Cloud Modernization Saves 50% TCO for a Major Media and Entertainment Retailer
A prominent player in the media and entertainment industry embarked on a transformative journey to modernize their analytical infrastructure. Facing the challenge of migrating few key applications from the aging IBM PureData Analytics Platform to AWS Redshift, our client aimed to achieve cost reduction and improved efficiency.
BUSINESS NEED
The company confronted the impending end of support for their existing platform, prompting a critical need for modernization. The company’s objectives included:
- Cost Efficiency: The client recognized the need to reduce ongoing operational costs associated with their aging infrastructure.
- Speed to Market: In a rapidly evolving media landscape, the company sought the agility to develop and deploy new applications quickly.
- Cloud Adoption: The company recognized that cloud adoption could address their challenges, delivering cost savings, enhanced capabilities, and increased competitiveness.
THE SOLUTION
The client turned to Systech to help achieve cost reduction and improved efficiency. Systech embraced a comprehensive approach to address these challenges. First, they adopted a pragmatic “Fork-and-Lift Migration” strategy. Rather than re-engineering the entire data platform, they migrated the existing tables “as-is” to AWS Redshift. This simple yet effective approach minimized the complexities of the migration process.
Next, they addressed the company’s Data Integration processes and data insights objects, which were critical to their analytical workflows. They migrated all crucial Data Integration processes and data insights objects, ensuring uninterrupted analytical workflows throughout the transition.
However, Systech encountered compatibility and performance issues with AWS’s standard Schema Conversion tools. Undaunted, they developed custom migration utilities, including a Python utility, to automate schema creation and data migration. These custom tools proved to be invaluable, circumventing the challenges encountered with AWS’s tools.
Recognizing the importance of efficiency, Systech introduced proprietary reusable data migration tools. These tools automated and streamlined the migration process, ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and consistency throughout the transition. The strategic use of these tools proved to be a key factor in the migration’s success.
The migration also presented the client with an opportunity to evaluate their infrastructure needs comprehensively. They analyzed their current and future requirements and assessed various infrastructure options, including different cloud providers. This analysis allowed them to make an informed decision that aligned with client’s strategic goals.
The client carefully evaluated the final solution, considering various factors such as infrastructure needs, cloud provider options, and potential benefits. This strategic evaluation ensured that the chosen solution would provide the necessary scalability and flexibility, aligning with their business objectives.
Before proceeding with the full-scale migration, the client conducted a Proof of Concept (POC) to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of their chosen migration approach. The POC allowed them to address any potential challenges and refine their strategy for a smoother migration process.
Lastly, as part of their strategic evaluation, the client analysed the costs associated with migration. This cost analysis allowed them to make well-informed decisions, ensuring that the migration would deliver the desired benefits while remaining cost-effective.
BUSINESS IMPACT
Reduction in TCO by 50%: Transitioning to AWS Redshift resulted in a 50% reduction in Total Cost of Ownership compared to the legacy on-premises solution. This validated the strategic decision to adopt cloud technology, resulting in significant savings.
70% Lesser Migration Time and Efforts: Leveraging Systech’s proprietary reusable data migration tools, the client achieved exceptional efficiency gains. The streamlined migration process enabled the company to save valuable time and effort, translating to accelerated project completion and quicker realization of benefits.
60% Improvement in Quality: Cloud migration not only reduced costs and timelines but also delivered enhanced quality. The modernized infrastructure and careful migration strategy contributed to a substantial 60% improvement in the quality of analytical processes and outcomes.
Reduced Burden on Data Centre: The migration to AWS Redshift alleviated the burden on the company’s on-premises data centre. This transition not only reduced maintenance overhead but also optimized resource utilization, leading to operational efficiency gains.
Strategic Benefits Realization: Once the cloud migration was successfully completed, the benefits materialized as outlined in the strategic evaluation phase. These benefits included significant cost savings, improved agility, enhanced scalability, and streamlined operational processes.
Complete Overhaul for Growth: The company underwent a complete overhaul of their analytical infrastructure, positioning them to thrive in the ever-evolving media and entertainment industry.
Speed to Market: The cloud migration strategy provided the client with the agility to accelerate their time-to-market for new applications and services, gaining a competitive edge and swiftly responding to market demands.
Cost and Time Constraint Addressed: Despite facing cost and time constraints in migrating analytical applications, Systech managed to complete the migration within the specified timeline, showcasing their commitment to project deadlines and ability to navigate complex challenges effectively.
RESULTS
This cloud migration journey exemplifies the transformative power of embracing the cloud for analytical infrastructure. By transitioning to AWS Redshift, the company realized a substantial 50% reduction in Total Cost of Ownership while simultaneously bolstering agility, innovation, and scalability. This case study serves as a testament to the compelling benefits of strategic cloud adoption, highlighting how a major media and entertainment retailer can achieve remarkable TCO savings while positioning themselves for sustained growth in a dynamic industry landscape.
