Overview
Echo Media was engaged to modernise and extend a suite of software applications used by
a government organisation delivering services at national scale. These applications ranged
from extremely high-volume transactional systems — including payment processing — to
public-facing services focused on secure data delivery. The engagement was software-led,
with Echo Media responsible for application architecture, development, and delivery, while
the underlying network and hosting infrastructure was managed separately by the
organisation.
a government organisation delivering services at national scale. These applications ranged
from extremely high-volume transactional systems — including payment processing — to
public-facing services focused on secure data delivery. The engagement was software-led,
with Echo Media responsible for application architecture, development, and delivery, while
the underlying network and hosting infrastructure was managed separately by the
organisation.
The Challenge
The organisation operated a collection of legacy applications that were critical to day-to-day
operations and public service delivery. These systems faced several challenges:
● Very high and unpredictable usage volumes
● Strict security and compliance requirements
● A need for high performance under peak load
● Legacy codebases that were difficult to test, deploy, or extend
● A separation of responsibilities, where Echo Media did not control the underlying
network or hosting infrastructure
operations and public service delivery. These systems faced several challenges:
● Very high and unpredictable usage volumes
● Strict security and compliance requirements
● A need for high performance under peak load
● Legacy codebases that were difficult to test, deploy, or extend
● A separation of responsibilities, where Echo Media did not control the underlying
network or hosting infrastructure
Any modernisation effort needed to respect these constraints while significantly improving
reliability, maintainability, and deployment confidence.
The Solution
reliability, maintainability, and deployment confidence.
The Solution
Echo Media focused on software modernisation, adopting recognised frameworks,
development standards, and automated testing practices to bring the applications in line with
modern expectations.
development standards, and automated testing practices to bring the applications in line with
modern expectations.
The majority of the systems were rebuilt or extended using Laravel (PHP) as the primary
backend framework, with selected applications utilising modern JavaScript front-ends where
appropriate. Particular emphasis was placed on code structure, separation of concerns, and
performance optimisation to ensure the software could operate efficiently within a highly
controlled infrastructure environment.
backend framework, with selected applications utilising modern JavaScript front-ends where
appropriate. Particular emphasis was placed on code structure, separation of concerns, and
performance optimisation to ensure the software could operate efficiently within a highly
controlled infrastructure environment.
Because the network infrastructure was managed externally, the software was deliberately
designed to adapt to the environment rather than dictate it. This required careful
designed to adapt to the environment rather than dictate it. This required careful
attention to application behaviour, configuration, and deployment processes so that the
software remained secure, performant, and predictable regardless of infrastructure
constraints.
constraints.
DevOps & CI/CD Under Constraint
A key challenge in this engagement was establishing reliable CI/CD processes without direct
control over the hosting environment. Echo Media implemented a DevOps approach that allowed for continuous integration and controlled deployment while respecting strict
operational boundaries.
control over the hosting environment. Echo Media implemented a DevOps approach that allowed for continuous integration and controlled deployment while respecting strict
operational boundaries.
This included:
● Source control and pipeline management using GitLab
● Automated unit and integration testing at pipeline level
● Automated Playwright end-to-end testing to validate application behaviour before
deployment
● Build and verification steps designed to fail early if quality or performance thresholds
were not met
● Deployment processes tailored to the organisation’s network and security model
● Source control and pipeline management using GitLab
● Automated unit and integration testing at pipeline level
● Automated Playwright end-to-end testing to validate application behaviour before
deployment
● Build and verification steps designed to fail early if quality or performance thresholds
were not met
● Deployment processes tailored to the organisation’s network and security model
This approach ensured that only validated, tested software progressed through the pipeline,
significantly reducing risk in production environments.
significantly reducing risk in production environments.
Technologies & Practices Employed
While infrastructure was externally managed, the following technologies and practices were
central to the project:
● Laravel (PHP) for backend application development
● Modern JavaScript frameworks for selected front-end applications
● Automated unit, integration, and end-to-end testing
● GitLab CI/CD pipelines
● Playwright for browser-based automated testing
● Secure configuration management aligned with government standards
central to the project:
● Laravel (PHP) for backend application development
● Modern JavaScript frameworks for selected front-end applications
● Automated unit, integration, and end-to-end testing
● GitLab CI/CD pipelines
● Playwright for browser-based automated testing
● Secure configuration management aligned with government standards
The Outcome
The modernised applications delivered high performance, strong security, and
operational reliability, even under extreme usage volumes. Automated testing and CI/CD
pipelines improved confidence in releases, reduced deployment risk, and enabled the
organisation to evolve systems more rapidly without compromising stability.
operational reliability, even under extreme usage volumes. Automated testing and CI/CD
pipelines improved confidence in releases, reduced deployment risk, and enabled the
organisation to evolve systems more rapidly without compromising stability.
By designing software that was explicitly suited to an externally controlled infrastructure,
Echo Media ensured that development velocity could increase without introducing
operational friction. The result was a suite of applications that met demanding public-sector
requirements while remaining maintainable and extensible over time.
Ongoing Work
The engagement continues as systems evolve, with Echo Media supporting further
modernisation, feature development, and improvements to testing and deployment
processes — all within the constraints of a tightly governed infrastructure environment.
Echo Media ensured that development velocity could increase without introducing
operational friction. The result was a suite of applications that met demanding public-sector
requirements while remaining maintainable and extensible over time.
Ongoing Work
The engagement continues as systems evolve, with Echo Media supporting further
modernisation, feature development, and improvements to testing and deployment
processes — all within the constraints of a tightly governed infrastructure environment.
