Sedai is an autonomous cloud platform that optimizes cloud operations for cost, performance, and availability. It uses machine learning to manage production environments without manual thresholds or human intervention. Key benefits include up to 53% cost savings, 30% latency reduction, and a 33% reduction in SRE workload. Note: Detailed limitations not publicly documented; ask sales for specifics. Source
What are the main features and capabilities of Sedai?
Sedai offers autonomous optimization, application-aware intelligence, proactive issue resolution, full-stack cloud coverage (across AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes), safety-by-design (with continuous health verification and automatic rollbacks), release intelligence, and plug-and-play implementation. Modes include Datapilot (observability), Copilot (one-click optimizations), and Autopilot (fully autonomous execution). Note: Best fit for teams seeking autonomous, safe optimization; teams requiring manual control over every change may want to consider alternatives. Source
What technologies and environments does Sedai support?
Sedai supports containers (AWS EKS, Kubernetes, AWS ECS), serverless (AWS Lambda), VMs (EC2), and storage services (AWS EBS). It integrates with monitoring tools like Prometheus, Datadog, Cloudwatch, Azure Monitor; Kubernetes autoscalers (HPA/VPA, Karpenter); IaC and CI/CD tools (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Terraform); ITSM (ServiceNow, PagerDuty, Jira); and notification and runbook automation platforms. Note: Some integrations may require additional setup time depending on environment complexity. Source
Use Cases & Benefits
What problems does Sedai solve for development and operations teams?
Sedai addresses cost inefficiencies (reducing cloud costs by up to 50%), operational toil (automating repetitive tasks and delivering up to 6X productivity gains), performance and latency issues (reducing latency by up to 75%), lack of proactive issue resolution (reducing failed customer interactions by up to 50%), complexity in multi-cloud and hybrid environments, and misaligned priorities between engineering and finance. Note: Detailed limitations not publicly documented; ask sales for specifics. Source
Who can benefit from using Sedai?
Sedai is designed for IT/cloud operations, FinOps, technology leadership (CTO, CIO, VP Engineering), platform engineering, and site reliability engineering (SRE) teams. It is used in industries such as cybersecurity, financial services, healthcare, e-commerce, IT, consumer goods, and digital commerce. Note: Teams with highly specialized, non-cloud-native environments may require additional integration work. Source
What business impact can customers expect from using Sedai?
Customers typically achieve up to 50% cloud cost reduction, up to 75% latency reduction, up to 50% fewer failed customer interactions, and up to 6X productivity improvements. ROI is often greater than 400%, with payback in under six months. For example, KnowBe4 saved $1.2 million on AWS costs, and Palo Alto Networks saved $3.5 million. Note: Actual results may vary depending on environment and implementation. Source
Features & Capabilities
How does Sedai ensure safe, autonomous optimization in production environments?
Sedai is patented to make safe, autonomous optimizations in production without causing incidents or breaching SLOs. It performs slow, gradual optimizations with continuous validation checks, health verification, automatic rollbacks, and incremental changes. This safety-by-design approach addresses the main barrier to automation adoption. Note: Teams requiring all-at-once changes or manual overrides for every action may need to adjust workflows. Source
What integrations does Sedai offer?
Sedai integrates with Prometheus, Datadog, Cloudwatch, Azure Monitor, HPA/VPA, Karpenter, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Terraform, ServiceNow, PagerDuty, Jira, notification tools, runbook automation platforms, AWS Lambda, and AWS Fargate. Note: Some integrations may require additional configuration or permissions. Source
Pricing & Plans
What is Sedai's pricing model?
Sedai uses a volume-based pricing model, charging based on the resources optimized (e.g., Kubernetes pods, ECS tasks, VMs). There is a free tier and a 30-day free trial. All costs are outlined on the pricing page, and Kubernetes users are encouraged to book a demo for custom pricing. Note: Pricing may vary based on environment size and resource usage. Source
Implementation & Technical Requirements
How long does it take to implement Sedai and how easy is it to start?
Initial onboarding takes about 15 minutes for agentless or agent-based deployment to begin reading metrics. Additional setup for CI/CD and integrations may require more time depending on complexity. Sedai offers plug-and-play implementation and operates autonomously, reducing manual oversight. Note: Complex environments may require additional integration time. Source
What technical documentation is available for Sedai?
Sedai provides a Getting Started Guide, Kubernetes Optimization Guide, and a Platform Overview. These resources are available at docs.sedai.io/get-started and sedai.io/resources. Note: Some advanced topics may require direct support from Sedai's team.
Security & Compliance
What security and compliance certifications does Sedai have?
Sedai is SOC 2 certified, demonstrating adherence to stringent security requirements and industry standards for data protection and compliance. For more details, visit the Sedai Security page. Note: Additional certifications may be in progress; contact Sedai for the latest status.
Customer Success & Case Studies
Can you share specific case studies or success stories of customers using Sedai?
KnowBe4 achieved up to 50% cost savings and saved $1.2 million on AWS, while Palo Alto Networks saved $3.5 million. Belcorp reduced AWS Lambda latency by 77%, Campspot achieved a 34% reduction in Lambda latency, and Inflection improved platform performance and reduced cold start latency. More stories are available at sedai.io/customers. Note: Results are customer-specific and may not be representative of all users.
Competition & Comparison
How does Sedai differ from traditional cloud optimization tools?
Traditional tools provide dashboards or recommendations requiring manual intervention and often optimize infrastructure in isolation using coarse metrics. Sedai offers autonomous optimization, application-aware intelligence, and safety-by-design, making gradual, validated changes without manual approval. It also provides full-stack coverage and release intelligence. Note: Teams preferring manual control or static recommendations may prefer traditional tools. Source
Optimizing Development Environments: Comparing Kubernetes vs. Serverless Approaches at BILL & Velocity Global
NG
Nikhil Gopinath
Content Writer
October 9, 2024
Featured
In today's cloud computing landscape, efficient, scalable development environments are essential for innovation. BILL and Velocity Global are two companies streamlining their processes with modern cloud technologies. BILL uses Kubernetes and Team Spaces for flexible testing and deployment, while Velocity Global leverages a serverless-first architecture for easy scalability. In this article, based on insights from Beau Nelford of BILL and Kumar Ramanathan of Velocity Global at Sedai’s autocon conference, we’ll explore the benefits and challenges of each approach and how they optimize development workflows. We’ll take a comparative view here. In two subsequent artickes we have gone into more depth on BILL’s approach here, and Velocity Global’s approach here.
Optimizing Development Environments with BILL and Velocity Global
As cloud technology continues to evolve, tools and frameworks are increasingly influencing the efficiency of development teams. Companies like BILL and Velocity Global leverage Kubernetes, serverless architectures, and autonomous systems to optimize workflows, reduce costs, and scale quickly. However, challenges such as testing environments, seamless system integration, and maintaining security and scalability remain.
By adopting cloud-native development and AI-driven tools, businesses are addressing these challenges. Autonomous systems reduce manual tasks like scaling and performance monitoring, freeing developers to focus on innovation. For example, BILL’s Team Spaces streamlines testing, while Velocity Global’s serverless-first architecture enhances scalability.
Key trends driving this shift include the rise of DevOps in autonomous cloud environments, the use of AI in development, and the impact of cloud-native practices, unified testing strategies, and improved data security.
Lambda cold starts and misconfigured memory allocations quietly inflate your bill. Book a demo to see how Sedai auto-tunes serverless configurations based on real execution patterns.
Developer Needs: Speed, Security, and Scalability
Developers in the modern cloud environment face a combination of needs, the most important of which include speed, security, and scalability. To stay competitive, companies need to ensure that their developers have the right tools to meet these demands:
Speed is critical in a fast-paced world where businesses expect continuous integration and rapid deployment. With tools like automated CI/CD pipelines, developers can automate code testing and deployments, drastically reducing the time between writing code and seeing it in production.
Security is paramount, as developers need to build and deploy code that protects sensitive data and is resilient against attacks. Emphasizing security-centric development, combined with a robust monitoring and observability framework, helps ensure that potential vulnerabilities are identified early in the development process.
Scalability has become more manageable with cloud-native technologies like container orchestration efficiency (e.g., Kubernetes) and serverless framework integration. These technologies allow applications to scale dynamically based on demand, making it easier for developers to focus on the logic rather than infrastructure management.
Additional elements that enhance the developer experience include:
Unified development experience: Bringing all tools and workflows into a cohesive system.
Consistent testing: Ensuring all code is thoroughly tested across environments.
Documentation and training support: Offering developers the resources they need to stay updated with evolving technologies.
By leveraging these technologies and practices, developers are equipped to deliver secure, scalable, and fast solutions in today’s cloud-driven world.
Ready to optimize development environments at scale?
Book a Sedai demo to automate resource optimization, improve developer productivity, and reduce cloud costs.
Comparison of BILL and Velocity Global Approaches to Developer Environments
In the fast-paced world of technology, companies like BILL and Velocity Global are constantly evolving their development environments to meet growing demands. While both companies share a focus on improving efficiency and scalability, they each take unique approaches to achieve these goals.
BILL is transitioning away from static test environments to more flexible, ephemeral setups like Team Spaces. They are also integrating cloud tools such as Crossplane, which allows developers to define cloud services using Helm Charts, enabling efficient management of both applications and infrastructure components simultaneously. This shift is aimed at improving deployment efficiency and resource management.
On the other hand, Velocity Global is focused on refining its serverless architecture to optimize costs and improve scalability. By leveraging emerging serverless technologies and tools, they are positioning themselves to handle increasing traffic and more complex workflows as they grow. Their serverless-first approach simplifies infrastructure management while preparing them for future global expansion.
Enable rapid creation of environments for developers
Optimize for simplicity and cost-effectiveness
Future Focus
Replacing static test environments with Team Spaces and Local Spaces, integrating Crossplane for better cloud resource management
Refining serverless architecture for cost optimization and scalability, exploring new serverless technologies
Developer Experience
Developer Experience Focus
Providing production-like environments for testing
Simplifying infrastructure concerns, focus on business logic
Development Environment
Team Spaces (ephemeral Kubernetes environments) and Local Spaces (Docker-based local environments)
Serverless functions with local development challenges
Developer Tools
Developer Portal and DIVI Mission Control (DMC) CLI
Paved Roads framework with pre-approved tools and practices
Language/Framework Support
Java, Elixir, and other containerized services
Node.js, TypeScript, Java (limited to approved stacks)
Cloud Integration
Deep integration with Kubernetes, exploring Crossplane for cloud resource management
Native integration with AWS services
Infrastructure
Scalability Approach
Kubernetes orchestration for flexible scaling
Automatic scaling handled by AWS Lambda
Infrastructure Management
Managed through Kubernetes and Helm charts
Minimal management, handled by cloud provider
Cost Model
Resource allocation based on Kubernetes clusters
Pay-per-use model based on function execution
Development Process
Testing Strategy
Isolated environments that mirror production
Challenges in local testing, often testing in cloud
Deployment Process
Continuous deployment every 11 minutes
CI/CD pipeline with automated checks and deployment
Iteration Speed
Fast iteration with isolated environments
Potential for rapid development, but challenges with local testing
Data and Security
Data Management
Sanitized snapshots of production databases for testing
Not specified, likely using serverless-compatible databases
Security Approach
Isolated environments, likely following Kubernetes security best practices
Managed by AWS, with additional layers as needed
Operational Aspects
Monitoring and Observability
Not specified in detail
DataDog for monitoring, custom dashboards for cost and performance
Team Structure
Large development team (600+ engineers) with specialized DevOps support
Smaller, autonomous teams with a central DevOps team maintaining Paved Roads
Pros and Cons
Advantages: Flexible, isolated environments; close to production setup
Challenges: Managing complex Kubernetes environments, ensuring consistency across spaces
Both companies are committed to pushing the boundaries of their development environments. BILL’s vision to integrate Crossplane will allow them to automate the provisioning of cloud services more efficiently, while Velocity Global's efforts in improving their serverless infrastructure will enable them to manage global operations with minimal overhead.
You can see more about BILL’s approach here, and Velocity Global’s approach here.
Moving to serverless infrastructure eliminates operational overhead for the right workloads — but memory, concurrency, and cold start configuration still need continuous optimization. Book a demo to see how Sedai handles that for your serverless environments.
Conclusion
BILL and Velocity Global exemplify how modern cloud technologies can optimize development processes. BILL’s use of Kubernetes and Team Spaces allows for rapid testing, isolated environments, and efficient deployments, all managed through a streamlined Developer Portal and CLI. These tools enable faster feedback loops and greater flexibility, enhancing the overall development cycle.
Meanwhile, Velocity Global has embraced a serverless-first architecture, which reduces infrastructure overhead and scales efficiently. While challenges like cold starts and execution limits exist, their implementation of Paved Roads provides pre-built, approved frameworks that simplify development and help developers focus on business logic rather than setup.
As both companies continue to innovate, they demonstrate how cloud-native solutions can lead to scalable, cost-efficient operations. Organizations looking to replicate this success should:
Leverage Automation: Use CI/CD pipelines and ephemeral environments to speed up development.
Invest in Developer Tools: Ensure that teams have the resources to manage environments efficiently.
Optimize for Flexibility: Embrace Kubernetes or serverless models to adapt to scaling needs with minimal effort.
By adopting these strategies, companies can foster agile, scalable development environments, enabling teams to deliver faster, more secure software.