AWS Optimization & Licensing Assessment (OLA)
___for Enterprise Workloads
_____About the Engagement…
Cloudwrxs delivered comprehensive AWS Optimization and Licensing Assessments (OLA) across multiple enterprise customers in the Middle East, spanning SAP migration services, Windows, and Oracle workloads.
- Each OLA provided a clear migration roadmap, right-sized infrastructure recommendations, and identified 20–35% cost optimisation opportunities.
By combining automated discovery tooling with deep technical workshops, Cloudwrxs gave each organisation the data-driven foundation needed to proceed confidently with their SAP ERP cloud migration.
Common__ Challenges.
Each customer operated mission-critical SAP, Windows, and Oracle workloads on ageing on-premises infrastructure with limited visibility into actual resource utilisation, licensing exposure, and system dependencies — making cloud migration planning high-risk without a structured assessment.
Key issues included the following:
Legacy SAP Environments
Multiple customers ran SAP ECC on ageing on-premises hardware with outdated operating systems and databases, facing end-of-support deadlines and increasing maintenance costs with no clear modernisation path.
Complex Application Landscapes
Windows and Oracle-based application estates spanning dozens of servers had grown organically over years, with undocumented dependencies and no centralised inventory of what was running where.
Limited Infrastructure Visibility
Without automated discovery or monitoring tools, IT teams lacked accurate data on actual CPU, memory, storage, and network utilisation — making right-sizing and capacity planning impossible.
Over-Provisioned Infrastructure
Servers were consistently sized for peak theoretical load rather than actual usage, resulting in significant overprovisioning of compute and storage resources and inflated licensing costs.
High Operational Costs
Maintaining on-premises data centres, hardware refresh cycles, and enterprise software licensing agreements consumed a disproportionate share of IT budgets with diminishing returns.
Migration Risk Without Planning
Attempting cloud migration without a structured assessment of workload dependencies, licensing implications, and application compatibility would expose each organisation to significant downtime and compliance risk.
Without a comprehensive assessment, these organisations risked either continuing to overspend on underutilised on-premises infrastructure or embarking on cloud migrations built on assumptions rather than data — increasing the likelihood of cost overruns, licensing non-compliance, and extended downtime.
OLA ___Framework.
Deployed automated data collection agents across Windows and Linux servers, storage arrays, and network infrastructure to capture 14–30 days of actual CPU, memory, IOPS, and throughput utilisation data.
Analysed SAP ECC and S/4HANA environments in detail, including database sizing for Oracle and SQL Server, SAP application server performance benchmarking, and identification of optimisation opportunities.
Profiled Oracle database workloads, mapped application dependencies, and assessed licensing positions — identifying consolidation opportunities and candidates for migration to Amazon RDS or open-source alternatives.
Built end-to-end application and system dependency maps using AWS Application Discovery Service, identifying critical business workflows, integration points, and migration sequencing constraints.
Evaluated each customer’s AWS readiness across security, compliance, networking, and governance dimensions, with landing zone recommendations tailored to their regulatory and operational requirements.
Classified every workload using the 7R framework (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase, Retire, Retain, Relocate), defined migration wave plans, and developed downtime and risk mitigation strategies.
Produced detailed on-premises versus AWS total cost of ownership comparisons with right-sized instance recommendations, licensing scenario modelling (BYOL vs. licence-included), and ROI business cases for executive decision-making.
Assessment__Methodology.
Each OLA followed a structured four-phase methodology — Discovery, Analysis, Design, and Recommendation — combining automated tooling with deep technical workshops to deliver data-driven migration roadmaps tailored to each customer’s SAP, Windows, and Oracle landscape.
How AWS Services were used:
Automated Discovery
Deployed AWS Application Discovery Service and third-party collection agents to gather actual utilisation data across compute, storage, and network infrastructure — eliminating reliance on manual inventories and assumptions.
Stakeholder Workshops
Conducted structured workshops with business and IT stakeholders to capture application criticality, SLA requirements, maintenance windows, and organisational constraints that influence migration sequencing.
Workload Profiling
Profiled every in-scope workload across SAP, Windows, and Oracle dimensions — including database editions, feature usage, CPU core counts, and licence entitlements — to build an accurate baseline for right-sizing and licensing optimisation.
AWS Target Architecture
Designed customer-specific AWS target architectures incorporating Amazon EC2 instance families optimised for each workload type, Amazon RDS or Oracle on EC2 database options, Amazon S3 for backup, and Amazon VPC networking.
Licensing Scenario Modelling
Modelled multiple licensing scenarios including BYOL on Dedicated Hosts, licence-included instances, SQL Server edition downgrades, and Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migration candidates — quantifying savings for each path.
Migration Roadmap Delivery
Delivered a phased migration roadmap with wave planning, workload classification (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor), risk mitigation strategies, and executive-ready ROI business cases for board-level approval.
Outcomes &__Benefits.
Across all nine enterprise customers, the AWS OLA engagements delivered consistent, measurable results — providing each organisation with the data-driven foundation needed to proceed confidently with their SAP ERP cloud migration.
Right-sizing analysis consistently revealed 20–35% infrastructure cost savings opportunities through eliminating overprovisioned compute, optimising storage tiers, and consolidating underutilised database instances.
Complete Landscape Visibility
Before Assessment
No centralised inventory
After OLA
Comprehensive IT and SAP estate inventory with actual utilisation metrics and licensing positions
Cost Optimisation
Before Assessment
Overprovisioned infrastructure
After OLA
20–35% infrastructure cost savings identified through right-sizing and storage tier optimisation
Migration Roadmaps
Before Assessment
No structured plan
After OLA
Phased, wave-planned migration roadmaps with workload classifications and risk mitigation strategies
Migration Risk
Before Assessment
Blind spots in dependencies
After OLA
End-to-end dependency mapping eliminating integration blind spots and downtime scenarios
Licensing Costs
Before Assessment
Redundant entitlements
After OLA
Significant savings via SQL edition optimisation, BYOL on Dedicated Hosts, and Oracle-to-PostgreSQL candidates
_____About Cloudwrxs
…
Cloudwrxs is an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner specialising in cloud migration assessments and enterprise workload optimisation. Through the AWS OLA programme, Cloudwrxs helps organisations across the Middle East evaluate their SAP, Windows, and Oracle landscapes, right-size infrastructure, optimise licensing costs, and build data-driven migration roadmaps that de-risk cloud transformation.
