1. Windows Azure
Customer Solution Case Study
Energy Monitoring Firm Saves
Money, Scales Business with
Hosted Computing Platform

2. Overview “With Windows Azure, you can quickly
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Consumer goods achieve what, a year ago, would have
manufacturing
taken more people, more money, and a
Customer Profile lot more time. It’s going to enable
Advanced Telemetry develops
systems to help businesses applications of types we’ve never seen
monitor and control energy
usage, onsite or via the Internet.
Advanced Telemetry helps businesses monitor
The company employs 22
people. and control energy usage both on-premises and
remotely with its EcoView system and EcoView
Partner Profile
Microsoft® Registered Partner Web application. The company has experienced
Gizmox offers the Visual WebGui
tremendous growth, encouraging it to
application platform to facilitate
fast development and migration reexamine the scalability of its computing
of cloud applications.
architecture. To reduce costs, increase
Business Situation scalability, and improve service, Advanced
Advanced Telemetry needed a
Telemetry is using the Windows Azure™ platform
cost-effective way to scale its
computing power, improve for hosted application and data storage, plus the
service, and maintain a rich and
Visual WebGui application platform from
engaging user experience.
Microsoft® Registered Partner Gizmox to provide
Solution
rapid development and run-time efficiencies for
Advanced Telemetry used Visual
WebGui from Gizmox to migrate cloud applications. Advanced Telemetry
to the Windows Azure™ cloud
developers have been able to use existing
computing platform.
programming skills and experience with
Benefits
Microsoft development tools to migrate to
• Better support for business
growth Windows Azure. This saves the company money,
• Business cost and resource
improves functionality, and enables it to easily
savings
• Increased competitive scale its computing resources to keep up with
advantage
its rapid growth.
• New data analysis
capabilities
• Tools for rapid development

3. Situation energy systems. The local touch
Since 1999, the core panel is connected to the Internet
development team at Advanced so that devices and energy
Telemetry has pioneered consumption can be monitored
advancements in the use of the and controlled remotely through a
Internet to remotely monitor and Web interface called EcoView
control “intelligent” devices like Web (Figure 1). “EcoView brings
air conditioners, fans, and other the benefits of sophisticated, low-
mechanical equipment. The cost, easy-to-install energy
company received venture capital management to medium and
funding to launch in 2007. small buildings to dramatically
reduce resource consumption
The flagship product created by and offer very short term ROI
Advanced Telemetry is the [return on investment],” says
EcoView energy management Tom Naylor, Founder and Chief
system. Designed primarily for Technology Officer at Advanced
buildings such as restaurants and Telemetry.
Figure 1. EcoView Web convenience stores, EcoView
provides detailed energy includes an on-premises touch The EcoView touch panel is built
consumption statistics in a panel that communicates on the Microsoft® Windows® CE
variety of formats.
wirelessly with the building’s 6.0 operating system, and it
communicates with designated
intelligent thermostats and power
meters. The touch panel has a
secure Internet connection to
Advanced Telemetry servers,
middleware, and data storage.
Advanced Telemetry built the
middleware layer on Microsoft
ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL
Server® data management
software. The middleware layer
exposes an application
programming interface (API) that
allows Web-based user
interfaces—like EcoView Web—to
be built against it.
The touch panel interface
provides real-time and historical
usage data, and it stores
remotely tunable algorithms that
can react to local conditions. For
instance, if the power

4. consumption of a facility reaches Telemetry has seen rapid growth
a certain threshold, the system in its customer base. As of
can automatically adjust the October 2009, the company
thermostats to cause the air services 500 sites, including
conditioners to use less power. many fast-food chain restaurants,
The system offers three levels of and it expects that number to
control. Managers at the district grow to 1,000 by the beginning of
or region level can use EcoView 2010. Customers have found that
Web to set energy schedules and EcoView can save them up to 20
thresholds and manage energy percent or more in energy and
consumption at all their sites. At gas costs.
the local level, the facility
manager can adjust temperature EcoView is also the most cost-
within the ranges specified at the effective solution in the industry—
district level in order to respond as of October 2009, it sells for
to local conditions without U.S.$1,500. Competing solutions
compromising the company’s typically start out around $10,000.
energy management strategies. “The entrepreneurs who run
Advanced Telemetry also offers convenience stores and
its own remote monitoring restaurants work on very thin
service as a standard part of the profit margins,” notes Naylor.
EcoView product. “They need a product that gives
“Support services is a very full ROI within a year, and that’s
important part of our product a challenge.”
offering,” says Naylor. “Our
technicians monitor all of the Although Advanced Telemetry is
sites from our network operating pleased with the rapid
center. They can set parameters acceptance of its product, the
that tell the middleware to alert fast growth has provided
them about unusual conditions or challenges as well. “Inside a
something that needs to be store, our system collects a
looked at. Having that human tremendous amount of data
element for making judgment about store conditions and user
calls is crucial, because humans interactions and records it to our
can make inferences that middleware system. We’re
computers just aren’t good at currently using servers hosted
making yet. Many customers through a collocation vendor, and
prefer calling support services to we’ve been concerned about
using the Web interface the increase in servers and
themselves.” personnel necessary to scale out
as much and as fast as we need
As businesses focus more on to.”
energy consumption and
“green” computing, Advanced

5. “If you’re a Solution Microsoft data centers. It
Advanced Telemetry began provides an operating system
Windows looking for new tools, systems, and a set of developer services
and platforms that would enable it that can be used individually or
developer, you to scale easily to accommodate together. Also, Windows Azure
most likely use business growth without forcing affordably fits the needs of
the IT department to spend customers by offering a scalable
Visual Studio. So increasing money and personnel infrastructure with a pay-as-you-
on server hardware and go model.
it’s almost a no- management overhead.
brainer to move to “We see the Windows Azure
The Right Platform platform as an alternative to both
Windows Azure, Advanced Telemetry first managing and supporting
considered Bigtable from Google collocated servers and having
because support is for storing its historical data while support personnel on our side
built right into the keeping its collocated servers but dedicated to making sure the
eventually dismissed it as an system is always up and the
tools.… Another incomplete solution. The application is always running,”
company wanted a more says Naylor. “Windows Azure
important part of comprehensive framework that solves all those things for us
the solution is the would include the application as a effectively with the redundancy
whole and not just the data and fault tolerance we need.
Visual WebGui storage portion. Because cost is based on usage,
we’ll also be able to much more
application A number of vendors now offer accurately assess our service
solutions for “cloud computing,” fees. For the first time, we’ll be
where applications and data can able to tell exactly how much it
reside on remotely hosted costs to service a particular
servers, while being accessed by site.”
users across the Internet on an
as-needed basis. This frees Advanced Telemetry considered
businesses from the cost of competing cloud services
managing their own hardware providers, but it felt that Microsoft
and networks, so they can focus was the best bet. “It’s a big
greater resources on business move putting my systems and
development and customer data in someone else’s hands,”
experience. After looking at says Naylor. “You know that
several competing products, Microsoft is not going to go away,
Advanced Telemetry chose the and that’s big. That was my
Windows Azure™ platform. issue with Google and Amazon’s
services. They’re younger
The Windows Azure platform is an companies, and this isn’t their
Internet-scale cloud services primary business. They could
platform that is hosted in decide at any point that it

6. doesn’t make business sense Visual Studio,” explains Gil Mor,
and start abandoning those Vice President of Business
things.” Development at Gizmox. “We
give .NET developers the ability to
The Right Tools develop very rich applications for
Advanced Telemetry chose the the Web and the cloud without
Windows Azure platform partly the need to learn a new method
because it works with tools like of development. We extend the
the Microsoft Visual Studio® 2008 Microsoft stack with additional
development system. “If you’re features and make it easy to port
a Windows developer, you most applications to the cloud.”
likely use Visual Studio,” explains
Naylor. “So it’s almost a no- Adds Itzik Spitzen, Vice President
brainer to move to Windows of Research and Development at
Azure, because support is built Gizmox, “A Visual WebGui
right into the tools. I hear a lot application is highly optimized to
about ‘free’ tools and reduce bandwidth and CPU
environments like Java and Linux, requirements. So it is especially
but I’ve always found that they well suited to a cloud computing
really aren’t actually free platform, where the customer is
because you’re engineering and charged based on usage.”
developing and de-bugging with
substandard tools. All that cost Advanced Telemetry has been
and struggle far outweighs the impressed with the tool. “Visual
cost of a simple Visual Studio WebGui lets developers focus on
license.” user interface requirements
without getting caught up in code
Adds Naylor, “Another important for formatting the look and feel,”
part of the solution is the Visual says Naylor. “The default result
WebGui application platform from has the look and feel of a
Gizmox.” Microsoft Registered Windows desktop application,
Partner Gizmox, based outside which is exactly what we wanted.
Tel Aviv, Israel, provides rapid Visual WebGui closes the gap
development and deployment for between what you want to do
Web-based and cloud-based and getting it done in a Web-
applications in the government based application, and it saves a
and business enterprise markets. lot of time. When Gizmox
More than 150,000 developers announced support for the
around the world use Visual Windows Azure platform, it
WebGui to build and deploy sealed the deal and we began
applications. working on a migration plan.”
“On the development side, we The Development Process
are basically an extension to

7. “I feel like this Advanced Telemetry chose a the Windows Azure platform and
phased process for migrating its a different computing paradigm.
move by Microsoft systems to the Windows Azure “I feel like this move by Microsoft
platform, starting with rebuilding might turn out to be the most
might turn out to the Web-based user interface important technological shift that I
be the most (UI). “Starting with the UI have been part of during my
components first will get us career,” states Naylor. “It
important familiar with the Windows Azure enables applications to be
product. After that, we’ll work on developed with a lot less financial
technological shift moving our middleware data investment. With Windows Azure,
that I have been storage and middleware you can quickly achieve what, a
application, which will be a much year ago, would have taken more
part of during my larger project. But by then we’ll people, more money, and a lot
be more informed and have more more time. It’s going to enable
career." experience.” applications of types we’ve
Tom Naylor, Founder and Chief never seen before.”
Technology Officer, Advanced Developers gained familiarity with
Telemetry Visual WebGui development by
rebuilding the company’s Benefits
internal-facing service The move to a flexible, cloud-
applications. “There was no based computing platform has
learning curve with Visual made it possible for Advanced
WebGui,” says Naylor. “To a Telemetry to more easily scale its
Windows developer, it is very business in response to rapid
natural, very drag-and-drop, and growth, while simultaneously
you don’t get bogged down in reducing costs and improving
tables and style sheets and other application functionality. The
HTML artifacts.” company can do all this with a set
of familiar technologies that
The ease of use of the platform speed up application
and tools has helped Advanced development.
Telemetry develop its new Web
application quickly. Work began in Better Support for Business Growth
August 2009, and the company Advanced Telemetry can now
has an alpha release scheduled react more easily and
for the end of October, with a full spontaneously to the company’s
public beta scheduled for the end rapid growth. “The ability to
of November. Advanced scale smoothly as we grow is the
Telemetry expects to complete single most important challenge
middleware migration by the end we’re facing,” says Naylor. “To
of the first quarter of 2010. be able to scale up without a
whole lot of planning, financial
Advanced Telemetry is investment, and hardware
enthusiastic about its migration to maintenance is key. No one has

8. ever done this on the scale definitely gives us an advantage
we’re doing it. The cloud-based, over any competitor because we
pay-as-you-go model of Windows can lower our price and improve
Azure is an excellent fit.” ROI. That makes sales much
easier.”
Business Cost and Resource Savings
By moving to a cloud-hosted New Data Analysis Capabilities
application and data platform, Advanced Telemetry expects that
Advanced Telemetry saves its migration to the Windows
money and can more efficiently Azure platform will enable the
use its engineering staff. “Our company to do more with its
goal is to no longer own any data. “With Windows Azure, we
servers, except maybe for a can offer functionality we
couple internal development couldn’t before,” says Naylor.
servers,” says Naylor. “But even “We’re considering a redesign
they might go. The ideal for me of our middleware API that allows
would be that I no longer invest in data mining and analysis
server hardware, operating capability that would be nearly
systems, support, infrastructure— impossible to do on our own, just
none of that. It will all be moved because of the economics. Azure
to the cloud. Not only is it a data storage, in particular, allows
financial impact, but it’s also us to do things in real time that
about how you’re using your we just couldn’t do before.”
resources. We can focus more on
our technology offering instead of Tools for Rapid Development
hardware management.” Advanced Telemetry believes that
the development tools available
Increased Competitive Advantage for Windows Azure are a key part
Because Advanced Telemetry of the product’s appeal.
has more transparency into its “Windows Azure support is built
computing costs with the into Visual Studio,” notes Naylor.
Windows Azure pay-per-use fee “And over time it will become
structure, the company can even more integrated, so you can
better assess its own charges. build on your years of investment
“We’ll be able to know exactly in Visual Studio and work in a
how much it costs to service a familiar environment with a
single site. Right now we can familiar approach. You don’t
estimate that, but we don’t have have to learn radically new tools
access to firm data. Our and methods, and you get to
preliminary calculations on our keep all your skills and best
costs with Windows Azure are practices. ”That had a big
very encouraging. We’ll almost influence on our decision to
certainly be able to pass savings choose Windows Azure.”
on to the customer, which

9. For More Information
"Visual WebGui Third-party product support from
For more information about vendors like Gizmox is also
from Gizmox,
Microsoft products and important. “Gizmox is putting a
services, call the Microsoft lot of effort into making sure that
working with
Sales Information Center at the developers’ early experience
Windows Azure, is
(800) 426-9400. In Canada, call with the Windows Azure platform
the Microsoft Canada is a good one,” says Naylor.
a game-changer in
Information Centre at (877) “That encourages me and
568-2495. Customers in the reinforces the fact that Windows
my view. It can
United States and Canada who Azure is a very important
radically reshape
are deaf or hard-of-hearing can technology moving forward.
reach Microsoft text telephone Visual WebGui from Gizmox,
how developers
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) working with Windows Azure, is a
892-5234. Outside the 50 game-changer in my view. It can
approach Web-
United States and Canada, radically reshape how developers
based
please contact your local approach Web-based
Microsoft subsidiary. To access application.”
application.”
information using the World
Wide Web, go to: Windows Azure Platform
www.microsoft.com The Windows Azure platform
provides an excellent foundation
For more information about for expanding online product and
Gizmox products and services, service offerings. The main
call +972-9-767-3063 or visit components include:
the Web site at: • Windows Azure. Windows Azure
www.visualwebgui.com is the development, service
hosting, and service
For more information about management environment for
Advanced Telemetry products the Windows Azure platform.
and services, call (858) Windows Azure provides
549-1083 or visit the Web site developers with on-demand
at: compute and storage to host,
www.advancedtelemetry.com scale, and manage Web
applications on the Internet
Additional Resources: through Microsoft data
Download: Windows Azure
Tools and SDK
View: Architecting and Software and Services • Technologies
Developing for Windows Azure • Windows Azure Platform • Microsoft ASP.NET
− Windows Azure •
• Microsoft Visual Studio Partners
− Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 • Gizmox
• Microsoft Windows CE 6
• Microsoft Server Product
Portfolio
− Microsoft SQL Server
This case study is for informational
purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN
THIS SUMMARY.
Document published November 2009

10. centers. In addition, Windows
Azure serves developers’
connectivity needs through
the following services.
〉 The Service Bus connects
services and applications
across network
boundaries to help
developers build
distributed applications.
〉 The Access Control Service
provides federated,
claims-based access
control for REST Web
services.
• Microsoft SQL Azure. Microsoft
SQL Azure offers the first
cloud-based relational and
self-managed database
service built on Microsoft SQL
Server 2008 technologies.
To learn more about the Windows
Azure platform, visit:
www.windowsazure.com