18 березня 2024 р.
In the first part of the interview, we managed to explore numerous aspects that influenced the creation of the company as it stands today.
We continue our deep dive by discussing how innovations and technical execution impact the development of the user interface at OneCloudPlanet.
The face of technology
— What stages and testing methods did you apply to ensure the functionality and convenience of the corporate website and personal account?
Leibuk-Galin M., Front-end Developer
— In the initial design development stage, we reviewed and discussed the ready-made layouts in our departments, where the designer coordinated this process before passing the results onto development. After that, we moved on to the layout of the designs, which was the starting point for product creation.
We began with developing the authorization, registration, and password recovery system, applying different technologies and approaches, allowing various specialists to participate in the process as the technology permitted.
Regarding testing, we first asked several clients to evaluate the authorization and personal cloud account in practice and share their impressions. Thanks to their feedback, we made some minor adjustments, mainly related to functionality rather than the interface. Thus, the product was adapted and improved considering the clients' needs.
— How did the adaptation of component layout to the design of the corporate website onecloudplanet.com go?
Dubinin E., Junior Front-end Developer
— The adaptation of the component layout was not always smooth, and in some cases, it required design adjustments or some compromises on the designer's part.
During the preparation of the corporate website project, the nuances of the framework were taken into account, and work was done on adapting and customizing the framework variables, endpoints, and much more, leading to the minimization of conflicts between component layout and design. Combined with unconventional solutions in component layout and compromises from the designer, the workflow was quite smooth and timely.
— Surely this was related to the fact that the company's idea was formed long before its implementation. How did the integration of the interface with the back-end application go?
Taratunin O., Front-end Developer
— Correct, there were some difficulties in integration related to the backend system being developed before the final version of the design. As a result, after the layout was complete, it was necessary to develop custom functions to improve user experience and match the design laid out for easy and convenient use of our product.
— What steps were taken to optimize the website's performance to speed up page loading and improve overall efficiency?
Leibuk-Galin M., Front-end Developer
— The technology for making authorization and registration did not envisage such optimization by integrating its design. As for the personal account, we used the Google PageSpeed tester, on which we tested (although the account is private, we opened it for the duration of testing certain sections) and conducted a full optimization of images, loading, style loading, scripts, splitting into parts, etc. Alexander was in charge of this.
Support and system management
— Has there been an increase in customer support inquiries over the year? What measures are taken to prevent the recurrence of common questions?
Kuredenko A., System Administrator
— Yes, the number of customer support inquiries has increased over the last year. We actively monitor this trend and work to reduce the load on our specialists. To prevent the recurrence of common questions from clients, we take the following measures: creating a knowledge base, automated responses, feedback, and analysis.
We strive to provide our clients with a more efficient and satisfying support experience in both English and Ukrainian. We are always ready to help if there are additional questions or suggestions.
— How do you approach monitoring and analyzing the performance of the network and servers? What tools or practices do you use for this?
Lapenkov N., DevOps Engineer
— Monitoring and analyzing the performance of our networks and servers is an important aspect of managing our infrastructure. We use a variety of tools for this, depending on our needs and the specifics of the system. For example, we use tools like Nagios, Zabbix, Prometheus, and Grafana. They help us keep track of key metrics, such as CPU usage, memory, network traffic, and disk load.
We also set up an alert system to respond promptly to any performance issues. For network monitoring, tools like SNMP and NetFlow are used, allowing us to track traffic, bandwidth, latency, and other crucial parameters. Analyzing data collected by our monitoring systems helps us identify anomalies and determine trends, which is important for capacity planning and scaling our resources. All these measures help us ensure high performance and stability of our services.
— Can you add to the response from your point of view?
Kuredenko A., System Administrator
— From my perspective, when it comes to monitoring and analyzing the performance of our networks and servers, our approach is multifaceted. We use specialized tools to observe performance, resources, and security. Centralized logging helps us quickly identify logs and anomalies. We pay special attention to security, employing systems to detect unauthorized activity and malicious attacks. Our monitoring systems operate continuously, providing timely alerts.
Automation of incident response processes allows us to quickly address emerging issues. Regular analysis of collected data helps identify trends and prevent potential faults. We also continuously optimize our resources, based on performance analysis, to enhance the efficiency and reliability of our services.
— What is the approach to updating and maintaining software and hardware? How do you balance between updates and system stability?
Lapenkov N., DevOps Engineer
— In our approach to updating and maintaining software and hardware, we aim to balance ensuring the security and functionality of the system on one hand, and its stability on the other. We develop long-term update plans that consider priority tasks and schedules to manage resources efficiently. Special attention is given to urgent security updates, executing them as quickly as possible to prevent potential threats.
Before implementing any updates, we conduct thorough testing in a separate environment to avoid potential issues in the production environment. Regular backups of data and system settings ensure recovery in case of failed updates or breakdowns. Constant monitoring of performance and system status helps identify problems and assess the effectiveness of updates.
Each change in the system is controlled with change management and documented, reducing the risk of errors. We strive to find the perfect balance between updates that improve functionality and security and the need to maintain system stability, always considering business needs when making decisions about updates.
Development dynamics and prospects
— How is control over the process of developing and implementing new products at OneCloudPlanet exercised?
Babanov D., CPO
— This process starts with the initiation of an idea and defining the direction of movement. After gathering information, we analyze the data to confirm the viability of the idea. Special attention is paid to customer requests to ensure that development meets a real need, not just a fleeting desire. This requires us to conduct an in-depth market analysis and expertise to identify the actual "pains" of customers and how they align with our solutions.
After confirming the reality and relevance of the hypothesis, we move to the planning and technical description phase. In this phase, resources needed for functionality implementation are calculated, and the project specifications are developed. The decision to proceed is based on these assessments.
After the concept approval, task distribution and their planning according to sprints begin. We detail every step, defining clear deadlines and those responsible for each part of the work. This allows us to efficiently manage the development process and ensure it meets established quality standards.
The final stage is product testing and preparation for market release. The entire process is accompanied by strict control and evaluation to ensure that each new product not only meets our customers' needs but also upholds the high standards of reliability and functionality expected by the market.
— How is the prioritization of new feature development determined in line with the company's mission and vision?
Babanov D., CPO
— At OneCloudPlanet, we base the selection of features for development in accordance with our corporate strategy and internal mission. We aim to be at the forefront of cloud technologies, akin to global leaders, adapting them to the needs of the Ukrainian market. This allows us to provide services that meet our customers' expectations and strengthen our position as a local leader in cloud technologies.
— How do you see the development of OneCloudPlanet after the end of the war, considering subsequent market changes and progress in artificial intelligence?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— After the war, assuming it ends in the next few years, we anticipate market trends changing. The next 2-3 years will show a reduction in infrastructure spending, while companies will look for providers where they can place non-critical data, different from the top 10 current providers.
There's a trend towards cost optimization, even among projects using platforms like AWS. They begin to move their non-critical data outside these platforms, exploring more financially beneficial solutions. This reflects a broader trend of a conscious approach to spending.
At the same time, we observe a growing interest in AI, leading to increased resource consumption and, consequently, higher expenses. Finding a balance between business, resources, and their costs will be a key factor.
In this context, OneCloudPlanet is ready to offer a platform that will not only be cheaper compared to Amazon but also provide greater potential for our clients. We are focusing on the post-war period, such as the next three years, and preparing for new market conditions.
— Share the main goals and plans of OneCloudPlanet for the coming years in developing cloud solutions.
Brezhnev D., CEO
— In the near future, we will focus on enhancing our service using K8s. We plan to complete all functionalities for Dev environments, Managed DaaS, and Bare Metal, which are currently in beta testing. After that, we will proceed with integrating Terraform and open APIs.
The next step will be to include GPU support, which will significantly expand the capabilities for our clients working with intensive computations.
Further, we plan to develop a database manager, with Moskvile and Redis as the main components. These changes represent our roadmap for 2024 and are aimed at providing more flexible and powerful tools for developers.
— What is your vision for OneCloudPlanet over the next 10 years?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— Planning for such a long term is always a challenge, but our ambition remains unchanged. In ten years, I would like to see OneCloudPlanet as one of the key players in the European market, a provider with a recognizable name. We aspire to stand on equal footing with leading companies and stand out in the fields of development and DevOps. I anticipate that by that time, we will have our own IT school, preparing specialists capable of efficiently working in our environment, further strengthening our market position.
— What key associations would you like consumers to have when mentioning the company in the future?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— Ideally, we aim for customers to associate OneCloudPlanet with reliability and convenience. Also, our main task is to significantly expand our infrastructure with an increase in "cubes." We want customers to be able to use a wide range of solutions and services, as is the case today with Amazon.
Furthermore, we plan to activate collaboration with developers and vendors to place their solutions on our platform, creating a more diverse and rich marketplace. This will allow us to offer clients a more extensive selection of ready-made solutions for their business.
Strategies, metrics, and trends
— What marketing and sales strategies have been used this year to promote the brand?
Malyar B., CMO
— To date, our strategy for promoting the brand is not too aggressive, but it is consistent. That is, we are engaged in SEO optimization of the site, increasing the link mass, also using Google AD tools.
We regularly attend various offline IT-related events, both as participants and as partners. This gives us the opportunity to communicate directly with community members, thereby identifying needs and industry trends.
— How do you measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns? What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you consider most important?
Malyar B., CMO
— We have access to detailed site analytics, all tags are set up, conversions, we have an excellent service "HotJar" that allows us to study the customer's journey and make changes in design or structure.
The key indicator, in my opinion, is the number of registrations and top-ups per month.
We also have a support department that connects with the customer and can get feedback, this is very important for us and we can immediately make changes to the product and make it better.
— Regarding one of the main KPIs in your view, do you mean replenishing the account or the customer base?
Malyar B., CMO
— The main task of marketing is to create actions that will increase sales, company revenues. That is, the ideal combination is when a marketing strategy (hypothesis) managed to attract potential leads that match the product's target audience, then the sales department was able to qualitatively process the "lead" (identify their need, pain, provide a ready solution) and, ultimately, the lead became a customer and made a deposit into the account, then I can consider this an ideal completed job.
— Share an insight, what marketing trends do you consider most promising for the near future?
Malyar B., CMO
— A profound question, if speaking about our area of activity, then the main trend is AI, I am sure this will bring changes to marketing as well, as today's well-known "Chat GPT" eases the work of millions of marketers and improves KPIs of entire departments). I think that similar technologies will occupy even more space in our world and will help in many areas. For us as a cloud platform, this is also a direction into the future, which we will also develop and provide resources for AI development.
Defining success
— CEO, in an interview with mc.today, you mentioned that your interest in IT technologies and data hosting emerged at an early age. How did you manage to find your first like-minded individuals?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— Since childhood, I knew where to look and how to reach out to the people I needed. When I was a schoolboy, I managed to connect with important individuals, for example, the owner of an IT provider. This led to long-term business relationships and partnerships. At that time, I practically came to understand the concept of "three degrees of separation," illustrating how connections between people are built. Through acquainting with one person who knows another, and so on to the third, who is a key figure.
— Speaking of "three degrees of separation," what impressions did you have from attending iForum and IT Arena?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— The attendance was very productive. We met with representatives of our market segment, so I can assess the experience as positive. iForum is more business-oriented, while IT Arena is a place for more informal communication in the IT community. IT Arena proved to be a targeted venue for us.
— Could you provide more details?
Babanov D., CPO
— I agree with our CEO, iForum and IT Arena opened different perspectives for us. iForum allowed us to familiarize ourselves with business segment trends and potential clients in the Ukrainian market, valuable for strategic planning. At the same time, IT Arena provided a platform for closer communication with IT professionals and idea exchange in an informal setting, perfectly aligning with our focus on innovation and development. These events confirmed our competitiveness and helped establish valuable contacts we hope to develop in the future. The experience from attending various events added clarity on how we should present our various products to ensure effective interaction at events.
— Have you previously participated in these or similar events? If so, what changes can you note?
Malyar B., CMO
— Yes, in my experience, I've attended various events of such scale. It's probably apt to mention attending the first iForum; then, being very young, we first visited an event of such scale and were very impressed and inspired, and now, 13 years later, in the conditions of war, it was a separate pleasure to attend this event again, representing a cool Ukrainian project.
Regarding the difference, obviously, the number of people this time was much less, for understandable reasons. It was also visible how businesses adapt to the new reality, and the main theme of the forum was MilTech, but the atmosphere and energy were preserved. Everyone at the forum continued to have the spark in their eyes, and enthusiasm in implementing their projects did not diminish even in such difficult conditions.
I recommend everyone to attend such events.
— Indeed, the importance of personal growth is palpable. As the director of OneCloudPlanet, could you share the key indicators and achievements of the company for 2023 that you consider most significant?
Brezhnev D., CEO
— The company entered the market, and we are receiving quite good feedback regarding our continued work. We have clients, but we do not stop there and set new goals and challenges for ourselves.
— Thank you for the information provided. Now, I'd like to hear about the key success indicators for 2023 from your perspective as a product director. Which moments would you highlight?
Babanov D., CPO
— In 2023, the OneCloudPlanet team achieved significant milestones, starting with the launch in June. We completed the first version of the design, successfully implemented block storage, and developed a Kubernetes manager. Cloud service standards, including load balancers and disks, were introduced. We expanded our technical support and released the product to the market, attracting the first customers, which contributed to the growth of both our cloud platform and our professional development.
Summary (from the interviewer)
Ivanova Y., Marketing Specialist
— It was a pleasure to embark on an exciting journey not only through 2023 but through the entire history of the company thanks to interviews with people—the best minds from various cities in Ukraine, who made this possible. Today, we had a unique opportunity to view our cloud platform from different perspectives through the eyes of those whose contributions make the company a living history.
Discovering the depths of the path taken and the achievements of OneCloudPlanet, we see how uniqueness, innovation, and our connection with Ukrainian heritage distinguish us in the market. Our approach to development, focus on quality, and attention to customer needs create a special brand, a whole ecosystem, to which one wants to belong.
Of course, this is just the beginning. Become part of our crafted story.