## The short version

Conventional cloud deployment often asks you to choose and connect compute, images, networking, TLS, logs, storage, databases, health checks, and release automation. Ample provides those concerns through one deployment workflow that a human or coding agent can drive. Conventional cloud remains the better fit when you need low-level infrastructure control that Ample does not expose.

## WHO THIS IS FOR

## Before you start

This guide is for builders choosing between an application-focused deployment workflow and direct control of cloud infrastructure.

## How to do it

1. 1

### Compare the unit of work
   Ample starts from an app repo and produces a plan of services and resources. A conventional cloud workflow often starts from infrastructure components that you select and wire together.

2. 2

### Compare the release contract
   Ample deploy is synchronous and content-addressed, with stable exit codes and logs. A custom cloud pipeline depends on the CI, provisioning, orchestration, and observability tools you assemble.

3. 3

### Compare operational control
   Ample owns more of the runtime, routing, sleep, and activation behavior. Direct cloud tools expose more infrastructure choices and require you to operate more of them.

4. 4

### Choose based on the constraint
   Choose Ample when the goal is to get supported application code live with less infrastructure work. Choose direct cloud infrastructure when specific network, hardware, orchestration, compliance, or topology control is the primary requirement.

## What this supports

### Good fit
- Repo-first planning and deployment
- Generated routing and TLS for public apps
- Managed application resources
- Agent-readable output and diagnostics

### Know the limits
- Ample exposes a narrower infrastructure surface than a general cloud
- Unsupported runtimes or topologies may require another platform
- Direct hardware and network control are not the product's main interface

## Common failure modes

### The choice is based only on feature count
Compare the actual app, required control, operator skill, and ongoing release workflow.

### A low-level requirement appears after launch
Identify non-negotiable network, runtime, data, and compliance constraints before choosing the platform.

### Simple deployment is mistaken for no operations
Keep application tests, logs, secrets, data design, and incident ownership in the plan.