James Smith, a renowned tech entrepreneur and former CEO & Co-Founder of DevOpsGroup, announced the launch of Critical Cloud (www.criticalcloud.ai) today. The company aims to support tech-led small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with their cloud operations through AI-enhanced and expert-led services.
Critical Cloud is being launched during Wales Week London 2025, an annual event that showcases Welsh innovation and business excellence. The company is specifically designed for tech-driven SMBs and scale-ups that already have top-notch cloud engineers but require additional capacity, operational expertise, and real-time cloud support to scale effectively.
Unlike traditional Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Critical Cloud does not try to manage the cloud environments for tech teams that are already well-versed in the field. Instead, it aims to augment and enhance their capabilities by providing real-time incident management and proactive cloud operations.
James Smith, the founder & former CEO of DevOpsGroup, has a proven track record of delivering cutting-edge cloud solutions to tech-led businesses. Under his leadership, DevOpsGroup became one of the fastest-growing tech companies in Wales, leading to its acquisition in 2021. Now, with Critical Cloud, Smith is passionate about helping tech-led SMBs and scale-ups overcome their biggest cloud challenges while staying agile and efficient.
Critical Cloud stands out from legacy MSPs by operating as a true extension of in-house tech teams, providing AI-driven insights, real-time support, and deep operational expertise. The company operates on an Augmented Intelligence Model (AIM) that enhances incident response, proactive engineering, and cost optimization without replacing the engineering teams.
Critical Cloud is fully equipped to support modern cloud architectures, including multi-cloud, hybrid, and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) environments, as well as emerging platforms like Heroku, Render, and Fly.io. The company follows an ‘Your Cloud, Your Rules’ approach, ensuring that SMBs retain full control of their cloud environments without any hidden fees or vendor lock-in.
To mark its official launch, Critical Cloud will debut at Wales Week London 2025, connecting with the UK’s leading tech businesses and showcasing its AI-powered, engineer-led cloud support model.
“Tech-led SMBs don’t need another MSP. They need a partner who understands the challenges of running cloud-native operations at scale,” said James Smith. “Critical Cloud is that partner. We help teams stay operational 24/7, optimize cloud costs, and apply the latest best practices, so they can focus on what they do best: building and innovating.”
For more information, visit www.criticalcloud.ai or follow Critical Cloud on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Press Team, Critical Cloud
Email: press@criticalcloud.ai
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.