Re-Platforming and Infrastructure as a service with platform.sh

Infrastructure / Monitoring / PAAS / Platform.sh

About

The GC GRUPPE is a group of over 100 specialist wholesalers for building technology with more than 920 locations throughout Germany and is known as a reliable local wholesale partner. With over 30 dynamic Drupal-based websites in its own on-site data center, the GC GRUPPE was facing considerable challenges. The limitations were obvious: unavailability during maintenance windows, poorly scalable resources and systems that could not keep up with the demands of continuous integration. The need to allocate internal resources to maintain this cumbersome infrastructure put additional strain on operational efficiency. Downtime was a recurring issue that impacted both user experience and stakeholder confidence. In addition, collaboration with external stakeholder agencies on code development and deployment was far from smooth, leading to delays and inconsistencies in project delivery.

The Vision: A Leap into the Cloud

The client’s vision was clear – to transform their digital infrastructure by migrating to the cloud. Their goals were ambitious yet achievable:

Enhanced Speed and Flexibility: To significantly boost the performance and scalability of their web applications.
Continuous Integration: To adopt a more agile approach to software development, enabling faster and more frequent updates.
Resource Optimization: To free up internal resources for strategic projects by reducing the burden of infrastructure management.
Minimized Downtime: To ensure high availability and reliability of their websites, minimizing disruptions to their operations.
Collaborative Ecosystem: To create a seamless and secure environment for external stakeholders to contribute to code development effectively.

Solution: A Strategic Cloud Migration

We embarked on this transformative journey with a meticulously planned cloud migration strategy. We chose a leading cloud service provider known for its robust, scalable, and developer-friendly platform. Our approach was holistic, encompassing not just the technical migration but also focusing on optimizing the architecture for cloud efficiency.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC): We leveraged IaC to automate the provisioning of cloud resources, ensuring consistency and speed in the setup process.
Scalable Architecture: The new cloud environment was designed for elasticity, allowing the client to scale resources up or down based on demand, without any downtime.
Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): We implemented CI/CD pipelines to automate the testing and deployment of code changes, enabling faster and more reliable application updates.
High Availability: The cloud architecture was designed for resilience, with multi-zone deployments to ensure that the websites remain operational even in the event of a partial cloud service outage.
Secure Collaboration: We established secure access controls and collaboration tools, enabling external stakeholders to contribute to the codebase efficiently and securely.

Outcome: Transformation Realized

The migration to the cloud marked a new era for our client:

Performance Leap: The websites now load significantly faster, providing a better user experience and improved search engine rankings.
Operational Agility: The client can now deploy new features and updates much more rapidly, keeping pace with market demands and opportunities.
Resource Efficiency: Internal teams are now focused on innovation and strategic projects, rather than being bogged down by infrastructure management.
Reliability Redefined: Downtime has become a rarity, with the cloud’s high availability features ensuring continuous operation.
Enhanced Collaboration: External stakeholders are now actively and securely engaged in the development process, enriching the codebase with diverse perspectives and expertise.

Looking Ahead: Continuous Innovation

This cloud transformation is not just a one-time project but a foundation for ongoing innovation. The client is now well-positioned to leverage advanced cloud capabilities, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics, to further enhance their web offerings and user experience.

We are happy to have partnered with our client on this journey and looking forward for more to come.