Leading Utility Company Modernizes Data Workflows with PDI’s AI-Driven Migration Framework, Enabling Seamless Cloud Transition and Enhanced Operational Efficiency
35%
Reduction in manual effort |
95%
Legacy workflows migrated successfully
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45%
Fewer Data Errors
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50%
Less Manual Effort
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About the Customer
The client is one of the largest regulated utilities, providing electric and gas service to millions of residential and commercial customers. Its data-engineering team processes vast volumes of smart-meter readings, grid-sensor data, and outage events to ensure reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy delivery.
Customer Challenges
The utility company leveraged a robust, on-premises Informatica PowerCenter environment that had reliably supported operations for years ; as data volumes grew and analytics demands evolved, customer faced scalability challenges inherent to traditional infrastructure During high-demand seasons, batch windows occasionally overran, causing delays in critical processes like billing and regulatory reporting. Maintaining this legacy setup incurred high infrastructure and licensing costs, with ongoing hardware refreshes and software maintenance consuming a significant portion of the annual operational budget. Additionally, over 15 years of siloed development had led to a fragmented ecosystem of thousands of mappings and embedded shell scripts, hindering integration with modern analytics platforms and limiting data accessibility.
Beyond the technical constraints, the organization faced substantial bottlenecks in its quality assurance processes. Manual regression testing demanded extensive effort from QA teams and extended release cycles, slowing innovation and time-to-value. With a corporate mandate to adopt a “cloud-first” approach on an aggressive timeline, the data engineering team needed a highly reliable and repeatable migration plan. The challenge was to modernize without disrupting mission-critical workflows—ensuring continuity, accuracy, and compliance every step of the way.
PDI Solution
Pacific Data Integrators implemented a structured, automation-led strategy that enabled the utility to migrate from Informatica PowerCenter to AWS Glue with speed, accuracy, and minimal risk. The solution was built around two proprietary accelerators—Cloud Migration Converter and Data Validation Framework (DVF)—which significantly reduced manual effort and ensured complete fidelity between the legacy and target environments. The migration process was executed in well-defined phases, each designed to optimize performance, security, and operational continuity.
Scope of Services
Pacific Data Integrators delivered a full-spectrum migration solution tailored to the client's technical landscape and business requirements. The engagement covered everything from initial assessment to post-migration support, ensuring a smooth, secure, and efficient transition to AWS Glue.
Key services included:
1. Discovery and Assessment: Inventory and classification of all PowerCenter assets to identify critical pipelines and dependencies.
2. Automated Conversion: AI-driven transformation of mappings, workflows, and related components into AWS Glue equivalents.
3. Validation and Testing: End-to-end data and schema verification using DVF to ensure output consistency.
4. Security and Deployment: Configuration of a secure AWS landing zone with role-based access, encryption, and private networking.
5. Cutover and Enablement: Execution of production release with hyper-care support, documentation, and staff training.
Transformative Business Impact Through Intelligent Cloud Migration
Accelerated Cloud Modernization: The phased and automated migration allowed the client to move all critical workloads to AWS well before the corporate deadline. This helped avoid regulatory risks and ensured uninterrupted operations, while the AI-powered conversion eliminated months of manual effort.
Reduced Operational Costs: By retiring their on-premises PowerCenter environment, the client significantly lowered capital and operational expenditures. They eliminated the need for costly hardware refreshes, reduced license fees, and decreased ongoing maintenance efforts.
Scalable and Elastic Performance: Migrated data pipelines now run on AWS Glue, enabling the client to auto-scale resources based on workload demand. This flexibility has led to shorter batch processing times and improved adherence to service-level agreements during peak periods.
Faster and More Reliable Testing Cycles: The Data Validation Framework (DVF) automated complex regression tests, reducing the time and manual labor required for QA. It provided detailed side-by-side comparisons, enabling faster identification of issues and smoother releases.
Assured Compliance and Data Trust: DVF guaranteed schema and data parity between legacy and target systems, fulfilling strict audit and regulatory requirements. This gave stakeholders confidence in the integrity and accuracy of the migrated data. Automated validation ensured seamless compliance throughout the process
Foundation for Advanced Analytics: With a modern, cloud-native data lake in place, the utility is now positioned to adopt cutting-edge analytics capabilities. This includes predictive models for outage management, energy forecasting, and improved customer engagement strategies.
Quantifiable Results
Full Workflow Migration: Migrated all legacy PowerCenter workflows to AWS Glue seamlessly with full functionality.
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Zero Business Disruption: Achieved seamless cutover with no downtime or impact to critical operations.
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Significant QA Time Reduction: Automated validation reduced testing cycles from weeks to days.
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Operational Cost Savings: Eliminated legacy infrastructure and licensing costs, unlocking substantial annual savings.
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About Pacific Data Integrators:
Pacific Data Integrators (PDI) specializes in data management and analytics implementations. As a certified Informatica partner, PDI has extensive experience modernizing data platforms, helping clients leverage the latest technologies to drive business success. Their track record of delivering projects on schedule and on budget sets them apart as a trusted implementation partner.
Ready to Modernize Your Data Environment? Contact us to learn how PDI can accelerate your cloud modernization journey.