Align Technology's Transition to Heroku for Enhanced Consumer App Experience
Technology Category
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Middleware & Microservices
Applicable Industries
- Consumer Goods
- Electronics
Applicable Functions
- Maintenance
Use Cases
- Traffic Monitoring
The Customer
Align Technology, Inc.
About The Customer
Align Technology, Inc. is a global medical device company that specializes in the design, manufacture, and marketing of the Invisalign® system, the world's leading virtually invisible orthodontic product. They also offer 3D digital intraoral scanning products and services for orthodontic and restorative dentistry. Align runs a number of consumer-facing applications, including their corporate site and product sites. These applications are used by thousands of consumers each month and require frequent updates.
The Challenge
Align Technology, a global medical device company, was facing challenges with its consumer-facing applications, including their corporate site and product sites. One of their key applications, the Invisalign Smile Assessment app, along with other applications, were used by thousands of consumers each month and required almost daily updates. These updates ranged from large iterations to minor changes on individual documents. The company found it increasingly difficult to perform these quick updates, a limitation that posed challenges not only for the business teams but also for their IT developers. The need for a more efficient and agile solution was evident.
The Solution
In response to the challenge, Align Technology conducted a technology assessment, considering both Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions. They ultimately chose Heroku, a PaaS solution, over an IaaS solution for several reasons. Unlike IaaS solutions, which require a dedicated developer operations function, the Heroku platform is completely managed by the Heroku team. This meant that Align could focus their resources and energy on their apps, rather than on managing servers, upgrades, adding memory, and troubleshooting security issues. Additionally, Heroku allowed Align to leverage integrated third-party app components and services through the Heroku Add-ons ecosystem. This enabled developers at Align to quickly utilize more than 150 Add-ons, including databases, bug tracking, email automation, and other monitoring tools. Furthermore, Heroku offered fast scalability in response to heavy traffic or other issues.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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