Comunet Case Study: AWS Cloud Migration for the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT)

The South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) is responsible for delivering safe, reliable and sustainable infrastructure and transport systems across the state. From managing roads, bridges and public transport networks to overseeing major infrastructure projects, DIT plays a vital role in supporting South Australia's economic growth and connecting communities.

In line with DIT‘s digital strategy, the Department is seeking to create a more mobile workforce and move key supporting IT services (including databases) to the cloud.

To support this strategy, the Department aimed to modernise its IT infrastructure by migrating applications,databases, and services to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. The goals included:

-Building a more robust and agile ICT infrastructure while eliminating reliance on outdated technologies.

-Shifting the focus from infrastructure management to addressing evolving business needs.

-Reducing capital investments in ICT infrastructure and cutting down on application and system support expenses.

-Enhancing the risk profile for the Agency‘s ICT infrastructure through improved disaster recovery, backup capabilities, and heightened information security.

To execute on the Department‘s strategy, Comunet led a combined team and partnership with Blue Crystal Solutions, Fircy and AWS to deliver a 24-month AWS Cloud Migration project.

The project commenced with a detailed discovery and planning phase that involved technical subject matter expertise (SME) consultation and business engagement sessions across the department.

The team collaborated closely with DIT staff to capture technical and nontechnical dependencies, update current state documentation, and develop a migration plan, tailored to address the complex dependencies and unique challenges of transitioning from legacy systems to a modem cloud platform.

The plan included sixteen (“16”) four-week migration waves focused on migrating groups of 6-10 dependent applications. Each wave comprised of application deep discovery, build and test, business engagement, user acceptance testing and cutover of Dev/Test and Production application environments to the AWS cloud.

In parallel workstreams, the project team assisted with development of a Cloud Operating Model for DIT to support long-term cloud adoption and a security workstream implementing enhanced security controls leveraging AWS's cloud native security services.

A strong partnership was established between the partner team and DIT through a collaborative approach, sharing challenges, anddeveloping respectful and trusted relationships.

Utilising Comunet‘s expertise, the project was a resounding success, completed ahead of schedule and resulting in several significant outcomes:

-125 applications migrated with 93 applications replatformed and 32

-Enhanced security posture through modernisation and re-platforming of lepacy systems.

-Reduced risk of downtime by leveraging AWS‘s resilient architecture.

-Improved scalability and agility to support future growth and service innovation.

-Development of a Cloud Operating Model, enabling DIT to continue modernising its applications and infrastructure.

-Significant reduction of on-premise footprint.

-Improved knowledge, documentation and support for applications migrated to cloud.

-Helped facilitate knowledge refresh on a large portfolio of applications and highlighted a large number of decommission candidates.

-Provided a robust knowledge transfer and training on cloud enablement to empower DIT's internal teams for future cloud modernisation activities.

The cloud migration project allowed DIT to extend the lifespan of business-critical applications, improve operational resilience and position itself for future digital transformation activities.

With a scalable and secure cloud environment in place, DIT is now better equipped to serve its stakeholders and adapt to changing demands.

For over 25 years Comunet has been designing and implementing IT strategies that leverage technology to achieve business objectives for small businesses, through to enterprise organisations. With expertise across all areas of IT including strategic consulting, cloud technology, cyber security, and software, we help clients on their digital transformation journey. Through our partnerships with leading global vendors, we deliver the best technology solutions effectively and efficiently.

To learn more about how Comunet can assist your organisation with cloud migration, please contact us.