Business Challenges 

The provider builds and manages over 24 SaaS platforms for clients in Europe, the US, and Asia, spanning recent cloud-native products all the way to 10+ year old traditional software running across 11 data centers and 2,436 servers. 

The company's infrastructure was built on VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) and traditional on-premises data centers. A looming Broadcom contract cliff date made renewal unavoidable unless the entire VMware footprint could be relocated, at a cost of $1.2M or more. Key business challenges included: 

• Retiring $1.2M in Broadcom licensing before a hard contract cliff date. 
• Migrating without triggering FDA Part 11 revalidation, meaning zero changes to client-facing environments, no new software, no servers modified. 
• Honoring contractual maintenance windows for all client migrations. 
• Supporting continual backup and file-level restore SLAs throughout. 
• Aging hardware with depleting access to replacement parts. 

Technical Challenges 

• Much of the on-premises hardware was end-of-life, making replication inconsistent. 
• VMware architectures were heterogeneous, some traditional on-premises, others on VMware Cloud on AWS. 
• Disaster recovery performed with Veeam across multiple environments. 
• The company was actively onboarding new clients during migration, causing scope to grow in real time. 
• No consistent, scalable landing zone; insufficient network monitoring, security tracking, and logging.

The Solution 

UTurn and AWS partnered with the customer to secure AWS funding covering all assessment and design work at zero out-of-pocket cost. UTurn rapidly inventoried 6 data centers and 2 VMware Cloud environments, leveraging AWS Transform for VMware to accelerate discovery, then designed a future-state landing zone optimized for security, monitoring, and flexibility in a source-controlled, zero- ClickOps paradigm. Given the customer's FDA Part 11 constraints requiring agentless tooling throughout, UTurn selected AWS-native tools, Migration Evaluator, MGN, and the agentless replicator, and deployed its proprietary Rapid Launch landing zone accelerator to dramatically increase migration velocity. 

After Wave 0 established shared services and validated the migration rhythm, the team faced a 6-week window to move 78 VMC assets to Amazon EC2, a window that effectively doubled in scope when new clients were onboarded mid-sprint with no deadline extension. With AWS Enterprise Support and Countdown Premier accelerating response times and service limit increases, the team moved all 147 Broadcom-tied assets in just under one month, retiring $1.2M in licensing fees.

 UTurn then deployed its FinOps tooling, consolidated AWS billing, and built granular cost reporting by product. Over a dozen additional migration waves retired the remaining on-premises infrastructure, replacing Veeam with AWS Backup (cutting DR costs 26%) and modernizing Dell Isilon storage to Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (reducing spend 45%), all while maintaining or exceeding customer SLAs. The final stage focuses on shifting the company fully to cloud-native services and a modern purchasing model, enabling higher margins and lower client fees.

Measurable Results

Dropped disaster recovery costs 26% by replacing Veeam with AWS Backup while maintaining all SLAs. 

Reduced storage spend 45% by modernizing Dell Isilon to Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP. 

Eliminated hardware reliability risks from aging, end-of-life on-premises infrastructure. 

Simplified Microsoft licensing model via OLA engagement.

Why UTurn 

The company chose UTurn for their deep AWS expertise, their ability to move at speed without sacrificing quality, and their nuanced understanding of regulated SaaS environments. UTurn’s proprietary Rapid Launch accelerator and AWS partnership, including access to MAP funding, Enterprise Support, and Countdown Premier, were decisive differentiators. UTurn’s FinOps practice also ensured that cost efficiency and purchasing strategy were optimized from day one, not as an afterthought.

Facing a VMware or Broadcom deadline of your own? UTurn migrates regulated, mission-critical SaaS environments to AWS on time and without disruption. Email info@uturndata.com to start the conversation.