How GPA stopped a targeted attack, migrated applications in record time and reduced costs
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"Migrating to the Azion Platform was a pivotal decision for GPA. Leaving behind the constraints of a legacy provider, we achieved greater agility and resilience. Azion shielded us from sophisticated cyberattacks and empowered us to modernize our infrastructure, reduce costs, and deliver the best shopping experiences to millions of customers across Latin America." Allan Monteiro, CISO & Head of Technology at Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) |
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Impact at Scale
- 3-day migration under attack plus 10 days to secure 100+ mission-critical applications, ensuring uninterrupted operations.
- 92% of transactions are optimized for low latency with zero cloud costs, enhancing performance and customer experience.
- 30% reduction in cloud costs, creating opportunities for reinvestment in innovation and customer satisfaction.
Challenges
Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA), a leading retail group in LATAM, faced critical challenges:
- Managing and securing mission-critical applications.
- Breaking free from a restrictive legacy provider to adopt an agile and scalable infrastructure.
- Defending against sophisticated cyberattacks threatening service continuity.
- Transitioning to a modern web platform capable of handling peak demand with low latency.
- Achieving these goals within an aggressive 15-day timeline while ensuring service continuity.
Solution
GPA partnered with Azion to leverage its Web Platform, which provided:
- DDoS Protection: Mitigating large-scale attacks targeting DNS services and application layers with real-time detection and blocking.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF): Safeguarding applications from sophisticated attacks like SQL Injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).
- Bot Manager: Mitigating AI automated threats and preventing fraud using tailored responses.
- SIEM Integration: Enhancing threat detection and response capabilities.
- Dynamic Scaling: Supporting demand fluctuations, including record-breaking Black Friday sales growth in 2024.
- Fast Migration: Migrating 100+ mission-critical applications in 15 days with zero downtime.
Results
- 92% of requests were delivered through the Azion Web Platform, resulting in significantly faster load times.
- 30% reduction in cloud costs, enabling reinvestment in innovation and customer experience.
- 100% successful migration of 100+ mission-critical applications in 15 days without disruptions.
- R$2 billion operation achieving sustained double-digit YoY e-commerce growth for the last eight consecutive quarters.
Why Azion
The Azion Web Platform enabled GPA to break free from the limitations of its legacy provider, achieving scalability, security, and performance that were previously unattainable. With localized support in Portuguese and a dedicated team, Azion ensured a smooth partnership that empowered GPA to focus on innovation while delivering outstanding customer experiences.
About GPA
Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) is a leading food retail company in Brazil, renowned for its iconic brands such as Pão de Açúcar, Mercado Extra, and Compre Bem. With over 800 physical stores and a solid digital presence, GPA combines innovation and tradition to deliver the best shopping experiences across multiformat and multichannel operations.
As the pioneer in Brazil’s food e-commerce sector, GPA achieved R$2.2 billion in online sales in 2024, driven by initiatives like “ship-from-store” logistics and partnerships with major platforms such as iFood, Rappi, and Mercado Livre. The company’s focus on premium products and fresh goods has positioned it as a trusted name among Brazilian consumers.
GPA’s mission is to ensure the best shopping experience for its customers every day, in-store or online, while continuously investing in technology and operational efficiency to meet evolving market demands.
