Questback cuts data center TCO by 45% using Oracle Cloud

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Until 2020, Questback hosted the Oracle Database that supports its solutions in an on-premises data center. But that data center technology had become a drag on growth and innovation. Questback needed to run increasingly complex queries from a growing number of users, but the server technology limited the database’s performance, resulting in long query times.

Questback leaders wanted to create a culture of experimentation and encourage developers to come up with new ideas and concepts that they could quickly test. The company has strong growth ambitions, including international expansion. They needed an infrastructure that would offer maximum flexibility and strong data security, at a cost that the company could afford.

Questback uses .net technology with an Oracle Database. The moved its computing infrastructure to run on Oracle Compute for the .Net parts connected to Oracle Database Cloud Service for a more flexible and highly secure environment, at a total cost of ownership that’s 45% of its on-premises alternative. Questback had a good experience running on Oracle Database, but its leadership examined all possible options before moving to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), including switching to database technologies such as PostgreSQL or MySQL DB, or migrating to AWS or Google Cloud.

“It was about a comprehensive modernization of our technology and processes,” COO Niklas Olsson says. “We wanted to become more innovative and agile to secure our competitiveness, and to prepare ourselves for the future. And since we have to use our budgets with care, cost also played a crucial role in the decision.”

By migrating to Oracle Database Cloud Service, Questback reduced its total cost of ownership by 45%. These savings represent a significant competitive advantage for the company.

With Oracle Database Cloud Service running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Questback applications run at least 15% faster. This lets customers process even complex queries quickly, and temporary peak loads don’t increase query times or limit availability.

The company now provides test environments in just a few minutes, compared with the weeks or even months previously required. This represents a significant acceleration of development and testing for new services. Questback also can scale its systems for highly complex queries and an increasing number of users as needed. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will support international growth and allow increased use of emerging technology, since it can process heavy workloads such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning applications.

Thanks to encrypted data storage provided at the Oracle Cloud region in Germany, Questback is confident of its compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation related to customer data. For many Questback customers, this is a crucial criteria when selecting an application provider, because they are often dealing with sensitive employee or customer information.

In addition, the company also values the reliability and predictability of running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, thanks to a range of factors including automated incident management, full cost transparency, and comprehensive reporting.

Using Oracle Cloud Lift Services, Questback is also looking to extend Questback Essentials by providing customizable analytics capabilities, including interactive data analysis, time series analysis, forecasting, and text analytics, using Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse and Oracle Analytics Cloud.

Questback has worked for several years with Record-consult, an Oracle Gold Partner that specializes in Oracle Cloud technologies. Record-consult has been responsible for maintaining Questback’s Oracle Database, and the firm built on that work to plan and implement the move to Oracle Cloud. “Record-consult did a fantastic job,” COO Niklas Olsson says. “Their experts showed total commitment at all times, and they resolved every challenge.”