Upteam Drives Cost-Effective AWS Migration for AdTech Leader

‍Background

Our customer, an innovative AdTech platform services company, strategically acquired a mobile and web ads delivery company 5 years ago to enhance their data management and ad delivery capabilities. The acquired company's hybrid infrastructure was split between a traditional data center and AWS, connected via a Site-to-Site VPN. This infrastructure included MySQL databases with master-master replication and a Kubernetes cluster for application deployment.

Challenge

Post-acquisition, our customer faced the double challenge of migrating a 3TB MySQL database and 60 servers to AWS while also needing to dramatically reduce infrastructure costs. Initially, the acquisition resulted in duplicating infrastructure costs, placing financial challenges on our customer. Thus, the migration objectives expanded to move the infrastructure while also significantly optimizing it for improved scalability, reliability, and, crucially, cost efficiency.

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Solution Implementation

The migration process was multifaceted, involving several essential stages:

Enhanced Talent Availability Using Upteam Talent Hub:

• Action: To support the migration, our customer used the Upteam Talent Hub to expand their team with a Lead DevOps and two additional team members specialized in AWS and Kubernetes migrations. They were people that the customer had interviewed and selected based on their technical expertise and overall domain knowledge.
• Outcome: The integration of these skilled professionals accelerated the migration process and ensured adherence to best practices in cloud infrastructure management.

Adaptive Project Management:

• Scrum Framework: Initially, our team used Scrum to manage the complex components of the migration. This agile approach facilitated rapid iterations and adjustments, allowing the team to meet critical milestones effectively.
• Transition to Kanban: Post-migration, to handle ongoing requests and adjustments efficiently, the team switched to a Kanban system. This shift enabled them to manage tasks more fluidly and respond to live operational needs swiftly.

Technical and Strategic Migration Steps:

• Database Migration: Faced with a database crash and subsequent data loss, our team Solution Architect proposed and implemented AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to enhance database reliability and implemented automatic daily backups.
• Server and Storage Migration: After an outage caused by GlusterFS, the backend services were promptly migrated to AWS. The remaining SQL servers were transitioned over the following months.
• Network Connectivity: Our customer initially utilized AWS Direct Connect for improved throughput but reverted to Site-to-Site VPN following connectivity issues, which were later resolved.

Financial and Operational Outcomes

• Cost Savings: The migration resulted in significant cost savings for our customer, estimated at 30% in the first year. By the second year, additional optimizations in storage and service utilization were projected to achieve a further 25% reduction in costs. The drastic cost adjustments were primarily achieved by eliminating redundant infrastructure, optimizing cloud service configurations, and leveraging automated scaling and management tools.
• Enhanced Operational Efficiency: The use of Terraform for infrastructure management post-migration improved operational efficiency. Automated daily backups and centralized AWS operations increased data security and system reliability.

Key Learnings

• Robust Talent Strategy: Utilizing the Upteam Talent Hub to source and integrate highly skilled professionals was crucial in managing the complex migration and operational optimization efficiently.
• Agile to Lean Transition: Employing Scrum for the initial heavy lifting during migration followed by a switch to Kanban for ongoing adjustments proved effective in managing different phases of the project lifecycle.
• Strategic Cost Management: The migration not only streamlined operations but also significantly reduced infrastructure costs, underscoring the importance of cloud efficiency in achieving financial optimization.

This strategic migration supported our customer's infrastructure resilience and positioned the company for future growth, leveraging advanced cloud solutions and a robust talent acquisition strategy.

As an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, we are excited to announce our participation in the AWS Summit in London this week. This event provides a fantastic opportunity for us to keep up with the latest in cloud technology and network with other industry experts. We're committed to bringing the best new ideas and tools back to our projects and clients, ensuring we continue to deliver top-tier solutions. Look out for our article next week, where we'll share our impressions and more insights from the summit.

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