Optimize Performance and Collaboration for 
SaaS Platform

Overcoming challenges in platform scalability and user experience through innovative and real-time collaboration tools.

About
The Client

The client offers a subscription-based research platform designed to cater specific needs of K-12 students, educators, and researchers. This platform delivers an extensive research experience, featuring advanced tools for research, citation management, feedback, and collaboration. The interface supports genuine research practices and facilitates smooth collaboration among users. Key features include real-time collaboration, resource sharing, and the ability for educators to provide feedback on student projects.

The
Challenge

A leading provider of cloud-based EdTech faced challenges including:

Platform Scalability

Needed to scale efficiently to accommodate a growing user base of 1.5 million while maintaining high performance.

Monolithic Architecture

The legacy design limited the ability to update the platform quickly, creating bottlenecks.

User Experience

Required an interface that was user-friendly for students and educators, ensuring ease of use across a diverse audience.

Performance

Needed to deliver fast response times globally, accommodating users with varying internet speeds.

Real-Time Collaboration

Required support for seamless, real-time collaboration among multiple users working on shared projects simultaneously.

What Forgeahead Did

Forgeahead implemented a comprehensive migration strategy utilizing AWS services to address the client’s infrastructure challenges

Microservices Architecture

Rebuilt the platform as microservices for easier updates and scalability.

Real-Time
Collaboration

Implemented Server-Sent Events (SSE) for instant, seamless updates during collaboration.

Enhanced 
Search

Integrated Elasticsearch for fast and intuitive search across a large dataset.

Scalable 
Backend

Upgraded to Python (FastAPI, Flask) and PHP8 for efficient, asynchronous request handling.

Optimized Data Handling

Used MySQL and DynamoDB for quick, scalable data management.

Real-time collaboration and a modern UI boosted user interaction.

Microservices cut go-to-market time for new features by 50%.

Handled 60,000 requests per second with sub-200ms response times.

Improved design led to more student engagement, project submissions, and collaborations.

Ensured compliance with data privacy regulations

Technology Stack

Python

PHP

JavaScript

Backbone

Server-Sent Events

Elasticsearch

ECS, S3, Lambda

LocalDB

Redis

DynamoDB

MySQL

Clever

Python

Microsoft365

Google

What’s next?

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