Outperform Solutions is the developer of the Outperform Planning smart software for supporting Sales & Operations teams. Until recently this software was installed on customers' own infrastructure. As a result, different software versions were in use and updates had to be done manually.
The clients of Outperform Solutions are interested in SaaS solutions. Therefore, Outperform Solutions was looking for a partner to help them with the realization of this cloud migration and reached out to Intercept through one of our workshops. This was the beginning of an inspiring collaboration!
The situation
Outperform Solutions develops software for the food and agri-business (among others) to support Sales and Operations Planning.
The ingenious application “Outperform Planning” predicts the sales numbers per product and per customer group based on sales history and additional data. With this data Sales & Operations teams can collaborate better and the supply and demand chain is optimized. The application is used worldwide and already helped many organizations with arranging the supply chain (cost) efficiently.
The Challenge
Previously, Outperform Solutions installed the software on customers’ own server environment. Uneco de Meester (CCO at Outerperform Solutions) says;
‘’In our market it is very common for companies to see their line of business application as their self-managed solution or, at least they’ve arranged how the software is installed. This means that every customer has its own software version. Making updates is therefore a time-consuming task.
Fortunately, our customers developed interest in SaaS solutions. This was the time for us to switch to a web application. Together with a colleague we participated in the workshop Azure Fundamentals for software companies. During this workshop, the teacher Wesley Haakman showed us the possibilities of Microsoft Azure. This was very educational, so we decided to start a partnership with Intercept. ‘’
The Solution
We started with a design session. What are the wishes? How does the application work and behave? And how could we realize these wishes within Microsoft Azure? Based on this, we developed an Azure architecture with building blocks and the associated costs.
Because new techniques were to be used, the application code had to be partly modified. For this reason, we have spread the cloud migration over a longer period, step by step. And this payed off well!
Outperform is currently using Intercept Managed Services. Uneco de Meester explains; ‘’We purchase Microsoft services from Intercept as our Cloud Solution Provider, and for a better price. But intercept mainly adds knowledge. Especially for our issues with upscaling, security and governance and advice about the environment.
‘’ We are currently working on a new application to serve a wider target group. Through cloud technology we can make this application available to thousands of different companies. This is a major project where Intercept plays an active role in the field of technology and governance. We also see the ideal partner in Intercept for managing our infrastructure. ‘’
The Results
- The application is fully running on Azure. Outperform Solutions is in control of all the underlying hosting, update and release processes. Therefor all customers always have the latest version of our software. This not only results in increased customer satisfaction but it also safes large costs and a lot of time.
- Outperform solutions can purchase Microsoft services for a better price with Intercept as their CSP partner and benefit from their knowledge and expertise.
- Outperform Solutions completely outsources the management of the infrastructure to Intercept. Knowing that they are always compliant in the field of management and security. Outperform can now fully focus on developing their solution and realizing new plans.