Modernising the platform behind Northern Ireland’s leading cancer charity - without disrupting a single service

The problem

Action Cancer's operation ran on a bespoke internal platform - a custom CRM and process management system handling client data, health appointments, donations, GP referrals and corporate initiatives. It had been built for purpose and had served the charity well. 

But hosted on a physical server in the office and built on an ageing framework, it was becoming harder to maintain, impossible to access remotely and increasingly limited in what it could support.

A secondary challenge sat within the online booking system used for large-scale corporate health initiatives like the Big Bus, which visits over 200 locations across Northern Ireland each year. Occasional syncing issues between the website and back office created discrepancies in a system managing health appointments - something that couldn’t be left unresolved.

As demand for services grew, the question wasn't whether to modernise - it was how to do it without disrupting the services many people depended on.

What we built

We replatformed Action Cancer’s core systems into a modern, cloud based product - designed to support both day-to-day operations and future growth, without disrupting live services.

At the centre of the solution was a unified platform for managing appointments, screenings, referrals and internal processes - bringing everything into a single, modern product.

We rebuilt and integrated the online booking experience, ensuring accurate, real-time data flow between the website and back office - removing discrepancies and improving reliability for high volume initiatives like the Big Bus.

Moving to the cloud enabled secure, remote access across the organisation - allowing teams to manage services, appointments and data from anywhere, while improving resilience and reducing reliance on on-site infrastructure.

Why it worked

The impact came from treating the platform as a critical part of service delivery - not just a system to be upgraded.

Every decision was made to minimise disruption while improving how services were delivered and managed. By replatforming in a way that allowed the organisation to continue operating throughout, Action Cancer avoided the risk of downtime in services that people depend on.

Moving to the cloud removed the constraints of on-site infrastructure and enabled secure, remote access across the organisation - giving teams the flexibility to manage services from anywhere while improving resilience and reliability.

At the same time, unifying systems and fixing data inconsistencies reduced operational friction - making it easier to manage appointments, deliver programmes and scale high volume initiatives like the Big Bus.

The result was more than a modernised platform. It created a stable, scalable foundation for the organisation, enabling Action Cancer to continue delivering critical services, expand its reach and adapt to changing demands without compromising the quality of care.