ShootDotEdit Achieves 40% Latency Reduction and 30% Cost Savings with AWS 

Cloud303's Innovative Approach Revolutionized Photography Company's Cloud Infrastructure To DeliverTangible and Impactful Results

 Windows  Modernization Microsoft

Summary

In a global business environment marked by volatility, ShootDotEdit needed a robust and flexible technology infrastructure to maintain its industry leadership. Their unique requirements—support for Windows Server 2022 on AWS Workspaces, locating cloud and DevOps engineers in India, and an optimized cost structure—posed significant challenges. However, Cloud303 stepped up to provide a seamless integration of Microsoft technology on the AWS platform, fine-tuned for cost, security, and performance. .

Industries:
Local Government
Regions: 
NALADEMEAAPAC
AWS Segment: 
EnterpriseSMB

The Challenge

ShootDotEdit was seeking an AWS partner to support the deployment of Windows Server 2022 on AWS Workspaces—a solution that was not yet available. They also needed help finding skilled Cloud engineers and DevOps specialists in India. Cost optimization was another key concern. Upon inspection, it was evident that ShootDotEdit's existing AWS setup lacked the required optimizations for cost and security, which further underscored the need for a comprehensive Well-Architected Review (WAR) of their AWS environment .

Why ShootDotEdit Chose Cloud303?

With an extensive track record of helping organizations optimize their AWS environments, Cloud303 emerged as the perfect partner. Their team possesses the expertise and dedication required to tailor AWS deployments, ensuring that each client receives maximum value from their cloud investment .

Cloud303's Solution

To kickstart the project, Cloud303 embarked on deploying a Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Services environment in two geographically diverse locations - Mumbai and Oregon. These locations were chosen to deliver an optimal experience for ShootDotEdit's remote workers spread across different geos.

The project also integrated Microsoft Active Directory (AD) with AWS Workspaces. This critical feature allowed users to access the new environment using their existing credentials, streamlining the transition and ensuring business continuity. The integration of AD provided a centralized location for user management, simplified the administration process, and enhanced the overall security posture.

In addressing cost optimization, Cloud303 deployed S3 bucket replication between both regions. This setup not only reduced data transfer costs by leveraging AWS's internal network but also significantly improved data availability and recovery time. The replication was designed to automatically duplicate all data transferred into the source bucket to the destination bucket, creating a live mirror of ShootDotEdit's data across continents.

As part of the project's high-availability mandate, Cloud303 created a two-tier Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) architecture, ensuring redundancy and resilience. Each VPC was carefully segmented into dedicated public, private, and private data subnets across two availability zones for enhanced high availability. All subnets were given a dedicated Route Table and Network Access Control List, establishing an extra layer of security against potential exposure.

For the EC2 instances, Cloud303 leveraged encrypted EBS volumes attached to EC2 instances operating within private subnets. These instances were configured to allow only internal traffic, further tightening the security measures.

To seamlessly manage the incoming traffic, a Load Balancer was deployed across two public subnets. This ensured efficient routing of incoming traffic to the appropriate underlying EC2 instances, based on either host-based or path-based rules, thereby maintaining a seamless user experience.

Results/Benefits

The AWS deployment by Cloud303 for ShootDotEdit led to a series of measurable benefits:

Performance Enhancement: The strategic placement of Remote Desktop Services deployments in Mumbai and Oregon led to a 40% reduction in latency for remote workers, significantly improving the speed and efficiency of their operations.

User Management Efficiency: With the integration of Microsoft Active Directory with AWS Workspaces, the time spent on user management tasks was reduced by 60%. The simplified administration process allowed IT staff to focus on more strategic tasks.

Cost Reduction: By implementing S3 inter-region replication, ShootDotEdit's egress fees were reduced by an impressive 30%. The smart use of AWS's internal network to transfer data meant considerable cost savings in the long run.

Security Augmentation: The meticulous segregation of the VPC and implementation of dedicated access controls on each subnet resulted in a 50% decrease in potential security vulnerabilities, ensuring an airtight AWS environment.

High Availability: The setup, designed with high availability at its core, ensured 99.99% uptime, effectively protecting ShootDotEdit from potential AZ outages and ensuring continuous operations.

By embracing a multi-faceted approach that married the powerful capabilities of AWS with the flexibility and familiarity of Windows, Cloud303 was able to deliver a robust, scalable, and cost-effective solution tailored to ShootDotEdit's unique needs.