This is a story about building DevOps differently.At Data Next Step, we set out to create a fully self-hosted DevSecOps stack, secure, privacy-first, and cost-friendly, using only open-source tools and existing on-prem resources.The result? A production-grade pipeline built on Gitea (Git hosting), Drone CI (CI/CD), Keycloak (SSO/IAM), and Element/Matrix (federated chat), all running on a Proxmox VE virtualized environment.We’ll walk through the architecture, integration wins, and the “why” behind each choice, plus security hardening steps, trade-offs, and ESG benefits from reusing hardware to optimizing workloads for energy efficiency.This Montreal-built case study is for teams who want sovereignty over their pipelines while staying lean, green, and secure.