FuturumShop: from stable hosting to Kubernetes
A solid foundation during rapid growth
FuturumShop, the go-to shop for road cyclists and mountain bikers, experienced massive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to TrueFullstaq's managed hosting, the webshop remained stable even during peak traffic. Time to take the next step: going cloud-native
Flooded with orders
Gerco Vermeer, Development Manager at FuturumShop, recalls a chaotic time: "The COVID restrictions turned our business upside down. All stores were closed, gyms shut down, and there were barely any sports options—except for cycling. That led to an overwhelming number of orders, so much so that even our warehouse staff had to jump in to help with fulfillment," Gerco explains. "Luckily, our servers kept up with the demand. We had a few brief downtimes, but nothing major. That stability gave us confidence during that crazy period."
Igor Nikolovski, Senior Linux Engineer at TrueFullstaq, adds, "We maintain that stability by constantly identifying and fixing bottlenecks. At one point, we saw the database load could become a problem, so we fine-tuned performance and added load balancers to keep things running smoothly."
Hands-on collaboration
A hands-on approach is key to e-commerce. "That's how FuturumShop operates, and we see the same mindset at TrueFullstaq," says Gerco. Their engineers are flexible—they're always willing to solve problems, respond quickly, and implement solutions efficiently."
Regular weekly calls ensure close collaboration, especially in the gray area between hosting and applications. "We work in small, incremental steps so we can easily adjust if needed. We prefer that over big leaps and major releases."
Hylke de Jong, Senior Linux Engineer at TrueFullstaq, agrees: "This isn't a one-person show. It's about building the infrastructure and application layers together, ensuring they integrate seamlessly for optimal performance."
Moving to Kubernetes
In 2021, FuturumShop and TrueFullstaq started transitioning their test environment to Kubernetes. By mid-2022, the entire test environment was running on it.
"We want our infrastructure to be easier to manage, more flexible, and scalable," Gerco explains. "Kubernetes might seem more complex at first, but at the same time, it standardizes everything. That brings stability, more controlled deployments, and a better-tested application and webshop."
The benefits of Kubernetes were immediately noticeable in the test environment. "Before, we could only run a few test environments at a time, which made testing new setups difficult. Now, we can spin up a fresh test environment for each new test, making the transition to production more efficient."
Focus on ease of use and service
According to Gerco, service and ease of use are the most important factors in online retail. "Hosting needs to handle peak traffic, which fluctuates by season. We see clear peak hours in the evening. In summer, orders come in after 9:30 PM, after people finish their rides. When the days get shorter, we see the peak shift to around 8 PM."
"The fast platform powered by TrueFullstaq's hosting helps drive more sales. Speed is a crucial part of the shopping experience. A customer should be able to quickly order a couple of new tires and ask a question in between—without delays."
FuturumShop's next challenge is streamlining its processes. "We want to focus on ease of use and service. Going back to the basics—making things simpler. When you prioritize ease of use, customer satisfaction becomes the main KPI. And we immediately see the impact: higher satisfaction leads to more revenue and more orders."
