Key points:
- Volkswagen successfully migrated Business Cockpit to Amazon RDS for SQL Server.
- The migration improved scalability and removed the need for on-premises infrastructure.
- A key challenge was maintaining system functionality and data integrity throughout the transition.
- Security and GDPR compliance were supported through encryption and secure authentication.
- After migration, the system delivered cost savings and improved operational efficiency.
Volkswagen’s Business Cockpit (BC) is a centralized IT solution used across 17 production plants and central departments. The system supports the management of organizational unit (OU) targets based on key performance indicators (KPIs) and forms part of Volkswagen’s target management process.
The main objective was to migrate BC from an on-premises environment in Slovakia to AWS using Amazon RDS for SQL Server while preserving existing functionality and improving scalability.
The client
Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest carmakers with multiple brands and a complex production and distribution network. Supporting operations at this scale requires flexible and reliable IT infrastructure.
The challenge
- System complexity: Business Cockpit manages a wide range of functions including target agreements, KPI catalogs, and complex reporting mechanisms. Maintaining these functions after migration was a primary requirement.
- Data migration: Moving a large volume of production data from the on-premises system to AWS without disrupting ongoing operations required careful planning.
- Interface integrity: The system had numerous established interfaces that had to remain functional during and after migration to preserve data flows and system integrations.
- Compliance and security: The migrated environment had to meet Volkswagen’s security requirements, including data encryption, strong authentication methods, and GDPR compliance.
The solution
The migration was completed in carefully planned phases to minimize downtime and support a smooth transition. The following key steps were carried out:
- Infrastructure setup
- Amazon RDS for SQL Server was selected for its managed capabilities, which reduced operational overhead for the VW Group IT team.
- The system architecture was restructured to use AWS services including EC2 for web servers and Elastic Load Balancing for traffic management.
- High availability was provided through Multi-AZ deployment in RDS, with automatic failover to a standby instance in another Availability Zone.
- Data migration
- A detailed migration plan covered extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes for moving data to Amazon RDS.
- To maintain data integrity, the migration included extensive testing in a pre-production environment followed by the final cutover to production.
- Security and compliance
- Data at rest in Amazon RDS was encrypted with AWS Key Management Service (KMS), while data in transit was protected with TLS encryption.
- The migration also integrated Volkswagen’s centralized authentication system, PKI with PIN, with Amazon RDS to provide secure access control in line with VW security policies.
- Regular IT security assessments were carried out to support compliance with GDPR and internal security standards.
- Post-migration stabilization
- After migration, continuous monitoring with AWS CloudWatch and additional monitoring tools was configured to track system performance and identify potential issues proactively.
- A support and maintenance plan defined clear roles and responsibilities for ongoing system management, including regular security updates and performance optimization.
Results
- Cost savings: The migration reduced costs by removing the need for on-premises infrastructure and using the consumption-based AWS pricing model.
- Improved performance: The new cloud architecture improved scalability, reduced system response times, and enabled faster integration of additional VW brands.
- Improved security: Built-in Amazon RDS capabilities including encryption and automated backups helped VW meet its security requirements while preserving system functionality.
- Operational efficiency: Moving to AWS allowed VW to streamline IT operations and focus more on innovation and value-adding activities instead of infrastructure management.
Conclusion
The migration of Volkswagen’s Business Cockpit to Amazon RDS for SQL Server demonstrates how AWS cloud services can support large enterprise applications. The project met VW’s immediate objectives while creating a foundation for future expansion and improvements across the wider VW IT environment.
Careful planning, appropriate security measures, and structured implementation made it possible to modernize the infrastructure while maintaining compliance and performance requirements.
