The successful AWS cloud journey of AlphaBeta, aided by abra
AlphaBeta is a Fintech company specializing in quantitative investment strategies and investment technologies. The company had several needs, including heavy computations for their machine learning models, modernization of legacy web applications, more ownership on new products, improvements to their BCP plan, improving their cloud skillset, and secured access to their infrastructure.
The Challenge
AlphaBeta sought to modernize their legacy workloads running batch and web processes. AlphaBeta also aimed to enhance their ownership over both existing and new products, focusing on aspects such as cost efficiency, security measures, scalability, and agility.
One significant challenge AlphaBeta faced involved the need to handle heavy computations for their machine learning models which are a critical part of the product.
The Solution
To address the aforementioned challenges, AlpaBeta sought the expertise of abra, who designed a modernized approach to batch workload management built on the following foundational principles:
Containerized services for scale and agility
abra experts recommended leveraging containerization for batch workload operations to achieve enhanced scalability and agility. By adopting ECS combined with Fargate, AlphaBeta gained the ability to run multiple batch computations concurrently, enabling parallel processing of tasks with minimal operational overhead. Containerization allowed for the encapsulation of batch processing tasks into self-contained units, facilitating seamless deployment, scaling, and management.
CI/CD and Automation
abra implemented a comprehensive Continuous CI/CD pipeline. This pipeline automated the process of building, testing, and deploying container images, ensuring consistency and reliability across the batch workload environment. Each new containerized ECS task could be easily replicated using a generic CI/CD process and IaaC (Terrfaorm) code.
Managed Services adoption
abra recommended leveraging native managed AWS services to underpin AlphaBeta’s new batch workload solutions. By embracing managed services such as ECS, Fargate and RDS, AlphaBeta could offload the operational burden of managing and supporting the underlying infrastructure to AWS. This approach allowed AlphaBeta to focus on developing and running their batch workloads without the complexities of infrastructure management.
Outcome
Agility and Speed
Through the optimization of the deployment process for batch workloads on ECS Fargate, AlphaBeta experienced notable improvements in agility and speed. By implementing streamlined deployment pipelines, AlphaBeta achieved faster iteration cycles, thereby reducing time-to-market for their batch processing solutions. The utilization of Infrastructure as Code (IaaC) further enhanced their agility, providing AlphaBeta with the capability to rapidly develop and deploy new workloads.
Scale and More Scale
AlphaBeta gained the ability to scale their infrastructure dynamically to accommodate workloads of any size. This ensured that AlphaBeta could handle sudden spikes in workload demand and efficiently manage resources during periods of peak activity, without incurring unnecessary overhead. As a result, AlphaBeta was well-equipped to support their growing business needs and effectively scale their batch processing operations to meet future requirements.
Low TCO
The reduction of operational overhead, facilitated by the extensive use of managed AWS services, played a pivotal role in lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO) associated with batch processing for AlphaBeta. By leveraging managed services such as ECS, Fargate and RDS, AlphaBeta minimized the need for manual intervention and ongoing maintenance tasks, thereby reducing operational expenses and freeing up valuable resources. This cost-saving approach enabled AlphaBeta to allocate their financial resources more efficiently, redirecting them towards other critical business priorities such as innovation, growth initiatives, and enhancing customer experiences
“Our new machine learning models require heavy computational power. We needed a best-in-class solution to run multiple processes in parallel to streamline our investment indices. Abra expertly helped us solve several issues that now allow for complete automation and scalability in our business operations”. (Oded Shimoni, GM)
“Today, companies in the fintech industry face multiple technical challenges, ranging from stringent regulatory compliance requirements to the ever-increasing demand for scalable and secure infrastructure. We are glad to be able to partner with AlphaBeta, who took the leap forward and managed to overcome such challenges by harnessing AWS managed services and advance their product in critical aspects such as scalability, security and cost effectiveness. “(Eyal Stoler, abra cloud CTO)
