AWS SaaS for Banking application

8th December 2023

Below is a common high-level architecture for a SaaS retail banking application on AWS (Amazon Web Services):

  1. User Interface Layer:
  • Components:
  • Amazon S3 for Static Content: Host static web assets.
  • Amazon CloudFront: Content delivery network for low-latency content distribution.
  • AWS Amplify or AWS App Runner: Simplify frontend deployment.
  1. Application Layer:
  • Components:
  • AWS Elastic Beanstalk or AWS Fargate: For hosting web application servers.
  • Amazon API Gateway: Facilitates API management and creation.
  • AWS Lambda: For serverless functions, if applicable.
  • Amazon Cognito: For user identity and access management.
  1. Database Layer:
  • Components:
  • Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service): For transactional data storage.
  • Amazon DynamoDB: For NoSQL database requirements.
  • Amazon ElastiCache: For caching to enhance performance.
  • Amazon Redshift: For analytical and reporting data storage.
  1. Authentication and Authorization Layer:
  • Components:
  • Amazon Cognito: For user authentication and identity management.
  • AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM): For fine-grained access control.
  • Amazon Cognito User Pools: Manage user directories.
  1. Microservices Layer:
  • Components:
  • Amazon ECS (Elastic Container Service) or AWS EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service): For containerized microservices.
  • AWS Lambda: For serverless microservices.
  • Amazon MQ or Amazon SNS/SQS: For event-driven communication between microservices.
  • AWS Step Functions: For orchestrating serverless workflows.
  1. Event Processing Layer:
  • Components:
  • Amazon Kinesis: For real-time data streaming and analytics.
  • AWS Lambda: For processing events.
  • Amazon EventBridge: For event-driven architectures.
  1. Analytics and Reporting Layer:
  • Components:
  • Amazon Redshift: For data warehousing and analytical processing.
  • Amazon QuickSight: For business intelligence and visualization.
  • AWS Glue: For ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes.
  1. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and CI/CD Layer:
  • Components:
  • AWS CloudFormation or Terraform: For infrastructure provisioning and management.
  • AWS CodePipeline: For continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD).
  • AWS CodeBuild: For building and testing application code.
  1. Monitoring and Logging Layer:
  • Components:
  • Amazon CloudWatch: For monitoring and logging.
  • AWS X-Ray: For tracing and monitoring distributed applications.
  • AWS CloudTrail: For audit trail and compliance monitoring.
  1. Security and Compliance Layer:
  • Components:
  • AWS Key Management Service (KMS): For encryption of sensitive data.
  • AWS Secrets manager: To store keys and secrets
  • AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall): For protecting web applications.
  • AWS Shield: For DDoS protection.
  • Amazon Inspector: For security assessments.
  1. Global Edge Locations and CDN:
  • Components:
  • Amazon CloudFront: For edge locations to deliver content globally.
  • AWS Global Accelerator: For enhanced availability and reliability.

Considerations:

  • High Availability and Fault Tolerance:
  • Distribute components across multiple Availability Zones for high availability.
  • Compliance and Data Residency:
  • Consider compliance requirements and data residency regulations.
  • Cost Optimization:
  • Leverage AWS cost management tools and best practices.
  • Scaling Strategies:
  • Implement auto-scaling for various components to handle varying workloads.
  • Data Security:
  • Encrypt data in transit and at rest, and ensure compliance with banking regulations.
  • Backup and Disaster Recovery:
  • Implement robust backup and disaster recovery strategies.