Migrating on-premises applications to cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model

Introduction

An Oil & Gas customer invested heavily in developing a geophysical survey application and service that was broadly adopted by its customer base. This application relies upon a well-equipped Windows and/or Linux based desktop with copious amounts of Network Attached Storage (NAS). All clients must be integrated with Active Directory and all data must be access controlled via ACLs (Access Control Lists).  When the customer made the decision to move to the ‘public cloud’ it became evident that reliance on a traditional ‘fat’ desktop client and Windows based, Active Directory integrated shared file services (i.e. NAS services) made the transition more difficult and complex. SoftNAS was chosen to bring an AD integrated NAS services model to AWS allowing customer to realize a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering without redeveloping or refactoring their application.