Customer Overview
The client is a leading Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) based in the Midwest region of the United States — a major global hub for automotive and industrial manufacturing.
The organization designs and delivers mobility, drivetrain, braking, and aftermarket solutions for commercial vehicle and industrial markets across North America and beyond.
To enhance agility and improve operational performance, the client engaged USMICRO to modernize, upgrade, and migrate its PTC Windchill ePLM environment from legacy on-premise infrastructure to a secure, scalable AWS cloud platform, with minimal downtime and enhanced operational resilience.
Highlights
Upgraded four Windchill environments to v11.0
Migrated 700 GB DB and 5 TB files to AWS with minimal downtime
Set up multi-region AWS (US-East & US-West) with RTO 4 hrs / RPO 2 hrs
Deployed 30 EC2 instances with load balancing and DR
Enabled end-to-end encryption using client-owned keys
Configured 20+ CIs with intelligent monitoring and analytics
Delivered 24×7 managed services through a centralized service desk
Ran annual DR drills to ensure compliance and resilience
Bussiness Challenges
The client’s legacy Windchill environment faced multiple issues:
- Outdated Application Landscape
The Windchill ePLM suite required an upgrade to the latest version to meet evolving business and engineering requirements.
- Rigid On-Prem Infrastructure
Aging infrastructure demanded frequent hardware and software refreshes, limiting scalability and adding maintenance overhead.
- Expanding Storage Footprint
Rapidly growing IP file systems and backups required constant expansion, creating capacity and cost challenges.
- High Operating Costs
Rising infrastructure costs, combined with limited automation, negatively impacted total cost of ownership and slowed modernization.
Key Features
Elastic AWS architecture with automated scaling
Integrated upgrade + migration for faster modernization
Multi-region HA/DR with defined recovery objectives
Centralized service desk for unified support
Automation-led operations to cut manual work
Optimized TCO through right-sizing and elastic capacity
Full data security with encryption and access control
24×7 monitoring through USMICRO’s analytics framework
USMICRO Solution
USMICRO designed and implemented a comprehensive “big bang” transformation — combining Windchill upgrade, AWS migration, and end-to-end managed services, with a focus on security, performance, and scalability.
1. Application Upgrade & Cloud Migration
- Upgraded four Windchill environments (Production, DR, and Non-Production) to version 11.0.
- Migrated to AWS with a multi-region architecture (US-East & US-West) for HA/DR with RTO of 4 hours and RPO of 2 hours.
- Transferred 700 GB of production data and 5 TB of file storage in multiple waves to ensure data integrity and minimal downtime.
- Deployed 30 EC2 instances with load balancing, antivirus, and DR features.
- Enabled end-to-end encryption with client-managed keys.
- Configured 20 CIs with USMICRO’s intelligent monitoring framework for real-time analytics and proactive incident management.
- Optimized network usage to enhance bandwidth and performance.
2. Managed Services
- Delivered white-glove application and infrastructure managed services through a centralized 24×7 service desk.
- Managed 2 TB of databases (Oracle + MS SQL) and 10 TB of IP file storage across multiple environments.
- Conducted annual DR drills to ensure compliance with recovery objectives and maintain resilience.
Impact
| Impact Area | Before | After (Post USMICRO Transformation) | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Model | On-premise hosting with frequent hardware refreshes | Fully migrated to AWS with multi-region HA/DR | Improved scalability and reduced maintenance cycles |
| Windchill Upgrade | Legacy version with performance limitations | Upgraded to 11.0 with phased cutover on AWS | Modern, stable, and scalable application environment |
| Data Migration Disaster | 700 GB DB + 5 TB files stored on legacy infra | Migrated in waves with encryption and minimal downtime | Zero data loss and smooth cutover |
| Disaster Recovery | Manual recovery with limited redundancy | Automated HA/DR with RTO 4 hrs and RPO 2 hrs across AWS regions | Enhanced business continuity |
| Provisioning & Scaling | Manual, slow infrastructure provisioning | Automated provisioning and scaling on AWS | >70% reduction in provisioning time |
| Operational Management | Fragmented support with manual monitoring | 24×7 centralized service desk with intelligent monitoring & analytics | mproved SLA compliance and faster resolution |
| Cost Efficiency | High on-prem costs with regular refresh | Optimized cloud usage and automated operations | Significant reduction in TCO |
Bussiness Values
- Optimized TCO – Migrating to AWS and automating operations reduced infrastructure maintenance and scaling costs, delivering significant cost efficiencies.
- Accelerated Modernization – Simultaneous upgrade and migration shortened timelines, enabling faster adoption of new Windchill capabilities.
- Resilient & Scalable Infrastructure – Multi-region AWS architecture strengthened availability and recovery objectives.
- Operational Excellence – 24×7 managed services and intelligent monitoring improved SLA adherence, uptime, and user experience.
- Strategic Focus – With infrastructure modernized, the client can now focus on product innovation and market expansion, rather than operational firefighting.
Conclusion
By partnering with USMICRO, this Midwest-based OEM successfully transitioned from a legacy, high-maintenance on-prem setup to a modern, secure, and fully managed AWS environment.
The transformation delivered tangible gains in cost, performance, scalability, and resilience, enabling the organization to confidently pursue strategic growth in the competitive manufacturing sector.