Transforming Infrastructure for Scalability: HONK's Journey Towards Serverless Architecture with Pilotcore
Executive Summary
HONK, a leading provider of mobile parking and transportation solutions, was in need of a substantial transformation of their legacy infrastructure. The company engaged with Pilotcore to transition towards a serverless architecture, leveraging infrastructure as code (Terraform) and AWS's serverless solution, ECS+Fargate. The successful migration not only minimized impact on production operations but also empowered the internal development team to manage, extend, and add to the code base.
About HONK
HONK operates in the parking and transportation industry, providing a platform that enables users to easily find, book, and pay for parking spaces through their mobile devices. With around 30 employees, they serve both private and public parking facilities, as well as municipal transportation systems, in an industry with strict regulations related to data security and privacy.
HONK's hybrid infrastructure was becoming insufficient for their expanding business needs, risking operational inefficiencies and growth hindrances. Recognizing this, the company aimed to transition to a serverless system and adopt infrastructure as code to bolster application delivery and overall productivity in a competitive market.
The Challenge
HONK faced a significant IT challenge. Their existing infrastructure, a hybrid of on-premises servers and cloud solutions, was based on traditional EC2 instances and server provisioning automation. This setup was increasingly inadequate to meet the dynamic requirements of their growing business. The team sought to migrate towards a more scalable and robust cloud architecture. If the challenge were not addressed, it could result in operational inefficiencies, scalability issues, and hinder the business's growth.
The company planned to undergo SOC & PCI-DSS compliance reviews and needed an architecture that would optimally prepare them for that process.
They also desired to adopt the infrastructure as code practice and modern DevOps tooling and processes to improve their application delivery, reduce operational issues, and enhance overall productivity.
Why HONK Chose Pilotcore
HONK chose Pilotcore due to their extensive experience and deep understanding of the AWS suite of products. The team's approach to involve the client in the discovery and decision-making process, coupled with a proven track record in similar projects, instilled confidence in HONK. Additionally, Pilotcore's commitment to not just implement, but also educate HONK's internal team on new technologies and practices, made them the perfect fit for the project. The client also appreciated the flexibility shown by Pilotcore in addressing their ongoing needs and finding cost-effective solutions.
Why HONK Chose AWS
AWS's comprehensive cloud services made it a natural choice for HONK's solution. Its flexible and feature-rich offerings, such as AWS ECS+Fargate for serverless container orchestration and Terraform for infrastructure as code, provided the necessary tools to construct the desired architecture. AWS also offers robust security features, which were essential for the client as they handle sensitive user information.
The Solution
The project commenced with several rounds of discovery and discussion. Pilotcore analyzed the client's needs and potential solutions, weighing pros and cons. The team extensively educated the client on areas that their internal team lacked knowledge of. This phase helped ensure the client was equipped to handle the new architecture post-migration.
Pilotcore proceeded with the migration phase. Utilizing Terraform for implementing infrastructure as code and ECS+[Fargate](/insights/aws-fargate-vs-ecs-which-one-is-best-for-my-workload/) for a serverless architecture, the team successfully managed to modernize the client's infrastructure. Pilotcore focused on providing flexibility and cost-effectiveness in finding and implementing solutions, ensuring a smooth transition.
Throughout the project, Pilotcore maintained a high level of communication and cooperation with the client. Regular status updates were provided, and immediate solutions were found and implemented whenever emergencies or high-priority situations arose.
Implementing tools such as IAM Identity Center (SSO) and GuardDuty as well as eliminating self-managed EC2 instances from the architecture helped position HONK for a successful SOC2 & PCI-DSS reviews.
Results & Benefits
The cloud migration was successful, with no impact on the client's production operations. The new infrastructure is now managed via code, and the internal development team was empowered to extend and add to the code base. The smooth transition to the new system not only improved the efficiency of the client's operations but also enhanced their internal team's capabilities.
Improved security and compliance posture
Pilotcore's architecture allowed HONK to go through their SOC2 & PCI-DSS compliance reviews with minimal effort.
A significant increase in operational efficiency
The migration to the AWS suite of services and the transition to infrastructure as code resulted in an immediate enhancement in operational speed and overall efficiency. This allowed for faster deployment and scalability of the services the client provides.
Empowerment of the internal development team
Pilotcore's knowledge transfer and guidance empowered the client's team to manage, extend, and add code to the new infrastructure, fostering an environment of continuous learning and improvement.
Estimated 30% reduction in operational issues
As a result of the cloud migration and infrastructure overhaul implemented by Pilotcore, HONK experienced significantly enhanced platform reliability and customer satisfaction.
Estimated 20% increase in productivity
The collaborative efforts between HONK and Pilotcore not only modernized their infrastructure but also streamlined processes and accelerated their capacity to innovate and grow.
Estimated 25% reduction in IT costs
By transitioning to a cloud-based infrastructure with Pilotcore's expertise, HONK achieved a significant saving that has allowed the company to reallocate resources towards strategic growth initiatives.
