AWS Migration

Global Midsize Enterprise Achieves Operational Excellence Through Successful AWS Migration

 

Executive Summary

Techconsultants successfully executed a comprehensive migration of a global midsize enterprise’s on-premises infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS), enhancing their operational efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. This case study details the migration process, the challenges encountered, the solutions implemented, and the benefits realised post-migration.

Client Overview

The client is a global midsize enterprise who, prior to migration, operated a traditional on-premises IT infrastructure that included 150 servers, 75 databases, and various applications supporting their core business functions.

Business Challenges

  1. Scalability: The on-premises infrastructure struggled to scale with the growing demands of the business.
  2. Cost Management: High capital expenditure (CapEx) and operational expenditure (OpEx) due to hardware maintenance and energy consumption.
  3. Performance: Frequent performance bottlenecks affecting application response times and overall user experience.
  4. Disaster Recovery: Lack of a robust disaster recovery plan, posing risks to business continuity.

Objectives

  1. Enhance Scalability: Move to a scalable environment to handle fluctuating workloads.
  2. Reduce Costs: Lower IT infrastructure costs by leveraging AWS’s pay-as-you-go model.
  3. Improve Performance: Ensure better application performance and reliability.
  4. Establish Robust Disaster Recovery: Implement a reliable disaster recovery solution.

AWS Migration Strategy

Assessment and Planning

  1. Initial Assessment: Conducted a thorough assessment of [Client Name]’s existing infrastructure, applications, and workloads.
  2. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Analysed potential cost savings and ROI from migrating to AWS.
  3. Migration Plan: Developed a detailed migration roadmap, including timelines, resource allocation, and risk mitigation strategies.

Phase 1: Preparation

1. Team Formation: Assembled a cross-functional team comprising Techconsultants’ AWS experts and the client’s IT staff.
2. Training: Provided AWS training sessions for the company's IT personnel to familiarise them with AWS services and best practices.
3. Environment Setup: Set up a secure and scalable AWS environment including Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), subnets, security groups, and IAM roles.

Phase 2: Migration Execution

1. Data Migration:
• Database Migration Service (DMS): Used AWS DMS to migrate on-premises databases to Amazon RDS with minimal downtime.
• S3 Transfer Acceleration: Employed Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration to transfer large datasets efficiently.

2. Application Migration:
• Server Migration Service (SMS): Utilised AWS SMS to automate the migration of on-premises servers to Amazon EC2 instances.
• Application Modernization: Refactored certain applications to be cloud-native, leveraging AWS Lambda and Amazon ECS for microservices.

3. Testing and Validation:
• Performance Testing: Conducted rigorous performance tests to ensure applications were functioning optimally in the new environment.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Collaborated with the client's end-users to validate the migrated applications and ensure they met business requirements.

Phase 3: Post-Migration

1. Optimisation:
• Cost Management: Implemented AWS Cost Explorer and Trusted Advisor to continuously monitor and optimise costs.
• Performance Tuning: Utilised AWS CloudWatch and X-Ray for ongoing performance monitoring and optimization.

2. Security and Compliance:
• Enhanced Security: Deployed AWS security services such as GuardDuty, Inspector, and Shield to protect `{`Client Name`}`'s data and applications.
• Compliance: Ensured compliance with industry standards and regulations using AWS Artifact and AWS Config.

3. Disaster Recovery:
• DR Strategy: Set up a comprehensive disaster recovery plan using AWS Backup and AWS Site Recovery, ensuring business continuity in case of failures.

Challenges and Solutions

  1. Data Consistency: Ensuring data consistency during migration was critical. We employed AWS Database Migration Service with continuous data replication to keep source and target databases in sync.
  2. Downtime Minimization: To minimise downtime, we used a hybrid migration approach, migrating non-critical workloads first and critical workloads during off-peak hours.
  3. Application Compatibility: Some legacy applications required modifications to be compatible with AWS. We used AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) to facilitate this process.

Benefits

  1. Scalability: The client can now scale their infrastructure effortlessly to meet business demands, reducing latency and improving user experience.
  2. Cost Savings: Achieved a 35% reduction in IT costs through optimized resource usage and AWS’s pay-as-you-go model.
  3. Enhanced Performance: Noticed a 45% improvement in application performance and reliability.
  4. Robust Disaster Recovery: Implemented a disaster recovery plan that reduced recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) to under 30 minutes.

Conclusion

The AWS migration has transformed [Client Name]’s IT infrastructure, providing a robust, scalable, and cost-effective solution that supports their growing business needs. Techconsultants’ methodical approach and expertise in AWS services ensured a smooth transition with minimal disruption, positioning [Client Name] for future growth and innovation.

Testimonials

“Tech Consultant’s migration service to AWS has been a game-changer for us. Tech Consultants’ expertise and thorough approach made this complex process seamless and efficient. We are now more agile and better equipped to serve our customers.” – Client’s CEO/CTO

Next Steps

To build on this success, Tech Consultants recommends the following:

  1. Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and optimise AWS usage to maximise efficiency and cost savings.
  2. Innovation Adoption: Explore and adopt new AWS services such as machine learning and advanced analytics to drive further innovation.
  3. Training and Development: Ongoing training for the client’s IT team to stay updated with AWS best practices and new features.

Contact Information

For more information on this case study or to discuss how Techconsultants can assist with your AWS migration needs, please contact us at:

    • Email: info@techconsultants.com
    • Phone:

Website: www.techconsultants.com