About Hallmark Assets
Hallmark Assets is a HR-centric service provider in the field of Outsourced Business Operations & Processes, focusing in the areas of Office Administration, Talent Acquisition & Retention, Human Resource Management & Processing, Accounting & Financial Services and Legal Advisory.
Their services include the provision and maintenance of office space and facilities in and around Klang Valley, allowing clients to focus on revenue generating processes and operations.
The Challenge
The human resource department in Hallmark was using a dated Microsoft Windows client-server application for resource management that requires manual operation (for example, leave applications must be keyed-in manually).
To boost efficiency and reduce data entry-related errors, Hallmark approached us to accomplish the following:
- Custom develop a web-based Human Resource Administration & Management System to replace their existing Microsoft Windows client-server application
- Perform data migration from the existing application into the new web-based system
- Perform the above two tasks without requiring a heavy investment into CAPEX
Secure Data Migration
Hallmark’s journey began with the migration of their Microsoft Windows client-server application from their local on-premise data centre into a highly available cloud-based service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The migration itself is performed based on a “lift & shift” strategy after a thorough discovery and evaluation exercise is performed to identify application and system dependencies.
The migrated application now runs on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) infrastructure fronted by Amazon Cloudfront, AWS’s fast content delivery service. Meanwhile, the on-premise Microsoft SQL database was ported over to Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for Microsoft SQL.
Application Modernisation
In modernising the old Microsoft Windows client-server application, we rebuilt the application using the following Microsoft technology stack:
- Microsoft .NET application framework
- Hosted off Microsoft IIS and Windows Server operating system via the use of Amazon EC2 for Microsoft Windows Server
- Use of Microsoft SQL database via Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for Microsoft SQL
Constant Security
With the data migration completed, we proceeded with the modernisation phase. Our priority when it comes to the modernisation process is to ensure that the system remains secure. To that end, we’ve taken the following steps:
- The use of the industry-leading Fortify Static Code Analyzer to reduce potential security issues with the application code
- Implementation of a strong identity foundation via Amazon VPC and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Implementation of encryption for both in transit and data at rest
- Implementation of AWS CloudTrail and CloudHealth to identify security risks, protect systems and services, and maintain confidentiality and integrity of Hallmark’s data
Increased Reliability
Another key aspect of the modernisation process is in the system’s reliability. This revolves around the ability of the system to recover from infrastructure or service disruptions, dynamically acquiring computing resources to meet demand, and mitigate disruptions such as misconfigurations or transient network issues. Here’s what we did to ensure the system’s reliability:
- Implement AWS CloudFormation and Terraform to grant the system “Infrastructure-as-Code” (IAC) benefits such as previewing infrastructure changes and creating easily reproducible infrastructure
- Ensure that application source code is maintained on a self-hosted source control server with orchestrated auto-deployment via a deployment pipeline managed by Jenkins
- Implement AWS Lambda to automate the backup and archiving sequence of the data life cycle
Performance Optimisation
The ability to use computing resources efficiently to meet system requirements and to maintain efficiency as demand changes and technologies evolve is crucial in ensuring that the system can operate at optimal capacity. This is what we did to ensure that Hallmark’s system operates optimally:
- Implement CloudHealth and AWS Trusted Advisor to ensure that the system handles resources efficiently
- Executed a Performance Stress Test on the new application before launch
Cost Optimisation
Cost optimisation is also a crucial part of the modernisation process. This is what we did to make sure Hallmark gets the best value for their money:
- Implement CloudHealth and AWS Trusted Advisor to monitor the system for a period of 30 days after launch
- Perform multiple rounds of right-sizing exercises before purchasing Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances to reduce operational costs
- Implement custom scripts on AWS Lambda with a comprehensive resource tagging strategy to automate numerous operational tasks such as the shutdown of development and test instances during non-business hours
Operational Excellence
Operational excellence stresses on the ability to run and monitor systems to deliver business value and to continually improve supporting processes and procedures. Here are the actions we took to ensure that Hallmark’s HR-Admin system achieves operational excellence:
- Custom developed a cloud monitoring and management dashboard by combining our own Cloud Managed Service Dashboard with CloudHealth
- Implementing Amazon CloudWatch to serve as the central repository of telemetry data from both default and custom Amazon CloudWatch metrics, Microsoft Powershell, Linux and AWS Lambda scripts
The Benefits
Cost Savings
By using Amazon Reserved Instances and outsourcing their cloud managed services to Uberfusion, Hallmark is able to keep costs optimised, all while benefiting from our expertise and experience in AWS.
Boosted Efficiency
Hallmark’s new HR-Admin application has not only enabled the company to embark on their digital transformation journey, it has also improved efficiency, reduced manual labour, and reduced human errors.
Continuous Innovation
By entering into a partnership with us, Hallmark ensures that they continue to innovate to meet the fast-evolving demands of their customers and partners.
Testimonial
“ Working with Uberfusion on AWS has allowed our team’s work processes to be much easier and simpler. We are now more efficient and effective in focusing on serving our customers and spending less time on managing our internal IT. To us, Uberfusion is not just an outsourced vendor, but a partner who guides us in our digital journey. ”
About Us
fourtitude.asia is a leading technology group focused on helping clients realise their digital needs and objectives. Our organisation comprises several companies in different disciplines – including Uberfusion for development & integration – working in concert with technology at the core of their efforts. We have over 250 employees headquartered in Malaysia, with sales offices in Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Australia.
Uberfusion is a recognised Advanced Consulting Partner of the AWS Partner Network and is also a part of the AWS Solution Provider Program and the AWS Public Sector Program. The company currently holds valid qualifications in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and Amazon EC2 for Microsoft Windows as part of the AWS Service Delivery Program.
fourtitude.asia continues to be a partner to Hallmark Assets in their digital journey, providing application development and cloud managed services.
Next Steps
We can help you migrate or build .NET-based applications on AWS cloud or modernise existing applications on AWS or your preferred cloud service.
Learn more by visiting our Windows on AWS page or by reaching out to us directly.