Key Takeaways

  • Kythera Space Solutions, a satellite/SATCOM software provider, hired a prior vendor to migrate its on-prem workloads to AWS, but the result was a single, poorly-configured account lacking the network isolation and security controls its sensitive customer workloads required.
  • AWS recommended Effectual based on its experience migrating complex, mission-critical workloads for space and satellite enterprises.
  • Effectual rearchitected Kythera's environment around AWS-native services and isolated per-customer AWS accounts, each automatically provisioned with consistent governance, security, backup, and monitoring via AWS Landing Zone and Terraform-based Infrastructure as Code.
  • The new architecture gave Kythera a capability it never had before: the ability to spin up secure, isolated accounts for each new customer or project without manual reconfiguration.
  • Beyond the migration itself, Effectual automated Kythera's GitHub CI runners to only run during business hours, cutting runtime costs by 66%.

The Company 

Kythera Space Solutions is the leading provider of dynamic management systems for next-generation satellite payloads and SATCOM networks. Kythera’s software solutions help customers manage and optimize their satellite resources and ground-based assets by providing fully autonomous, real-time space network provisioning and operations that take full advantage of today’s flexible, high-throughput satellites. Their mission is to transform satellite communications into a real-time, integrated, responsive and resilient service. 

The Challenge

In 2022, Kythera Space Solutions hired a service provider to build and configure an AWS environment and migrate their on-premises workloads hosted in an outdated colocation space to the AWS cloud. The provided solution was designed to use a single AWS account and lacked the necessary network configurations, security controls, and resources to support the in-scope customer data workloads. This was especially problematic since Kythera intended to use their cloud environment for sensitive development activities and they required strictly controlled network access to avoid leaking data between project accounts or to the Internet. 

Frustrated by the disruptions to their digital strategy and a solution that was ultimately unusable, the company turned to AWS for recommendations – they sought a partner who could be trusted to execute a smooth and efficient migration with minimal risks and disruptions to operations. Kythera needed a partner with experience migrating complex, mission-critical workloads to the cloud and a history of working with space and satellite enterprises to get them out of their data center. Enter Effectual. 

The Project

Effectual’s initial engagement with Kythera began in June 2023 and involved assessing the state of Kythera’s cloud environment as well as their operational requirements and broader organizational strategy. Getting the full picture allowed Effectual to make specific recommendations based on their established needs and identify best practices for operations and security. Effectual proposed a solution using AWS-native services and isolated Amazon accounts, and rearchitected Kythera’s existing environment with the appropriate networking configurations, resources, and settings to effectively support the intended data workloads. This solution was designed to allow Kythera to create new workload accounts for each customer, with each new account automatically set up with the appropriate governance, security, management, backup, and monitoring configurations. 

The Effectual team automated Kythera’s GitHub runners to execute during normal business hours, which reduced the runtime and resulted in 66% cost savings.  

The Result

Kythera did not have the ability to create isolated individual customer accounts prior to this engagement. This new capability allowed Kythera to migrate off of their on-premises environment to a new cloud environment that enabled them to onboard new customers and projects in a secure and flexible manner. By combining AWS Landing Zone for the overall management and security of their AWS environment with Terraform automations to provision, deploy, and configure customer-specific accounts, Kythera is able to isolate each project to its own account and use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to manage them.  

Integrating native AWS services like AWS Control Tower with Terraform and Github has accelerated Kythera’s modernization journey, helping cement their role as an industry leader and creating a foundation to drive further innovation. Additionally, the Effectual team automated Kythera’s GitHub runners to execute during normal business hours, which reduced the runtime and resulted in 66% cost savings.  

Effectual developed a migration plan focused on delivering a secure and manageable migration that leveraged IaC to standardize the process and minimize errors. Their guidance as a partner helped Kythera continue their modernization journey, with a functional and fully secured multi-account environment in the AWS cloud. Kythera now has an easier and more reliable way to secure, maintain, and update its environment through a single pane of glass that gives them insight into their entire AWS account.  

Frequently Asked Questions

What problem did Kythera Space Solutions have with its original AWS migration?

A previous vendor built a single-account AWS environment that lacked the network configuration, security controls, and resource isolation Kythera needed to protect sensitive customer data, making it unusable for its intended purpose.

Why did Kythera choose Effectual to fix the migration?

AWS recommended Effectual for its experience migrating complex, mission-critical workloads and its track record working with space and satellite industry clients.

How did Effectual redesign Kythera's AWS environment?

Effectual rearchitected the environment around AWS-native services and isolated Amazon accounts, using AWS Landing Zone for overall governance and Terraform automation so each new customer account is automatically provisioned with the right security, backup, and monitoring configuration.

What cost savings came out of the engagement?

Effectual automated Kythera's GitHub CI/CD runners to execute only during normal business hours, cutting runtime and delivering a 66% cost reduction.

What capability did Kythera gain that it didn't have before?

The ability to create isolated, individually governed AWS accounts per customer or project, letting Kythera onboard new customers securely and manage its entire environment through a single AWS Control Tower pane of glass.