Advice and architecture
A suitable cloud model, documented in an architecture diagram with explicit decisions and dependencies. Cloud-agnostic where useful, with a deliberate assessment of provider-specific services.
A technical partner for cloud and teams.
Horst IT Consultancy is the independent consultancy practice of Pascal van der Horst. The business supports organisations in designing, building and improving cloud platforms, considering both the technology and the teams working with it.
An e-commerce platform, customer portal or digital service needs to be fast and reliable. Horst IT Consultancy helps establish the technical foundation: scalable, secure and maintainable. Pascal is the direct point of contact, from advice and architecture through implementation and knowledge transfer.
Explore the approachFrom cloud requirements to a working platform.
A first move to the cloud or further development of an existing platform starts with the organisation’s requirements. Availability, security, cost and operations determine the right design.
Explore expertise
Migration and platform development
Support with moving from on-premises to the cloud and improving platforms built on technologies including Azure and Kubernetes. Automation, repeatable deployments and appropriate tooling help teams introduce changes in a controlled way.
Operations and knowledge transfer
Monitoring, responsibilities and handover are considered from the design stage. Building together and documenting decisions help development and operations teams maintain the environment independently.
Control over data. Room to change direction.
Digital autonomy requires control over technical dependencies and the ability to change direction. Digital sovereignty also concerns authority over data: who has access, where the data resides and which agreements and jurisdictions apply.
Explore the approach- Responsibility for the organisation’s data
- Using a cloud service does not remove an organisation’s responsibility for its data. Ownership, access controls, data location and agreements on use and deletion belong in the design.
- Open source and the CNCF ecosystem
- Open standards, Kubernetes and suitable projects from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) ecosystem can reduce dependencies. Open source also requires decisions about security, maintenance and available skills.
- A transferable architecture
- Data export, repeatable infrastructure and a tested exit strategy make switching providers practical. Each component is assessed for acceptable dependencies and the work involved in moving to another cloud.
Technology and collaboration support each other.
A good platform alone is not enough. Development teams need clear priorities, short feedback loops and workable agreements to deliver products and services predictably.
- Guide Agile ways of working and adapt them to the team’s daily practice.
- Define a minimum viable product (MVP) to test assumptions early with market feedback.
- Provide Scrum master support with collaboration, impediments and improvement.
Knowledge sharing runs throughout the engagement. Technical decisions and working practices are developed and documented together so the organisation can continue independently.
Explore insights from practiceFrom a challenge to a practical next step.
An initial conversation establishes the current situation, the intended outcome and the support required. Enquiries go directly to Pascal van der Horst.
- Define the challenge
- Discuss options and constraints
- Establish a suitable next step