Digital Transformation with Serverless Solutions
"Fluxus supported the VERSO Gateway Project from designing, building, and implementing an integration platform which allows systems to seamlessly work together. We thank them for their support from day one until now and it has been a pleasure to work with the team.”
VERSO is an innovative international school that opened in Bangkok in August 2020. Offering a cutting-edge approach to education that inspires creativity and passion in their students, they needed a digital framework to integrate and combine all of their third-party online systems that they use on a day-to-day basis. For this project, they approached Fluxus, and we immediately got to work designing a versatile platform to fit their requirements.
A Complex Assignment
This project needed multi-layered capability, that is, every system needed to work together, and be accessible by students, parents, teachers, and VERSO administrators. These systems were integrated into a hub called VERSO Gateway.
One of the most important needs for this integration system was cyber safety and security, with data protection as a high priority. This was addressed by introducing digital key cards, using Bangkok’s Rabbit Card framework, used for transit. These cards’ purpose was to log students’ arrivals and departures from school, clock their class attendance, and be a payment method on campus.
All of these events created digital logs for students’ activity. In addition to this, the system would send automated emails to parents, allowing them to see when their children safely arrived and left school each day.
Getting to Faster, Better, and Cheaper with AWS
Fluxus adopted a serverless, cloud-based approach using Amazon Web Services to create a platform that was high-quality, low-maintenance, and low-code. This allowed our development to take both less time and less budget than doing it at the server level would. With AWS, we could focus completely on development. Services like API Gateway and Cogito eliminated the need to develop infrastructure, servers, networks, or operating systems ourselves.
The quality ensured by AWS managed services allowed us to create the platform with as little code as possible, and the built-in security features provided a premium level of data protection.
Building the Framework
VERSO Gateway’s design uses microservices, combining DynamoDB, Lambda, and API Gateway. AWS’ Serverless Application Model allowed any code change to be implemented immediately. This proved helpful for managing deadlines through multi-vendor coordination and COVID-19 safety concerns. We were also able to quickly deliver high-quality work through an “infrastructure as code” approach.
Through development, Fluxus applied a Continuous Integration and Continuous Development (CICD) model, while also using well-known frameworks like JEST and Cyprus for testing. We also implemented AWS integration pipelines such as CodeCommit and CodePipeline.
Expertise and Competence
With AWS’ technical maturity, the project advanced rapidly. VERSO recognized our team’s skill with the platform, and allowed us to proceed almost autonomously, coordinating and organizing the project throughout its development, and leading integration, testing, and decision-making.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s safety concerns proved not to be a hindrance, as the team was able to accomplish the project’s complex goals while working completely remotely. Automated testing (including BDD) was applied to continuously improve the project and present significant incremental value.
Results and the Future
After starting work in January 2020, our team presented an initial build after only three months. The final build was tested, completed, and fully integrated with plenty of time before the August 2020 school year. We continue to stay in contact with VERSO for any additional support needed.
For any of your cloud-based digital transformation needs, don’t hesitate to contact us today!
