FAQs

When continuous uptime, data security, speed and cost efficiencies are critical to your success, Stern Devops Group is your technology advisor.

Below are some common questions that prospective clients ask during initial conversations. If you have a question that’s not covered here,

How many years experience do you have?
Dave Stern, President of Stern Devops Group, has been working in software and systems development since the mid 1990s. He has been working almost exclusively in AWS since 2012. Our team of engineers also have strong experience in devops and AWS that typically spans several years as well. It’s important to note that all projects are managed under the guidance of Dave Stern, and his expertise in a wide range of scale and architectures.
Have you worked with our particular technology stack or platform?
Over the course of two decades, we have worked with all major backend platforms and languages. We have also built and supported systems for languages with which he had little or no experience. In the vast majority of cases, the web application architecture can work with any platform. To make sure that happens, we work closely with development teams to migrate their codebase. Developers will mostly manage the code while we deploy it to new systems with a great deal of crossover so the developers are left with experience in managing their new infrastructure.
Have you worked with clients in our industry vertical?
As a technology advisor to established companies and startups of all types, devops is industry-agnostic, in that the deep expertise in the systems, software and architecture is what matters most for mutual success.
From beginning to end, what can we expect in terms of process?
Every project starts with discovery. In order to take your business to the best possible technical architecture, we need to know where you are, the challenges you face, your business constraints and your long-term goals. From there, we offer solutions that allow you to make business decisions about your infrastructure based on your unique situation. Once we agree as a team on what we want to achieve, we map out a gameplan to get there. Finally, our strongest asset is our ability to execute and seamlessly build and migrate your systems to their next evolution while training your team and supporting them from start to finish and beyond.
What level of investment is typical?
As can be expected, every project and every environment comes with its own challenges, constraints and deliverables. We can give rough estimates once we understand these needs, and we work on a fixed fee basis. In most cases, the project fee is included in the proposal, and we pride ourselves on meeting our deadlines and budgets.
How long will this take?
We recognize that your website is your business and it’s important to avoid disruptions. We pride ourselves on meticulously planned migrations and upgrades that require careful planning. Every engagement involves a different environment and every project requires a unique approach even as we leverage past implementations to save time and money. When we take into account discovery, planning and execution, a typical engagement takes about 2-4 months. We provide time estimates in our proposals and make a point of regular status updates to keep stakeholders informed of progress and decision points every step of the way.
Is it just you or do you have a team?
All projects are managed under the guidance of Dave Stern, founder of Stern Devops Group. His expertise spans a wide range of scale and architectures, and our team of engineers also has strong experience in devops and AWS that spans several years.