The challenge

As a leader in wealth management, our client's on-premises infrastructure was a bottleneck, hindering scalability and their defense against modern cyber threats. Their goal was to migrate multiple critical applications to AWS, necessitating a secure and compliant cloud foundation from scratch. The core challenge was to achieve this migration without compromising sensitive financial data, while also establishing consistent security across segregated environments, centralizing threat visibility, and ensuring strict regulatory compliance.

The solution

Our team designed and executed a security-first migration, establishing a robust, compliant, and highly secure AWS environment for the client. We delivered a multi-layered security architecture by taking the following steps:

• Established a secure foundation: Implemented a Control Tower-based Landing Zone, creating a multi-account structure with Organizational Units (OUs) to segregate workloads and enforce separation of duties.
• Enforced centralized governance: Deployed Service Control Policies (SCPs) and AWS Guardrails to apply consistent security and compliance rules across all accounts, preventing policy violations at the source.
• Streamlined identity and access: Implemented AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS SSO) to centralize user management and provide secure, temporary credentials for accessing AWS accounts.
• Secure network hub: Established a centralized transit network using AWS Transit Gateway to simplify and secure communication between Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs). A Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewall was deployed in a dedicated Inspection VPC to monitor and secure all inbound and outbound traffic.
• Executed a secure migration: Migrated all critical application and database servers from the on-premises data centre to AWS securely over an encrypted AWS Site-to-Site VPN connection.
• Implemented robust data encryption: Ensured all sensitive data was protected by implementing encryption at rest using the AWS Key Management Service (KMS).
• Deployed advanced threat detection: Deployed AWS GuardDuty for continuous, intelligent threat detection and AWS Inspector for automated vulnerability scanning, providing proactive security monitoring across the environment.

The impact

The security-first migration to AWS, engineered by our team, delivered significant and measurable value to the client, translating technical enhancements into strategic business advantages.

• Strengthened security posture: The multi-layered, defense-in-depth architecture on AWS drastically reduced the attack surface and protected critical applications against sophisticated threats, safeguarding sensitive client financial data and internal research.
• Assured regulatory compliance: By embedding governance and compliance controls directly into the cloud foundation using AWS Control Tower and SCPs, the firm achieved a continuously auditable environment, simplifying adherence to stringent cybersecurity mandates.
• Enhanced client trust and confidence: This demonstrable investment in state-of-the-art security powerfully reinforced the firm's reputation as a trustworthy custodian of client assets, strengthening relationships and providing a competitive advantage in the market.
• Improved operational efficiency: Centralizing network security, threat detection, and user access management significantly reduced administrative complexity and overhead. This freed up the client's technology team to focus on innovation rather than routine operational tasks.
• Foundation for secure growth: The new, scalable AWS infrastructure provides a resilient foundation, enabling the firm to confidently develop and launch new digital products and services, knowing their platform is secure and prepared for future demands.