Context
Air Selangor needed a mobile application to provide consumers across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya with streamlined access to water services — including billing information, service updates, and instant complaint submission. The backend system needed to support high availability for a user base spanning millions of households.
Constraints
- Government-regulated utility — strict compliance requirements
- High availability required for essential public service
- Legacy on-premise infrastructure at project start
- Multi-region user base demanding low-latency responses
- Integration with existing consumer service workflow systems
Architecture
The system was architected as a decoupled backend API serving the mobile application, with a dedicated CMS for content management. Initial deployment followed a monolithic on-premise architecture, later migrated to a containerized cloud deployment.
Initial architecture: Monolithic on-premise — Ubuntu 16.04, PHP 7.2, Nginx Final architecture: Containerized on Alibaba Cloud Kubernetes clusters with CI/CD pipelines
Key Decisions
- Monolith-first approach: Starting with a monolith allowed rapid initial delivery while the team established domain boundaries. This was a deliberate choice — premature microservices would have introduced unnecessary complexity.
- Alibaba Cloud over AWS: Chosen based on regional compliance requirements and cost structure for the Malaysian government sector.
- Kubernetes for orchestration: Enabled horizontal scaling during peak usage periods (disruption announcements, billing cycles) without over-provisioning.
- CI/CD pipeline implementation: Automated deployment pipelines reduced deployment risk and enabled faster iteration cycles.
Security & Reliability
- Secure coding standards enforced across all backend development
- SAST integration via SonarQube for continuous security scanning
- API authentication and authorization following security best practices
- Data handling compliant with government data protection requirements
Execution
- Designed and developed the backend API and CMS using Laravel
- Set up initial on-premise monolith architecture (Ubuntu 16.04, PHP 7.2, Nginx)
- Led migration from on-premise to Alibaba Cloud Kubernetes cluster
- Implemented CI/CD pipelines for automated deployment
- Ensured seamless integration between mobile app and consumer service workflow
Outcome
- 5,027,000+ downloads with 4× installation growth (Air Selangor Sustainability Report 2023)
- 85% average growth over total registered accounts
- Achieved a 4-star rating across app stores
- Served consumers across Selangor, KL, and Putrajaya for 7+ years
- Successfully migrated from on-premise to cloud without service disruption
- Established the architecture pattern reused across subsequent Air Selangor projects (CX Dashboard, iERP, OMA)
Customer Support & Self-Service
- 85,539 AIRRA chatbot interactions and 141,089 Help Centre interactions
- 90% of users prefer chatbot and helpdesk over call centre
- Significant reduction in call centre traffic and manual support costs
e-Bill & Sustainability
- 73% e-Bill adoption rate with 1,000,000+ subscribers
- 300% ROI from postage and operational cost reduction
- Reduced paper usage and carbon footprint
Revenue & Business Impact
- 16× revenue growth across the digital platform lifecycle
- Reduced call centre operations, postage, and administrative costs
Recognition
- Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2021 (Air Selangor Mobile App & OMA)