JLA | Complex Integration with a Hybrid Azure Cloud Platform

JLA is an 'investor venture-backed' business and like many, it has stretching growth and operational profitability targets to meet.

They’ve grown exponentially, both organically and via acquisitions and it was identified that there needed to be significant investment in technology, systems and automation. (This is where we come to the party!)

The team at Razor were challenged to integrate their three major and complex systems. The project critically needed to encompass the anticipated transition to Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform and also be completed and running within tight deadlines.

We started with discovery. Technical spikes were created to provide clarity on the initial discussions, proposed technical designs and approach. A deeper understanding was formed of the systems to be integrated - assumptions were challenged and problems overcome.

IFS, the primary financial system to be integrated came with its own bespoke set of challenges for integration. The challenge was that there were a number of complex customisations made by JLA for their specific business, it was completely unique to the company! This coupled with a dated integration mechanism, drove the need for a lightweight modern wrapper that then formed an internal JLA specific API and the bases for future custom functionality and extensions.

The API wrapper around IFS also acts as a proxy and shield. If IFS needs to be upgraded, changed or moved, all of the systems dependent on it don’t have to change, they stay as there are and only integrate with the modern API. It’s a really beautiful use of tech, protecting previous IP while enabling synchronicity with the new stuff.

The juicy bit in all this is that the API was hosted in Azure rather than on-premise to reduce the overhead of moving to Azure. This removes the need to manage the API using Azure as a platform and taking advantage of everything else that comes with, including scalability and security.

To top it all off, enabling easy transition of the on-premise systems to Azure without any interruption and with minimal changes - the systems hosted on-premise were accessed securely using an Azure VPN Gateway to ensure high levels of connectivity

We successfully created a modern integration layer with the durability and resilience of a traditional ESB style approach - but without the cost, licencing, bloat and maintenance overhead - boom.

The initial release of the integration layer has formed the basis of a network to enable wider integrations as the company grows and the JLA API has formed the platform of the future.

Being one of the first projects that JLA have deployed in production to Azure, it paves a solid foundation and trust that moving from on-premise to a cloud environment is the right decision for JLA - and the results will continue to provide not only a trusted platform for their systems for the future - but also, one that can adapt seamlessly with JLA and their team requirements.

• 1st Production systems in Azure for JLA

• 3 systems integrated

• Over 1.5 million and counting assets transferred

• 100% known entities transferred

• Over 40 endpoints mapped