How Simplanner successfully shifted her approach to Azure
Thousands of people use Simplanner every day. A planning tool that helps users keep on track of their (production) processes. And makes sure that everything meets the quality standards. The tool is not only used in Denmark, where Simplanner is situated, but also in Germany, The Netherlands, France, Ukraine, Norway and China.
With a clientele that widely spread, it is almost evident to have a cloud based solution. However, Simplanner only started to explore this path in 2019. “Before, we would travel across the country to show potential customers our tool. And thoroughly consult on options to make the customer’s work more time efficient. A valuable, time consuming approach. Which resulted in a high startup price”, explains web developer Michael Korsgaard from Simplanner.
Introduction to Azure
When the market shifted, Simplanner changed along with it. “Customers started to ask for an online version”, says Michael. Therefore, Simplanner introduced a new ‘do-it-yourself’ approach and three new pricing plans. In which customers start with the basic solution, and put in requests for extra features. In order to create this new, easily accessible and scalable version of the tool, Simplanner explored her hosting options.
Michael soon found out that hosting the tool on Azure, could be the solution. So he and his colleagues visited a presentation in Copenhagen, from Intercept. “Our main concern with Azure was that we needed to have an in-house expert. Who would spend all his time on the platform, instead of on our projects. But in the presentation we learned that Intercept does all of this for you.”
Advisor and safety net
With his concerns taken away, Michael was ready to dive into the world of Azure. But first he needed to pick a fitting pricing model. And that wasn’t as easy as it seemed. “It was like they were just showing me random numbers. I had no idea what I was going to pay each month”, Michael explains. “So I wrote to Intercept. They offered me three options. One of them was the best solution for now, another was already a good solution for the future.”
Then it was time to move the first customer to Azure. “We thought: how hard can it be to copy the server? So we did it ourselves. That didn’t go as planned. We ended up corrupting their server. We were panicking. Luckily Intercept was able to help. They saved our asses”, says Michael. “Intercept is now our safety net, when it comes to Azure.”
Advantages and aspirations
With Azure in place, Simplanner’s customers do not have to host the tool themselves anymore. “That pleases our customers, as well as other benefits such as backups and accessibility. Now production managers can see from home that everyone is doing their jobs. Which is a big advantage in this time of Corona.”
Simplanner plans to move more and more customers to Azure. Michael: “In 2022 more than half of our income will come from our solution in Azure. Eventually 95 percent of our customers will end up in Azure. The final 5 percent are organizations that have policies against the use of online solutions.”
“If it wasn’t for Intercept, we would not have gone for a cloud solution at all, they were our guiding hand. Their help and advice has been tremendous. To have that security and partnership is priceless.”
Michael Tot KorsgaardWeb Developer at Simplanner
Are you also looking for an Azure sparring partner? Or are you curious what advantages you’d gain by migrating your application to Azure? Don’t hesitate to contact us.
Tags
Migrate
Azure DevOps
In short
Simplanner: A planning tool that helps users keep on track of their (production) processes. And makes sure that everything meets the quality standards.
With a clientele that widely spread, it is almost evident to have a cloud based solution.
With Azure in place, Simplanner’s customers do not have to host the tool themselves anymore.
With Azure in place, Simplanner’s customers do not have to host the tool themselves anymore
Simplanner plans to move more and more customers to Azurel: “In 2022 more than half of our income will come from our solution in Azure. Eventually 95 percent of our customers will end up in Azure''
Technology used - Microsoft Azure and Azure DevOps
Possibly interesting as well:
Embracing Green IT with the Azure Cloud: opportunities for the ISV Community
Discover green opportunities in Azure: save costs, promote sustainability, and strengthen your brand. Learn how Azure's tools make your software more eco-friendly while simultaneously meeting the demand for sustainable solutions.
A new quarter full of new innovations from Azure. Azure has certainly not been standing still! Nor is there any sign that things are getting quieter. Our expert will tell you more about Azure in this one-time special!
A new year full of new innovations from Azure. Azure has certainly not been standing still! Nor is there any sign that things are getting quieter. Join our expert for a look back at 2022 and forward to 2023!
Are you considering using public cloud services but would you instead not stop with your private cloud? Then a hybrid cloud could be the answer. Two key reasons why a hybrid cloud is getting attention are its optimal scalability and flexibility.
In this workshop the (fictional) software company Cloud Adventures is central. You will follow them on their journey to and on the Azure Cloud. All associated challenges and pain points will be discussed and we will show you in a clear manner how to tackle these problems. Get the most out of the workshop and take the opportunity to ask all your questions to one of our Azure Experts.
The overwhelming majority of organizations that we have helped wanted to migrate from TFS (or Azure DevOps Server) to Azure DevOps Services. From on-premise to the cloud. The following is a description of the steps required for a successful migration.
Which Azure DevOps Services are of interest to me?
Als je Azure DevOps hebt geïnstalleerd, is het tijd om dieper in de verschillende Services te duiken. Je organisatie kan gebruik maken van Boards, Pipelines, Repos, Test Plans en Artifacts.
All software companies can currently start from scratch with Azure DevOps Services. All it requires is a free account to get started. Usually, however, an organization uses a predefined environment, such as TFS or on-premises DevOps Server. As change within an organization requires time, money, and energy, it is essential that you know in advance what a migration to Azure DevOps Services of this kind means and will provide.
Boost Your Software Development with (Azure) DevOps
Unleash the Power of DevOps to Accelerate Your Software Development in a Competitive Market. Learn how (Azure) DevOps enables clear processes, streamlined collaboration, and shorter lead times. Discover what (Azure) DevOps is all about and how it can benefit your company. Click here for valuable insights!
Watch how we provide value to our software partners
To help Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) accelerate application development and increase business opportunities, Intercept introduces the Cloudify for ISV program.
Checklist part 2: Choose your architecture before you migrate to Azure
As a second in a series of articles, we’ll take a look at architectures and why it is important to take a look at the overall picture. Do you want to define a roadmap and see where you are in 3 years? Probably not. But you do want to understand the implications your architecture has on added value, available features and pricing.
Checklist part 1: Choose your strategy before you migrate to Azure
Before you start your Azure journey it’s important to take a step back and think of what you’re trying to achieve. The first step to successfully modernizing your solution is to determine your strategy, short term and long term.
