RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — PointClick Technologies, a full-service managed cloud and hosting company with deep CMS platform expertise, today announced that it successfully scaled up a DNN platform to accommodate a 4,900% increase in web site traffic. PointClick CMS experts, along with IowaComputerGurus – an Iowa-based computer consulting firm — were recently called upon to perform this challenging scale-up task for Budget Challenge and H&R Block.
Developed in 2005 by Dave and Palmira Buten, Budget Challenge is an application built on top of a DNN platform. The education simulation program is designed to teach high school students how to successfully manage their own personal finances. In the summer of 2014, Budget Challenge joined forces with H&R Block's philanthropic Dollars and Sense program, which was developed with the aim of giving scholarships away to worthy students. As a result of their partnership with H&R Block, the managers at Budget Challenge needed to scale up their web site – from an estimated 4,000 students in 2013 to an anticipated 200,000 in the 2014-2015 school year.
Although Budget Challenge managers had been satisfied with their DNN platform, their previous hosting provider was unable to optimize the CMS program to accommodate the expected 4,900% spike in traffic or the anticipated 50,000 concurrent users. Budget Challenge management turned to PointClick and IowaComputerGurus to resolve the issue. "Once we understood that our partnership with H&R Block would become a reality, we knew we needed to use the services of companies like PointClick and IowaComputerGurus — companies that could meet the challenges ahead within a very short timeframe," said Dave Buten, co-founder of Budget Challenge.
CMS experts at PointClick and IowaComputerGurus were able to resolve the scale-up issues faced by Budget Challenge by ensuring that the company's DNN platform was correctly configured and that third-party modules and servers were properly optimized for the load. "We know the strength of DNN, but we also know the limitations of the platform and related hosting environment. This is especially true in high load situations — if it isn't coded or configured correctly, performance can be abysmal," said Mitchel Sellers, CEO of IowaComputerGurus.
"With projects like these, it's very important to select great partners to work with, because the solution wasn't so much that the client moved from one hosting infrastructure to another — far from it. In fact, the original hosting partner probably had adequate resources to handle the load but lacked the consultative approach PointClick takes with every engagement. Our approach allows us to provide answers to application and performance issues where many other hosting providers may not look," says Malik Khan, President and CEO of PointClick.
Ultimately, the two teams successfully set up a 100% cloud-based infrastructure that was load balanced across five Web nodes with a Microsoft SQL Server backend and plenty of computer and network horsepower. "I'm not sure how we would have resolved the situation without them," said Dave Buten. "PointClick and IowaComputerGurus were knowledgeable, flexible and extremely responsive on an around-the-clock basis. I hate to think where we'd be right now if it weren't for the expertise that they both brought in helping us scale our problems."
To download the case study visit:
http://www.pointclick.net/budgetchallenge-hrblock.aspx
About PointClick: Established in 2007, PointClick Technologies is a managed cloud and hosting provider with a focus on CMS support, compliance and security. PointClick differentiates itself from other providers by focusing on the business requirements and business outcomes of its customers, rather than simply addressing infrastructure issues. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, the company hosts its servers at two data centers, both of which are SSAE 16 certified – one located in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the other in Ashburn, Virginia. Both state-of-the-art facilities provide clients with the highest possible level of technology, reliability, safety, security and scalability. For more information about PointClick Technologies, visit their Web site at www.pointclick.net.
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