Rescuing a struggling benefits platform, then moving 650,000 users onto it: Sodexo Employee Benefits

The challenge

Sodexo had started building a new Employee Benefits platform to replace its older discount products and move ahead of competitors. As development went on, the project ran into delays and performance problems, and confidence in it fell.

Sodexo asked Box UK for an independent evaluation. It found significant problems in both the code and the way the project was run:

• no automated test coverage and no coding standards
• an architecture that wouldn’t scale
• a number of potential security vulnerabilities, on a platform holding large volumes of sensitive data
• an unclear vision, priorities and ownership

In its existing state, the platform couldn’t deliver the performance, stability or security Sodexo’s customers needed.

Our approach

The review had two strands. On the code, we ran automated static analysis, which our systems engineers used to build a picture of complexity and maintainability, and reviewed documentation and interviewed the people involved. On the project, our business analysts looked at the business case, vision, backlog management, team structure and governance.

We presented the findings to the Sodexo board. Impressed by the depth of the review and the clarity of the findings, it asked Box UK to take on management of the platform.

We started with workshops with Sodexo’s team to understand the business priorities and market context. Because the platform was so important to the business, we agreed to build on the existing work rather than start again, so value would arrive sooner. It meant an intense period of stabilisation first, an approach we’d used before for RS Components.

What we built

• A modern framework. We moved the platform from an unsupported version of CakePHP to Symfony, one component at a time, checking all business logic and adding tests as each part moved.
• A more secure platform. We fixed the vulnerabilities from the review and flagged new risks as we found them, so urgent issues went straight into the backlog.
• One cloud platform replacing more than 300 legacy sites.
• A clear product direction. Stakeholder workshops agreed the vision, and we recommended a dedicated product owner to own a prioritised backlog.

Delivery

We worked in two-week sprints, so the business saw tested features arrive regularly. That visibility was vital in rebuilding senior confidence in the platform. We also coached Sodexo’s team in agile ways of working.

Once the platform was stable, Box UK’s systems engineers migrated the existing client base across: 340 clients and almost 650,000 end users over six months, joining more than 250,000 users already on the service. The platform held 99.9% uptime throughout the migration.

The outcome

• A stable, secure platform serving hundreds of thousands of employees, replacing one the business had lost confidence in.
• Almost 650,000 users migrated in six months with 99.9% uptime.
• Restored confidence, with a product owner, a clear vision and visible progress every sprint.
• A base to build on. The same team went on to design and launch the Sodexo Discounts mobile app, delivered in eight two-week sprints. It won a Gold award at the international Communicator Awards, and over a six-month period it carried 35% of all Employee Benefits spend.