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Modernizing Digital Infrastructure for Pediatric Cancer Research

The Challenge

The Neuroblastoma Research Foundation, a leading Italian organization dedicated to pediatric cancer research, operated a critical website platform originally developed by an external agency. While the frontend successfully served the organization’s public-facing needs, the backend infrastructure required modernization to:

Enable efficient development workflows without disrupting ongoing fundraising operations
Ensure reliable donation processing through multiple payment channels
Support multi-language content for Italian and international audiences
Maintain security compliance for medical and financial data handling
Reduce operational complexity for long-term maintainability

The Solution

A comprehensive backend modernization initiative was implemented, focusing on infrastructure improvement while preserving the stable, agency-developed user experience.

Strategic Approach

Priority	Action	Benefit
Stability First	Minimal disruption to production operations	Zero downtime during modernization
Developer Experience	Containerized local environment	10x faster development setup
Security Hardening	Multi-layer security implementation	GDPR and PCI-DSS compliance
Documentation	Comprehensive technical documentation	Knowledge transfer and maintainability

Key Outcomes

1. Development Efficiency Gains

Metric	Before	After	Improvement
Environment Setup Time	2-4 hours	15 minutes	90% faster
Media Sync Required	10+ GB	0 GB	100% eliminated
Configuration Errors	Frequent	Automated	Near-zero
Production Risk	Manual processes	Environment isolation	Significantly reduced

2. Payment Processing Reliability

The platform now supports 4 payment gateways optimized for the Italian market and international donors:

Stripe – International card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay
PayPal – Global payment processing
GestPay (Banca Sella) – Italian banking integration
Satispay – Italian mobile payment solution

3. Multi-Language Content Support

Primary: Italian (main website)
Secondary: English (international subdirectory)
Infrastructure: Professional translation management system

4. Security & Compliance

Requirement	Status
SSL/TLS Encryption	Enforced
PCI-DSS Compliance	Payment gateways certified
GDPR Compliance	Cookie consent, data handling
Session Security	HTTP-only, secure cookies
Admin Protection	Custom access controls

Business Value

Operational Efficiency

Before: Manual configuration management, error-prone deployments, difficult local testing.

After: Automated environment detection, one-command development setup, isolated testing environment.

Impact: Development team can focus on feature improvements rather than infrastructure management.

Risk Reduction

Before: Direct production changes, no staging environment, limited rollback capability.

After: Complete development isolation, documented procedures, multiple backup systems.

Impact: Changes can be thoroughly tested before affecting live donation processing.

Donor Experience

Before: Inconsistent payment processing, manual transaction tracking.

After: Reliable multi-gateway payments, automated order processing, comprehensive transaction logging.

Impact: Increased donor confidence and streamlined fundraising operations.

Long-Term Maintainability

Before: Undocumented systems, knowledge in single individuals.

After: Comprehensive documentation including security audits, test plans, and operational guides.

Impact: Reduced dependency on specific individuals, easier onboarding for future team members.

Project Highlights

Aspect	Details
Development Period	October 2025
Platform	WordPress 6.8 Enterprise
Plugins Managed	59 integrated components
Documentation Created	18+ technical documents
Payment Gateways	4 (Italian + International)
Languages Supported	2 (Italian, English)
Caching Layers	3-tier architecture

Impact Statement

“The backend modernization ensures our digital platform can continue supporting the fight against pediatric neuroblastoma. With reliable donation processing, secure data handling, and efficient development workflows, the foundation can focus on what matters most: funding life-saving research.”

Future Roadmap

The modernized infrastructure positions the Neuroblastoma Research Foundation for continued growth:

Short-Term (6-12 months)

Enhanced analytics integration for donor insights
Mobile payment optimization (Apple Pay, Google Pay expansion)
Performance monitoring and alerting

Medium-Term (1-2 years)

Headless CMS exploration for content flexibility
API development for external integrations
Advanced donation campaign automation

Long-Term (2+ years)

Multi-organization support for research partnerships
Advanced donor portal development
Integration with medical research databases

Engagement Summary

Scope Delivered

Infrastructure: Docker-based development environment
Configuration: Environment-aware system management
Security: Multi-layer hardening and compliance
Documentation: Comprehensive technical and operational guides
Systems: Virtual Orders v2.1 implementation

Value Proposition

This engagement demonstrates how targeted backend modernization can:

Preserve existing investments – Agency frontend work remains intact
Reduce operational risk – Environment isolation prevents production incidents
Improve team velocity – Faster development and deployment cycles
Ensure compliance – Security and privacy requirements addressed
Enable future growth – Scalable architecture for evolving needs

About the Project

Client: Neuroblastoma Research Foundation (Italy)

Industry: Healthcare / Medical Research / Non-Profit

Services: Backend Development, Infrastructure Modernization, DevOps, Security Hardening

Outcome: Production-stable, containerized development environment with comprehensive documentation and multi-gateway payment processing for medical research fundraising.

Empowering pediatric cancer research through reliable digital infrastructure