TCI’s MuleSoft Transformation in Manufacturing: A Case Study

“In manufacturing, every cent counts💰. MuleSoft optimizes expenses.”

Now, let’s dive into this case study 🏭. A leading Manufacturing industry player found themselves on the verge of a significant change. They relied on MuleSoft to power their data and applications, but there was a significant hitch. High licensing costs were piling up, threatening their financial stability 💰. Their approach to using MuleSoft was like stepping on the gas in a car, only to see fuel costs skyrocket ⛽.

Their MuleSoft setup was causing financial issues with high licensing costs and vCore consumption. To solve this, they teamed up with TriColor Initiatives (TCI).

Setup of the Manufacturing Company Before Optimization 🔍

The manufacturing company’s significant challenge revolved around high vCore consumption, which was driven by several factors:

1. Wide Range of Applications: They were utilizing a number of 108 applications in the old state, to support various functions across the organization. Even these many applications were causing a big increase in vCore usage leading to much higher costs for licenses.
2. Diverse End Systems: Their operations were spread across approximately 73 end systems.
3. ETL Jobs: Even, managing a network of over 50 ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) jobs was crucial for combining data, and turned out to be quite expensive to maintain.
4. API Call Overhead: The company’s API infrastructure was experiencing significant overhead. They were handling 2.1 million/hr API calls @ peak, averaging around 3,10,000 API calls. This volume of API calls demanded a resource-intensive infrastructure, further intensifying the cost challenge.
5. High VCore Consumption: Their setup was putting a considerable strain on their finances by consuming approximately 45 vCores. This added a significant burden to their overall expenses, making it a costly arrangement to maintain.

The company’s setup was undoubtedly robust, supporting its manufacturing operations effectively. However, the leadership recognized the need for a transformative approach to optimize MuleSoft’s cost-effectiveness, while also preparing for future growth.

Optimization in 6 Months:

In just six months, TCI implemented a series of strategic changes to this company’s MuleSoft setup, resulting in significant improvements:

1. New Applications: TCI created 18 new applications, enhancing their ability to address evolving business requirements and improving overall process efficiency.
2. Application Reduction: To streamline operations and cut down on redundant processes, 11 existing applications were gradually removed, reducing the complexity of the company’s landscape.
3. Expanded End System Connectivity: Their ability to connect with end systems was boosted by the addition of four new systems, fostering a more holistic and interconnected data ecosystem.
4. ETL Job Optimization: TCI introduced 12 new ETL jobs, optimizing data extraction, transformation, and loading processes for better data integration and analysis.
5. Increased Peak API Calls: The peak API call rate saw a notable boost, with the company now managing 2.6 million/hr API calls @ peak, averaging around 3,40,000 API calls, showcasing their growing data exchange demands and expanding business operations.
6. Reduced VCore Consumption: TCI diligently worked to reduce vCore consumption from 45 to 41vCores. This not only improved efficiency but also led to substantial cost savings in MuleSoft licensing costs.

Optimization in 12 Months:📈:

After a year of collaboration with TCI, the company’s MuleSoft setup saw significant progress and further optimization:

1. New Applications: TCI introduced 10 additional new applications, enabling them to address evolving business needs and enhance operational efficiency.
2. Application Reduction: To streamline their IT infrastructure further, 4 additional existing applications were phased out, reducing repetition and complexity.
3. Expanded End System Connectivity: It continued to strengthen its connection with two more end systems, facilitating better data flow and comprehensive insights.
4. ETL Job Optimization: TCI’s efforts resulted in the creation of 7 additional ETL jobs, improving data extraction, transformation, and loading processes for more efficient data integration.
5. Increased Peak API Calls: The company’s peak API call rate increased to 2.9 million/hr API calls @ peak, averaging around 3,80,000 API calls. However, this reflects their robust growth and expanding data exchange requirements.
6. Reduced VCore Consumption: TCI successfully reduced the company’s vCore consumption from 45 to just 36 vCores within the span of a year. This led to significant savings in their MuleSoft licensing costs.

The 12-month transformation marked a significant milestone, with the Manufacturing company achieving a streamlined, cost-effective, and highly efficient MuleSoft infrastructure. This transformation had a substantial impact on the company’s bottom line, resulting in substantial cost savings and improved operational efficiency.

👉How Did TCI Do That?

Started with the Catalyst Analysis📊

The journey to transform the Manufacturing giant’s MuleSoft infrastructure began with a careful Catalyst Analysis, a strategic initiative to ensure that growth wouldn’t be hindered while optimizing their resources. However, TCI’s, catalyst analysis consisted of several critical phases:

• Code Checklist and Practice: The first step involved implementing a comprehensive code checklist and best practices. This ensured that all new developments followed these practices, resulting in “great code.” Basically, the focus was on writing efficient, resource-friendly code that contributed to better MuleSoft platform quality.

• Reuse and Optimization: A significant revelation during this analysis was the identification of areas where existing components and processes could be reused. Moreover, this approach led to the discovery of three procedural layers that could be shared across various applications, making the exchange much more discoverable.

• Reducing Unused Applications: The analysis revealed a few applications that were no longer essential to the business operations. These applications were promptly identified and removed, reducing complexity and resource consumption.

• Recycling and Merging Apps: Instead of creating new applications every time a new function was needed. So, a practice of recycling and enhancing existing applications was introduced.

The Catalyst Analysis created a strong foundation for the transformation journey. It instilled the principles of code quality, resource efficiency, and streamlined processes. Hence, it set the stage for a year of significant progress and development.

How Much TCI Saved💰

The journey to this achievement began with a careful Catalyst Analysis, a strategic initiative to ensure that growth wouldn’t be hindered while optimizing their resources.

Before delving into the specifics of this transformation, let’s take a moment to visualize the remarkable change that occurred.

Considering the global average vCore consumption, their initial configuration was utilizing approximately 45 vCores. Even a highly skilled developer might only achieve minor reductions, bringing it down to around 42 vCores. But, the TCI’s transformative approach to optimizing the manufacturing giant’s MuleSoft setup resulted in substantial cost savings. And, after one year of collaboration with TCI, their MuleSoft experts efficiently reduced their vCore consumption to just 36 vCores. This reduction of 9 vCores translated to a significant cost saving of approximately 0.9 million dollars.

This impressive achievement not only demonstrated the success of TCI’s strategic changes. It also underscored the importance of efficient MuleSoft utilization in the manufacturing industry. Moreover, this reinforced their position as a cost-effective leader in the manufacturing sector.

Key Achievements and Cost Savings:

• VCore Cost Savings: TCI’s transformative approach to optimizing the manufacturing giant’s MuleSoft setup resulted in substantial cost savings. At the outset, the company was using 45 vCores, and after one year of collaboration with TCI, their MuleSoft experts efficiently reduced their vCore consumption to just 36 vCores. This reduction of 9 vCores translated to a significant cost saving of approximately 0.9 million dollars.

• Improved MuleSoft Performance: The optimization efforts led to a remarkable enhancement in MuleSoft’s performance and reliability. Hence, this ensured smoother data flows and better data management.

• Enhanced Operational Reliability: A considerable reduction in error rates significantly enhanced the reliability and operational excellence of the company’s IT systems. However, this improvement built trust among both clients and stakeholders.

• Boosted efficiency: TCI’s optimizations enhanced operational efficiency by streamlining applications, end systems, ETL jobs, and API calls. However, this more productive resource utilization allowed the manufacturing company to better adapt to evolving manufacturing needs.

Here’s what our valued client had to say about the transformation:

How You Can Achieve Similar Success?

Ready to streamline your IT operations, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency, just as this Manufacturing giant did? It all begins with a conversation. We invite you to schedule a call with us to explore how TriColor Initiatives can help your organization achieve similar success.

Our team of experts is eager to discuss your specific needs and challenges. We’ll tailor a customized strategy to transform your IT infrastructure and maximize your efficiency.

🌟Join the TCI Mule Success Nest Group for More In-Depth Tips and Techniques

As we conclude this transformative journey with the Manufacturing Company, we invite you to join our thriving group, the “TCI Mule Success Nest,” on LinkedIn. In this group, we regularly share invaluable tips, tricks, and in-depth insights into various MuleSoft issues and challenges.

👥Join the Success Nest… and be a part of a group dedicated to unraveling the full potential of MuleSoft. Learn from the experiences of Manufacturing giant and other success stories, and take your own journey to the next level.👍