CostPerform.
Co-creating a Managed SaaS solution for a leading cost and business performance software company.
- New SaaS offering live in 9 months
- Onboarding journey reduced to 2 days
- 2 new features added to cloud platform
Project Summary.
The client.
Over their 20 years in business, CostPerform has become a leader in cost and performance management software, helping clients find the answers to complex business performance questions. Its functions include thorough cost allocation and analysis tools that provide actionable insight and enable informed decision-making.
Project background.
In order to use the CostPerform software, customers had to install CostPerform software on their own server infrastructure and maintain it themselves.
In a market moving towards SaaS, CostPerform knew it needed a new model that would keep up with customer expectations on speed, ease of use, cost and flexibility – while maintaining its user-friendly experience.
They approached Nordcloud about modernising the software to a SaaS model on AWS.
Challenges.
Nordcloud supported CostPerform in delivering the SaaS experience to its customers quickly and cost-effectively (and without overhauling CostPerform’s entire infrastructure stack).
- Flexibility
CostPerform’s IT teams and customers were constrained by the existing on-premises approach, which was inefficient and cumbersome compared with a typical SaaS experience.
- Speed
CostPerform wanted to move quickly with the modernisation so they could capitalise on market demand for SaaS in this space.
- Return on investment
At this stage of development, it was hard to quantify demand for a SaaS version of the software. This meant there wasn’t a business case for a full cloud-native rebuild – CostPerform needed a cost-effective approach to modernisation.
It was clear to us at CostPerform that more and more customers were moving toward cloud and SaaS. Nordcloud was able to show us it was possible to move CostPerform to cloud without a major rewrite – and that turned out to be true.
BERT-JAN DE GIER
Director; CostPerform
Priorities.
Creating a SaaS solution
Modernisation
Cost-effectiveness
Automation for security at scale and speed
SaaS as a Managed Service.
Together, Nordcloud and CostPerform co-developed a creative and resource-efficient managed SaaS solution on AWS – with automation and scalability built in.
- Fast and cost-effective deployment of new environments
The existing Java monolith wasn’t built for horizontal scaling. But with creative workarounds and modernisations, Nordcloud teams made it possible to deploy new environments smoothly, cost-effectively and quickly.
- Subscription model for users
CostPerform’s legacy model has been replaced with an agile pay-as-you-go subscription model that transforms their customer experience – and their developers’ workloads.
- Updates and new features
Based on CostPerform customer requirements, Nordcloud executed data warehousing and whitelisting features that allow customers to connect their PowerBI tools and meet their own unique security requirements. We continue to implement new features and capabilities as new needs come up.
Choosing a SaaS model allowed us to take control of our infrastructure. Without IT departments having to install our software, we could take matters into our own hands and meet our customers’ needs better and faster.
BERT-JAN DE GIER
Director; CostPerform
Our Approach.
Building the environment
Managed SaaS solution
Continuous collaboration
A Tailor-made Solution.
With open knowledge exchange and strong expertise on both sides, CostPerform and Nordcloud co-created a solution aligned with goals, expectations and resources.
- Ongoing cloud-native support
Autoscaling means there will never be more instances running than required. And with continuous collaboration, issues get resolved and ideas are integrated quickly.
- Modernisation vs. refactoring
By seeking out ways to modernise through automation, Nordcloud’s teams worked within CostPerform’s resources to provide cloud benefits without the need to rebuild – which would have taken longer and been more expensive.
- Agility + new business model
CostPerform’s customers can now purchase their software and be up and running within 2 days – so they can quickly use the software (and gain value from it).
Nordcloud turned the project around faster than we expected. The quality of the work delivered – especially the automations – met with or exceeded our expectations.
We’ve recently worked together to add new features to the cloud platform, and so far I’m happy with the speed and effectiveness of our software development.
BERT-JAN DE GIER
Director; CostPerform
Results.
Harnessing cloud benefits by modernising without having to rebuild.
Leveraging modernisation and automation, CostPerform and Nordcloud teams mapped out a resource-efficient way forward. Repeatable environments mean Nordcloud can run CostPerform’s SaaS solution as a cost-effective managed service, with customers now able to pay for SaaS licences based on the new subscription model.
Together, CostPerform and Nordcloud created a unique solution to bring CostPerform to AWS and drive their business transformation – on their terms.
The cloud architect at Nordcloud was very knowledgeable and proactive in suggesting improvements.
He was quickly able to understand CostPerform’s technical architecture and the challenges it posed for moving to cloud. I was very happy with how fast we got everything up and running.
BERT-JAN DE GIER
Director; CostPerform
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