This case study showcases the successful migration of a life sciences company’s SAS environment to a cloud-based architecture, enabling them to leverage advanced analytics and AI capabilities, improve operational efficiency, and reduce costs.
Context and Challenges
Our client is among the world’s leading companies in life sciences, providing innovative solutions for diagnostics, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. They have been using the SAS analytics platform for over a decade, supporting a user base of up to 10,000, managing more than 5,000 ETL jobs, and handling over 50 TB of data. However, their on-premises infrastructure was reaching its end of life, and they needed to migrate to a new, more robust, and scalable platform.
Our client faced several challenges in this migration project:
- The migration had to be completed within a very limited time frame, as the expiration of their on-premises server contracts was imminent.
- They lacked the necessary skills and resources to migrate their SAS environment to a cloud platform, and they needed a reliable partner who could provide the expertise and support for this complex endeavor.
- They wanted to take advantage of the new features and capabilities of SAS Viya, the latest version of the SAS analytics platform, which offers a web-based, cloud-native, and AI-enabled environment.
- They had to reorganize their platform and structure, establishing Dev and Prod systems to enhance their operational capabilities and flexibility.
- They had to ensure that the migration would not disrupt their business operations or compromise their data security and compliance.
Our Approach
We collaborated closely with our client to execute a seamless migration of their SAS environment to the Azure cloud, ensuring that the new platform met their needs and expectations. Our approach consisted of the following steps:
Interactive Sessions
We conducted numerous on-site and interactive sessions with both the client and the platform users. These collaborative efforts were pivotal in identifying and implementing the best solutions tailored to their specific needs and preferences.
Platform Architecture
We established a new cloud architecture, meticulously setting up the SAS environment, databases, and user concepts. This phase was seamlessly integrated with the modernization of the architecture, introducing the cloud-native, web-based SAS Viya alongside SAS 9.4.
Migration Strategy
We developed a comprehensive migration plan from the on-premises infrastructure to Azure, ensuring minimal disruption to the client’s operations. This strategy was critical in managing the vast data and user base involved in the project.
Process Optimization
Existing processes such as system access, permissions granting, and new project setup were re-evaluated and optimized for the cloud.
Environment Splitting
The engineers divided the single on-premise environment into two new Azure environments: Dev and Prod, including a deployment process for transition.
Knowledge Transfer
Recognizing the client’s limitations in capacity and expertise, we provided extensive knowledge transfer and training, empowering their team to effectively manage and utilize the new cloud infrastructure and SAS Viya capabilities.
Continuous Collaboration
Throughout and after the migration, we maintained close collaboration with the client, ensuring that every step was aligned with their needs and expectations, and providing the necessary support to navigate any challenges that arose.
Benefits for the Client
The completion of this SAS Viya on Azure project resulted in a number of benefits for the client:
More flexible and scalable cloud infrastructure
Our client benefits from more flexibility to grow and adapt to changing business needs, and innovate. The cloud infrastructure offers the possibility to scale up or down according to their requirements, optimizing resource usage and cost management.
Easy access platform
Users now enjoy greater flexibility, allowing for a more dynamic and responsive experience. The web-based SAS Viya platform provides a user-friendly interface and advanced analytics features, enabling users to access and analyze data from anywhere, and at any time.
Introducing Dev/Prod Process
Our client’s operational efficiency and quality were improved by introducing a Dev/Prod system, which allows for a clear separation of production and development environments. This enables the client to test and validate new projects and processes before deploying them to the production environment, reducing errors and risks.
Cost Savings
A shift to a self-providing environment has led to significant savings on operational costs, enhancing the client’s financial efficiency. The client also benefits from reduced maintenance and licensing costs, as well as lower energy consumption.
Improved Data Security and Compliance
The new cloud architecture was designed and implemented with security and compliance requirements in mind, ensuring that the client’s sensitive data is well-protected and compliant with the relevant regulations.
Team Involved in this SAS Viya on Azure Project
The project’s success relied on the expertise and collaboration of a diverse team of professionals, each bringing their unique skills to address various aspects of the migration. The team consisted of the following key roles:
- Cloud Architect: Established the new cloud architecture, meticulously setting up the SAS environment, databases, and user concepts.
- Data Engineer: Assessed the existing SAS environment, supported the design of the new data architecture on the SAS Viya platform, and ensured that the new solution met the client’s requirements and was optimized for performance and scalability.
- Data Scientist: Executed the migration process hand-in-hand with the Data Engineer, including data migration and transformation, and provided training and support to the client’s staff for a smooth transition to the new platform.
Technologies Used
Our team leveraged state-of-the-art technologies to execute a seamless migration, ensuring that the new platform met the client’s needs for advanced analytics and scalability. The main technologies used were for this project were:
- Microsoft Azure: The chosen cloud provider, offering a range of services and tools for building, deploying, and managing the SAS Viya environment, with features like global infrastructure, security, and scalability.
- SAS Viya: The latest version of the SAS analytics platform, providing advanced analytics capabilities, AI, and machine learning features that empower businesses to make better decisions and improve operations.