AWS Cloud Computing and Migration Case Study
Situation
Following a $50M M&A acquisition, the client needed to migrate the acquired entity’s infrastructure to a new AWS cloud environment. Due to high TSA (Transition Service Agreement) costs, the migration required an accelerated timeline.
Task
Grant Thornton was responsible for the full end-to-end migration, including strategy, execution, testing, and deployment, ensuring a seamless transition to AWS.
Actions Taken
Strategic Planning: Collaborated with the CIO and executive leadership to define objectives, budget, and timeline.
Migration Strategy: Developed a comprehensive migration approach and project plan.
Infrastructure Assessment: Leveraged AWS migration services to evaluate data and system requirements.
Cloud Environment Setup: Established Dev, Test, and Prod environments, configuring storage, compute, network security, user access, and reporting.
Data Migration & Validation: Migrated, tested, and ensured historical data accuracy and reliability.
Production Deployment: Executed a formal cutover process for a smooth go-live transition.
Post-Migration Support: Provided ongoing support to ensure operational stability.
Results
Successfully completed migration within 120 days with minimal disruptions.
Delivered the project two months ahead of schedule, saving $1M in TSA costs.
Key Lessons Learned
Network access and firewall configurations were the most time-consuming challenges—effective coordination with network engineers is critical.
Cross-functional collaboration is essential for mitigating risks and ensuring a seamless migration.
AWS migration tools and scanning agents were easy to set up and provided valuable insights into migration scope, data volume, and system dependencies.
