Achieving Success for Goodbody with a Next-Generation ASPIRE Managed Service

Goodbody is a leading financial services firm serving and growing client relationships for over 145 years. The firm are a full service, investment-led business offering wealth management, asset management and investment banking services. 

Version 1 has been working with Goodbody since 2014 when they won a very competitive tender to effectively design, build and manage their entire I.T. infrastructure estate which included two brand new datacentres.  The relationship between Version 1 and Goodbody has continued to grow from strength to strength. 

Current System

Goodbody has recently extended their contract for a further 3 years to work with Version 1 as their trusted advisor as they progress into the next phase of their managed infrastructure. Oracle was a key part of the design, build, and managed service as Goodbody’s on-premise databases running were on Oracle 11g and needed to be upgraded to the current version of Oracle to ensure continued security and support. 

Goodbody engaged with Version 1 on the best approach, with both parties agreeing on a Proof of Concept. 

Having evaluated the available options, running this PoC in  AWS RDS  due to the flexibility of the platform and licensing model made this the most cost-effective method to support the aims of the PoC. The primary focus was testing the functionality of Oracle, but this evolved into an opportunity to test the operational resiliency, availability, and performance of the AWS RDS solution.

Version 1 approached the Proof of Concept by implementing the  AWS Well-Architected Framework, utilising IaC, and ensuring the guardrails and governance structure were in place from the beginning.  The architecture had to fit into the Goodbody governance and risk models. Goodbody needed to be assured that this solution met both their operational needs and also had the right regulatory and security requirements of a regulated entity.

Migrating to AWS 

The successful results of the PoC led to Goodbody deciding to migrate their on-premise Oracle databases to the AWS Oracle RDS solution. 

Version 1 was able to leverage its dedicated  SAM practice to provide the support and advice around the appropriate Oracle licensing structure to meet the Goodbody requirements.  The data migration of on-premises to AWS Oracle RDS solution involved utilising a variety of AWS functionality and Oracle tools in order to provide a controlled and seamless migration with minimal operational risk. 

The project has resulted in the successful migration of Goodbody databases to AWS RDS. 

Outcomes Delivered

In line with Version 1’s  ASPIRE Managed Service, the following benefits were achieved: 

• Automate
  – Fully IaC provisioned environment 

• Streamline
  – Tasks such as hardware provisioning, software patching and backups are fully managed by AWS
  – License flexibility: “License Included” and “Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL)”. In the “License Included” service model, you do not need separately purchased Oracle licenses. 

• Protect
  – Use of mechanisms to enhance availability and reliability for production workloads such as Multi AZ deployments which allow you to automatically fail-over mission critical workloads from your primary database to the synchronously replicated secondary database in case of a failure. 

• Innovate
  – Ability to point in time restoration for databases within their retention period 

• Realise
  – Improved database response times
  – Reduced Oracle licensing costs
  – Reduced time to perform on-demand table level restores 

• Evolve
  – Next-Gen Managed Service from On-Premises to AWS Cloud for critical workloads 

About Version 1 Aspire Managed Services 

Partnering with a full-stack and multi-disciplinary Managed Services Partner eliminates the headache of managing your day-to-day support and maintenance requirements internally. Through our comprehensive ASPIRE Managed Services offering, Version 1 takes ownership of the tasks that distract you from what really matters; driving your business objectives and strategic initiatives.