By Michael Walker, CEO, Horus Technology
A financial-services (sweepstakes and gaming) platform migrated from DigitalOcean to AWS and overhauled its PHP Laravel backend, using AWS MAP credits to offset the migration costs.
What did Punt need from its AWS migration?
Punt needed to move its platform from DigitalOcean to AWS and overhaul its PHP Laravel backend as part of the move, without the migration cost falling entirely on the business. Punt operates a financial-services platform in the sweepstakes and gaming space.
How did Punt migrate to AWS with MAP credits?
Horus Technology partnered with Punt to execute the migration using the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP), which provided credits to offset migration costs. The database moved first, with data migrated to Aurora using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS), and the application followed alongside the backend overhaul.
Architecture Overview
| Component | Before (DigitalOcean) | After (AWS) |
|---|---|---|
| Database | Database hosted on DigitalOcean | Aurora PostgreSQL |
| Compute | DigitalOcean servers | Amazon ECS |
| Backend | PHP Laravel | Overhauled PHP Laravel backend |
Migration Approach
The database moved first. Data was migrated to Aurora using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS), with an EC2 instance as part of the migration path. The application was moved to AWS alongside the backend overhaul.
AWS MAP Benefits
The AWS Migration Acceleration Program provided credits to offset migration and infrastructure costs.
Key Takeaways
Lessons Learned
- Start with the database: DMS handles the data move into Aurora, so the application can follow.
- Plan the overhaul with the move: Combining a backend overhaul with a hosting migration is easier to budget when MAP credits offset the migration cost.
Ready to Migrate to AWS?
Whether you're on DigitalOcean, Heroku, or another cloud provider, Horus Technology can help you plan and execute a successful AWS migration. Our team has experience with:
- AWS MAP program qualification and credit optimization
- Database migrations (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB)
- Container orchestration with ECS and EKS
- Laravel, Node.js, and Python application modernization
See also: AWS Consulting Services | AWS Textract Guide | AWS Partner San Diego
Related reading: Another AWS migration: consolidating four vendors into one account.