Why We'll Never Grow Up into a Traditional Defense Contractor (And That's Okay)
The defense world has a gravity well that pulls companies toward staff augmentation and bodies-for-hours. BrainGu was built to fight that gravity. Product-first is not a branding exercise—it's a strategic alignment with where defense acquisition is going.
The Hidden Costs of "Free" Software: Flexibility vs Commercial Polish
Open source is never free. Not in regulated environments. Not in DoD mission systems. Not in any place where uptime, security, traceability, or accreditation matter. You can get incredible capability from open ecosystems, but if you want something that actually holds up in production, you will pay for it one way or another.
From Chaos to Control: Secure, Auditable Deployments with SmoothGlue Console
In highly regulated industries, the need for strict security controls and clear audit trails often clashes with the desire for developer agility. This friction creates complexity—a chaotic environment where moving quickly feels at odds with staying secure.
Matthew Shaver's School for Developers Who Don't Code Good
A tactical field guide for engineers shipping software in high-security, high-stakes environments.
The Aerodynamics of Building Products vs Consulting in the Defense Innovation Ecosystem
Product lift beats services drag. In defense, the teams that standardize on productized platforms compound speed, security, and learning. Services can be useful, but service-heavy delivery adds friction that kills timelines and blows budgets.
The Power of Platform Constraints: Why Boundaries Make Better Builders
Ironically, the freedom that was meant to empower teams ends up overwhelming them.
The Paradigmatic Difference Between a Software Project and a Software Product
In software, 'project' and 'product' aren't just different labels—they represent two entirely different paradigms. Understanding the difference determines whether your team spends its time building capability or delivering value.
Don't Let the Pipeline Be the Final Boss
If your CI/CD pipeline feels like the Final Boss of developer experience, you're not alone. Lower the difficulty level by designing for clarity, flow, and trust—not just control.
The Shift from Platform Engineering Glory to Developer Empowerment
The only metric that matters: mission outcomes. Can your devs ship working, secure software faster and with less cognitive load? If yes, your platform is winning. If not, you’ve built a museum.
How We Slashed Our CI Pipeline Costs with Developer MacBook Pros
Running CI pipelines for multiple developer branches is essential in ensuring code quality and security, but the more devs we had, the more we saw our cloud costs skyrocket.
Is Your App Lost in the Cloud? How to Bring Order to the Chaos
In today's fast-paced digital world, deploying applications can feel like navigating a maze. What if there was a standardized 'launchpad' for your applications?
GuCon 2025: Celebrating the Past and the Future
GuCon 2025 proved once again that when Guvians come together, we build more than products—we build community.