Docker + Kubernetes deployment services — pragmatic migration
Dockerize cleanly. Decide if Kubernetes is actually worth it. Execute either way. Proven container discipline at GigEasy and Imohub.
Who this is for
Team that already Dockerized and is planning a move to Kubernetes (EKS, GKE, DigitalOcean).
The pain today
- K8s migration has no written plan — just 'let's go to Kubernetes'.
- The team cannot estimate effort because nobody has done it before.
- Dockerfiles are 2GB and layer caching is hostile.
- Kubernetes is a buzzword in leadership conversations without a technical case.
The outcome you get
- A senior engineer who Dockerizes cleanly and decides whether K8s is worth it.
- A written migration plan if Kubernetes is the right call.
- A written 'do not migrate' memo if it is not.
- Execution either way — Dockerize, migrate, or simplify.
Docker first — do not skip the Dockerization
Most teams that ask for Kubernetes actually have a Docker problem. Images are 2GB, layer caching is broken, security scanning has never run, and the registry is a free-tier with 3-day retention. The first 2 to 4 weeks of most Docker-plus-K8s engagements is fixing the Docker layer so there is something coherent to migrate. Multi-stage builds, small base images, BuildKit cache mounts, security scanning in CI, registry strategy with appropriate retention. Then and only then does the Kubernetes question get answered.
The K8s decision is usually no
Most startups that want Kubernetes should not have it. Kubernetes is an operational commitment — you need someone who can operate clusters, debug CNI, and handle upgrades. For teams under 20 engineers, ECS Fargate or Fly.io ships the same container workloads with one-tenth the operational overhead. The audit measures both paths over 24 months of carrying cost. Roughly 70% of the time the recommendation is 'stay on ECS or move to Fly'. The other 30% genuinely need K8s — team already has expertise, multi-cloud requirement, or scaling pattern that justifies it.
When K8s is the right call, what the plan looks like
A real K8s migration plan has: phase 1 cluster bootstrap (EKS via Pulumi or Terraform, IAM, VPC, logging to Cloudwatch, ArgoCD for GitOps), phase 2 one service migrated (pick the simplest, run in parallel with the old deploy, verify metrics match), phase 3 the rest of the services (ordered by dependency chain), phase 4 operational runbooks (what to do when a pod will not schedule, when a node goes NotReady, when an upgrade fails). Total: 8 to 16 weeks for a mid-size app. The plan gets written before any code is written.
Pricing and scope
Applications subscription at $3,499 per month flat for implementation. Decision-first audits (K8s vs ECS vs Fly, written recommendation) bill against Advisory at $4,500 per month pro-rated for 1 to 2 week scope. The audit has saved multiple teams the 6-month detour into K8s complexity.
Recent proof
A comparable engagement, delivered and documented.
Rebuilt a real estate portal at a fraction of the cost
Rebuilt Imóveis SC's real estate portal as ImoHub — a faster, more scalable successor — handling 120k+ properties with sub-second search and drastically reduced AWS costs.
Frequently asked questions
The questions prospects ask before they book.
- ECS Fargate or Kubernetes?
- ECS Fargate for most teams under 20 engineers. Kubernetes when team expertise, multi-cloud, or specific scaling pattern justifies it. The audit measures both.
- What is the smallest K8s that makes sense?
- Managed K8s (EKS Auto Mode, GKE Autopilot) with 3 small nodes if the workload justifies it. Self-managed K8s at small scale is almost never worth it.
- Can you do the migration incrementally?
- Yes. One service at a time, running in parallel with the old deploy. No big-bang cutover.
- What does the Docker-first phase include?
- Multi-stage Dockerfiles (typical 5 to 10x image size reduction), BuildKit cache mounts, security scanning in CI, registry strategy with retention policies.
- Do you handle ArgoCD or Flux?
- ArgoCD for teams that want UI plus RBAC. Flux for teams that want pure CLI-driven GitOps. Both are production-grade.
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