Auctions Live partners with Idea 11 and deploys AWS best practice to optimise Auctions Live smart auction technology.
About Auctions Live:
Auctions Live offers a range of diverse smart auction technology and easy to use tools to amplify any real estate agency’s online auction performance.
Using plug-and-play software, Auctions Live can enable any real estate website across the globe to become a fully functioning Property Auction Platform. The simple and customisable tools ensure a unique experience and seamless customer journey across pre, live and post-auction stages.
Overview
Auctions Live builds online capability and functionality for auction houses and real estate agencies across the globe. Providing their customers with a secure, reliable, and innovative solution to hosting live property auctions.
With enhanced buying transparency across the auction journey, customers of Auctions Live can position themselves as industry market leaders with their comprehensive service offering.
Due to the immediate and just-in-time nature of auctions, it’s mission critical for Auctions Live to ensure their software performance is extremely reliable, secure and without disruption. As such, Auctions Live need to extensively track application dependencies, underlying systems, and network components to maximise their technology performance. Reliability of systems is paramount.
“We were looking for an AWS partner where we could leverage their knowledge and expertise. We had identified areas and processes that needed to be streamlined for growth, and we wanted a company that we could see ourselves partnering with.” - Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
Based on their reputation and track record, Auctions Live welcomed the expertise of Idea 11’s award-winning AWS IT capabilities to assess their application and infrastructure performance and take their technology to new heights.
“We’re experiencing growth at a rapid rate, and we wanted to ensure it was sustainable. We required partners with the right industry experience that would allow us to grow at the pace we need to, and who offered a solid foundation to support our infrastructure.” - Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
“Our team were excited. The fact that we had the services of specialists to aid us in our growth and journey - they were onboard from the get-go. Our development team were relieved as they no longer needed to take on the additional responsibilities’’.
- Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
The Challenge
The infrastructure and components of application services are regarded as critical factors when optimising application performance.
“We were searching for an improved pathway for our team’s productivity, to allow them to spend more time developing and less time managing the AWS environment. We wanted our team to do what they do best - that being developing. And if we had someone working on the AWS backend then we could optimise overall project performance.” - Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
Auctions Live needed a systematic approach and the expertise of an AWS qualified partner to evaluate the AWS environment in which their solution was hosted.
Based on the AWS Well-Architected Framework and recommendations, Idea 11’s goal was to introduce a best practice framework.
As such, Idea 11 was engaged to perform a Well-Architected Review (WAR) of Auctions Live’s AWS environment. Combining the principles of DevOps, Agile and ITIL, Idea 11 would provide their recommendations and deploy solutions to build and maintain a superior AWS architecture.
“From the Well-Architected Review, we’ve benefited in a number of ways. The three primary benefits being infrastructure development, optimisation of slow procedures, and improved cost efficiency.” - Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
The Solution
Auctions Live sought to lift their current environment using best practice and ensure operational excellence could be properly maintained well into the future.
Using the WAR and a custom evaluation, Idea 11 provided their detailed findings to improve the existing architecture and proposed a remediation pathway. Likewise, to enhance the capability of Auctions Live internal resources, Idea 11 was engaged to provide a managed service solution that would provide ongoing operational support and maintenance.
“The process has taken away the stressors and pain points for our team. We get best-in-class to deliver what we need from a stability and security aspect, in turn saving us from having a bigger internal head count.” - Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
Following the WAR recommendations, Idea 11 deployed new services and made changes to existing technologies, transforming Auctions Live software environment to a best practice configuration.
As part of Idea 11’s TechOps managed service solution, enhanced monitoring tools were deployed and the environment onboarded into Control Room, Idea 11's in-house built Cloud Automation System, which offered improved security, backups, disaster recovery and orchestration of their systems.
“Idea 11 is our first point of contact for all AWS related questions. Our team now spend more time developing as opposed to patching and maintaining the servers.” - Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
Outcomes and benefits
- Enhanced Security: Idea 11 deployed the AWS Control Tower Landing Zone that ensures best practice across security and compliance. Safeguarding the integrity of account structure, confidential data, federated access, and blueprints for identity.
- Improved Performance Efficiency: Based on WAR recommendations, Idea 11 uplifted a number of technical domains to ensure software can meet demand changes.
“With the live monitoring and maintenance support of the AWS infrastructure we are able to be more proactive and it allows for daily developments to run smoothly”.- Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
- Guaranteed Reliability: Via the remediation pathway, the software is now able to function regardless of changing computing resources. Idea 11 established a mitigation plan for potential disruptions and network issues ensuring Auctions Live software meets service requirements and guarantees reliability.
- High Performing IT Environment: Ongoing operational support offered by Idea 11 ensures improved capacity and performance of Auctions Live IT enterprise.
- Secure cost optimisation: Through the remediation pathway, Idea 11 could remove unnecessary expenditure and ensure Auctions Live benefited from the latest software updates within the AWS framework.
- Strengthened Employee Engagement: Internal resources of Auctions Live are able to focus on their solutions, ensuring business value, and continuous improvement via the elimination of IT operations support.
“Our team were excited. The fact that we had the services of specialists to aid us in our growth and journey - they were onboard from the get-go. Our development team were relieved as they no longer needed to take on the additional responsibilities’’. - Nathan Portelli, Operations Manager, Auctions Live.
Leveraging Idea 11 for innovation
Auctions Live rely on Idea 11's deep cloud knowledge to achieve more and deliver more for their customers.
At a glance
Improved Performance Efficiency & High Performing IT Environment
Idea 11 deployed the AWS Control Tower Landing Zone that ensures best practice across security and compliance.
Via the remediation pathway, the software is now able to function regardless of changing computing resources.
About Idea 11
Idea 11 is an Australian cloud services company. We’re AWS specialists and experts in Cloud Infrastructure, DevOps, Software Development, Data & Analytics, and Managed Services.
We’re a full-stack, full-lifecycle technology partner with deep capability in cloud. We’re obsessed with helping our customers push the boundaries of what’s possible.
