How We Built a Secure AWS Cloud Landing Zone for Rail Logistics

Key Challenges & Context: Laying the Groundwork for Secure and Scalable Cloud Adoption

Our client was ready to move forward with AWS cloud adoption, but like many organizations taking their first steps, they faced a foundational challenge: how to build a secure, scalable environment that could support future application development while staying aligned with internal governance and operational models.

Without a robust landing zone in place, the development and operations teams risked launching apps in a fragmented, manually managed environment. There were no clear standards, no automation for provisioning secure infrastructure, and no streamlined way to connect cloud services to their on-premise data centers.

Here is what they were dealing with:

They needed a hybrid cloud architecture that would integrate seamlessly with existing on-prem systems.
Cloud environments were disconnected, lacking secure and consistent network connectivity across accounts.
Manual provisioning created operational bottlenecks and opened the door to configuration drift and compliance risks.
DNS migration and namespace management were complex and prone to human error.
Without Infrastructure as Code (IaC), scaling cloud operations would be inefficient and inconsistent.

Our Approach: Building a Future-Ready Cloud Foundation with Governance at Its Core

Their teams needed to move fast, but without the right structure, speed would come at the cost of control and security. That is where we came in: to design and deploy an AWS Cloud Landing Zone that made hybrid integration seamless, governance automatic, and app deployment frictionless.

We started by designing a hybrid cloud architecture that connected AWS to our client’s on-premise infrastructure. With a hub-and-spoke model, we enabled secure, scalable networking between cloud accounts and internal systems-eliminating one of the key blockers to cloud adoption.

Next, we tackled operational complexity head-on. Manual configuration was slowing everything down and introducing unnecessary risk. So, we brought in Terraform and fully industrialized the deployment process:

Provisioning of accounts, networking, and policies was fully automated.
Modular Infrastructure as Code ensured consistent, auditable environments.
DNS migration and namespace architecture were restructured to reduce errors and improve reliability.

From the beginning, we built in security and governance. We implemented centralized identity and key management, role-based access controls, and security policy enforcement. We also enabled real-time reporting and alerting features, giving LINEAS visibility and control over their cloud operations.

Working hand-in-hand with both internal and external development teams, we aligned the architecture with their DevSecOps strategy. This collaboration allowed us to iterate quickly and ensure that governance did not slow down innovation.

One of the biggest challenges was balancing flexibility for app teams with centralized control. We overcame this by designing clear namespaces, standardizing the use of Kubernetes clusters, and providing guidelines to give teams autonomy within a secure, compliant framework.

By the end of the engagement, the operational burden that had once held teams back was replaced with a stable, scalable, and secure foundation for innovation.

Benefits: A Secure Cloud Foundation That Accelerates Innovation

By the end of the project, our client had a cloud governance framework that made fast, secure, and scalable application deployment part of their new normal.

Here is what changed:

With standardized Infrastructure as Code and pre-approved configurations, cloud environments could be provisioned in minutes, giving development teams more time to focus on building and releasing features.
Security became proactive by building in Identity and access management and encryption policies into the architecture.
From account creation to policy enforcement, every step followed a centralized, automated process.
Automation eliminated repetitive tasks and human error. DNS, connectivity, and IAM configurations no longer required manual intervention.
With a modular, hybrid cloud architecture and Kubernetes-ready environments, the company can now support future application growth without rethinking its core infrastructure.

Beyond the numbers, the project also shifted the organization’s mindset-cloud adoption was no longer a hurdle to manage, but a capability to build on.