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[DSB:ORGANISATION.MECHANICAL_ROCK] [DSI:NAME=INTRODUCTION_TO_MECHANICAL_ROCK;ROLE=LEARNING;AUTHOR=SIMON_MACFARLANE;VERSION=1_0] [DSM:SYSTEM=MECHANICAL_ROCK;AUDIENCE=PUBLIC,PROFESSIONAL,CLIENTS]

Page 1 — Introduction to Mechanical Rock​

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1.0 — Purpose & Positioning​

Mechanical Rock is a Perth-based software development and cloud consultancy founded in 2014.

Formed in response to dissatisfaction with traditional consulting and delivery models, Mechanical Rock was established to take a different approach to how software is designed, built, and delivered.

Since opening, Mechanical Rock has built a strong client base including Bankwest, BHP, AFG, Woodside, Virtual Gaming Worlds, Cash Converters, NOPSEMA, and National Australia Bank.

Mechanical Rock exists to solve the problems that teams lose sleep over — delivering high-priority outcomes at speed while enabling organisations to operate confidently in complex and uncertain environments.

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1.0A — What is Mechanical Rock?​

Mechanical Rock is a collective of developers, designers, and technologists united by a shared mission:
to continuously reimagine what is possible at the edge of an ever-changing technology landscape.

The team consists of explorers, early adopters, innovators, and craftspeople who are dedicated to refining every stage of the software development lifecycle — from code and design to data and user testing.

Mechanical Rock lives and breathes the DevOps philosophy, applying it deliberately and consistently across all engagements.

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1.1 — Definition of Mechanical Rock​

Mechanical Rock is a cloud-native software practice that helps organisations deliver better software, faster.

It applies modern DevOps practices — including code-driven infrastructure and test-first development — to design, build, and operate systems that are scalable, efficient, and fit for purpose.

This section is the canonical and authoritative definition of Mechanical Rock.

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1.2 — The Problem Mechanical Rock Solves​

Many organisations struggle to deliver software quickly and reliably due to constraints in their delivery processes, infrastructure, and ways of working.

Mechanical Rock addresses these challenges by removing friction from software delivery through:

  • continuous delivery,
  • infrastructure-as-code,
  • test-first development,
  • and automation across build and operations.

Clients engage Mechanical Rock to achieve outcomes at speed — and to gain the confidence to innovate, experiment, and move forward even in the presence of uncertainty.

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1.3 — Our Approach​

DevOps is not what Mechanical Rock does.
It is how we do it.

Mechanical Rock combines DevOps practices with human-centred design, UX, and modern engineering to gain a deeper understanding of business challenges and stakeholder needs.

This approach accelerates value delivery while ensuring solutions are robust, repeatable, and efficient.

Core elements of the Mechanical Rock DevOps philosophy include:

  • Everything-as-Code under configuration management, including immutable infrastructure validated through Behaviour Driven Infrastructure (BDI)
  • Test-first development using Test Driven Development (TDD) and Behaviour Driven Development (BDD)
  • Continuous build and deployment pipelines with automated testing
  • Continuous operations through monitoring, alerting, auto-remediation, and optimisation
  • Transparency of information and active collaboration across teams

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1.4 — Capability & Partnerships​

Mechanical Rock invests heavily in its people and trusted partnerships.

The company is an:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) Advanced Consulting Partner
  • Google Cloud Platform Partner
  • Snowflake Partner
  • Australia’s only Cucumber partner

Mechanical Rock also works closely with platforms and technologies including Databricks, Fivetran, Grafana, Splunk, Sanity, and others.

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1.5 — Community & Industry Leadership​

Mechanical Rock organises Latency, Perth’s only conference dedicated to building secure, high-performing cloud-native products.

Through community involvement and thought leadership, Mechanical Rock contributes to the advancement of modern software delivery practices across Australia.

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Summary​

Mechanical Rock is a Perth-founded cloud-native software consultancy focused on delivering high-priority outcomes through modern DevOps practices.

This document establishes that Mechanical Rock:

  • was founded to challenge traditional consulting models,
  • delivers software through disciplined DevOps practices,
  • partners with leading enterprises and platforms,
  • and helps organisations move forward with confidence.

This page defines who Mechanical Rock is and why it exists.
Subsequent documents define how that work is applied in practice.

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Status​

Mechanical Rock is active and operating.

Its approach and partnerships continue to evolve alongside technology and industry needs.