AtomsLearning: 73% AWS Cost Reduction
How we helped a medical EdTech platform scale infrastructure during peak exam periods while cutting AWS costs from $5,200 to $1,390 per month through strategic dual-mode architecture implementation.
About AtomsLearning
Executive Summary
AtomsLearning faced a critical infrastructure challenge that many rapidly growing EdTech platforms encounter: balancing massive traffic spikes during exam periods while maintaining cost efficiency during quieter preparation cycles.
The existing AWS EC2 infrastructure couldn't adapt to these dramatic usage patterns, resulting in poor performance during peak times and unnecessary costs during low-traffic periods.
DeepTechLabs designed and implemented a dual-mode architecture that automatically transitions between high-performance EKS clusters during exams and cost-optimized K3s deployments during preparation periods.
Monthly Infrastructure Investment
73% reduction in monthly AWS spend
The Challenge
Understanding the critical infrastructure pain points that were limiting platform growth
Infrastructure Pain Points
Peak Traffic Overwhelm
MockExam microservices experienced severe performance degradation during exam nights when student traffic surged unpredictably.
Infrastructure Rigidity
Static EC2 deployment couldn't scale elastically, leading to over-provisioning during quiet periods.
Cost Inefficiency
High fixed infrastructure costs maintained year-round despite clear seasonal usage variations.
Original Architecture Limitations
Static EC2 Instances
Fixed capacity allocation regardless of actual demand patterns
Manual Scaling Operations
Reactive responses to traffic spikes with significant lead times
Monolithic Deployment
Limited ability to scale individual service components independently
Strategic Approach
Designing a dual-mode architecture optimized for distinct operational patterns
DeepTechLabs identified two critical operational modes requiring fundamentally different infrastructure approaches to optimize both performance and cost efficiency.
Exam Season Mode
High traffic volumes with unpredictable usage spikes
Requires: Maximum elasticity and performance
Preparation Cycles
Steady, predictable usage patterns
Requires: Cost optimization and efficiency
Key Strategic Insight
Rather than building one infrastructure to handle all scenarios, we designed two complementary systems that automatically transition based on demand patterns and scheduling, delivering optimal performance and cost efficiency for each operational mode.
Solution Architecture
Two-phase implementation delivering both peak performance and cost efficiency
Amazon EKS for Peak Performance
Containerized Workloads
Complete microservices containerization enabling granular scaling and resource optimization
Horizontal Pod Autoscaling
Automatic scaling based on CPU, memory, and custom application metrics
CI/CD Integration
Seamless deployment pipelines with instant rollback capabilities for rapid iteration
K3s on EC2 for Cost Efficiency
Lightweight Kubernetes
K3s deployment reducing operational overhead by 60% while maintaining functionality
ARM Graviton2 Instances
Cost-efficient compute infrastructure with 20% better price-performance ratio
Demand-Aligned Scaling
Automated scaling policies precisely matching resource allocation to actual demand
Technology Stack
Measurable Impact
Quantified improvements across cost, performance, and operational efficiency
Cost Reduction
Monthly AWS spend decreased from $5,200 to $1,390
Downtime Events
Complete elimination of service disruptions during peak exam periods
Elastic Scaling
Automatic adaptation to traffic patterns without manual intervention or service degradation
Simplified Operations
Streamlined infrastructure management during non-peak periods with reduced operational complexity
Growth Enablement
Confidence to scale user base without infrastructure limitations or performance concerns
"DeepTechLabs helped us cut costs and stabilize our platform at the same time. They took full ownership of our AWS & Kubernetes setup, which gave us confidence to grow without worrying about scaling issues."— Founder, AtomsLearning (Medical EdTech, India)
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