ThisoMall
Elevating All-in-one Shopping Experience in 15 Days with AWS
Industry
Retail & E-commerce
Technology
Overview
Once known for its rich natural resources, exotic fruits, and breathtaking landscapes, Vietnam is now transitioning itself into a modern, luxurious image with high-rise buildings and well-planned metropolitan areas. At the heart of this transformation is THISO – a premier all-in-one destination and community hub in Vietnam’s vibrant new urban areas. To elevate customer engagement, THISO aims to release its cutting-edge Rewards app in 15 days, with AWS expertise the most crucial element to the success. Therefore, THISO partnered with Renova to build a high-performance, cost-efficient system capable of handling massive user traffic. This collaboration not only delivered a powerful, scalable system but also empowered THISO’s team with long-term self-management to ensure top-notch shopping experience, optimized operations, and a firm step toward market leadership.
Key Challenges
Currently, THISO operates three major shopping malls, including THISO Mall Phan Huy Ích and the large-scale THISO Mall Sala project, featuring modern architecture and extensive facilities that attract thousands of shoppers and entertainment seekers daily. Beyond the retail sector, THISO continues to expand its investments into restaurant, food, and indoor entertainment services to cater to the diverse needs of customers. To enhance operational efficiency and optimize customer experience, the company has been actively integrating information technology into its business operations. One of its key initiatives is the launch of THISO Rewards, a membership platform within the company’s ecosystem. This program allows customers to accumulate points and enjoy exclusive benefits at events organized by THISO, creating a connected ecosystem that adds value to its users.
However, the rapid growth of the application also presents significant challenges in terms of IT infrastructure. One of the most critical challenges is handling high user traffic, especially during peak periods. Sudden spikes in access could disrupt customer experience, making it essential for the system to dynamically scale resources based on demand to ensure smooth operations even under heavy loads.
In addition to scalability, data security is a top priority. The system must not only safeguard against cybersecurity threats but also maintain fast and stable response times to deliver a seamless user experience. Another challenge THISO faces is the lack of AWS expertise within its internal team, necessitating comprehensive training and knowledge transfer to enable effective self-management and system operations in the future.
Furthermore, the deployment process is highly complex, requiring close coordination between the infrastructure team and the application development team to ensure a synchronized and efficient implementation.
Solution
To address operational challenges, Thiso set a strategic goal of selecting a technology partner capable of building a robust IT infrastructure that ensures long-term scalability while delivering an exceptional customer experience. Following a rigorous evaluation process, Thiso entrusted Renova Cloud, a strategic AWS partner, to design and implement a highly scalable and resilient cloud architecture.
Renova Cloud initiated the deployment by leveraging AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) to establish a secure network environment with distinct public, application, and database subnets. This foundational structure not only enables seamless communication between services but also maintains strict security controls. Furthermore, the implementation of an Application Load Balancer (ALB) effectively distributes traffic across multiple instances, ensuring system availability and rapid responsiveness during peak traffic periods for the ThisoReward application.
Subsequently, Renova deployed Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) on AWS Fargate, Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL, and integrated Amazon ElastiCache for Redis. This configuration not only created a flexible and scalable application environment but also optimized database performance by offloading workloads and improving response times through caching frequently accessed data.
To proactively safeguard the system against potential security threats while continuously monitoring for vulnerabilities, Renova utilized AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) and Amazon GuardDuty which remained top priorities throughout the implementation process. Simultaneously, Amazon CloudWatch provided real-time monitoring, log management, and alerting capabilities, enabling timely issue resolution and ongoing system optimization.
More importantly, Renova optimized ECS task definitions to enhance resource allocation and cost efficiency. The seamless integration of microservices was a key focus, ensuring smooth data flow and optimal system performance. To validate reliability and resilience, comprehensive performance and security testing were conducted, reinforcing the system’s ability to support Thiso’s long-term growth and operational demands.
Key Technologies Used:
Compute
- AWS Fargate (ECS): Serverless compute engine for running containers without managing infrastructure.
Networking & Traffic Management
- VPC: Isolated cloud network for secure communication between AWS resources.
- ALB (Application Load Balancer): Distributes incoming traffic efficiently across ECS tasks.
Database & Storage
- Amazon RDS (PostgreSQL): Managed relational database service for scalable and secure data storage.
- Amazon ElastiCache (Redis): In-memory caching to improve application speed and reduce database load.
Security
- AWS WAF: Protects applications from common web threats like SQL injection and XSS attacks.
- AWS GuardDuty: Continuous threat detection and security monitoring for AWS environments.
Monitoring & Logging
- Amazon CloudWatch: Monitors logs, metrics, and application performance in real time.
Benefits
Financial Benefits:
- Reduced Infrastructure Costs: Serverless architecture (AWS Fargate) minimized overhead and reduced operational costs.
- Cost-Effective Scaling: Auto-scaling ensured that resources were allocated efficiently, preventing unnecessary expenses.
Operational Benefits:
- Faster Deployment: The entire infrastructure was deployed within the 15-day deadline.
- Ease of Management: The solution was designed for easy self-management, with knowledge transfer sessions conducted.
- Improved Security: Automated threat detection and WAF implementation enhanced protection against cyber threats.
Performance Improvements:
- High Availability: Load balancing and optimized resource allocation ensured consistent application performance under high traffic.
- Dynamic Scaling: The system dynamically adjusted resources based on demand to prevent performance bottlenecks.
- Minimal Downtime: AWS monitoring tools provided real-time alerts and issue detection, ensuring high system uptime.
Conclusion
With a strong commitment to innovation and customer experience, THISO continues to redefine the Commerce and Services landscape in Vietnam. The strategic partnership with Renova to deploy AWS infrastructure plays a crucial role in ensuring high-performance operations, scalability, and seamless customer interactions. This collaboration enables THISO to handle large volumes of user requests efficiently while maintaining cost-effectiveness and system stability. By integrating advanced cloud technology, alongside initiatives like Thiso Rewards, THISO is not only optimizing operations but also setting new standards for retail, dining, and entertainment, shaping the future of the industry in Vietnam.
