Developing internal systems is a strategic move for companies heavily involved in research and innovation. The customization of functionalities and data security justifies this choice. However, challenges need to be overcome, particularly ensuring that applications keep pace with technological changes and meet market, client, and user requirements.
Exclusive systems are produced according to very specific criteria, but this doesn’t mean they are immune to technological obsolescence. On the contrary, they require continuous improvements to enhance usability, incorporate functionalities, and promote the modernization of resources. However, these evolutions often face technical, financial, or operational limitations, such as the choice of technology used to develop the system.
An example of obsolescence is the AngularJS technology, launched in 2010 as a framework for web application development. The tool became popular for offering features that facilitated developers’ work. However, over time, this technology lost relevance compared to more advanced versions and was discontinued.
Without the possibility of technology support, systems developed in AngularJS became outdated. In this context, issues of performance, security, responsiveness, and usability became more critical, compromising primarily the users’ experience. Addressing these issues required migration to more updated and suitable technologies.
This was the challenge faced by one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical industries, which had an internally developed logistics control application in AngularJS. The system was designed to manage the entire flow of medication and substance samples, from collection and transportation to storage and distribution. Integrated with other internal software due to its connection to various operational processes, it was crucial for the tool to maintain high levels of performance.
To tackle this problem, the pharmaceutical industry enlisted the services of act digital, a specialist in technology solutions development with experience in system migration projects to the Angular platform. In this article, we detail how this project was executed, from planning to the achieved results.
Client: Innovative player in the pharmaceutical sector
The company that engaged act digital is one of the largest and most innovative pharmaceutical industries globally, employing over 3,900 professionals. Operating in the biotechnology market for over a decade, it is considered one of the best companies for professionals in scientific careers.
The group excels in research and development of therapeutic substances, focusing primarily on vaccine production to combat a wide range of diseases. Due to its scientific relevance and the high competitiveness of the market, the manufacturer has an internal technology team responsible for creating and maintaining dozens of operational and management systems used daily by thousands of employees.
Challenge: Technological Migration of the Logistics Control System
In this project, the pharmaceutical company faced daily challenges in using a system designed for operational processes and the control of sending samples of medications and substances.
Originally developed in AngularJS, the application was not responsive, limiting its adoption on mobile devices critical for logistics teams. User experience was also compromised by performance and usability issues, leading to operational inefficiency.
The situation was exacerbated by the fact that AngularJS technology had been discontinued and no longer received support. For the company, this scenario posed security risks and instability, potentially causing widespread failures and problems. This is because the system integrates with other internally used applications, making below-expected performance and damage to the user experience affect various processes.
Solution: Transition from AngularJS to Angular
Given the users’ difficulty in using the system created in AngularJS, the solution proposed by the act digital team was to migrate these applications to more recent versions of this technology. This transition was necessary to improve usability and speed in using the tool, further enhancing the performance of queries in the database.
Methodology
The project was structured for a gradual migration, avoiding operational impacts, encompassing stages such as:
- Diagnosis of the situation
- Planning of actions
- Refactoring, development, and migration of the application to the latest Angular version
- Conducting analyses and verifications in a test environment
- Deployment of the updated system for users
Applied Technologies
For the technological migration of the old AngularJS system, refactoring and development were necessary, utilizing more updated technologies. In this process, the following technologies were employed:
- Angular
- Node.js
- Requelize
- PostgreSQL
- TypeScript
- JavaScript
Results: Renewed User Experience and Performance Gains
The shift from AngularJS to Angular, along with the implementation of Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Sequelize technologies, has had a positive impact on the system, allowing users to experience more practical and agile navigation. Key outcomes include:
- User Experience: The new application is more user-friendly, simplifying day-to-day use.
- Responsiveness: A key objective was the ability to use the system on different platforms, particularly mobile devices.
- Performance Gain: The system became more agile, surpassing the previous performance. Page loading time, which previously took 30 seconds, is now completed in less than one second.
- Security and Reliability: Technological updates eliminated vulnerabilities associated with unsupported AngularJS, ensuring data security and system stability.
- Facilitated Integration: Using the latest version of Angular enables easy integration with other emerging technologies and applications already in use within the company. Thus, the system is ready for future innovations or improvements.
How We Can Help Your Company
The digital transformation brings numerous opportunities for innovation in the healthcare sector, one of the most benefited by this process. However, the emergence of new technologies and growing market demands require the ability to update quickly and securely, posing challenges for the industry.
Understanding the dynamism and opportunities in the healthcare sector is a focus of act digital. In serving clients in this field, we have specialized professionals who plan, execute, and implement customized solutions, aiming to add value to business models in the sector.
We have developed expertise in emerging technologies connected to new challenges in healthcare. Here are some of them:
Big Data and Cognitive Computing
Integration of Big Data and Cognitive Computing solutions in healthcare enables efficient analysis of large volumes of data.
Artificial Intelligence
Solutions incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) allow exploration of advanced machine learning algorithms and neural networks, used to identify complex patterns in clinical data.
Telemedicine and Remote Interaction
Digital transformation drives remote monitoring solutions in healthcare, making telemedicine an essential resource in the industry. Among professionals, these new features also enable learning and rapid exchange of information.
RPA and APIs
Technologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and integration of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are adopted to optimize operational processes and facilitate communication between systems.
Want to learn more about how act digital can help your company migrate its system to Angular technology or address challenges related to technological obsolescence? Get in touch with our specialists.
