Azure Powers Launch of Revolutionary, Open Source, Social E-commerce Solution

“Because the platform supports PHP, our developers didn’t have to learn any new development languages. I believe that Microsoft are doing their best to make PHP a first-class citizen on their cloud platform.”

Natthaseth Sirinanthanon, General Manager, Semantic Touch

To bring their new multichannel, social, e-commerce solution to market, Bangkok-based Semantic Touch needed infrastructure that could easily scale for sudden, massive demand. After comparing the interoperability, reliability, cost and security of various cloud offerings, they chose Windows Azure Cloud Services, an open, trusted platform that guarantees 99.95% uptime. With this Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution, developers can use existing open source expertise to help BentoWeb grow quickly and securely, at home and abroad.

Business NeedsSemantic Touch creates online marketing platforms for small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2012, the company started developing a ready-to-deploy

e-commerce solution called BentoWeb that enables SMEs to quickly set up web storefronts online and on Facebook.

Customer: Semantic TouchWeb Site: www.semantictouch.comCustomer Size: 1-99Country or Region: ThailandIndustry: IT

Customer ProfileFounded in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2008, Semantic Touch is a pioneering online marketing solution-development company. They employ 20 staff, who focus on creating out-of-the-box e-commerce solutions for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Software and Services Windows Azure Cloud Services

For more information about Microsoft Cloud Services, go to:www.microsoft.com/cloud

Enrollment for Core InfrastructureCustomer Solution Case Study

Azure Powers Launch of Revolutionary Open Source, Social Ecommerce Solution

semantic touch

“Our goal was to help SMEs create their own e-commerce offerings as easily as possible,” says Natthaseth Sirinanthanon, General Manager, Semantic Touch. “To enable this, we built BentoWeb, which provides customers with a ready-made e-commerce capability within Facebook, including the ability to manage product and ordering information, and payment.”

Within five months of launching on Facebook, the beta version of BentoWeb had attracted 8,000 online businesses and enabled over 60,000 transactions. To take the product further, however, Natthaseth had to make critical infrastructure choices.

“My biggest challenge was coping with growth,” he says. “As a startup, attempting to build the server capacity to meet unpredictable spikes in demand would be foolhardy: not just expensive, but also a risky investment. Managing that infrastructure would also be a huge drag on my small and already stretched team.

“We were also planning to expand internationally and create BentoWeb mobile apps. The costs and inconvenience of maintaining our own servers would grow dramatically at that point. We simply couldn’t afford that!”

SolutionNatthaseth and his colleagues had built the beta version of BentoWeb using PHP and MySQL on Linux. After assessing all their options, Semantic Touch decided to deploy their PHP application on the Microsoft Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution, Windows Azure Cloud Services.

“Reliability was absolutely essential,” he says. “SME merchants needed to believe that Semantic Touch was reliable, or they wouldn’t build their business with us. Windows Azure promises 99.95 percent availability. Also, with Microsoft as our technology partner, we had instant credibility with our customers—an extra assurance.”

Natthaseth also needed to ensure that financial transactions executed in the cloud were secure. “With Azure, we could quickly insert a standard secure socket layer (SSL) to exchange financial data with banks.

Privacy was also a big concern, because customers want their commercial data secured. Again, Azure was attractive because it has built-in capabilities for compliance with a wide range of regulations and privacy mandates.

“We assessed various infrastructure service providers against our requirements, including Amazon and Microsoft. Windows Azure was just right for us!”

BenefitsBy hosting BentoWeb on Windows Azure, Semantic Touch can establish their credibility as a highly reliable, cost-effective, out-of-the-box e-commerce solution provider.

A solution for open source technologies“In just a few days, we were up and running in Azure,” says Natthaseth. “Because the platform supports PHP, our developers didn’t have to learn any new development languages. This is a great practical benefit to them and the company, because we can continue leveraging and building upon our existing expertise.”

“I believe that Microsoft are doing their best to make PHP a first-class citizen on their cloud platform,” he adds. The commitment to openness “Azure also simplifies the complexity of supporting multiple mobile platforms,” says Nattheseth. “We can now power ahead with our plans to develop mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows, without any worry because Azure supports them all. We can now rely on a common back-end in Azure to create consistent, mobile experiences.”

Low upfront investmentSince they only pay for as much infrastructure as they use, Semantic Touch can grow efficiently and without having to gamble on expensive server investments.

“Azure saves us money in several ways,” says Natthaseth. “To provide data redundancy with our own infrastructure, for example, would have doubled the cost,

whereas with Azure, it is just a small incremental cost that provides us with immense peace of mind.”

Rapid, low-risk expansionFor Semantic Touch, growing BentoWeb at home and abroad is all about convenience and speed-to-market. “When we expand internationally, site performance will be a key differentiator. Running the site on Windows Azure allows the site to perform at its optimum everywhere: all I have to do is choose a server closest to my target market and commission the service.”

Excellent local supportNatthaseth can also depend on skilled Azure support close at hand. “It’s very important to me that our cloud partner has a physical presence in Bangkok, with staff who can always provide assistance,” says Natthaseth.

“The local Developer and Platform Evangelism team at Microsoft provided support and training during the switchover,” he adds. ”Now, if I have any problems, I just call and ask for assistance. There is also a large pool of developers with Windows Azure skills in Thailand. So, we know that if we ever need on-site support, we are covered.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published December 2012