The Problem

The loyalty rewards system is a white-labeled platform that allows companies and their customers to track the use of bonus incentives. As customers make purchases, they earn points that can be redeemed.

The client's legacy loyalty rewards platform consisted of a singular, large computing system following the traditional model of software design. The complex code base tightly coupled all the business processes together with several monolithic applications that made it fragile with a single point of failure. A change made to one aspect of the platform, even if it was not related to another aspect of the platform, could produce unintended problems across the system. It was also difficult to process information and find transactions. In addition, the legacy platform was difficult to scale. It lacked the flexibility to integrate new features and services.

The Solution

After previous unsuccessful attempts  to upgrade the platform, the client turned to TDK Technologies which was instrumental in the planning, design, development, deployment and support of a new enterprise loyalty platform that followed well established microservices design patterns and principles.

The approach involved multiple capacity teams working over a period of several years. TDK was instrumental in building capacity teams for the project, recruiting and onboarding, and engaging in knowledge transfer. The project started with one TDK team, then eventually grew to 16 total teams that included a mixture of TDK and other third-party consultants.

The TDK teams had a high level of expertise in microservices, including experienced architects and developers who were well-versed in microservices design patterns, containerization, and cloud-native development. Additionally, the teams deployed automated testing and continuous integration/continuous deployment processes to ensure the reliability and scalability of the system.

Desired outcomes from the new platform included the ability to scale and deploy components of the application independently, without affecting the rest of the system. This  improved reliability and availability, while permitting faster and more frequent updates. The microservices-based system promoted greater flexibility and agility in development, as smaller teams can work on individual services with their own technology stacks and release cycles. This  led to faster innovation and a better ability to respond to changing business requirements. Microservices also simplified and modularized this complex system, making it easier to understand, maintain, and evolve over time.

The Result

The client is highly satisfied with TDK's work on the project. Executive management, as well as architects and developers, have consistently referred to TDK as a trusted partner. The microservices-based platform has proven to be very scalable, with the client expressing satisfaction with its flexibility, automation, and dynamic nature. The platform is highly customizable, allowing the client to add value and make improvements.

The client technical support team has experienced significant reductions in time required to troubleshoot and resolve issues. Thus, the customer has benefited from the faster resolution of issues, leading to increased satisfaction with the service provided.