EMAC project

From a broken legacy app to a powerful SaaS — EMAC’s digital transformation journey with Skynix.

Intention:

Rebuild an unstable legacy system into a scalable SaaS for trade and job management.

Technologies used:

Yii2, HTML5, jQuery, AWS, Xero API, Docker, CI/CD, Custom Integrations.

Team:

6 engineers — backend, frontend, DevOps, QA, and PM.

Timeframe:

2 years of iterative agile development.

Background & Partnership Beginning

EMAC, a Sydney-based brand founded in 2015, started with a vision to simplify field service and job management for Australian businesses. However, their first software version — built offshore — quickly hit a wall. Frequent crashes, security gaps, and limited scalability made it nearly impossible to grow.

In 2016, EMAC’s Managing Director, Matt Caddy, reached out to Skynix. We proposed forming a dedicated team to rebuild the entire system from scratch, this time properly — using modern technologies and AWS microservices. Within two years, the new EMAC SaaS platform was born — stable, fast, and cloud-native. The product soon gained traction and surpassed its first milestone: 1,000 happy clients in the first year after launch.

Today, Skynix continues to support and evolve the platform — keeping EMAC at the forefront of Australia’s job management market.

The challenge: The legacy system, developed by an offshore team, was outdated and inefficient. It lacked automation, reliability, and scalability — making everyday operations costly and slow.

EMAC needed more than a facelift. They required a fully re-engineered SaaS platform that could handle complex workflows, cloud hosting, and real-time data processing.

The solution: Skynix chose Yii2 Framework as the foundation, combined with AWS microservices and Docker containers for scalability. We developed RESTful APIs, modernized the UI with jQuery, and implemented CI/CD pipelines to ensure consistent releases and stability.

The new EMAC SaaS app streamlined every business process — from scheduling jobs and managing inventory to automatic billing and accounting integration.

Custom cloud-powered SaaS built to scale

For EMAC, Skynix designed a complete digital ecosystem — transforming a slow, manual workflow into an automated cloud-based platform. Every feature was optimized for speed, uptime, and business transparency.

Distributed AWS architecture with database replication and auto-scaling
Dockerized containers with health checks and continuous monitoring
Automated CI/CD via Bamboo for deployment and QA
Custom REST APIs for integrations with Xero, CRM, and reporting tools

The result: a reliable SaaS that gives EMAC clients real-time visibility, faster billing, and smarter job tracking.

Core features of the system

AWS-based distributed architecture

with load balancing, Docker containers, and automated failover for 99.9% uptime.

Continuous Integration and Delivery

pipelines automate builds, tests, and staging deployments via Bamboo.

Fully custom SaaS platform

developed from scratch on Yii2 and jQuery, flexible enough to evolve with business growth.

Speaking about EMAC, key customizations included:

Quick, transparent job processing and approval flow
Faster invoicing and fewer errors
Optimized inventory management
Paperless operations for a sustainable future

Cloud-based job management and billing system for tracking projects in real time
Reduced operational costs by minimizing manual work and downtime
Seamless integration with Xero for instant invoicing and financial reporting
Improved productivity through automation and better data visibility

results

Results after 2 years of agile development

5× faster operations and improved system stability
1,000+ clients acquired within the first year post-launch
ROI achieved in 5 months after release
Significant cost savings due to automation and cloud infrastructure

Is EMAC SaaS perfect? It keeps evolving — just like the business.

The EMAC system is now a living product — continuously improved with new modules and integrations. Together with Skynix, EMAC continues to refine workflows, enhance user experience, and maintain leadership in Australia’s job management software market.

1) Migration from legacy to Yii2

By rewriting the system on Yii2, EMAC gained a modern interface, RESTful and GraphQL APIs, and enhanced security — paving the way for a modular, future-ready architecture.

2) Modern, cost-efficient web app

Using lightweight front-end frameworks allowed EMAC to reduce hosting costs, improve speed, and handle more users — achieving 1.5× faster growth while expanding internationally.