Leobit
A Comprehensive and Compliant Property Exchange Platform
Custom software development and modernization for a US-based proptech company
ABOUT the project
- Client:
- Proptech company
- Location:
-
USA
- Company Size:
- 50+ Employees
- Industry:
- Real estate
- Solution:
- Custom Software
Technologies:
Leobit helped a US-based proptech company modernize a comprehensive platform that supports fast and secure online processing of 1031 exchanges. The platform provides multiple features for exchange workflow automation, offers diverse document templates, and ensures compliance with industry-specific regulations and standards.
We collaborated with the client for over six months, successfully completing a complex scope of work. In addition, we conducted a thorough discovery phase to identify key improvement areas, laying the foundation for a large-scale migration from a monolithic system to a service-based architecture. Our cooperation continues as we actively implement the new architecture based on the findings from the discovery phase.
Customer
Our customers are a US-based proptech company that delivers a comprehensive SaaS platform for automating administrative workflows in the real estate industry. They have recently been acquired by a global business group operating across multiple domains.
Business Challenge
The customer wanted to modernize their existing SaaS platform for property exchange management. Their solution was based on a legacy .NET Framework and had an outdated monolithic architecture. The customer wanted to boost upgrade release cycles, improve the platform’s performance, and adjust it to modern industry standards. They already had a small team working on the platform and decided to set up new teams to cover their needs. To establish them, the client required additional expertise from specialists with strong .NET and Azure experience. The customer also needed a resilient architecture that allows the platform to remain fully operational during incremental upgrades.
Why Leobit
One of our previous clients recommended Leobit to the customer. They were also impressed with our proactive approach to project planning, readiness to take the initiative, and our strong expertise with the Microsoft tech stack.
Project
in detail
We quickly established efficient collaboration workflows with the customer’s team. Our specialists were distributed across three separate teams to work on the project. We provided a solutions architect to work on the discovery phase, while our software engineers and QA specialists worked with SCRUM teams to enhance the platform’s features and work on architecture upgrades.
Our work on the project started with a comprehensive discovery phase that took around 2 months. At this stage, our solutions architect examined the customer’s existing infrastructure and database architecture. We provided detailed recommendations on enhancing system security, optimizing its performance and scalability, and ensuring overall platform reliability. Additionally, our specialists delivered a roadmap for migrating the architecture from legacy monolithic components to a service-based architecture.
In parallel, our software engineers started expanding the customer’s solution with new features. In particular, we added new reports and document types. We also upgraded the system’s integration with HubSpot for smoother data synchronization. Our team also eliminated JSON files within the customer’s data architecture to optimize its performance.
Once the discovery phase was completed, our team started gradually migrating different parts of the customer’s system to a new service-based architecture hosted in the Azure cloud. We prepared new infrastructure and started gradually migrating monolith architecture parts to the new architecture using the Strangler Fig pattern. Based on a thorough business analysis and Domain-Driven Design (DDD), we decomposed the system into focused, business-aligned services. This allowed us to replace legacy functionalities with new services incrementally, enabling the platform to remain fully operational throughout the migration without any downtime.
We also started upgrading different parts of the system’s codebase with up-to-date versions of .NET and Angular. Moreover, our specialists created a storybook with the PrimeNG library. This solution will enhance further updates of the app’s front-end as the storybook synchronizes with designs of new pages created by UI/UX designers in Figma.
Upon each release, our QA specialist cooperated closely with the customer’s quality assurance specialists to ensure that the system and all its parts work well. Leobit was primarily responsible for manual tests aimed at validating the user experience and the system’s adherence to the client’s business logic.
Gradual Architecture Modernization
As a result of the discovery phase, we came up with a comprehensive roadmap for migrating the solution from a legacy monolithic architecture to a service-based architecture hosted in a dedicated Azure cloud. Due to the system’s significant scale, its complete redesign could take years. As the customer needed a fast solution that would keep the system running during the migration, we proposed to build a reverse proxy server. It would redirect user requests to upgraded parts of the infrastructure, supporting incremental migration.
New Reports, Document Templates, and Data Storage Upgrades
Our team has added new reports to the system. We are also working on an upgraded solution for generating document templates and documents. All system notifications, notes, and exchange data are stored in dedicated Microsoft SQL Server databases located in a secure Microsoft Azure environment. Our team has also developed a centralized MSSQL database for critical user and tenant information.
Focus on Compliance with SOC 2 Type 2
We worked with a strong focus on the solution’s compliance with the SOC 2 Type 2 Framework. The framework emphasizes data security for sensitive client and business data and requires advanced auditing and reporting functionality. Our specialists introduced innovative encryption methods for sensitive data and started working on a custom .NET-based identity management solution that supports the solution’s multi-tenant architecture. It adds new roles, permissions, and authorization methods.
Modernization of a Custom Document Signing Service
The customer had their custom legacy document signing solution with limited functionality integrated into the system. To address this, we migrated it to the DocuSign-based platform.
This modernization enabled the customer to leverage DocuSign’s proven security, compliance, and scalability, while also providing a solution that is fully compatible with multi-tenant SaaS environments. The upgrade improved the platform’s overall reliability and made it more appealing to potential clients seeking a trusted, enterprise-grade document signing service.
Technology Solutions
- Continuous architectural modernization from a monolithic system to a service-oriented architecture to improve scalability, performance, and operational flexibility.
- Migration executed using the Strangler Fig pattern, enabling incremental replacement of legacy components while maintaining uninterrupted system operation.
- Refactoring and enhancement of the HubSpot integration for improved data synchronization.
- Modernization of the client’s document-signing service to improve reliability, security, and maintainability.
- Comprehensive modernization of the platform’s technology stack, including framework upgrades and dependency alignment.
- Implementation of secure cloud-based storage with custom encryption mechanisms for protecting critical and sensitive data.
Value Delivered
- Compliance with the key industry standards.
- Continuous technical support for over 6 months.
- Automation for real estate exchange processes within the IRS 1031 rules.
- A long-term roadmap for software architecture modernization, allowing the customer to improve system scalability, performance, and maintainability by migrating from monolith components to a service-based architecture.
- Storybook for more efficient synchronization of UI/UX design and front-end development tasks.
