How Grab YANKED 200 Macs Back On-Prem and Crushed Costs!

March 30
12 mins

Episode Description

Grab, Southeast Asia's leading super-app for ridesharing and food delivery, recently completed a transformative overhaul of its app-building infrastructure by moving more than 200 Mac Minis from the cloud into a self-managed datacenter. Previously relying on a US cloud provider for its macOS Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) needs, Grab faced major cost pressures—macOS build minutes on cloud platforms were ten times pricier than Linux, and Apple's requirements meant paying for 24-hour blocks even during off-peak periods. Attempts to boost efficiency with macOS virtualization were hampered by performance and stability trade-offs. By shifting to on-premises infrastructure, with four racks housing over 200 Mac Minis in Malaysia, Grab gained 20-40% faster CI/CD performance and slashed costs by an estimated $2.4 million over three years. Automated provisioning with Jamf management tools minimizes maintenance overhead, giving Grab tighter control and a competitive edge in mobile app development. This bold move aligns with a broader trend in tech—cloud repatriation—where companies reclaim cost and performance benefits for critical workloads by moving off public cloud platforms. Grab's experience is a key case study for businesses wrestling with cloud expenses versus operational agility.

 

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