Enhancing Scalability and Expanding Sales Opportunities for a Comprehensive Reporting System

The Client

Our client is the provider of a software system used for the collection and preparation of legal financial audit reports. The system is used by large enterprises to prepare documentation that includes confidential data and requires the highest accuracy of calculations.

The Challenge

The software was initially developed with the Microsoft Access technology which is limited in terms of scalability. When the system was used by large corporations and holding companies,  the program either required an unacceptably large amount of time to complete the task or ultimately failed. With the goal of improving speed and process enhancement, the client reached out to request to tune the process and make it faster the client reached First Line Software for help.

Our team thoroughly examined the system code and proposed executing multiple computations simultaneously to analyze relationships, shares, taxes, and other essential elements needed for generating comprehensive reports. 

At the same time, the client was looking to develop an additional module that would offer reporting, and would also require a more complex data collection process.

Having gotten acquainted with the client’s business, the First Line Software team recommended that the client transfers their system from Microsoft Access to a more modern solution—an ASP.NET web application. 

The transition opened up new opportunities for the client, not only in terms of functionality and performance but also in a completely new sales model. If the earlier system was sold to customers for in-house use, the client can now sell the reports formation as a service while continuing access to the legacy application.

The Solution

The client agreed to move the system to the ASP.NET web application, and our team began to shape our approach. We decided to pursue the development of the new Reporting module at the same time as migrating the system away from Microsoft Access to reduce time to market.

For the new Reporting Module, our team conducted a thorough audit that served as the basis of our recommendations for the refactoring. Knowing that this module would eventually migrate to the future web application, we were able to ensure its compatibility during the development process

For the ASP.NET application, our team developed a brand book to visualize what the interface of the web application would look like. Migrating to a web application would significantly expand the functionality of the system, such as adding task management functionality with email and SMS notifications. We utilized plug-ins for customizable reports supporting both MS SQL features (SQL statements, stored procedures, and functions), and .NET data sources along with a module to control different types of users and access. This, along with a detailed audit subsystem, is essential for preventing private and business-critical data from being exposed. 

Together with the development of the web application, our team was able to consider in more detail the calculation algorithms and offer new implementations based on graph theory. For several iterations, the speed of the final algorithm was increased from 1.5 hours at the start to 30 seconds for the same task at the end.

The price of a mistake in the client’s business is extremely high and critical. Therefore, the entire implementation was covered by unit tests and integration tests. The reports were verified so that the final documents matched the reference ones.

Result

The work on the project took a total of 2 years, but the production stage was completed in 6-7 months. This allowed our client to significantly expand its customers base in a short time and receive funding to keep the system development. 

With a thoughtful and attentive approach to the details, we were able to: 

• Maintain the MS Access version up to date with the required functionality

• Develop the new .NET application and fill it with additional features 
• Open a whole new market segment for our client
• Create seamless compatibility between both systems to make the transition smooth and simple.

Our team’s dedication and expertise have yielded exceptional results for our client. As we wrap up this successful project, we invite you to join us in achieving remarkable outcomes for your own business. Contact us today to discuss how our meticulous approach and attention to detail can help you expand your customer base, streamline your processes, and unlock new market segments!