A Major Bank in UAE

Challenge

— Examine the current application reliability assurance structure.

— Compile a report based on this audit's findings.

— Design and agree on a migration plan for the structure.

— Ensure uninterrupted services during migration.

Solution

At the project's initial stage, the GDC Services team inspected the existing system infrastructure, resulting in a comprehensive status report.

The migration had to be conducted in a way that didn't disrupt the services. The bank could only afford a brief maintenance break of around four hours, which it repeatedly emphasized. The client was also nervous because of the high stakes involved in the task.

Keeping in mind the client's concerns and requirements, the team:

-    developed a new design using modern technology,

-    proposed a project implementation plan,

-    identified potential risks and several mitigation strategies,

-    outlined the project management structure from both GDC Services and the client's perspectives,

-    and also scheduled regular meetings and progress reports that the client would receive at various organizational levels.

GDC Services experts set up the equipment, made basic configurations, and involved the client's associated teams as needed to accomplish specific tasks within their responsibility. After setting everything up according to the approved design, the experts gradually started migrating application reliability settings from the existing to the new equipment, optimizing them to leverage the latest technologies. 

Starting with individual settings, we gradually increased the pace as the client grew more confident in both the experts' skills and capabilities and the reliability of their solution. By the project's end, the team migrated several dozen reliability applications during a single joint session with the client. During these sessions, the client tested the functionality of its client applications on the new equipment under expert supervision and switched user traffic to the target infrastructure.

After successfully tackling the project's technical challenges, the team:

-    configured the cutting-edge hardware,

-    implemented a solution to make it fault tolerant and ensure configuration backups,

-    created and handed over all necessary documentation to the client, ranging from support team instructions to design documents,

-    successfully migrated over 80 applications ensuring the bank's customer service reliability.

The client's hardware and servers were based in the UAE, necessitating remote desktop connection technologies for work. This required adjusting to the head office employees' schedules and providing guidance to related teams on their areas of responsibility, as the client company's staff often lacked the necessary expertise and knowledge.

Despite the challenges, the team not only accomplished the primary tasks but also enhanced the functionality within the new system.

The project was successfully completed in a mere one month.

Results

— The client received an advanced, stable system for ensuring application reliability, which boosted the company's market reputation, and provided the bank's customers with consistently available services.

— The load balancing system for 80 internal applications was migrated without any failures or downtime.

— The client's maintenance costs were reduced through enhanced troubleshooting capabilities in the new system, which decreased the time spent identifying failure causes and configuring load balancing rules in a flexible manner.