Case Study | Arima Genomics Moves On-Prem Database to Amazon S3 Glacier with 95% Cost Savings

Executive Summary

Arima Genomics was quickly outgrowing their on-prem storage space, which they used for large raw data sets from thousands of customers worldwide. Arima Genomics processes the data through proprietary software/solution and returns 3D models. Stratus10 set up AWS Transfer Family, providing Arima's customers with an intuitive user interface to support their SFTP transfer protocol. Now, customer accounts are easily managed via the AWS Management Console. The migration also moved Arima Genomics' processed data into Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive, cutting storage costs by more than 95% compared to their previous on-premises infrastructure.
 

About Arima Genomics

Arima Genomics is advancing the life sciences through the power of 3D genomes. They develop innovative solutions that drive discovery in genomics and improve human health. Their platform ingests raw genomic data from research and clinical customers around the world and returns processed 3D genome models — a data-intensive workflow that depends on being able to receive, store, and archive large files reliably and securely.
 

Challenge

Arima Genomics was quickly growing out of on-premise storage space and continuing to pay for additional on-site storage did not make financial sense for them. Arima Genomics receives large raw data sets from thousands of customers worldwide. Arima then processes the data through their proprietary software/solution and returns 3D models of the customers’ data.

Beyond the storage question, Arima Genomics also needed a reliable, secure way for customers to upload those raw data files in the first place — a process that becomes harder to manage manually as the customer base grows. Any new solution needed to solve for cost and scale on the storage side while also giving customers an easier, more secure way to get their data in.
 

Solution

As with any AWS database migration project, the solution was to move both the storage and transfer mechanism of the data to AWS and take advantage of Amazon S3’s storage lifecycle and archive processed data to the S3 Glacier Deep Archive storage tier, saving Arima Genomics over 95% off S3 Standard storage pricing.

Because Arima Genomics' processed 3D genome models are accessed infrequently after delivery but still need to be retained for reference, S3 Glacier Deep Archive was a strong fit — it's AWS's lowest-cost long-term storage tier while keeping the data retrievable when needed. An S3 lifecycle policy automatically transitions data into Glacier Deep Archive on a set schedule, so Arima Genomics doesn't have to manage the archiving process manually.
 

Implementation

To get the data into Amazon S3, Stratus10 set up AWS Transfer Family, providing Arima Genomics customers with an intuitive user interface to support their SFTP transfer protocol. Arima Genomics is able to manage customer accounts as needed via the AWS Management Console. This is one example of the migration work Stratus10 handles as part of its broader database migration services, which cover everything from relational database moves to large-scale file and object storage migrations like this one.

Additionally, security was top of mind for Arima Genomics, so Stratus10 ensured that their AWS account complied with the CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark standard, ensuring security best practices were in place at the AWS account level.

Primary AWS services used:

• Amazon S3, including S3 Glacier Deep Archive for long-term, low-cost storage
• AWS Transfer Family for secure, managed SFTP file transfer
• AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) and the AWS Management Console for customer account management

• CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark alignment for account-level security

   

Results and Benefits

Moving to Amazon S3 Glacier Deep Archive cut Arima Genomics' storage costs by more than 95% compared to their previous on-premises setup, a significant reduction given the scale of raw genomic data the company retains for thousands of customers worldwide.

The move to AWS Transfer Family also gave Arima Genomics' customers a more intuitive, self-service way to upload their raw data files over SFTP, while giving the Arima Genomics team a single place — the AWS Management Console — to manage customer accounts as the business scales. And with the environment aligned to the CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark, Arima Genomics added a documented security baseline at the account level, supporting the trust their life sciences and clinical customers place in how their data is handled.
 

About Stratus10

Stratus10 is an Advanced AWS Partner Network (APN) Consulting Partner helping companies migrate to the cloud or if they are already on AWS we help them implement best practices. We specialize in DevOps, application modernization, migration, security, and cost optimization to help our clients take full advantage of the latest technologies AWS has to offer.

Use case: Amazon S3
Client: Arima Genomics
Date: April 2022
Category: Migration, database