Build Fast, Stay Safe, Control Cost — And Prove It
Public cloud should make you faster without making you riskier or poorer.
SolveForce delivers public cloud as a complete operating model—landing zones & on-ramps, platforms (Kubernetes/serverless/VMs), Zero-Trust security, data & AI, observability & evidence, FinOps, and continuity—so the binder matches the build every day.
Related pages
• Suite → /suite-of-cloud-services • Foundations → /cloud
• Platforms → /kubernetes • /serverless • Virtual DCs → /virtual-data-centers
• On-ramps → /direct-connect • Overlays → /sd-wan
• Security → /ztna • /waf • /key-management • /secrets-management • /email-auth
• Data & AI → /etl-elt • /data-warehouse • /vector-databases • /solveforce-ai
• Evidence & DR → /siem-soar • /backup-immutability • /draas
• Governance → /finops • /grc • Compliance → /nist • /hipaa • /pci-dss • /fedramp
🎯 Outcomes We Optimize
- Speed with safety— environments in minutes via IaC, with guardrails (deny-public, CMEK-required, tags enforced) and drift watchers.
- Predictable performance— right instance families, correct storage classes, Private Endpoints, and network layout for stable latency/throughput.
- Zero-Trust by default— ZTNA for consoles/SSH/RDP, workload identity (no long-lived keys), WAF/API signing at edges.
- Evidence on demand— logs/configs/approvals/tests to /siem-soar; the binder = build.
- Cost that behaves— tags/budgets/alerts, commitments (RIs/Savings Plans/CUDs/slots), unit economics ($/env, $/1k req, $/TB scanned).
🧭 Reference Architecture (AWS / Azure / GCP / IBM)
1) Landing Zones & Guardrails
- Org structure (tenants/accounts/subscriptions/projects), folders/OUs, delegated guardrails.
- Policies-as-code: deny-public storage, CMEK required, mandatory tags/labels, region controls, image baselines, logging sinks.
- Identity federation (SSO/MFA) and PIM/JIT for admin; workload identity (OIDC/IRSA) for apps (replace static keys).
→ Start at /cloud
2) Network & On-Ramps
- VPC/VNet hub-and-spoke or vWAN/Transit; Private Endpoints/Private Service Connect for sensitive services; split-horizon DNS.
- Direct Connect / ExpressRoute / Interconnect for deterministic paths; SD-WAN breaks out SaaS, pins private apps.
→ /direct-connect • /sd-wan
3) Platforms
- VMs/Scale Setsfor lifts & special drivers.
- Kubernetes(GKE/EKS/AKS): GitOps, admission policy (OPA/Gatekeeper), image signing + SBOM, NetworkPolicy default-deny. → /kubernetes
- Serverless(Cloud Run/Lambda/Functions): API Gateway with quotas/signing, idempotency & DLQs, step-function sagas; “$/request” budgets. → /serverless
4) Security & Edges
- WAF/Bot/DDoSat public edges; API schemas & JWT/HMAC/JWS signing; rate limits and threat feeds.
- ZTNAfor private consoles & app access; device posture checks.
- Keys & secretsHSM/KMS CMKs, vault secrets, rotations/quorum ceremonies recorded.
→ /waf • /ztna • /key-management • /secrets-management
5) Data & AI
- ELT/CDC into warehouse/lakehouse with contracts, lineage & DQ checks.
- Vector DBs + guarded RAG: assistants must cite or refuse; retrieval pre-filters by labels/ACLs.
→ /etl-elt • /data-warehouse • /vector-databases • /solveforce-ai
6) Observability & Evidence
- OpenTelemetry traces + cloud logs/metrics + config diffs → /siem-soar; playbooks for isolate/revoke/rekey/rollback/patch.
- SLO dashboards, ConMon, and exportable QBR packs.
7) Continuity
- Object-Lock/WORM backups, cross-region replicas, DRaaS; runbooks and drills with screenshots/checksums.
→ /backup-immutability • /draas
📦 Service Catalog (what we build & operate)
1) Foundation (per cloud) — org/tenant design, policies, logging, DNS, baseline networking, identity federation, PIM/JIT.
2) Compute — instance family catalogs (GP/CPU/MEM/Storage-optimized), GPU pools (training/inference/render), auto-healing groups and images with SBOM/signing.
3) Storage — block (IOPS/throughput profiles), file (SMB/NFS), object (lifecycle/versioning/lock); snapshots/replicas; app-consistent backups.
4) Network — hub-and-spoke/vWAN, Private Endpoints/PSC, inspection hubs, IPAM; BGP policy for on-ramps.
5) Security — ZTNA, WAF/Bot/DDoS, email trust (SPF/DKIM/DMARC/BIMI), keys/secret custody, drift watchers.
6) Platforms — Kubernetes/serverless patterns, GitOps, admission policies, autoscale, canary/blue-green.
7) Data & AI — CDC/ELT, warehouse/lake, vector DB, RAG assistants, eval sets, token budgets.
8) Observability & Evidence — SIEM pipelines, SLO boards, synthetic tests; SOAR playbooks and runbooks.
9) Continuity & DR — snapshot/replica policy, immutable backups, DR tiers & drills.
10) Compliance & GRC — SOC2/ISO/NIST/HIPAA/PCI/FedRAMP overlays; POA&M tracking; assessor exports.
11) FinOps — tags/budgets/alerts, commitment planning, anomaly tickets, unit economics & forecasts.
🔢 Quick Planning Tables
A) Instance Family Cheatsheet
| Family | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General Purpose | Web/app/services | Balanced vCPU/RAM; baseline |
| Compute-Optimized | API gateways, CPU-bound | High clock; great for stateless sets |
| Memory-Optimized | In-memory DB/analytics | NUMA/huge pages; check EBS/PD limits |
| Storage-Optimized | Sequential movers/backup | High throughput; consider placement |
| GPU | AI/ML/Render/Transcode | Consider MIG/partitioning and NVMe scratch |
B) Storage Choices
| Type | Latency | Best For | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block SSD | Low | VM disks, DB volumes | Tune IOPS/throughput; snapshots |
| File (SMB/NFS) | Low-Med | Shared app repos | Metadata perf matters |
| Object | Med | Backups/logs/analytics | Version + lifecycle + Object-Lock |
| NVMe-oF | Very Low | AI/DB scratch | TCP/FC; jumbo MTU & queue tuning |
C) Network Patterns
| Pattern | Use | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Hub-and-Spoke | Many spokes, shared services | Central inspection & egress |
| vWAN/Transit | Multi-region/multi-cloud | Route scale; policy hubs |
| Private Endpoints | Sensitive services | No public IPs/exposure |
| Anycast Edges | UC/API ingress | Health-gated withdraws |
🔐 Security That Sticks (baseline)
- Identity-firstSSO/MFA, PIM/JIT for admin; workload identity for apps; no long-lived keys.
- BoundaryWAF/Bot/DDoS; API signing & schema validation; email auth (DMARC→p=reject) for comms.
- CustodyKMS/HSM CMKs; vault secrets; rotation ceremonies recorded and auditable.
- Policy-as-codedeny-public, CMEK-required, tag enforcement, region controls; CI gates + drift watchers.
- Evidencelogs/configs/tests → SIEM; SOAR actions with approvals.
📐 SLO Guardrails (public cloud you can measure)
| Domain | KPI / SLO (p95 unless noted) | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Policy | Policy deploy → enforced | ≤ 60–120 s |
| Identity | Role/permission propagation | ≤ 60–120 s |
| K8s | Node join (GKE/EKS/AKS) | ≤ 3–6 min |
| Network | On-ramp attach (metro→region) | ≤ 2–5 ms |
| Edge | WAF added latency | ≤ 5–20 ms |
| Security | ZTNA admin attach | ≤ 1–3 s |
| Data/AI | RAG citation coverage | = 100% (refusal ≥ 98%) |
| Backups | Immutability coverage (Tier-1) | = 100% |
| DR | RTO/RPO (Tier-1) | ≤ 5–60 min / ≤ 0–15 min |
| Evidence | Logs/artifacts → SIEM | ≤ 60–120 s |
| Change | Unapproved prod changes | = 0 |
Breaches auto-open a case and trigger SOAR (reroute, re-key, rollback, scale, tighten policy), with artifacts attached.
🧪 Acceptance Tests & Artifacts (we keep the receipts)
- Landing zone— org policy checks (deny-public, CMEK), tag coverage, log sinks and retention.
- Network— Private Endpoint reachability, BGP policy, latency/jitter to regions & Anycast edges.
- Compute— image integrity (SBOM/signatures), auto-heal/scale tests; kernel/driver posture.
- Storage— snapshot/restore drills (screenshots & checksums), replica lag; Object-Lock verification.
- Security— ZTNA admits, WAF/Bot events, KMS/vault rotations, DMARC/TLS-RPT headers.
- DR— documented failover/failback timings; clean-point catalog.
Artifacts stream to /siem-soar and assemble into QBR/audit packs.
💸 FinOps in Practice (cost that behaves)
- Govern— mandatory tags; budgets & alerts; policy stop on untagged.
- Commit— RIs/SPs/CUDs/slots sized to utilization; savings scorecards per team/service.
- Explain— unit economics ($/env, $/service, $/1k req, $/TB scanned, $/question for AI); forecast targets (30/90d).
- Optimize— rightsize; lifecycle/archives; egress guardrails; cache/CDN; schedule-based scale-down.
🧰 Solution Bundles (choose your fit)
- Foundation Pack— landing zone + identity federation + Private Endpoints + WAF baseline + SIEM/SOAR + budgets.
- Kubernetes Platform Pack— managed K8s, GitOps, admission policy, signed images/SBOM, autoscale, OTel.
- Serverless/API Pack— API GW (quotas, schema validation, JWT/HMAC), Functions; idempotency/DLQs; “$/request” budgets.
- Data & DR Pack— snapshot/replica policy, Object-Lock backups, DR runbooks & drills; warehouse integration.
- Regulated Enclave Pack— PIM/JIT, HSM keys, no public ingress, Private Endpoints only, immutable logs & backups, assessor artifacts.
🧱 Design Notes & Best Practices
- Build guardrails first; then add environments—policy-as-code catches most mistakes before they go live.
- Prefer workload identity over static keys; rotate all secrets/keys with proof.
- Keep L2 bounded; rely on routed VPC/VNet + Private Endpoints and transit hubs.
- Use Anycast for UC/API ingress; withdraw on health signals.
- For AI/ML, plan NVMe scratch + object backends and token/$ budgets; track eval metrics.
- Test restore and DR before production—then quarterly.
📝 Public Cloud Intake (copy-paste & fill)
- Cloud(s)/regions; on-ramp POPs & diversity needs
- Workloads(web/app/DB/analytics/AI) & SLOs; RTO/RPO targets
- Compute(families, GPU needs, images/OS) • Storage (block/file/object, IOPS/throughput)
- Network(VPC/VNet design, Private Endpoints, DNS/IPAM, WAF/API GW)
- Identity/Security(SSO/MFA, PIM/JIT, ZTNA, KMS/HSM, vault, email auth)
- Observability(logs/metrics/traces, drift watchers, SIEM destination)
- Compliance(SOC2/ISO/NIST/HIPAA/PCI/FedRAMP), BAAs/DPAs
- FinOps(budgets, commitments, unit economics), reporting cadence
- Operations(managed vs co-managed, change windows, escalation matrix)
- Timeline & budget, success metrics (cost, SLO attainment)
We’ll return a design-to-operate plan with architecture, provider options, SLO-mapped pricing, compliance overlays, and an evidence plan for audits and QBRs.
Or go straight to /customized-quotes.
📞 Launch or Level-Up Your Public Cloud — Securely, Efficiently, and With Proof
- Call: (888) 765-8301
- Email: contact@solveforce.com
We’ll assemble foundations, platforms, security, data & AI, observability, and continuity into a public cloud you can operate, optimize, and prove—every day.
Key terms in plain language
Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.
Latency
The time it takes data to travel between two points. Lower latency improves voice, video meetings, cloud applications, gaming, and other real-time services.
SD-WAN
Software-defined wide area networking. It manages multiple connections and chooses paths based on application needs, performance, and policy to improve resilience and control.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software accessed as an online service instead of being installed and maintained entirely on the customer’s own computers or servers.
Disaster Recovery (DRaaS)
A plan and service for restoring applications, data, and operations after an outage or disruption. DRaaS provides recovery infrastructure through a managed cloud service.
Zero Trust
A security model that does not automatically trust a user or device because of its location. Access is continuously verified and limited to what is necessary.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
A login control requiring more than one form of verification, such as a password plus an authenticator app, security key, or biometric factor.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A distributed system that serves website or application content from locations closer to users, improving speed, resilience, and capacity.
API
An application programming interface is a defined way for software systems to exchange data or request functions from one another.