Securing and Automating AEVI’s Financial Infrastructure with AWS

AEVI, a financial services company, faced significant challenges in managing their critical IT infrastructure, which directly impacted their ability to meet industry-specific requirements for security, compliance, and operational efficiency. The absence of Infrastructure as Code (IaaC) for their database layer meant that AEVI's database infrastructure lacked automation, version control, and consistency. This deficiency not only exposed financial data to potential risks but also made it difficult to maintain operational efficiency and comply with stringent financial regulations.

Additionally, AEVI did not have a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline in place for their financial database infrastructure and networking components. This gap resulted in slow, inconsistent updates, increasing the risk of manual errors and making it challenging to ensure the consistency required in financial operations. Furthermore, AEVI's on-premises environment had minimal automation, leading to inefficiencies and potential risks due to the manual handling of infrastructure tasks. The heavy reliance on their data center provider for infrastructure management further limited AEVI’s ability to respond quickly to changing business needs, ultimately affecting their operational flexibility and resilience in a fast-paced financial services environment.

To solve AEVI’s financial services infrastructure challenges, Trustsoft used Terraform to automate and manage their Oracle databases on Amazon RDS. This approach provided consistent, secure, and repeatable deployment processes essential for financial operations. Trustsoft also replatformed AEVI’s databases to PostgreSQL on Amazon Aurora, improving performance and scalability. Terraform handled the entire migration, including the Database Migration Service (DMS) and network configurations, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal downtime.

Additionally, Trustsoft automated the setup and configuration of database instances, reducing manual work and errors. This was crucial for maintaining the security and compliance required in the financial industry, resulting in a more reliable and scalable infrastructure for AEVI.

Trustsoft's solution significantly improved AEVI’s financial services infrastructure. By automating security testing and vulnerability management, AEVI saw a 40% reduction in security incidents within six months. Automated compliance checks ensured 100% adherence to PCI DSS standards, streamlining regulatory compliance. Enhanced logging and monitoring reduced mean time to resolution (MTTR) by 35%, improving system reliability. Centralized configuration management cut configuration errors by 50%, while secure secrets management improved overall security metrics by 25%. These changes led to a more secure, compliant, and efficient financial infrastructure for AEVI.

Trustsoft performed a comprehensive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis for Aevi, tailored specifically to the financial services industry. The analysis included a Right Sizing assessment to identify the most efficient AWS resources and services that align with FinServ requirements, such as high availability, security, and compliance. We compared the costs of maintaining their existing on-premises infrastructure with the projected costs of migrating to AWS, highlighting potential savings and operational benefits. Trustsoft provided a detailed cost estimate and strategic recommendations, emphasizing the financial advantages of AWS, including enhanced business agility, innovation, and compliance with financial regulations. To ensure accuracy, we conducted collaborative workshops using the AWS pricing calculator, aligning our analysis with Aevi's financial goals and regulatory needs.

Through our work with AEVI, Trustsoft learned the critical value of integrating security early and automating compliance in financial services projects. We saw firsthand how automating monitoring, configuration, and secrets management significantly boosts security, compliance, and operational efficiency. The project reinforced the importance of using Infrastructure as Code (IaaC) to ensure consistent, scalable deployments. These insights will guide our future financial services projects, ensuring we continue to apply best practices for maximum client value.