The client

Cartier, the iconic retailer of luxury timepieces, aimed to enhance the reliability and scalability of their applications by migrating their infrastructure from DigitalOcean to AWS. Their Tokyo-based partner, Sixteenbars, understood the complexity involved and called in Just After Midnight to ensure the move was seamless, allowing Cartier’s applications to meet the high expectations of their clientele around the clock.

Our team was tasked with building a new infrastructure, migrating the applications, and providing our signature 24/7 monitoring and support to maintain peak performance and reliability from start to finish.

The challenges

Cartier’s setup on DigitalOcean was not optimised to meet the demands of a mission-critical sales tool, lacking the necessary scalability and resilience. The infrastructure was convoluted, increasing complexity and the risk of potential bottlenecks. Moreover, Cartier didn’t have many options for support from the team who built their existing setup and lacked the expertise to migrate and host it on AWS.

Cartier’s retail applications needed to meet increasing demands and maintain high availability during store hours, so a robust, stable, and reliable solution was critical – along with a seamless transition that guaranteed no disruption for Cartier’s customers.

The solution

Migrating to AWS was a strategic decision due to its reliability, scalability and extensive feature set, making it the ideal platform for the retail giant’s needs. We began by thoroughly assessing Cartier’s existing DigitalOcean infrastructure to identify key areas for enhancement.

Cartier’s applications were composed of over ten interconnected microservices. We collaborated closely with the client to test and guarantee seamless connectivity post-move. This involved rigorous testing to ensure each microservice communicated properly within the new AWS environment.

We configured the applications to automatically scale resources based on demand, ensuring it could ramp up during peak shopping times and dial back when things are quieter. This dynamic scaling means that resources are used efficiently, cutting costs while solidly maintaining performance.

By breaking down the workload into smaller, independently scalable tasks, we brought performance and reliability improvements that Cariter’s applications needed. This way, each component can scale independently based on its specific needs.

To keep things moving quickly, we established a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline that could streamline the development process, allowing Cartier to deploy updates faster.

Security was also a top priority for the well-loved luxury brand. We bolstered the security of their applications by implementing the advanced cloud-based solution, Cloudflare WAF. This ensured sensitive data was well-protected and compliance requirements were met.

The migration brought immediate cost savings, optimising resource use from day one. Cartier previously relied on traditional virtual machine-based containerisation, which was less efficient and often costly. Our team moved them to AWS ECS Fargate tasks, a serverless solution, which significantly reduced costs.

The user interface, the face of Cartier’s digital presence, remained unchanged, ensuring continuity in SixteenBars’ original frontend designs and a seamless experience for users.

The transition from DigitalOcean to AWS was flawless and completed within two months. By addressing these key areas, we made Cartier’s applications more reliable, scalable, and secure, providing a solid foundation for future growth for the retailer.

Post-migration, Just After Midnight provide round-the-clock AWS infrastructure support to Cartier through their agency Sixteenbars. Our continuous monitoring and support keep their applications stable, high-performing and ready to meet the demands of their clientele around the clock.

The results

• 2-month migration
• Immediate savings in operational costs by optimising resource use and transitioning to AWS ECS Fargate tasks
• Unchanged UI with no disruption for Cartier’s users
• Auto-scaling resources that enable Cartier to efficiently handle increased traffic and sales volumes, while simultaneously cutting costs
• Strengthened security with Cloudflare WAF