Writeimage CSB Horseracing Website Migrates to the Cloud and Enjoys 50 Per Cent Growth in Users

Windows Azure Customer Solution Case Study

Horse-Racing Website Migrates to the Cloud and Enjoys 50 Per Cent Growth in Users

“Windows Azure is critical in helping us scale up to meet predictable surges in demand, such as during Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival. It also works for us during unpredictable spikes in traffic.” Miguel Garcia, Head of Technical, At The Races

At The Races provides live horse-racing coverage, news, and analysis through its website and TV channel. To manage sudden surges in demand online during key events in the horse-racing calendar, the firm needed a cost-effective, cloud-based environment that would scale up and down easily and reliably. At The Races chose Windows Azure, and since 2011 has experienced 50 per cent growth in users on its website.

Business Needs satellite and cable TV in more than 13 At The Races is a United Kingdom million homes in the U.K. and Ireland. (U.K.) TV channel and website, Around 1.5 million racing fans covering horse racing from the U.K., regularly log on to the website for Ireland, and North America, and racing information, previews, news, selected events from around the features, and other services. world. The channel is available through

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published December 2012 Until 2011, the company was using a 2000 to Windows Azure, merging data spending less time managing the third-party hosting service to manage from four databases into one. infrastructure and can focus on its website. The provider found it Previously, servers could be inactive developing new services for race difficult to cope with surges in demand for 70 per cent of the time, racking up goers. for predictable events, so At The Races considerable costs. decided to bring the service in-house. Windows Azure scales easily to meet Miguel Garcia, Head of Technical, At With a small developer team, At The demand. Windows Azure can scale up easily for both predictable and The Races, says: “We tried to find a Races benefited from the third-party unpredictable events. Garcia says: different hoster, but the quote we AzureWatch tool—which automatically “Windows Azure is critical in helping us received wasn’t cost-effective for us. monitors traffic on the website— scale up to meet predictable surges in The website had grown to the point supplied by Paraleap Technologies, a demand, such as during Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival. It also works for where a dedicated in-house developer Microsoft BizSpark startup specialising us during unpredictable spikes in traffic team seemed the right strategy.” in cloud computing software services. because it can scale up at 10 minutes’ notice. It’s helping us try out new ideas.” At The Races was worried that when Garcia says: “With Windows Azure, Website experiences 100 per cent growth in users in first year. Windows there were spikes in traffic to the we’re taking greater control of the Azure has freed the At The Races website—for example, during events website. We no longer need to technical team to concentrate on delivering such as Royal Ascot—operating costs conduct weeks of planning before new services for horse-racing fans, having could escalate with a traditional hosting major events in the horse-racing experienced 100 per cent growth in platform. Conversely, during quiet calendar because we can organise website users in the first year. Garcia says: “These new services include a horse periods in the racing year, demand additional capacity at short notice. This tracker that alerts customers by email would fall. Garcia says: “During the is particularly important for coverage when a particular horse is running. We’ve Cheltenham Festival, we get a 100 per of unpredictable events such as a big- experienced a 50 per cent increase in cent jump in traffic for the duration of breaking news story about a particular traffic since 2011 and doubled the number of unique users since we moved to the festival. The core company is quite horse, event, or trainer.” Windows Azure.” small and managing a traditionally Windows Azure helps lower operating hosted site would have been beyond At The Races experienced a seamless costs compared to hosted service. At The our current capacity.” transition from its previous hosted Races has experienced substantial savings on operating costs with Windows Azure service to Windows Azure, which offers and it has no need to invest in additional In 2010, Garcia attended a Microsoft flexibility and performance reliability. hardware. Garcia says: “With Windows event in Bradford hosted by Microsoft Garcia says: “We have an extremely Azure, you pay for what you use. We can’t Gold Partner Black Marble, which stable platform. The site is simple to give a precise figure, but we’re now specialises in the Windows Azure cloud configure and the few challenges that spending considerably less than we would have with a traditional hosting solution. operating system. Garcia says: “When we encountered during migration This, in turn, gives us the licence to Windows Azure was first announced, I were simple to solve. Windows Azure experiment more because the costs had a ‘light-bulb’ moment. It opened up is fast and incredibly easy to deploy.” involved are minimal.” the potential for a ready-made, scalable Developer team concentrates on new services for race goers. The business platform capable of managing the Benefits model adopted by At The Races is based website in much of its present form, Windows Azure has given At The on giving horse-racing fans access to the which is what subsequently happened.” Races a ready-made, fully data-driven website free of charge. Over the past 12 months, the developer team has administered platform capable of introduced major enhancements because it Solution expanding easily to meet sudden no longer has to spend a significant At The Races, which was already using spikes in demand. It also scales down amount of time on infrastructure the Microsoft .NET Framework, during periods of lower usage. The in- management. migrated from Microsoft SQL Server house developer team is now

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published December 2012