SaaS platform development, Oct. 2020 – Oct. 2023

This project, which began in the fall of 2020, was focused on migrating a legacy cloud-based core system to a modern SaaS architecture. After working on the legacy system for nearly a year, I was tasked with leading the comprehensive design of the new platform. This included creating a SaaS-specific operational design tailored to the client’s requirements, a key component of which was the “semi-automation of delivery.”

The project’s slogan, “On-premise to SaaS,” was an oversimplification that didn’t capture the initial complexities we faced. A significant early challenge was to fully understand and implement the required level of “configurability” needed to support various operational scenarios.

To address this, we conducted thorough research and case studies, which allowed us to develop a high-level architectural model that defined what SaaS meant for our overall design. A literature review, including key papers like S. Banerjee’s “A survey on Software as a service (SaaS),” was instrumental in analyzing the complex deployment architecture and creating a framework to express the system requirements.

These requirements were then consolidated into a Proof of Concept (PoC), which was developed over a long period of investigation involving both interactive workshops and document-based communication with the client.