A Large Cloud Migration
A U.S. Government Civilian Agency, with applications and services that need to be readily available to over 150 million Americans, was moving its operations to Amazon Web Services-based (AWS) cloud services in a push to modernize its infrastructure. This was no small feat – the migration covered everything from front-end web services to back-end data services, marking a significant shift to modernize the agency’s IT management. Accenture Federal Services was assisting the agency with this project, and needed a tool to streamline data pipeline management, so they turned to Cribl.
“We had looked at Cribl as a product for a long time. What brought Cribl into the environment was the need to unify data. Cribl's UI, live preview capabilities, and workflows made it easy to configure and manage data pipelines effectively.”
Cesar Deleon
Senior Security Consulting Manager for Accenture Federal Services.
In addition to building services in the cloud to enhance visibility and control, the agency introduced containerized systems and cloud-native log and data sources like AWS CloudTrail to enhance operational capabilities. Accenture Federal Services' team embarked on a cloud sprint in partnership with the agency—spanning planning, architecture, procurement, and rollout—all within a few months. They also deployed scalable cloud solutions to support the expanded scope of the agency’s services.
Managing and Routing Data Across Multiple Cloud Workloads
Building services in the cloud was complex, involving data across multiple cloud workloads. Accenture Federal Services used specialized teams for each part of the migration, collecting data from container logs via OpenTelemetry (OTel), AWS CloudTrail logs, HTTP events, encrypted syslog data over TCP, and API calls to cloud-hosted third-party systems via scripted inputs.
By using Cribl and its flexible architecture, the agency was able to unlock data silos, allowing data to be routed to core security audit systems and other operational systems, meeting security and compliance needs. Cribl Stream’s flexible tagging and metadata management helped with organizing and managing data across different environments and departments.
“The cloud sprint happened quickly. We moved from planning, architecture, procurement, to quickly rolling out Cribl instances and piping all the data in a matter of three to four months.”
Cesar Deleon
Senior Security Consulting Manager for Accenture Federal Services.
Robust Security and Threat Intelligence
Data protection and ensuring the security of citizen information is a priority for the agency. Cribl’s strong encryption transformation functions allowed sensitive data to be encrypted in the delivery pipeline before being written to disk, making it easy to meet compliance mandates while reducing risk.
As the project evolved, Cribl integrated threat intelligence data into the logs, further strengthening the agency's security as it expanded into the cloud. This enrichment feature is still a work in progress, with more integrations planned.
“With the use of Cribl, we can encrypt data before it even touches the disk, send a duplicate copy of the data to our customer, unencrypt it, and they can perform their deep security analysis.”
Cesar Deleon
Senior Security Consulting Manager for Accenture Federal Services.
Simplifying Processes and Boosting Efficiency
By implementing Cribl, Accenture Federal Services made significant strides in simplifying its migration process and improving efficiency, enabling the agency to modernize its systems faster. Cribl allowed the team to preview and test live data quickly without needing lengthy change management processes. This streamlined troubleshooting and verification, keeping things moving smoothly and minimizing delays.
The tool’s user-friendly interface made it easy to onboard new data sources, preventing disruptions to the project timeline. This helped the team focus on more critical tasks, boosting overall productivity.
Cribl also simplified token and key management across environments, removing the complexity of manually handling security credentials. This cut down on overhead and allowed the team to maintain secure operations for the agency with ease.
Value for the Civilian Agency
The agility, security, and non-intrusive nature of Cribl’s functionality increased operational efficiency for the agency, making it easier and faster to support the migration:
Reduced data pipeline downtime to implement changes, which increased data availability.
Reduced testing time of data engineering changes.
Reduced token management for data inputs, using logical functions for separation and mappings.
Accelerated onboarding of new data sources, with the user-friendly interface reducing delays and allowing the team to focus on other critical tasks.
Accelerated troubleshooting and verification with live data preview and testing.
“Cribl has been a huge benefit for us. It simplifies token and key management, allows for rapid data source onboarding, and empowers new team members to take ownership thanks to its unified interface. It's a game-changer in reducing complexity.”
Cesar Deleon
Senior Security Consulting Manager for Accenture Federal Services.
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Learn more about Accenture Federal Services and their cloud and engineering services for federal agencies.
TL;DR:
Cribl streamlined data processing during a U.S. Government Civilian Agency’s migration to AWS with Accenture Federal Services, enabling dynamic routing and management across diverse cloud workloads.
The agility and non-intrusive nature of Cribl’s functionality provided the agency with increased data availability, reduced testing time, and reduced token management for data inputs.
With Cribl’s intuitive interface and live data preview, Accenture Federal Services reduced delays and simplified troubleshooting, leading to faster onboarding and collaboration.
Cribl’s encryption and threat intelligence integration ensured compliance and data protection, with flexible tagging and metadata management for seamless operations.
Accenture Federal Services plans to expand Cribl’s integration with tools like DataDog, enhance S3 data search, and explore new use cases to continue modernizing its data operations.
About Accenture Federal Services
Accenture Federal Services is a leading US federal services company and subsidiary of Accenture LLP. We empower the federal government to solve challenges, achieve greater outcomes, and build a digital core that is agile, smart, and secure. Our 15,500 people are united in a shared purpose to advance our clients’ mission-critical priorities that make the nation stronger and safer, and life better for people. We draw out the best of Accenture’s global network in nearly every industry, bringing proven commercial innovation to solutions built with advanced R&D, emerging technologies, and human-centered design at speed and scale. Together, we help clients create lasting value for their workforce, customers, and partners and make a difference for the country and our communities. See how we make change that matters at accenturefederal.com.