Managing Critical Global Infrastructure
IFS provides decision analytics software for the world’s largest utility, energy, and transport companies. These organizations rely on the platform to manage trillions of dollars in critical infrastructure assets.
While the platform’s logic was industry-leading, the underlying technology stack, built on legacy ASPX (.NET Web Forms) was becoming a bottleneck. The monolithic, server-side architecture made it difficult to scale, slowed down feature velocity, and tethered the software to on-premise installations. To remain competitive and capture new market share, IFS needed to pivot to a cloud-native SaaS model.
When Architecture Stifles Growth
The primary objective was to decouple the frontend from the legacy backend and rebuild it using a modern, component-based framework without disrupting the complex workflows used by enterprise clients.
Legacy Constraints: The existing application relied heavily on server-side rendering, resulting in slow page loads and a clunky user experience, particularly when visualizing massive datasets.
Feature Parity: The platform contains complex grids, data visualization tools, and planning modules. Recreating this functionality in a modern framework required meticulous attention to detail to ensure zero loss of capability for end-users.
Security Requirements: Dealing with critical infrastructure data meant that the new architecture had to meet rigorous enterprise security standards that the old stack struggled to support.
How can we port critical features as quickly, and as seamless as possible?
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SOLUTIONS
A Frontend-First Transformation
We adopted a strategic "strangler fig" or hybrid modernization approach. Rather than risking a total rewrite of the complex backend logic, we focused on replacing the aging ASP.NET Web Forms presentation layer with a high-performance Angular frontend.
Frontend-First Modernization: We transitioned the application from Server-Side Rendering (SSR) to Client-Side Rendering (CSR). This removed the reliance on heavy "Postbacks" and "ViewState"—the primary bottlenecks of the legacy ASPX framework—while keeping the trusted backend business logic intact.
API Adaptation: We refactored the existing backend endpoints to serve JSON data instead of HTML, allowing the new Angular application to communicate efficiently with the existing monolith.
Modern UI/UX Implementation: The new Angular architecture allowed for a responsive, component-based design. We implemented a modern design system that unified the user experience across the suite, making the complex data look and feel like a modern SaaS product.
Cloud Enablement: By modernizing the frontend and optimizing the application payload, we made the monolith portable enough to be lifted and shifted to the cloud. This bridged the gap to a SaaS delivery model without requiring a ground-up backend re-architecture.
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RESULTS
Future-Proofing for the Cloud
The modernization initiative was a turning point for the product, effectively future-proofing the platform and unlocking a new business model.
SaaS Transformation: The frontend modernization was the catalyst for cloud adoption. It allowed IFS to move the existing platform to the cloud, enabling a SaaS subscription model and extending the lifecycle of their core intellectual property.
200% Performance Increase: Application speed and responsiveness improved by over 2x, allowing users to manipulate complex portfolios and run scenarios in real-time without latency.
Security & Compliance: The shift to a modern framework allowed for the implementation of industry-standard security protocols (OAuth, CSP), satisfying the strict compliance needs of energy and government clients.
Developer Velocity: By moving away from brittle legacy code to a structured Angular environment, the engineering team significantly reduced technical debt, speeding up the delivery of future features.
2x
Increase in Execution Speed
100%
SaaS Business Model Enabled
0
Legacy Vulnerabilities
