Case Study - Sakthi Finance Ltd

Introduction

Sakthi Finance Ltd is a prominent financial services provider based in Coimbatore, India. The company specializes in offering a range of financial products and services, including loans, insurance, and investment options. To improve operational efficiency, scalability, and disaster recovery capabilities, Sakthi Finance decided to migrate its application and database servers from their on-premise datacenter to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Objectives

• Scalability: Enhance the ability to scale resources according to demand without upfront investment in physical hardware.
• Cost Efficiency: Reduce the cost of maintaining physical infrastructure and improve financial management with a pay-as-you-go model.
• Disaster Recovery: Improve disaster recovery capabilities with AWS’s robust backup and recovery solutions.
• Performance: Enhance application performance and responsiveness with AWS’s high-performance computing resources.
• Security: Leverage AWS’s security features to ensure data protection and compliance.

Current Infrastructure

• On-Premise Datacenter:
  • Application Server: Hosts business-critical applications including loan management systems, customer relationship management (CRM), and internal financial systems.
  • Database Server: Houses relational databases, including customer data, transaction records, and financial information.
  • Network: Traditional network setup with limited scalability and redundancy.
  • Storage: Physical storage solutions with limited backup and disaster recovery capabilities.

Migration Strategy

Phase 1: Assessment and Planning

Assessment:

• Conducted a thorough assessment of the existing infrastructure, including applications, databases, network, and storage.
• Evaluated dependencies, performance requirements, and security concerns.

Planning:

• Developed a detailed migration plan, including timelines, resource requirements, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Chose AWS services aligned with Sakthi Finance’s requirements: Amazon EC2 for application servers, Amazon RDS for database management, and Amazon S3 for storage.

Phase 2: Design and Preparation

Architecture Design:

• Designed a scalable and secure AWS architecture, including Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) configuration, security groups, and IAM roles.
• Planned the use of Auto Scaling Groups and Elastic Load Balancers (ELBs) to manage application load.

Data Preparation:

• Prepared data for migration by ensuring data integrity and compatibility with AWS services.
• Utilized AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) for database migration to minimize downtime.

Phase 3: Migration

Application Server Migration:

• Migrated applications from on-premise servers to Amazon EC2 instances.
• Deployed applications in a staging environment on AWS to test functionality and performance.

Database Migration:

• Used AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) to replicate databases from on-premise to Amazon RDS.
• Performed a cutover to switch the production database to Amazon RDS after successful testing.

Phase 4: Testing and Optimization

Testing:

• Conducted comprehensive testing of applications and databases to ensure functionality, performance, and security.
• Verified data integrity and application compatibility in the new AWS environment.

Optimization:

• Optimized resource usage by adjusting instance types and storage based on performance metrics.
• Configured CloudWatch for monitoring and alerts to ensure optimal performance and availability.

Phase 5: Go-Live and Support

Go-Live:

• Officially transitioned all operations to AWS with minimal disruption.
• Provided support and training to internal teams for managing the new AWS environment.

Post-Migration Support:

• Established a support framework for ongoing maintenance, including regular backups, security updates, and performance tuning.

Benefits Achieved

• Scalability: Sakthi Finance can now easily scale resources up or down based on business needs, avoiding the limitations of physical hardware.
• Cost Savings: Reduced capital expenditures on hardware and achieved cost efficiency with AWS’s pay-as-you-go model.
• Enhanced Disaster Recovery: Leveraged AWS’s robust backup and recovery solutions to ensure data protection and business continuity.
• Improved Performance: Benefited from AWS’s high-performance computing resources, resulting in faster application responses and better user experiences.
• Enhanced Security: Utilized AWS’s advanced security features to protect sensitive data and ensure regulatory compliance.

Conclusion

The migration of Sakthi Finance’s application and database servers from an on-premise datacenter to AWS has successfully met the company’s objectives of scalability, cost efficiency, performance, and security. By leveraging AWS’s cloud solutions, Sakthi Finance has positioned itself for future growth and technological advancement, ensuring a robust and flexible infrastructure to support its business operations.

Future Recommendations

• Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and optimize cloud resources to ensure ongoing cost efficiency and performance.
• Training and Development: Invest in training for staff to stay updated with AWS innovations and best practices.
• Enhanced Security: Continuously evaluate and enhance security measures in line with evolving threats and compliance requirements.

By adhering to these recommendations, Sakthi Finance can continue to maximize the benefits of their cloud migration and maintain a competitive edge in the financial services industry.