Case study · Education nonprofit · AWS
Open Links Foundation Scales Its Government School Programs on AWS
Open Links Foundation (OLF) is a nonprofit, founded in 2017, that works to improve the quality of education in government schools across India by supporting teachers and strengthening education systems. It uses technology and behavioral science to support teachers, streamline program implementation and improve student learning outcomes.
As OLF's programs expanded across multiple districts and states, it needed a scalable, secure and highly available platform for its flagship programs and applications.
- Thousands of schools and teachers
- Millions of students reached
- Multi-AZ, auto-scaling platform
The Challenge
As OLF expanded its programs across government schools, it faced these challenges.
01
Scaling Education Programs Across Districts
OLF initiatives such as teacher engagement platforms and education programs were expanding rapidly across multiple states and needed infrastructure that could support thousands of educators and administrators.
02
Managing Large Volumes of Education Data
The platform had to capture and analyze large amounts of program data from teachers, administrators and schools to monitor performance and improve outcomes.
03
Ensuring High Availability for Field Teams
Teachers and education officers needed reliable access to applications from remote and rural areas.
04
Improving Operational Efficiency
Administrative tasks in government education systems take significant time. OLF wanted to simplify workflows and improve collaboration between teachers and education officials.
The Solution
Cloud-Native Digital Platform
Designed and deployed a cloud-native application environment on AWS for OLF's digital education programs. Amazon EC2 provides compute, Amazon RDS managed databases and Amazon S3 secure storage, reliably hosting teacher engagement tools and program management applications.
Scalable, Highly Available Architecture
Implemented a secure VPC architecture with multi-AZ deployments, auto scaling and Application Load Balancers to keep the platform available and responsive for educators, administrators and program teams across multiple regions.
Data-Driven Program Insights
Enabled centralized data collection and reporting, giving program teams insight into teacher engagement, school participation and program effectiveness so OLF can make informed decisions and keep improving its education initiatives.
Secure, Compliant Cloud Environment
Applied AWS security best practices: IAM roles, VPC security groups, encryption of data at rest and in transit, and monitoring through Amazon CloudWatch. Teachers, administrators and internal teams get secure access, and data integrity and compliance are maintained.
Reliable Storage and Backup
Configured automated backups and secure data storage with Amazon S3 and AWS backup capabilities to protect critical program data, with high durability and rapid recovery after a system failure.
Implementation Approach
HabileLabs followed an approach aligned with the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework.
01
Assessment
Evaluated existing infrastructure and application requirements
Identified scalability and performance gaps
02
Architecture Design
Designed a secure, scalable cloud architecture aligned with AWS best practices
Implemented automated deployment and monitoring
03
Migration and Deployment
Migrated workloads and data to AWS
Implemented CI/CD pipelines for faster updates
04
Optimization
Implemented monitoring and cost optimization
Enabled auto scaling for varying workloads
Business Impact
The platform improved Open Links Foundation's operational efficiency and program impact.
Improved Education Outcomes
OLF's digital platform supports programs that help improve teaching quality and learning outcomes across government schools.
Large-Scale Reach
The platform supports educational initiatives across thousands of schools and teachers, reaching millions of students.
Faster Program Implementation
Automated systems speed up communication and coordination between teachers, administrators and district authorities.
Ready for Nationwide Expansion
The cloud platform positions OLF to scale its programs to all districts across India.
Why Open Links Foundation Chose HabileLabs
Open Links Foundation chose HabileLabs, an AWS Partner, for its cloud consulting and architecture experience and its record of delivering technology for mission-driven organizations.
AWS Cloud Expertise
Experience designing and deploying cloud-native AWS architectures that keep growing digital platforms scalable, secure and reliable.
Digital Transformation Experience
A record of modernizing applications and building data-driven platforms, which suited OLF's plan to run its education programs on technology.
Cost-Optimized Architecture
A cloud architecture that supports large-scale usage while keeping infrastructure costs down, an important factor for a nonprofit operating at scale.
End-to-End Implementation Support
Support from architecture design and deployment through monitoring and optimization.
Alignment with OLF's Mission
HabileLabs worked closely with the OLF team to build a platform aligned with its goal of improving education outcomes in government schools.
Conclusion
Planning something similar?
HabileLabs took Open Links Foundation from its initial cloud adoption to a secure, highly available and scalable AWS platform built for large-scale education programs. OLF has streamlined program management, improved collaboration between educators and administrators, and can base decisions on program data. With this foundation in place, it is positioned to extend its programs to more teachers and improve learning outcomes for students across government schools.