EC2 (virtual machines)
Linux and Windows instances for application hosting. Right-sized, scheduled off hours where the workload allows, Savings Plans where they pay back inside 12 months.
Cloud · AWS
AWS hosting for UK small businesses
EC2, S3, RDS and the supporting cast, architected for a UK SME and kept under budget. We run AWS for clients whose software vendors target AWS first, or whose teams already know it.
What we run on AWS
The services most SMEs actually need.
AWS has 200+ services. You need about a dozen. We build clean, Well-Architected designs using the services that pay back — not the shiny ones.
S3 (object storage)
File, backup and static-website storage. Lifecycle rules to tier cold data into Glacier for long retention at a fraction of the cost. Versioning and object lock for immutability.
RDS (managed databases)
PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server and MariaDB as managed services. Patching, backup and snapshot handled by AWS. Multi-AZ where you need it, single-AZ where you don't.
Networking (VPC)
VPCs, subnets, route tables, NAT, Transit Gateway if the estate grows. Site-to-site VPN or Direct Connect for office links.
IAM & SSO
Identity and access designed so no one uses root. SSO federation to Entra ID or Google Workspace so you're not juggling three identity stores.
Monitoring & billing
CloudWatch alerts into our tooling, Cost Explorer budgets with alerting, and a monthly written cost review.
Cost control
The three places AWS bills get out of hand.
AWS is cheap-per-unit and expensive-by-accident. Nine times out of ten an over-budget AWS bill is one of these:
- Orphaned resources — test EBS volumes, idle NAT gateways, forgotten EIPs. Tagging and a cleanup job stops it.
- Data transfer out — moving data out of AWS costs. We design to avoid round-trips and use CloudFront where it pays back.
- Over-sized instances — t3.xlarge where a t3.medium would do. Right-sizing runs quarterly.
Savings Plans and Reserved Instances knock another 25–50% off steady-state compute. We buy them at the right commitment length for your workload, not the longest one a salesperson can push.
Migration
We run AWS migrations in three patterns:
- Lift-and-shift — fastest, uses AWS Application Migration Service
- Replatform — move databases to RDS, files to S3, keep the app
- Refactor — rebuild on managed services where it pays back (rare for SMEs)
We'll tell you which is right for you, usually lift-and-shift then replatform the hot spots.
How we work
A four-step AWS project.
Design
Account structure, VPC, IAM and backup plan. Written architecture against AWS Well-Architected.
Deploy
CloudFormation or Terraform — repeatable and reviewable. No ClickOps in production.
Migrate
AWS MGN for lift-and-shift, database migration via DMS where needed. Cutover planned with you, out of hours.
Run
Monitoring, backup, patching, monthly cost review. Savings Plans bought on a 12-month rolling basis.
Free AWS Well-Architected review.
Already on AWS? We'll run a Well-Architected review for free and send a written pass/fail with remediation priorities — no obligation.