• Scalability: Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) wasn’t autoscaling effectively, leading to performance bottlenecks during peak traffic periods, especially holidays. The infrastructure struggled to handle 15,000 requests per second, impacting user experience.
• Traffic Management: Traffic management processes were manual, inefficient, and ineffective, further hindering scalability and performance.
• Automation & Infrastructure: The absence of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and failing CloudSQL backups added complexity and increased the risk of downtime.
• Cost Optimization: The growing user base led to increased costs per order, significantly impacting the overall costs.
• Security: Maintaining a robust security posture became increasingly difficult as new features were introduced. They were unable to implement effective monitoring systems and align with best practices.

Leveraging their expertise in Google Cloud, Searce designed and implemented a comprehensive solution that addressed Tabsquare’s challenges:

• Scalability: Searce implemented autoscaling with GKE, utilizing the latest high-performance machine types for smooth scaling, eliminating downtime, and guaranteeing seamless handling of peak traffic, even during holidays.
• Traffic Management: By implementing Istio, we achieved efficient traffic management, enabling Tabsquare to efficiently handle up to three times the peak request volume across all cloud infrastructure layers.
• Automation & Infrastructure: We achieved 100% Terraform coverage in development and staging environments, automating infrastructure management and ensuring consistency. Our collaborative efforts with the Google Cloud product team resolved the CloudSQL backup issue, ensuring data integrity and reliability.
• Cost Optimization: Our team established a FinOps culture with continuous cost monitoring and optimization across the entire environment. This resulted in a significant reduction in cost per order, with further efforts targeting greater reductions.
• Security: We implemented security best practices, such as the principle of least privilege for service accounts. We also significantly improved GKE clusters and CloudSQL configurations to achieve more robust security measures. Additionally, we configured OpenVPN and VPN tunnels wherever applicable and implemented Kiali for monitoring across GKE clusters.
• Seamless upgradation: Searce ensured smooth upgradation of GKE clusters and Istio versions.
• Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) Services: Our team provided ongoing SRE services, proactively monitoring and managing the infrastructure for optimal performance and security.

Business Impact

By partnering with Searce and migrating to Google Cloud Platform, Tabsquare achieved:

• Scalable Infrastructure: GKE autoscaling and Istio implementation seamlessly handled peak traffic, ensuring exceptional user experience during holidays and other high-demand periods.
• Automated & Efficient Operations: Terraform automation helped streamline infrastructure management, and resolved CloudSQL backup issues ensuring data integrity and reliability.
• Significant Cost Savings: Through continuous FinOps efforts, cost per order was significantly reduced, with ambitious goals for further improvement.
• Enhanced Security: Robust security practices implemented by Searce minimized security risks and ensured ongoing monitoring and alerting.
• Improved Reliability: Pub/sub-topics and comprehensive SRE services ensure 100% uptime and proactive infrastructure management.

Conclusion

Through our expertise in Google Cloud and a deep understanding of Tabsquare’s needs, Searce delivered a scalable, secure, and cost-effective solution. This empowered Tabsquare to focus on their core business, knowing their infrastructure could handle any changes in demand while delivering a seamless experience to their customers. The partnership continues to evolve, with our team providing ongoing support and expertise to help Tabsquare achieve its long-term goals.