The aim was to build forward, not simply refresh. The organization refreshed its &infrastructure, upgraded Oracle in validated stages from 11g to 26ai, and built a layered security and audit architecture that meets the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) requirement for eight-year, tamper-proof audit retention, while laying the foundation for AI and advanced analytics.
Business Objective
Refresh the database infrastructure, upgrade the Oracle platform and strengthen security and compliance in one program, with the same investment opening a path to AI and advanced analytics.
Challenges
Four factors shaped the case for change:
- A planned hardware refresh. The infrastructure that had carried the platform was approaching the end of its supported life, and the refresh needed to come first so the database upgrade could proceed on a stable base.
- An MCA audit mandate. MCA rules required full database audit trails, including before-and-after values of every data change, retained for eight years in a separate, tamper-proof repository. Meeting it called for a dedicated audit capability, designed specifically for long-term, tamper-proof retention.
- Demonstrable compliance. Leadership wanted compliance it could evidence clearly to regulators and auditors.
- AI readiness. Leadership wanted the same investment to open a path to AI and advanced analytics.
Alongside these, dependent applications would be brought forward with code updates, testing and validation for the upgraded database.
Why Path Infotech
Upgrading a mission-critical platform while making it audit-ready calls for a partner who can do both while operations continue uninterrupted. Path Infotech brought:
- Oracle depth across the database, Oracle RAC, AVDF, GoldenGate and TDE
- A phased, validated upgrade method, with a stable checkpoint at every stage
- A RAC-first build, so the clustering layer was never a variable during migration
- Close work with application teams to sequence code changes, testing and validation before go-live
Solution Delivered
Path Infotech delivered the program across five workstreams, with every upgrade stage validated before the next began.
- Refresh. A new, vendor-supported hardware foundation in place ahead of the upgrade.
- Cluster. Oracle RAC configured for high availability, with ASM disk groups, cluster networking and node configuration validated before any upgrade.
- Upgrade to 19c. A baseline move from Oracle 11g to a long-term-support release, resolving deprecated features.
- Upgrade to 26ai. The final move to the current AI-ready release.
- Secure and audit. Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall (AVDF), Oracle GoldenGate and Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) layered in, with audit data held in a separate, secured repository.
Audit and Security Architecture
MCA compliance rests on three things: capturing what changed, keeping it out of reach, and retaining it for eight years.
- Centralized, tamper-proof audit. AVDF collects database audit data into one tamper-proof repository, with MCA-aligned policies that capture data changes, privileged access and schema changes by default.
- Before-and-after change capture. GoldenGate preserves the before-and-after values of every financial transactional data change, recording exactly what changed, not only that a change happened.
- An isolated repository. Captured change data is routed to a secured repository separate from production, retained for eight years and open to independent compliance review.
- Encryption at rest. TDE protects sensitive data at the tablespace and column level, with no application changes required.
- Data Redaction, planned. Oracle Data Redaction is planned to mask sensitive column values for users and roles without a business need to see them.
Execution Highlights
The program progressed through validated checkpoints rather than a single cutover.
- Each upgrade stage included compatibility checks, a full backup, the upgrade, and post-upgrade validation and performance baselining
- The RAC configuration was carried through every stage, with node-by-node validation
- The core database migration completed without major issues
- Dependent applications were updated, tested and validated before cutover, in close partnership with the application teams
Outcomes Achieved
The program delivered compliance by design and a platform to build on:
- Eight-year, tamper-proof audit retention. The MCA requirement is met, with audit evidence ready for any review.
- A complete change history. Before-and-after values captured for every financial transactional data change.
- A modern, vendor-supported platform. A refreshed foundation with lower operational effort and support cost over time.
- Defensible governance. Centralized audit visibility gives leadership a clear record of database activity for regulators and auditors.
- A smooth core migration. The database transition completed without major disruption.
- Ready for AI. Architecture headroom for AI and analytics, without a second infrastructure cycle.
Business Impact
What the new foundation makes possible from here:
- Audit evidence ready for independent review, maintained automatically
- Lower audit overhead on production, as AVDF keeps audit data off the source database
- A change history reusable beyond compliance, for reconciliation, analytics or downstream replication
- Layered data protection: encryption at rest, a tamper-proof audit trail, and masking planned for data in use
- A repeatable approach for future upgrades: assess, change, test, validate
Conclusion
By modernizing with Path Infotech, this engineering consultancy turned a planned hardware refresh into a database platform that is resilient, audit-ready for the regulator and prepared for AI. The compliance is visible in the audit repository. The readiness is visible in the platform it now runs on.
Let’s Talk About What’s Next for Your Business
Every organization carries its own processes, compliance obligations and reporting demands. Path Infotech’s experts can show you what a solution built around yours would look like, and what it could deliver.
Write to us at reachus@pathinfotech.com to start the conversation.
