I looked at Kamal, Dokku, and CapRover — all great tools if you want to abstract away server management. But for a HIPAA/ISO 27001 certifiable app, I need a higher level of control and auditability across the entire stack.

With Ansible, I can version everything — from server hardening to DB backups — and ensure idempotent, transparent provisioning. I don’t have to reverse-engineer how a PaaS layer configures things under the hood, or worry about opaque defaults that might not meet compliance requirements.

There's nothing wrong with these tools, but once you're in the mood for the ISO certification, and once you start doing these things yourself, they actually seem like a step backwards or add very little value.

I also prefer running my own DB backups rather than relying on magic snapshots — it's easier to integrate with encrypted offsite storage and disaster recovery policies that align with ISO requirements. This lets me lock down the environment exactly as needed, with no surprise moving parts.

Tools like Kamal/Dokku/CapRover shine for fast, developer-friendly deploys, but for regulated workloads, I’ll take boring, explicit, and auditable any day.