diff --git a/include/event_service_store.hpp b/include/event_service_store.hpp
index 9761eb5..f875986 100644
--- a/include/event_service_store.hpp
+++ b/include/event_service_store.hpp
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
 struct UserSubscription
 {
+    // Represents a Redfish EventDestination instance
     std::string id;
     boost::urls::url destinationUrl;
     std::string protocol;
@@ -27,11 +28,10 @@
     std::vector<std::string> metricReportDefinitions;
     std::vector<std::string> originResources;
 
-    static std::shared_ptr<UserSubscription> fromJson(
+    static std::optional<UserSubscription> fromJson(
         const nlohmann::json::object_t& j, const bool loadFromOldConfig = false)
     {
-        std::shared_ptr<UserSubscription> subvalue =
-            std::make_shared<UserSubscription>();
+        UserSubscription subvalue;
         for (const auto& element : j)
         {
             if (element.first == "Id")
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->id = *value;
+                subvalue.id = *value;
             }
             else if (element.first == "Destination")
             {
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->destinationUrl = std::move(*url);
+                subvalue.destinationUrl = std::move(*url);
             }
             else if (element.first == "Protocol")
             {
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->protocol = *value;
+                subvalue.protocol = *value;
             }
             else if (element.first == "VerifyCertificate")
             {
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->verifyCertificate = *value;
+                subvalue.verifyCertificate = *value;
             }
             else if (element.first == "DeliveryRetryPolicy")
             {
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->retryPolicy = *value;
+                subvalue.retryPolicy = *value;
             }
             else if (element.first == "Context")
             {
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->customText = *value;
+                subvalue.customText = *value;
             }
             else if (element.first == "EventFormatType")
             {
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->eventFormatType = *value;
+                subvalue.eventFormatType = *value;
             }
             else if (element.first == "SubscriptionType")
             {
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@
                 {
                     continue;
                 }
-                subvalue->subscriptionType = *value;
+                subvalue.subscriptionType = *value;
             }
             else if (element.first == "MessageIds")
             {
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@
                     {
                         continue;
                     }
-                    subvalue->registryMsgIds.emplace_back(*value);
+                    subvalue.registryMsgIds.emplace_back(*value);
                 }
             }
             else if (element.first == "RegistryPrefixes")
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@
                     {
                         continue;
                     }
-                    subvalue->registryPrefixes.emplace_back(*value);
+                    subvalue.registryPrefixes.emplace_back(*value);
                 }
             }
             else if (element.first == "ResourceTypes")
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@
                     {
                         continue;
                     }
-                    subvalue->resourceTypes.emplace_back(*value);
+                    subvalue.resourceTypes.emplace_back(*value);
                 }
             }
             else if (element.first == "HttpHeaders")
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@
                                          val.first);
                         continue;
                     }
-                    subvalue->httpHeaders.set(val.first, *value);
+                    subvalue.httpHeaders.set(val.first, *value);
                 }
             }
             else if (element.first == "MetricReportDefinitions")
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@
                     {
                         continue;
                     }
-                    subvalue->metricReportDefinitions.emplace_back(*value);
+                    subvalue.metricReportDefinitions.emplace_back(*value);
                 }
             }
             else if (element.first == "OriginResources")
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@
                     {
                         continue;
                     }
-                    subvalue->originResources.emplace_back(*value);
+                    subvalue.originResources.emplace_back(*value);
                 }
             }
             else
@@ -244,15 +244,14 @@
             }
         }
 
-        if ((subvalue->id.empty() && !loadFromOldConfig) ||
-            subvalue->destinationUrl.empty() || subvalue->protocol.empty() ||
-            subvalue->retryPolicy.empty() ||
-            subvalue->eventFormatType.empty() ||
-            subvalue->subscriptionType.empty())
+        if ((subvalue.id.empty() && !loadFromOldConfig) ||
+            subvalue.destinationUrl.empty() || subvalue.protocol.empty() ||
+            subvalue.retryPolicy.empty() || subvalue.eventFormatType.empty() ||
+            subvalue.subscriptionType.empty())
         {
             BMCWEB_LOG_ERROR("Subscription missing required field "
                              "information, refusing to restore");
-            return nullptr;
+            return std::nullopt;
         }
 
         return subvalue;
@@ -307,7 +306,7 @@
 class EventServiceStore
 {
   public:
-    boost::container::flat_map<std::string, std::shared_ptr<UserSubscription>>
+    boost::container::flat_map<std::string, UserSubscription>
         subscriptionsConfigMap;
     EventServiceConfig eventServiceConfig;
 
diff --git a/include/persistent_data.hpp b/include/persistent_data.hpp
index bcecf9f..13a43c4 100644
--- a/include/persistent_data.hpp
+++ b/include/persistent_data.hpp
@@ -157,10 +157,10 @@
                     {
                         for (const auto& elem : item.second)
                         {
-                            std::shared_ptr<UserSubscription> newSubscription =
+                            std::optional<UserSubscription> newSub =
                                 UserSubscription::fromJson(elem);
 
-                            if (newSubscription == nullptr)
+                            if (!newSub)
                             {
                                 BMCWEB_LOG_ERROR("Problem reading subscription "
                                                  "from persistent store");
@@ -168,11 +168,13 @@
                             }
 
                             BMCWEB_LOG_DEBUG("Restored subscription: {} {}",
-                                             newSubscription->id,
-                                             newSubscription->customText);
-                            EventServiceStore::getInstance()
-                                .subscriptionsConfigMap.emplace(
-                                    newSubscription->id, newSubscription);
+                                             newSub->id, newSub->customText);
+
+                            boost::container::flat_map<
+                                std::string, UserSubscription>& configMap =
+                                EventServiceStore::getInstance()
+                                    .subscriptionsConfigMap;
+                            configMap.emplace(newSub->id, *newSub);
                         }
                     }
                     else
@@ -268,7 +270,7 @@
         for (const auto& it :
              EventServiceStore::getInstance().subscriptionsConfigMap)
         {
-            const UserSubscription& subValue = *it.second;
+            const UserSubscription& subValue = it.second;
             if (subValue.subscriptionType == "SSE")
             {
                 BMCWEB_LOG_DEBUG("The subscription type is SSE, so skipping.");