Resilient, Reliable and Ready: How NAHCO Transformed Its Operations with AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (AWS DRS)
Customer Name:
Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (NAHCO)
Industry:
Aviation Support Services Industry
Location:
Lagos, Nigeria
Solution:
AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery
Overview
The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company PLC (NAHCO) is a leading provider of aviation support services in Nigeria and West Africa. Established in 1979, NAHCO offers aircraft handling, cargo handling, passenger handling, and crew transportation across major Nigerian airports.
Beyond aviation services, NAHCO also provides aviation training and energy distribution, supporting the operational needs of airports and enhancing industry safety and efficiency. Their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction makes them a vital player in the aviation sector.
Challenges: The Struggle for Business Continuity
NAHCO faced significant challenges in maintaining business continuity due to its outdated infrastructure and slow recovery processes. The reliance on manual systems posed substantial risks, leading to frequent operational disruptions. The key pain points included:
- 1. Extended Downtime Impacting Operations:
NAHCO experienced prolonged downtimes, disrupting operations, and affecting critical business processes. The slow recovery process impacted productivity and caused potential revenue losses.
- 2. Absence of Automated Failover Systems:
he lack of automated failover systems meant the infrastructure relied on manual intervention, increasing recovery times, and exposing the company to prolonged outages.
- 3. High Risk of Data Loss and Inconsistency:
The slow recovery process posed a constant risk of data loss or inconsistency, threatening operational accuracy and necessitating extensive restoration efforts.
The Digital Reinvention
Facing the looming threat of continued outages, NAHCO recognized the urgent need for a game-changing solution. Extended downtimes and the potential for catastrophic data loss were no longer acceptable risks. In response, NAHCO reached out to Digitank Africa, specialists in digital transformation, who identified AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (AWS DRS) as the revolutionary solution to transform their operations.
This pivotal moment marked NAHCO’s transition from a reactive stance to a proactive, automated recovery system. Their journey toward digital reinvention had begun, setting the stage for enhanced resilience and operational efficiency.
Achieving Operational Excellence with AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (AWS DRS)
With the deployment of AWS DRS, NAHCO transitioned from its cumbersome on-premise infrastructure to the agile and scalable realm of cloud-based operations. The implementation included the following key steps:
- 1. Assessment and Planning:
Digitank Africa conducted a comprehensive assessment of NAHCO’s existing infrastructure to identify critical systems and data. Based on this, a tailored DR strategy was designed, considering Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) to align with NAHCO’s operational needs.
- 2. AWS Environment Setup:
An AWS environment was provisioned, which involved creating and configuring the necessary accounts, virtual networks, and security policies. Storage and compute resources were allocated based on NAHCO’s workload requirements, ensuring scalability and cost-efficiency.
- 3. Data Replication:
Continuous real-time data replication was enabled using AWS DRS to ensure that NAHCO’s critical data was securely mirrored in the cloud. This included database replication and ensuring data integrity between the on-premises setup and the AWS cloud.
- 4. Failover and Testing:
Automated failover mechanisms were established to provide minimal downtime in a disaster. Rigorous DR plan testing was conducted, simulating various failure scenarios to validate the effectiveness of the solution and ensure NAHCO’s operations could seamlessly recover during a real event.
- 5. Cutover and Monitoring:
After successful testing, the final cutover was executed, transitioning NAHCO’s live workloads to AWS. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance were established through AWS monitoring tools and alerts, ensuring that the DR environment remains optimized and NAHCO’s critical systems are continuously protected.
This end-to-end approach ensured that NAHCO now benefits from a robust and scalable disaster recovery solution on AWS, significantly enhancing their resilience to disruptions while minimizing operational risks.
The Way Ahead
NAHCO’s digital transformation journey with AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery has ushered in a new era of operational excellence, marked by significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and agility. The deployment of AWS DRS has not only addressed their immediate challenges but also laid a solid foundation for future growth and innovation. Post-deployment, NAHCO experienced transformative benefits, including:
- 1. Operational Efficiency and Productivity:
The automation of recovery processes has led to a 90% improvement in overall operational efficiency for NAHCO. This significant enhancement has minimized manual intervention, allowing resources to be reallocated to more strategic initiatives. Additionally, with reduced downtime and rapid recovery capabilities, NAHCO’s workforce can maintain continuous operations, significantly boosting productivity.
- 2. Business Continuity and Security:
NAHCO has significantly strengthened its business resilience through the implementation of automated failover systems and robust security measures provided by AWS DR. This comprehensive approach ensures uninterrupted operations, even in the face of disruptions, while safeguarding sensitive data against cyber threats. By combining these capabilities, NAHCO has demonstrated its commitment to delivering reliable and secure services to its customers.
- 3. Data Integrity and Reliability:
Data Integrity and Reliable Infrastructure: Real-time data replication to AWS ensures that NAHCO’s data remains consistent and up-to-date, mitigating the risk of data loss or corruption. This has improved the accuracy and reliability of its operational data, supporting better decision-making. Additionally, the transition to a cloud-based infrastructure has fortified NAHCO’s IT environment, providing a higher level of reliability and resilience, thereby reducing the likelihood of system failures and prolonged outages.
- 4. Cost Optimization and Scalability:
By eliminating the need for on-premise maintenance and hardware upgrades, NAHCO has achieved a 45% reduction in capital expenditures, freeing up financial resources for other strategic investments. The cloud-based infrastructure offers unparalleled scalability, allowing NAHCO to easily adjust their IT resources in response to changing business needs – a flexibility that supports their growth ambitions and enables them to quickly adapt to market dynamics.
- 5. Long-Term Success:
The strategic partnership with Digitank Africa and the deployment of AWS DR have set NAHCO on a path to long-term success. The company is now equipped to navigate future challenges with confidence, ensuring sustained growth and operational excellence.
Are you facing similar challenges in your organization?
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