Azure Helps Browser-based Startup Grow Exponentially and Affordably
Dealing with the challenges of scaling a small startup from 10,000 to 400,000 users is a great problem to have. But that doesn’t make the problem simple to solve, especially in an efficient and timely manner. In a previous post I looked at how Microsoft Azure scaled to meet the needs of IMSA for processing big dynamic data. There are also many examples of small startups that have leveraged the scalability of Azure as a successful and long-term solution.
Palo Alto-based Codeanywhere, a mobile app that gives developers the ability to write and share code, was looking for a cloud-based solution because they were outgrowing their initial Virtual Private Server (VPS) capacity. Codeanywhere evaluated cloud offerings from Microsoft, AWS and Google Cloud, but chose Microsoft Azure to help them scale to meet the needs of their growing audience, in a cost competitive manner. Flexibility and affordability were the key decision criteria that made Azure the most effective solution for a small startup with serious computing needs.
With services that run around the clock, Codeanywhere had a major concern regarding migration of its new solution quickly, with a minimal impact upon code changes required. Transitioning to Microsoft Azure took only two days, requiring just two workers be involved. Additionally, Codeanywhere’s Linux servers didn’t need any changes made to work on Microsoft Azure.
“Even if you never worked with a Cloud platform, everything on Azure is so user friendly and intuitive that there is almost no learning time for anyone,” said Ivan Burazin, cofounder and CEO of Codeanywhere.
“Before moving to Microsoft Azure, we used Liquidweb’s VPS which was enough for the small number of users we had in our early stages,” said Vedran Jukic, cofounder and CTO of Codeanywhere. “With an increasing number of users, we realized that we would not be able to scale our application.”
Thanks to Azure’s enterprise-grade hosting infrastructure and scalability, Codeanywhere had the tools necessary to increase its customer base from 10,000 to over 400,000 users in a short timeframe. “Codeanywhere continues to see strong growth, and we need to make sure our systems are helping us continue to deliver a positive customer experience,” said Burazin. “With Azure, we can continue scaling our offering almost without limit.”
Microsoft Azure provides services and affordability that small startups like Codeanywhere value, and has given this developer a simple and fast way to deploy its systems. Instead of having one large virtual server, Codeanywhere now has close to 20 specialized virtual Linux servers that are mutually redundant.
The benefits of their decision to move to Azure became clearwhen Codeanywhere completed their migration. The system is now working at peak performance regardless of the load, with improved stability, because each service has two or more redundant servers, which can take over various functions in the event of a problem. System security has also improved significantly because the server is not accessible from the Internet.
“Our biggest benefit is scalability, which was our main reason for migrating our systems,” said Burazin. “In addition, we were sincerely and positively surprised by Azure’s affordability and benefits. I would recommend Azure to anyone regardless of how ‘small’ their web is currently.”
Microsoft technology is enabling startups to grow and succeed. If your startup has similar needs to Codeanywhere, learn more about Azure and the benefits you can gain through the Microsoft BizSpark program for startups at www.microsoft.com/startups. I also encourage you to sign up for a free Azure Trial or enroll in Cloud Development Courses from the Microsoft Virtual Academy.
Guggs