Why this proposal
Following a productive engagement since December 2023, Raylytic has expressed the need to move from task-based IT support to a fully managed service model. Under this model, Smartspot assumes complete ownership of Raylytic's IT landscape — including planning, architecture, execution, and compliance documentation — operating as Raylytic's dedicated IT department without requiring day-to-day oversight.
This transition also absorbs the responsibilities currently handled by external IT support, consolidating all IT operations under a single, fully accountable partner.
- Operational reliability, stability, and proactive issue prevention
- Full alignment between IT strategy and Raylytic's business goals
- Scalable, secure, and cost-efficient infrastructure management
- A single point of accountability for all IT matters, reporting directly to the COO
How the team is structured
Smartspot delivers a 1 FTE managed service staffed by two Senior DevOps Engineers who jointly cover standard business hours (Monday–Friday, 8 hours per day, excluding Romanian public holidays). Rather than hiring a single employee, this model provides Raylytic with two experienced professionals who share full knowledge of all systems, split the workload between them, and operate as one integrated unit.
This structure is a deliberate design choice that offers advantages a single hire cannot match:
Uninterrupted Coverage
When one engineer is on leave or unavailable, the other maintains service continuity — no handovers, no delays, no temporary replacements. Raylytic always has a knowledgeable engineer available during business hours.
Zero Single Point of Failure
Both engineers maintain complete, current knowledge of every system. Raylytic is never dependent on one individual's availability or memory.
Parallel Capacity When It Matters
During high-demand periods — migrations, incidents, audit preparation — both engineers can engage simultaneously, delivering short-term surge capacity beyond the standard 1 FTE scope.
The team operates with full autonomy over planning, prioritisation, and execution. Strategic direction comes from the COO; technical recommendations flow upward to inform those decisions. Regular collaboration involves the Product Manager and Senior Developers on the Raylytic side.
What's included
All service areas below are fully covered within the managed service. Everything is self-managed by Smartspot — planning, prioritisation, and documentation for certification audits included.
Infrastructure & Cloud (OVH)
- Full lifecycle management, incl. ordering & decommissioning
- Network architecture & firewall (OPNsense)
- High availability & disaster recovery
- Cost optimisation & capacity planning
DevOps & Platform Engineering
- CI/CD pipeline management (GitLab CI)
- Kubernetes & container orchestration
- IaC: Terraform, Helm, ArgoCD
- Deployment automation & release management
System Administration
- Linux server administration
- Database administration: MariaDB & PostgreSQL
- Backup management & restore validation
- Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki
Security & Compliance
- Security best practices & hardening
- Identity & access management
- ISO audit support & technical documentation
- Incident response coordination
Collaboration Tools
- Atlassian: Jira & Confluence administration
- Microsoft 365, Intune, OneDrive management
- Licence management & configuration
- Note: end-user laptops remain employee-managed
Strategic Advisory & Reporting
- Architecture decisions with trade-off analysis
- Cost optimisation recommendations for COO
- Monthly written status report to COO
- Ad-hoc IT strategy consultation
Response commitments
Commitments apply during standard business hours — Monday–Friday, 9:00–18:00 (Romanian time), excluding Romanian public holidays.
| Priority | Example | Response | Resolution Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 – Critical | Production outage, data loss risk | 1 hour | 4 hours |
| P2 – High | Significant service degradation | 4 hours | Next business day |
| P3 – Normal | Standard tasks, improvements | Next business day | Agreed in sprint |
Investment
Smartspot provides the full managed service described in this proposal under a fixed monthly retainer. This gives Raylytic a single, predictable cost line — no variable billing, no timesheet reviews, no monthly fluctuations.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | 12,580 EUR / month |
| Annual investment | 150,960 EUR / year |
The retainer covers all services, planning, architecture, and management activities described in this proposal during standard business hours. Raylytic receives consistent service every month — because two engineers sharing the workload ensures continuous coverage regardless of individual availability.
Additional Hours (beyond standard scope)
Work beyond the standard scope — including extended hours or work outside standard business days — must be pre-approved by the COO before being carried out:
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Additional hours beyond standard scope (pre-approved by COO) | 100 EUR / hour |
Extended coverage OPTIONAL
An optional on-call arrangement extends coverage beyond standard business hours, into evenings, weekends, and public holidays. Separate from and additional to the base service.
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| On-call availability fee | 400 EUR / week |
| Intervention – weekdays (outside business hours) | 100 EUR / hour |
| Intervention – weekends & public holidays | 120 EUR / hour |
Illustrative Budget Sample
Based on: on-call activated monthly · one weekend intervention (1h) · one weekday out-of-hours intervention (1h):
Monthly estimate
Annual estimate
Actual costs vary with activation and intervention volume. On-call must be agreed in advance on a weekly or monthly basis.
The fine print, simplified
| Initial Term | 12 months from contract start date |
| Renewal | Automatically renews for 12-month periods unless terminated |
| Notice Period | 3 months written notice required from either party to terminate |
| Standard Service Hours | Monday–Friday, 9:00–18:00 (Romanian time), excluding Romanian public holidays |
| Billing | Fixed monthly retainer, invoiced on the last business day of each month |
| Payment Terms | Net 30 days from invoice date |
| Security Deposit | One month's retainer payable in advance prior to contract commencement. This deposit is not an additional fee — it is held and offset against the final invoice at the end of the contract term. |
| On-Call | Optional; must be activated and agreed in advance (weekly or monthly) |
| Annual Review | Review of scope, SLAs, and commercial terms at end of each contract year |
Flexibility
Smartspot understands that budget planning is a key consideration. We are open to discussing adjustments to scope or phasing of services to align with Raylytic's budget expectations, while maintaining the quality and reliability this model is designed to deliver. Any adjustments would be documented and agreed in writing prior to contract signature.
Let's build something great together.
Smartspot has been a trusted IT partner to Raylytic since December 2023. Our Senior DevOps Engineers bring deep expertise across infrastructure, platform engineering, and IT operations — backed by extensive experience in support organisation leadership and systems engineering at a global level.
We're committed to a long-term strategic partnership where Raylytic's IT is fully in capable hands, freeing your team to focus on product and business growth.