Services · DevOps
DevOps consulting for small businesses in Ontario
Excelytech helps small and mid-sized teams in Ontario and across Canada move from manual, one-person deployments to a repeatable path from code to production on Microsoft Azure. We build the pipeline, describe the infrastructure as code, set up monitoring, and make sure what you ship can be recovered.
What a DevOps engagement gives you
- A pipeline that builds, tests and deploys every change the same way.
- Environments from code, so development, test and production match.
- Monitoring and alerts that a small team can read and act on.
- Secrets, access and costs under control instead of scattered.
- A recovery path for what you deploy, linked to our backup and disaster recovery work.
- A handover your team can run without us.
What DevOps means for a team of five or fifty
DevOps is a way of releasing software where building, testing and deploying are automated and repeatable, and where the servers and cloud resources are described in code instead of clicked together by hand. The practical result is that a release stops being an event that depends on one person and a checklist.
You do not need a platform group to get this. Most small teams need five things: a place for the code, a pipeline, separate environments, visibility into what is running, and a way back when something goes wrong. We set those up in proportion to your size, on Azure.
What we set up
| Area | What we do | Typical tools |
|---|---|---|
| Build and release pipelines | Automate build, test and deploy, with an approval step before production | Azure DevOps Pipelines, GitHub Actions |
| Infrastructure as code | Describe environments in code that is reviewed like application code | Terraform, Bicep |
| Environments | Separate development, test and production with consistent naming and tagging | Azure subscriptions and resource groups |
| Hosting | Choose the simplest platform that fits the workload | App Service, Functions, Container Apps; AKS only when warranted |
| Secrets and identity | Keep passwords out of code and use managed identities where possible | Azure Key Vault, Microsoft Entra ID |
| Monitoring and alerts | Logs, metrics and alerts someone will actually respond to | Azure Monitor, Application Insights |
| Cost guardrails | Budgets, tags and usage reviews so the bill does not surprise you | Azure Cost Management |
| Recovery for what you ship | Agree what is backed up, how it restores and how long it takes | Linked to Excelytech backup and DR services |
Tooling follows what your team already uses where possible. If you are on GitHub, we build on GitHub Actions. If you are on Azure DevOps, we use Azure DevOps.
Enterprise patterns, trimmed for a small team
Large-company guidance is a useful map, but following all of it can bury a ten- or fifty-person team. We keep the parts that protect you and leave out the overhead: one or two subscriptions with clear naming, a simple network, policy where it matters, short runbooks your team will open, and a named point of contact instead of a ticket queue.
How an engagement runs
- Review. We look at how code reaches production today, what you run, and where releases go wrong.
- Design. We agree the target path, the environments, the tools and a rough monthly cost range.
- Build. We create the pipeline and environments as code and test them with a real change.
- Hand over. Runbooks and a walkthrough for your team, so you can operate it.
- Support. Optional engineering hours each month for changes, reviews and tuning.
Ways to work together
| Option | What it is | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| DevOps readiness review | A fixed-scope look at how you build, test and release today | Findings, a recommended target path, order of work and a rough cost range |
| Pipeline and environment project | A scoped project with milestones and a defined finish | Pipelines, environments as code, monitoring and handover documentation |
| Support hours | An agreed block of engineering time each month | Pipeline changes, reviews, fixes and advice when you need it |
Fees are scoped per engagement and confirmed in writing before work begins. Azure usage is billed separately by Microsoft or your reseller.
Keeping workloads in Canada
Azure has two Canadian regions, in Toronto and Quebec City, and we can build your environments in them. Canada’s federal privacy law, PIPEDA, makes organizations accountable for personal information they handle, including when it is processed by a provider, but it does not by itself require data to stay in Canada. Some contracts, provinces and sectors do, so confirm what applies to you before choosing a region. We are not a law firm.
Who this is for, and who it is not
| A good fit | Probably not |
|---|---|
| Small and mid-sized businesses in Ontario, Canada and the US | Large multi-region enterprise programmes |
| Teams without a dedicated cloud or DevOps engineer | 24x7 operations or on-call coverage |
| A handful of applications that need a reliable release path | Clouds other than Azure |
| Companies that want a sound setup without enterprise overhead | Teams that already run a mature platform group |
We take on a limited number of Azure engagements at a time so each one gets proper attention, and we will say early if another provider is a better match.
Related services and local pages
- Azure cloud services: migration, application builds and consulting.
- Backup & Restore and Disaster Recovery (DRaaS): protection for what you deploy.
- Markham, Toronto and Mississauga technology teams: see how we work locally.
DevOps consulting questions
What is DevOps consulting?
DevOps consulting helps a team release software more reliably. It usually means automating builds, tests and deployments, describing servers and cloud resources as code, setting up monitoring, and agreeing how changes reach production. For a small business the goal is fewer manual steps and fewer surprises, not a large platform.
Do you only work with Azure?
Yes. Our cloud and DevOps work is focused on Microsoft Azure so projects draw on deep, current experience instead of a thin spread across platforms. Moving an application from another host into Azure is in scope.
Do we need Kubernetes?
Often not. Many small applications run well on simpler Azure services such as App Service, Functions or Container Apps. Kubernetes through AKS makes sense when a workload really needs it, and we will say so plainly instead of adding complexity you will have to run.
Should we use Terraform or Bicep?
Both describe Azure infrastructure as code. Bicep is Azure-specific and Terraform works across providers. We choose with you based on what your team already knows and how you expect to grow, and we document the result either way.
Can you work with our current developers or IT provider?
Yes. We work alongside your developers and your current IT provider, and we follow the tools your team already uses where possible. Handover documentation is part of the engagement.
Do you provide 24/7 on-call support?
No. We are not a round-the-clock operations centre. Support is an agreed block of engineering time each month, and response expectations are written into the agreement. We will tell you early if your needs call for a different kind of provider.
How is DevOps work priced?
Fees are scoped per engagement and confirmed in writing before work begins. Azure usage itself is billed separately by Microsoft or your reseller. A fixed-scope readiness review is a common first step because it gives you a plan before you commit to a project.
Can you keep our workloads in Canada?
Azure has two Canadian regions, in Toronto and Quebec City, and we can deploy into them. Canada’s federal privacy law does not by itself require data to stay in Canada, but some contracts and sector rules do, so confirm what applies to you before choosing a region.
How is this different from your Azure cloud services page?
Azure cloud services covers migrations, application builds and consulting. This page is about the delivery path: pipelines, environments as code, monitoring and release practice. Many engagements combine the two.
Start with a conversation
Tell us how you release software today and where it hurts. A short call is enough to say whether we are a good fit and what a first step would look like. No obligation.