Consumer Choice Award Case Study: How a Custom AI Data Platform Brought Research In-House

Consumer Choice Award (CCA) relied on an external research provider to help determine its award winners. The results arrived as a finished report, leaving CCA with limited visibility into the underlying analysis and little control over how its research process evolved.

ISU Corp built Consumer Choice Research, Data & Insights (CCRDI), a custom AI data platform that brings data collection, sentiment analysis, and business rankings into one system. The platform was delivered in four months. It is now in active use, with ongoing support and further AI capabilities being planned.

Project Snapshot

Industry: Market Research and Consumer Intelligence
Engagement: Custom AI Platform Development, Ongoing Support and Planned AI Expansion
Solution: Consumer Choice Research, Data & Insights (CCRDI)
Technologies: Python, FastAPI, GPT-4o, NumPy, Pandas, NestJS, React, Tailwind CSS, AWS ECS Fargate, RDS PostgreSQL, Google Places API

The Challenge

CCA’s awards depend on identifying businesses that have earned consumer trust. Yet its previous research process depended on purchasing a report from an outside provider. CCA received the outcome without the visibility or control it needed over the data, methodology, and ranking process behind it.

As the award program grew, CCA needed a way to research larger markets, assess consumer feedback consistently, identify suspicious review activity, and explain why a business ranked highly. It also wanted to build that capability into a platform it could develop and use internally, rather than continue relying on an external report.

The Solution: A Custom AI Data Platform

ISU Corp designed and built CCRDI to manage the research workflow from data collection through analysis, rankings, and reporting. The platform gives CCA’s team a central place to examine markets, evaluate businesses, and produce reports supported by the underlying data.

Automated Data Collection

CCRDI gathers business reputation and market data from sources that include Google Places, other online sources, and CCA’s own data. Geographic searches help the team identify businesses within each market. Automated daily, weekly, and monthly data collection reduces manual research effort.

The data pipeline also incorporates signals such as online reputation, digital presence, and business longevity. ISU built it to support analysis across large geographic areas, including provincial markets.

AI Sentiment Analysis and Rankings

The platform uses AI to analyze consumer reviews and identify the factors that matter within a business category, such as service or price. A Python-based ranking engine then combines the relevant inputs to assess businesses within a market.

CCRDI also flags potential review fraud and review-gating anomalies, helping CCA account for activity that could distort a ranking. Instead of receiving only a final result, analysts can examine the factors behind it and use a documented process to explain why a business was recognized.

Dashboards and Reports

CCA’s market analysts and report specialists use a web application to explore rankings, compare businesses, and monitor research activity. The platform includes market views, competitive visualizations, and branded PDF reports.

Those reports give award winners a clearer account of their results and a growth roadmap. They can also show competing businesses where gaps exist and where they may have room to improve.

Business Impact

In four months, ISU Corp delivered an operational platform that brought CCA’s research and ranking workflow in-house. CCA can now examine the data behind its decisions, produce supporting reports, and continue developing the platform as its research needs change.

CCRDI has enabled CCA to:

• Bring research in-house: Replace a previously outsourced research process with an internal platform.

• Scale market analysis: Process data for entire provincial markets in a weekend.

• Explain rankings: Examine the factors behind results and produce supporting reports.

• Strengthen review analysis: Identify suspicious review patterns that could affect award integrity.

• Improve analyst visibility: Give the team direct access to market and competitive insights.

ISU Corp continues to provide ongoing software maintenance and support, while planning a new development phase to expand the platform’s AI-powered analysis capabilities.

Looking to Bring a Critical Process In-House?

When an external provider controls the data or process behind a core business decision, it can be difficult to adapt the methodology, explain the results, or build on the work over time.

ISU Corp builds custom software and AI platforms for organizations with complex data and operational workflows. If you are considering how to replace an outsourced process, connect fragmented data sources, or give your team better tools to make and explain decisions, we would be happy to discuss your project.

Talk to ISU Corp about your custom software project.

Ontario College of Teachers Case Study: How Custom Software Modernized Regulatory Operations

The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), the regulatory body responsible for licensing and governing more than 180,000 certified teachers across Ontario, needed a better way to manage provider accreditation and Additional Qualification (AQ) programs. Critical regulatory workflows relied on spreadsheets, manual tracking, and fragmented email communication, making it increasingly difficult to scale operations while maintaining the visibility and efficiency expected within a highly regulated organization.

ISU Corp partnered with OCT to modernize the Accreditation Information Management System (AIMS), a centralized platform that streamlines provider accreditation, improves collaboration between OCT staff and approved educational providers, and supports the regulatory processes behind hundreds of accredited AQ courses across Ontario. Today, the partnership continues through ongoing maintenance, continuous enhancements, and strategic modernization initiatives that keep the platform aligned with the organization's evolving needs.

Project Snapshot

Industry: Government & Regulatory

Partnership: Since February 2023

Engagement: Ongoing Development, Maintenance & Continuous Enhancements

Solution: Accreditation Information Management System (AIMS)

Technologies: Microsoft Azure, .NET, Angular, Power BI, GitHub

The Challenge

Accreditation sits at the core of the Ontario College of Teachers' regulatory responsibilities.

Managing provider applications, course reviews, renewals, and ongoing communications requires close collaboration between internal teams and approved educational providers across Ontario.

Like many long-established organizations, key processes relied on spreadsheets, manual tracking, and fragmented email communication. While these workflows had supported operations for years, they limited visibility, increased administrative effort, and made it more difficult to scale as business needs evolved.

The Ontario College of Teachers needed a long-term technology partner to modernize these processes while maintaining the reliability, transparency, and security expected within a highly regulated environment.

What the Ontario College of Teachers Needed

• Replace spreadsheet-based workflows with centralized software

• Improve collaboration between OCT staff and approved educational providers

• Support bilingual English and French communications

• Increase operational visibility through reporting and dashboards

• Modernize legacy technology for long-term scalability

• Partner with a development team committed to ongoing support and continuous improvement

The Solution

ISU Corp partnered with the Ontario College of Teachers to modernize the Accreditation Information Management System (AIMS), a centralized platform that manages the complete lifecycle of provider and Additional Qualification (AQ) course accreditation.

The platform supports collaboration between OCT staff and approved educational providers while helping manage the regulatory processes behind hundreds of accredited AQ courses across Ontario.

The solution includes two integrated applications designed for different user groups.

Internal Administration Portal

The internal portal provides Accreditation Managers, Accreditation Assistants, and Program Officers with a centralized environment to manage day-to-day accreditation operations.

Key Capabilities

• Centralized accreditation workflow management

• Worklist and task management

• Course review and accreditation processing

• Official document generation

• Power BI reporting and analytics

• Secure Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure

External Provider Portal

Approved educational providers use a dedicated portal to submit accreditation applications, manage supporting documentation, and monitor application progress through a secure self-service experience.

Key Capabilities

• Online accreditation submissions

• Governance document management

• Real-time application status tracking

• Automated bilingual English and French notifications

• Secure collaboration between providers and OCT

Business Impact

The modernized platform has helped the Ontario College of Teachers:

• Replace spreadsheet-based workflows with centralized digital processes

• Improve collaboration between OCT staff and approved educational providers

• Increase operational visibility through Power BI reporting and dashboards

• Automate bilingual communications using rules-based workflows

• Build a scalable platform that continues evolving alongside the organization's needs

A Long-Term Technology Partnership

Enterprise software doesn't stop evolving after launch.

As regulations change, technology advances, and organizational needs grow, software must continue evolving alongside the business.

Since 2023, ISU Corp has continued supporting the Ontario College of Teachers through ongoing maintenance, continuous enhancements, and strategic modernization initiatives.

The current modernization roadmap includes transitioning the platform from legacy .NET Framework to a modern .NET and Angular architecture, improving scalability, maintainability, performance, and the long-term sustainability of the platform.

For ISU Corp, successful software projects aren't measured by launch dates. They're measured by long-term partnerships that continue creating value year after year.

Looking to Modernize Your Critical Business Systems?

Government agencies, healthcare organizations, manufacturers, insurance providers, financial institutions, and other regulated organizations often face the same challenge: legacy systems, disconnected workflows, manual processes, and software that no longer supports the way the business operates.

ISU Corp helps organizations modernize legacy applications, replace manual workflows with secure custom software, integrate critical business systems, and build enterprise platforms designed for long-term success.

If your organization is planning a modernization initiative or looking for a custom software development partner, we'd be happy to start the conversation.

AIM Case Study: How Custom Software Streamlined Industrial Job Management

AIM Industrial, a full-service industrial contractor based in Cambridge, Ontario, needed a better way to manage the complexity of its daily operations. From job tracking and invoicing to safety compliance and crew scheduling, the company's growing volume of work was being managed through spreadsheets, email chains, and disconnected systems.

ISU Corp partnered with AIM to design and launch a custom-built operations platform that brings their entire workflow under one roof. The software centralizes critical processes, scheduling, field operations, reporting, quoting, timesheets, and billing into a secure, scalable, cloud-based system tailored for AIM’s specific needs.

About AIM Industrial

Fast Facts:

• Headquartered in Cambridge, Ontario

• 6 core service divisions, including Millwrighting and Custom Fabrication

• Full-service shop with engineering and project management support

• Awarded Toyota’s “Supplier Award of Excellence”

• Trusted by major industrial clients across North America

The Challenge

AIM’s operational workflows spanned multiple departments and field crews. But their systems weren’t connected, making job tracking, employee scheduling, invoicing, and quoting slow and error-prone.

The lack of centralized visibility led to:

• Inconsistent job reporting across teams

• Manual and time-consuming billing processes

• Disconnected timesheet and payroll tracking

• Limited transparency into real-time project status

As the company grew, these inefficiencies made it harder to scale operations while maintaining quality and client responsiveness.

What AIM Needed:

• A centralized operations platform to manage jobs from quote to invoice

• Real-time visibility into scheduling, timesheets, and project status

• Tools to automate repetitive tasks like reporting and billing

• A secure, cloud-based solution accessible from office and field

• Custom workflows tailored to how AIM actually runs its business

The Solution: Custom Operations Platform Built with ISU Core

ISU Corp worked closely with AIM Industrial to architect and deliver a fully customized operations platform, designed around AIM’s real-world workflows. The software was built using ISU Core as the foundation, enabling fast, flexible development of key modules.

Key Features:

• Job Scheduling & Tracking: Plan and monitor projects across departments with live status updates

• Field Team Management: Assign crews, manage work orders, and capture timesheets on-site

• Quoting & Invoicing Tools: Generate job quotes, log job costs, and convert them into professional invoices

• Safety & Compliance Logging: Track certifications, incident reports, and jobsite safety protocols

• Custom Admin Controls: Full back-office dashboard with user access, data reporting, and project search

The Results

✔ Centralized platform replacing spreadsheets and manual tools

✔ Faster job quoting, invoicing, and reporting

✔ Improved crew scheduling and project coordination

✔ Better visibility for leadership across active jobs and work history

✔ A scalable system that supports AIM’s future service expansion

The platform continues to evolve with AIM’s needs, with ISU Corp providing ongoing support and development as part of a long-term strategic partnership.

Why Custom Operations Software Matters for Industrial Companies

Industrial service providers like AIM face unique challenges: complex projects, strict compliance standards, and distributed field teams. Off-the-shelf platforms often fall short when flexibility, control, and industry-specific workflows are required.

By investing in a custom software platform built around their operations, AIM Industrial improved efficiency, accountability, and visibility across every department, without having to change how they work.

Whether you're managing jobs, crews, or compliance records, a centralized system tailored to your workflow can drive serious results.

Ready to Streamline Your Operations?

ISU Corp specializes in building custom operations platforms for industrial service companies. We help businesses like AIM digitize workflows, connect their teams, and scale with confidence.

Let’s transform your operations. Contact ISU Corp to explore how custom software can power your business from the inside out.