Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Seamless Modernization and Migration of Media Services with LG U+ (PRO101)

Summary

• LG U+ is a subsidiary of LG Corporation, the second-largest conglomerate in South Korea, providing internet services to 4.9 million subscribers as of 2023.
• LG U+ has experienced impressive growth with its IPTV service, reaching 5.3 million subscribers.
• The company partnered with AWS Professional Services Korea to launch its first service on AWS, aiming to collaborate with major platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube.
• LG U+ faced challenges with over 980 APIs, some over a decade old, with complex dependencies.
• The migration to AWS was incremental, avoiding a Big Bang approach, and took place over two years with AWS Professional Services' collaboration.
• The first year focused on change, building a portfolio, designing cloud architecture, establishing a DevOps environment, and creating a robust CI/CD pipeline.
• Traffic was gradually shifted to AWS, with 20% in the first phase and 50% by August of the same year.
• By October 2022, LG U+ launched a mobile app targeting the OTT platform, and by August 2023, the migration was 100% complete without impacting customers.
• LG U+ modernized its service with AWS, addressing hardware inflexibility, operational difficulties, and outdated legacy systems.
• The company invested in developing internal technical competency and received executive sponsorship for the modernization journey.
• The migration included creating a new software architecture, a CI/CD pipeline, and designing AWS infrastructure for real-time data migration.
• LG U+ operated both new and old platforms simultaneously, focusing on non-disruptive and long-term transition.
• The company applied the Strangler Fig Migration Pattern and modernized applications to microservices architecture.
• LG U+ improved from twice a month deployment to on-demand deployment, with deployment frequency increasing to five times a day.
• Customer experiences improved with longer watch history footprints, faster API latency, and quicker feedback and changes.
• AWS Aurora's scalability helped address sudden VOD watch delays, showcasing the benefits of cloud infrastructure.
• The transformation project completed in April, but LG U+ continues to innovate and review its service architecture and media infrastructure for future business opportunities.

Insights

• LG U+ leveraged AWS services to modernize its media platform, demonstrating the importance of cloud infrastructure in achieving scalability, flexibility, and high availability.
• The incremental approach to migration, as opposed to a Big Bang strategy, allowed LG U+ to maintain service continuity and minimize customer impact.
• Executive sponsorship and a strong determination to develop and operate the platform service on AWS were crucial for the success of the modernization journey.
• The use of AWS Professional Services facilitated the complex process of migrating and modernizing a large number of legacy APIs.
• The application of the Strangler Fig Migration Pattern and microservices architecture enabled LG U+ to transition APIs to the cloud incrementally without customer disruption.
• The transformation led to significant improvements in deployment frequency, service reliability, and customer experience, showcasing the business agility enabled by cloud and DevOps practices.
• LG U+ serves as a case study for successful cloud migration and modernization, highlighting the potential for other organizations to follow a similar path to enhance their services and infrastructure.