Storypark, a leading platform in early childhood education, recognised the need to upgrade its Rails application from version 6 to version 7 to ensure the security and efficiency of its services. The primary concern was to maintain the high level of trust placed in them by their customers, given the sensitive nature of the data stored. Upgrading Rails was critical not only for boosting security but also for providing their engineers with the latest tools and features, enabling them to continue delivering high-quality work.

Our process included the Rails 6 to 7 Upgrade. The upgrade included implementing the latest security patches and performance improvements available in Rails 7, allowing for security and performance enhancements to help support future feature development and expansion. Ben Salt from Storypark highlighted the collaborative effort: “Ackama acted like an extension of our existing team. They were able to have a shared slack channel between our organizations and be available for video calls.”

The Ackama team, including developers Josh McArthur and Cameron Hopkinson, quickly integrated with the Storypark team, providing essential knowledge for the upgrade.

“Ackama developers Josh McArthur and Cameron Hopkinson fitted in really well with our team. They brought some really good knowledge on how to switch from Rails 6 to Rails 7,” Salt remarked.

The Rails upgrade was successfully implemented on December 4th, with no issues reported post-release. “The release was very smooth. We put this release out and there were zero issues,” Salt noted. This smooth transition was particularly important given Storypark’s significant duty of care and security vital to their platform. The collaboration also allowed Storypark’s internal team to focus on customer value, rather than being tied up with the upgrade.

“The biggest bonus for Storypark was that I didn’t have 2-3 developers working full-time on this. They were able to focus on customer value-add whilst these upgrades were happening,” said Salt.

Additionally, we resolved a specific challenge with a PDF library efficiently, impressing Storypark’s team. “We had a bizarre PDF library that needed to be resolved, in what would be thought to be a longer project, the Ackama team were able to get this done within a day, impressing our internal Storypark engineers,” Salt acknowledged.

This project helped Storypark ‘Future Proof’.

With the Rails 7 upgrade complete, Storypark is well-positioned for future developments. A significant feature build planned for 2024 will benefit greatly from the improvements made during this upgrade.

The collaboration between Storypark and Ackama on the Rails upgrade project demonstrates the value of effective partnership and technical expertise in achieving a stable, secure platform for reaching new heights as a company. Through this upgrade, Storypark has increased the platform’s security and performance, setting a solid foundation for their exciting upcoming growth and innovation.