WEBSTAR increases development efficiency through Azure DevOps and governance optimization.
WEBSTAR is a long-established Swiss wholesaler with over 140 years of company history and is headquartered in Zurich. The company offers an extensive range of more than 25,000 items in the areas of hygiene and consumable goods, medical and care products, as well as kiosk and shop items. With around 400 employees, WEBSTAR processes approximately 540,000 orders annually and supplies customers from the hospitality industry, manufacturing, and the public sector. The company places particular emphasis on sustainability, including the operation of photovoltaic systems covering an area of 13,290 square meters.
Initial Situation
A strategic decision was made to implement a modern DevOps strategy that would optimally leverage both internal development capacities and external collaboration. A three-person in-house development team was to be empowered to independently operate and further develop the new development platform. This transformation aimed to shorten time-to-market, improve software quality, and reduce dependency on external service providers.
The digital transformation required a holistic approach that considered both technical and organizational aspects. The company defined clear strategic goals to strengthen its position in the digital market and make its development processes future-proof.
At the core was the implementation of robust DevOps governance that ensures the highest standards of compliance and security. Azure DevOps was chosen as the central development platform, providing full control over source code and supporting modern development practices. The integration of Jira as a well-established project management tool was intended to ensure seamless traceability from requirements to implementation.
Another milestone was the migration from the on-premises version of SonarQube to the cloud-based SonarQube Cloud, which increases flexibility and reduces maintenance efforts. This strategic decision underscores the company's commitment to a cloud-first strategy.
The company selected isolutions as its implementation partner, distinguished by deep Azure DevOps expertise and many years of experience in delivering customized DevOps solutions. Proven competence in integrating various development tools and a thorough understanding of the company’s specific requirements were decisive factors in this partnership.
Solution
Azure DevOps as the Foundation
At the heart of the solution was the implementation of Azure DevOps as the central development platform. A customized branching strategy was developed, precisely tailored to the team size, project structure, and release cycles. In intensive workshops, a comprehensive DevOps governance framework was created and documented, serving as the foundation for all future development processes.
Strategic Source Code Migration
A key milestone was the complete takeover of the source code from the external software provider. By migrating it into the company’s own Azure DevOps environment, full control over the code was regained. The new repository structure ensures the highest security standards while providing optimal accessibility for the internal development team.
Modernization of Code Quality Assurance
The migration from SonarQube to SonarQube Cloud marked the transition to a forward-looking, low-maintenance solution for code quality assurance. The CI/CD pipelines were adapted and optimized to enable seamless integration of the cloud-based analysis.
Structured Project Execution
Analysis Phase
The analysis phase laid the foundation for the transformation through intensive workshops. During this phase, the current state was assessed, the vision was refined, and the implementation steps were prioritized.
Implementation Phase
In the implementation phase, the technical execution took place with the setup of the Azure DevOps environment, the migration to SonarQube Cloud, and the controlled takeover of the source code.
Optimization Phase
The subsequent optimization phase focused on the continuous improvement of development processes, the introduction of automated testing, and comprehensive training measures for employees.
Results and Benefits
The implemented solution led to a significant increase in development efficiency. The regained control over the source code now enables faster response times and greater flexibility in the ongoing development of the webshop. Automated, maintenance-free code analysis via SonarQube Cloud continuously ensures development quality while simultaneously reducing administrative overhead.
Business Value and Realized Benefits
The implementation of the modern DevOps strategy brought significant improvements for the company. The achieved results confirm the success of the digital transformation and lay a solid foundation for future growth.
Strategic Advantages
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Full control over the source code within the company’s own Azure DevOps environment enables maximum flexibility in the further development of the webshop
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The cloud-based infrastructure offers unlimited scalability for current and future development projects
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Significant reduction in dependency on external software vendors through the development of in-house expertise
Measurable Results
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A three-person internal development team was successfully trained and now operates the Azure DevOps platform independently
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The optimized branching strategy allows for rapid response times to critical updates: hotfixes can be deployed within minutes while maintaining code integrity
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Standardizing the development processes enabled a reduction of the time-to-market for new features by an average of 30%.
Die neue DevOps-Umgebung hat nicht nur die technischen Prozesse optimiert, sondern auch die Zusammenarbeit im Team verbessert. Die klaren Strukturen und automatisierten Prozesse ermöglichen es den Entwicklern, sich auf wertschöpfende Tätigkeiten zu konzentrieren, was zu einer höheren Arbeitszufriedenheit führt.
Alex Hugger
CIO | WEBSTAR
«Thanks to the extensive experience of isolutions, the development processes were made significantly more efficient. The regained control over the source code enables faster response times and greater flexibility in the further development of the webshop.»
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