StatusBay: Enterprise Service Management for SMBs

Built a modular business automation platform that delivers 80% of ServiceNow’s capability at 5% of the cost, with full data sovereignty.

The Challenge

ServiceNow dominates enterprise service management with a $362,000+/year price tag. SMBs (10-50 employees, $2M-$20M revenue) need the same capabilities – workflow automation, knowledge bases, customer portals, field service tools – but can’t afford enterprise pricing, 6-12 month implementation timelines, or dedicated IT overhead.

Existing alternatives like Freshservice and Zendesk offer simpler solutions, but they still force bundled tiers, lock customer data in vendor clouds, and charge premium prices for features that should be standard.

The technical challenge: building a platform that combines the ease of use of consumer apps (Freshservice’s 9.2/10 G2 score), the real-time responsiveness of modern tools (Zammad, Linear), and the comprehensive feature set of enterprise platforms – all while enabling self-hosted deployment for data sovereignty.

The Solution

StatusBay was architected as a modular platform where businesses pay only for features they use, with 14-day free trials on every add-on.

Core Platform: Payload CMS provides TypeScript schema-as-code with auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs. Next.js 15 with React 19 delivers a modern, real-time UI with command palette (Cmd+K), keyboard shortcuts, and role-based dashboards.

Authentication & Security: Authentik handles SSO, OIDC, SAML, and MFA. Row-level security in PostgreSQL ensures multi-tenant isolation. Security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options) are enforced via Caddy reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS.

Workflow Automation: Activepieces (MIT-licensed) powers visual workflow automation with 25+ industry templates for professional services, healthcare, property management, legal, and construction verticals.

Infrastructure: 3-node cluster across NYC, STL, and SEA (Contabo VPS) with WireGuard mesh VPN. PostgreSQL streaming replication, Docker Swarm orchestration, and Terraform + Ansible IaC enable reliable, reproducible deployments.

The Results

• 97% cost reduction vs ServiceNow ($1,188-$7,188/year vs $50,000+)
• 30-minute time-to-value – first workflow automated within half an hour
• 1-2 week implementation vs 6-12 months for enterprise platforms
• Full data sovereignty – self-hosted option with customer-controlled data
• Zero vendor lock-in – export anytime in standard formats (CSV, vCard, JSON, iCal)
• 25+ industry templates – pre-built workflows for immediate productivity

Key Features Delivered

Technologies Used

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