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Cloud & Infrastructure2 services

Cloud engineering & networking

The cloud environment that applications and business systems run in, and the private networks and secure connections around it.

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The problem

A cloud account that started with one server now runs several applications, a database and a few scheduled jobs. Everything sits in a single environment, so changes are tested on the live system. The database is reachable from the internet because that was the quickest way to connect, staff use a shared VPN login and the monthly bill rises without explanation. The environment and its network grew separately and by hand, and nobody can describe either with confidence.

The outcome

The intended result is a cloud environment with separate stages, repeatable deployments and scoped access, sitting inside a network where only agreed traffic is allowed and every person or site connects through a controlled path. Both are written down as code and documentation, so changes are reviewed rather than improvised.

In this group

The services, and what each one does here

  1. Illustrative cloud console for a fictional builder's production environment. An architecture diagram shows a load balancer sending traffic to app containers in two zones backed by a managed database, object storage, a secrets vault and monitoring, next to a list of dev, staging and production environments, an infrastructure-as-code plan with 3 resources to add, 1 to change and 0 to destroy, and a deploy pipeline waiting for approval.

    Cloud Engineering & Architecture

    Designs and builds the environment itself: architecture, development, staging and production stages, infrastructure as code, CI/CD pipelines, managed data services, least-privilege access, monitoring and cost visibility. Choose it when an application or business system needs a properly structured place to run.

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How they work together

An environment inside a controlled network

  • Environment and network are designed as one

    Where each service runs decides which network it sits in and what may reach it. Planning both together means public-facing services, application servers and databases each land in the right place from the start, instead of rules being added afterward to close gaps.

  • Both are defined as code

    Environments and network rules are described in the same infrastructure-as-code repository and deployed through the same reviewed pipeline, so a change to a firewall rule is checked the same way as a change to a server.

  • Access is checked at two levels

    Cloud permissions control what a person or service can change; network rules and secure access control what it can reach. Each layer limits the damage if the other is misconfigured.

  • Monitoring covers both

    Application logs, alerts, cost reports and network flow logs are reviewed together, which makes it easier to tell whether a problem is in the system, its access or the traffic reaching it.

An environment inside a controlled networkStaff and offices connect through secure access into a private cloud network, which contains a staged cloud environment defined as code and monitored alongside its traffic.Staff & officesremote accessSecure accessVPN or zero-trustPrivate networksubnets, rulesCloud platformdev, staging, prodInfra as codeboth layers definedMonitoringlogs, flows, costs
  1. Staff and offices connect through a VPN or identity-aware access rather than open ports.
  2. The private network decides which subnets and services that traffic may reach.
  3. The cloud environment runs applications and data in separate development, staging and production stages.
  4. Both the network and the environment are defined as code and changed through a reviewed pipeline.
  5. Logs, network flows and costs are monitored together so problems and unexpected spending are visible.
Illustrative — a typical arrangement, not a specific client's system.

Choosing

Which do you need?

Many projects use more than one of these. If the situation doesn't fit neatly, describe it and we'll suggest where to start.

Ask which fits
Is this the same as hosting our website?
No. Hosting a website or web application on a suitable platform, with DNS and edge services in front of it, belongs to the Hosting, DNS & Edge group. Cloud engineering and networking is for systems that need their own designed environment, private networks and controlled access.
Can we start with only one of the two services?
Yes. A business with a well-structured environment may only need network and VPN work, and a new environment can start with a simple network that is extended later. The design still accounts for both, so nothing needs rebuilding.
Does this include our office network?
Not as part of these two services, which work on cloud environments and the connections into them, delivered remotely in customer-specific cloud and provider accounts. Planning the office network itself — layout, Wi-Fi coverage, switches and router or firewall equipment — is Network Design & Consulting.

Related services

Talk to IOPIA about cloud engineering & networking.

Tell us what you have today and what isn't working. One conversation can cover several of these services.

Contact ussupport@iopiatech.com