ICFM, a Switzerland-based fintech company, had built a solid React platform. Their codebase was well-written, their team was experienced, and their product worked. But they faced a challenge that many growing fintech companies encounter: their single-project architecture was becoming a bottleneck. They needed to support multiple projects, share code across applications, and modernize dependencies—all without disrupting what was already working.
The tricky part wasn’t that their code was bad. In fact, their React codebase was well-structured and maintainable. The challenge was architectural: how do you evolve a tightly coupled single-project codebase into a scalable monorepo? How do you modernize dependencies when critical libraries have been abandoned? How do you make these foundational changes while your team keeps shipping features?
This wasn’t a “rebuild from scratch” scenario—that would have been risky and unnecessary. This was about strategic refactoring: preserving what worked while building a foundation for future growth.
The Challenge: Growing Without Breaking
ICFM’s React codebase was the result of careful development. Their team had built a fintech platform that handled complex financial workflows reliably. The code was well-written, but it was designed for a single project. Tight coupling made it difficult to extract shared components. Dependencies had accumulated over time, and some critical libraries were no longer maintained.
The business requirements were clear: they needed to support multiple projects, enable code sharing across teams, and modernize their tech stack. But doing this meant refactoring the entire architecture while keeping production stable. One wrong move could break critical financial workflows.
The real challenge wasn’t technical—it was strategic. They needed someone who could execute a monorepo migration without creating chaos, modernize dependencies without breaking functionality, and do it all while their team continued delivering value to clients.
They needed careful refactoring, not reckless rebuilding.
Our Approach: Monorepo Migration with Zero Downtime
We took a methodical, collaborative approach that balanced aggressive refactoring with careful preservation of working code.
Monorepo Migration: Building the Foundation
We led the transition to a monorepo architecture, carefully planning the migration to minimize risk. This wasn’t a “big bang” migration—we designed the structure, established patterns, and migrated incrementally. Code sharing became natural, and modular development across multiple projects became straightforward.
The migration involved breaking up the codebase into clear boundaries: shared libraries, individual applications, and common utilities. We established patterns for imports, dependencies, and build processes that made the monorepo intuitive to work with. The goal wasn’t just to organize code; it was to create a structure that their team could navigate confidently.
Refactoring: Untangling Without Breaking
We broke up the tightly coupled codebase into libraries and applications, but we did it carefully. This wasn’t about creating “perfect” architecture—it was about creating maintainable architecture that their team could extend. We preserved working patterns while introducing better separation of concerns.
The refactoring involved identifying shared components, extracting reusable logic, and establishing clear boundaries between applications. We made the codebase more maintainable and scalable, but we did it incrementally, testing thoroughly at each step.
Dependency Upgrades: The Hard Part
Updating dependencies was where the real challenge lay. Many libraries were outdated, and some critical ones were abandoned. We had two options: find replacements or port the code ourselves.
Where possible, we found modern replacements that matched their needs. Where replacements didn’t exist, we ported and tested critical code in-house. This required deep understanding of both the old libraries and the new alternatives. We couldn’t afford to break functionality that their clients depended on.
Every dependency update was tested thoroughly. We didn’t just update versions; we verified behavior, tested edge cases, and ensured backward compatibility where it mattered. The goal was modernization without regression.
Collaboration: Knowledge Transfer, Not Just Delivery
We worked closely with ICFM’s experienced team throughout the project. This wasn’t a “deliver and disappear” engagement—we paired on complex problems, explained architectural decisions, and ensured knowledge transfer happened continuously.
The collaboration involved daily check-ins, architectural discussions, and shared decision-making. We didn’t just migrate their codebase; we helped them understand the new structure so they could maintain and extend it confidently. The goal was empowerment, not dependency.
The Result: Future-Proof Platform, Happy Team
When we completed the migration, the outcomes extended beyond technical improvements:
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Multi-Project Support Unlocked: The monorepo architecture enabled ICFM to support multiple projects seamlessly. Code sharing became natural, and new projects could leverage existing components without duplication.
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Modern, Maintainable Codebase: The refactored architecture was positioned for future growth. Dependencies were updated, patterns were established, and the codebase was ready to scale with their business needs.
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All Critical Libraries Updated: Every dependency was either replaced with a modern alternative or ported in-house. The platform was running on supported, maintainable libraries, reducing long-term risk.
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Project Delivered On Time: Perhaps most importantly, we delivered on schedule without disrupting their production workflows. The migration happened smoothly, and their team could continue shipping features throughout the process.
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Happy Client, Empowered Team: ICFM’s team understood the new architecture and could maintain it confidently. The collaboration wasn’t just about code; it was about building their team’s capabilities for future challenges.
The platform continues to serve ICFM’s clients effectively, and their engineering team has the foundation to keep growing it. The monorepo structure makes new projects easier to start, and the modernized dependencies reduce technical risk.
Why It Matters
This project illustrates something essential about software engineering: sometimes the most valuable work isn’t building new features—it’s making the hard updates, refactoring for the future, and delivering value even when the path is tricky.
ICFM didn’t need someone to rebuild their platform from scratch. They needed someone who could carefully refactor their architecture, modernize their dependencies, and do it all without breaking what worked. They needed someone who understood that real engineering is often about incremental improvements, not dramatic overhauls.
This project shows that strategic refactoring can unlock significant value: better architecture, modernized dependencies, and a foundation for future growth—all while preserving working functionality and team knowledge.
At FuzzyCloud, we help teams make these hard updates. We refactor carefully, modernize strategically, and deliver value even when the work isn’t glamorous. When you’re facing dependency upgrades, architectural migrations, or codebase modernization, we bring the expertise and care to do it right—even when the job is “just an upgrade.”
Interested in monorepo migrations, React refactoring, or fintech development? Learn more about our clean architecture consulting or AI-native consulting services. Let’s discuss how we can help your team scale with confidence.