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The reason is almost always the same: the foundation the site stands on. I build on a different one. on AWS, with proof on a live dashboard you can check yourself anytime. Led by Istvan Kappelmayer, 30+ years in software.
Available for new engagements, remote or on-site across Switzerland.
30+30+ Years engineering
ServerlessServerless Pay only when used
CHCH Swiss-based, DACH-wide
DE · ENDE · EN Bilingual delivery
What has changed
Three places where you notice it.
Different symptoms, one underlying cause. It comes down to the foundation the site stands on.
01 // Who visits you
Your most important visitors show up in no statistic.
On average GA sees only about half of them. AI crawlers, not at all. I measure one layer deeper, straight from the server logs.
Where the gap comes from
When most sites were built, Google Analytics was the standard. Today the visitor who clicks, accepts, and runs JavaScript is the exception. With a compliant banner, only about half of people in German-speaking Europe opt in. Safari and Firefox block tracking out of the box, and AI crawlers like GPTBot or ClaudeBot run no JavaScript at all. CloudFront, by contrast, records every request before any JavaScript runs and before a banner ever asks. All of it visible on a live dashboard.
02 // What runs in the background
A site with a running server has to be maintained forever.
Server, database, plugins: it all wants maintaining and watching. Static at the edge, there is simply nothing running in the background.
Why it never stops
For a long time, a running system was the only way to make a site comfortable to maintain: a database, a server, an admin login, plus a plugin for every feature. That was not a mistake, it was the normal path. The cost of it still runs to this day: every component wants to be kept current, and every login eventually gets probed automatically. The moment a site touches customer data, that becomes a responsibility that never ends. Static HTML at the edge turns it around, there is simply nothing running in the background. CloudFront in front, DDoS-protected by default.
You pay a fixed amount, whether anyone shows up or not.
A fixed flat fee every month, even when nobody comes. Under load the site then slows down or even falls over.
Why you pay either way
A rented server, a fixed fee, plugin licenses, a maintenance contract. That is how hosting worked when there was only this one model. In quiet months you pay for visitors who never come, and under load the site slows down. Serverless on AWS turns both around. Zero visitors cost zero, and a peak scales on its own.
This foundation carries more than a website. Here is what you can build on it:
What you can build
What you can build with this architecture
Most clients start with the visibility offering, which proves the architecture works for their case. From there, the same system grows into a customer portal, a SaaS product, or full back-office automation. One supplier, one architecture, growing with you.
01 //
Visibility-with-proof website
I build, host, and continuously optimize your website to be found, in Google search and across AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini. You see exactly how each one interacts with the site on a live dashboard, available 24/7. Bot-hits from GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Bingbot, Googlebot, broken down by page, with deltas over time. I do not promise specific rankings or citations. Nobody honestly can. What I promise: transparency and ongoing work on your visibility.
AI visibility
Bot-hit dashboard
Schema.org
Astro
Serverless
For SMEs and founders who want a site built to be found, and want to see it work.Setup CHF 2'500 to CHF 15'000. Retainer CHF 600 to CHF 1'200/month.
02 //
Customer portal
When your clients keep asking you for things they should be able to see themselves, you have outgrown email. Documents, status, invoices, history, all in one place, behind a proper login. Built on the same serverless foundation as the website. If you already have a visibility site with me, the portal extends it.
Cognito login
Multi-tenant
Document storage
AWS Zurich
Serverless
For SMEs whose clients need a self-service area for documents, status, or data.Setup from CHF 12'000. Retainer from CHF 1'500/month.
03 //
Your SaaS, ready in 8 weeks
A custom SaaS foundation, fixed price, fixed timeline. Login, billing, multi-tenant data, customer portal, observability, CI/CD. Where the product calls for it, AI components like document understanding, RAG-based search, or agent workflows are part of the build. Eight weeks to your first paying customer. Built on AWS, no idle costs.
Login & billing
Multi-tenant
AI-ready
Observability
CI/CD
For founders launching a SaaS or new product lineFixed price · 8 weeks
04 //
Back-office on autopilot
Routine business work, automated and operated by us. AI-powered document intake, offer generation, customer support triage, RAG-based internal knowledge bases. We design it, build it, and run it for you on a monthly retainer. You get the outcome without managing a tool.
Document AI
Offer generation
Support triage
RAG knowledge base
We run it
For Swiss SMEs and solo operators with too much manual workBuild + Run · monthly retainer
Selected work
Live · since November 2025
SCMC.ch
A FADP-compliant Swiss cybersecurity SaaS, designed and shipped end-to-end by K-I-Soft. Live in AWS Zurich since November 2025. Five months in production, zero auth-session bugs.
A senior-friendly site for local IT service in Bern and surroundings. Designed, built, and shipped by K-I-Soft. Computer help, Digital Signage, and device maintenance. Also K-I-Soft's go-to partner for hands-on local IT.
A neighborhood rental marketplace shipped end-to-end in 2024: iOS and Android apps, AWS serverless backend, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Technically complete, no users. The cold-start lesson is on the blog.
The tools and AWS services I use to design, build, and ship. Battle-tested in production, picked for longevity not hype.
AWS & Infrastructure
AWS CDK
Lambda
Lambda@Edge
CloudFront
API Gateway
DynamoDB
Cognito
S3
Route 53
KMS
WAF
Backend
Java
Quarkus Native
GraalVM
REST / OpenAPI
Event-driven
Frontend
Vue 3
Pinia
Vite
Astro
TypeScript
PWA
Delivery & AI
GitHub Actions
Playwright E2E
Claude
Agentic Workflows
The person behind K-I-Soft
Istvan Kappelmayer, Senior AWS Solution Architect
Istvan Kappelmayer
Founder & Architect · K-I-Soft
I've been writing software for over 30 years, from early enterprise systems to modern serverless SaaS on AWS. Four countries, dozens of projects, one constant: I build the things I design. Not a consultant who talks about architecture. An architect who ships it.
Most recently, I built SCMC.ch end-to-end, a production Swiss SaaS platform running in AWS eu-central-2 since November 2025. AWS infrastructure as code, Lambda backend (Quarkus Native on GraalVM), DynamoDB, Cognito, Vue 3 frontend, GitHub Actions delivery. It's live, it works, and it's proof of what K-I-Soft can deliver on AWS.
I work independently through K-I-Soft. I take on a limited number of engagements at a time, because I don't do half measures. No large teams, no account managers, no handoffs. You work directly with me. Fluent in German and English.
How I work
Simple. Direct. No overhead.
No large teams, no account managers, no handoffs. You work directly with me.
Discovery call
30 minutes. You tell me what you're building or where you're stuck. I tell you honestly if I can help.
Proposal
A clear, written scope of work. Fixed deliverables, timeline, and price. No surprises.
Build
I design, build, and review, depending on the engagement. Weekly updates. Direct Threema, Teams, or Slack access.
Handover
Clean documentation, knowledge transfer to your team. You own everything. No lock-in.
Run
For retainer offers. We keep it operating: monthly improvements, on-call response, observability. You stop maintaining it, we do.
Common questions
The questions I get on every first call
If yours isn't here, just ask on the call.
What do you charge?
+
Depends what you start with.
Visibility-with-proof website: Setup CHF 2'500 to CHF 15'000 depending on size, retainer CHF 600 to CHF 1'200 per month.
Customer portal: Setup from CHF 12'000, retainer from CHF 1'500 per month.
SaaS in 8 weeks: CHF 35'000 fixed.
Back-office on autopilot: Build + Run retainer, quoted per case.
AWS Health Check (standalone): CHF 12'000 fixed, two weeks.
Day rates between CHF 1'200 and CHF 1'600 for architecture work outside these packages.
Exact quote after the discovery call.
Can I book you via my AWS consultancy?
+
Yes. I take on subcontracts for AWS partner consultancies that need a senior architect on a specific mandate. K-I-Soft invoices your company; your client never sees the hand-off. I've worked this model before.
Where do you work from?
+
Switzerland, focus on DACH. Personal collaboration matters to me, so regular on-site exchange and a direct view of the running project are part of how I work. Remote where the project allows.
Can I see your work?
+
SCMC.ch is live and publicly accessible, my most recent end-to-end build. Full career history is on my LinkedIn profile. Happy to discuss specifics on a call.
What languages do you work in?
+
German and English, fluently, both written and verbal. I've worked with teams across Switzerland, Germany, the US, and Hungary.
Do you use AI to write code?
+
Yes, Claude and GitHub Copilot in daily work. But I review, understand, and own every line. 30 years of engineering instinct is what catches the mistakes AI still makes. That's what you're paying for, not the typing.
Do you still offer AWS Health Checks?
+
Yes, as a standalone two-week audit, fixed price, separate from the build-then-retain solutions above. Architecture review against the Well-Architected pillars (cost, security, reliability, operational excellence, performance), written report, prioritized findings, 90-day roadmap. Often pays for itself in the first month from cost savings. CHF 12'000 fixed. Ask on the call if this fits.
Get in touch
Let's talk about your project
I take on a limited number of engagements at a time. If you have a project worth building, book a 30-minute call and I'll tell you honestly if I can help.
