Redefining B2B Commerce - Bytes’ Shift to a Scalable, User-Centric Agile Platform

5 min

IN A NUTSHELL

11 research projects completed in a year

100+ design and process improvement recommendations

Accelerated releases cycle from 1-2 times per year to every 2 weeks

Saved 3 months of dev effort through concept testing

About Client

Bytes is a leading provider of world-class IT solutions, offering a growing portfolio of services including cloud, security, licensing, SAM, storage, virtualisation and managed services. The company is a reseller of computer software, principally of products made by Microsoft, but also of cloud storage, computer security and computer asset management software. It was the largest reseller of Microsoft's Azure cloud computing software product in the UK during the year ended 30 June 2019.

EMPLOYEES

750

LOCATION

UK and Ireland

INDUSTRY

Software

01

What Was the Challenge

Bytes had a clear vision to build the best-in-class B2B software commerce platform user experience that strengthens Bytes’ trusted partner relationships with its customers and resellers. However, its monolithic infrastructure created bottlenecks in scalability, performance, and feature deployment. With increasing demand for rapid feature rollouts and high availability, the existing architecture became a roadblock. Additionally, vendor onboarding processes were cumbersome, delaying key partnerships and integrations. Bytes needed the capacity to future-proof its microservices-driven architecture and ensure agility, seamless vendor integration, and a superior customer experience.

02

How We Solved the Problem

Ciklum's partnership with Bytes initiated as a means to drive comprehensive digital transformation, addressing infrastructure limitations and providing engineering capacity. Our teams began shaping their vision through an 8-week product discovery workshop, identifying roadblocks, consolidating solutions, and defining the delivery direction. By transitioning to a microservices architecture and integrating AWS as a cloud partner, Ciklum ensures seamless scalability and rapid feature deployment. Leveraging automation, intelligent process discovery, and user-driven research, we continue to enhance the platform, making it optimized, resilient, and future-ready.

Transitioning from Monolithic to Microservices Architecture

Re-engineering Bytes’ digital marketplace by transitioning from a monolithic infrastructure to microservices, ensuring scalability, agility, and enhanced deployment efficiency. The transformation will position Bytes to quickly adapt to evolving business needs and technology advancements.

Enhancing Marketplace Efficiency with AWS & Azure Integrations

Ciklum integrated Microsoft Azure Third-Party Marketplace products into Bytes’ marketplace, enabling CSP customers to purchase Microsoft Blanket offers and manage subscriptions seamlessly. Simultaneously, Buy with AWS optimized third-party launches and checkout flows, enhancing efficiency, scalability, and customer experience while reducing operational overhead.

Continuous Discovery & Continuous Delivery Model

Ciklum leverages continuous discovery and continuous delivery (CD/CD) model, enabling Bytes to consistently deliver new features with evolving market demands. This also allows Bytes to simultaneously validate and discover new feature opportunities with both existing and potential customers.

Accelerating Innovation with Customer-Driven Insights

Validating Bytes’ unique value propositions through customer testing, Ciklum ensured it met real user needs. By iterating concept tests, Ciklum saved three months of development, uncovering a simpler yet effective feature. This customer-driven approach improved roadmap prioritization, enhanced decision-making, and strengthened user engagement.

User-Centric Research and Feature Roadmap Development

Understanding market needs and user behaviors is crucial for shaping Bytes’ future marketplace strategy. Ciklum embeds a user researcher within the project, conducting in-depth interviews and analysis to define an optimized product roadmap. These insights continue to empower feature development, ensuring customer-aligned innovation.

Rapid Upscaling to Support Engineering Capacity

To sustain growth and innovation, Ciklum continues to scale Bytes’ team, growing from 6 to 30 members in just 9 months. We assemble a highly skilled workforce to drive continuous improvements and future enhancements.