Ellaktor Group Uses LCM Go Cloud to Improve Data Backup and Cut Costs Using AWS

Ellaktor Group was finding the process of backing up its data to tapes, then managing and storing those tapes, was growing cumbersome and chose to migrate the process to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Over 46 years of operation, the company—a large infrastructure group headquartered in Greece—had accumulated more than 70 TB of data that it needed to keep safe and secure. With the help of AWS Partner LCM Go Cloud, it was able to back up the data to its thousands of employees and save 40 percent of backup costs annually.

Ellaktor Group, based in Greece, is an infrastructure group that operates in four countries. The company was running its backup process supported by a backup application on physical tapes. But with more than 70 TB of data, accumulated over decades of operation, this was both time-consuming and expensive. Given the disadvantages of physical tape backups—the cost of tapes and tape drives, staff administration and management efforts, maintenance costs, transfer and storage costs, and security costs, among others—the company was looking for an alternative solution.

The backup process at the company headquarters required tape drives and servers, with a two-stage process for running the backup software. The first stage was to transfer data to an intermediate backup server and, from there, to tape drives. This was necessary because backing up directly to the tape drives would have negatively affected the performance of Ellaktor’s servers. In the second stage, Ellaktor transferred tapes to an offshore location once a week to comply with standards for recovery and business continuity.

AWS Partner LCM Go Cloud approached Ellaktor and proposed a migration project that involved migrating some infrastructure to the cloud. Although the timing for migration didn’t prove to be right, the initial contact led to a discussion about cloud backup. Ellaktor knew that, despite its existing system being functional, some equipment was coming to end of life, so it was facing possible replacement costs. “It was just about operational effectiveness,” says Evangelos Pelecanos, group chief information officer at Ellaktor. “We wanted to increase productivity and also get rid of some costs that were involved with buying new tapes, transferring tapes to offsite, and the costs of the contractor that handled the transfer and storage.”

While planning for the backup migration, the companies discussed whether to use AWS for the migration. Ellaktor was running other parts of its business with a different cloud provider. “That’s not unusual,” says Costas Kappos, managing partner at LCM Go Cloud. “We looked at what they wanted to do and could show them that AWS was the only option that offered everything they wanted. Ellaktor saw it made sense to use AWS because of its capabilities.”

Working closely with Ellaktor, LCM Go Cloud created a proof of concept (PoC) to show how the transfer of backups to AWS would work. The planning started in January of 2023. After the PoC proved that the migration could be done smoothly and create reliable backups on AWS, LCM Go Cloud got authorization to do the full migration. That was completed in May 2023, resulting in the whole project, from planning to completion, taking only 5 months. “The first factor that led to this rapid success was our dedication,” says Pelecanos. “We really wanted to do this. Second was LCM Go Cloud. They were also very dedicated to this. And the third factor was the maturity of the solution—it was very easily integrated into our system.”

Ellaktor uses AWS Storage Gateway, a set of hybrid cloud storage services that provide on-premises access to virtually unlimited cloud storage. Data is transferred through the gateway to several Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes. Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes are purpose-built for data archiving, providing users with the highest performance, most retrieval flexibility, and the lowest cost archive storage in the cloud. Amazon S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval delivers low-cost storage for archive data that is accessed 1–2 times per year and is retrieved asynchronously. The solution also uses Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive, which is the lowest-cost AWS storage, up to 75 percent lower cost than S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval, for long-lived archive data that is accessed less than once per year and is retrieved asynchronously. These options provide Ellaktor with the storage options it needs at the best possible price.

One of the most important things for Ellaktor while migrating to the new backup system was to maintain ease of use. Working with LCM Go Cloud, the new system features an interface that’s identical to the previous system’s and uses the same workflow. This has minimized errors and meant that all employees who need to access backup data can do so without additional training. “That was a big advantage for us,” says Pelecanos. “We use exactly the same process as we did before. We felt that this removed the risk of any problems and was an easy solution. For the user, it’s identical.”

In addition to a seamless backup process, the migration to AWS has resulted in a saving of about 40 percent over the cost of tape backups. “Keeping the backup tape library on an annual basis cost €32,600,” says Pelecanos. “And the estimated cost using the AWS solution was €18,600. In addition to cost savings, we’ve also gained flexibility with the solution while maintaining the ease of use. It’s a success by any measure.”

The process of working with LCM Go Cloud impressed Ellaktor, seeing the AWS Partner’s ability to deliver its targets on time and on schedule. The Ellaktor Group recently sold the construction part of its operation and is in the process of removing that so it can focus on concessions, environment, renewable energy sources, and real estate development and management. This has caused the company to put a hold on initiating other IT transformation projects. However, Pelecanos expects to have further discussions with LCM Go Cloud in future. “We had a good experience, and everything went smoothly,” he says. “After things have settled down, we’ll be able to look at what other opportunities and benefits are possible.”