From Windows desktop to modern platform — web app, iOS, and DevOps
PRAM Insurance Services had 30+ years of operations and over one million members served through a custom Windows desktop application. A three-year engagement migrated their flagship platform to a cloud-enabled web application, built a new iOS medication management app from the ground up, and implemented a modern DevOps pipeline.
30+ years serving pharmacy benefits members nationwide
PRAM Insurance Services, Inc. is a pharmacy benefits management and insurance organization that allows companies to separate their pharmacy benefits from their general employee insurance plans. Founded in 1989 by David Wilson with four decades of industry experience, PRAM's operations had grown around a custom-built Windows desktop application and a distributed SQL Server database.
The platform worked — but it could not grow. As PRAM sought to expand its reach nationally, offer consumer-facing mobile access, and build partner agent portals, every growth initiative ran into the same constraint: the platform was designed for a single-desktop, single-user world, and the business had long since moved past that.
Locked data, limited reach, and a platform the business had outgrown
The PRAM technology estate had a foundational problem: decades of business logic and member data were embedded in a custom thick-client Windows application that could not be extended toward the capabilities the business needed. Three distinct projects were scoped to address this in sequence: a new iOS medication management application with backend web services, a full redevelopment of the flagship desktop application into a cloud-enabled web platform, and a DevOps CI/CD pipeline implementation to support the new systems going forward.
The engagement began with a detailed database and code review — understanding what existed, what was recoverable, and what needed to be rebuilt — before any design or development work began.
A new medication management app designed to be clean enough to white-label
The iOS application was designed from the ground up through structured stakeholder sessions that surfaced PRAM's priorities: helping members receive medications faster, understand their prescriptions, track dosage schedules, and manage benefit savings. Working with third-party pharmaceutical data providers, the app provided access to tens of thousands of medications with dosage scheduling, pharmacy locator and price comparison, refill management, and benefit tracking.
A caretaker mode was added to allow a primary user to manage medication schedules for another person — expanding the app's utility for families and elder care. The design approach was intentionally clean enough to support white-labeling for potential partnerships with larger organizations, giving PRAM a platform that could grow into new distribution channels beyond its existing employer client base.
A flagship desktop application rebuilt as a modern web platform
The desktop application redevelopment required recovering and restructuring data that had accumulated over decades in the legacy system. Locked database assets and existing intellectual property were recovered, documented, and migrated into the new architecture. The new web application served three distinct user types — external agents, internal administrators, and end consumers — each with purpose-built dashboards, role-appropriate data views, and a secure permission model.
A hierarchical commission management module was built to handle complex payout calculations across agency levels — a capability the desktop application had never supported. Pharmacy search, drug price comparison, and dosage tracking were added as net-new capabilities. As a direct result, PRAM was able to launch the platform to agents nationally, re-engage a network of agents with a product they could actively sell, and expand into capabilities the old system could not have supported.
It's been a transformational experience working with Shawn Livermore. He's fantastic.
Application screenshots
I personally designed and polished each user experience and helped the customer enact their desired business processes into their software.
Get the full case study
The complete PRAM case study documents the iOS app design, the desktop-to-web redevelopment, and the DevOps implementation — including the stakeholder sessions, design direction, and specific technical challenges resolved.
