Project Whitecard

A Case for the Cloud

Khal Sharif, CEO

What was the business problem?

We apply advanced game technology for learning and training. We need to be able to test our technology at a large scale to ensure uniformity of the user experience and to refine and constantly improve the technology.

69% of SMEs said use of the cloud reduced their IT costs.1

What were the potential solutions?

We could invest in a number of servers, but for a startup this is an expensive proposition. Commercial cloud offerings are available too, but we wanted to keep our costs low while exploring new approaches.

What solution was chosen?

We are lucky enough to have clients like the Canadian Space Agency and NASA – and that means we are constantly innovating. We chose DAIR because we needed to increase our understanding and expertise with multi-user platforms quickly, without incurring undue cost.

What was the result?

We have hosted Moonbase Alpha, a NASA lunar simulation and game, with great success on DAIR, and have increased our use of remotely-served simulations. More recently we are testing Minecraft-based education games, and soon, we will be building new educational-themed platforms for launch into the retail market. DAIR is the perfect program to allow growing IT companies like ours, with quite unique needs, to finalize and perfect our server strategies.

1 University of Manchester Business School/Rackforce Survey 2012. 1500 companies surveyed in the UK and US.