Modernising iPoint: from on-premise to secure, multi-tenant Azure SaaS

Overview

In 2023, iPoint and NashTech collaborated on a development program to modernise iPoint’s on-premise platform to deliver a SaaS solution and enhance its data capabilities.

The company (iPoint) empowers businesses to collect and analyse all necessary data to assess and report the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their products and related processes.

Since 2001, SMEs and Fortune Global 500 companies alike have been using their platform to manage compliance, risk, and sustainability by digitalising the lifecycles of products and supply chain relationships.

The outcome

Within six months, the NashTech team had delivered the core framework to unblock feature teams. Within 12 months, the first release provided core security services to internal users (such as identity and access management, SSO, and tenant management).

Time to value 0

iPoint is now positioned for scalable growth and supported by a unified platform strategy that replaces the previously costly one-off on-premise systems. This approach significantly reduces maintenance requirements compared to the former fragmented infrastructure.

Scalable growth 0

Our approach significantly reduces maintenance requirements compared to the former fragmented infrastructure.

Reduce maintenance 0

NashTech delivered a complete SaaS solution and enhance upon its data capabilities.

A complete SaaS solution 0

We were looking for a partner with whom we could work together in the long term. A partner who could not only support us in developing our existing applications, but also in the complete modernisation of our platform.

It was very important for us to have a partner who brings in technical expertise so that we can take the right steps when modernising our software.

Raimund Rix, Chief Technology Officer

iPoint

Business Outcomes

Tangible, quantifiable business results from the relationship.

Time to value

Within six months, the NashTech team had delivered the core framework to unblock feature teams. Within 12 months, the first release provided core security services to internal users (such as identity and access management, SSO, and tenant management).

Scalable growth

iPoint is now positioned for scalable growth and supported by a unified platform strategy that replaces the previously costly one-off on-premises systems

Reduce maintenance

Our approach significantly reduces maintenance requirements compared to the former fragmented infrastructure.

A complete SaaS solution

NashTech delivered a complete SaaS solution and enhance upon its data capabilities.

Time to value

Within six months, the NashTech team had delivered the core framework to unblock feature teams. Within 12 months, the first release provided core security services to internal users (such as identity and access management, SSO, and tenant management).

Scalable growth

iPoint is now positioned for scalable growth and supported by a unified platform strategy that replaces the previously costly one-off on-premises systems

Reduce maintenance

Our approach significantly reduces maintenance requirements compared to the former fragmented infrastructure. 

The challenge

Key business challenges iPoint was looking to solve.

iPoint helps organisations understand what is inside their products and the impact those components have.

But faced with surging regulation and customer demand for transparent, auditable sustainability data, iPoint needed to modernise its on-premise platform by moving to a SaaS model without disrupting mission-critical services.

Prior attempts to fix some of the challenges had stalled as the scope proved more complex than expected.

Its legacy estates — some bespoke to single clients — made change slow, expensive, and risky. iPoint needed:

• A unified, cloud-ready platform that could scale multi-tenant workloads. · Robust data ingestion from thousands of sources and formats. ·
• Enterprise-grade security (SSO, role-based access) and auditability
• To unify everything in the cloud with multi-tenancy (each customer running their own instance).
• A partner who could advise, build, and support at pace — without quality regressions.

The team required a scalable team with deep technical knowledge. One that could advise, build, and support the development and modernisation of the SaaS platform, without compromising quality or compliance.

Our solution

• What we built and how it worked

Firstly, NashTech built its tried and tested engagement model, with:

• A core offshore team of expert Solution Architects, Data Architects, Business Analysts, Automation Testers, DevOps and Project Managers, based in Vietnam.
• A solution advisory board of senior engineering leaders guiding patterns and standards.
• A ‘show, don’t tell’ agile methodology with targeted evaluations, proof of concepts, MVPs and demos to de-risk key decisions

Then, the team designed the architectures and solutions from scratch based on a Microsoft technology stack and engineering best practices, including:

• Unified cloud platform: Disparate applications consolidated on a single, multi-tenant environment for scale and simpler operations.
• Microservices architecture: Each service maintains ownership of its data, minimising interdependence and effectively managing complex domains.
• Robust data architecture: Built for deep component hierarchies, carbon accounting and regulatory traceability.
• Modern Microsoft stack: Azure and .NET with Microsoft Fabric to handle the sizeable data challenge and strengthen governance.
• Enterprise SSO: Centralised identity to streamline onboarding and control.
• Data integrations at scale: Resilient pipelines to collect, cleanse and shape internal and third-party data for iPoint’s applications.
• Engineered for speed and confidence: CI/CD, quality gates and observability from day one.

Application modernisation

Ensure your organisation keeps pace with advances in technology, and can respond rapidly to changing business and customer needs

Cloud modernisation

Modernise applications and infrastructure to improve performance and resiliency