Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Topgolf mitigated migration risk & elevated uptime with LogicMonitor (COP221)

Summary

Chris introduces the session, focusing on the cloud journey and its stages.
Scott Schultz, VP of Tech Ops and Infrastructure at Topgolf, shares insights on Topgolf's technology integration and their cloud journey.
Topgolf's cloud journey involved stages of on-prem, lift and shift, innovation and refactoring, and transformation to cloud-native, with a focus on being "cloud smart."
Topgolf uses a mix of on-prem and cloud technologies, with a significant amount of IoT devices.
The company faced challenges with latency and cost when moving to the cloud.
LogicMonitor helped Topgolf with monitoring and managing their infrastructure, leading to proactive issue resolution and cost savings.
Randall Thompson from LogicMonitor discusses their technical operations and cloud journey, emphasizing the importance of monitoring and managing across all cloud journey stages.
LogicMonitor's architecture is a hybrid model, utilizing on-prem servers and AWS services.
The company has undergone a migration from data centers to AWS, focusing on cost efficiency and customer experience.
LogicMonitor uses its own platform to monitor customer experience and infrastructure health.

Topgolf's approach to technology is to obfuscate complexity from the player while leveraging data to enhance the gaming experience.
The company's hybrid cloud strategy is driven by practical considerations such as cost, latency, and the nature of workloads.
LogicMonitor's role in Topgolf's infrastructure is pivotal for monitoring and automation, which has led to significant improvements in incident response times and operational efficiency.
Randall Thompson's discussion on LogicMonitor's own use of AWS and hybrid cloud infrastructure highlights the iterative nature of cloud adoption and the need for continuous optimization.
The concept of repatriation, or moving workloads back from the cloud to on-premises, is becoming more common as companies seek to balance cost and performance.
Both Topgolf and LogicMonitor emphasize the importance of monitoring from the customer's perspective to ensure seamless service during migrations and day-to-day operations.
The session underscores that cloud journeys are non-linear and involve maintaining a balance across various stages rather than a singular focus on becoming fully cloud-native.