Introduction

The Challenge

Previously operating on-premises installations at every customer site, the company faced substantial challenges. This setup was labor-intensive and lacked scalability and reliability. Urgently needing a solution, they wanted to consolidate these dispersed systems into a centralized operation, dramatically reduce the complexity of managing numerous local installations, accelerate deployment processes, enhance developer productivity, and significantly speed up their time to market.

The Solution

The company implemented a fully automated, multi-regional SaaS architecture using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), which incorporated a variety of Azure services, including Azure SQL Server and Azure Event Hub for sensor data reception. The system leveraged Terraform for infrastructure as code (IaC) practices, ArgoCD for application deployment across regions via GitOps, and Helm charts for managing ingress rules and certifications per client, ensuring data isolation and security for each tenant. This robust architecture supported horizontal scaling and full multi-tenancy capabilities, essential for managing data across the company’s extensive customer network.

A significant cultural shift was also necessary to transition developers to a DevOps mindset. This involved migrating existing applications to a more cloud-native approach and initiating the development of a microservice architecture. These changes were critical for enhancing operational flexibility and improving overall system resilience.

Implementation Process

• Cloud-Native Coaching: Interactive workshops to align engineering teams with cloud-native principles and Kubernetes deployment strategies.
• Development of EPICS and stories: continuously refined in collaboration with the client.
• Infrastructure and Kubernetes Automation: Implementing Terraform and ArgoCD to automate global infrastructure setup and Kubernetes deployments, enabling rapid scaling and efficient management.
• Application Containerization: Transition of development processes to use containerization extensively, optimizing the build pipelines for better runtime efficiency.
• Zero-Downtime Architecture: Design of a stateful load-balancing scheme using HashiCorp Consul to ensure continuous operation during updates.
• Security Hardening and Monitoring: Integration of HashiCorp Vault for secure data management and setup of Azure-based monitoring and alerting systems to maintain operational health.

Results Achieved

• Centralized Solution: Streamlined operations across all installations.
• Reduced Operational Overhead: Significantly decreased the manual workload.
• Enhanced Developer Productivity: Developers can now focus more on innovation than maintenance.
• Scalable Modern Infrastructure: Ready to handle increased load and more complex deployments.
• Cost Efficiency and Enhanced Security: Lower operational costs and higher security standards due to centralized control.
• Faster Regional Onboarding: Quicker integration of new regions and customer setups.

Lessons Learned

The project underscored the importance of holistic consulting from start to finish. The client's cultural shift was significant but crucial for the successful adoption of cloud-native technologies. The client’s openness to adopting new approaches rather than migrating legacy systems proved beneficial, allowing for more innovative and efficient solutions. Future plans involve further modernization of existing applications and continued enhancement of the cloud platform.