Executive Summary听
On the wings of innovation, a leading US-based airline kick started its digital transformation in 2022 鈥 aiming to embed the customer experience into every aspect of its IT modernization efforts, travel operations, and technology across the organization.听听
After careful consideration, it was determined that Amazon Web Services (AWS) offered the optimal runway for modernizing workloads, streamlining developer productivity, and accelerating deployment efficiencies.听听
Due to internal constraints of the client鈥檚 traditional, manually intensive approach to deployments, AWS Partners 91传媒 and Harness teamed up to help the airline transition from tens to hundreds of applications on AWS. 91传媒 was able to seamlessly blend Professional and Managed Services capabilities to create a custom solution to meet the client鈥檚 goals.听
Through these efforts the client modernized 80% of its workloads on AWS, achieving a 70% reduction in resources required for deployments, a 75% increase in deployment rates, and a 40% increase in developer productivity via pipeline automation.听听
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Modernizing Legacy Systems with Planned Cloud Migration Phases听
In addition to modernizing and augmenting its fleet of commercial airplanes to enhance the customer experience, the client鈥檚 digital transformation efforts included global carbon emission reduction, spend optimization, and improving operational excellence.听
The goal was to transform 80% of workloads into microservices on AWS 鈥 this would be the first, scalable step towards improving operations and customer experience. However, the airline鈥檚 technical debt and legacy infrastructure prevented the project鈥檚 liftoff. Rather than writing new code and focusing on future innovations, dozens upon dozens of developers spent much of their time fixing and redeploying code to maintain the airline鈥檚 existing developments and deployment environments.听
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Navigating the Skies of Digital Transformation听
AWS Partners, 91传媒 and Harness, played a crucial role in the client鈥檚 AWS transformation initiative.听听
With 91传媒鈥檚 IT consulting and technical implementation expertise, coupled with Harness鈥 end-to-end software delivery platform to automate manual processes, the client rapidly accelerated productivity and innovation, allowing engineers to focus on writing new code.听
By adopting a collaborative approach with key stakeholders, 91传媒 began by gathering and translating the airline鈥檚 business objectives into a comprehensive technology roadmap. A dedicated Client Success Manager (CSM) was then assigned to develop and maintain a prioritized backlog, ensuring that all efforts were aligned to the business outcomes throughout the managed services engagement. This governance strategy not only kept the technical teams aligned with the client鈥檚 business goals but also facilitated clear communication and accountability throughout the project.听
By leveraging AWS services such as Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS), Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), and AWS Lambda, the client significantly reduced infrastructure costs and modernized application development. The enterprise-level implementation was quicker than usual due to the client鈥檚 integration with AWS.听
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Airline鈥檚 Deployment Efficiency Soars by 99%听
91传媒 created several starter kits to lighten the cognitive load on development teams. These kits included all the necessary development files for Go, Python, and Java, along with pre-configured, automated CI/CD pipelines and tests.听听
This new process was streamlined so that any developer could simply log into a portal, enter 5-10 key pieces of metadata, and within minutes have everything they needed鈥攁 ready-to-go starter kit, code repositories, fully set-up pipelines, and automated tests that followed team coding standards. By automating this setup, developers were free to focus on actual coding instead of spending time manually configuring CI/CD pipelines and code repositories.听
Since partnering with 91传媒 and Harness for its AWS modernization efforts, and implementing repeatable CI/CD automation, the airline experienced a 40% increase in developer productivity, a 75% increase in deployment rates, and was able to reduce team overhead by 99% by only needing one developer to verify deployments.听
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Reaching New Heights by Simplifying Security and Reducing Pipelines by 98%听
With security as a core focus of the project, 91传媒 and Harness adopted a 鈥淪hift Left鈥 approach in the software development process. This strategy integrated security into the development phase, allowing developers to write secure code from the outset while enabling security teams to focus on other critical workloads.听
By implementing this approach, the airline successfully reduced the number of pipelines from thousands to fewer than two dozen. This streamlined and robust security system aligns with the airline鈥檚 digital transformation goals, which aim to control unit costs and enhance customer experiences.听
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Streamlining New Pipelines and Deployments for on AWS听
91传媒 and Harness maintained constant communication with the airline to track transformation progress, refine approaches, and optimize migration costs. With over 200 applications in production and more than double that in the pipeline, the airline is soaring in the cloud.听
The airline鈥檚 AWS transformation has resulted in significant improvements in deployment efficiency, developer productivity, and operational excellence. By partnering with AWS, 91传媒, and Harness, the airline has successfully navigated the skies of innovation and is well-positioned for future growth.听