Eliminated Risk from Legacy Software Through a Fully Managed Application, Data Hosting and Data Migration Services. 

Pyrite Web Application Migration Case Study – The Housing Agency 
Housing-Agency-Logo-1024x383

 Industry: Public Sector Government Agency
Headquarters: Ireland
Services: Support to the Dept of Housing.  Working towards delivering sustainable and affordable housing and leading the way in informing and delivering housing policy.

The Challenge

Faced with a rapidly approaching end of support threat for its Windows & SQL Server 2008 system as well as a new hosting environment requirement - The Housing Agency required a secure data environment and system upgrade.

The Solution

OpenSky developed a dual-interface application, balancing user-friendliness and system security. Collaborating closely, a smooth migration was achieved with minimal downtime.

The Results

Successful transfer of the existing Pyrite Production and UAT Systems from its previous hosting environment to a new hosting environment in OpenSky’s private cloud plus a controlled migration of the entire Pyrite system.

Key Benefits of The Solution

Automatic Updates
100% Data Security
Fully Compliant
Improved System Performance
 

Background

The Housing Agency is focused on supporting Local Authorities, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).  They are a non-commercial state agency under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Housing Agency promote the supply of housing to meet current and future needs.

Human hands holding model of dream house

The Situation

The Pyrite application had been set up by the Housing Agency as part of the Pyrite Remediation Scheme - to provide an online application appeals process for citizens whose dwellings had been significantly damaged as a result of pyritic heave caused by the swelling of hardcore underground floor slabs.

The application had historically been hosted by the LGMA (Local Government Management Agency), however a new hosting environment was required.

Consequently, the Housing Agency needed to consider the migration of system data to SQL Server 2016 since the application had been running on a combination of Microsoft Windows and SQL Server versions 2008, the support of which was ending in January 2020.

This was a crucial factor in the decision to upgrade the system to mitigate the risks associated with hosting a business-critical application on legacy software.

The Solution

data migration image

A Dual Interface Application, balancing user-friendliness and system security.

The application, built with robust features, consisted of two primary components; (i) a user-friendly web application interface designed to ensure ease of use, and (ii) a high-performance SQL backend database that promises efficiency and reliability. To cater to different user groups, it was imperative to set up two separate instances of the web interface. The public website serves general users with essential information, while the administrative site, equipped with advanced security features, is exclusively for system administrators, providing them the necessary oversight tools.

Given the inherent risks in migration projects, especially with numerous integrations to other systems, collaboration between OpenSky and the Housing Agency was crucial to ensure timely and successful project delivery. To minimise disruption to business operations and service delivery, downtime was kept to the bare minimum by strategically scheduling testing outside of regular business hours.

server room

Key Features

  • New Servers with Up to Date MS Windows & SQL Server
  • Fully Managed Hosting Services by OpenSky
  • Data Migrated to a Fully Supported & Compliant Software Configuration

Technologies Used

windows server logo edited
ms-sql-server

The Result

OpenSky provides 24/7 support to address any network-related issues.  With our hosting environment's automatic updates, our cloud computing services have empowered end-users to seamlessly scale up or down, eliminating the need for manual intervention.  Prioritising the protection of data and company systems is pivotal for business continuity. Through our migration services, we ensured that data was not only backed up but was also safeguarded in a secure location. As Microsoft Windows and SQL Server 2016 are regularly patched by Microsoft, potential security vulnerabilities and data breaches can be preempted.

Importantly, migrating to these server software versions enhanced web application performance.. 

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