Case Study: AltoStack Builds Automated, Scalable Cloud Platform For Data Analytics Startup

The Challenge

The client’s primary motivation to engage with AltoStack is to migrate their application stack from Windows to Linux to reduce TCO and proprietary infrastructure and reducing dependency on proprietary software. Their current platform was running on AWS but needed help optimising and transforming their cloud environment to support multi-tenancy and increased levels of tenant segregation. They needed a layered security model and automated deployments for their application stack.

The Clients’ goals were to:

1. transform their cloud environment to become cloud-native
2. migrate their application from Windows to Linux
3. strengthen the security posture of the core AWS services and layers through full use of the AWS security feature set
4. use automation throughout their stack and adopt Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery
5. reduce costs

The Solution

AltoStack guided the client through the entire process of adopting AWS Organizations which enhances the level of tenant segregation and management. AltoStack also built Terraform modules to automate the creation of VPCs, subnets, Security Groups, ELBs, and EC2 instances in each AWS accounts which are automatigically peered back to the central Master account. These templates combined with the efforts of the DevOps lead enhanced the security and automation of their platform, moving them towards their goal of zero downtime deployments.

The complete process of re-architecting the platform and automating every aspect of infrastructure orchestration, configuration management and application deployment only took 8 weeks!

Additionally, by leveraging services like AWS Organizations which offer volume discounts from consolidated billing, the client made better use of their existing computing budget for future innovation on the AWS platform. Another pain point that needed to be worked on is the zero-touch infrastructure to simplify and scale deployment processes across their growing client base creating a platform that is region and tenant agnostic.

The Business Outcome

As a result of AltoStack’s engagement, the core development teams have a deeper understanding of CI/CD and the AWS platform. The environment provisioning time for infrastructure platforms has drastically decreased with the advent of fully automated, compliant and security-vetted environments and the client is now able to seamlessly scale their application platform across multiple AWS accounts and regions in record time.

Across the organisation AltoStack also worked with the client to incubate new ways of thinking in order to cope with the fast moving, failure-friendly, fully automated approach.