Discova Case Study: Enterprise Architecture Audit for Travel Group [ Skip to content ](#main) Menu [About](https://a2zweb.co/en/about) [Case Studies](https://a2zweb.co/en/case-studies) [Blog](https://a2zweb.co/en/blog) [Contact us](https://a2zweb.co/en/contact)Services [AI Automation](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/ai-automation) [AI Digital Employees](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/ai-digital-employees) [Chief Technology Officer as a Service (CTOaaS)](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/chief-technology-officer-as-a-service-ctoaas) [Custom Software Development](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/custom-software-development) [Tech Auditing & Strategy Consulting](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/tech-auditing-strategy-consulting) [Tech Hiring Support](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/tech-hiring) [Vibe Code Rescue](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/vibe-code-rescue) [All Services ](https://a2zweb.co/en/services) Products [BrandGEO](https://a2zweb.co/en/products/brandgeo-ai-brand-visibility-monitoring) [SharpAPI](https://a2zweb.co/en/products/sharpapi-ai-workflow-automation-api) [CVMatchScore](https://a2zweb.co/en/products/cvmatchscore-resume-scoring-matching) [Book a call](https://calendly.com/a2zweb?utm_source=a2zweb&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=book_call&utm_content=nav_mobile) - [ ![Discova](https://a2zweb.co/logos/discova.svg) ](https://discova.com "Discova") Discova: an independent architecture audit for the leadership team ================================================================== Independent audit of the enterprise application ecosystem and middleware architecture at the destination management arm of Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX: FLT). Risk-ranked findings delivered on time to the CEO and senior leadership. Client [Discova](https://discova.com) Industry Travel; destination management (DMC) Region Asia Pacific Engagement 6 weeks The challenge ------------- Discova’s leadership needed to know whether its enterprise applications and the middleware tying them together were fit for purpose and able to scale with the business. The estate integrates with dozens of travel-industry systems, a legacy platform was still in play, and cloud cost was rising. The question was not only technical: leadership also needed a straight read on the capabilities of the in-house team and of the delivery vendor, and they needed it in language a board can act on. What we did ----------- Six weeks of independent review with weekly reporting, covering the next-generation platform architecture, the API and integration boundary to dozens of travel-industry systems, the migration approach off the legacy platform, cloud cost and platform fit, and an honest assessment of both the in-house team and the vendor. Deep travel-domain knowledge meant no time was spent explaining what a DMC does before the work could start. Outcome ------- A clear written report with risk-ranked findings and recommendations, delivered on time, written so that it worked for technical and non-technical stakeholders in the same room. The recommendations resonated with the senior leadership team. Role Independent technology audit Scope Architecture, integrations, migration plan, team and vendor capability, cloud cost Duration 6 weeks, weekly reporting Audience CEO and senior leadership The client ---------- Discova ([discova.com](https://discova.com)) is the destination management arm of Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX: FLT), one of the world's larger travel companies. Its roots run back to Buffalo Tours, founded in 1994; the Discova brand was formed in 2019 after Flight Centre brought its destination management businesses together. It operates across East, Southeast and South Asia with around 95% of its people based in and from the destinations they work in, and it supplies day tours, transfers, extended touring, educational travel and MICE programmes to some of the largest travel companies in the world. That business model puts an unusual load on software. A DMC sits between global tour operators on one side and thousands of local suppliers on the other, and the systems in the middle have to reconcile both. What leadership needed to know ------------------------------ The brief was set by the CEO and senior leadership rather than by engineering, which shaped everything about how the work was run. The questions were: - Is the enterprise application ecosystem fit for purpose? - Will the middleware architecture scale with the growth plan? - Is the migration off the legacy platform the right shape? - What is cloud cost actually buying us? - Are the in-house team and the delivery vendor capable of the plan on paper? The last one is often left out of an audit brief, and it decides whether the other four get fixed. What we did ----------- Six weeks of independent review, with weekly reporting so that nothing in the final report arrived as a surprise. The scope covered: - **Next-generation platform architecture.** Whether the target design holds up under the volume and integration load the business expects. - **The API and integration boundary.** Discova connects to dozens of travel-industry systems. That boundary is where most of the operational risk in this kind of estate lives. - **The migration approach off the legacy platform.** Sequencing, dependencies, and the points where a partial migration would leave the business running two systems for longer than anyone budgeted. - **Cloud cost and platform fit.** What the estate costs, and whether the shape of the spend matches the shape of the workload. - **Team and vendor capability.** An honest read on both, delivered to leadership. Travel domain knowledge mattered here. The review did not spend its first week learning what a DMC does, how a series departure differs from an FIT booking, or why supplier contracting is hard. That is time that went into the actual estate instead, and it is why the client describes the exercise as quick and painless. The deliverable --------------- A written report with risk-ranked findings and recommendations, delivered on time. One document had to work for two audiences at once: enough technical specificity for the engineering team to act on, and enough plain language for the CEO and senior leadership to make investment decisions from it. > We engaged Dawid/A2Z WEB to conduct a technical audit of our enterprise applications ecosystem and the architecture of our middleware to ensure it is fit for purpose and scalable for growth. Dawid’s deep travel domain knowledge and engineering expertise made this a quick and painless exercise. He immersed himself in our business and was able to communicate well with both technical and non-technical stakeholders to uncover structural challenges, technical gaps and capabilities of both our inhouse tech team and vendor. Audit report was clear and delivered on time with recommendations that resonated well with our senior leadership team. We would certainly work with Dawid and A2Z WEB again on other projects should the opportunity arise. ![Suyin Lee](https://a2zweb.co/testimonials/suyin-lee.webp)Suyin Lee CEO at Discova Services behind this engagement ------------------------------- - [ Tech Auditing & Strategy Consulting ](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/tech-auditing-strategy-consulting) - [ Investor Execution and Technology Audit ](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/investor-execution-and-technology-audit) - [ Cloud Cost Optimization Audit ](https://a2zweb.co/en/services/cloud-cost-optimization-audit) More case studies ----------------- - [ Sahseh Sahseh: a new platform, a new team, a clean migration ](https://a2zweb.co/en/case-studies/sahseh-cto-as-a-service-platform-rebuild) - [ Treïs Group Treïs Group: the due diligence behind a SGD 20M investment ](https://a2zweb.co/en/case-studies/treis-group-technical-due-diligence-carsharing) - [ EpicSoft Asia UCubix: a B2B game licence distribution platform, built and run ](https://a2zweb.co/en/case-studies/ucubix-b2b-game-licence-distribution-platform) [ All case studies ](https://a2zweb.co/en/case-studies) Want the same read on your stack? --------------------------------- Every engagement above started with one conversation about what was actually blocking the business. 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