‍“Coding Bear built us a modern, stable auction platform that meets all legal and technical requirements. Our original system had become technologically outdated and could no longer handle the growing volume of auctions, so migrating to a new solution was essential. The new platform gives us smooth operations, greater stability, and a professional presence in front of our clients.” 

Kristýna Průšová, Executive Director, OK dražby

Modernizing a legacy system for better performance

The trigger for modernizing the portal was a new law requiring electronic registration of all public auctions in a central state register. Extending the existing solution, however, was out of the question.

Every change to the legacy system took a lot of time, and because the code was so tightly coupled, we couldn’t guarantee that a change wouldn’t cause an outage. Our task was to develop a solution that would:

• preserve all existing functionality,
• meet the requirements of the new law,
• let the company roll out new services and features,
• keep day-to-day auctions running without disruption (the business had to switch to the new system seamlessly, with no downtime).

The legacy system itself posed the main technical challenge. The codebase contained layers of messy, undocumented “spaghetti code” that had built up over years. Projects like this often end in delays, outages, or budget overruns, and we couldn’t afford any of them.

Migrating all user data was just as important. The client warned us that a competing portal had failed to transfer all its user data during a similar modernization, and the affected users never came back. On top of that, OKdražby.cz’s users, the auctioneers, are a very conservative group, so we had to keep all functionality exactly as it was. At the same time, virtually any downtime was unacceptable. Auctions must meet strict legal requirements, and any disruption can lead to legal action by enforcement officers and, ultimately, the state.

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To avoid the usual pitfalls of software modernization, we applied our specialized know-how for rewriting enterprise systems. We always put particular emphasis on technical analysis, which took three months in the case of OKdražby.cz.

Next came development of the new solution. The result is three separate applications that reduce the project’s software and hardware demands.

1. Bidder portal

We built the portal for bidders on Next.js. We wanted users to get an instant response and flawless synchronization of all bid data. In auctions, milliseconds matter, and the law doesn’t tolerate any slowdown.

2. Auctioneer web app

For the auctioneers who set up auctions, we used React to build a modern administration interface designed for efficient, ergonomic work.

3. Backend

For the backend of the entire portal, we chose Java Spring Boot. It gives OK dražby a stable, scalable platform that lets the company expand its services in the future.

Coding Bear built the next generation of the OK Dražby auction portal on modern Java and React technologies. The portal runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), delivering high availability, scalability, and security. The new solution is fully compliant with legislative requirements while enabling further development of features and integrations.

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User data migration

The project for OK dražby also included migrating more than 60,000 user accounts and the complete auction history for the past year, including documents and bid records.

To make sure we lost no data and the portal stayed online, we split the migration into two phases. In the first phase, about a month before launch, we ran the main migration and transferred all historical data. In the second phase, we regularly migrated newly created records. As a result, the data was complete from the new system’s very first day.

New cloud architecture

We modernized the architecture as well. The company had been running the original portal on its own servers, which was demanding both technically and financially. We therefore built a cloud infrastructure on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Moving to the cloud lets the platform scale quickly as needs grow, and it meets all cybersecurity requirements.

Results: Smooth operation from day one

Before launch, we spent months on intensive testing, ran thorough performance tests, and prepared a recovery plan. Thanks to this preparation, everything went smoothly on launch day. Of the dozens of auctions in the first few days, only one showed a discrepancy, and it involved a specific case with a more complex legal process. Apart from that, the system hasn’t had a single outage in the year and a half since launch.

• The entire solution fully complies with the law and sends data to the state automatically.
• The new cloud architecture scales computing capacity automatically. This paid off especially in the first days of operation, when all users had to set a new password and the site saw a surge in traffic.
• The new backend lets the client offer new services. OK dražby could finally launch Dutch auctions, where the price drops gradually.
• We also improved the user experience (UX/UI), with a focus on mobile usability. Mobile devices account for roughly half of all visits to the portal.

“I appreciate the system’s clear user interface, reliability, and modern look. The Coding Bear team responds quickly and is fair and dependable. When complications come up during development, they handle them flexibly while keeping both the quality of the result and the deadlines on track. They’re a partner we can count on in the long run.” 

Kristýna Průšová, Executive Director, OK dražby