Kurrent Logic

Case 01

Moving DHS into the Cloud

To support the mission of countering border-related threats, the Department of Homeland Security needs to adopt more advanced and modern technologies. Partnering with Kurrent Logic, DHS requested migrating multiple applications to the cloud — for the security, data analytics, AI data models, and abstraction of environments it brings.

Client
Department of Homeland Security
Platform
Microsoft Azure Government Cloud

The obstacle

Moving on-premises applications to the cloud.

The Kurrent Logic team works with DHS to address the challenges of moving current DHS applications into the modern age of the cloud. Four of them shaped the whole engagement.

01

Educating product owners about the advantages of migrating applications to the cloud.

02

Choosing the correct cloud platform between Amazon's AWS, Microsoft's Azure, and Google's Google Cloud.

03

Balancing development work with the customers of each application, while determining the best timeframe to migrate.

04

Determining which teams at DHS were available to support the Kurrent Logic team during the migration process.

Our path

Get the right team in place first.

Knowing DHS would soon expect their applications in the cloud, Kurrent Logic management anticipated it and made sure the people were ready for a smooth transition from on-prem.

  1. Hiring and training the Kurrent Logic team to make sure they have experience with cloud technologies.

  2. Working with DHS leadership to determine which teams outside our own needed to be contracted, and to understand the resources the DHS Cloud team provides.

  3. Working with Kurrent Logic developers to determine what changes each on-prem application needed before it could move.

  4. Giving customers the knowledge and the case for migrating — informational meetings, plus links to content on the advantages of cloud versus on-prem.

  5. Finally, Kurrent Logic and DHS make the decision on the best cloud technology together. The team is trained on the multiple platforms DHS provides.

The result

Migrating the applications to the Azure Government Cloud.

Three platforms were on the table. After reviewing what the DHS Government Cloud team offered, here is where it landed.

  • Considered

    Amazon AWS

    Reviewed among the platforms available through the DHS Government Cloud team.

  • Selected

    Microsoft Azure Government Cloud

    Judged the best platform for these applications, by Kurrent Logic in agreement with DHS. Our team specializes in Microsoft technologies.

  • Considered

    Google Cloud

    Reviewed among the platforms available through the DHS Government Cloud team.

The choice was not made for us. Kurrent Logic reviewed the platforms the DHS Government Cloud team provided and, in agreement with DHS, determined that Microsoft's Azure Government Cloud was the best fit for the applications in scope.

Four moves that made the migration work.

Each one answered a specific challenge from the top of this page.

What we did

Used the Agile process to balance the development work, adding stories to the backlog for developers to pick up.

So that

The work could be prioritized against live development, and migration could actually begin.

What we did

Worked closely with the DHS Azure Government team to get migration developers proper access to the Azure Government Cloud.

So that

The team could migrate the applications — and keep maintaining them afterward.

What we did

Trained every Kurrent Logic team member in DHS policies and procedures.

So that

Applications could be deployed to the Azure Cloud properly, by the agency's own rules.

What we did

Worked with the customer to plan, test, and deploy the applications to the Azure Cloud.

So that

The migration finished with the customer in the room — the last piece of the project.

Examples

Two of the systems behind this work.

HR System

Documents staffing information: office surpluses and shortfalls, current and past personnel locations (which prevents incorrect reassignments), language training statuses, foreign area rotation eligibility, travel funding, family transport, and other critical staffing needs.

We developed, upgraded, and migrated multiple solutions for a human resources group at a government agency, including a position tracking and HR management information system. Its reporting carries filters and drill-down options, so users build and consume their own reports rather than requesting them. Microsoft Azure Blob Storage captures and delivers the automated reports, needed mostly by field personnel outside headquarters.

  • Position tracking
  • Self-service reporting
  • Azure Blob Storage

Reporting System

Our application development work includes development, operations, and maintenance for multiple reporting system applications. In 2006, Kurrent Logic team members played a key role in creating one of them, and supported that application and its ongoing security and functional enhancements through May 2025.

Before our involvement, maintaining it required multiple engineers in an operations and maintenance state. Since 2009 our team has saved the government hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by significantly reducing the number of engineers needed to support it.

2006Kurrent Logic team members help create the application
2009Start of sustained annual savings for the government
  • Development
  • Operations & maintenance
  • Security enhancements

Keep reading

The other two cases.

Case 03Upgrading Legacy Applications Case 02Migrating SharePoint