Case Study 04
A REST API-Driven Healthcare Platform That Powers Both Web and Mobile — on AWS
A Fortune 500 healthcare company needed a single backend to power their consumer website and native Android and iOS apps simultaneously. We built it on Drupal 8, deployed it on AWS, and delivered it in Agile sprints.
Industry
Healthcare & Consumer Goods
Engagement
Drupal 8 & API Development
Methodology
Agile / Scrum
Location
New Jersey, USA
3
Platforms served — web, Android & iOS — from one backend
AWS
Full cloud deployment on EC2 & RDS within VPC
2WK
Sprint cycles delivering working software consistently
D8
Drupal 8 REST API as the single source of truth
The Challenge
Enterprise Requirements Tight Timelines. Three Clients to Serve.
This engagement came with a demanding set of requirements that had to be addressed simultaneously — not sequentially. The platform had to be functional, secure, cloud-hosted, and mobile-ready from the moment it launched.
A single backend powering three separate front ends. The web platform, the Android application, and the iOS application all needed to pull from the same content source — with no duplication of data management effort and no inconsistency between platforms.
No on-premise infrastructure. The company required a fully cloud-hosted solution from day one. This meant provisioning and configuring the entire production environment on Amazon AWS — including EC2 compute instances, RDS database instances, and VPC networking — as part of the project scope.
Custom data collection for field teams. The platform needed a flexible survey and data capture system for the company’s field staff — structured enough to produce consistent, reportable data, but configurable enough to accommodate changing workflows without developer intervention.
Non-technical content managers needed admin access. The company’s content team was not technical. The platform needed a Drupal admin interface clear enough for non-developers to manage mobile app content without requiring engineering support for routine updates.
Our Approach
API First Architecture Cloud-Native Deployment
We built the platform API-first — defining and validating the REST endpoints before any mobile development began, ensuring that the Android and iOS teams had a stable, reliable contract to build against from day one.
Drupal 8 REST API Layer
Built a comprehensive REST API on Drupal 8 — structured to serve content, user data, and survey responses to Android and iOS mobile clients with consistent, versioned endpoints.
Mobile Admin Interface
Developed a custom Drupal admin module giving the company’s content team direct control over mobile app content — no developer involvement required for routine updates, announcements, or configuration changes.
AWS Cloud Provisioning
Provisioned the full production environment on Amazon AWS — EC2 compute instances, RDS database instances, and VPC networking — configured specifically for a healthcare enterprise’s security and performance requirements.
Data Capture Engine
Implemented Drupal Commerce for select university units — enabling event ticketing, course enrollment, and department-level product sales within the same unified platform.
Cross-Browser Compatibility
Addressed browser-specific CSS inconsistencies and DOM structure issues across all major browsers — ensuring the web-facing platform delivered a consistent experience regardless of the user’s browser or device.
Agile Sprint Delivery
Participated in all Scrum ceremonies — sprint planning, daily standups, backlog grooming, and client demos — delivering working, tested software at the end of every two-week sprint cycle.
The Result
Production Ready Cloud Hosted. Mobile-First From Day One.
By the end of the engagement, the company had a fully operational platform that delivered on every requirement — a single backend powering three client applications, hosted entirely on AWS, with non-technical staff able to manage content independently.
- Delivered a production-ready Drupal 8 platform with REST APIs fully integrated into the company's Android and iOS mobile applications — all from a single managed backend.
- Full AWS cloud deployment eliminated dependency on on-premise infrastructure — reducing operational overhead and enabling the platform to scale on demand.
- Custom survey engine enabled structured, reportable data collection from field teams — improving consistency and reducing manual data handling across the organization.
- Custom Drupal admin interface gave non-technical content managers full control over mobile app content — significantly reducing engineering support requests for routine updates.
- Cross-browser compatibility work ensured consistent rendering across all major browsers — eliminating user-facing issues that had surfaced during QA testing.
- Working software delivered at the end of every two-week sprint — giving the client consistent, demonstrable progress throughout the engagement with no final-stage surprises.
Technology Stack
Tools & Technologies Used
This engagement brought together enterprise CMS, API development, cloud infrastructure, and mobile integration — requiring a broad and precisely applied technology skill set.
Drupal 8
Rest APIs
AWS
JavaScript
PHP
AJAX
JIRA
Building a Platform That Needs to Serve Web and Mobile?
Whether you need a decoupled CMS, a REST API layer for mobile apps, or a cloud-hosted enterprise platform — this is exactly what we do.