Scalable cloud engineering to optimize application performance and improve reliability

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Bandera Electric Cooperative (BEC) is a member-owned utility company that provides electricity and fiber internet to members in Boerne, Texas. BEC has become a leader in providing energy usage transparency and member education through development of their Apolloware platform.

BACKGROUND

Apolloware is a software platform developed by BEC to gather real-time energy consumption data and, in turn, provide their customers up-to-the-second insight and awareness of their overall energy consumption. Apolloware can identify when a customer is running a specific appliance via an eGauge device installed at the customer’s meter that measures live energy consumption and generation data. This data is streamed to the Apolloware application via Amazon API Gateway and Kinesis Data Streams, and then presented to users via dashboard reports and graphs.

OPPORTUNITY

Apolloware faced multiple challenges with a poor user experience, backend scalability and potential security vulnerabilities. To continue to scale the platform for future growth and entry to new markets, Apolloware needed a redesign and implementation of its cloud architecture. The goal was not just to address these challenges but to transform Apolloware into a robust, scalable SaaS solution that could cater to its growing user base and evolving requirements. Apolloware is focused an array of user types, such as Utilities and their engineers, as well as individual customers and members, so SaaS was an ideal solution for the Apolloware product.

SOLUTION

BEC selected 27Global to audit Apolloware’s existing code and cloud infrastructure, but based on the audit results and 27Global’s expertise in cloud-native software engineering, data engineering, and DevOps, BEC ultimately hired 27Global to replace their existing Apolloware development partner. 27Global quickly began remediation efforts and the ongoing management of Apolloware development.

27Global Provided:

• Immediate security fixes, including improved management of user credentialing via AWS Cognito
• Remediation of application single points of failure, optimizing application performance, and bug fixes for the application, orchestrated via AWS CodePipeline
• Design and implementation of a new, scalable architecture that supports pooled tenancy of utility, commercial, and residential users
  • Amazon S3 and Amazon Redshift were leveraged for scalable storage of user data.
    • Apolloware and 27Global follow a Sensitive Data Review process to ensure any sensitive data is properly secured and encrypted while in transit and at-rest.
  • AWS Lambda functions were implemented to execute on-demand queries of eGauge devices, which provided real-time feedback on energy consumption and sources
  • A multi-AZ deployment of Amazon RDS for MySQL, with a read replica, to ensure high availability. Client data is stored in a secure pooled model.
• Improvements to the user experience were made by leveraging Amazon Kinesis Data services to analyze users’ consumption data and present valuable insights around their energy usage trends and gamifying the education process

WHY AWS SERVICES WERE USED

AWS, with its comprehensive suite of cloud solutions, was pivotal for the modernization of Apolloware. Here’s why we leveraged specific AWS services:

• Security and Identity Management with AWS Cognito: AWS Cognito provided an out-of-the-box solution for user management, authentication, and security. Given the sensitive nature of energy consumption data, it was paramount to have a robust identity solution.
• Scalability with AWS CodePipeline and Lambda: AWS CodePipeline enabled us to automate our deployment processes, ensuring that updates could be made rapidly and reliably. Meanwhile, AWS Lambda’s serverless computing allowed us to run code in response to specific events, ensuring scalability without the need to manage servers.
• Data Storage and Management with Amazon S3 and Redshift: Amazon S3 offered durable and infinite scaling storage solutions, making it perfect for storing user data securely. Amazon Redshift, with its data warehousing capabilities, allowed for fast querying and analysis, enabling real-time feedback to users.
• High Availability with Amazon RDS: Apolloware needed a database solution that was both scalable and highly available. Amazon RDS, with its Multi-AZ deployments, provided automated failovers, backups, and updates, ensuring the data was always accessible and secure.
• Real-time Data Streaming with Amazon Kinesis: To provide users with up-to-the-second insights, we needed a service that could handle real-time data streaming. Amazon Kinesis facilitated this, capturing, processing, and analyzing real-time data and presenting it in user-friendly formats.
• Enhanced User Engagement with Amazon SES: To engage users with weekly reports and energy-saving tips, we leveraged Amazon Simple Email Service (SES). It provided a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective means to reach out to Apolloware’s user base.

The choice to use AWS was driven by its breadth of services, each tailored to address specific challenges we identified in the Apolloware platform. By integrating these AWS services, we ensured that Apolloware was not only scalable and reliable but also positioned for future growth and innovations.

ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAMS

High-Level Application Architecture is below, alongside our refactoring of the telemetry ingestion architecture.

RESULTS

With the help of 27Global, the enhancements to the Apolloware application and cloud infrastructure have resulted in a vastly improved user experience in the mobile application with a modern look and feel, delivering real-time estimates for customers’ utility bills, real-time cost estimates by appliance, and even an updated live view of energy usage within the home or business. An additional feature enabled by Amazon SES allows Apolloware to provide users with a weekly energy report, plus tips to reduce their overall energy consumption.

“27Global exemplified a deep expertise in cloud-native application development, cloud infrastructure, and data architecture, which was very influential in our decision to partner with 27Global for future development of Apolloware. 27Global’s ability to be nimble and scalable means they’re the right-sized partner for the job – far nimbler and more attentive than the incumbent.”

-Justin McKenzie, VP of Apolloware & Energy Services, Bandera Electric Cooperative

These improvements also extend to the business, where Apolloware is benefiting from an improved user experience in their mobile and web apps – allowing for reduced friction in the hardware installation process, quicker installations, and improved training for installers. Improved analytics and metrics provide Apolloware with data-driven insights into the household environmental impact to identify high-value future feature development and subscription opportunities. In addition, by optimizing Apolloware’s cloud infrastructure, 27Global made an immediate impact in terms of Apolloware’s ability to scale – and do so in an economical way – to accommodate residential and commercial user growth.

Among the list of improvements, 27Global also provided value directly to Apolloware by quickly acquiring domain knowledge of the energy industry and translating technical business needs into actions, bridging the gap between ideas and tangible software value.

LOOKING FOR A PARTNER TO DEVELOP, SCALE, OR MODERNIZE YOUR PLATFORM? CONTACT 27GLOBAL TODAY TO GET STARTED.