Reimagining university libraries with AWS: University of Maryland's six-month cloud migration | Amazon Web Services
Higher education institutions are modernizing critical systems to better support students, faculty, and researchers. This customer story blog details how the University of Maryland completed a six-month cloud migration to reimagine its library services using AWS. Read the blog to see how a structured, time-bound migration supported modernization goals, then reach out to GHA Technologies, Inc. to explore how similar approaches could apply to your organization.
Why did the University of Maryland Libraries migrate to AWS?
The University of Maryland Libraries faced several challenges, including deteriorating hardware, rising licensing costs, and staffing constraints that threatened their operations. With a small IT team managing an aging on-premises infrastructure, the decision to migrate to AWS was strategic. It allowed them to retire their data center entirely, reduce costs, enhance reliability and security, and focus on innovation rather than hardware maintenance.
How long did the migration process take?
The migration process was completed in under six months. The team began the transition in December, with a firm deadline to finish before their VMware licensing expired in June. They initially planned a lift-and-shift approach but later decided to transition to Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) for greater efficiency, which required careful management of scope and timelines.
What benefits did the libraries experience post-migration?
Post-migration, the University of Maryland Libraries experienced enhanced security controls, improved application performance, and better cost transparency. They reported that applications were running much faster and gained access to new AWS services that addressed previous operational challenges. The migration also allowed staff to focus on innovation rather than hardware maintenance, aligning with their strategic goals.
Reimagining university libraries with AWS: University of Maryland's six-month cloud migration | Amazon Web Services
published by GHA Technologies, Inc.
GHA Technologies, Inc. is a nationally expanding network, computer reseller and systems integrator with offices nationwide. We sell HP, Dell, IBM, Lenovo, Nimble, EMC, NetApp, Sony, Apple, VMware, Samsung, Fujitsu, APC, Symantec, Panasonic, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, and all the latest storage, datacenter, virtualization, cloud, security, VoIP, wireless, video and identification technologies. We also specialize in mission-critical product procurement and integration services for some of the largest corporate, government, and educational clients in the US. Our client base is a Who's Who of Corporate America.
Currently, GHA has over 175 employees with annual sales of approximately $290 million and growing at a rate of 15%. GHA continues to hire 7 to 12 new sales professionals every five weeks nationwide. GHA has highly motivated and talented salespeople who provide the highest level of service to their customers. Call or email us to find out more!
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