Eliminating risk & reducing cost: Database migration from Sybase to PostgreSQL
Kickdrum designed and executed a large-scale database modernization and cloud migration initiative for Intelerad.
THE PROBLEM
Intelerad has grown to become a global leader in medical imaging solutions. The company’s rapid growth presented a unique set of challenges however, and its years of expansion had left little time to retire legacy systems or modernize the underlying architecture. At the heart of this challenge were proprietary Sybase databases, some of which had not been supported for more than 20 years.
This dependence on outdated infrastructure introduced growing risk. Without vendor support, even a routine operating system patch could cause a system-wide outage. Security vulnerabilities were difficult to mitigate, maintenance required obsolete tools, and engineering teams were spending disproportionate time keeping aging systems operational. This reliance on an unsupported database platform exposed the company to security vulnerabilities, outage risks, significant engineering and operational burden, and climbing maintenance costs.
THE SOLUTION
To address these challenges, Intelerad partnered with Kickdrum to design and execute a large-scale database modernization and cloud migration initiative. The engagement focused on replacing Sybase with PostgreSQL (“Postgres”), a modern open-source database hosted on AWS, to deliver scalability, security, and cost efficiency. Key efforts included:
Database migration: Successfully moved 20 proprietary Sybase databases to modern, open-source Postgres
Cloud enablement: Unlocked AWS-hosted databases to ensure scalability, resilience, and lower management overhead
Security and maintainability: Eliminated reliance on obsolete tooling and embedded modern database management practices
Future-proofing: Provided Intelerad’s engineering teams with access to a modern, cloud-friendly ecosystem to accelerate development
This successful migration not only removed a major operational and security risk, but it also created a foundation for ongoing cost savings and faster innovation across the organization.
THE OUTCOMES
The migration to Postgres fundamentally reshaped Intelerad’s infrastructure, transforming it from a liability into a strategic asset. What had once been a high-risk, high-cost legacy system became a secure, scalable platform aligned with the company’s growth ambitions.
By retiring Sybase, Intelerad eliminated the potential threat of a system-wide outage and improved the security of its systems. In migrating to Postgres, Intelerad’s engineering teams gained access to modern tooling and automation, reducing time spent maintaining legacy databases and freeing up bandwidth for product development.
KEY RESULTS
Through Kickdrum’s expertise, Intelerad achieved:
Migration of 20 legacy Sybase databases to PostgreSQL, unlocking access to modern, cloud-native capabilities
$600,000 cost savings in the first year by pausing redundant REST API work
Elimination of outage risk tied to an unsupported, 30-year-old database
Cost reductions through open-source architecture
Improved engineering velocity by reducing maintenance burden and unlocking modern database tools
Renewed customer confidence, removing barriers in renewal and retention conversations
Kickdrum’s database migration work enabled Intelerad to shed decades-old technical debt, protect its customers from risk, and lower operating costs, all while creating a modern foundation for growth.
“I highly recommend Kickdrum to teams who are looking to accelerate while remaining focused on the business priorities.”
Rami Bechara
Sr. Manager R&D, Intelerad
