Next.js Deployment on GCP for LeoAI

The Challenge

LeoAI, an innovative AI startup specializing in solutions for students, needed to migrate their SaaS from their legacy PHP infrastructure hosted on SiteGround to a modern solution on Google Cloud Platform. With their previous contractor unable to complete the mission, they sought an expert to audit and deploy their new Next.js application to production.

Technical Challenges

• Complete migration from legacy PHP architecture to modern Next.js
• Existing staging infrastructure requiring comprehensive audit
• Production deployment with high availability requirements
• CI/CD pipeline creation from scratch
• Security of access and data

Technical Solutions Implemented

Cloud Native Infrastructure

Modern GCP architecture:

• Cloud Run for Next.js application hosting
• CloudSQL for database with private network
• Container Registry for Docker image management
• Private VPC for secure service isolation
• Bastion host for secure database access

Containerization & Deployment

Docker optimization:

• Multi-stage Dockerfiles for image size optimization
• Environment variables configurable per environment
• Integrated health checks for Cloud Run
• Production-ready configuration with Next.js optimizations

CI/CD Automation

GitHub Actions pipeline:

• Continuous integration with automated testing
• Automatic deployment to Cloud Run
• Secret management via Secret Manager
• Automatic rollback on failure

Infrastructure as Code

Terraform for reproducibility:

• Reusable modules for Cloud Run and CloudSQL
• Multi-environment configuration (dev/prod)
• Automated provisioning of entire infrastructure
• Centralized variables for configuration management

DNS Configuration & Security

Cloudflare migration:

• Complete DNS configuration with validated propagation
• Automatic SSL certificates on all domains
• DDoS protection and performance optimizations
• Centralized management of domains and subdomains

Technologies & Tools Used

• Google Cloud Platform: Primary cloud infrastructure
• Next.js: React framework for SaaS application
• Docker: Application containerization
• Terraform: Infrastructure as Code
• Cloud Run: Scalable serverless hosting
• CloudSQL: Managed relational database
• GitHub Actions: CI/CD pipeline
• Cloudflare: DNS management and CDN

Results & Impact

✅ Successful Migration

• Next.js application successfully deployed to production
• Modern infrastructure replacing legacy PHP architecture
• Separate environments (development/production) operational

✅ Complete Automation

• CI/CD pipeline fully automated via GitHub Actions
• Automatic deployments on every commit to main branches
• Centralized and secure secret management

✅ Infrastructure Security

• Private VPC network isolating the database
• Secure bastion access for administration
• Granular IAM roles and permissions

✅ Performance & Reliability

• Automatic scalability via serverless Cloud Run
• SSL/TLS configured on all domains
• Integrated monitoring and alerting

Technical Expertise Demonstrated

Complete Architecture Migration

• Seamless transition from legacy PHP architecture to modern Next.js
• Complete audit and refactoring of existing infrastructure
• Performance and scalability optimization

Modern DevOps & Infrastructure

• Implementation of complete cloud-native infrastructure
• End-to-end automation of deployment processes
• Secure configuration with cloud best practices

Complete Technical Support

• Team training on new processes
• Detailed technical documentation
• DevOps support for operational autonomy

Client Testimonial

"A great DevOps profile who helped us migrate to GCP! Very professional and involved"

— Zakaria Essir, CEO at LeoAI

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Project Duration: 3 weeks
Team Size: solo