The challenge
Decouple the applications from the infrastructure beneath them
Ascensus regularly evaluates how its applications operate within its infrastructure, and how those environments evolve over time. As the company modernises its IT landscape, it has to ensure that critical applications keep running reliably across different platforms and operating environments.
Without the right technology in place, adapting applications to new environments can demand extensive redevelopment or reconfiguration. That approach consumes significant engineering time and introduces unnecessary complexity.
Ascensus needed a solution that would keep its applications portable and adaptable, so the business could make infrastructure decisions independently of the applications themselves.
The goal: decouple critical applications from the infrastructure beneath them, so that platform decisions never compromise the services Ascensus delivers to millions of savers and financial institutions.
Alchemy by Cloudhouse
Unlocking application flexibility
After a successful proof of concept, Ascensus implemented Alchemy by Cloudhouse to package and run applications independently of the underlying operating system. Applications could now move across environments with minimal modification, giving the team the flexibility to adapt its infrastructure strategy over time.
With Alchemy, Ascensus can run applications on modern operating systems, deploy them within containers, or consolidate them onto shared infrastructure where it makes sense. Decoupling applications from their environments gives the IT team far greater control over how systems are managed and optimised.
The most valuable benefit Alchemy delivers is flexibility. It gives us the ability to decide where we want to run our applications, whether that's on a different operating system, in containers, or within a consolidated infrastructure.
Jeremy KlompPrincipal Architect, Ascensus
Proven stability in production
The solution has proven highly stable within Ascensus' environment. Packaged applications keep running reliably as infrastructure changes around them, giving the team confidence that operational decisions can be made without disrupting critical systems or the services Ascensus provides.
Strengthening the acquisition strategy
Alchemy has also strengthened Ascensus' acquisition strategy. The team uses it to bring newly acquired applications into its secure environment quickly and consistently, reducing integration friction and accelerating the value realised from each acquisition.
Alchemy lets Ascensus separate two decisions that used to be tied together: where an application runs, and what the application does. That separation is what makes modernisation and acquisitions both cheaper and safer.
Guardian by Cloudhouse
Strengthening security with Guardian
Building on the success of Alchemy, Ascensus later implemented Guardian to enhance its file integrity monitoring and compliance capabilities.
Before Guardian, Ascensus relied on an alternative enterprise solution that met basic requirements but lacked the flexibility and customisation needed to support the organisation's broader security architecture.
Working closely with the Cloudhouse team, Ascensus tailored Guardian to its specific needs. The solution now integrates across a wide range of infrastructure components, giving greater visibility across the environment and strengthening the company's overall security posture.
+ Servers
+ Networking devices
+ Load balancers
+ Firewalls
A collaborative product partnership
A key factor in the success of the Guardian deployment was the close collaboration between Ascensus and the Cloudhouse engineering and product teams. That collaboration enriched existing functionality, benefitting both Ascensus and Guardian as a product for wider customer adoption.
One of the biggest differentiators with Cloudhouse is the team behind the product. They listen to customer feedback and turn it into real improvements. That level of collaboration is something you rarely see with larger vendors.
Jeremy KlompPrincipal Architect, Ascensus
A trusted partnership
More than technology, a working relationship
Beyond the technology itself, the relationship between Ascensus and Cloudhouse has become an important part of the partnership's success. The responsiveness and expertise of the Cloudhouse engineering and product teams have enabled Ascensus to integrate new capabilities quickly and confidently.
By working directly with Cloudhouse specialists, the Ascensus team has been able to refine how the solutions operate within its environment and ensure they continue to meet evolving requirements. That collaborative approach has built a strong foundation of trust between the two organisations, and keeps Cloudhouse's solutions aligned with Ascensus' long-term IT strategy.
Looking ahead
The next step: Foundry
Following the success of Alchemy and Guardian, Ascensus is now exploring additional Cloudhouse innovations, including Foundry by Cloudhouse. Foundry builds on the capabilities of Alchemy by introducing greater self-service functionality, letting organisations package and manage applications more efficiently.
For Ascensus, this is the next step in improving operational efficiency while keeping the flexibility it has already achieved. As the partnership continues to evolve, Cloudhouse remains a key technology partner supporting Ascensus in adapting its infrastructure, strengthening security, and keeping critical applications resilient for the future.
From application portability with Alchemy, to file integrity and compliance with Guardian, to self-service packaging with Foundry, the partnership is built around one consistent principle: keep critical applications resilient as everything around them changes.
