City: A Brief Introduction

City Facilities Management (City FM) provides energy management solutions to help businesses optimize energy usage, reduce costs, and achieve sustainability goals. To enhance its digital services, City FM needed a scalable platform capable of managing complex energy data, offering real-time insights, and supporting seamless integration with various systems and databases.

Client Background:

City FM specializes in integrated facilities management, focusing on energy management and sustainability solutions for clients worldwide. Serving diverse industries like retail and healthcare, City FM leverages data-driven strategies to optimize energy consumption and support sustainable practices.

Challenges:

City FM required a dynamic web application that could manage large volumes of energy data from multiple sources, provide real-time analytics, and deliver an intuitive user experience. The platform needed to integrate varied data sources, support complex business logic, and offer flexibility by utilizing both .NET Core and Node.js for backend development, along with multiple databases to handle diverse data types.

Skills:

The project utilized a comprehensive tech stack:

✔ .NET Core, C#, MVC5, Entity Framework for a scalable and flexible backend

✔ Node.js for server-side scripting, microservices, and integration with different databases

✔ SQL Server, SQL, Variant Databases (e.g., NoSQL, MongoDB) for managing and integrating diverse datasets

✔ Web API for efficient data exchange between systems

✔ Angular 6.0, Ngrx, RxJS for a dynamic, responsive frontend with state management

✔ HTML5, CSS, Bootstrap for a modern, accessible, and responsive UI

✔ DevOps and GIT for CI/CD, version control, and streamlined workflows

Solution:

The project began with a thorough analysis of City FM’s needs, focusing on building a scalable platform to manage diverse data and provide real-time analytics. The backend was developed using .NET Core and C#, offering a flexible, high-performance environment that supports complex business logic and integrates with various databases. MVC5 and Entity Framework provided structured data management, while Node.js was used for microservices and server-side scripting to handle different tasks effectively.

To accommodate various data types, the solution integrated multiple databases, such as SQL Server for transactional data and NoSQL databases like MongoDB for semi-structured data, enabling flexibility in data management and analytics. A robust Web API facilitated seamless integration between internal systems and third-party services, ensuring smooth data exchange and interoperability.

The frontend was built using Angular 6.0, with Ngrx and RxJS for state management and reactive programming, ensuring a responsive user experience. This setup enabled users to monitor energy consumption, analyze trends, and generate reports in real-time. HTML5, CSS, and Bootstrap ensured a clean, responsive, and accessible UI across all devices.

DevOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines and GIT for version control, automated testing, building, and deployment processes, ensuring continuous delivery and high-quality releases.

Result

The new energy management platform for City FM successfully met all goals, providing a scalable, secure, and flexible solution for managing complex energy data from various sources. The integration of .NET Core, Node.js, and multiple databases ensured a powerful, adaptable backend, while Angular 6.0, Ngrx, and RxJS provided a dynamic, user-friendly frontend. This platform enables real-time monitoring, analysis, and reporting, helping clients optimize energy usage and reduce costs. The project’s success enhanced City FM’s digital capabilities, supporting its mission to deliver efficient and sustainable energy management solutions globally.