Finnair's Complete Cloud Migration Journey.
Read how Nordcloud helped Finnair's complete cloud migration in just 7 months.
- Provided complete cloud migration in just 7 months
- Double-digit TCO reduction
- Migrated 400 servers and 70 applications in cloud
Project Summary.
The Client.
Finnair is Finland’s flagship airline. The company had worked with an outsourcing and data centre partner for more than 20 years and decided to migrate to the cloud at the end of their contract.
Project Background.
Finnair saw the cloud as an essential step in their digital transformation journey. They chose Nordcloud as their migration partner, We had just 7 months get approximately 400 servers and 70 applications out of the data centre before the contract ended.
Migration Challenges.
Speed
Resourcing
Technical debt
With Nordcloud, we decided to mainly lift and shift because of the short timeframe. However, certain applications needed replatforming and rearchitecting because of technical debt. Nordcloud helped us create a steering group with us, them and AWS working together really well to keep the process running smoothly.
Tiina Flyström
Head of Infrastructure & Cybersecurity, Finnair
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The Approach: Managed Cloud Migration.
Finnair used Managed Cloud Migration, a unique Nordcloud offering that helps customers reap cloud benefits quickly. It’s an operationally and financially savvy way to transition to the cloud because it eliminates migration risks while delivering 2 important benefits:
Zero up front costs
Rapid ROI
Lift and shift + Rearchitecting/Replatforming + Managed services.
As part of the migration strategy process, we used cloud-native tooling to analyse Finnair’s workloads and applications and quantify the value of lift and shift versus rearchitecting and replatforming for each one. We therefore had a combined approach to ensure the best results.
- Lift and shift
We lifted and shifted approximately 400 VMs and 50 applications from the data centre to AWS Cloud.
- Rearchitecting & Replatforming
The remaining 20 or so applications were modernised with rearchitecting and replatforming. For some applications, modernisation meant Finnair could save on licences. For others, we eliminated technical debt and enabled the application to perform more effectively and cost-efficiently in the cloud.
Importantly, we managed all workloads and applications as they were migrated and modernised.
This created a seamless transition to cloud services – without requiring Finnair to build a new operations team.
Having managed services integrated into the project was key to our success. Often, these projects fall down because the right documentation isn’t there for managed services. Because of Nordcloud’s integrated approach, documentation was continuously updated based on whatever changes were being done.
Tiina Flyström
Head of Infrastructure & Cybersecurity, Finnair
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Results.
In just 7 months, we migrated approximately 400 servers and 70 applications so Finnair could exit its data centre as planned. And we did it on budget.
As a result, Finnair is on track for a double-digit TCO reduction. Capacity and licence costs have fallen dramatically. Expensive basic incidents have more or less disappeared. And managed services costs are based on consumption. Their entire commercial model is now scalable, and the service delivery model is completely agile.
We are extremely happy. We are 100% cloud. I am genuinely surprised that we completed the migration in 7 months and without any major hiccups.
Tomi Pienimaki
CDO, Finnair
Managed Cloud Migration: Finnair’s fast track to value from the cloud.
The rapid assessment and business case showed that migrating to AWS would give Finnair the savings, scal – ability and technical capabilities they needed to meet their short-term needs – while driving their post-pandemic growth ambitions.
There were 2 final challenges to address as we developed the migration strategy:
Speed
Savings
Agility
The result was a wonderful surprise! People didn’t think it could be executed in such a short timeframe, especially given constraints around coronavirus. But we executed the migration as planned, and the business is saving a very significant amount of money.
Tiina Flyström
Head of Infrastructure & Cybersecurity, Finnair
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