Case Study: Cloud Consolidation and Serverless Introduction for FoodTec Solutions
Problem Statement
FoodTec Solutions, a leading Point of Sale (POS) company specializing in restaurant solutions, experienced skyrocketing cloud costs, reaching $36,000 per month, after migrating their data warehouse and processes to AWS through a "lift and shift" approach. Additionally, their reliance on a monolithic application model at the store level limited scalability and efficiency.
Project Description
We partnered on a project to optimize AWS cloud expenditures and transition to a more scalable, serverless architecture. Key goals included introducing tagging, reporting, and cost management practices while developing serverless solutions to enhance efficiency. These efforts successfully reduced monthly cloud costs to $17,000 and established proactive cost-control processes, while showcasing the scalability and on-demand benefits of AWS services.
Project Steps
Evaluate the Current State
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Assessed the organization’s existing AWS resources, cataloging all instances and their utilization.
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Differentiated resources by purpose (production vs. development) and usage patterns.
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Introduced tags to enable consistent reporting and resource tracking.
​Reporting and Cost Management
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Created reusable reporting mechanisms to monitor AWS resource utilization.
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Established a monthly process for cost evaluation and optimization.
Automate Cost Reductions
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Configured development machines for automatic shutdown outside business hours to minimize costs.
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Transitioned to savings plans using reserved instances, ensuring proper configuration and resource optimization.
Reduce Monthly AWS Costs
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Lowered monthly cloud expenditures from $36,000 to $17,000 by optimizing resource usage and implementing cost-saving measures.
​Introduce Serverless Architecture
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Developed a serverless solution for centralized integration with Uber Eats:
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Utilized AWS API Gateway, Lambda functions, EventBridge, and a transactional RDS database.
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Implemented an asynchronous workflow to manage communications to store-level systems.
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Designed an on-demand API system to replace synchronous processes reliant on direct store IP communications.
Pilot Project: Uber Eats Integration
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Built a centralized API system to handle:
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Incoming orders and updates from Uber Eats.
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Callback APIs for status changes on Uber Eats’ side.
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Downstream asynchronous communication to store-level systems.
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Showcased cost efficiency and scalability by leveraging serverless technologies with an on-demand pricing model.
Results and Impact
Through this initiative, FoodTec Solutions achieved the following outcomes:
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Cost Savings: Reduced AWS expenditures by over 50%, from $36,000 to $17,000 per month.
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Operational Efficiency: Automated resource management processes and implemented tagging for better oversight.
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Future-Proofing: Established a monthly reporting process to prevent cost overruns and ensure ongoing optimization.
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Scalability: Demonstrated the potential of serverless architectures to handle dynamic workloads efficiently.
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Innovation: Delivered a scalable, serverless Uber Eats integration that improved communication reliability and reduced operational complexity.
This project highlights the benefits of combining cloud optimization with innovative architecture to drive cost savings, efficiency, and scalability.​​