Case Study: Bustanica: Hybrid Cloud Disaster Recovery for Vertical Farming Operations – Agriculture & Food Security

Bustanica, the leading UAE vertical farming company operating one of the largest hydroponic facilities globally, producing fresh leafy greens and various other crops. Their proprietary IT application controls crop cycles, irrigation, nutrient delivery, and integrates with Siemens IoT sensors for environmental monitoring.

Project information

  • Category: FinTech, digitization
  • Client: Finance department, Emirates Flight Catering(EKFC)
  • Project start date: 1st September 2023

Technology Used

  • Database: PostgreSQL with logical replication
  • Cloud: Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Traffic Manager, Azure IoT Hub, Azure Stream Analytics, Azure Data Lake
  • IoT: Siemens IoT2050 Gateways
  • Security: VPN Gateway, Site to Site VPN, Azure Virtual Network Gateway, TLS encryption, compliance storage policies

Case Study: Modernizing a Legacy Invoicing System for Emirates Flight Catering(EKFC) Finance Department

In the FinTech industry, speed, accuracy, and compliance are non-negotiable. Yet many organizations still operate on outdated legacy systems that create inefficiencies and risks.


This case study showcases how a financial services company modernized its MS Access–based invoicing system by migrating to a Python + Django web application hosted on Microsoft Azure, with a dedicated on-premise compliance database for secure logging and auditing. The result: processing time reduced from 4 hours to just 5 minutes, improved security, and compliance-ready infrastructure.

Challenges

The client’s original system was an MS Access desktop application with its own database. Over time, it presented multiple challenges:

  • Severe Performance Issues – Generating a single receipt took up to 4 hours, delaying client operations.
  • Dependency on Legacy Software and Technical Debt – The tool only worked with specific MS Office versions, making upgrades impossible.
  • Compliance Risks and restrictions – No proper logs or restricted user access, increasing vulnerability and prohibited moving the production database directly to public cloud infrastructure.

The system had become a bottleneck, preventing the company from scaling and staying compliant with financial regulations.

Our Solution

We designed and implemented a modern hybrid solution combining the cloud’s scalability with on-premise compliance safeguards:

  • Web Application – Built using Python (Django framework), hosted securely on Microsoft Azure Cloud.
  • Hybrid Database Strategy:
    • Primary Data stored in Azure SQL Database for scalability and high availability.
    • Local On-Premise SQL Database dedicated to logs and compliance records, ensuring audit data remains under the client’s direct control.
  • Security Enhancements:
    • Set up a VPN tunnel between your on-prem firewall/router and Azure Virtual Network Gateway.
    • Traffic between Django (in Azure) and Local DB stays encrypted and goes over private IP space.
  • Configured the Python Django + OPC UA application for dual-environment awareness, ensuring IoT and automation functions remained operational in DR mode.

Results & Impact

The modernization brought immediate and measurable improvements:

  • 99% Faster Processing – Critical operations reduced from hours to minutes.
  • Compliance-Ready Logging – Secure local storage of all activity logs, with backups, met regulatory requirements.
  • No Legacy Dependency – Independence from outdated MS Office versions.
  • Scalable, Secure and Compliant – Hybrid cloud + local architecture provided the best of both worlds. Web-based access for authorized users on designated networks and proprietary Financial data stays secure on prem DB