Modernizing for Speed and Insight

A leading manufacturer in the transportation and outdoor lifestyle space faced growing pressure from aging systems and rising operational complexity. Their legacy mainframe was approaching end-of-life, with critical support resources dwindling and the platform growing increasingly fragile. The system's outdated architecture, duplicated code, and inconsistent data models led to high technical debt and a slower pace of innovation.

To compete in a market demanding faster product cycles and seamless digital experiences, the company launched a comprehensive digital transformation initiative focused on four strategic areas:

• Connected Customer
• Manufacturing Modernization
• Sales, Service, and Marketing Modernization
• Data and Operations Transformation

The goal was to retire legacy systems, modernize customer and operational data flows, and establish a future-ready platform leveraging best-in-class cloud technologies.

Partnership and Approach

Concord engaged as a trusted partner based on a long-standing relationship and deep experience in integration, middleware, and data modernization. A key focus was supporting the rollout of Salesforce (for Sales, Service, and Marketing) and Microsoft Dynamics 365 (for Manufacturing, Finance, and Supply Chain). Concord led critical efforts across system integration, data migration, and reporting to make sure these new platforms operated smoothly and delivered value from day one.

More than a technology vendor, Concord worked side-by-side with internal teams and external partners. Acting as the bridge between groups, this close collaboration helped surface issues early, keep workstreams aligned, and ensure solutions supported real business goals.

Technical Solution

To meet the company’s modernization goals, Concord combined deep technical expertise with strong governance and collaborative delivery. A tailored technology stack was implemented to support modern enterprise requirements. Here’s how the technology fit together:

• ‍MuleSoft powered real-time and near real-time integrations, connecting Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and other core systems. This ensured that data flowed smoothly between applications and workflows stayed up to date.‍
• Azure Data Factory (ADF) handled batch and scheduled data pipelines, moving large data sets efficiently from source systems to the data platform on a regular basis.‍
• Azure Databricks became the core of a modern lakehouse architecture. It replaced legacy warehouses and supported advanced analytics, machine learning, and unified intelligence. Information from Salesforce and Dynamics 365 — integrated via MuleSoft and ADF — was centralized here to unlock scalable, cross-functional insights.
• Azure Synapse Link streamed operational records from Dynamics 365 into Databricks in near real time. This approach provided up-to-date visibility without overloading transactional systems.
• Azure IoT ingested telemetry and device data streams, powering operational visibility and predictive maintenance use cases.‍
• Power BI dashboards, built on insights from Databricks, provided interactive dashboards across Sales, Service, Finance, and Supply Chain. These tools equipped teams with actionable intelligence for smarter daily decisions.

Supporting Capabilities

To ensure long-term scalability, security, and performance, Concord built:

• Automated CI/CD deployment pipelines leveraging Azure DevOps, Key Vault, and infrastructure-as-code. This approach enabled fast, consistent, and secure releases of MuleSoft APIs, Azure Functions, ADF workflows, and Databricks code.
• Exception handling frameworks that improved system stability by managing errors gracefully.
• Centralized monitoring and alerting systems that provided real-time visibility into system health and enabled proactive incident response.
• Robust API security and governance policies to safeguard integrations and protect sensitive information.
• Reusable development templates and reference architectures to ensure consistency and accelerate future growth.
• Core Azure infrastructure components — Including Service Bus, Data Lakes, Function Apps, Logic Apps, networking, and secure on-premises connectivity — which established a robust foundation for continued digital transformation.