Case Study:
CleanLink

Accelerating SaaS Transformation and Reducing Operational Overhead with AWS

CleanLink, a UK-based SaaS provider delivering software solutions for facilities and service management operations, partnered with Expert Thinking to accelerate its SaaS transformation.

The organisation aimed to reduce operational overhead and migrate from a VMware-based private cloud to AWS. Facing scalability limitations and increasing management complexity, CleanLink required a clear, low-risk pathway to modernise its platform and support future growth.

Through a structured AWS Migration Acceleration Programme (MAP) engagement, we delivered a secure cloud foundation, automated deployment pipelines, and a pilot migration. This enabled CleanLink to reduce operational overhead, improve resilience, and establish a repeatable blueprint for future migrations, positioning the business for faster innovation and scalable growth.

The Challenge

CleanLink’s existing VMware environment created barriers to scale and efficiency:

High manual effort to deploy and manage customer environments

Increasing operational overhead in the existing hosting model

Limited scalability to support SaaS growth ambitions

The organisation needed to validate AWS as a cost-effective alternative while enabling continued SaaS expansion without increasing operational complexity.

With approximately 50 customer environments to migrate, CleanLink required a clear pathway to migrate from its VMware-based platform to AWS while minimising disruption to existing customers and proving both technical and commercial viability.

The Approach

We worked collaboratively with CleanLink to deliver a structured AWS MAP Mobilise engagement, focused on validating the migration approach and establishing a production-ready foundation.

Discovery & Migration Planning

We conducted in-depth discovery sessions to assess the existing environment, define governance, and build a clear migration roadmap. This included developing a business case aligned to cost, performance, and long-term scalability.

AWS Landing Zone Deployment

We reviewed and enhanced CleanLink’s existing AWS environment, extending their AWS Landing Zone and applying the principles of the AWS Well-Architected Framework to support secure, production-ready workloads. This provided a strong foundation for all future migrations.

Automation & Deployment Optimisation

To reduce manual effort, Expert Thinking designed and built automated deployment pipelines for CleanLink’s Site Manager platform. Terraform was used to ensure consistent, repeatable deployments and accelerated environment provisioning, whilst SSM Automations allowed for configurable and parameterised server setup.

Pilot Migration

We migrated initial workloads from the VMware-based environment into AWS, validating performance, resilience, and operational efficiency. This pilot established a repeatable migration pattern for scaling future workloads.

The Solution

The solution combined cloud best practices with practical, outcome-driven engineering:

Automated and configurable infrastructure deployment achieved using Terraform infrastructure as code and GitHub Actions

Parameterised server setup via SSM Automations, reducing customer onboarding time from days to minutes

Configurable patch management using AWS Systems Manager (SSM)

Resilient infrastructure design, including backup, recovery, and failure scenarios using AWS Backup

Monitoring and observability, achieved using AWS CloudWatch Metrics, Alarms and Dashboards, enabling proactive system management

UK-based data residency, aligning with customer and regulatory requirements

By integrating automation and governance into the core platform, CleanLink gained a scalable and repeatable approach to managing customer environments.

The Outcomes

Immediate impact:

Reduced manual deployment effort through automation

Improved deployment speed and consistency

Enhanced system resilience and availability

Greater visibility of infrastructure performance and operations

Strategic Outcomes

Supported the growth of CleanLink’s SaaS operating model by reducing operational overhead and management complexity

Established a repeatable migration framework for scaling future workloads

Accelerated the ability to deliver feature-rich products and services to customers

Positioned the organisation for ongoing cost optimisation and innovation

Crucially, the pilot confirmed that AWS could provide both technical and commercial advantages over the existing private cloud model, supporting CleanLink’s long-term strategic goals.

Expert Thinking combined deep AWS expertise with a practical and efficient delivery approach. Their team has helped us improve our service offering for our hosted platform by developing an automated, scalable deployment solution. The result is a far more efficient and resilient environment that supports our long-term strategy.

James Stringer, Managing Director,
CleanLink Software Ltd

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Case Study:CleanLink