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Re-architecturing an operational app for Gestical
Innowise migrated all client applications to a single Azure-based ecosystem utilizing a unified technology stack.
Client overview
Gestical is a Swiss-based company focusing on energy efficiency, specifically in the measurement and accounting of heat and water consumption for residential and industrial buildings. At the core of their operations lies a proprietary suite of interconnected applications that supports everything from task planning and fieldwork to reporting and billing.
While the project's complexity was initially underestimated, the subsequent reinforcement of the team significantly enhanced operational organization and communication. This allowed Innowise to professionally manage intricate technical layers, delivering high-quality results that met our business objectives.
Challenge
Over time, Gestical’s application ecosystem — Gestical Web, Gestical Plan, and Gestical MIF — had grown significantly in features and system load. However, architecture, infrastructure, and performance optimization had not evolved accordingly. Innowise was engaged to modernize the core application, Gestical Web.
- System slowdowns and outages. The Gestical system was not designed for dynamic scaling. As the number of buildings, devices, and users increased, the risk of outages and system slowdowns grew.
- Heavy reliance on documented workflows outside the system. Many fundamental business processes had not been integrated into the system or adequately documented, forcing everything to be documented externally to the system. Consequently, employees had to rely on documentation present outside the system to complete their tasks. This resulted in an increase in manual work, a slowdown in operations, and a greater risk of not having complete information in the system.
- Outdated technology stack. Applications were built with an outdated version of ASP.NET MVC and hosted on a single Azure virtual machine.
- Non-optimized database. The client’s on-premise database lacked normalization and indexing, impacting performance.
Modernize your internal systems with Innowise
Solution we delivered
Phased modernization of the Gestical platform
Innowise implemented a phased modernization strategy that transformed Gestical’s legacy system into a cloud-native, scalable, and secure platform.
The modernization covered Gestical’s core operational application, Gestical Web, which users use to manage buildings, monitor devices, generate reports, and energy costs.
Architecture redesign and platform modernization
The modernization began with a comprehensive assessment of the existing Gestical Web ecosystem. The legacy application was built using an outdated version of ASP.NET MVC and hosted on a single Azure virtual machine, which created scalability constraints and performance issues.
Our team reimplemented Gestical Web using Next.js and NestJS and deployed it to Azure App Service, a cloud-managed PaaS platform. This approach reduced the client’s infrastructure management effort and ongoing maintenance costs.
Database migration & optimization
A critical part of the modernization was the migration and optimization of the database layer. To address critical performance issues, we migrated the self-hosted MySQL database to Azure Database for MySQL.
Introduction of a unified API layer
Previously, several applications accessed the database directly, creating hidden dependencies. This made updates risky and increased migration complexity.
We introduced a centralized REST API layer that now serves as the single point of communication between the client’s applications and the database. This approach standardized data exchange, strengthened validation and access control, and significantly reduced architectural complexity.
All system components of Gestical Web now interact through this secure API layer.
Working on the Gestical platform required careful alignment between existing systems and the new architecture. Our team focused on designing a scalable foundation that allows the platform to evolve while maintaining continuity for ongoing operations.
Technologies
Backend
NestJS
Frontend
React, TypeScript
Database & Data Access
MySQL, TypeORM
Authentication & Security
Azure AD
Team
2
2
1
1
1
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Results
The Gestical Web platform now operates within a unified backend architecture, improving system reliability and creating a more stable environment for managing operational workflows.
By deploying the platform on Azure App Service, the client reduced infrastructure maintenance costs and simplified ongoing platform management.
With the introduction of a centralized REST API layer, communication between applications and the database is now standardized and more secure, reducing hidden dependencies and making future system updates easier to implement.
These steps establish a structured, secure, and scalable cloud-native foundation for the continued phased modernization of the Gestical platform.
