Microsoft Software-plus-Services Strategic Hosting Partners Case Study

ISV Solution Provider: ONE-EIGHTY CORP Strategic Hosting Partner: Tenzing Managed IT Services

Software-plus-Services Platform: Microsoft

Case Study Highlights

•AutomobiledealermanagementsolutionproviderONE-

EIGHTYCORPgainshundredsofdealersandfacilitatesover

$12billioninautomotivesaleswithcompellingSoftware-

as-a-Serviceoffering

•StrategichostingpartnerTenzingManagedITServices

buildsandmanagestrueenterprise-classinfrastructureto

enablefastgrowth

•Microsoftischosenastheplatformofchoicebasedon

credibility,capabilitiesandscalability

ONE-EIGHTY CORP Partners with Tenzing Managed IT Services to Deliver Improved Car Buying Experience for Consumers and Dealers with a Unique Web-based Solution.

Manyconsumersviewthecarbuyingprocesswithdisdain.Itcanbepainful,intimidating,timeconsuming,andanoverall

unpleasantexperience.Atthesametime,automobiledealershavetheirownsetofchallengeswiththesalesprocess.Manufactureranddealergrouppromotionalprogramsconstantlychange;pricingchanges,leaserateandfinancingratefluctuations,add-onpackages,inventoryavailability,andthehundredsofcombinationsofavailableoptionsmakeitimpossiblefordealershipemployeestostaycurrentoneverything.Isitanywonderthatbuyingacarisn’taneasyexperienceforanyoneinvolved?

In2000,Canadiansoftwaredevelopmentfirm,ONE-EIGHTYCORP,setouttochangethecarbuyingexperiencewithaninnovativeautomobiledealermanagementsoftwaresolution.ONE-EIGHTY’ssolution,DLSAccelerator®,providesstructuretothesellingprocess,reducesitscomplexity,involvesandinformsthecustomer,andprovidesmanagementcontrolovertheiroperation.“Wehelpdealerssellmorecarsandmakemoremoney,withoutgougingthecustomer,”explainsA.J.Mueller,Co-founderofONE-EIGHTY.

Whilethereareseveralcompaniesthatprovidedealermanagementsoftwaresolutions,onlyONE-EIGHTYCORPmadeavisionary,andverygutsy,strategicdecisiontodevelopDLSAccelerator®asa100%web-basedsolution.Littledidthecompanyknowjusthowbigofanimpactthatdecisionwouldhaveonitsfuture.

ONE-EIGHTYCORPwasstartedintheyear2000,whentheideaofdeliveringmissioncriticalsoftwareovertheInternetwasinitsinfancy.Atthattime,ONE-EIGHTYsurveyedthecompetitivelandscapeandcametotheconclusionthattheycouldbuildabettersolution,withamorecompellingcustomervalueproposition,ifitwascreatedasaSoftware-as-a-Service(SaaS)solution.“Forwhatwewantedtodeliveron,Ijustknewwehadtobuilditasaweb-basedapplication.

Atthattime,peoplethoughtwewerecrazybutIknewthiswasgoingtobethefuture”,recalledA.J.Mueller.Thecriticalfactorthatdrovethatdecisionwasthedealership’sneedforconstantdataupdatestoruntheirsalesprocess.Inanygivenweek,therecanbehundredsofpricing,financing,taxandpromotionalchangescomingfromdozensofsourcesthatwilldirectlyimpacttheprofitabilityofadealership.Withaweb-basedsolution,ONE-EIGHTYwasabletosolveahugedealerpainpointbyprovidingreal-timedataupdatesfrommultiplesources.BeforeONE-EIGHTYcamealong,dealershadatimelaginupdatesandtypicallyhadtoutilizeanumberofresourcestostayontopofthings.Overthenextfewyears,ONE-EIGHTYgrewasdealershipsboughtintothehighvaluepropositionprovidedbyONE-EIGHTY’ssolution.

“Software-as-a-Service is our business. We depend on the Tenzing team to keep ourselves and our customers in operation and they deliver. They keep us connected, safe and scalable. I simply don’t worry about uptime anymore. Their comprehensive level of service and infrastructure allows us to focus on what we do best: Help automotive dealers maximize their sales and profitability potential by implementing, training and supporting a software guided CRM, sales and management process.”

- A.J. Mueller, CEO, ONE-EIGHTY CORP

ONE-EIGHTY CORP Gains Radical Competitive Advantages with Software-as-a-Service Business Model

“When I met them, Ithought they were reallyon the ball. They had ano-nonsense approachthat exuded confidence

and knowledge. Theyasked the right

questions and werereally interested in our

business.”

A.J. Mueller, CEO, ONE-EIGHTY CORP

By2008,ONE-EIGHTYCORPhadmaturedintoasophisticatedSaaSsolutionprovider.Theiragiledevelopmentprocesswasfinetuned,theirapplicationwasrobust,andtheyhadaverysmoothon-boardingprocessfornewcustomers.Theonlyweakpointwastheircurrenthostinginfrastructure;itwasnotatthesamelevelofsophisticationorcapabilitiesastherestoftheirorganization.Itlackedthescalability,uptime,andlevelofcontrolthecompanyneeded.ONE-EIGHTYneededanewstrategichostingpartnerthatcouldgrowwiththecompany–theyfoundoneinTenzingManagedITServices.

Dallas|Kelowna|London|Toronto|Vancouverwww.tenzing.com

Fast forwarding to the year 2009 drives home the staggering success ONE-EIGHTY has experienced with their SaaS solution:• Since2002,DLSAccelerator®hasfacilitatedmorethan$12billioninvehiclesales

• Over4,000usersrepresentingwelloveronehundredCanadiandealersuseONE-EIGHTY’ssolution,representing26differentbrandsincludingAcura,Audi,BMW,Honda,Hyundai,Lexus,Mazda,Mercedes-Benz,Toyota,VWandVolvo

• Currently,DLSAccelerator®issupportingover$300millioninsalespermonth,representing10,000vehiclesales

PerhapsthemoststaggeringbenefitofallisthefactthatONE-EIGHTYCORPisabletoruntheirbusiness,serving4,000usersandprovidingconstantfeatureupdates,withonly25employees.“WithoutSaaS,wewouldnotbeabletodeliverallofthis.ThereisnodoubtthatwewouldnothavemadeitasacompanyifwedidnotchoosetobuildourapplicationasaSaaSsolution”,indicatedA.J.Mueller.

AnotherimportantcomponentofONE-EIGHTY’sabilitytodomorewithlessistheirapproachtofindinggoodbusinesspartners.Overtheyears,thecompanyusedseveralhostingpartnerstosupporttheirSaaSsolution.Asthecompanycontinuedtogrow,itbecameapparentthattheywouldneedtofindatrueenterprise-classhostingpartnertohelpthemgrowtothenextstage.

Sophisticated Software-as-a-Service Company Needs a Sophisticated Host-ing Partner: Enter Tenzing Managed IT Services

Beyond outstanding growth results, ONE-EIGHTY’s SaaS strategy has also paid dividends in a number of additional ways, including:

• Strategic Data Integration Hub: TheDLSAccelerator®solutionhasbecomeanindispensibletoolforconnectingdealers,dealergroups,manufacturersandcustomers.Forexample,thesystemprovidescontrolledadministrativeaccessformanufacturerstodirectlyuploadaccessorypricingandproductinformation;dealergroupsusethesystemtolookattheirinventoryacrosstheirdealernetworks.Ithasbecomeanessentialdatahubthatmanygroupsrelyonforinformation.

• SimplifiedApplicationManagement:Allusersareononeversionofthesoftwarewhichimmenselysimplifiestheupdateprocessandpushingoutnewfeatures(whichisdoneevery2-3weeks).Inaddition,allchangesareinstantlyliveforallusers.Anynecessaryemergencyfixescanbecompletedandareimmediatelylive.Allofthiswouldbeimpossibleunderatraditionalsoftwaredeliverymodelaseachdealerwouldhavetobeseparatelyupdatedattheirlocation.

• Enhanced Security, Back-up and Disaster Recovery: Datasecurity,dailyback-ups,andarobustdisasterrecoveryplanareallcentrallyhandledbyONE-EIGHTY,takingtheburdenoffthedealer.

Tenzing provides value to ONE-EIGHTY in additional ways, including:

• 24 Hour x 7 Day a Week Customer Service: TenzingassignsaTechnicalAccountManagerwhoisdedicatedtoONE-EIGHTY.TheTechnicalAccountManagerisproactiveinworkingwithONE-EIGHTYoncurrentandfutureneeds.Inaddition,theinfrastructureissupportedbysophisticatedperformanceandcapacitydashboardsthatkeepthecompanyaheadofpotentialissues.

• Proactive Infrastructure Cost Management: TenzinghelpsONE-EIGHTYwithcostpredictability,withaproactiveplanalignedtothegrowthofthecompany.Tenzing’sEverestEnterprise-classcloudenvironmentprovidesadditionalbandwidthandservercapabilitiesforplannedorunplannedspikesinserviceneeds(forexample:ifalargeblockofnewcustomersneedtobeon-boardedatthesametime).TheseservicescanbedialedbackdownsoONE-EIGHTYonlypaysforwhatitneeds,whenitneedsit.

• Enterprise SLA Management: Tenzing’ssuperiorApplicationDeliveryInfrastructureandITServiceManagement(ITSM)bestpracticeprocessesandtoolsvirtuallyeliminatehumanerror,theleadingcauseofunscheduleddowntime.ThiscombinedwithTenzing’sexpertstaff(on-siteDatabaseAdministrators,SecurityAnalysts,StorageAdministrator,andNetworkAdministrators),andmulti-datacenterstrategythatprovidecompleteapplicationredundancy(datacentersinVancouver,Toronto,Kelowna,DallasandLondon.)arethebedrockofwhatenablesONE-EIGHTYtodeliveronitscustomerServiceLevelAgreements(SLA)witha99.99%uptimeguarantee.Tenzingtakesthecreation,managementandmonitoringofaclient’sSLAveryseriouslyastheSLAswithTenzing’sclientsunderpintheSLAswiththeirclients.

KeithGaudreaubestsumsuptherelationship:“ONE-EIGHTYisamatureSaaSprovider.TheyareabletodothingswiththeirapplicationandinfrastructurethatveryfewSaaScompaniescando.Weareproudtocallthemacustomerandareexcitedtocontinuetosupporttheirgrowth.”

For More Information on Microsoft’s Software-plus-Services Strategy

Whenyoucombinetheever-growingpowerofdevicesandtheincreasingubiquityoftheWeb,youcomeupwithasumthatisgreaterthanitsparts.Software-plus-Servicesisthatgreatersum.ItalladdsuptoacommitmentfromMicrosofttodeliverevermorecompellingopportunitiesandsolutionstoconsumerandbusinesscustomers—andtoourpartners.Microsofthasvibrantbusinessesonthedesktopandintheenterprise,andismakingsizableinvestmentsinonlineservicesanddevices.Asthesefourworldsconverge,notechnologyvendorisbetterpositionedtodeliveronthevisionofSoftware-plus-Services.Microsofthasmultiplewaystomonetizetheresultsthroughthefamiliarmodelofsoftwarelicensing,offeringservicesbysubscriptions,leveragingMicrosoft’sindustry-leadingadvertisingplatformorthegrowingformofmicropaymentsknownasMicrosoftPoints.And,Microsofthastheworld’slargestandmostdiversepartnerecosystem,whichiscommittedtoitsroleinourstrategy.Formoreinformationvisit:

www.microsoft.com/

softwareplusservices/

A.J.MuellerrecalledwhenhefirstmettheTenzingteam:“WhenImetthem,Ithoughttheywerereallyontheball.Theyhadano-nonsenseapproachthatexudedconfidenceandknowledge.Theyaskedtherightquestionsandwerereallyinterestedinourbusiness.”

“TheTenzingteamquicklysprungintoactiontoputtogetherbothaninfrastructureplanthatwouldsolvetheirbusinessneeds,aswellasamigrationplanfromtheiroldenvironment.OuroverallplanwasfocusedonmovingONE-EIGHTYintoatrueenterprise-classSaaSenvironmentthatbettersupportedthemission-criticalnatureoftheirsolution,”indicatedKeithGaudreau,VPITatTenzing.TheTenzingteamstartedwiththeirAssessmentandDesignPhase–afastbutcomprehensivetwodayon-sitesessionthatalignstheSaaSapplicationarchitecture,capabilities,androadmapwiththeinfrastructureneededtodeliverontheplanbothnowandinthefuture.“Wereallydiveindeeptounderstandacompany’sapplicationcomplexity,developmentprocess,databasestructure,testingneeds,releasemanagementcyclesandrequiredcustomerservicelevelstoarriveatthemostcost-consciousyetmanageableinfrastructureneeded”,commentsKeithGaudreau.

Oncetheinfrastructureandmigrationplanswerecompletedandapproved,TenzingquicklymovedtobuildtheinfrastructureandmigratedONE-EIGHTYtothenewenvironment.Thisentireprocess,frominitialplanningtotheactualmigration,occurredinanastounding22days.TenzingwasabletodeliveronitspromisetoONE-EIGHTYthatthemigrationwouldbesmoothandpainlessforitscustomers,andwiththenewinfrastructureinplace,theywouldbeabletomeetONE-EIGHTY’sneedsbothnowandinthefuture.

Moreimportantly,TenzingbroughtONE-EIGHTYintoatrueenterprise-classhostingenvironmentwithasetofservicesthatallowsONE-EIGHTYtomoreexclusivelyfocusontheirapplicationandbusiness.ThenewinfrastructureprovidesONE-EIGHTYwithamorescalableenvironmentwhereitiseasytoaddadditionalcapacityasneeded,andalsoprovidesforasophisticateddatabackup,recovery,andsystemredundancycapabilities.

The Microsoft Platform Enables ONE-EIGHTY to Deliver an Enterprise-class SaaS SolutionONE-EIGHTYchosetobuildtheirsolutionusingMicrosofttechnologiesforanumberofreasons.Fundamentally,ONE-EIGHTYfeltthattheircustomerstrustMicrosoftsoftware.“Fromabusinessapplicationstandpoint,everybodyisonMicrosoft,anditworks,”indicatesA.J.Mueller.“Weareabletowalkintoadealerenvironmentandprovidethemwithmission-criticalsolutions.Microsoftaddstoourcredibilityandhelpsbuildtrust.Plus,we’reveryfamiliarwiththedevelopmenttoolsandcangetthemostoutofthem.WearehappytobeontheMicrosoftplatform,”concludesA.J.

Dallas|Kelowna|London|Toronto|Vancouverwww.tenzing.com

About TenzingFoundedin1998,Tenzingprovidesanenterprisereadyhostingplatformforthedevelopmentanddeliveryofbusiness-criticalapplicationsovertheInternet.LeveragingITILbestpractices,Tenzing’sawardwinningfive-step“SummitwithTenzing”approachaddressestheentireITlifecycletodeliveranewlevelofhostedmanagedITservices.RecognizedbyPROFITmagazineineachofthepastsevenyearsasoneofCanada’sfastestgrowingcompanies,TenzingisISO27001,SAS70,andPCIDSScertifiedwithdatacentersinToronto,Vancouver,Kelowna,DallasandLondon.

For more information visit: www.tenzing.com

About the Microsoft ISV Incubation ProgramTheMicrosoftIncubationCenterProgramisdesignedtoeasethecommercial,financial,andtechnicalchallengesISVsencounterwhileaddingaservice-baseddeliveryapplicationtotheirbusinessofferings.MicrosofthasestablishedglobalfacilitieswithasetofGoldCertifiedPartnersinHostingtoguideISVsthroughastructuredseriesofbusinessandarchitecturalconsultingsessionstoensuretheirbusinessmodelandapplicationsarereadyforservice-baseddelivery.

For more information visit:www.microsoft.com/hosting/programs/incubationcenter.mspx

About ONE-EIGHTY CORPONE-EIGHTYCORPispartoftheDealerServicesDivisionofADP.ONE-EIGHTYprovidesinnovativeautomotivedealermanagementsolutionsthatimprovethedealersalesprocessandprovidegreatermanagementcontrolandinsight.Bytakingthecomplexityoutofthedailyoperatingprocessesandaddingoperationaltransparency,ONE-EIGHTYhelpsdealersincreaseefficiencies,effectivenessandprofitability.ONE-EIGHTYoperatesitsmaindevelopmentandclientsupportcenteroutofWaterloo,OntariowithadditionalregionalclientsupportrepresentationinMontreal,VancouverandNorthToronto.

For more information visit: www.oneeightycorp.com

Powering Software-plus-Services Solutions:Microsoft Products Used In This Solution

• MicrosoftWindowsServer2003• MicrosoftSQLServer2005(64-bit)• IntegratedMicrosoftActiveDirectory• Microsoft.NETFramework3.5• WindowsEnterpriseServerw/Microsoft• ClusterServices

Thiscasestudyisforinformationalpurposesonly.MICROSOFTMAKESNOWARRANTIES,EXPRESSORIMPLIED,INTHISSUMMARY.DocumentpublishedDecember2013