Solhea
Explore how flexibility in development capacity enabled Solhea to run multiple healthcare projects despite shifting expertise requirements.
Simplifying IT
for a complex world.
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Flexible engineering capacity for a multi-stack intelligent recommendation engine
1→11
developers scaled on demand
3 in 3
(months) developers placed
2
platforms supported in parallel (LEAP1 / LEAP2)
5
years of collaboration
Flexible engineering capacity for a multi-stack intelligent recommendation engine
1→11
developers scaled on demand
3 in 3
(months) developers placed
2
platforms supported in parallel (LEAP1 / LEAP2)
5
years of collaboration
Table of contents
Project details
Client: 15gifts (now Humara)
Location: UK
Industry: Software and technology
Duration: 2020 – 2025
Tech Talent Placed: 11
Tech Stack:
Frontend: React, Redux / Thunk, Axios, CSS-in-JS (Emotion), jQuery, Hogan.js (legacy)
Backend: Node.js, Python, Perl
Database: MySQL
The client
15gifts (now Humara) is a UK-based company that builds an intelligent recommendation engine for personalized gift ideas. Originally designed for consumer use, the product is now customized for enterprise clients across Europe and the US, including Verizon, O2, Tesco, and Vodafone.
The challenge
The intelligent recommendation engine is a widget embedded into a partner’s portal that guides telco customers through a series of questions and provides tailored suggestions to help them choose a suitable product, tariff, or service bundle. The system relies on recommendation algorithms with AI components to improve the relevance and accuracy of its results.
The company was operating two parallel product platforms:
- A newer application with a React/Redux front end and Node.js services
- An older system built on jQuery and custom JavaScript, with parts of the backend implemented in Perl
Technical constraints
Some of the client’s partners were still running on the legacy version of the platform and needed to be upgraded:
- On the front end, custom JavaScript implementations had to be moved to React
- On the back end, upgrades required recreating existing Perl logic in the new Node.js environment
Handling these migrations internally consumed the team’s development bandwidth, limiting its ability to focus on core product work. The client needed a way to offload partner upgrades to engineers comfortable reimplementing existing Perl-based logic in the Node.js stack. They also needed to ensure the new process would not affect the delivery schedule or solution quality.
The project scope
Integrating the guided selling engine into partner websites required adapting it to specific environments. Each partner site had its own design, product catalog, and technology stack, which meant the solution had to fit different front-end layouts, catalog structures, and integration requirements while remaining a consistent part of the user experience.
During the latest collaboration stage, the main technical tasks included:
Adding support for new interface languages
Expanding recommendation functionality beyond telecom products to include consumer electronics
UNL’s process
Stable delivery under shifting demand
The engagement began in June 2020, with the first Perl engineer joining the project. By August, the team had grown to three people, with the client requesting five additional specialists to fill the remaining roles. From there, the team scaled up and down as needed, allowing 15gifts to adjust capacity to changing priorities. At its peak, the extended team reached 11 engineers.
Trust-driven team expansion
Over the next five years, UNL served as 15gifts’ outstaffing partner, supplying candidates based on the client’s requirements. The UNL team closed talent requests within several weeks, allowing the client’s team to continue shipping the product without delays, even as the project scope changed. To expedite the staffing process, UNL drew from its pool of software engineers, including developers who had previously worked on the project.
As trust between the teams grew, technical interviews were handled solely by UNL’s specialists, enabling approved developers to join the client’s team with minimal adaptation effort
Faster onboarding
To support onboarding for new team members, the team introduced a custom knowledge-sharing process. Engineers familiar with specific parts of the product ran internal walkthrough sessions, explaining how those features and the underlying logic worked. These sessions were recorded and added to the onboarding materials, helping new team members get up to speed much faster.
Alexander blew our minds this week. He had a very difficult ticket and not only did he do it very quickly, he also halved the size of our package on our partner website. Something we’ve not been able to do for years!
Dmitry has become a solid part of the front end team and we trust him implicitly with any type of work.
Daniel Pickford
Former CTO, 15gifts
High-caliber IT talent availability
Core technical roles placed:
Skills:
Perl
Responsibilities:
- Maintained existing Perl-based functionality required for legacy platform operation
- Stabilized legacy components to support gradual migration from LEAP1 to LEAP2
Skills:
React, Redux, JavaScript, TypeScript
Responsibilities:
- Migrated front-end widgets from jQuery and custom JavaScript to a React/Redux-based architecture
- Designed and maintained scalable front-end architecture for high-traffic partner websites
- Embedded widgets into partner websites with different layouts and design systems
- Implemented conflict-free styling across widgets to ensure integration and maintainability
- Optimized front-end performance by reducing bundle sizes and improving load times
- Implemented localization and UI-level feature extensions
- Ensured cross-browser and cross-device compatibility, including iOS and Android
Skills:
Node.js, Python, Perl, MySQL
Responsibilities:
- Maintained and extended backend services supporting recommendation flows
- Supported parallel operation of LEAP1 and LEAP2 backends during platform transition
- Implemented backend logic for new recommendation scenarios, including consumer electronics
Skills:
React, Node.js, JavaScript, MySQL
Responsibilities:
- Delivered end-to-end features across front-end widgets and backend services
- Integrated recommendation algorithms with web interfaces and embedded widgets
- Supported smooth platform transitions and service continuity for end users
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The result
Partner upgrades were rolled out incrementally while both platform versions remained in active use. This approach enabled partners to transition at their own pace, without service interruptions or affecting the end-user experience.
Working with UNL as an outstaffing partner that covered recruitment, onboarding, and headcount obligations helped the client close skills gaps within weeks, including hard-to-find specialists like Perl developers.
Relying on UNL for quality engineering resources allowed the client to adjust capacity flexibly while keeping the delivery schedule intact.
We are so happy with… UNL and we are planning our future around our partnership. …I’m delighted with how this has turned out. We’re looking at adding 5 more UNL developers to the team this year.
Daniel Pickford
Former CTO, 15gifts
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