Cloud migration unlocks numerous opportunities – from enhanced flexibility and performance to simplified scalability and quick disaster recovery. That’s why so many businesses decide to make, at the very least, a partial migration to the cloud. While the benefits of migration are clear, the process itself can be complex, requiring careful analysis, planning, and execution.
In this case study, we would like to share a real-world experience of a successful cloud migration undertaken for our clients. By describing challenges, implementation details, and results achieved, we aim to provide valuable insights for organizations considering a similar transformative journey.
Background
Our client is a leading U.S. retail company that has traditionally operated with on-premises infrastructure. Understanding the need for a scalable environment to support their growth objectives, enhance agility, and create a more efficient enterprise, the client’s company decided to migrate a substantial part of their infrastructure to the cloud.
Therefore, they reached out to us to arrange a seamless migration that would not only address their current challenges but also future-proof their IT infrastructure. The partial cloud migration had to streamline the company’s business operations, simplify infrastructure management, and reduce operational costs.
Challenge
Our task was to transfer over 200 workloads from the client’s on-premise infrastructure, managed by an in-house team, to the cloud. The client decided to decommission a significant portion of their on-premise setup while reserving the corporate infrastructure for office use. This move was aimed at reducing costs and resources spent on supporting their own large in-house hardware.
Naturally, such a transition came with its fair share of difficulties. Some of the critical areas that required careful attention included:
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Business continuity. To prevent revenue loss, we had to ensure that the client’s operations remained uninterrupted during the migration process, with minimal disruption to critical business processes, retail operations, and customer services.
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Cost efficiency. Since achieving cost efficiency was one of the client’s major objectives, our team had to optimize resource usage and minimize unnecessary expenses.
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Embracing cloud-native solutions. We had to seamlessly integrate cloud-native solutions into existing workflows and ensure compatibility with existing systems.
Solution
Our team worked closely with the client to research different cloud service providers and develop a detailed cloud migration plan that takes into account all their business needs. Out of the major providers, the client decided to opt for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) due to its robust capabilities, extensive range of services, and global infrastructure. To ensure seamless migration and efficient management of resources, we implemented modern DevOps practices, including Infrastructure as Code (IaC), GitOps, cloud automation, and CI/CD frameworks.
Implementation strategy
The cloud migration strategy consisted of the following steps:
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Infrastructure setup. We used Terraform with Terragrunt to create the infrastructure required for the migration. While Terraform provided the ability to define infrastructure as code, Terragrunt made it easier to handle multiple Terraform configurations.
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Workload migration. We migrated most of the workloads using Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and leveraged Google’s integrations with other non-Kubernetes services within GCP to optimize interoperability between different services.
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GitOps & CI/CD implementation. ArgoCD was implemented as the GitOps tool, while Jenkins, coupled with the latest plugins and our custom framework, served as the Continuous Integration (CI) tool. This streamlined the deployment process and ensured consistency across environments.
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Secret management. Vault was used as the secret management solution, adhering to the latest industry standards. This top-notch platform allowed us to enhance data protection and mitigate security risks.
Benefits
Cloud migration has brought significant improvements to client’s business operations, empowering them with a robust cloud-based infrastructure. The key results we achieved included:
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Smooth migration. We successfully transferred 50% of the client’s workloads to the cloud, ensuring seamless operations and minimal disruption to business activities.
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Enhanced performance. Cloud migration allowed the client’s company to significantly improve the performance and responsiveness of their services, streamline IT operations, and enhance team productivity by adopting modern DevOps strategies.
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Cost savings. By implementing cost-efficient infrastructure, we ensured that resources were used optimally and minimized unnecessary expenses without sacrificing performance and reliability.
Closing thoughts
Migrating the on-premise enterprise systems to the cloud is one of the biggest challenges a company faces, given the many unknowns often hidden in the legacy environment. By strategically planning the process, it is possible to smoothly overcome challenges and align migration with unique business needs and objectives. In the case of our clients, cloud migration allowed them not only to address their immediate challenges but also became the foundation for future growth and sustained innovation.