How Festi Built a Mobile App and CMS for a Big Four Regional Office

A regional office of one of the Big Four accounting firms needed secure, mobile-ready access to client data and a better way to distribute internal content. Festi built a cross-platform mobile application and a custom CMS hosted on Microsoft Azure, improving internal communication efficiency by 40% and cutting manual content update workload by over 50%.

Project Highlights

• Cross-platform mobile app for iOS and Android with secure access to client-related information
• Custom CMS giving the internal team full control over content creation and distribution
• Role-based user management aligned with the firm's internal IT policies and compliance requirements
• Full deployment on Microsoft Azure with Azure App Proxy for secure, remote, and compliant access
• Delivered on schedule across a 4-month development cycle
• 100% adoption among intended users after rollout

The Challenge

The regional office had no dedicated mobile platform for accessing client data or distributing internal updates. Existing tools were fragmented, not mobile-friendly, and introduced security risks that a firm of this profile could not accept.

Content updates required manual intervention across disconnected systems, and there was no centralized way to control what information reached which users. The situation created operational drag and left the team relying on workarounds that slowed daily work down.

What the Research Showed

Discovery confirmed that the core problem was twofold. The firm had no centralized content control layer, and it had no secure mobile access point that integrated cleanly with its existing Microsoft Azure infrastructure.

Any solution also had to support role-based access controls and pass internal IT compliance review. That ruled out off-the-shelf tools and made a custom build the only practical path forward.

What Festi Built

Festi built a mobile application and CMS that work as a single, integrated system, both deployed inside the firm's existing Azure environment.

Cross-Platform Mobile Application

The mobile app was built for iOS and Android using the Festi Mobile Framework, giving staff secure access to client-related information and dynamic content from a single interface. Role-based user management meant each user saw only the content and data relevant to their function, keeping access tightly controlled without adding friction to daily use.

Custom Content Management System

The CMS gave the internal team direct control over content creation, updates, and distribution without needing developer involvement for routine changes. Festi's Admin Panels and Dashboards provided the management interface, making it straightforward for non-technical staff to publish and manage content across the platform.

Azure Integration and Secure Access

The full solution was deployed on Microsoft Azure, with Azure App Proxy enforcing secure identity access and remote login. This kept the platform inside the firm's existing compliance boundary and met internal IT policy requirements without a separate security layer. Festi's Web API Services connected the mobile app and CMS to the firm's existing data sources, while the Data Grid Store managed structured client and content data across both systems through a consistent, API-ready layer.

How It Was Delivered

The project kicked off with a discovery and design phase, mapping out features against the firm's workflows and security standards before a single line of code was written. Development followed an agile methodology, with continuous feedback and iteration keeping the build aligned with actual needs as they became clearer.

The CMS and mobile apps were built in parallel and integrated into the Azure ecosystem as development progressed, rather than as a separate step at the end. Azure App Proxy was implemented during the integration phase to enforce secure identity access and remote login. Final deployment included user training, documentation, and compliance verification. The project completed in four months, on schedule from requirements sign-off.

Results

40% Improvement in Internal Communication Efficiency. Centralizing content distribution through the CMS and delivering it through a purpose-built mobile app removed the back-and-forth that slowed internal updates. Staff got the right information faster, and the process required less coordination to run.

50%+ Reduction in Manual Content Update Workload. Before the platform, content updates required manual steps across disconnected tools. The CMS brought that process into one place, cutting the time and effort required to keep information current across the organization.

100% User Adoption After Rollout. Every intended user adopted the platform after deployment. The combination of role-appropriate access, a familiar mobile interface, and a straightforward onboarding process kept friction low enough that adoption was not a barrier.

Enterprise-Grade Security with Azure App Proxy. The Azure App Proxy implementation gave the firm secure, compliant remote access without building a separate security infrastructure. The solution met internal IT policy requirements from day one.

Where Festi Adds Leverage

This project is a clear example of what Festi builds for organizations that need security and usability to work together, not trade off against each other. The combination of a custom mobile app, a manageable CMS, and a deployment that fits inside an existing enterprise infrastructure reflects how Festi approaches every build: no unnecessary complexity, no components that require workarounds to maintain.

For organizations running similar operations on Microsoft infrastructure, this platform shows what a focused four-month engagement can deliver. Browse the full case study library to see how Festi has applied the same approach across other industries, or start with a free demo to talk through your project. Ready to get started? Contact the Festi team directly.