Creating for Crisis: How Composable Technologies Enabled a Global COVID-19 Response
Using MACH-based solutions to launch a not-for-profit digital platform quickly, scale easily, and mitigate risk.
The story of Created for Crisis began in an unlikely place— a Reddit group.
As the pandemic took hold in early 2020, people from all walks of life were eager to contribute to the global effort to slow COVID-19 and mitigate its impact. Unsurprisingly, online communities quickly evolved, and in a forum for discussing what needed to be done, an idea began to take shape: a coalition of charities aligned around the single, urgent goal of distributing masks to those who needed them most.
The challenge was immense. Manufacturing firms were struggling to keep up with the demand for masks, and there was a critical need for a system that could organize and mobilize a rapidly growing network of volunteers.
Ryan McKenna was one of members of this coalition, eager to find a way to pitch in and help out beyond just staying home. A software engineer with RVO Health in his professional life, he quickly found the avenue for helping out: it was clear that what was needed was a centralized digital hub that could distribute knowledge, coordinate efforts, and manage funds.
But while there was no shortage of volunteers—44,000 across North America alone—the group lacked digital infrastructure and expertise to manage the effort. Many of the volunteers were eager to help, but few had the technical skills needed to build and maintain the necessary digital platforms. McKenna, however, had those capabilities in spades.
“Technology is my skill set, and this was my way of helping people I’d never even met,” he told Composable.com recently.
Rapid Development with Composable Technologies
Building a fully functional, scalable digital platform is no small feat under normal circumstances. But McKenna faced an additional challenge: he had just seven days to create a platform that could accept donations, manage a massive volunteer network, and distribute critical resources across multiple continents. With an impending media opportunity that would put the spotlight on Created for Crisis, the pressure was on to deliver a solution that could handle significant traffic and operational demands.
“We had just six days to build a platform from scratch that could scale globally,” McKenna told us. “There was no time to build everything ourselves, so we leaned heavily into composable technologies. They were the accelerator that made this all possible."
McKenna leaned on mature, ready-to-use platforms like Stripe, Netlify, Google Cloud, and Contentful. These tools were not just selected out of convenience; they were chosen strategically for their ability to accelerate development, ensure scalability, and provide the flexibility needed for a rapidly evolving project.
"When you have experience in composability, you don’t always need a big team,” noted McKenna. “The platforms themselves can be your team, allowing you to focus on the mission rather than the infrastructure."
Having worked extensively with Netlify and Contentful in the past, he knew they were reliable and could be implemented quickly. The choice to use Stripe for payment processing and Contentful as a headless CMS allowed him to focus on integrating these tools into a cohesive system, rather than building each component from the ground up. By taking a composable approach, McKenna was able to meet the deadline and launch the platform in under a week.
The Power of Composability: Enabling Collaboration and Reuse
Created for Crisis was designed with flexibility in mind, allowing McKenna to distribute the platform's capabilities to other teams seamlessly. This was particularly important given the diverse needs and makeup of the organizations involved, ranging from small community groups to larger international charities. By building the platform in a decoupled fashion with a focus on API-first principles, McKenna was able to create an abstraction layer that made it easy for other teams to integrate the platform into their existing systems.
For example, the donation processing feature was built so that it could be embedded into other organizations' websites without requiring direct API integrations. This not only saved time, but also ensured that the platform could scale to meet the needs of a global network without being hindered by complex dependencies.
By leveraging established, well-maintained platforms, McKenna could focus on the core mission of the project—delivering masks to those in need—without getting bogged down by the intricacies of infrastructure management.
“There’s something about standing on the shoulders of giants—using these well-established platforms—so that you can focus on what really matters," commented McKenna.
Overcoming Challenges: Legal Compliance and Global Distribution
The timeline for building the platform was undoubtedly the biggest challenge, but legal compliance was another critical consideration. By relying on composable solutions, McKenna was able to ensure the site was not only functional, but also secure and compliant with legal requirements.
"In the middle of a pandemic, we couldn’t afford any delays,” said McKenna. “The ability to update our site’s content in real-time, even from my phone while I was running errands, was crucial. That kind of responsiveness is something only mature, composable platforms can provide."
As a charity, Created for Crisis needed to ensure that all transactions were traceable and that the platform could quickly adapt to any changes in regulations. The ability to roll back content to previous versions and the use of automated webhooks for updates were essential features built into the platform allowing for quick, responsive changes—whether to comply with new CDC guidelines or to update legal text—without requiring extensive manual intervention.
The platform's design also needed to accommodate global distribution, both in terms of content and physical resources. The headless CMS setup with Contentful allowed for centralized content management while ensuring that only authorized individuals could make changes. This was particularly important when distributing mask patterns, tutorials, and educational materials to the 44,000 volunteers worldwide.
Lessons for the Health and Wellness Sector: The Future of Composable Technologies
In the health sector, where responsiveness and compliance are critical, the success of this project serves as a bellwether, demonstrating that composable technologies can significantly reduce the time and cost associated with developing and maintaining digital platforms, even in highly regulated environments.
"The health sector is understandably more cautious and consequently has the tendency to slowly adopt new technologies,” noted McKenna, “But that caution comes with its own costs. By embracing composable technologies, we can innovate faster, reduce risks, and respond to critical needs more effectively."
The reduced need for extensive in-house development teams means that organizations can focus more on their core missions—whether that’s patient care, research, or public health initiatives—while relying on mature platforms to handle the technical complexities.
For business leaders in the health and wellness sector, the message is clear: by embracing composable architectures, they can not only enhance their operational capabilities but also drive innovation in a way that meets the urgent needs of today and tomorrow.
Conclusion
Created for Crisis was more than just a digital platform; it was a lifeline for thousands of people around the world during one of the most challenging times in recent history. In the end, by harnessing composable technologies, the Created for Crisis team was able to turn an idea into a global movement in less than a week and save lives in the process. For Ryan McKenna, working quickly, at scale, and with the flexibility and in-built expertise of modern technology vendors solidified the value and need for adaptable technology solutions— something he brought back to his day job at RVO Health, working with composable partners like Orium to build modern health solutions at scale. It’s a testament to the potential of these technologies, not only in the health sector but across all areas where speed, scalability, and compliance are essential.
Leigh Bryant
Editorial Director, Composable.com
Leigh Bryant is a seasoned content and brand strategist with over a decade of experience in digital storytelling. Starting in retail before shifting to the technology space, she has spent the past ten years crafting compelling narratives as a writer, editor, and strategist.