Key Outcomes:
Cut ongoing hosting and operational costs to near zero using free-tier cloud infrastructure.
Replaced manual, unsafe app builds with an automated deployment pipeline.
Recovered the existing audiobook library and user database with no data loss.
Post cyber attack, restored the Open Road audiobook app to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
VAF is a Hanoi-based nonprofit founded in 2011 to support visually impaired children and underserved communities through education, rehabilitation, assistive technology, and digital accessibility programs. One of its flagship projects is Open Road, a free audiobook platform for visually impaired users who could not afford commercial audiobook subscriptions. Open Road gave readers a legal, accessible way into books, education, and independent learning.
Challenge: What happens when a nonprofit app, built by volunteers, is struck by malware?
VAF ran Open Road without an internal IT team, depending entirely on volunteer developers who understood assistive technology. As nonprofit technology, dependencies went unpatched, infrastructure stayed manual, and hosting arrangements lapsed. When the volunteers who built the original system moved on after COVID, nobody was left to maintain it. So when a ransomware attack struck and affected the Open Road app across iOS and Android, they were pulled and delisted from their respective stores.
Though the audiobook database survived the attack, the community had no way to reach it, and sharing audio files outside a licensed platform ran into copyright restrictions under Vietnamese law. VAF needed a partner who could detangle Open Road from the malware, purge it, and restore the app to both the Apple App Store and Google Play. To do this, they turned to Thoughtworks, whose cloud modernization and platform engineering experience matched what the recovery required.
Solution: A stripped-down rebuild of nonprofit technology fit for purpose
Thoughtworks isolated the working code from the infected domain, purged the ransomware, and migrated the backend to a secure platform in Microsoft Azure. The separate iOS and Android codebases were re-engineered into a single React Native application, cutting the ongoing maintenance burden between both versions. Automated CI/CD pipelines replaced the old manual APK builds, so future volunteers or IT employees can commit code and let the pipeline handle deployment safely. Rather than a conventional enterprise cloud modernization overhaul, the team built what it called a zero-OpEx blueprint, using Azure's free tiers to deliver enterprise-grade security at close to no ongoing cost.
Thoughtworks' support has meant much more than technical restoration. Their team helped us rebuild confidence in the platform, protect our valuable content, and ensure that Open Road can continue serving the community in a safer and more sustainable way.
Outcome: Restored access, near-zero hosting costs, and automated deployments
The relaunch of Open Road marked the turning point of a ransomware recovery operation into a working, low-cost digital accessibility platform designed for the long run. Underpinning this phase was the zero-OpEx rebuild on Microsoft Azure, which kept hosting costs down and deployments safe:
Open Road restored to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
2,637 audiobook files recovered and made accessible again.
Over 244 new active users recorded since relaunch.
Hosting and operational costs cut to near zero on free-tier cloud infrastructure.
Manual APK builds replaced by an automated CI/CD pipeline.
One unified process for pushing updates to both iOS and Android.
VAF sincerely appreciates Thoughtworks for helping bring Open Road back to the app stores and back into the hands of visually impaired readers across Vietnam. This collaboration has created real social impact, and we deeply appreciate Thoughtworks' commitment to using technology for inclusion.
Looking ahead: Broader reach, AI-generated audiobooks, and a platform built for what’s next.
Phase two of VAF’s plan for Open Road is already underway: enhancing digital accessibility features in the app and simplifying the admin portal so VAF's small volunteer base can manage uploads more easily. Longer term, an AI text-to-speech engine will turn digital books into audio automatically, cutting reliance on volunteer studio recordings and allowing them to scale the audiobook library faster.
VAF is also expanding into work with the Blind Association to reach more of its members already using assistive technology like TalkBack and voice assistants, allowing them to extend Open Road's reach to visually impaired readers all across Vietnam.
