API-Middleware and data transformations for product configurations and solution requests

Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co.

Industry: Electrical engineering, electronics and automation

Phoenix Contact is a world leader in solutions for electrical and automation technology, headquartered in Blomberg, Germany. Phoenix Contact's core competencies are the development and production of components, systems and solutions for electrical connection technology, automation technology, electrical interface technology and industrial software.

At Phoenix Contact, customers are selected very specifically for the respective application. You can therefore configure a large part of the products in detail. In addition, individual product designs are regularly requested. The configurations and requests can be entered in various systems, such as the website.

We have implemented an API-middleware that accepts product configurations and individual solution requests in structured form from different sources, processed and forwarded to other systems after testing. This includes a surface for enriching missing information and for administrative tasks. The implementation replaces an existing solution in the Low-Code Platform Outsystems, offers 100% API compatibility and minimizes downtime during transition.

The transformation from a low-code solution to a professionally implemented middleware application has not only significantly improved performance and maintainability, but also cost savings made possible. The saved license costs refinance the new development in a short time.

The new implementation is cloud-ready and is operated by Phoenix Contact in a Kubernet cluster in the cloud. The transition from on-premise operation is an important step for the company's cloud strategy.

A world leader in electrical and automation technology solutions

Industry:	Electrical engineering, electronics and automation
Turnover:	EUR 3.6 billion (2022)
Staff:	about 22,000 (2022)
Website:	www.phoenixcontact.com

In the project there were some challenges for Phoenix Contact and us. The existing system worked but was never really suitable for the application. The problems that should be solved with the new project were manifold.

There were also the requirements that the old application should be replaced without adjustments in other systems. Furthermore, the data should be taken over and migration should take place with as short as possible downtime. There was a tight schedule, as a new extension of the old system's license should be avoided.

High license costs for low-code platform
Difficulty developer for low code system
Required maintenance; no testable CI/CD pipeline
Partial performance problems
On-premise operation
UI design not flexible adaptable

After viewing the existing solution and discussing the non-functional requirement together we have made some important architectural decisions. In the centre of the decisions, the aim was always to ensure the smoothest possible transition, because the system is a decisive part of sales processes.

The Python Framework FastAPI provides a good basis for effective development and good performance at runtime. Due to fast start times and a low memory footprint, it is well suited for running in the cloud. In addition, there are sufficiently professional developers in the Python environment.

The SAP Fiori design is a style known to users. At the same time, it is easy to adapt to corporate design and offers accustomed, effective controls. The implementation is done with React and the UI5 Webcomponents.

We have the reuse of the existing database decided, since no transformation of the migration stock data was necessary. This shortened the migration process, allowed parallel operation and provided security in the event of unexpected problems. A special challenge were the very generic names of the previous low-code platform. With the help of a skillful use of a Python SQL library, these challenges could be overcome.

Project progress

Age Stand: Application in Low-Code On-Premise System

Initial discussion with the acceptance of the requirements and prioritization of the project objectives

Analysis of the existing solution

Planning of the migration process

Technology selection

Implementation of the new solution incl. Software tests

Rolling out in test operation

Rolling out in productive operation

Application Support: Operation, maintenance and development

New booth: Professional implementation with FastAPI in Kubernetes