Executive Summary
About Client
Electric Kiwi is an autonomous online New Zealand electricity retailer. Established in 2014, Electric Kiwi uses cloud computing and intelligent meters to service customers nationwide in major urban areas. Its services depend on the presence of the smart meters in the customer’s home. For the client, we did the POC for integrating AWS Support Services with Datadog’s CloudFormation template.
http://www.electrickiwi.co.nz/
Location: New Zealand
Project Background
The case study of the project provides a synopsis of how we did the POC for the client for integrating AWS Support Services, an AWS account with Datadog employing Datadog’s CloudFormation template. Creating an IAM role and associated policy enables Datadog’s AWS account to make API calls for collecting or pushing data into your AWS account. Using the CloudFormation template supplies all the tools required to send this data to your Datadog account, and Datadog helps the CloudFormation template to provide the latest functionality. The template even deploys the Datadog Forwarder Lambda operation for sending logs to Datadog.
After setting the initial connection, enable the individual AWS service integrations appropriate to your AWS domain. With a single click, Datadog provisions the required resources in your AWS account and starts analyzing the metrics and events for the services you use. For general AWS services you are using, Datadog needs out-of-the-box dashboards providing prompt and customizable visibility. The project background demonstrates setting up the integration and establishing the Datadog Agent on an Amazon Linux EC2 instance and feeds a broad outline of the integration’s capabilities. Visit the Enable integrations for individual AWS service factions for a list of the general sub-integrations.
This procedure can be repeated for multiple AWS accounts as required, or you can also use the API, AWS CLI, or Terraform to set up various accounts simultaneously. For more details, read the Datadog-Amazon CloudFormation guide.
Scope & Requirement
The scope & requirements involved the following:
- Datadog integration with AWS support services to measure and accomplish observability matrix
- Identified costing
- Updated pricing with partner discount as applicable
- Shortlisted services for which we did POC
- EC2, database Monitor Requirement, Steps, and Dashboard View
- Along with pricing and cost for using Datadog; for monitoring and analytical purpose
Implementation
Technology and Architecture
Technology/Services used
We used Datadog integration with AWS services to masure and do observability matrix and helped them to setup below
- Cloud: AWS
- Shortlisted services for which we did POC
- Organization setup: Control tower
- Policies setup: Created AWS service control policies
- Templates created for using common AWS services
Security & Compliance:
- Tagging Policies
- Azure config for compliance checks
- NIST compliance
- Guardrails
- Security Hub
Backup and Recovery
AWS Backup provided a simple, secure, cost-effective, and cloud-based backup solution which was already implemented for the client
Network Architecture
- Site to Site VPN Architecture using Transit Gateway
- Distributed Azure Network Firewall
- Monitoring with Cloud Watch and VPC flow logs.
Cost Optimization
- Alerts and notifications are configured in the AWS cost
- Identified Costing
- Updated pricing with partner discount as applicable
Code Management, Deployment
- Cloudformation scripts for creating stacksets and scripts for generating AWS services was handed over to the client
Challenges
- Access was not provided to the actual environment and setting up
- Complex environment setup and monitoring for production cost was only possible to evaluate if we have got the access for the actual environment from the client
Project Completion
Duration
15th May to 15th June 2022 ~ 1 month
Deliverables
- AWS setup and architecture design and document
Support
- 1 month of extended support
- A template for Cloud formation stack to create more AWS resources using the available stacks
- Screen-sharing sessions with a demo of how the services and new workloads can be deployed.
Testimonial
We sought the services of Peritos Solutions to help with our Observability objectives. Peritos took the team through a phased process of uncovering exactly what we needed from observability. Through this discovery, we can understand that the solution that we thought we should be implementing didn’t fully match our requirements. Without the work from Peritos we would have implemented something not fit for purpose and we are now in a great place to re-evaluate our objectives and requirements and make a more informed decision. The work Peritos performed was top notch and we look forward to more engagements with them.
Matt Kardos
Enterprise Architect
Next Phase
No new work identified
Executive Summary
About Client
MBHE is a 150-year old company that focuses on plant engineering and constructions. They pursue technical leadership in their market sector through continuous research and development. They offer solutions to support complete mineral beneficiation plant and coal washeries.
http://mbe-cmt.com/
Location: Cologne, Germany
Project Background - SAP Support Services
MBE’s requirement was to help with SAP systems and manage some important changes with the standard processes they were following. Read more on how we provided them SAP support services where they wanted some specific changes related to Workflow, Updating forms in SAP for sales orders, Invoices, and Purchase Orders. We also helped them with financial reconciliation which includes clearing all last financial year’s data and settling the books
Scope & Requirement
Below are some of the scope items for the SAP support services we provided
- Understand the existing books outside of SAP and compare what exists in the system. Confirm the AS IS and TO BE state of chart of accounts which would be reflected
- Set up refresh of data from SAP Production to Dev environment ensuring all config and data is copied over and creating additional client systems like 100 and 110
- Clean up Accounts recievables and payables, General ledger, Sub Ledger and register
Implementation
Technology and Architecture
Technology
SAP R/3 system was used
Integrations
• No Specific integration scenario was in scope
Security:
- User authorisation & access were cleaned up
- Developer and Admin roles were defined for workflow tables and system management
- Custom roles were created and admin users were trained on how to manage the systsem and granting roles and permissions
- Setting up organization structure with a hierarchy for approvers, managers and different organization unit and employees
Backup and Recovery
We created a schedule for backup which can be used for restoring the system data as needed in case of any outage
Scalability
This was not in scope
Cost Optimization
Client was using a perpetual license and SAP was running on existing on premise server we informed the client to migrate to cloud but this was not a proposal that got converted
Code Management, Deployment
All ABAP code was managed within SAP and no other ABAP tool was used for this.
Features Implemented - SAP support services
- SAP ABAP based development for updating SAP script forms, Adobe forms and updating changes like new payment terms, Updating Standard text, Adding some previous invoice number details to show history of previous purchases.
- SAP accounts payables and recievables reconciliation for mapping different entries in the system
- User and Security Management to help manage the systems more effectively by doing a refresh
- Adding new payment terms in the system, Updating the payment terms with discount, Late fees and updating both for vendor and customer
- Add a workflow table where the workflow approvers were defined based on amount and a hierarchy level. Updating the document creation process to trigger approval for workflow creation during sales invoice and sales order creation and if any changes made to the document, Ensuring that email output is not sent if the document is not approved.
Challenges
- Changing business requirement: Client was not clear on how they wanted the documents to be shown. They had a TO BE version which was very different from the version they had in the system and took a lot of back and forth and updating the PDF to understand the requirement.
- Before starting the development we spent a couple of hrs to mock up the PDF documents with the actual data in the system to be sure on what is needed.
- Lack of team member and ownership Client did not have any internal team of functionals, Technicals and testers who can review changes and provide a timely feedback
- We tried our best to help advise client on the different test scenarios we included as part of Unit testing. However, it was a time-consuming process to get a reply from the client and to test the changes
- Outdated code using SAP Scripts and Multiple language Support: Client uses SAP scripts which had been long replaced by Smartforms or Adobe forms. It had to be setup in multiple languages. Also each required email notification to be sent in multiple language
- A copy of the data for both the languages was bought and a mockup of the required PDF was created. Also a scenario for different cases was created example when to send notification in German and when in English, What should be the text content to be included in each etc.
- Budget and cost issues: Client had a fixed budget for the work and the requirement kept changing and also there was a huge delay in providing the feedback which caused month of waiting for the client to come back.
- Some Sales order and invoice types had a different configuration in the system and did not work with the same code which was pushed. We did inform the client that this was not part of the initial requirement gathering but due to the tight budget they wanted to include everything in the same cost. We tried our best to accommodate within the price we had quoted,
Project Completion
Duration
April 2020 – Oct 2020 ~ 6 months
Deliverables
- We handed over all changes related to updating the form with complex logic of showing all related invoices together.
- We delivered ABAP based program and user exit for with a customizing table which was easy to use workflow logic for determining the approvers
- Previous year transactions were reconciled and mapped to the different General ledger heads and sent for the client to do corrections for the missing entries and for the system to reflect the transactions from thier books
Support
- For all changes we delivered we agreed to provide a 2 weeks free support within which the client can test and provide us feedback for any issues as per the existing logic or any minor changes needed
Testimonial
We did not get a documented feedback from the client and the project was ended abruptly
Next Phase
We were in discussion with client over multiple projects however it did not get finalized
1. Migration of SAP systems to cloud from the current on premise system
2. AMC support contract for 12 months where they needed only a fixed cost but again the scope was not defined for modules like FI, MM, SD and user management
3. A regular refresh of the current systems from production to Development
it somehow did not work out and it was good that we did not, We learnt a few lessons from this project and have made our own checklist on what type of clients to not engage with which would probably be a blog in itself.
