On-prem to Cloud Migration: Enabling Scalable Innovation and Digital Transformation

Business Opportunity

Application Migration From On-Prem to GCP

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, a collaboration between HDFC—India’s leading housing finance institution—and ERGO International AG, the primary insurance arm of the Munich Re Group, offers a comprehensive suite of general insurance products, including motor, health, travel, home, and personal accident insurance for retail customers. 

To expand its customer base and embrace modernization, HDFC ERGO set out to transition its applications to cloud infrastructure. This shift aimed to move the application layer from on-premises to the cloud, paving the way for the organization to evolve as a leader in AI-driven innovation and digital transformation.

Niveus Solutions, part of NTT DATA, helped HDFC ERGO in their modernization journey by efficiently migrating the application layer from on-premises to Google Cloud Platform (GCP), enabling the organization to establish itself as a leader in AI innovation and digital transformation.

The Challenge

Legacy System Complexity: Migrating the complex application layers from legacy systems required overcoming compatibility issues and re-engineering tightly integrated systems without disrupting operations.

Data Migration and Security: Transferring large volumes of sensitive customer and transaction data necessitated stringent data security measures, including encryption and compliance with privacy regulations.

Downtime and Business Continuity: Ensuring minimal downtime during the migration process was critical to maintaining uninterrupted customer experiences and business operations.

Our Solution

Niveus played a key role in HDFC ERGO’s modernization efforts by migrating their application layer from on-premises to Google Cloud Platform (GCP), helping them transition into an AI and Digital-First organization.  

To enhance scalability and improve customer engagement, HDFC ERGO upgraded its application infrastructure by adopting a cloud-based architecture. The migration was carefully planned to maintain business continuity, with the on-premises systems running alongside the cloud setup.  

The solution leveraged Apigee External Load Balancer to route client requests, with Cloud Armor providing protection against DDoS attacks and acting as a Web Application Firewall (WAF). The application layer was deployed on Google Compute Engine’s Unmanaged Instance Groups, enabling a robust backend service.  

Databases remained on-premises, connected to the GCP application through Partner Interconnect. Requests were managed via an Apigee load balancer, which directed traffic to the application tier hosted behind an internal load balancer. This tier seamlessly connected to the on-premises databases, ensuring a smooth and secure operation throughout the migration process.

Results

Seamless Migration to GCP: Successfully migrated HDFC ERGO’s application layer to Google Cloud Platform as part of their Brownfield Migration strategy, ensuring a smooth transition with no disruption to ongoing operations.

Established Foundation for Innovation: The migration has enabled HDFC ERGO to leverage cloud capabilities, fostering innovation and accelerating their transformation into an AI- and Digital-First organization.

Enhanced Resilience: The new cloud-based architecture has improved operational resilience, ensuring high availability and robust protection against potential disruptions.

Long-Term Value Creation: By adopting a scalable and efficient cloud infrastructure, HDFC ERGO is well-positioned to drive sustainable growth and deliver enhanced value to customers and stakeholders.

Recognized by HDFC: Niveus received the “Best Partner in Agility” award from HDFC ERGO in 2023.

Power of Partnership

Niveus brought a unique blend of strategic thinking and technical expertise to HDFC ERGO’s modernization journey, enabling a smooth transition to the cloud. With a deep understanding of cloud migration and a commitment to delivering tailored solutions, Niveus ensured that HDFC ERGO’s specific needs were met while maintaining business continuity. 

The team’s focus on collaboration and proactive problem-solving helped navigate challenges and deliver a seamless experience. Niveus’s ability to balance innovation with practical implementation allowed them to create a scalable, secure, and resilient foundation for HDFC ERGO’s digital transformation. By fostering a partnership built on trust and expertise, Niveus empowered HDFC ERGO to drive sustainable growth and position itself as a forward-looking organization. In another implementation, we had also created a super app for HDFC ERGO’s advisor management.

Benefits of Niveus’ On-prem to GCP Migration Services

1. Enhanced Scalability
   GCP enables businesses to scale resources seamlessly based on demand. Niveus ensures that the migration architecture leverages auto-scaling and managed services to optimize costs and performance.
2. Cost Efficiency
   Niveus’ migration approach identifies underutilized resources in on-prem setups and helps right-size workloads post-migration. Pay-as-you-go pricing and committed use discounts on GCP further enhance savings.
3. Improved Performance
   With access to GCP’s high-performance computing capabilities, such as custom VM types, SSDs, and globally distributed networks, businesses experience faster processing and reduced latency.
4. Enhanced Security and Compliance
   Niveus ensures adherence to industry-specific compliance standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and implements robust security measures such as IAM, VPCs, and encryption at rest and in transit on GCP.
5. Advanced AI/ML Integration
   Migration to GCP allows businesses to leverage AI and ML solutions, such as BigQuery ML and Vertex AI, enabling predictive analytics and smarter decision-making.
6. Simplified Operations
   By moving to GCP, businesses reduce the burden of maintaining on-prem hardware. Niveus integrates GCP’s managed services, such as Cloud Run and Kubernetes, for efficient and automated operations.
7. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
   Niveus implements robust disaster recovery strategies on GCP, utilizing multi-region storage and real-time data replication to ensure high availability and resilience.
8. Faster Time-to-Market
   Niveus accelerates migration using automated tools and frameworks, enabling businesses to innovate and launch new services more quickly.
9. Tailored Migration Strategy
   Niveus offers a phased migration approach—rehost, replatform, or refactor—aligned with business objectives, minimizing downtime and operational disruptions.
10. 10. Comprehensive Support and Training
    Post-migration, Niveus provides 24/7 support, detailed documentation, and training sessions to ensure smooth adoption of GCP services.