15 березня 2024 р.
Behind every step of OneCloudPlanet in 2023, there's a unique story. From product development and team growth to successful launches - we want to share this with you. Dive into our world through interviews with the people behind these achievements.
Idea and implementation
— In 2023, OneCloudPlanet launched a cloud service in the IT technology market, although its concept had been established long before that. Does the original concept embedded in the company differ from what it is now?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— The idea and attempts to implement the project date back to 2012. That was when the first cloud provider was created, which we began to promote but faced significant market resistance. At that time, the trend was still dedicated servers, and the microservice philosophy was just emerging and not yet widely used. As the market grew, the concept for OneCloudPlanet formed, envisaging a universal platform for Dev environments, with capabilities for API tool integration and other tools for process automation.
— What do you enjoy most about working for OneCloudPlanet as CEO?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— Every day at OneCloudPlanet brings something new, whether it be innovative technologies or fresh experiences in their application. Our work is directed not only towards the development of the project as a whole but also towards productive interactions with people and attracting new partners capable of strengthening our client base.
For instance, the last conversation with a representative from an American company showed us the value of active interaction: they skillfully engage the client in the process, preventing them from disengaging, which motivates us to continually explore their products and delve deeper into the sales process.
It’s unacceptable to wait for clients to find their way to us; it's essential to actively search for points of contact, establish connections, and guide the client through the entire process, ensuring reliable management and support at every stage, thereby leading them into the sales funnel and assigning a personal manager to each client.
— Considering the dynamic nature of OneCloudPlanet and its multi-layered operation, we're also interested in the CRO's approach. What aspects are most intriguing for you in this project?
Babanov D., CPO
— There are certain challenges, interests, and achievements here. The overall process involves identifying and researching new features in the cloud technology market and thoroughly studying them. A key aspect is market analysis to determine which innovations will contribute to the growth and development of our company.
Although the role of a product director traditionally isn’t directly associated with team work, in my case, it's different. Due to the unique nature of our product, my job involves active leadership and participation in teamwork. I act as a "one-man band," integrating various aspects of product management and teamwork to achieve our goals.
— Looking at the results of the work done now, can we say that the decision to develop our own product from scratch, using Open Source, rather than turning to ready-made virtualization technologies, was justified?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— OpenStack is the core, yes, it's OpenSource, but at the same time, this solution has been on the market for over 15 years, market-tested, and works stably, just like VMware. Everything is tailored for specific markets and tasks. For our concept, we needed the ability to customize our functionality. Therefore, we chose OpenStack as the core.
We do not want to be tied to vendor lock with proprietary code. It does not allow scaling according to our tasks set for the coming years.
Architecture evolution and new capabilities
— Can you share your experience integrating OpenStack into our infrastructure? What steps were particularly challenging, and how did you overcome them?
Lapenkov N., DevOps Engineer
— Adapting OpenStack to an infrastructure created for the needs of a specific project is a multifaceted process. In my experience, there are several aspects that proved to be the most challenging. It all started with identifying the necessary components, developing an architecture that matched the project's scale and performance. Then focusing on integrating OpenStack with our existing systems, which was challenging but successfully executed.
I can say that security always remains our priority, so access control measures and security updates were strengthened. A distributed architecture was also developed for scalability, and automation was implemented for resource management, increasing system reliability. An important part of the process was training staff to work with OpenStack. Monitoring was also set up for prompt response to difficulties, and OpenStack was regularly updated, paying attention to compliance with regulatory conditions. Our approach always takes into account the business requirements of the project.
Overall, adapting OpenStack to a project's infrastructure is a complex task that requires good organization, knowledge, and experience. However, with the right approach, it can significantly improve control and flexibility of the infrastructure.
— What methods or technologies have you found most effective for managing challenges during the development process?
Plastun D., Python Developer
— The development process is carried out following the agile methodology, with the upcoming stage of adaptation and familiarization with the project, its structure.
Infrastructure and security
— What unique challenges or opportunities did the placement of infrastructure in two key locations–Kyiv and Poznań–present?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— Initially, the plan was to launch only in Ukraine, but unfortunately, Russia's aggression against Ukraine changed our plans, and as a business, we decided on the necessity to duplicate locations and prioritize Poland. Because local business requires availability, low ping. Even if it is located in Poland, it's still closer than, say, somewhere in Spain.
As we develop, we plan to add additional locations, including the USA.
— In the long term, you see the company among European leaders with resources also in the USA. Can you elaborate more on the geographical strategy?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— Yes, our strategy is currently more focused on Europe. We recognize our geographical position and the potential that the European market represents, so our main focus will be here in the near future.
As for the American platform, it implies the expansion of our server park, as there is a demand in the American market that we also plan to cover. However, this will be the next step after strengthening our positions in Europe.
First, we will focus on developing our current sites in Poland, and under favorable circumstances, consider expansion into the Netherlands, after which we will plan further expansion.
— Our service has been certified ISO/IEC 27001:2022. What specific security measures do we apply to protect our cloud solutions, and how do they help ensure reliability for our users?
Lapenkov N., DevOps Engineer
— OneCloudPlanet ensures the security of cloud solutions by applying modern practices and standards of information security. Among the main aspects we consider are authentication and authorization, data encryption, regular audits and monitoring, backups and recovery, training, and updates.
Also, we adhere to data security standards and regularly update our systems to meet the latest requirements. We strive for a high level of security to ensure reliability and protection for all users of our cloud solutions.
— What role does SMS verification play in registration?
Lapenkov N., DevOps Engineer
— SMS verification is an important security element for our service, confirming ownership of the phone number, preventing fraud, and the creation of fake accounts. It also helps maintain the relevance of user contact information and adds an extra layer of account protection, increasing overall trust in the platform.
Cutting-edge technologies
— To conclude 2023, a product was released in beta testing–how does Managed Kubernetes by OneCloudPlanet differ from competitors' offerings, and how do these interface features contribute to strengthening our competitive advantages?
Plastun D., Python Developer
— Our Managed Kubernetes stands out from the alternatives thanks to several key features. First and foremost, we offer automatic scaling and fault tolerance, which is critical for modern applications. Efficient traffic distribution with dedicated load balancers ensures stability and service availability. Moreover, thanks to our SSD-based cloud storage system, we provide maximum disk performance.
These capabilities allow our clients to quickly create and manage test environments, significantly simplifying the development and testing processes. In addition, our platform facilitates the automation of CI/CD processes and standardizes development across distributed teams. This eases collaboration with outsourcing partners and enhances work efficiency.
— What key technological decisions were made in developing Managed k8s to ensure its scalability and operational stability?
Plastun D., Python Developer
— The architecture is built on the basis of a separate microservice responsible solely for working with clusters. The cluster itself has a kube-centric cluster management system, meaning it can be managed not only from the personal account but also from within the cluster itself.
— It's gratifying to see how the company develops and the ranks of specialists are replenished. Tell us about your unique experience working at OneCloudPlanet. What has become particularly valuable to you since joining the team?
Yevdokimov O., Python Developer
— Regarding unique experience — it's hard to say because we must not disclose our secrets, but what I would like to mention is the team: it truly is a unique experience, starting from the atmosphere and ending with the opportunity to express oneself, to unfold as a personality and developer. From the first weeks of work, I managed to take on and implement quite responsible, voluminous tasks. This, in turn, played a significant role in my perception of everything we do here.
Stress testing
— What automated tools and frameworks do you find most valuable for testing our cloud platform, and how do they contribute to improving the quality and speed of development?
Hrishylo D., QA Engineer
— In testing OneCloudPlanet products, automated tools and frameworks such as Selenium for web interface testing and WebdriverIO for working with browsers prove effective. The use of automation tools allows for faster error detection and correction, increases testing accuracy, and reduces the need for manual testing. This contributes to improving the quality of products and the efficiency of development.
— Can you provide more details on the testing process of our Kubernetes cluster before its release, specifically on methods to ensure its stability and security?
Hrishylo D., QA Engineer
— Before the Kubernetes cluster release, manual testing of positive and negative scenarios was conducted, followed by non-functional testing, and the final stage was regression testing with auto-tests to ensure the main functionality of the entire project was operational.
— How is the cluster planned to be maintained and tested after its launch, including updates and monitoring its performance?
Hrishylo D., QA Engineer
— Auto-tests are being developed to support the Kubernetes cluster, which will cover all possible functionalities in the future.
To be continued
Today, we delved deeply into the world of OneCloudPlanet's cloud technologies, discussing everything from the inception of the idea to its implementation and the unique challenges the team faced. We touched on topics from developing proprietary products and integrating OpenStack to security certification and geo-distribution strategy.
Read on for more details and about the company's future plans in the continuation!