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GullySystem
DevOps & Automation Services

Release software faster. Keep deployments under control.

Manual releases end here. GullySystem connects your repository to automated builds, tests, a staging environment and an approved deployment with health checks and a written rollback, so any engineer can ship.

  • Automated build and deployment workflows
  • Separate staging and production environments
  • Documented release and recovery procedures
  • Client-owned repositories and configuration
The operational challenge

Is your deployment process slowing your team down?

Every release needs manual work

Someone copies files, runs shell commands and edits .env values by hand on the server, and one skipped step leaves the site down or serving last week’s build. Manual steps rarely fail loudly.

It works locally but fails in production

It works on my laptop. Production runs a different PHP or Node version, another set of packages and other environment variables, so faults appear only after deployment.

Testing happens too late

Changes reach production before anyone has run the unit tests or the build step in a consistent way, so a broken migration or missing dependency is found by customers. Late failures cost more.

Only one person knows how to deploy

The release steps live in one head. When that engineer is on leave, updates queue up for days and a failed release has nobody who knows the order of the recovery steps.

Failed releases are difficult to recover from

There is no agreed way back to the previous application version, and nobody has decided what happens to a half-applied database migration or files uploaded since the last release. Recovery turns into improvisation.

Errors become visible through customer complaints

Exceptions in the application and failed deployment jobs go unlogged and unalerted, so the first warning is a customer emailing support or a call from the sales team. Silence is not health.

Start with today’s release pain. Add automation, environments and checks in stages as the product and the team grow, rather than rebuilding the whole delivery chain in one go.

GullySystem Solution

A clear path from code changes to production

We join your repository, build step, test suite, staging server and deployment scripts into one documented workflow that any engineer can read and rerun. Every commit is built and tested, validated in staging, and released to production through an approval that names the person allowed to say yes. Health checks then confirm the release.

Checked before release

Each commit starts a build. Your existing unit and integration tests run with it, and a failure stops the change before staging while the author reads the log in the pull request.

Validated in staging

Every build lands first on a staging server that mirrors production configuration. Testers walk the key journeys there, and production follows only when the agreed acceptance checks pass and a named approver signs off.

Confirmed after deployment

Every deploy ends with a health check. If it fails, the pipeline flags the release and points the team to the previous build held ready for recovery, instead of waiting for a customer to report it.

Outcomes

What improves for your team?

Less repetitive work during builds and deployments

Earlier feedback on build and test failures

More consistent application environments

Clearer responsibility for production releases

Better visibility into errors after deployment

A documented process another engineer can follow

Scope of service

Our DevOps services

CI/CD Pipeline Setup

A pipeline file in your repository turns each push into a build, a test run and a versioned artefact, so no release depends on commands typed by hand.

  • Repository-triggered builds and available automated tests
  • Code quality and dependency checks where agreed
  • Versioned build artefacts and deployment workflows
  • Production approvals and deployment notifications

Deployment & Release Management

Releases move from staging to production through a written checklist with named approvers, pre-release checks, a migration plan and a rehearsed way back. Nobody improvises on release day.

  • Staging-to-production release workflow
  • Pre-release checks and deployment health checks
  • Database migration planning
  • Application rollback and database recovery procedures

Development & Staging Environment Setup

Development, staging and production each get their own configuration, secrets and database on matching runtime versions, so a bug seen in staging is the one production would show. Testers can break things safely.

  • Separate development, staging, and production configuration
  • Runtime and dependency consistency
  • Environment-specific access and secrets
  • Sanitised test data where required

Docker Containerisation

A Dockerfile fixes the PHP or Node version, system libraries and extensions inside one image, so a laptop, a staging server and production all start the same container. Compose files cover local development.

  • Dockerfiles and container build workflows
  • Docker Compose setup where appropriate
  • Container registry integration
  • Configuration and operating documentation

Automated Testing Workflows

Your current unit and integration suites run on every commit, and smoke tests hit the login page and one core transaction after each deploy. Gaps in coverage are listed, not hidden.

  • Unit and integration test execution
  • Smoke tests for essential application paths
  • Test reports and release gates
  • Coordination with your development or QA team for additional test coverage

Infrastructure Automation

Ansible playbooks, Bash scripts and, where assessed, Terraform files describe the server so it can be rebuilt from the repository rather than from memory. Changes go through review like code.

  • Provisioning and configuration scripts
  • Reusable environment definitions
  • Reviewed infrastructure changes
  • Rebuild instructions and handover documentation

Application Monitoring & Centralised Logging

Sentry catches exceptions, Loki or provider logs hold searchable output, and Grafana dashboards show whether error rates moved after a release, with alerts routed to the contact you name. A failed deploy then leaves a trail.

  • Application error tracking and searchable logs
  • Release health dashboards
  • Alert thresholds and notification routing
  • Troubleshooting instructions and agreed escalation contacts

Security Checks in Delivery Pipelines

Pipeline steps scan dependencies for known vulnerabilities, flag commits that contain API keys or passwords, and check container images where they apply. Each job gets scoped credentials only.

  • Dependency vulnerability scanning
  • Secret detection in source changes
  • Scoped pipeline credentials
  • Container image scanning where applicable

Kubernetes & Container Orchestration: Advanced Engagement

Kubernetes suits applications with several services or scaling demands that one server cannot meet, so we assess cluster design, deployment control and operational ownership before defining any implementation. Scope follows a technical assessment. Operations and support are agreed separately.

  • Cluster and application deployment configuration
  • Health probes, resource limits, and scaling policies
  • Controlled updates and recovery procedures
  • Access configuration, monitoring, and operating documentation
Practical applications

Practical DevOps use cases

These are illustrative scenarios, not claims of finished client projects, and each one shows how the same pipeline ideas bend to a different stack and team.

A SaaS team releasing product updates

A merged pull request starts the pipeline. The build runs the test suite, is validated in staging, then goes to production once a named lead approves, followed by a health check that confirms the release. Each release gets a tagged version, so the team knows what is live and what to roll back to.

An agency managing several client applications

One reusable pipeline template covers the common build and deploy steps across client projects, while each client keeps its own repository, credentials, environment variables and approval rule. A new project starts from the template. Nobody copies shell scripts between folders.

A Laravel application with queues and scheduled jobs

The release script runs composer install, caches config and routes, applies migrations, restarts the queue workers and the scheduler, then calls a health URL. Recovery covers the previous code and the migration, because rolling back one without the other breaks any page that reads a changed column.

A Next.js frontend and a separate API

The Next.js build and the API build each pass their own tests before either goes live, so a frontend change cannot ship against an API that is not ready. The API contract and environment variables are checked, and a login smoke test follows.

An inherited application with undocumented releases

We first map how the application is deployed today, who holds server and repository access, and which configuration files exist only on the live machine. Then we write it all down. A repeatable pipeline replaces the manual steps one stage at a time, and each stage is validated in staging before the next begins.

Audience fit

Built around your application and team

SaaS and product teams

Ship product changes through a pipeline that builds, tests and stages every release, so feature work is not held up by a hand-run deploy. Staging and production stay apart.

Software development agencies

Give every client project the same deployment template, so a holiday or a resignation no longer decides whether a hotfix can go out. Credentials stay separate per client.

Businesses with custom applications

Bring order to the customer portal, the admin system or the API that has been deployed by hand since its first release. One wrong file can stop the business.

Teams taking over an existing application

Record how the inherited application actually ships, rotate or remove deployment keys nobody recognises, and leave a pipeline that a new developer can read on day one. Old access is reviewed.

Responsibilities

Clear support scope and shared responsibilities

Before work starts, we agree in writing which applications, repositories, environments, pipelines and infrastructure components are included, and which party owns each one afterwards.

DevOps delivery scope

The agreement lists each pipeline, release workflow, deployment check and piece of environment automation we build, for the named applications and repositories only. Anything unlisted is a scope change.

Application and QA responsibilities

Feature changes, application bugs, API compatibility and new automated tests stay with your developers or an agreed GullySystem development engagement, not with the pipeline work. A code-caused failure is investigated together.

Infrastructure operations

Hosting, server patching, backups, restores, database administration and infrastructure incidents sit with a separately scoped Cloud Engineering engagement or with your existing provider. They are not part of pipeline work.

Support hours and incident response

Support hours, severity levels, response targets, escalation contacts and planned maintenance windows are written into the agreement before work begins, so nobody guesses who answers a failed deploy. Monitoring and staffed response are scoped separately.

Production changes and recovery

The agreement names who may approve a production deployment or an infrastructure change, and recovery procedures cover the build artefact, uploaded files and database changes where they apply. Approval is never implicit.

Costs and ongoing changes

Cloud charges and paid tool subscriptions, such as a hosted runner or a Sentry plan, are billed separately from our work. New applications, platform upgrades, extra environments and added test development are assessed as scope changes, and we agree the scope and its effect on existing pipelines first.

Execution roadmap

Our delivery process

  1. 01

    Review your current workflow

    We read the repositories, sit with whoever deploys today and list every manual command, environment file, test suite and access key along with recurring release problems.

  2. 02

    Define the scope and acceptance checks

    We agree which applications and environments are covered, what gets automated, who approves a release and which acceptance checks prove the setup works. The scope is written down.

  3. 03

    Build the workflow

    We write the pipeline files, set environment variables, store credentials in the CI secret store and script the deployment steps, all inside the repositories and accounts you own. Nothing lives on our machines.

  4. 04

    Validate in staging

    We run a good release, a failing build, a failed health check and the recovery procedure in staging, and production delivery stays switched off until all four behave. Failure paths get tested first.

  5. 05

    Release and hand over

    We stay alongside your team for the first production release, then hand over the documentation, the pipeline configuration and a live walkthrough.

  6. 06

    Maintain and improve

    An ongoing engagement covers pipeline upkeep, deployment help, investigation of failed releases and new checks as your application gains modules, environments and dependencies. It is optional.

Asset handover

What you receive

Your repositories, cloud accounts and project configuration stay yours throughout, and nothing we build sits on a machine only we can reach.

Current workflow assessment and agreed implementation scope
Pipeline configuration in your repository
Environment and access documentation
Build, test, and deployment instructions
Release approval and recovery procedures
Monitoring and alert configuration included in scope
Validation results and handover walkthrough
Engineering foundation

Technologies and tools selected for your environment

We confirm the toolset during assessment. The list below shows implementation options, not a requirement to adopt every tool or a promise to support every platform, since most teams need only a handful of them.

Application stacks

LaravelPHPNext.jsReactNode.jsNestJSMySQLPostgreSQL

Source control and delivery

GitGitHub ActionsGitLab CI/CDJenkins

Containers and infrastructure automation

DockerDocker ComposeBashAnsibleTerraform (assessed engagements)Kubernetes (assessed engagements)

Hosting and runtime environments

Ubuntu / LinuxNginxExisting VPSAWSAzureGoogle CloudDigitalOcean

Monitoring, logging, and security checks

SentryPrometheusGrafanaLokiProvider monitoringDependency scanningSecret scanningContainer scanning
The GullySystem difference

Why choose GullySystem for DevOps?

Start with your actual release problems

Scope follows your own stack, team and host, and the first work goes to the manual step or the recurring failure that hurts your releases. No tool list comes first.

Work alongside your developers

Application code, QA, infrastructure and deployment each get a named owner, agreed with your developers, so a failing build never turns into an argument about whose job it is. Ownership is settled early.

Validate before production

Pipelines and recovery procedures run in staging against the agreed acceptance criteria before the production workflow is switched on, including a failed build and a rehearsed rollback. Recovery is tried before it is needed.

Keep ownership with your business

Repositories, cloud accounts, pipeline files and documentation remain yours, and we receive only the access the agreed work needs, which can be removed when the engagement ends. Nothing is locked in.

Leave a documented process

Release instructions, environment details and recovery steps are written so that an authorised engineer who has never seen the project can run a deployment from the page alone. That is the test.

Improve in manageable stages

Begin with one application. Containers, extra environments, scanning and infrastructure automation follow later, each added only when it solves a problem you can point to in your release history.

Commercial models

Choose the engagement that fits your team

Pricing depends on application count, environment count, infrastructure complexity, release frequency and support requirements, all of which we confirm after reviewing your current setup. Hosting and paid tools are quoted separately.

DevOps Assessment

Review and plan

We review your repositories, deployment steps, environments and access, then hand over a ranked list of fixes with the order in which to do them. No pipeline is built yet.

DevOps Setup Project

Defined implementation

A defined scope covering the agreed pipelines, staging and production environments, deployment workflows and documentation, finished with a staging validation and a handover walkthrough for your team.

Managed DevOps Support

Ongoing support

Ongoing help with pipeline upkeep, release days, failed-build troubleshooting and workflow improvements, within the support hours and response targets written into your agreement. Only named systems are covered.

Cloud infrastructure

Need cloud infrastructure support too?

Pair this work with Cloud Engineering and Managed Infrastructure for server setup, hosting migration, backups, restore testing, patching and infrastructure cost reviews. We split responsibility between application delivery and infrastructure operations in writing, so your team knows who handles a failed deploy and who handles a full disk.

Explore Cloud Engineering & Managed Infrastructure
Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Straightforward answers to the questions owners ask before getting started.

What is DevOps?

DevOps joins software development and operations through shared practice and automation, so building, testing, releasing and running an application become one routine instead of a handover between teams. In practice it replaces hand-run deployments.

Can we start with only deployment automation?

Yes. We can start with one application and one deployment workflow, such as a GitHub Actions job that builds and ships over SSH, then add staging, tests or monitoring later.

Can you work with our existing developers?

Yes. We coordinate with your internal team or development partner, and we agree in writing who owns application code, tests, deployments and infrastructure. Ownership is never left vague.

Can you automate deployments for Laravel and Next.js applications?

Yes, subject to assessment. Laravel needs composer install, config caching, migrations and queue restarts, while Next.js needs a production build and correct environment variables, so the exact script depends on your hosting.

Do we need Docker or Kubernetes?

Not always. Many applications run from a plain server deployment with Nginx and a scripted release, and adding Docker or Kubernetes would only add more to maintain. Docker helps when runtimes differ between machines. Kubernetes needs a bigger reason.

Will every change deploy automatically to production?

No. You choose the release policy. Builds and tests can run on every push, while production deployment waits for approval from an authorised team member or runs from a tagged release if you prefer.

Can a failed deployment be rolled back?

Yes, for application code. Redeploying the previous tagged build is usually simple. A database migration is harder, because dropped columns and rewritten rows cannot be undone, so it needs its own plan, such as a restore point or a reversible migration. Both are rehearsed in staging.

Does this include writing all our automated tests?

No. We wire the tests you already have into the pipeline as a gate that blocks a failing build before it reaches staging. Writing new unit, integration or end-to-end tests is scoped separately with your developers or QA team, and our QA and Software Testing service covers that work.

Do you provide ongoing support?

Yes, as a scoped arrangement. The covered systems, support hours, response targets and escalation contacts are agreed before the engagement begins, so nobody assumes cover that was never agreed.

Who owns the pipelines and configuration?

You do. Pipeline files, deployment scripts and documentation are committed into your repositories and CI accounts, and you decide who holds access to each secret and each server. If we leave, the pipeline keeps running.

How long does a DevOps setup take?

The scope is shaped by the count of applications involved, the share of code your tests already exercise, the speed at which pipeline access arrives and the manual steps sitting inside every release. We set the schedule after assessment.

How will we know the setup is working?

We write acceptance checks for the build, the tests, staging, production, notifications and recovery, and run each one before handover and show you the results. Where it helps, we also record release preparation time, failed deployments and recovery time against a baseline taken at the start, so improvement is measured, not assumed.

Can this work with an existing application?

Yes, subject to assessment. We review the runtime version, dependencies, hosting and current release steps, then introduce the pipeline in stages, starting with whichever manual step breaks first.

Can a release go out without any interruption for users?

We do not promise it. Whether users see an interruption depends on the application architecture, on whether a migration locks tables, and on the infrastructure behind it. We agree a realistic availability requirement, then validate the chosen release method, such as a rolling or blue-green switch, in staging before relying on it.

Let’s Connect

Make your next release easier to manage.

Start with what you are building. Tell us where it runs and which deployment step keeps hurting your team, and we will suggest the next practical step towards a release anyone can repeat.

  • No obligation consultation
  • Senior engineer reviews your brief
  • Your operational details stay 100% confidential

Start with your requirements

Seven short steps that tell us what you need. An engineer reads them before getting in touch.

Share your requirements