RMDY provides digital grow & glow thanks to Kubernetes

RMDY helps its customers excel in the digital arena. Managed Kubernetes hosting allows them to pursue a technology-agnostic approach and to develop innovative solutions much faster for their diverse customer base.

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RMDY: helping customers convey their message

Logo RMDY video customer caseTechnology company RMDY's tagline is "We make our customers grow and glow by delivering new digital experiences". Companies that want to bring a product or service to market through digital channels, but do not know how to go about it themselves, can turn to RMDY. It is no coincidence that the name of the company is pronounced 'Remedy', as the company wants to provide solutions that will help customers grow and glow.

RMDY puts its wide range of competencies at the service of its customers – content strategy, copywriting, user experience design, web applications, mobile and cross-platform applications, not forgetting innovative new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. Depending on the project, RMDY collaborators will provide consultancy at the customers' premises, but the project can also be developed entirely in-house.

That is why there are people with so many different backgrounds working at RMDY. Bart Van Hecke, managing partner of RMDY, is himself a UX/UI architect who works with a team of twenty people. His two partners handle the other tasks, and a total of sixty people work at RMDY, making up a very diverse team. Most of them are of course developers, who have a very innovative mindset. But we also employ designers, copywriters, etc. Combining a creative profile and a developer works wonders", says Bart.

Bart points out that RMDY not only wants its clients to 'grow and glow', but it also wants the same thing for its own team members. "We help them create a growth plan, so that they can grow with us in the areas in which they are good at. By means of a goal-setting plan, we ensure that they can take the necessary steps, so that together we can serve our customers even better".

RMDY Enriched team

 

A future-oriented user interface

AR and VR applications RMDYWhat makes RMDY different is its expertise, its future-oriented approach. "We do not focus solely on what is possible today, but rather on what will be possible tomorrow. Innovative technologies such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things with sensors, as well as blockchain. We have our own research department that constantly follows new developments. This way, our team of experts can integrate these technologies into the solution developed for our customers, thereby providing them with the best possible innovative solutions."

In many cases, these technologies involve creating a new user interface. "Nowadays, we mostly find ourselves in a 2D world. We pinch, zoom or use a mouse... But the future is three-dimensional, with technology that is smart enough to respond to us as complete humans. Just think of motion tracking, gaze control, voice recognition... So, we are heading towards other types of interfaces, with AR and VR coming into play. Our customers realise that too – they know they need to take that step now, and we help them take it."

Bart thinks that AR and VR can also be used for e-learning. "Today, e-learning is still very often achieved through websites or video content. The next step, however, is to create a more immersive experience using virtual reality. For Proximus, for example, we have developed a VR training course in which users are immersed in the e-learning environment, so that they can learn much more intensively."

VR toepassing RMDY

 

360-degree virtual tour in the Interxion data centre

As an example, Bart refers to the request he received from their customer Interxion, the same data centre that houses Combell's servers. "Interxion asked us to fully virtualise their data centre. For them, we built a 360-degree virtual tour: with VR headsets, they can now remotely look inside the data centres."

Linne Voets, marketing manager at Interxion, explains why the company chose RMDY: "In normal times, we offer our future customers – partners such as Combell that rent space from us – the opportunity to visit our data centres, so that they can see how ingeniously the facilities have been designed. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, these visits could no longer take place. "These tours are really important for us, because they help us prove that we are worthy of the customers' trust and that their data are safe with us."

"We therefore decided to replace the physical tour with a virtual one, and went looking for the right partner to make this a reality for us. We chose RMDY because they are one of the best Belgian companies specialising in innovative interfaces. RMDY is very flexible and can respond quickly to our needs. What is more, they are a local company."

Interxion 360 virtual tour

Linne points out that the fact that the tour is virtual has an additional advantage: "More people are now able to take a peek behind the scenes, which was previously hardly possible because of limited accessibility, strict procedures, etc. Partners such as Combell can now also use this VR tour to show their own customers that they really do want to work with a reliable hosting partner."

 

Automation made easy thanks to Kubernetes iterations

kubernetes-horizontal-colorThis is a given: RMDY has a very diverse customer base, and each customer has its own needs. The solution for a customer that wants a fairly complex e-commerce application differs enormously from that for a customer who wants a 360° video or a mobile application. There is also a lot of variation in the way customers approach their project. Flexibility is therefore a key priority at RMDY.

And that is why the company has adopted a technology-agnostic approach. "This means that we are not tied to one specific technology. We respond to the customers' requests and offer them a wide range of technologies, as well as the appropriate hosting options.

Besides, RMDY found that it regularly had to re-integrate the same code. "We work very closely with our customers, and try to be very responsive, so that we can quickly process the customers' input. We therefore organise sprints, which involve the customers as much as possible. Iterations allow us to respond quickly."

AR applicaties RMDY

In order to perfectly combine this flexibility, software independence and iterations, Kubernetes proved to be the ideal solution. By working with technology-neutral containers, routines could be automated. "Working with containers saves us time and effort. As a result, customers can bring their products to market faster", says Bart. And, at the end of the day, the solutions provided are much more in line with the customers' needs.

"We also have customers who already ran a Kubernetes environment. The advantage of this is that we can then set up the entire environment at Combell, and when it is ready, we can simply transfer it to the customer via Docker", adds Bart.

Bart argues that Kubernetes offers many benefits. "Using containers makes Kubernetes very scalable and easy to automate and allows us to assure our customers that the availability of their application is always guaranteed. Another advantage of Kubernetes is that its security is fully managed by Combell. For a customer like Interxion, for example, it is very important that the 360-degree virtual tour that we built for them can be hosted without any security issues whatsoever."

 

Scalability, automation and availability are the key benefits of Kubernetes. Not forgetting security, because that layer is managed by Combell.

 

Managed Kubernetes at Combell: the perfect solution

"We knew we somehow had to head in the direction of Kubernetes, but we did not really know how to go about it", recalls Bart Van Hecke. "We always seek the best hosting solutions for our customers, but we are clearly not hosting specialists. This is why we had to find a business partner that does have the necessary knowledge. "We are technically-minded people, but not to the extent that we can implement all hosting solutions for our customers ourselves in no time." Still, RMDY likes to retain partial control, because it wants to be able to respond quickly to its customers' needs. And Combell makes that possible too. "Combell allows us to take matters into our own hands, to go as far as we want to go. And when we need further guidance, Combell is also the right partner for us."

AR project RMDY

That is why RMDY eventually chose managed Kubernetes solutions provided by Combell. And that turned out to be a smart move. "There, we can really count on a personal, tailored approach, thanks to people who help us and our customers with their thoughts and ideas."

Find out more about Kubernetes: What is Kubernetes and why is it so attractive?

Long term partnershipsRMDY likes to maintain close contact with its own customers, but also with its partners. And since both Combell and RMDY use Slack as a messaging tool, it is very easy for the staff of both companies to communicate with each other. And just as RMDY strives for a personal, long-term relationship with its customers, the company pursues the same objectives for its partners. "With Combell, we have definitely found a partner we can rely on for our solutions."

His advice is clear: "It is very convenient when you can count on a partner who has the necessary knowledge, because that allows us to focus on our core business. It is important that when you feel you are getting stuck at a certain point, you can turn to a partner that is able to support you with the right expertise."

Do you think managed Kubernetes and working with containers could be the right option for your project? Do not hesitate to contact our experts, who will go through the possibilities with you.

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