ORCE Cloud Services Migration

At Oracle Retail, I contributed significantly to the transformation of the Retail Customer Engagement Cloud Services (ORCE) offering. Following the acquisition of Micros, a provider of retail solutions including CRM (Relate), POS, MOM, and inventory management, a key initiative was to modernize their legacy applications and migrate them to a cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. I played a crucial role in this effort, initially as an Individual Contributor (IC) and subsequently as a Team Lead, focusing specifically on the modernization and migration of the Relate CRM application and Convergence.

The Relate CRM application was a monolithic application built on a legacy technology stack, including:

1. JDO (Java Data Objects)
2. Castor (Data Binding)
3. Jasper Reports (Reporting)
4. Servlets
5. MySQL Database
6. Apache Tomcat Application Server
7. GWT (Google Web Toolkit) for the User Interface

This legacy architecture presented several challenges, including limited scalability, high maintenance costs, and difficulty in implementing new features.

The modernization and migration strategy involved a multi-faceted approach:

1. Transition to SOA/SaaS: The monolithic application was decomposed into a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), paving the way for a SaaS offering.
2. Technology Stack Upgrade: The legacy technology stack was replaced with modern enterprise-grade technologies:
   1. Java
   2. Hibernate (ORM)
   3. Spring MVC (Web Framework)
   4. Castor to JAXB (Data Binding)
   5. Servlets to SOAP APIs (Web Services)
   6. Oracle Database
   7. Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern
   8. Cloud Migration: The modernized application was migrated to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Google Web Toolkit

Advanced

Oracle JET

Intermediate

Spring Framework

Intermediate

Oracle Database

Advanced

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Intermediate

Oracle SQL Developer

Advanced

Oracle PL/SQL

Advanced

Oracle WebLogic

Intermediate

Oracle Linux

Intermediate

Java

Intermediate

SVN

Intermediate

My contributions to this project spanned various areas, evolving from an IC role to a Team Lead:

1. Legacy Application Modernization and Migration: Led the modernization and migration of the Relate CRM application and Convergence, overseeing the transition to the new SOA/SaaS architecture and technology stack.
2. Performance and Maintenance Improvements: The modernization effort resulted in significant improvements:
   1. Approximately 25% performance improvement, enhancing application responsiveness and user experience.
   2. Approximately 15% reduction in maintenance costs, streamlining support and reducing operational overhead.
3. CI/CD Automation: Automated CI/CD pipelines to streamline the software development lifecycle, ensuring faster and more reliable releases. This resulted in a 30% reduction in deployment time.
4. Security Vulnerability Remediation: Played a key role in addressing security vulnerabilities, resolving 86% of identified issues and significantly improving the application's security posture.
5. Code and Technology Migrations: Managed code technology and version migrations, ensuring compatibility and leveraging the latest features and security patches.
6. Infrastructure Management: Configured build servers and prepared QA environments to support the development and testing processes.
7. Mentorship and Training: As a Senior Engineer and Team Lead, provided training and mentorship to over 20 freshers and interns in various technologies, including Java, Oracle DB, Jasper, BI Publisher, Oracle APEX, Microservices, design patterns, and software best practices.
8. Proof of Concept (POC) Development: Developed POCs to evaluate different technology stacks and testing tools, contributing to informed decision-making regarding technology choices.

1. Improved Scalability and Performance: The move to a cloud-based SOA/SaaS architecture improved the application's scalability and performance, enabling it to handle larger user loads and data volumes.
2. Reduced Maintenance Costs: The modernization effort reduced maintenance costs by simplifying the codebase and leveraging modern technologies.
3. Enhanced Security: Addressing security vulnerabilities improved the application's security posture and protected sensitive customer data.
4. Faster Time to Market: Automated CI/CD pipelines enabled faster and more frequent releases of new features and updates.