AWS migration and infrastructure modernization for a state lottery platform
Our client is a state-run lottery agency that manages the operation and administration of lottery games across the state. Its core application platform, which supports ticketing, gaming, and related services, was running on legacy IBM i-series hardware and Windows SQL Server. The agency faced challenges due to the end-of-life status of its infrastructure, which created limitations around security, resilience, and scalability. The need to modernize the platform to better support future growth, improve security compliance, and enhance system performance was critical to ensure the ongoing success of its operations.
Client challenge
The state agency’s core application platform was operating on legacy IBM i-series hardware and a Windows SQL Server environment hosted in VMware, both nearing the end of their lifecycles. These outdated systems faced several challenges, including limited resiliency, poor observability, and difficulty maintaining compliance with modern security standards. The reliance on aging hardware also contributed to frequent unplanned outages and escalating maintenance costs. Without modernization, the agency risked service disruptions, inefficiencies, and an inability to scale for future growth.
Our solution
Rise and Shift partnered with the agency to deliver a comprehensive infrastructure upgrade, transitioning its legacy platform to AWS. This solution focused on building a secure AWS Landing Zone while modernizing the platform’s security, resilience, observability, and scalability. Key components of the solution included:
- AWS Landing Zone implementation: Rise and Shift guided a collaborative, hands-on setup with the agency’s teams. This effort established a secure and scalable AWS environment using AWS Control Tower, equipping internal staff with foundational cloud management skills.
- Enhanced application resilience and high availability: The agency’s core applications were re-architected to optimize performance and ensure minimal downtime during high-demand periods.
- Integrated CI/CD pipelines: Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment pipelines were implemented, accelerating the development process and reducing time-to-market for new features.
- Improved observability and monitoring: AWS-native observability tools, such as Amazon CloudWatch and AWS X-Ray, were integrated to provide real-time insights and improve incident response capabilities.
- Operational efficiency improvements: By moving to AWS, the agency retired aging systems, eliminating the high costs associated with maintaining legacy hardware.
This migration enabled a scalable, secure infrastructure while fostering the agency’s long-term autonomy through internal knowledge transfer.
Results
- Enhanced security and compliance: AWS Landing Zone provided robust security features, ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements. This reduced security incidents and achieved 100% compliance with audits.
- Improved system resilience and availability: Applications were optimized to maintain 99.9% or higher uptime, significantly reducing unplanned outages.
- Accelerated development: CI/CD pipelines enabled 30% faster release cycles and a 20% increase in deployment frequency.
- Cost savings: Migration led to a 40% reduction in infrastructure costs and eliminated inefficiencies associated with maintaining end-of-life systems.
- Scalability for growth: AWS infrastructure allowed for a 50% increase in capacity during peak periods without the need for major reconfigurations.
- Enhanced observability: Improved monitoring tools reduced mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to resolve (MTTR) by over 50%.
About Rise and Shift
Founded on the principles of cloud democratization and leveraging AWS services to meaningfully transform businesses, Rise and Shift brings a team of globally renowned AWS experts with deep technology know-how and broad business expertise to empower our clients to activate and actualize their business outcomes. Our innovative approach to cloud transformation and delivery ensures rapid, high-quality impact that outpaces our larger industry peers.
