Cloud Infrastructure Management Services

In today's digital world, businesses rely heavily on their IT infrastructure to operate effectively. Any downtime or performance issues can result in lost productivity, revenue, and brand reputation. This is where infrastructure monitoring comes in. [lwptoc] What Is Infrastructure Monitoring?   Infrastructure monitoring plays a vital role in collecting and analyzing data from various components of a tech stack, including servers, virtual machines, containers, and databases. This data is then analyzed to provide insights into the health and performance of the infrastructure. The tools also provide alerts and notifications when issues are detected, enabling IT teams to take corrective action.   By utilizing infrastructure monitoring practices, organizations can proactively identify and address issues that may impact users and mitigate risks of potential losses in terms of time and money.    Modern software applications must be reliable and resilient to meet clients' needs worldwide. Companies like Amazon are making an average of $14,900 every second in sales, therefore, even 30 seconds of downtime would have cost them thousands of dollars.   For software to keep up with demand, infrastructure monitoring is crucial. It allows teams to collect operational and performance data from their systems to diagnose, fix, and improve them.    Monitoring often includes physical servers, virtual machines, databases, network infrastructure, IoT devices and more. Full-featured monitoring systems can also alert you when something is wrong in your infrastructure.   In this article, we'll explain how infrastructure monitoring works, its primary use cases, typical challenges, use cases and best practices of infrastructure monitoring.   Infrastructure Monitoring: What Should You Monitor?   Infrastructure monitoring is essential for tracking the availability, performance, and resource utilization of backend components, including hosts and containers. By installing monitoring agents on hosts, engineers collect infrastructure metrics and send them to a monitoring platform for analysis. This allows organizations to ensure the availability and proper functioning of critical services for users.   Identifying which parts of your infrastructure to monitor depends on factors such as SLA requirements, system location, and complexity. Google has its Four Golden Signals (latency, traffic, errors, and saturation), which can help your team narrow down important metrics (review the official Google Cloud Monitoring Documentation). AWS, Azure also provides its best practices for monitoring.  Common System Monitoring Metrics Include Sеrvеrs: Monitor sеrvеr CPU usagе, mеmory usagе, disk I/O, and nеtwork traffic.   Nеtwork: Monitor nеtwork latеncy, packеt loss, bandwidth usagе, and throughput.   Applications: Monitor application rеsponsе timе, еrror ratеs, and transaction volumеs.  Databasеs: Monitor databasе pеrformancе, including quеry rеsponsе timе and transaction throughput.   Sеcurity: Monitor sеcurity еvеnts, including failеd logins, unauthorizеd accеss attеmpts, and malwarе infеctions.  This list of metrics for each system isn't exhaustive. Rather, you should determine your business requirements and expectations for different parts of the infrastructure. These baselines will help you better understand what metrics should be monitored and establish guidelines for setting alerting thresholds.  Use Cases of Infrastructure Monitoring Operations teams, DevOps engineers and SREs (site reliability engineers) generally use infrastructure monitoring to:   1. Troublеshoot pеrformancе issues     Infrastructure monitoring is instrumental in preventing incidents from escalating into outages. By using an infrastructure monitoring tool, engineers can quickly identify failed or latency-affected hosts, containers, or other backend components during an incident. In the event of an outage, they can pinpoint the responsible hosts or containers, facilitating the resolution of support tickets and addressing customer-facing issues effectively.   2. Optimize infrastructure use Proactive cost reduction is another significant benefit of infrastructure monitoring. By analyzing the monitoring data, organizations can identify overprovisioned or underutilized servers and take necessary actions such as decommissioning them or consolidating workloads onto fewer hosts. Furthermore, infrastructure monitoring enables the redistribution of requests from underprovisioned hosts to overprovisioned ones, ensuring balanced utilization across the infrastructure.   Learn from this case study how Gart helped with AWS Cost Optimization and CI/CD Automation for the Entertainment Software Platform. 3. Forecast backend requirements Historical infrastructure metrics provide valuable insights for predicting future resource consumption. For example, if certain hosts were found to be underprovisioned during a recent product launch, organizations can leverage this information to allocate additional CPU and memory resources during similar events. By doing so, they reduce strain on critical systems, minimizing the risk of revenue-draining outages.   4. Configuration assurancе tеsting  One of the prominent use cases of infrastructure monitoring is enhancing the testing process. Small and mid-size businesses utilize infrastructure monitoring to ensure the stability of their applications during or after feature updates. By monitoring the infrastructure, they can proactively detect any issues that may arise and take corrective measures, ensuring that their applications remain robust and reliable.  Ready to level up your Infrastructure Management? Contact us today and let our experienced team empower your organization with streamlined processes, automation, and continuous integration. Infrastructure Monitoring Best Practices Infrastructure monitoring best practices involve a combination of key strategies and techniques to ensure efficient and effective monitoring of your infrastructure. Here are some recommended practices to consider:   1. Opt for automation To enhance Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR), leverage from the best infrastructure monitoring tools that offer automation capabilities. By adopting AIOps for infrastructure monitoring, you can achieve comprehensive end-to-end observability across your entire stack, facilitating quicker issue detection and resolution.   3. Install the agent across your entire environment Rather than installing the monitoring agent on specific applications and their supporting environments, it is advisable to deploy it across your entire production environment. This approach provides a more holistic view of your infrastructure's health and performance, enabling you to make informed decisions based on comprehensive data. Google Ops Agent Overview | AWS Systems Manager OpsCenter    3. Set up and prioritize alerts Given the potential for numerous alerts in an infrastructure monitoring system, it's crucial to prioritize them effectively. As an SRE, focus on identifying and addressing the most critical alerts promptly, ensuring that essential issues are promptly resolved while minimizing distractions caused by less urgent notifications.  Google Cloud Monitoring Alerting Policy | AWS Alerting Policy   4. Create custom dashboards Take advantage of the customization options available in infrastructure monitoring tools. Tools like Middleware offer the ability to create custom dashboards tailored to specific roles and requirements. By leveraging these capabilities, you can streamline your monitoring experience, presenting relevant information to different stakeholders in a clear and accessible manner.  5. Test your tools Before integrating new applications or tools for infrastructure monitoring, testing is vital. This practice ensures that the monitoring setup functions correctly and all components are working as expected. By performing test runs, you can identify and address any potential issues before they impact your live environment.   6. Configure native integrations If your infrastructure includes AWS resources, it is beneficial to configure native integrations with your infrastructure monitoring solution. For example, setting up the AWS EC2 integration allows for the automatic import of tags and metadata associated with your instances. This integration facilitates data filtering, provides real-time views, and enables scalability in line with your cloud infrastructure.  7. Activate integrations for comprehensive monitoring Extend your infrastructure monitoring beyond CPU, memory, and storage utilization. Activate pre-configured integrations with services such as AWS CloudWatch, AWS Billing, AWS ELB, MySQL, NGINX, and more. These integrations enable monitoring of the services supporting your hosts and provide access to dedicated dashboards for each integrated service.  8. Create filter set for efficient resource management Utilize the filter set functionality offered by your monitoring solution to organize hosts, cluster roles, and other resources based on relevant criteria. By applying filters based on imported EC2 tags or custom tags, you can optimize resource monitoring, proactively detect and resolve issues, and gain a comprehensive overview of your infrastructure's performance.   9. Set up alert conditions based on filtered data Instead of creating individual alert conditions for each host, leverage the filtering capabilities to create alert conditions based on filtered data. This approach automates the addition and removal of hosts from the alert conditions as they match the specified tags. By aligning alerts with your infrastructure's tags, you ensure scalability and efficient alert management.   Wrapping Up In conclusion, infrastructure monitoring is critical for ensuring the performance and availability of IT infrastructure. By following best practices and partnering with a trusted provider like Gart, organizations can detect issues proactively, optimize performance and be sure the IT infrastructure is 99,9% available, robust, and meets your current and future business needs. Leverage external expertise and unlock the full potential of your IT infrastructure through IT infrastructure outsourcing! Let’s work together! See how we can help to overcome your challenges Contact us

In the relentless pursuit of success, businesses often find themselves caught in the whirlwind of IT infrastructure management. The demands of keeping up with ever-evolving technologies, maintaining robust security, and optimizing operations can feel like an uphill battle. But what if I told you there's a liberating solution that could lift this weight off your shoulders and propel your organization to new heights?   [lwptoc] Definition of Infrastructure Outsourcing IT infrastructure outsourcing refers to the practice of delegating the management and operation of an organization's information technology (IT) infrastructure to external service providers. Instead of maintaining and managing the infrastructure in-house, companies opt to outsource these responsibilities to specialized third-party vendors. IT infrastructure includes various components such as servers, networks, storage systems, data centers, and other hardware and software resources essential for supporting and running an organization's IT operations. By outsourcing their IT infrastructure, companies can leverage the expertise and resources of external providers to handle tasks like hardware procurement, installation, configuration, maintenance, security, and ongoing management. Benefits of IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Outsourcing IT infrastructure brings numerous benefits that contribute to business growth and success. Manage cloud complexity Over the past two years, there’s been a surge in cloud commitment, with more than 86% of companies reporting an increase in cloud initiatives. Implementing cloud initiatives requires specialized skill sets and a fresh approach to achieve comprehensive transformation. Often, IT departments face skill gaps on the technical front, lacking experience with the specific tools employed by their chosen cloud provider. Moreover, many organizations lack the expertise needed to develop a cloud strategy that fully harnesses the potential of leading platforms such as AWS or Microsoft Azure, utilizing their native tools and services. Experienced providers of infrastructure management possess the necessary expertise to aid enterprises in selecting and configuring cloud infrastructure that can effectively meet and swiftly adapt to evolving business requirements. Access to Specialized Expertise Outsourcing IT infrastructure allows businesses to tap into the expertise of professionals who specialize in managing complex IT environments. As a CTO, I understand the importance of having a skilled team that can handle diverse technology domains, from network management and system administration to cybersecurity and cloud computing. By outsourcing, organizations can leverage the specialized knowledge and experience of professionals who stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and best practices. This expertise brings immense value in optimizing infrastructure performance, ensuring scalability, and implementing robust security measures. "Gart finished migration according to schedule, made automation for infrastructure provisioning, and set up governance for new infrastructure. They continue to support us with Azure. They are professional and have a very good technical experience" Under NDA, Software Development Company Enhanced Focus on Core Competencies Outsourcing IT infrastructure liberates businesses from the burden of managing complex technical operations, allowing them to focus on their core competencies. I firmly believe that organizations thrive when they can allocate their resources towards activities that directly contribute to their strategic goals. By entrusting the management and maintenance of IT infrastructure to a trusted partner like Gart, businesses can redirect their internal talent and expertise towards innovation, product development, and customer-centric initiatives.   For example, SoundCampaign, a company focused on their core business in the music industry, entrusted Gart with their infrastructure needs. We upgraded the product infrastructure, ensuring that it was scalable, reliable, and aligned with industry best practices. Gart also assisted in migrating the compute operations to the cloud, leveraging its expertise to optimize performance and cost-efficiency. One key initiative undertaken by Gart was the implementation of an automated CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipeline using GitHub. This automation streamlined the software development and deployment processes for SoundCampaign, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency. It allowed the SoundCampaign team to focus on their core competencies of building and enhancing their social networking platform, while Gart handled the intricacies of the infrastructure and DevOps tasks. "They completed the project on time and within the planned budget. Switching to the new infrastructure was even more accessible and seamless than we expected." Nadav Peleg, Founder & CEO at SoundCampaign Cost Savings and Budget Predictability Managing an in-house IT infrastructure can be a costly endeavor. By outsourcing, businesses can reduce expenses associated with hardware and software procurement, maintenance, upgrades, and the hiring and training of IT staff.  As an outsourcing provider, Gart has already made the necessary investments in infrastructure, tools, and skilled personnel, enabling us to provide cost-effective solutions to our clients. Moreover, outsourcing IT infrastructure allows businesses to benefit from predictable budgeting, as costs are typically agreed upon in advance through service level agreements (SLAs). "We were amazed by their prompt turnaround and persistency in fixing things! The Gart's team were able to support all our requirements, and were able to help us recover from a serious outage." Ivan Goh, CEO & Co-Founder at BeyondRisk Scalability and Flexibility Business needs can change rapidly, requiring organizations to scale their IT infrastructure up or down accordingly. With outsourcing, companies have the flexibility to quickly adapt to these changing requirements. For example, Gart's clients have access to scalable resources that can accommodate their evolving needs.  Whether it's expanding server capacity, optimizing network bandwidth, or adding storage, outsourcing providers can swiftly adjust the infrastructure to support business growth or handle seasonal variations. This scalability and flexibility provide businesses with the agility necessary to respond to market dynamics and seize growth opportunities. Robust Security Measures Data security is a paramount concern for businesses in today's digital landscape. With outsourcing, organizations can benefit from the security expertise and technologies provided by the outsourcing partner. As the CTO of Gart, I prioritize the implementation of robust security measures, including advanced threat detection systems, data encryption, access controls, and proactive monitoring. We ensure that our clients' sensitive information remains protected from cyber threats and unauthorized access.  "The result was exactly as I expected: analysis, documentation, preferred technology stack etc. I believe these guys should grow up via expanding resources. All things I've seen were very good." Grigoriy Legenchenko, CTO at Health-Tech Company Piyush Tripathi About the Benefits of Outsourcing Infrastructure Looking for answers to the question of IT infrastructure outsourcing pros and cons, we decided to seek the expert opinions on the matter. We reached out to Piyush Tripathi, who has extensive experience in infrastructure outsourcing. Introducing the Expert Piyush Tripathi is a highly experienced IT professional with over 10 years of industry experience. For the past ten years, he has been knee-deep in designing and maintaining database systems for significant projects. In 2020, he joined the core messaging team at Twilio and found himself at the heart of the fight against COVID-19. He played a crucial role in preparing the Twilio platform for the global vaccination program, utilizing innovative solutions to ensure scalability, compliance, and easy integration with cloud providers. What are the potential benefits of outsourcing infrastructure?  High scale: I was leading Twilio covid 19 platform to support contact tracing. This was a fairly quick announcement as state of New York was planning to use it to help contact trace millions of people in the state and store their contact details. We needed to scale and scale fast. Doing it internally would have been very challanaging as demand could have spiked and our response could not have been swift enough to respond. Outsourcing it to cloud provider helped mitigate that, we opted for automatic scaling which added resources in infra as soon as demand increased. This gave us peace of mind that even when we were sleeping, people would continue to get contacted and vaccinated. What expertise and capabilities would you can lose or gain by outsourcing our infrastructure? Loose:  Infra domain knowledge: if you outsource infra, your team could loose knowledge of setting up this kind of technology. for example, during covid 19, I moved the contact database from local to cloud so overtime I anticipate that next teams would loose context of setting up and troubleshooting database internals since they will only use it as a consumer.  Control: since you outsource infra, data, business logic and access control will reside in the provider. in rare cases, for example using this data for ML training or advertising analysis, you may not know how your data or information is being used. Gain:  Lower maintenance: since you don't have to keep an whole team, you can reduce maintenance overhead. For example during my project in 2020, I was trying to increase adoption of Sendgrid SDK program, we were able to send 50 Billion emails without much maintenance hassle. The reason was that I was working on moving a lot of data pipelines, MTA components to cloud and it reduce a lot of maintenance.  High scale: this is the primary benefits, traditional infrastructure needs people to plan and provision infrastructure in advance. when I lead the project to move our database to cloud, it was able to support storing huge amount of data. In addition, it would with automatically scale up and down depending on the demand. This was huge benefit for us because we didn't have to worry that our provisioned infra may not be enough for sudden spikes in the demand. Due to this, we were able to help over 100+ million people worldwide vaccinate What are the potential implications for internal IT team if they choose to outsource infrastructure?  Reduced Headcount: Outsourcing infrastructure could potentially decrease the need for staff dedicated to its maintenance and control, thus leading to a reduction in headcount within the internal IT team. Increased Collaboration: If issues arise, the internal IT team will need to collaborate with the external vendor and abide by their policies. This process can create a new dynamic of interaction that the team must adapt to. Limited Control: The IT team may face additional challenges in debugging issues or responding to audits due to the increased bureaucracy introduced by the vendor. This lack of direct control may impact the team's efficiency and response times. The Process for Outsourcing IT Infrastructure Gart aims to deliver a tailored and efficient outsourcing solution for the client's IT infrastructure needs. The process encompasses thorough analysis, strategic planning, implementation, and ongoing support, all aimed at optimizing the client's IT operations and driving their business success. Free Consultation Project Technical Audit Realizing Project Targets Implementation Documentation Updates & Reports Maintenance & Tech Support The process begins with a free consultation where Gart engages with the client to understand their specific IT infrastructure requirements, challenges, and goals. This initial discussion helps establish a foundation for collaboration and allows Gart to gather essential information for the project. Than Gart conducts a comprehensive project technical audit. This involves a detailed analysis of the client's existing IT infrastructure, systems, and processes. The audit helps identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, providing valuable insights to tailor the outsourcing solution. Based on the consultation and technical audit, we here at Gart work closely with the client to define clear project targets. This includes establishing specific objectives, timelines, and deliverables that align with the client's business objectives and IT requirements.   Implementation phase involves deploying the necessary resources, tools, and technologies to execute the outsourcing solution effectively. Our experienced professionals manage the transition process, ensuring a seamless integration of the outsourced IT infrastructure into the client's operations. Throughout the outsourcing process, Gart maintains comprehensive documentation to track progress, changes, and updates. Regular reports are generated and shared with the client, providing insights into project milestones, performance metrics, and any relevant recommendations. This transparent approach allows for effective communication and ensures that the project stays on track. Gart provides ongoing maintenance and technical support to ensure the smooth operation of the outsourced IT infrastructure. This includes proactive monitoring, troubleshooting, and regular maintenance activities. In case of any issues or concerns, Gart's dedicated support team is available to provide timely assistance and resolve technical challenges. Evaluating the Outsourcing Vendor: Ensuring Reliability and Compatibility When evaluating an outsourcing vendor, it is important to conduct thorough research to ensure their reliability and suitability for your IT infrastructure outsourcing needs. Here are some steps to follow during the vendor checkup process: Google Search Begin by conducting a Google search of the outsourcing vendor's name. Explore their website, social media profiles, and any relevant online presence. A well-established outsourcing vendor should have a professional website that showcases their services, expertise, and client testimonials. Industry Platforms and Directories Check reputable industry platforms and directories such as Clutch and GoodFirms. These platforms provide verified reviews and ratings from clients who have worked with the outsourcing vendor. Assess their overall rating, read client reviews, and evaluate their performance based on past projects. Read more: Gart Solutions Achieves Dual Distinction as a Clutch Champion and Global Winner Freelance Platforms If the vendor operates on freelance platforms like Upwork, review their profile and client feedback. Assess their ratings, completion rates, and feedback from previous clients. This can provide insights into their professionalism, technical expertise, and adherence to deadlines. Online Presence Explore the vendor's presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Assess their activity, engagement, and the quality of content they share. A strong online presence indicates their commitment to transparency and communication. Industry Certifications and Partnerships Check if the vendor holds any relevant industry certifications, partnerships, or affiliations.  By following these steps, you can gather comprehensive information about the outsourcing vendor's reputation, credibility, and capabilities. It is important to perform due diligence to ensure that the vendor aligns with your business objectives, possesses the necessary expertise, and can be relied upon to successfully manage your IT infrastructure outsourcing requirements. Why Ukraine is an Attractive Outsourcing Destination for IT Infrastructure Ukraine has emerged as a prominent player in the global IT industry. With a thriving technology sector, it has become a preferred destination for outsourcing IT infrastructure needs.   Ukraine is renowned for its vast pool of highly skilled IT professionals. The country produces a significant number of IT graduates each year, equipped with strong technical expertise and a solid educational background. Ukrainian developers and engineers are well-versed in various technologies, making them capable of handling complex IT infrastructure projects with ease. One of the major advantages of outsourcing IT infrastructure to Ukraine is the cost-effectiveness it offers. Compared to Western European and North American countries, the cost of IT services in Ukraine is significantly lower while maintaining high quality. This cost advantage enables businesses to optimize their IT budgets and allocate resources to other critical areas. English proficiency is widespread among Ukrainian IT professionals, making communication and collaboration seamless for international clients. This proficiency eliminates language barriers and ensures effective knowledge transfer and project management. Additionally, Ukraine shares cultural compatibility with Western countries, enabling smoother integration and understanding of business practices. Long Story Short IT infrastructure outsourcing empowers organizations to streamline their IT operations, reduce costs, enhance performance, and leverage external expertise, allowing them to focus on their core competencies and achieve their strategic goals. Ready to unlock the full potential of your IT infrastructure through outsourcing? Reach out to us and let's embark on a transformative journey together!