recommend them. We would not be where we are today without them.
the project
AWS Architecture Dev Support for E-Commerce Development Co
“We didn’t have to push them. SHALB understood the goal we wanted to achieve and worked towards it.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the head of product engineering at Spryker Systems. We build commerce platforms for clients to purchase and use. I'm involved in product development, leading managers and the delivery efforts around parts of products.
What challenge were you trying to address with SHALB?
We were building a functionality that required some expertise, knowledge, and resources related to cloud engineering, especially around AWS. We lacked those resources internally, so we had to use external resources to help us implement the product and features.
What was the scope of their involvement?
SHALB built a newer part of our architecture for Spryker commerce. A part required some basic implementation of the complex part of the platform in AWS; they were involved in that process. Overall, the engagement was more augmenting our team. We worked together with SHALB to achieve the results we wanted. We shared our business and technical requirements, some of our guidelines, and our standards. We also had a design, but they reviewed it and challenged it. Basically, they helped us implement it and ensure it was of good quality.
What is the team composition?
We worked with about four people in total.
How did you come to work with SHALB?
I wasn’t involved in selecting the vendor, but it might have been an internal recommendation. We were looking for certified AWS experts, and they checked all the boxes.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our partnership lasted for about two months, from March–May 2022.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
It was a complex project that required a lot of collaboration, but they did an excellent job and understood what we wanted to achieve. We need further development, but they reached the overall goal by mid-May.
How did SHALB perform from a project management standpoint?
They understood the timelines and worked towards them, delivering on time and within the budget. We collaborated daily and were in touch constantly to discuss the project’s goals. For project management, we used Jira to track tasks and progress and Confluence for documentation. We also used Slack for discussions and planning. For reporting, we had a shared spreadsheet to provide information on who locked what and how much time they spent.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We didn’t have to push them. SHALB understood the goal we wanted to achieve and worked towards it.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I think some of them weren't super comfortable communicating in English, but it worked out well. Overall, they did a pretty good job.
Any advice for potential customers?
Explain your goals clearly; tell them what you want to achieve. List your business and technical goals. They’re highly capable of validating those goals or the path to achieve them.
the project
Architecture Dev & Maintenance for SaaS Company
"They are a stable team."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the founder and CEO of a saas platform for creating online stores.
For what projects/services did your company hire SHALB?
We were engaged in the development of a box CMS (Content Managament System). The tasks we set for Shalb:
- to build a server architecture to convert a box-based CMS into a SaaS platform.
- maintain and develop this architecture
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
The specialists of the Shalb company did not just fulfill our task. They studied our business and understood our needs better than we did. And they offered their proposal on how best to solve our problem.
Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.
Shalb built us a cluster of bare metal servers managed by Docker Swarm. They set up a system for releasing new versions of the platform and updating all client sites. They built analytics and monitoring of all server metrics and events generated by our platform using Grafana and Kibana. Shalb also provided operational support for all issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Over the course of 5 years, our server cluster has gone through 2 global architecture upgrades with no downtime of our platform.
How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
We worked with one project manager, two devops and one sysops.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
The solutions proposed by Shalb have proven their quality over time. The built cluster turned out to be easy and cheap to scale. Using it, we easily increased the number of clients we can serve at the same time by 10 times, without proportionally increasing the size of our team.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Cooperation was effective enough to quickly resolve operational issues. It is very close to cooperation in the middle of one team.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
They are a stable team. We have been working with the same specialists for all 5 years, who already know our project very well.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
More flexible terms of cooperation are possible. Haha) In fact, the terms were very flexible for us and took into account some of our working conditions. For example, limited but free support during the Russian Invasion.
the project
IT Services for Journalism Platform
''I was happy with them, and they resolved all of my technical problems.''
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the editor-in-chief of Sasa Post, a journalism platform. We’re introducing opensource investigations, reports, and videos.
What challenge were you trying to address with SHALB?
We needed help with managed IT services.
What was the scope of their involvement?
SHALB provided off-site maintenance for the technical problems of our website.
What is the team composition?
I worked with two members of their team, including Oleksandr (CEO)
How did you come to work with SHALB?
Someone referred them to us, and we decided to work with them after several meetings.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent $16,000–$17,000 with them.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from July 2020–August 2022.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We were satisfied with their work, and there weren't any issues we faced that they couldn't solve.
How did SHALB perform from a project management standpoint?
They met deadlines and stayed within budget. Regarding tools and communication, we used Basecamp, phone calls, WhatsApp, Zoom, and email.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They replied and solved any problems immediately, which was outstanding.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I didn't think they could improve anything — I was happy with them, and they resolved all of my technical problems.
Internal and external stakeholders have given positive feedback about SHALB’s high-quality work. The team is active and responsive. They consistently deliver on time and communicate effectively through various channels. Their professionalism has also been key to the engagement’s ongoing success.