APPAREL
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Custom Data Migration Solution Facilitates Data Consolidation and 7-Figure Savings for Leading Canadian Retailer
Client profile
Background
A leading multinational apparel brand, MOBIA’s client operates a successful e-commerce presence and 500+ retail stores internationally. Offering a great shopping experience requires retailers, like our client, to produce and store large volumes of data, including stock availability and data on consumer orders and sales.
Our client’s IT team developed a plan to migrate its data to the cloud. The shift from on-premises to cloud data storage would streamline the company’s operations, eliminating the need to support costly hardware and resulting in seven-figure annual cost savings. Executed well, the migration would give
the company the same level of access to its data while keeping it secure and keep the cloud migration on track.
the company the same level of access to its data while keeping it secure and keep the cloud migration on track.
More importantly, it would offer continuity, allowing existing systems to access the data with little to no downtime. While cloud storage is growing in popularity among retailers, every data storage transformation project has unique complexities. As a rapidly growing brand established more than two decades ago, the client had amassed an incredible amount of data that called for a thoughtfully planned and thoroughly tested multi-phase custom migration.
Objectives
Migrate Unstructured Data to the Cloud
Migrate unstructured data to the cloud, consolidating their data centre in the cloud.
Our client’s IT team developed a plan to migrate its data to the cloud. The shift from on-premises to cloud data storage would streamline the company’s operations, eliminating the need to support costly hardware and resulting in seven-figure annual cost savings. Executed well, the migration would give the company the same level of access to its data while keeping it secure and keep the cloud migration on track.
As such, it was important that the data access pattern remained the same. With this in mind, the retailer turned to MOBIA for a custom migration solution.
Minimize Downtime During Data Migration
Keep downtime and disruptions to retail and
e-commerce operations to a minimum.
It was essential that the data was migrated with little to no downtime for the applications that relied on it to function. With global retail operations spanning different time zones and the always-on nature of e-commerce, the client couldn’t afford to compromise the customer experience with lengthy outages. From a practical perspective, this called for a solution that could replicate and synchronize data quickly.
Our goal for this project was to migrate unstructured data with minimal disruption and minimal financial impact for our client.
Matt Baker,
Senior Solutions Architect at MOBIA
Make the Data Accessible to Existing Applications
Keep data accessible to legacy systems that rely on this data to function.
The retailer also faced budget constraints that impacted this phase of the project. Since there was no return on investment associated with re-engineering the applications that relied on it, the data had to remain compatible with existing applications. By keeping these applications, the client would also save the costs of training its global team to use new tools.
Implementation
Summary
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Cloud Storage and File Systems
AWS FSx for NetApp ONTAP
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Data Replication and Sync
NetApp SnapMirror
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Infrastructure as Code (IAC)
Hashicorp Terraform Enterprise & GitHub
Migration Script
Custom Python Code
Solution
As an existing client, the retailer was confident that MOBIA’s team had the expertise to create and implement a custom solution for this phase
of its data migration. Leveraging several technologies, MOBIA came up with an innovative solution that met all of the client’s requirements:
Soution
Cloud Storage and High-Performance File Systems with AWS FSx for NetApp ONTAP
Working closely with the retailer, MOBIA chose AWS FSx for NetApp ONTAP for cloud storage and file management. Since the client was already using ONTAP with its on-premises storage, this solution represented an opportunity for a seamless transition. A proven technology that staff were already proficient with, ONTAP lowered the risk associated with the migration.
We evaluated other options and determined that ONTAP offered the lowest risk and the fastest migration time, though it was not necessarily the least expensive solution
Matt Baker,
Senior Solutions Architect at MOBIA
Still considered to be relatively new, FSx hasn’t been widely used to migrate unstructured data. However, MOBIA’s team saw implementing the feature-rich, scalable file system as a unique opportunity to simplify the migration while future-proofing the client’s cloud-based data centre.
Short Outage Window with Replication and Migration with NetApp SnapMirror
AWS FSx offered another big advantage: it allowed MOBIA to use NetApp’s SnapMirror to replicate the data and perform the migration. SnapMirror made it possible to synchronize large volumes of data at unparalleled speeds, shortening the outage window and minimizing disruptions to the client’s operations.
SnapMirror is exceptionally fast thanks
to its changed block tracking, which can synchronize a giant volume of data almost instantly. Using a different tool would have made the migration window significantly longer.
to its changed block tracking, which can synchronize a giant volume of data almost instantly. Using a different tool would have made the migration window significantly longer.
Matt Baker,
Senior Solutions Architect at MOBIA
Infrastructure-as-Code with Hashicorp Terraform Enterprise and GitHub
To build out the infrastructure as code (IaC) that would support the development and ongoing management of the cloud environments for this migration project, MOBIA chose Terraform Enterprise from HashiCorp. Leveraging Terraform made it possible for the team at MOBIA to build multiple workspaces using the same source code, enabling rapid testing and data migration from four storage VMs to three separate AWS accounts. Pairing Terraform Enterprise with GitHub, MOBIA was able to validate that the system worked, and that the migration would run smoothly.
Seamless Migration with Custom Python Scripts
Finally, MOBIA’s team identified that a custom script would make this migration, and the testing leading up to it, more efficient. Over two months, MOBIA wrote, tested and perfected the scripting. Extensive unit testing and a split non-production and production migration allowed the team to ensure a seamless migration from the client’s on-premise Netapp systems to Amazon AWS.
Outcome by
the Numbers
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Leveraging deep expertise in cloud solutions, MOBIA successfully tailored an innovative solution comprised of several tools to migrate the client’s unstructured data from on-premises file storage to the cloud.
By effectively overcoming the unique challenges of migrating legacy system data,, the systems integrator ensured the retailer would meet its cloud data centre consolidation deadline, achieving seven-figure cost savings.
outcome
With the infrastructure as code (IaC) already developed using Terraform, the retailer can efficiently spin up new instances of FSx on demand.
With the applications of FSx ranging from cloud migrations to machine learning and analytics to media editing, having the flexibility to create new instances of this feature-rich file system represents a significant advantage as the retailer pursues future digital transformation initiatives.
Future Phases
Ultimately, what I hope companies can take away from reading about this project is that many large organizations have these volumes of unstructured data that don’t necessarily fit neatly into a cloud environment. However, the right partner can help you implement custom solutions to move past these roadblocks and consolidate your data center in the cloud, saving you time and money in the process.
Matt Baker,
Senior Solutions Architect at MOBIA