ConfigHub Launches to Solve Configuration Management Challenges

Modernizing Software Configuration Data Management

Three prominent figures from the cloud computing sector have collaborated to establish a new venture focused on the modernization of software configuration data management practices.

ConfigHub, which officially launched today with $4 million in seed funding, is the creation of Alexis Richardson, the founder of Weaveworks, a cloud-native container management platform.

The Founding Team

The company’s technical leadership is provided by Brian Grant, a former Google software engineer and the initial lead architect of Kubernetes. Jesper Joergensen, the Chief Product Officer, brings extensive experience from Salesforce and Twilio, where he previously oversaw voice, video, and platform teams.

Richardson explained to TechCrunch that the core objective of their new company is to resolve the challenges associated with complex software configurations.

The Growing Importance of Configuration

The need for a solution like ConfigHub was highlighted by a significant incident last year. CrowdStrike released a flawed configuration update for its Falcon Sensor security software.

This update caused substantial disruption and resulted in over $5 billion in losses for Fortune 500 companies. Delta Airlines, for example, reported a $500 million loss due to flight cancellations, initiating a protracted legal process to recover these funds.

This event underscored the critical role software now plays as essential infrastructure. Modern systems are built upon interconnected components communicating via APIs.

However, vulnerabilities within any component can have cascading effects, potentially disrupting entire systems and impacting numerous organizations.

Addressing Configuration Sprawl

At the heart of this issue lies configuration data, which dictates how these components interact and ensures the software functions as intended. Currently, these configuration files are often disorganized and difficult to manage.

ConfigHub aims to tackle this problem directly. “Configuration data has become excessively dispersed and fragmented,” Richardson stated.

The company intends to provide a centralized and streamlined approach to managing this crucial aspect of modern software development and deployment.

Addressing Challenges in DevOps

The landscape of software deployment and management has undergone significant transformation over the last three decades. Previously, enterprise software was commonly distributed via CD-ROM on local hardware, with configuration managed through a limited number of text files.

Contemporary software deployment is considerably more complex. Extensive configuration files, often containing thousands of lines of code, are now essential for ensuring software functionality within dynamic and large-scale environments.

Joergensen highlights a key learning from his time at Heroku: a distinction must be made between code and configuration data, as they necessitate distinct handling approaches. Configuration data dictates system settings and behaviors, which differ from software code in their debuggability.

However, a thorough understanding of this data – utilizing tools such as Terraform or Kubernetes – is crucial to prevent costly misconfigurations that could lead to system outages or project delays.

“Collaborative coding practices have seen substantial improvement with tools like GitHub,” Joergensen stated. “However, configuring live infrastructure demands a different methodology. It’s not simply a collection of files.”

The aim is to extend the streamlined application developer experience, initially established by Heroku, to all facets of live production operations.

ConfigHub aims to “integrate configuration management with contemporary, automated development workflows and compliance standards.” Instead of searching for specific configuration elements related to errors, ConfigHub centralizes everything within a single database.

This provides easy access to configurations, alongside a real-time view of the system’s current state. “If a customer encounters access issues, you should be able to replicate their experience directly,” Richardson explained.

The configuration data within the system will mirror the live production environment, enabling teams to not only pinpoint the issue but also implement immediate solutions for the customer.

Initially, the product – delivered as a SaaS solution – will concentrate on Kubernetes DevOps tools like Helm, Argo, Flux, Terraform, and OpenTofu. Richardson mentioned that ConfigHub is collaborating with several “medium to large” enterprise partners, though their identities remain undisclosed.

While the official launch is still several months away, today’s announcement serves as an introduction of ConfigHub and the unveiling of its $4 million investment. This funding originates from prominent venture capital and angel investors, including Crane Venture Partners, Encoded Ventures, Pear VC, and Jason Warner, CEO of Poolside.

The Increasing Role of Artificial Intelligence

The security breach experienced by CrowdStrike represents a significant, and expensive, error in system configuration, but it was not an isolated occurrence.

According to Grant, configuration modifications have long been recognized as the primary driver of failures within cloud-based systems, as reported to TechCrunch.

In a recent example, UniSuper, an Australian superannuation fund, suffered a service disruption impacting approximately 500,000 members.

This outage stemmed from a misconfiguration within Google Cloud, resulting in the deletion of UniSuper’s Google Cloud VMware Engine (GCVE) private cloud environment.

Furthermore, in January, a configuration mistake on GitHub’s cloud infrastructure caused a disruption of Git operations lasting up to two hours.

The situation is anticipated to escalate as the integration of AI into software development accelerates.

Warner stated that AI fundamentally alters the processes of software creation, operation, and even writing, extending beyond just code generation.

He emphasized that the coming years will demand robust solutions to complex challenges, as enterprises seek to safely modernize their systems with AI.

Currently, organizations can construct their own solutions utilizing tools like Terraform, Kubernetes, and Prometheus.

However, the implementation and maintenance of these tools can be excessively complicated.

Established companies like ServiceNow and Atlassian also provide services aimed at addressing configuration management concerns.

These companies, however, were established over two decades ago, prior to the widespread adoption of cloud computing.

Moreover, their business scope has broadened to include areas such as human resources, customer relationship management, team collaboration, and project management.

Richardson pointed out that these existing tools are often inadequate for modern, dynamic, cloud-native applications powered by AI and containerization.

He cautioned that deploying AI becomes risky if a simple misconfiguration could lead to sensitive company data being exposed publicly.

A New Venture Emerges: ConfigHub

Before establishing ConfigHub, Richardson was the founder of RabbitMQ, a cloud messaging company geared towards enterprises. This company was later acquired by SpringSource, a subsidiary of VMware, in 2010. Subsequently, in 2014, he initiated Weaveworks, which successfully secured over $60 million in funding from prominent investors like Accel, Amazon Web Services, and Google Ventures.

At Weaveworks, Richardson was instrumental in the development of the GitOps framework. This framework is now extensively utilized within cloud-native and Kubernetes environments for managing both infrastructure and application deployment processes.

Weaveworks ceased operations last February due to inconsistent sales performance and a lack of further investment, as Richardson explained. Consequently, in mid-2024, he collaborated with Grant and Joergensen to launch ConfigHub.

Founders' Paths Converge

Richardson and Grant initially connected through their involvement with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). The CNCF adopted Kubernetes as its first project following Google’s donation of the technology in 2015.

Around 2020, Grant began relinquishing his leadership positions within the Kubernetes project. Over time, he conceived a business idea that potentially diverged from Google’s strategic objectives. This vision ultimately found alignment with the circumstances surrounding Weaveworks’ closure the previous year.

The transition from a major technology corporation like Google to the startup landscape might appear significant. However, Grant’s professional history includes prior experience at two startups, including a role as chief architect at PeakStream, which Google acquired in 2007.

“I was among the earliest employees – initially, we lacked even a company name, a physical office, or a formal business plan,” Grant stated. “Therefore, I am familiar with the challenges and opportunities of very early-stage startups.”

Startup Experience Within a Large Company

Throughout his 17 years at Google, the company experienced substantial growth. Simultaneously, Grant’s work with Kubernetes, which Google open-sourced in 2014, mirrored aspects of a startup environment.

“The Kubernetes project began with just four engineers and a product manager; we didn’t even share a common manager, as each of us reported to different leaders,” Grant elaborated. “It functioned very much like a startup in its own right.”

Richardson’s acquaintance with Joergensen dates back to the time of VMware’s acquisition of RabbitMQ, over a decade ago. Having held senior positions at several large technology companies, Joergensen has also chosen to pursue opportunities within the startup world.

“The current technological landscape allows for greater accomplishments than ever before – we are directly engaging with the advancements in AI, and I wouldn’t prefer to be anywhere else,” Joergensen commented. “A startup environment provides a clear perspective on what is achievable.”