Strengthening Public Health Responses: Digital Experience Modernization, Resilience, and Security
Public Health Ontario (PHO) is the Ontario Government agency responsible for providing scientific and technical advice to medical workers and shaping public health policies. PHO operates 11 laboratory sites across Ontario, with its primary website serving as the central hub for digital engagement with the public on matters related to public health.
PHO’s public website is a critical channel for distributing public health information. During COVID-19, demand spikes exposed limitations in their legacy platform and infrastructure. TechGuilds partnered with PHO to stabilize and modernize the environment, improve scalability and performance, enable zero-downtime releases, and strengthen identity/security capabilities.
Challenge: Mission-Critical Availability Under Extreme Load
PHO faced:
- Major traffic surges causing performance degradation and outages
- Outdated Sitecore 8.2 that could not meet modern operational and scalability expectations
- The need to improve resilience, maintainability, and security while minimizing disruption to public access
TechGuilds’ Approach
Phase 1 – Discovery & Current-State Assessment
- Conducted a comprehensive infrastructure and application audit to identify bottlenecks, risks, and constraints.
- Documented improvement opportunities tied directly to availability, performance, and operational resilience.
Phase 2 – Stakeholder & Technical Alignment
- Confirmed goals, constraints, and success metrics with PHO teams (availability, deployment continuity, security posture, cost/ops considerations).
Phase 3 – Options & Modernization Path
- Recommended moving from legacy hosting patterns toward cloud-based, containerized infrastructure (Docker/Kubernetes) to improve scalability and resilience.
- Modernized the platform by upgrading Sitecore 8.2 → Sitecore 10.0.1.
- Improved key functional components under load:
- Upgraded Coveo Enterprise Search
- Replaced Web Forms for Marketers (WFFM) with Sitecore Forms
Phase 4: Implementation, Governance, and Operational Model
- Transitioned infrastructure to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) to support scalable deployments.
- Implemented zero-downtime deployment practices to keep critical information continuously available.
- Established ongoing support and continuous improvement (retainer model) for monitoring, stabilization, and iterative enhancements.
Results & Impact
- Performance gains: GTmetrix score improved from 72% to 88%
- Improved traffic capacity and resilience during peak demand
- Zero-downtime deployments achieved—updates without interrupting public access
- A stronger foundation for secure, governed access across PHO digital services