Operate · Ongoing
Fractional Platform Engineering
With acks.io fractional platform engineering, senior platform engineers join your engineering organisation part-time and own your infrastructure: cloud and Kubernetes, infrastructure as code, CI/CD, observability, security, reliability and cost. You get the platform team you need without hiring one full-time.
This is not outsourced IT. We work in your backlog, your repositories and your planning, and we are accountable for the platform improving, not just staying up.
What is fractional platform engineering?
Fractional platform engineering means having experienced platform engineers work as part of your team for a fixed share of their time, instead of hiring a full-time platform team. Like a fractional CTO, it gives a company senior expertise in proportion to what it needs today. Unlike a managed service with a fixed scope, a fractional platform team owns the roadmap: it decides with you what to build, builds it, and runs it.
Who it is for
When you need a platform team, but not a full-time one
- You run production on the cloud or Kubernetes without a platform team. Product engineers handle infrastructure on the side.
- Your infrastructure depends on one or two people. Holidays and resignations are operational risks.
- You are hiring, but it will take months — and the platform can't wait. We cover the gap and help you hire.
- You have an in-house team that needs senior support for a security push or a move to Kubernetes.
What we take on
The platform, end to end — or the part you choose
Cloud infrastructure
- Accounts, networking and IAM on AWS, GCP or Azure
- Architecture decisions and reviews
- Capacity planning
Kubernetes
- Cluster lifecycle and version upgrades
- Ingress, autoscaling and add-ons
- Developer-facing deployment patterns
Infrastructure as code
- Terraform modules and state management
- Drift detection and clean-up
- Reviewed, repeatable changes
CI/CD and GitOps
- Build, test and deploy pipelines
- Argo CD or equivalent GitOps delivery
- Release safety: promotion and rollback
Observability and incidents
- Metrics, logs, traces and SLOs
- Alerting that pages the right people
- Incident support and post-incident reviews
Security and cost
- Patching, hardening and access reviews
- Security questionnaires and audit evidence
- Cost monitoring and optimisation
How it works
Getting started
Scoping call
We learn your platform, your team and what you want off your plate.
Assessment
A short review of the platform so the first months are prioritised by risk and value.
Onboarding
Access, repositories, chat and rituals. A shared roadmap for the first quarter.
Ongoing work
Planned platform work plus support for your team, with a regular review of priorities.
Compared
Fractional platform team, managed cloud or a hire?
| Fractional platform engineering | Managed cloud | Full-time hire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main goal | Improve and run the platform | Keep a defined scope running | Build in-house capability |
| Owns the roadmap | Yes, together with you | No — scope is agreed up front | Yes |
| Breadth of expertise | A team with different specialisms | Operations-focused | One person's experience |
| Time to start | Weeks | Weeks | Months to hire and onboard |
| Best when | You need senior platform work but not a full team | Your platform is stable and needs reliable operation | Platform work is a full-time job for several people |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is fractional platform engineering?
Fractional platform engineering means having experienced platform engineers work as part of your engineering organisation for a fixed share of their time, instead of hiring a full-time platform team. They own your infrastructure roadmap and do the work: cloud and Kubernetes, infrastructure as code, CI/CD, observability, security and cost.
How is this different from managed services or outsourcing?
A managed service runs a defined scope of infrastructure for you against agreed targets. A fractional platform team works inside your engineering process — your backlog, your repositories, your planning — and improves the platform over time, not just keeps it running.
Who is it for?
Companies running production on the cloud or Kubernetes that need senior platform expertise but not a full-time team yet, teams whose infrastructure depends on one or two people, and teams that want to free product engineers from infrastructure work.
Is there a lock-in?
No. Everything we build lives in your repositories and accounts, as code, with documentation and runbooks. If you later hire an in-house platform team, we hand over to them.
How is it priced?
A monthly fee for an agreed capacity, quoted after a scoping call. Cloud provider costs stay on your own account.
Talk to an engineer about your infrastructure
A 30-minute call with a senior engineer, not a sales rep. We ask about your setup and what is worrying you, and tell you honestly whether we can help.