About - DevOps Compass | Docker, Kubernetes & Cloud Guides

About#

hey everyone,

I’m Vladimir Mikhalev, an AWS Community Builder, HashiCorp Ambassador, Snyk Ambassador, Cypress Ambassador, GitKraken Ambassador, Notion Ambassador and Docker Captain, but my friends can call me Valdemar.

💾 I’ve been in the IT game for over 20 years, cutting my teeth with some big names like IBM, Thales, and Amazon. These days, I wear the hat of a DevOps Engineer and Team Lead, but what really gets me going is Docker and container technology - I’m kind of obsessed!

💛 I have my own IT blog, where I’ve built a community of DevOps enthusiasts who share my love for all things Docker, containers, and IT technologies in general. And to make sure everyone can jump on this awesome DevOps train, I write super detailed guides (seriously, they’re foolproof!) that help even newbies deploy and manage complex IT solutions.

🚀 My dream is to empower every single person in the DevOps community to squeeze every last drop of potential out of Docker and container tech.

🐳 As a Docker Captain, I’m stoked to share my knowledge, experiences, and a good dose of passion for the tech. My aim is to encourage learning, innovation, and growth, and to inspire the next generation of IT whizz-kids to push Docker and container tech to its limits.

Let’s do this together!

Recognized by Docker CEO#

At the Docker Captains Summit, Docker's CEO, Scott Johnston, acknowledged my exceptional leadership and contributions.

Featured Shorts on Docker’s YouTube#

Explore my developer Shorts featured on Docker’s official YouTube channel — fast, actionable insights from real-world DevOps and container security scenarios.

🍿 Why ‘latest’ Broke Our Staging (And How We Fixed It for Good) – How a misused `latest` tag brought our staging down without anyone noticing. Discover how we changed our approach to Docker, avoiding the pitfalls and making production more reliable.

🍿 Caught a Major Prod Bug Too Late? Use Docker Scout – A real-world example of using Docker Scout to detect vulnerabilities early, reduce security noise, and keep production stable. Scan every image. Fix issues faster. Ship with confidence.

Featured Contributions on Docker.com#

Explore some of my key contributions to Docker's knowledge base and resources:

🐳 How to Build, Run, and Package AI Models Locally with Docker Model Runner – Learn how to run LLMs locally with Docker — no Python setup needed. Pull, package, and deploy GGUF models via CLI or API for fast, private AI workflows.

🐳 Master Docker and VS Code: Supercharge Your Dev Workflow – A practical guide to combining Docker and VS Code for faster development, consistent environments, seamless debugging, and streamlined CI/CD workflows.

🐳 Mastering Docker and Jenkins: Build Robust CI/CD Pipelines Efficiently – A comprehensive, hands-on tutorial demonstrating how to combine Docker’s containerization strengths with Jenkins’ automation capabilities. Learn best practices for faster builds, consistent testing, and streamlined deployments that supercharge your DevOps workflows.

🐳 How to Dockerize a React App: A Step-by-Step Guide for Developers – A clear, hands-on walkthrough that simplifies containerizing React applications, creating consistent environments, streamlining deployments, and elevating front-end workflows.

🐳 Why Testcontainers Cloud Is a Game-Changer Compared to Docker-in-Docker for Testing Scenarios – An insightful exploration of how Testcontainers Cloud enhances container-based testing while addressing the complexities of Docker-in-Docker, delivering a more secure and efficient alternative.

🐳 Dockerize WordPress: Simplify Your Site’s Setup and Deployment – A comprehensive guide to streamlining WordPress environments using Docker and Traefik, ensuring secure, scalable, and efficient site deployments.

🐳 8 Top Docker Tips & Tricks – Practical insights and advanced techniques designed to elevate your Docker expertise and productivity.

🐳 How Ataccama Accelerated Its AI Journey with Docker – A behind-the-scenes perspective on how Docker fueled Ataccama’s AI initiatives, boosting developer satisfaction and driving rapid innovation.

🐳 How a Beauty Giant Achieved 25% Cost Savings with Container-First Development – A revealing case study on how a major beauty brand leveraged Docker to optimize workflows, significantly cut costs, and improve operational efficiency.

Featured Contributions on the Official Cypress Blog#

Explore some of my key contributions to Cypress’s knowledge base and resources:

🧪 Cypress Test Replay in 2025: The Ultimate Guide to Time-Travel Debugging – Discover how Cypress Test Replay turns every CI run into an interactive debugging session with DOM snapshots, network logs, and console output—perfect for tackling complex modern UIs.

🧪 Docker + Cypress in 2025: How I’ve Perfected My E2E Testing Setup – A deep dive into optimizing Cypress testing within Docker containers, ensuring stability, parallelization, and security for modern CI/CD pipelines.

2D Portfolio#

🕹️ Click into sre.gg — my virtual space is a 2D pixel-art portfolio inviting you to interact with elements that encapsulate the milestones of my DevOps career.