Over 5 years we help companies reach their cloud technical and innovation goals. cloudvests is a values-driven cloud technology agency dedicated.
Flash Academy
- AWS
- Moderation
- Security
Application Modernization
for FlashAcademy
- Edtech
- 2 Months
- April 28,2025
Project Overview
About FlashAcademy:
FlashAcademy is the UK’s leading EAL (English as an Additional Language) platform, supporting over 1,000 schools and 250,000+ individuals. Their award-winning technology accelerates English language acquisition with curriculum content from over 48 home languages, accessible on any device.
The Challenge:
FlashAcademy required a scalable and highly available infrastructure to support its growing user base and ensure uninterrupted access to its EAL platform.
Problem Statement/Definition:
FlashAcademy needed a solution that would provide high availability and scalability on AWS, ensuring their application could handle varying levels of demand and remain accessible even in the event of an outage.
Proposed Solution & Architecture:
CloudVests designed and implemented a solution leveraging Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service) with autoscaling enabled. This allowed the application to automatically scale up or down based on demand. The application utilized an external MongoDB Atlas database cluster, with secure connectivity established through VPC peering between the AWS VPC and the MongoDB Atlas VPC. The solution was deployed across 3 Availability Zones (AZs) to ensure high availability.
Benefits of the Solution :
FlashAcademy achieved a scalable and highly available architecture on AWS, capable of handling its growing user base and ensuring uninterrupted access to its EAL platform.
TCO Analysis Performed :
- Scalability: The ECS cluster with autoscaling allowed the application to adapt to changes in demand and traffic, ensuring optimal performance.
- High Availability: By distributing the solution across multiple AZs, the application could withstand AZ failures, minimizing downtime and ensuring continuous service.
- Reliable Database Connectivity: VPC peering provided a secure and efficient connection to the MongoDB Atlas database.
The Result:
FlashAcademy achieved a scalable and highly available architecture on AWS, capable of handling its growing user base and ensuring uninterrupted access to its EAL platform.
TCO Analysis Performed :
A detailed TCO analysis was performed, encompassing infrastructure costs (ECS, MongoDB Atlas, networking), labor costs (implementation and ongoing operations), and operational overhead (monitoring and logging). Cost savings were realized through optimized resource utilization via autoscaling and reduced management overhead from managed services. The analysis also considered the less tangible but equally important benefits of improved security (reduced breach risk), increased efficiency, and enhanced performance, all contributing to a stronger ROI.
Lessons Learned:
- Designing for scalability and high availability is crucial for applications with varying demands.
- Utilizing managed services like Amazon ECS and MongoDB Atlas can simplify operations and reduce management overhead.
- Multi-AZ deployments are essential for ensuring high availability and business continuity.
ISV Tools and Technology Used:
- Amazon ECS (Autoscaling)
- MongoDB Atlas
- AWS VPC Peering
- Multi-AZ Deployment
Project Results
Development 55%
Scalability 100%
Response Time 30%
Technologies Used
- AWS Lambda
- Amazon ECS
- AWS Pipeline
