Client story Marshall Cavendish Education - Azure migration and GitHub integration

Overview

Marshall Cavendish Education is a leading publisher of educational materials. In 2022, it embarked on a digital transformation journey to streamline operations and meet compliance standards and business requirements. With Insight’s guidance, the company has successfully migrated its data environment to Microsoft Azure and integrated GitHub for better source code management, ensuring improved performance and collaboration across its global teams.

The challenge

Marshall Cavendish Education faced several challenges with its previous cloud-hosted data environment on Amazon Web Services (AWS). In mid-2022, the company decided to migrate to Azure to leverage enhanced security, compliance with industry standards and improved integration with existing Microsoft services. The primary challenge was to ensure a smooth transition to Azure, minimising disruption to ongoing operations.

Additionally, Marshall Cavendish Education needed better source code management capabilities to streamline and enhance its development processes. The previous open-source, self-hosted server for source code management was basic and lacked advanced features. For an education publishing business, managing digital platforms and applications efficiently is crucial. Better source code management capabilities ensure that its digital products, such as eBooks and educational tools, are developed, tested, and deployed smoothly, allowing for timely updates and improvements, which are essential for providing high-quality educational content.

Insight was engaged to assist Marshall Cavendish Education in migrating from AWS to Azure, implementing GitHub for source code management. The Azure migration involved moving approximately 20 servers, including web, application, and database servers. Insight provided expertise in designing a phased migration plan to ensure minimal disruption to operations. The migration process included a requirements workshop, system review, and cost analysis. This was followed by a structured migration plan executed in phases.

“We were looking for a solution that could provide us with better engagement and support, and Microsoft Azure was the perfect fit. We also needed a more efficient way to manage our source code, and GitHub offered the advanced features we were looking for.” Ler Han Sheng, Senior Manager, Systems Development, Marshall Cavendish Education

Improved collaboration and efficiency

The GitHub integration significantly improved collaboration among Marshall Cavendish Education’s developers and quality assurance and deployment teams. With GitHub, Marshall Cavendish Education introduced automated build and deployment workflows, streamlined the source code management process, and enhanced overall productivity. The integration also facilitated better code reviews and collaboration among team members, enabling them to identify and resolve issues more efficiently, ensure higher code quality, and accelerate the development cycle.

GitHub’s robust collaboration tools allowed multiple users to work on the same project simultaneously, reducing the time required for code reviews and approvals. The platform’s automated workflows ensured that code changes were tested and deployed quickly, minimising downtime and improving the overall efficiency of the development process.

Enhanced compliance and security

The migration to Azure and integration of Microsoft Defender for antivirus solutions significantly improved Marshall Cavendish Education’s security posture. Azure’s managed services reduced the need for additional infrastructure and maintenance, leading to a 60% cost reduction in antivirus solutions. Microsoft Defender’s managed service also simplified the security management process, as it integrated seamlessly with Azure’s security features, providing comprehensive protection without additional server maintenance.

Azure’s built-in security features, such as advanced threat protection and compliance management, ensured that Marshall Cavendish Education’s data and systems were secure. The company could now easily comply with industry regulations and standards, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring the integrity of its operations.

"The transition to Azure and GitHub has been a game-changer for us. We have not only reduced costs but also improved our system performance and collaboration. Insight’s expertise was instrumental in making this transformation a success." Ler Han Sheng, Senior Manager, Systems Development, Marshall Cavendish Education

Benefits and results

Since completing the Azure migration in December 2022, Marshall Cavendish Education has experienced several benefits with the help of Insight. These include:

• Cost reduction: Insight’s strategic planning and execution led to a noticeable decrease in overall hosting costs compared to AWS.
• Network performance and stability: Insight’s phased migration plan improved system performance and stability, with no unscheduled downtime.
• Monitoring and cost management: Insight’s configuration of Azure’s comprehensive tools has enhanced Marshall Cavendish Education’s cost management and system monitoring capabilities.
• Developer collaboration and coding efficiency: Insight’s implementation of GitHub has streamlined source code management and significantly improved developer collaboration.