INTELLIBUS
Introducing A Way to Self-fund Cloud Transformation Process

Businesses aim to use the cloud to save costs and improve application and database performance, especially in finance. Initially, they embrace the cloud's flexibility and pay-as-you-go approach, moving away from on-premises infrastructure. However, as they expand and add more services, they often face unexpected expenses, making cost management an ongoing concern. IT consulting and services specialist INTELLIBUS seeks to address this predicament.

Comprising engineers and entrepreneurs, INTELLIBUS offers a mature practice known as AWS transformation practice (ATP). This serves as a cost management strategy for those within the AWS cloud maturity cycle, especially targeting large financial institutions, fintech firms, banks, and mortgage insurers. The fundamental purpose of this practice is to reduce cloud-related expenses without negatively impacting businesses' bottom line, while using these cost savings to self-finance the remaining cloud transformation journey.

Regardless of an organization's stage in the cloud journey, whether initiating the move of workloads to the cloud, actively modernizing, or developing cloud-native applications, INTELLIBUS strives to enhance platform intelligence. This entails improving stability, boosting data performance, and maintaining strict control over cloud-related costs.

INTELLIBUS exemplifies this approach by initially evaluating an organization's current application expenses, whether on-premises or in the cloud, inclusive of all associated infrastructure, operations, and maintenance costs. In cases where applications are already in the cloud but follow a high-cost architecture, the company analyzes potential savings attainable through a transition to the target architecture. These savings are then earmarked to cover the necessary investment for the transformation.

This strategic approach enables the transformation to be self-sustainable, resulting in improved overall cost management and more scalable solutions and applications. This methodology contributes to revenue growth, as an enhanced, scalable solution facilitates targeted revenue increase and greater solution adoption, thus bolstering the client's bottom line.

"In our previous client engagements, we've achieved cost reductions ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent, depending on the level of optimization within their infrastructure," says Manish Modh, Distinguished Engineer.

For clients with entirely AWS-native applications, INTELLIBUS can achieve cost reductions by refining existing designs and architectures, enhancing scalability, speed, and security. This is crucial because even within the cloud environment, transformation is essential to ensure an optimal architecture capable of effective scaling.

When an AWS user plans to migrate to other cloud platforms, it can become a daunting and cost-prohibitive endeavor. In such cases, INTELLIBUS advises and assists clients in adapting applications to be multi-cloud native, offering flexibility for transitions to other cloud providers as their needs, requirements, or dependencies evolve.

"Our strength lies not only in our cloud expertise but also in our ability to facilitate infrastructure automation, enabling clients to harness their cloud services more efficiently. When clients seek to introduce new features, capabilities, and channels to their applications, we bring in DevOps and GitOps capabilities, aligning them with cloud technologies," says Ed Watal, coach, and mentor at INTELLIBUS.

Typically, INTELLIBUS engages with clients in a 12-week cycle. The engagement commences with a user-friendly pre-assessment aimed at understanding the issue, whether it entails an annual spend $6 million or $8 million, for instance. This allows clients to self-qualify by completing an online form or navigating a set of links on the company's website.

Once prequalification is confirmed, the process advances to the "pilot engagement" phase. In this stage, clients select a specific area of concern, usually based on the preliminary assessment. For example, if the initial assessment indicates a $6 million yearly spend, the pilot engagement might extend for approximately two weeks. INTELLIBUS collaborates with the client's team, involving their SREs and on-site engineers with access to AWS accounts. The primary objective is to access and analyze raw data, which can be exported by the client using cost optimization tools or AWS's own tools.

Once INTELLIBUS obtains the data, it evaluates it and provides an estimate, a formal service quote, along with identified potential cost savings. If clients find the estimate favorable, the project begins.

INTELLIBUS's approach involves close collaboration with the client's SREs and application owners to optimize their AWS infrastructure. Often, it reveals that clients have data stored in Amazon’s S3 buckets, including unnecessary backup snapshots. While clients can address these issues internally, INTELLIBUS's involvement ensures a more focused effort. This is because it brings the necessary expertise to explain the value of these changes and overcome internal resistance. Without this dedicated approach, cost optimization efforts can stagnate for months, resulting in minimal impact.

For instance, a client approached INTELLIBUS with a clear objective to embark on an AWS transformation to optimize costs. Initially, a thorough cost analysis was conducted before commencing the transformation initiative with the allocated budget.

In our previous client engagements, we've observed cost reductions in the range of 20 percent to 50 percent, depending on the level of optimization within their infrastructure

The client managed multiple applications, each with varying expenditure levels. At the lower end of the spectrum, some applications consumed approximately $20,000 per month, while at the higher end, a single application devoured nearly $300,000 monthly. Managing 20 applications at these costs would accumulate to nearly $1.5 million monthly, translating to an annual expenditure of approximately $18 million.

After a comprehensive analysis, INTELLIBUS embarked on the transformation journey to reduce the expenditure for each application to $20,000 per month. For most applications, it successfully achieved cost reductions to the desired range. Certain applications remained in the range of $60,000 to $70,000 per month due to specific constraints.

Ultimately, INTELLIBUS's efforts resulted in significant cost reductions, with some applications experiencing reductions of up to 80 percent. On average, it achieved a commendable reduction of approximately 45 to 50 percent across the entire application portfolio.

These success stories underscore INTELLIBUS's unwavering commitment to empowering organizations in their cloud transformation journeys, achieving substantial cost savings, and delivering tangible business value. By leveraging their expertise and collaborative approach, INTELLIBUS continues to help businesses optimize their cloud infrastructure, reduce expenses, and build a foundation for scalable growth. Their track record of cost reductions, ranging from 20 percent to 80 percent, exemplifies their dedication to enhancing cloud efficiency and ensuring that organizations thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

With INTELLIBUS as a partner, companies can confidently navigate the complexities of cloud management, confident in the knowledge that their cloud transformation objectives are within reach.