Softjourn

Vanco Payments: Elevating Dedicated Team Collaboration with Domain Expertise

The client wanted to say goodbye to third-party jitters and sought domain experts to infuse their project with expert knowledge. Read more about a thrilling journey of partnership transformation.
ABOUT THE CLIENT:
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Project:Discovery Phase for Future Integrations
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Industry:Finance
Date_iconClient since:
2019
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Headquarters:Atlanta, Georgia
The Challenge

Vanco recently added new features to their existing application that would need to be rewritten into a different framework, and this project would be too big of an undertaking for their team. That's why they realized they needed help from an experienced team.

The Solution

Through deep dives into Vanco’s existing system, regular meetings, and asking the right questions about their development goals,  we understood not only the client’s software but also their business ethos and long-term goals. Then, we focused on the discovery phase to provide our client with a detailed roadmap for future development. 

The Benefits

Benefits of our mutual collaboration were the following:

  • Optimized resource allocation
  • Thorough preparation for future development
  • Advanced strategic planning
  • Enhanced cost-efficiency of the project
  • Foreseeable development risks during the rewrite

The Challenge

Vanco Payments is a US-based online payment services company that stands out on the market for its fast and easy-to-use services, as well as its top-notch payment processing solutions. 

More than 40,000 nonprofits, churches, schools, and educational organizations trust Vanco to simplify administrative processes, organize events, and securely complete transactions every day. 
 
Vanco wanted to partner with software development experts to enhance their platform by developing new features and modernizing their technology. In 2020, they turned to Softjourn because of our reputation as a trustworthy and experienced software development partner.

Vanco knew that working with software development experts in fintech would speed up the development process, so they partnered with Softjourn because of our expertise in building stellar solutions for an array of clients in the financial services industry.

Vanco recently added new features to their existing application that would need to be rewritten into a different framework, and this project would be too big of an undertaking for their team. 

The reason the client wanted to switch from Java to .NET was to take advantage of the .NET framework’s strong points, as it is considered to be faster and less memory-consuming than Java, and enables optimization of the code, thereby increasing performance with less effort spent on code maintenance.  

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“We believe in Softjourn’s expertise in payments. The team was very responsive and easy to work with. Everything has been positive thus far, and our team is very satisfied with the team’s responsiveness. Softjourn team really knows their stuff regarding payments.”

 

PM from client's side

In-House vs Outsourcing: Which is Right for Your Business?

 

When choosing whether to select an outsourcing development company or stay in-house, Vanco faced a tough decision. While they wanted to accelerate the development process by using an experienced partner with domain-dedicated knowledge, they also had not had great experiences with third-party teams in the past.

Working with third-party providers can present challenges if you choose the wrong development partner. Having had previously mixed experiences working with third-party teams, Vanco wasn’t initially sold on the idea of working with a remote team. However, they knew that by hiring an external team, they would likely save a lot of time and money.

We were happy to convince them to give a third party one more try, so they could see the great results a competent partner could help them realize.  We conducted a project discovery phase for one of their top priority projects - a system rewrite from Java to .NET. After seeing great results, Vanco team was very satisfied and wanted Softjourn to also help with mapping out the integrations for First Data Transaction Simulator and Processor.

The Solution

1. The Discovery Phase

Modernizing an existing application through a rewrite is a big undertaking, so to make sure we had everything we needed for the project to be successful, we engaged in a thorough discovery phase.

Our first step was making sure our team had a good understanding of the system they would be working with. Through deep dives into Vanco’s existing system, regular meetings, and asking the right questions about their development goals,  we gained an understanding of not only the client’s software but also their business ethos and long-term goals. 

From our discovery phase, we were able to build a solid foundation of knowledge so we could begin to suggest architectural improvements. For this reason, we often recommend our clients go through a discovery phase before large-scale development and migrations, as it will nearly always increase the overall efficiency of the development team, and ensure everyone working on the project is on the right track for success. 

As part of the initial phase, Softjourn’s team prepared data synchronization architecture between the legacy code and the new .NET-based applications.

Here’s how we organized the work: 

  • Studying existing project documentation (architecture diagrams, services definitions, and data flows).
  • Analyzing the Java module source code.
  • Real-time working sessions with the Vanco team to further discuss their system environment, ask questions, review suggestions, and agree on aspects of their soon-to-come .NET solution.
  • Creating detailed documentation based on our insights.

Hiring external experts to help with the discovery phase – rather than running the entire discovery in-house – was beneficial for our client for many reasons, including: 

  • Access to a team experienced in analyzing systems to give top recommendations and insights on their system.
  • Gaining valuable advice from industry experts about their specific business case.
  • Having objective and unbiased views shared about their project.

 

2. Mapping Out First Data Transaction Simulator and Processor Integration

After receiving the client’s documentation and Java module source code, Softjourn conducted several collaborative sessions. These meetings focused on environment discussions, reviewing recommendations for our Phase 1- defined .NET solution, and exploring strategies for seamless integration with the processor.

Our experts focused on reviewing the client’s: 

  • Legacy architecture flows
  • Cloud infrastructure (based on Azure)
  • Current transaction processes
  • Data storage layer, cashing, and logging strategies

The deliverables for this phase included a detailed integration document with an updated architecture diagram and flow description.

 

3. Dedicated Development Team

After the first two successful phases, we were glad we proved ourselves helpful to Vanco and were happy to continue working with them on the third phase of their project: development. For this part, we’d have a chance to apply our deep experience and expertise in the payment processing development area.
  
Our teams supported Vanco’s in-house staff with development activities, greatly streamlining the product development process. Our developers continue to work with Vanco as an extension of their development team.

Our client set a high bar for an experienced and trustworthy third party, and due to our highly skilled and collaborative team of professionals, Vanco was happy with the results of our work together.  

 

Benefits of Working with Experienced Fintech Partners

Optimized Resource Allocation: Softjourn’s deep industry experience gives us a general understanding of a client’s project needs, allowing us to help our client efficiently allocate resources.

Thorough Preparation: When a client's team needs to focus on a specific project, a dedicated team can take over various tasks. Our team can provide code audit services, analyses of compliance-related documentation, architecture insights, and cloud consulting that enable our clients to better understand a specific problem and know how to move forward.    

Advanced Strategic Planning: During our collaboration with Vanco, we deeply considered their short-term and long-term business objectives in our strategic development roadmap. As a dedicated software development team, we do our best to support our client’s future success.

Enhanced Cost-Efficiency: Our dedicated team supported the in-house team to ensure their focus was uninterrupted. Vanco was able to decide how many people they required for their projects, and Softjourn delivered a team that understood the clients’ technologies and approaches. This allowed our team to quickly get up to speed with Vanco’s system and the project work.

Foreseeable Development Risks: With proper discovery and an experienced team, we mitigated risks associated with technical feasibility, scalability, and compatibility issues before diving into development.

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Conclusion

We continue to work with our Vanco and are glad to see that the client has gained trust in collaborating with a third party on their software development.  Our team of developers is currently working on integrating with World Pay Processor and Apple Pay, as well as synchronization with Snowflake. 

We pride ourselves on helping businesses grow and thrive in the evolving digital landscape. With every new project, we reinforce our commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions that drive value for our clients, deeply considering their long-term goals. Reach out if you have a new project that we can help you with. 
 

Partnership & Recognition

Softjourn's IAOP 100 award
Intix Member
Microsoft Gold Partner
Xamarin Authorized Consulting Partner
Monax Parntership
Softjourn in the Inc. 5000 list

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