Valfort Tech
Book a call
Forward deployed engineers for enterprise integrations
Forward deployed engineering is the practice of embedding senior engineers with a software vendor or its customer to get the product running in the customer's own environment. Valfort Tech's engineers handle SSO, data warehouse connections and private-cloud installs, then document everything and hand it over, so your team never depends on us. First integrations typically go live in 10–14 days.
When teams call us about Forward deployed engineering
Your product closes deals, but every enterprise integration takes months.
- Your product closes deals, but every enterprise integration takes months.
- Your core engineers keep getting pulled off the roadmap to help one customer install.
- Enterprise buyers want the product in their own cloud, VPC or Kubernetes cluster.
- Each customer has a different identity provider, data warehouse and network rules.
- Signed revenue sits unrecognized because customers are not live yet.
What we deliver
Everything ships as code in your repositories, with runbooks and a recorded handover.
Senior engineers where you need them
Engineers join your team or sit with your customer's team, work in their tools and attend their stand-ups.
SSO and identity
SAML and OIDC single sign-on with Okta and other identity providers, plus user provisioning and role mapping.
Data warehouse connections
Secure connections between your product and the customer's data warehouse, with least-privilege access and audit logs.
Private-cloud installs
Repeatable installs into the customer's AWS or GCP account or Kubernetes cluster, packaged with Terraform and Helm.
Install playbook
Each integration becomes a reusable playbook and code, so the next customer goes faster than the last.
Documented handover
Runbooks, architecture notes and a recorded handover for your team and the customer's, so nobody depends on us.
Typical results
With a senior engineer embedded, a first enterprise integration typically goes live in 10–14 days.
Your product engineers typically spend far less time on customer installs and more on the features that win the next deal.
Because every integration is captured as code and a playbook, later customers typically go live faster.
Typical ranges, not promises. We measure your own baseline in the first week.
How a Forward deployed engineering engagement runs
The first two weeks run on read-only access. Every change after that goes through your pull requests, with one named engineer and a written update every Friday.
- Days 1–3
- Scope and accessWe meet your team and the customer's, map their identity, data and network requirements, and start on read-only access.
- Days 4–10
- Build the integrationWe build SSO, data connections and the install as code, with every change going through pull requests.
- Days 11–14
- Go liveWe test with the customer's users, fix what breaks, and take the first integration live.
- After go-live
- Document and hand overWe turn the work into a playbook, write the runbooks and record a handover for both teams.
Tools we work in
We work in the tools you already run, and only add new ones when they earn their place.
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
- AWS
- GCP
- Okta
- Argo CD
- OpenTelemetry
- Helm
Forward deployed engineering questions
What is a forward deployed engineer?
A forward deployed engineer is a senior engineer who works directly with a customer to get a software product running in their environment. They handle the hard parts of enterprise adoption, such as SSO, data connections, security reviews and private-cloud installs. At Valfort Tech, they also document the work and hand it over to your team.
How much does forward deployed engineering cost?
Engagements start with a 10-day readiness sprint at a fixed $3,500. You get a scored report, a ranked 90-day roadmap and one fix shipped to production. If we do not find at least three times the fee in savings or avoided risk, the sprint is free. Follow-on integration work is scoped after the sprint, and the sprint fee is credited to it.
How long does an enterprise integration take?
A first enterprise integration typically goes live in 10–14 days with a senior engineer embedded. The exact time depends on the customer's identity provider, data sources, network rules and how quickly their security team grants access. Later integrations usually go faster because the first one becomes a reusable playbook.
Can your engineers work directly with our customers?
Yes. Our engineers can sit inside your team or work alongside your customer's engineers, under your name or ours, whichever you prefer. We keep at least four hours of overlap with the working day, one named engineer per engagement, and send a written update every Friday so you always know where things stand.
Will we become dependent on Valfort Tech for every install?
No. Handover is the point of the engagement. Every install lives as code in your repositories, each integration becomes a written playbook, and we record a handover session for your engineers. The goal is that your own team can run the next install without us.
Not sure where to start?
Book a 30-minute call. We'll tell you whether the readiness sprint, a single service or nothing at all is the right next step.