Objective:
An online sports, gaming, and betting company operating across multiple African markets approached us to modernise its existing user support system. The goal was to design and build a telephony-based solution that would enable seamless voice communication between users and support agents directly through client-side widgets, improving support efficiency and user experience.
Challenge:
The project involved two major challenges:
- Technical complexity
The core technical challenge was implementing dynamic configuration management for FreeSwitch. FreeSwitch relies on XML-based configuration files, which are typically static. The requirement was to modify these configurations on the fly, directly from backend services, without manual intervention or service downtime.
2. Client-side infrastructure restrictions
From an operational standpoint, the client’s internal policies limited our access to their deployment environment. We had no direct access to logs, volumes, firewall rules, or deployed frontend assets. As a result, migration from our internal environment to the client’s infrastructure required constant coordination with the client’s development team. Troubleshooting was especially complex, as issues such as blocked network traffic (due to client-managed firewalls) could not be independently verified or resolved by our team.
Solution:
We designed and implemented a fully custom, multi-component telephony support platform built entirely from scratch. The solution includes:
- A client-side widget for users to initiate calls
- An admin panel for support agents and system management
- A telephony server powered by FreeSwitch
- Backend services handling business logic, authentication, configuration, and real-time communication
- WebRTC-based communication for real-time voice calls
- Integration with cloud storage services
- A complete CI/CD and auto-deployment setup
To address the FreeSwitch configuration challenge, we implemented a backend-driven mechanism that dynamically generates XML configuration files with required parameters. These files are then pushed to FreeSwitch via command execution, prompting the server to fetch and persist updated configurations automatically.
All UI/UX design was created by our team based on the provided technical requirements.
Team composition:
- 3 Backend Developers
- 3 Frontend Developers
- 1 FreeSwitch Engineer / System Architect
- 1 UI/UX Designer
No business travel was required.
Technologies:
Backend
- Java 21, Spring Boot 3 (Web, Security, Data JPA, WebSocket, OAuth2 Client, Redis, Cache, WebFlux, Testing)
- REST API, WebSockets, OAuth2
- Flyway, MapStruct, Lombok, Gradle
- Swagger, JUnit, Mockito, Testcontainers, WireMock
Backend Integrations
- Amazon S3
- Azure Active Directory
Infrastructure & Services
- MySQL, Redis
- Nginx
- FreeSwitch
- TURN / STUN servers
Frontend
- TypeScript, Angular, RxJS
- Angular Material, Tailwind
- WebRTC, Verto
- AWS Amplify
Deployment & DevOps
- Docker, DockerHub
- GitHub Actions
- AWS EC2, RDS, S3, Amplify
Version Control
- Git, GitHub
Results:
- Successfully delivered the MVP phase of the telephony support system
- Implemented real-time voice communication between users and support agents via browser-based widgets
- Built a scalable, modular architecture ready for further expansion
- Solved dynamic FreeSwitch configuration without service interruption
- Established a clear migration process despite limited access to the client’s infrastructure
The project began in December 2024 and is currently transitioning into the client’s production environment. The next phase includes completing migration and extending functionality.
