HALO Branded Solutions Accelerating Cloud Transformation with AWS and Lightedge

HALO is a global leader in branded merchandise, uniform programs, and recognition and incentive solutions. With more than 1,800 employees across 42 global offices, HALO partners with clients to forge meaningful connections between brands and the people who matter most: customers, employees, and beyond. HALO clients include over 100 Fortune 500 companies as well as thousands of mid-size and small organizations.

The Challenge

Modernizing an IBM Infrastructure for an All-In AWS Future

HALO’s IBM Power Systems infrastructure had reached its limits. Aging systems struggled to keep pace with the company’s growth ambitions, making it difficult to scale, adapt, or innovate at the speed the business demanded.

Leadership had set a clear strategic direction: all-in on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The primary challenge was bridging the gap by migrating complex, mission-critical IBM workloads without disrupting operations, while simultaneously integrating those workloads with an expanding AWS environment. This IBM migration represented the final and most critical phase of HALO’s broader cloud transformation journey.

Key challenges included:

• Migrating tightly coupled IBM workloads that had strict latency requirements with adjacent systems
• Ensuring seamless connectivity between the IBM environment and AWS
• Managing the transformation without impacting day-to-day business operations
• Leveraging AWS capabilities to unlock long-term scalability, security, and cost efficiency

The Solution

A Purpose-Built AWS Migration Architecture Powered by Lightedge

HALO selected Lightedge as its migration and managed services partner based on a unique capability, being able to rehost IBM workloads while connecting to AWS through AWS Direct Connect and maintaining the low-latency requirements of dependent workloads without compromise.

AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP)

Lightedge, an AWS Premier Tier Partner holding both an AWS Migration Competency and a validated Managed Service Provider, was able to leverage the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP). The MAP Program is AWS’s proven methodology and financial incentive framework designed to accelerate cloud adoption, reduce migration risk, and lower costs. MAP provided HALO with:

• Significant financial benefits that reduced the total cost of the migration
• A vetted, AWS-endorsed migration methodology with built-in best practices
• Access to AWS tools and resources specifically designed to de-risk complex workload migrations

Lightedge maintains close collaboration with AWS, showcased in this engagement with HALO. This partnership gave HALO direct access to AWS expertise alongside Lightedge’s managed services capabilities, ensuring that every decision aligned with AWS best practices and HALO’s long-term cloud strategy.

Phase 1: Establishing the AWS-Connected Hybrid Foundation

Lightedge executed the first migration phase by building a robust hybrid cloud foundation purpose-built for AWS integration:

• Rehosted IBM Power Systems workloads into the Lightedge environment, ensuring low latency
• Migrated all dependent virtual machines directly into AWS, which previously required colocation due to latency constraints
• Established AWS Direct Connect to create a high-speed, private, and reliable connection between the Lightedge IBM environment and HALO’s AWS footprint

Phase 2: AWS Cloud Center of Excellence

The success of the IBM/AWS migration, combined with a strong engagement with AWS, led to Lightedge being appointed as HALO’s Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) for its broader AWS environment.

As HALO’s AWS CCOE, Lightedge provides:

• Operational support: ongoing management and optimization of HALO’s AWS workloads
• Security & Compliance: continuous monitoring and governance aligned to AWS best practices
• FinOps: cloud cost optimization and financial accountability across the AWS environment
• Architect on Demand: access to AWS-certified architects to guide cloud-native transformation initiatives

This expanded engagement is actively moving HALO’s workloads toward more cloud-native AWS services, delivering increased agility, improved scalability, and measurable cost efficiencies, exactly the outcomes HALO’s leadership envisioned when they set an all-in AWS direction.

The Results

A Successful Migration Opens the Door to Full AWS Optimization

Why It Worked

The foundation of this success was Lightedge’s ability to rehost IBM, migrate to AWS services, and provide managed services for both IBM and AWS.  What would have been a complex migration taking years to complete became a one-of-a-kind solution that made the migration not just possible, but seamless. For HALO, it was the key that unlocked its cloud transformation.

Lightedge’s deep commitment to the AWS partnership was critical. Leveraging the AWS Migration Acceleration Program, HALO gained significant advantages, including AWS’s expert knowledge and financial backing for the migration. This comprehensive support mitigated risk and sped up the realization of value.

The result is a modern, cloud-native AWS environment managed by a trusted partner, enabling HALO’s internal teams to focus on high-value business initiatives rather than infrastructure management.

About HALO

HALO is a global leader in branded merchandise, uniform programs, and recognition and incentive solutions. With more than 1,800 employees across 42 global offices, HALO partners with clients to forge meaningful connections between brands and the people who matter most: customers, employees, and beyond. HALO’s clients include over 100 Fortune 500 companies as well as thousands of mid-size and small organizations. Learn more at www.halo.com.