2023 Limousin Annual Journal

TECHNICAL
Taurus Data set to be
revolutionized
Updating and upgrading BLCS’s front-line Taurus Data application will
provide stability and opportunity to build new features.
With the Taurus Data tool
underpinning the operational
effectiveness of the British Limousin
Cattle Society, it is vital members and Society
administrators can rely on a solution that has
served them well in recent years.
But rather like a regularly cleaned but ageing
car, on the outside the bodywork might
sparkle, but underneath there can be a tired
engine in need of a good dose of TLC.
In many ways this is where Taurus had got to
about a year ago when the Society asked Map
of Ag Systems (the contract software services
part of Map of Ag Group) to look after the
solution.
“Taurus very much reflected its age,” says UK
lead solution architect Richard Myers. “In the
years that have passed since it was originally
built, software development has changed
considerably and much of the underpinning
code and structure of the solution was in need
of a revamp.”
Due to the way the solution has evolved, much
of the legacy codebase was intertwined with
the old BASCO and other Society systems
and its implementation meant that it was
often hard and time consuming to make and
implement changes.
“Our early work has been to get our head
around as much of the application as possible
and to start to prioritise areas that we could
work on quickly and effectively,” Myers explains.
The focus at first was simply to “keep the
lights on” and to simplify the application
implementation without dropping
functionality. There has been a need to clean
up the database structure and trim the
content, alongside improving performance to
reduce demand on the system and improve
the user experience.
To most users, the changes that have been or
will be made may not be overly obvious, Myers
explains. “It has been a bit of case of taking
your car in for a service and being told that
unless you replace some important engine
parts soon, it’s going to go bang!”
That situation, Myers is keen to explain, is not
a criticism of what has gone before but a
reflection on how much change the solution
has undergone over many years. “Most systems
need a continual tweak even when the tech
is fairly new, but with Taurus it’s really a case
of migrating the solution onto contemporary
technology frameworks that will ensure there is
a long-term future for it.”
134 | BRITISH LIMOUSIN CATTLE SOCIETY www.limousin.co.uk