Driving a cloud transformation for security and sustainability
![Image of Asset carsales hero 01](https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=1536&h=672&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=e28beb94cb3cf0fa611909bb09ebc61a 1536w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=3072&h=1344&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=208e3ca714077223fc90c33559ea5f50 3072w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=1200&h=525&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=8c9dc749dee249aa02d0e49513287145 1200w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=2400&h=1050&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=eab979a411e7cd468a5c51adab0b07e0 2400w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=992&h=434&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=4d659ec8205005d9b0e9656b3302f8ae 992w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=1984&h=868&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=7cdd67728008d4c89ea2d339f8ded030 1984w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=768&h=336&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=1b23a37dbe33ade8628c0257ef0160b7 768w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=576&h=252&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=9261ef425af3555de340e3155111d7d0 576w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-hero-01.png?w=1152&h=504&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721932881&s=04e61b0597378f9b15eb35897eb74147 1152w)
Overview
carsales is a digital marketplace that is transforming the way Australians buy and sell vehicles. When its data center lease came up for renewal, the team made a push to get the remaining 5% of their workloads to the cloud. The migration also allowed them to upgrade their network. Then they undertook a modernization effort, moving applications to leading-edge processors that are more cost-effective and energy-efficient.
Scope
Cloud Architecture, Cloud Migration, Cloud Enablement, Cloud Foundations, Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Modernization, App Modernization, Platform Engineering
Technology
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, AWS Graviton processors
Supporting efficiency and ESG for a leading automotive marketplace
carsales is driven by a simple yet powerful purpose: to make buying and selling a great experience. This commitment drives innovation to craft effective solutions to seamlessly connect buyers and sellers. The carsales network of sites extends beyond cars, encompassing bikes, boats, caravans, trucks, farm and construction equipment and more. They’ve got Australians covered, no matter how they move through life.
![Image of Asset carsales three cars 01](https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-three-cars-01.png?w=1200&h=960&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933214&s=ef3994f5e425f7052d85be9549826fed 1200w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-three-cars-01.png?w=992&h=793&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933214&s=2828e07f14084d65dd045be04087a06e 992w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-three-cars-01.png?w=768&h=614&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933214&s=1c4b55e45bd66d8ba140c3a65b8a9eaa 768w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-three-cars-01.png?w=576&h=460&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933214&s=e4a054b275df4659562450fe882c4b9d 576w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-three-cars-01.png?w=1152&h=921&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933214&s=b6ad4ee1628f48b2d041a279eb123a6a 1152w)
As a technology company, carsales has been in the cloud for more than a decade. Its services need to be highly available to provide the best customer experience, and cloud infrastructure delivers that availability.
carsales also actively looks for ways to run its operation more efficiently and reduce its environmental impact. By operating entirely within the cloud for all systems, carsales no longer needs to manage and maintain its own data centers for product and technology solutions. Distributed systems ensure that services can be continuously provided to its customers.
The liabilities of legacy infrastructure
In 2022, 95% of carsales workloads were on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, but the remaining 5% were running off a data center. carsales had compelling reasons to complete a migration and modernization effort:
- The data center was costing the company a significant sum, and the lease was coming up for renewal.
- Running in a multi-tenant environment relied on deprecated VPN networking capabilities.
- The legacy data center workloads presented security and resiliency risks.
- The newer AWS Graviton instances deliver the best price performance for cloud workloads and use up to 60% less energy, thus reducing carbon footprint.
“The AWS commitment to achieving sustainability by 2035 was a key factor in our migration and modernization efforts. As a technology company, we care about our digital footprint, and we try to not only offset, but also reduce our footprint by making investments in sustainability.”
— SOURAV LALA, GENERAL MANAGER ENGINEERING, CLOUD AND PLATFORM SERVICES, CARSALES
![5x](https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-cost-optimization-02.png?w=1304&h=762&auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=crop&dm=1721933338&s=d61dd40ef887c8e5aa70365f870c34d6)
Migration and modernization deliver a truckload of benefits
The results that carsales achieved proved that this initiative was worth the effort.
To begin, exiting the previous data center (DC) reduced costs and shifted them from capital expenditure to operational expenditure, improving cash flow management and freeing capital for other investments.
Second, the migration made it possible to uplift the networking topology across carsales, moving away from traditional VPNs that present a larger attack surface and higher risk of data breaches.
With all workloads in the cloud, carsales was able to transition to modern zerotrust networking with a secure access service edge (SASE) provider, Zscaler. In addition to being more secure and scalable, the zero-trust network is easier for carsales employees to use and maintain, with lower operating costs.
Third, modernizing its networking and applications positioned carsales well for its annual audit. Zero-trust reduces the scope of compliance, streamlines the audit process, improves detection and response, and facilitates detailed access control and monitoring. As a result, carsales can navigate the audit more smoothly and with greater confidence.
Finally, the move to Graviton processors optimized costs by 5x. Graviton is a new technology that supports multi-architecture and provides better, faster performance that is 40% more sustainable.
“Migrating our data center applications to AWS and decommissioning services resulted in tangible monthly savings. We also avoided the cost of buying new servers and of renewing licenses and support contracts for servers, switches, and firewalls.”
– SALIL MANAVE, TECHNICAL LEAD, CLOUD PLATFORM ENGINEERING, CARSALES
![Image of Asset carsales servers 02](https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=1536&h=547&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=1955b2148a8772fd2b7337a1c6424181 1536w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=1200&h=427&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=215ee07eb304e881ab2ebae1ef9c6d3e 1200w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=2400&h=855&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=0aeeb2456be5604dd7d9bdef5ff32d1a 2400w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=992&h=353&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=8ec135778088c8fc508f9c78e6b0044e 992w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=1984&h=707&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=1fe690c57ac2bf725fec03ddaa73ff8d 1984w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=768&h=273&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=2a1396b9aa163108f7d5ce482c67878e 768w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=576&h=205&q=100&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=6ba51b5bda99748c99c8375acda03b59 576w, https://slalom-site.transforms.svdcdn.com/production/default/asset-carsales-servers-02_2024-07-25-184930_irat.jpg?w=1152&h=410&q=75&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1721933371&s=90d013c9348ac0291ce1e07dc37a521f 1152w)
Leveraging expertise for IT evolution
Slalom joined with subject matter experts (SMEs) at carsales and led the migration and modernization project to great success.
The Technology Enablement team from Slalom assessed and consolidated the number of servers that needed to be migrated to the cloud. Of the original servers, about half were needed, which sped up the migration process.
Some of the migration was accomplished using application migration services from AWS. However, some systems required export/import tools. “We moved systems for carsales that I’ve never moved before, and that presented quite a challenge. But with the help of the SMEs who knew things from end to end, we were able to resolve it,” said Mohammed Usman, principal for Technology Enablement at Slalom.
To get started with the modernization efforts, the team chose a pilot app that determines ad hierarchy when private sellers advertise their inventory. The process of modernizing that pilot app resulted in learnings about the pitfalls and the way forward as the modernization initiative expands across the organization.
Slalom also applied a wider lens, evaluating similar modernization efforts across more business units, which generated a consolidated ROI report for carsales to assess feasibility and support long-term planning. These modernization efforts are focused on driving critical business value, including optimizing costs, using the latest technology, and generating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts.
“Working with Slalom was fantastic. We were pleased with the scale and pace Slalom achieved throughout the project. The team asked all the right questions and were good to work with.”
— SOURAV LALA, GENERAL MANAGER ENGINEERING, CLOUD AND PLATFORM SERVICES, CARSALES
A milestone achievement
With the completion of this migration and modernization project, carsales met its goal to be “DC-free by 2023” and has seen significant uplift around networking, security, scalability, and operating cost of its systems. These results were highlighted in its 2023 sustainability report.
Next up