Technology: Microsoft PowerApps

How Amara Therapeutics is Transforming Healthcare with TEKenable | Customer Testimonial

In the rapidly evolving field of digital therapeutics, Amara Therapeutics stands out as a trendsetter. Led by CEO – Brendan Staunton, the company is on a mission to develop innovative treatments delivered directly to patients’ smartphones. One of their primary focuses is creating a digital therapeutic for overactive bladder, a debilitating condition affecting approximately 100 million women worldwide.

To bring this groundbreaking product to market, Amara Therapeutics partnered with TEKenable, a company known for its expertise in healthcare software development.

The decision to collaborate with TEKenable was influenced by their impressive track record and their ISO 13485 certification, the gold standard in healthcare software development. This certification was crucial for Amara Therapeutics. They aim to secure FDA and CE approval for their product in Europe and the US.

The collaboration with TEKenable has been a rewarding experience for Amara Therapeutics. Staunton praises the TEKenable team for their top-class talent and dedication. The primary goal of the project was to develop a robust software platform tailored to the unique demands of healthcare. This involved creating a sophisticated functional document that served as the blueprint for the entire development plan. From the outset, cybersecurity, information security, and data management were integral components of the project, areas where TEKenable’s expertise proved invaluable.

Throughout the development phases, the project faced various challenges.

However, these obstacles only highlighted the exceptional quality of the TEKenable team. Their ability to tackle problems and devise innovative solutions enhanced the final product. The result was an ISO 13485-compliant software as a digital medical device standard treatment platform, comprising iOS and Android apps, as well as a clinician portal backend. Additionally, a series of treatment algorithms were developed to integrate the user interface with the backend.

The complexity of the project was immense, requiring the integration of multiple factors such as cybersecurity, information security, and data protection from the beginning. Despite these challenges, the final product exceeded expectations. Staunton expresses immense satisfaction with the outcome, noting that the robust platform is well-prepared to meet regulatory approval standards in both the US and EU.

Communication and collaboration were key to the project’s success. Staunton emphasises the importance of effective communication when developing software externally. The close working relationship between Amara Therapeutics and TEKenable was instrumental in navigating the project’s numerous decisions and challenges. TEKenable’s responsiveness and proactive approach ensured that the project progressed smoothly, even when faced with unexpected hurdles.

Looking ahead

Amara Therapeutics is preparing to initiate a large randomised control trial involving 10 hospitals in the US. This clinical study will be one of the largest ever conducted in the field of overactive bladder and the largest using a digital treatment approach. Following the trial, the company plans to apply for regulatory approval in both the US and Europe, paving the way for commercialisation.

The ultimate goal is to make this innovative product available to patients worldwide. Helping as many people as possible benefit from the hard work and dedication of both Amara Therapeutics and TEKenable.

Enhancing Traceability: DNA Testing Solution for Weatherbys

Weatherbys Scientific is one of the most renowned laboratories in the world, providing bovine, equine and other animal species services worldwide.  For bovine animals, Weatherbys Scientific offers a range of genetic testing services for bovine animals, including parentage verification, genetic disease testing, and breeding soundness evaluations. It also offers a microchip identification service for bovine animals, which can be used to track and identify individual animals for traceability and management purposes. Moreover, it provides a range of health screening services for bovine animals, including disease testing, parasite screening, and vaccination programs.

The Challenge

Weatherbys Scientific was using an outdated database system to store and manage information on bovine pedigrees, breeding records, and genetic data. This system was difficult to use and had limited capabilities for data analysis and reporting. Most data keeping and reports were manually created in different formats using excel sheets, making it a time-consuming process, prone to errors and inconsistencies and difficult to scale up. Weatherbys Scientific used legacy LIMS to manage and track samples, test results, and lab data. The system was cumbersome and difficult to integrate with other systems, leading to delays and inaccuracies in data. Overall, Weatherbys Scientific’s legacy systems were limiting the company’s ability to manage data effectively, make informed business decisions, and provide high-quality services to customers.

The Solution

Weatherbys Scientific engaged TEKenable to provide a solution to streamline and automate their data management processes, improving operational efficiency and enhancing the user experience for clients and employees alike. TEKenable digitised the previously manual and excel-based processes by which Bovine samples were received and processed through the laboratory for the purposes of verifying or excluding parentage and testing for specific disease markers. TEKenable built an end-to-end automated solution that facilitates Weatherbys in importing submission data from a number of bovine societies. In addition, it represents submission data as samples that are processed through the lab. Moreover, it applies custom logic for the allocation of data samples to laboratory plates. It also exports and imports genotype and parentage data to/from third-party specialised systems. The new solution automatically generates result data and provides a custom dashboard to report KPIs and the operational management of the process.

TEKenable developed a system that automates the collection and processing of samples, reducing the need for manual handling and minimizing the risk of errors. Moreover, TEKenable integrated an ELN system that allows Weatherbys Scientific to electronically record and track data, making it easily accessible and searchable. TEKenable also integrated advanced data analysis and reporting tools that allow Weatherbys Scientific to quickly and easily analyze and report on results. Moreover, TEKenable built a customer portal that allows Weatherbys Scientific clients to easily access their test results and order new tests.

With this end-to-end automated data management solution, Weatherbys Scientific has been able to significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs. The system also allows them to provide their clients with faster and more accurate results.

Phase 2 – Kennel Club

In Phase 2 of this project, TEKenable was engaged by Weatherbys Scientific to help Kennel Club automate its canine DNA testing services. The Kennel Club is a client of Weatherbys Scientific, a leading provider of genetic testing and breeding services for dogs. Weatherbys Scientific offers a range of services to support the breeding and management of purebred dogs, including DNA testing, parentage verification, and genetic health assessments. The Kennel Club works closely with Weatherbys Scientific to ensure that the breeds they register are healthy and genetically sound.

TEKenable helped Kennel Club launch their new DNA testing service to improve & protect dog health and promote responsible dog breeding. The Kennel Club sought to provide pet owners with a comprehensive DNA testing service that would help them understand their dog’s genetic makeup and any potential health risks. These tests simplify the process of genetic testing by using a single cheek swab to check a dog’s DNA for markers associated with a number of different inherited disorders. The results from these tests are automatically registered to the dog’s record and are available on the Kennel Club website. This new testing service by TEKenable provides valuable information to pet owners, breeders, and veterinarians, helping to ensure that dogs are healthy and free from genetic disorders.

The Outcome

Weatherbys now has an automated data management solution that processes and analyses large amounts of bovine data quickly and accurately, reducing the chances of human error. It has helped Weatherbys reduce costs associated with manual data entry and processing. Moreover, the new solution provides Weatherbys real-time access to bovine data, allowing for faster decision-making and more timely responses to emerging issues. Moreover, the solution allows for more advanced data analysis and reporting, providing more insights into business operations and efficiency. With the new solution, Weatherbys can now process over 500,000 bovine samples in a year.

Kennel Club provides its clients with an easily affordable DNA testing service for dogs, ensuring breeders and buyers can better understand their dog’s genetics, easily check their dog’s health and be aware of any underlying health conditions they might pass on to their puppies. 

Technologies Used

  • Microsoft PowerApps Model-Driven Apps
  • Microsoft Azure Functions (for automation)
  • Microsoft PCF Controls (for extracting .csv files to import into the other lab systems)
  • Microsoft Power Portal (for their customers to see KPIs and reports)

International Crisis Accommodation System in Support of Ukraine

International Crisis Accommodation System in Support of Ukraine

Summary

As a result of the war in Ukraine, a large number of refugees are landing in Ireland. The Irish Red Cross has taken the initiative to ask for Pledges from the Irish Public for assistance in housing these refugees on a voluntary basis. TEKenable received an emergency request for assistance from the Irish Red Cross via Microsoft Ireland to help provide them with systems to manage the crisis pro bono. The purpose of this solution was to aid various data collection processes undertaken by the Irish Red Cross with the help of the Irish Army and Auctioneers Association during this crisis.

We delivered a Power Apps Portal for collection of accommodation assessment data from 3rd parties like Auctioneers Association members from across Ireland. In addition, a Model Driven Power App was created for the Irish Red Cross and partner agencies to process the accommodation approvals and suitability data collected via the Portal. Both apps were delivered within 3 working days from receiving the request to deploying the apps to Production environments.

Scope of Project

The Irish Red Cross has received tens of thousands of pledges for Vacant and Shared Property from the Irish Public to help them house incoming refugees from Ukraine. The Irish Red Cross required a system that allows them to assess the conditions and suitability of each pledged property before they matched refugee families to these properties.

The Irish Army offered to work with the Auctioneers Association across the country to help with the assessment of these pledged properties. The Irish Army call centre organised appointments for the members of the Auctioneers Association to visit each of the properties and complete a property assessment form.

The property assessment forms were required to be available via a responsive (mobile device friendly) web portal or app that would allow submission of the data to the Irish Red Cross. 

The Irish Red Cross needed the ability to process this data in a back-office app with the ability to see all the submitted records and publish the data via excel for sharing with their partner agencies and Irish Government Departments as well as to provide statistical analysis for Government Ministers. They also needed to categorise the data easily so they could easily identify Vacant or Shared Properties suitable for specific family sizes or disabled friendly etc.

TEKenable Contribution

After an initial few meeting’s between the Irish Red Cross, Microsoft and TEKenable senior leadership it was agreed that TEKenable would receive a format for each of the different forms required for Vacant Property Assessment and Shared Property Assessment from the Irish Red Cross.  In practise due to the pressure placed on the Red Cross TEKenable was required to have more autonomy of decision making that would be usual for a non-crisis project.

TEKenable would than undertake the delivery of the online forms via Power Apps Portal and Model Driven App. TEKenable provisioned a new Irish Red Cross Emergency Tenant for hosting the apps.

Power Automate

We provisioned multiple Environments and Portals and configured Azure DevOps Pipelines to manage the ALM. TEKenable stood up a team of Power Platform consultants to help deliver the required solutions.

The Email Campaign was set up using the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing module. It allowed the IRC to have full visibility of the customer journey, from tracking the initial reminder pledge email that was sent, to viewing which people hadn’t opened the email or overlooked clicking on the pledge link and following up with them accordingly.

This information was crucial to the IRC in understanding the number of people who were still interested in pledging a property and allowed them to confirm the statistics with the government.

Outcome

The Irish Red Cross and TEKenable reviewed the solution demo, and we found the customer satisfied with the Power apps implementation despite the challenging timelines and fluid context. TEKenable provided the Power Apps Portal URLs for the Auctioneers Association members to directly access and start submitting their Property Assessments from their mobile devices.

Data is already being received into Dataverse from the portal and the Irish Red Cross have started matching and sharing extracts of the Dataverse data using the Power Apps Excel Export features. 

The users had never used Power Apps previously and were given minimal training and Microsoft Docs article URLs to help them Login, navigate a Model Driven App, use Views and export data to excel so their success is a testimony to the intuitive nature of the platform. 

Technology Used

Power Platform Dataverse – Power App – Model Driven

Project Spotlight On The Weatherbys Stallion Book Application

A presentation of the Weatherbys Stallion Book Application showcased on multiple devices

THE CHALLENGE

Weatherbys had a joint venture running a Global Stallions Mobile App for Flat Stallions to allow stallion owners to publicise their stallions along with the offspring from these Stallions. This App is a showcase of the lineage of these stallions and the progeny they produce.

Weatherbys wanted to develop a modern mobile first website to house all Flat & National Hunt stallions in one location for Ireland, GB, and France and leverage the Weatherbys held information on these animals.

THE SOLUTION

We built a mobile-first modern website (https://www.nhstallions.co.uk) and integrated it with Weatherbys data to provide this stallion list. The system also allows stud farms to provide advertising information as part of the site. The backend was delivered using Power Platform. The project was delivered in just under 3 months.

TEKenable have been working with Weatherbys for the past few years and I would have no hesitation in recommending them. Their professionalism, technological delivery and customer service is exemplary. I look forward to continuing our partnership with TEKenable to complete our current projects and explore new opportunities.

Russell Ferris – Weatherbys CEO

Rapid Delivery of COVID Restart Grant using Power Platform

THE CHALLENGE

On the 15th of May 2020, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, agreed details of a new €250 million Restart Grant, that provides direct grant aid to micro and small businesses to help them with the costs associated with re-opening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures.

The Grant is available to businesses with a turnover of less than €5 million and employing 50 people or less, that were closed or impacted by at least a 25% reduction in turnover out to 30th June 2020. The Grant is a contribution towards the cost of reopening or keeping a business operational and re-connecting with employees and customers.

The Minister announced that the Local Authorities would be responsible for managing, processing, and paying the grant to qualified and eligible companies in their catchment area.

THE SOLUTION

Dublin City Council engaged TEKenable to provide a minimum viable product (MVP) using Microsoft Power Platform that would allow Dublin City Council to provide a public-facing application portal to allow qualifying SME’s to submit their Re-start Grant application and to also provide a back-office application that would store the data securely and allow for the efficient, timely and secure processing of applications.

The Government announced the Re-start grant in mid-May 2020, and little or notice was provided to the Local Authorities that they would be responsible for processing the applications in their area. Dublin City Council IT staff were under extreme pressure to have a Grant Management application up and running in a very tight time frame. A system of this scale and size could have taken up to 3-6 months to scope out, design, develop, test, and deploy, the fact that we delivered and went live with a working system in under a week is a great testament to the delivery capability of TEKenable, the proactive and very supportive DCC staff and the power of Microsoft Power Platform technology. The project is of course fully aligned with the Digital Citizen Services agenda enabling the public to interact with state and semi-state services online.

Restart Grant Sample Back Office Screen
Restart Grant Sample Back Office Screen

The solution comprises a Power Portal for applicants to register and make their application, which includes the upload of proof of account documentation and is stored on the Common Data Service. A back-office Power App provides the workflow for the assessment of applications with verification of details, rejection, and payment authorization and (as shown below) a management Dashboard to allow the assessment team’s management to visualize the workload and progress.

The application process is mobile and tablet friendly and the whole system is accessible by DCC staff while they are working remotely with appropriate security.

Restart Grant Management Dashboard
Restart Grant Management Dashboard

THE OUTCOME

The required MVP was delivered and live in one week from the initial request. Further functionality was added over the next few weeks and the system is rapidly changed to reflect additional needs and changes to the Restart grant rules as they arise.

“To date the platform has been very well received by those breeders who have made their foal registrations via the new system. It is our objective to incorporate new technology into the General Stud Book, to create user friendly, mobile and efficient systems to meet the demands of the modern breeder.”

Brendan O’Brien – Russell Ferris, CEO Weatherbys

While the project described here is COVID related this is only one point solution built on the Power Platform. This project has firmly demonstrated the benefits of a Low Code solution including speed and cost of delivery, out-of-the-box functionality, and a fully managed platform and other non-COVID-related projects have already been identified for the platform.

Zurich – Blended Funds Trading Platform

Zurich is one Ireland’s leading insurance companies providing a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. The company employs over 1,000 people across its locations in Dublin and Wexford. Zurich in Ireland is part of Zurich Insurance Group, a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With more than 55,000 employees, the Group’s customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872 and has a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and other markets. 

THE CHALLENGE

Zurich Life and Investments provide an end to end solution for fund administration needs for companies who administer collective unitised and blended funds. The core element of Zurich’s service was run primarily on LIfe400 (on AS400), spreadsheets, and dispersed databases. This was not scalable and carried undue risk and required excessive manual administration and oversight as a result. Zurich had a business opportunity to trade funds on a wholesale scale much larger than their existing processing activities but could not seize the opportunity without a major revamp of their supporting IT systems. Furthermore, the Life400 did not have the necessary capabilities to trade the blended funds, and it would be very difficult and expensive to add that capability.

THE SOLUTION

TEKenable engaged in a detailed analysis of the existing and proposed process, devised an approach to allow the inclusion of the older technologies in Zurich without requiring them to be modified and completed a detailed functional specification with the Zurich business team which would form the basis of the new system. 

On completion of the analysis, TEKenable delivered a bespoke solution in .NET – designed, built and optimized for Trading and Pricing needs of Zurich users. The system entailed – 

  • Process flow for the management of the daily trading notifications and instructions and straight to market trades
  • Ability to load trade notifications from Back end systems e.g. Life 400 on a daily basis 
  • Settlement processing
  • Contract note receipt
  • Fund charges and pricing
  • Update of the HiPortfolio Asset management system with unit creations and liquidations
  • Manage the “de-blending” and aggregation of these notifications down to the Base Fund trade instruction level 
  • Issues Trade instructions 
  • Glide path based rebalancing of funds
  • Anti-dilution levy handling
  • Blend of Blend processing and other fund types

THE OUTCOME

The new platform known, as TPT, is now an important element of Zurich’s business and IT infrastructure, allowing the company trade wholesale volumes of Blended Fund investments reliably without increased headcount. Long-term support for TPT is provided under contract between Zurich and TEKenable. The implementation of this new platform reduced IT costs, increased visibility and improved quality of service for the Zurich’s end customers and most importantly, allowed Zurich to launch a new business service, not just despite the impediment of legacy systems, but actually incorporating them into the process.

The project was so successful that Zurich Isle of Man engaged TEKenable to implement a trading platform for them supporting box position trading, multi-currency hedging and integrations with SAP. Millions of euro are being traded on a daily and weekly basis through these applications. 

Weatherbys – Digital Transformation Case Study

Weatherbys Ltd is a UK-based company, established in 1770 and responsible for the administration of horse racing in the United Kingdom. It also publishes the General Stud Book, the recognized authority on racehorse pedigree for the UK and Ireland. In Ireland, Weatherbys operates Europe’s premier DNA and genomic testing laboratories, offering a range of tests for multiple animal species. With its Headquarters in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, Weatherbys employs 450 people in offices in London, Edinburgh, and Ireland. Weatherbys’ group of companies includes a bank, insurance company, commercial asset finance company, and a DNA laboratory.

THE CHALLENGE

The General Stud Book is a breed registry for horses in Great Britain and Ireland, which is published by Weatherbys every four years. Until recently, breeders wishing to register foals with Weatherbys could only file documents in paper format. With over 14,000 foals registered in the UK and Ireland each year, manual registration was a very labor-intensive operation, consuming a lot of time and incurring high costs associated with record-keeping and maintenance. The potential for error in this manual registration process was higher than desired and breeders had to wait for a significant time for foal their registration to be completed. Weatherby’s required a solution that allows members of the public to more easily complete animal registrations via an online portal which is then fully integrated into the backend databases via API’s that hold the core registration data.

THE SOLUTION

Weatherbys approached TEKenable to streamline the registration process for foal breeders. TEKenable working closely with Weatherbys, designed a new digital registration portal to handle details of foal births online. 

This new digital platform allows for owners and keepers to register foals, broodmares and stallions and also update any information regarding change of ownership or transfer of horses. It also helps Weatherbys maintain a record of gelded, retired and dead horses. Moreover, this platform also helps maintain the record of thoroughbred and non-thoroughbred horses. This new platform is present both in website and mobile application form and allows users to register and review records from anywhere with just a simple click. 

THE OUTCOME

This new digital platform helped Weatherbys eliminate 99% of paperwork from the registration process. Now breeders can simply use this website or mobile application at their convenience without needing to visit a Weatherby office. This led to a 90% reduction in the level of paper-based registration applications and provides prompt and accurate information to users. The core administration team no longer have to rekey data into the back office systems because the registration data is validated at point of entry the need for Weatherbys staff to engage in following up applications with issues which consumed huge resource has been removed from the process.

Digital transformation made the registration process more efficient and time saving. The solution is now live in the UK and Ireland on desktop and mobile phone, accepts payments on both credit and debit card and is already saving breeders and Weatherbys valuable time.

Russell Ferris, chief executive of Weatherbys Ireland explains: 

“To date, the platform has been very well received by those breeders who have made their foal registrations via the new system. It is our objective to incorporate new technology into the General Stud Book, to create user-friendly, mobile, and efficient systems to meet the demands of the modern breeder”

Russell Ferris, CEO Weatherbys

DairyGold Supplier Relationship Platform

Dairygold Limited is an Irish dairy cooperative based in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland. With 2,850 milk suppliers, Dairygold processes an annual volume of approximately 1.4 billion liters of grass-fed pastureland milk, making it Ireland’s largest dairy co-operative and the island’s second largest milk supplier.

With approximately 7,000 shareholders and a net asset value of €338 million, Dairygold reports an annual turnover of around €992 million. Employing more than 1,200 employees, Dairygold produces some of the world’s most advanced and innovative nutritional solutions. Dairygold exports to over 50 countries and has production facilities in Ireland and the UK, as well as sales offices in Germany, Spain, and China.

THE CHALLENGE

Dairygold approached TEKenable with the objective of designing a web-based platform to enable smooth and seamless engagement with their suppliers. At that time, suppliers did not have quick access to the Dairygold business information relevant to them. For instance, they had to keep a manual record of monthly milk sales, did not have quick access to milk sample tests, could not manage their finances with a single click, and had to go through a series of steps to access financial records and statements.

The suppliers’ relationship with Dairygold is one of bi-directional trading in which Dairygold was not only buying milk from farmers but also supplying them with products like feed and fertilizers. Dairygold needed a single marketplace to manage the business with milk suppliers and at the same time supply their own products to them.

Although Dairygold had a platform in place since 1998, it had become outdated creating technical costs and risks, lacked many innovative and unique features, was functionally inefficient, and was incompatible with the overall branding of Dairygold. The platform’s outlook and features completely contradicted Dairygold’s newly revamped website. 

Suppliers also complained about the unfriendly user interface which made it difficult for them to understand and use certain features. Overall, the existing platform was in dire need of improvement. At a time when the market sector is investing heavily in online and mobile services, revamping the old platform was a key priority for Dairygold to enhance relationship management with suppliers.

THE SOLUTION

TEKenable replaced the existing Dairygold Supplier Extranet with a secure, state-of-the-art, high-performing portal connected to underlying ERP and trading platforms. TEKenable has worked with Dairygold previously, to deliver a mobile app ‘MyMilk’ for their suppliers providing access to real-time information about their milk quality, sales, forecasts, payments, and other financials. TEKenable integrated these mobile app features into the web portal as well. This new platform is mobile responsive and can be accessed with ease on mobile devices as well as PCs.

The platform helps suppliers easily access information specific to their business with Dairygold. This includes a monthly record of milk sold to Dairygold, milk volume forecast, milk sample tests, financial statements, and collection details.

It also helps suppliers place orders for the products they bought from Dairygold with a single click, maintain a record of purchase & delivery, gain information on the products like nitrates, view their payment history and balance scorecard at their convenience.

THE OUTCOME

This new dynamic platform provides Dairygold suppliers access to real-time information without any delays. The portal is easy to use, provides detailed reporting regarding every single order and purchase made by suppliers. It also enables Dairygold to forecast product (milk) purchase volumes and plan for future demands in advance, thus adding efficiency to the business.

The platform reduces overhead administrative expenses as many of the earlier manual processes have been automated. Access to timely information enhanced the productivity of Dairygold and improved customer perception and experience.

This robust and easily accessible platform reduced maintenance costs, improved supplier engagement, enabled Dairygold to optimize its processes and maximize its business outcomes.

DPD Implements ‘Barry’ The Chatbot

DPD, established in 1976 and owned by the French Postal service, delivers more than 5.2 million parcels every day and has built up a strong reputation for service excellence.

THE CHALLENGE

DPD Ireland required a chatbot solution that would allow customers to get access to delivery information and change their delivery details without having to wait for a customer agent to become available. And that would allow for 24/7 support for customers. The Chatbot solution should also provide customers with four self-service options, namely, tracking a parcel, changing delivery details, engaging through live chat, and an AI-driven natural language interface.

THE SOLUTION

To do this, TEKenable built the ChatBot UI and integrated it with the Microsoft Cortana Intelligence platform to provide the AI engine. Then it integrated it with a number of DPD’s ‘Back End’ systems to both query parcel data and transact for the Customer.

THE OUTCOME

The statistics were phenomenal, substantially reducing Call Centre traffic freeing capacity, and at the same time improving Customer Service. DPD has named their ChatBot “Barry” and is now looking at extending its capability and adding new bots to the service.

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Get in Touch with TEKenable

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