Providing exclusive deals and offers is one of Aspire Lifestyles key services for which they are contracted by major brands, who in turn offer their customers these services as part of a loyalty or best customer program. Data related to these deals was previously stored across different sources, both internal and external.
With the previous information architecture, the process of managing, retrieving, and presenting data was especially complicated and inefficient. As such, the project necessitated Aspire to centralize its data and develop a more intuitive backend interface in order to provide their clients a faster, more efficient service that allows for easy editing, removal and creation of new content in the database.
A fast, powerful system with a navigable design is an important element for attracting new clients to Aspire. The chosen platform for building the system should be capable of offering VIP customers a premium experience, while being expandable in the future. As a highly scalable and customizable platform, Sitecore aligned well with Aspire’s needs. The data repository system was developed to centralize and manage content, while providing a powerful tool for Aspire’s clients.
The Digital Content Repository Centre was built to provide Aspire’s clients services, including database access, embedded UI and user log-in while consolidating their data into one source using an API framework. This allowed Aspire to offer clients real-time access to information and deals, which they can then provide for their customers. The system is built to be scalable both horizontally and vertically, allowing the platform to grow as needed. With the platform being easily configured, customized and extended, third-party vendors are able to access the Aspire platform, so they can develop new functionality using extensions. A Customer Key authorization system was also adopted, so each client can be uniquely identified, allowing for different accessibility configurations for data access.
To prevent interrupting the end-users, the system was designed to support clients’ app connecting to multiple different API versions. When they need to update or change the API, SmartOSC can customize and test on a second API version without disrupting the service provided to customers.
Together with implementing the Digital Content Repository Centre, SmartOSC also implemented several other enhancements to improve Aspire’s overall functionality and usability. The Sitecore backend was configured and optimized according to Aspire’s needs. A user-friendly admin interface was designed for intuitively managing and editing information in the repository. Aspire backend users are also trained to use the new Sitecore backend UI.
We applied extended features to simplify the navigation and search functions too, making content management less cumbersome. A roles-based Sitecore Security Workflow was also set up for this project. This ensures that all content passes through a set of predetermined states before they are published and that only certain users are able to access and edit the content.
Through a global delivery model, Aspire Lifestyles has been empowered to realize its vision of continuous improvement to their service quality giving clients a quick, simple, and effective way to access services and data.
SmartOSC has been retained to provide ongoing support services to ensure the system runs smoothly. Development time for this project took three months, and ran 30% below budget. Further upgrades and projects are planned, and both SmartOSC and Aspire Lifestyles could not be more excited about the future ahead.