Client Background & Problem Statement
Our client, a leading service provider and auditing agency, was facing challenges with their aging on-premises homegrown ERP system. The system, although robust in its time, was proving increasingly difficult to scale, integrate with modern tools, and maintain. The company recognized the need to modernize their IT infrastructure to stay competitive, improve operational efficiency, and leverage data more effectively for strategic decision-making and partnered with Strategic Value Solutions.
During the discovery phase, we pinpointed the critical challenges impeding the organization’s progress towards its business objectives.
1. Scalability Issues: The current ERP system struggled with both vertical and horizontal scalability, unable to efficiently manage the growing volume of transactions and data processing demands necessitated by the business’s expansion into larger market segments.
2. Challenges with DevOps, CICD and Modern Integration: The legacy system faced significant challenges in adapting to modern DevOps practices, Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and seamless integration with modern technologies. These challenges included outdated deployment processes, manual configuration management, limited automation capabilities, and difficulty in achieving rapid and reliable software releases. Resulting in higher cost of ownership for the system.
3. Data Management: Data silos and lack of real-time analytics capabilities hindered the company’s ability to derive actionable insights from their business data.
Solution: Cloud Migration and Transformation Strategy
The Strategic Value team utilized Leavitt’s System Model to devise a phased strategy for modernizing the current technology platform into a cloud-native SaaS offering. Key methodologies included:
- Microservices Based Architecture:
– We proposed breaking down the monolithic ERP system into microservices, each responsible for specific business functions such as Project, Resource, Capacity and Finance Alignment, Centralized Lead and Contact Management, Business workflow management etc.
– Microservices allowed for independent development, deployment, and scaling of each service, improving agility and reducing dependencies.
- API Federation and Decomposable Architecture:
– Implemented API federation to facilitate seamless communication and data exchange between microservices, as well as with external applications and services.
– Adopted a decomposable architecture where each component (microservice) could be independently maintained, upgraded, and replaced without impacting the entire system.
- Externalization of Functions and Elimination of COTS:
– Externalized complex business logic into microservices, making them reusable across different applications and reducing the reliance on third-party commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software.
– Eliminated legacy COTS components that were no longer suitable for cloud-native environments, replacing them with scalable and cloud-native solutions.
- Robust Data Management, Analysis, and Visualization Layer:
– Implemented a modern data management platform on the cloud, leveraging scalable database technologies such as Amazon Aurora or Google Cloud Spanner.
– Integrated advanced analytics and visualization tools (e.g., Apache Superset, Power BI) to provide real-time insights into business operations and performance metrics.
Results:
Through a strategic cloud migration and transformation initiative, our client successfully modernized their ERP system, transitioning from a monolithic architecture to a scalable, agile, and data-driven ecosystem. The adoption of microservices, API federation, decomposable architecture, and advanced data management capabilities not only resolved existing challenges but also positioned the company for future growth and innovation in the competitive manufacturing landscape.
This case study highlights the transformative power of cloud technology and modern architectural practices in revitalizing legacy IT systems to meet the demands of today’s digital economy.
If you are facing any challenges in your digital transformation or cloud onboarding journey, drop us a note at contact@stratvals.com