Project Management for an On-Premises Cloud Transformation Using Open Source Technologies - A Case Study

 

THE CASE STUDY

The Organization

E-PID is an Identity Service Provider which has been set-up for providing Identity Service to the citizens of a Country. E-PID has a created a large Database of the Citizens of the country and is providing IT-enabled Services using the electronic Identification based on Biometrics and Demographic Data collected from the citizens. This Data is stored in 2 Data Centres (DC-DR) of E-PID and is in Peta-bytes (PB). The Technology Architecture of the company is based on Legacy Architecture. The Mission Critical Services of the organisation is enhancing each day with new Citizen Centric Services being launched in the country and E-PID is becoming an enabler for “a Single Source of Truth” which is the -Identity of the citizen.

The Company decided to move from Legacy Infrastructure Architecture to a On-Premises Private Cloud Based Technology Architecture and wants to use Open-source Technologies for the same. The Company wants to hire a Managed Service Provider for seamless business operations once the Cloud is set-up. The Company has approached a Project Management Consultants to provide them with a roadmap for the Cloud Upgradation / Migration of its Legacy Infrastructure.

 

The Project Management Consultants (PMC)

SAMCON is a Consulting Firm which has been entrusted with the job of formulating a Cloud Migration Strategy for E-PID with the following considerations-

• The current set-up is on Legacy Technology Architecture and same has to be upgraded to On-premises Private Cloud.
• SAMCON has to provide a detailed Approach of how to take up this assignment so as to convince the organisation that they will be more agile and secure and at the same time will have significant Cost Savings in long run.
• The organisation wants to use a majority of its legacy infrastructure and does not want wastage of Infrastructure and Applications. However, they are open for new infrastructure which is genuinely required to augment the Cloud Transformation.
• Further, E-PID wants to reduce the footprint of the current infrastructure to a limited Data centre area with space saving and having limited number of Racks/IT Infrastructure (using compact compute, network and storage) with minimum complexity and maximum utilization of infrastructure.
• The organisation has 24x7 business operation and does not want any downtime while ensuring smooth migration to the cloud. 
• SAMCON requires preparing the proposal in a way that the organisation is impressed with the overall approach. The various elements for monitoring, security and easy visualization of the state of business are envisaged.
• SAMCON is also expected to ascertain the requirements and suggest the necessary preparedness to be done prior to proceeding with the on-premises private Cloud transformation.
• The organisation wants to use Open Source Technologies with minimum dependency on Vendor so that there is no issue in upgrading the Cloud in future.
• No external Cloud Service Provider will be utilized. The organisation wants to keep a Managed Service Provider for the same and create the Cloud in its own premises and without any workload migration to Public Cloud.
• The plan accordingly and an exhaustive list of Open Source tools for the migration may also be suggested with their utility.
• This Project has to be completed in a period of 18 months and a detailed Work Break down structure is also to be submitted with the Proposal.

 

The Approach-

Transforming a mission-critical organization's legacy technology to a cloud infrastructure is a complex endeavour that requires careful planning, execution, and communication. Further, if the organization aims to utilize open-source technologies and avoid vendor lock-in, while also keeping the cloud transformation in-house/on-premises with the help of a Managed Service Provider (MSP), a tailored approach is required for such environment.

Here's a detailed approach broken down into different sections:

1. Initial Assessment and Requirement Gathering:

• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the existing legacy technology, applications, and infrastructure to identify critical components, dependencies, and potential areas for improvement.
• Engage with key stakeholders, including IT teams, business users, and decision-makers, to understand their needs, pain points, and vision for the cloud transformation.
• Collaborate with the organization's stakeholders to understand their specific open-source technology preferences and ensure alignment with the cloud transformation vision.
• Define clear project goals and success criteria, such as improved agility, security enhancements, cost savings, and minimal disruption to operations.
• Work out detailed requirements while focusing on using open-source solutions.
• Suggest for engagement of the MSP early on to ensure they understand the organization's objectives and can provide expert guidance

2. Cloud Strategy and Architecture:

• Design an open-source-based hybrid cloud architecture that combines the organization's legacy infrastructure with new cloud components where necessary. Identify which applications can remain on-premises and which can be migrated to the cloud.
• Focus on optimizing the use of existing infrastructure to minimize wastage while ensuring the organization's goals are met.
• Identify open-source tools and platforms for compute, storage, networking, and orchestration to minimize dependency on proprietary solutions.
• Collaborate with the MSP to design a flexible and scalable architecture that aligns with the organization's long-term goals.

3. Migration Planning:

• Create a detailed migration plan outlining the sequence and timeline for migrating applications and data to the new architecture.
• Plan migration strategies that align with open-source principles and avoid vendor-specific approaches.
• Identify open-source tools for data migration, transformation, and synchronization, ensuring compatibility with the organization's existing systems.
• Prioritize applications based on their criticality and complexity, ensuring that mission-critical systems receive the highest attention.
• Strategize for minimal downtime and disruption during migration by employing strategies like staggered migrations, failover testing, and data synchronization while leveraging open-source methodologies for seamless integration.

4. Infrastructure Upgrades and Optimization:

• Evaluate the current infrastructure and identify components that require upgrading or replacement to align with the cloud transformation goals.
• Identify and evaluate open-source solutions for upgrading existing infrastructure components, such as servers, switches, and storage devices.
• Implement sleek and compact compute, network, and storage solutions to reduce physical footprint while maintaining performance.
• Design redundancy and failover mechanisms to ensure high availability during and after migration.
• Focus on optimizing resources and minimizing complexity while using open-source technologies.
• Implement open-source monitoring and management tools to ensure the performance and availability of the new cloud infrastructure.

5. Security and Compliance:

• Develop a robust open-source security framework and tools that includes data encryption, access controls, identity and access management (IAM), and regular security assessments.
• Align the security measures with industry standards and government regulations to ensure compliance.
• Implement continuous monitoring and incident response protocols to mitigate potential threats.
• Leverage open-source security auditing tools to ensure compliance with regulations and best practices.
• Collaborate with the MSP to implement open-source security solutions that align with the organization's security requirements.

6. Testing and Quality Assurance:

• Set up testing environments using open-source technologies that mirror the production environment to validate application functionality and performance in the new infrastructure.
• Utilize open-source testing frameworks to conduct comprehensive testing, including load testing, integration testing, performance evaluation and user acceptance testing, to identify and resolve any issues before going live.
• Collaborate with the MSP to implement open-source monitoring and alerting solutions for comprehensive quality assurance.

7. Change Management and Communication:

• Develop a change management strategy to facilitate a smooth transition for employees and users. Provide training and resources to help them adapt to the new environment i.e. on the usage of open-source tools to ensure smooth adoption and integration.
• Establish clear communication channels to keep all stakeholders informed about the progress, challenges, and benefits of the cloud transformation.
• Establish open communication channels to keep stakeholders informed about the project's progress and benefits.

8. Continuous Monitoring and Optimization:

• Implement open-source monitoring tools to track the performance, availability, security and utilization of the new cloud infrastructure and applications.
• Regularly review and optimize the open-source cloud architecture based on performance data and feedback from the MSP, to ensure it continues to meet the organization's evolving needs and goals.
• Collaborate with the MSP to stay updated on open-source trends and updates that could enhance the organization's cloud environment.

9. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

Here's a high-level breakdown of the project into major phases and tasks:

Sr. No.	Project Phase	Key Activities
1.	Project Initiation	·         Conduct initial assessment and requirement gathering. ·         Assess organization's open-source preferences. ·         Define project goals, success criteria, and requirements. ·         Identify key stakeholders and create a communication plan. ·         Engage the MSP for alignment.
2.	Cloud Strategy and Architecture Design	·         Design hybrid cloud architecture using open-source solutions. ·         Identify legacy components for migration and optimization. ·         Select open-source tools for Networking (Open vSwitch), Orchestration (OpenStack), and Storage (Ceph).
3.	Migration Planning	·         Prioritize applications for migration. ·         Develop a migration plan and timeline. ·         Plan data migration using open-source ETL tools (Apache Nifi). ·         Plan for data synchronization and failover testing. ·         Utilize open-source platforms for minimal downtime migration (like CloudStack).
4.	Infrastructure Upgrades and Optimization	·         Assess existing infrastructure and identify upgrades. ·         Identify open-source server and storage solutions (e.g., Proxmox, GlusterFS). ·         Design and implement compact compute, network, and storage solutions. ·         Implement redundancy and failover mechanisms. ·         Implement open-source monitoring (Prometheus) and management tools (Grafana).
5.	Security and Compliance Implementation	·         Develop security measures and access controls. ·         Implement open-source security frameworks (OpenSCAP) and access control tools (FreeIPA). ·         Implement encryption and compliance mechanisms. Utilize open-source encryption solutions (LUKS) for data security. ·         Conduct security assessments and testing.
6.	Testing and Quality Assurance	·         Set up testing environments using open-source virtualization (KVM, VirtualBox). ·         Perform load testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing. Perform testing using open-source frameworks (JUnit, Selenium) and monitoring (Zabbix). ·         Identify and address issues and bugs.
7.	Change Management and Communication	·         Develop change management strategy. ·         Develop open-source training resources and communication materials. ·         Provide training to employees on open-source tools and cloud adoption. ·         Communicate project progress and benefits.
8.	Deployment and Migration	·         Execute the migration plan using open-source migration tools (Rsync). ·         Monitor and ensure minimal downtime. ·         Verify data integrity and application functionality. ·         Collaborate with the MSP for smooth deployment.
9.	Continuous Monitoring and Optimization	·         Implement open-source monitoring tools (ELK stack) and establish alerts for real-time insights. ·         Regularly review and optimize the cloud architecture using open-source automation tools (Ansible) and performance tuning tools  to address performance issues and make improvements].
10.	Project Closure	·         Perform final testing and validation. ·         Document lessons learned and create a post-implementation review. Finalize testing and validation using open-source frameworks. ·         Provide post-migration support and user assistance using open-source collaboration tools (Mattermost).

Conclusion: The Project Management approach should always address the organization's commitment to open-source technologies and avoiding vendor lock-in as well as the organization's goals of agility, security, and cost savings. Emphasize the advantages of using open-source tools for customization, long-term flexibility, and alignment with the organization's control over its infrastructure. Highlight the minimal downtime approach, the use of existing infrastructure where feasible, and the comprehensive security and compliance measures. Reflect the importance of stakeholder communication and change management to ensure a successful transition. Showcase the MSP's role in providing open-source expertise and collaboration throughout the transformation. Provide cost estimates and potential ROI calculations to showcase the long-term benefits of the project.

Remember, this approach requires in-depth knowledge of open-source technologies and strong collaboration with the MSP to ensure a successful cloud transformation that meets the organization's goals for agility, security, and cost savings. It requires continuous communication, adaptability, and a strong commitment to the organization's goals throughout the Project duration.

Blog Author: Sameer Srivastava [Ex-Deputy Director, UIDAI-AADHAAR Data Centre, Manesar]