Callidus Software

Sun Managed Services and Technology Help Grow Cloud-based Subscription Service Business

Founded in 1996, Callidus Software produces sales performance management solutions that help customers align sales objectives to business goals and ensure positive results. More than 1.8 million salespeople use the company’s solution.

In 2006, the company introduced Callidus OnDemand to meet customer demands for a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. This offering enables enterprise and midsize businesses to use the solution with the ease, predictability, and cost-effectiveness of a subscription service.

Customer Challenges

Focus internal resources on developing software rather than managing IT infrastructure
Deploy a reliable technology platform in the cloud to add value and reduce costs for subscribers
Eliminate the need to re-architect the solution for use in a subscription environment

Solution

Callidus relied on Sun services and technologies to successfully bring a cloud-based subscription software solution to market.

Business Results

Achieved 99.97 percent solution availability and 75 percent server utilization
Launched new subscription business in five months
Grew from 0 to 73,000 subscribers in 18 months
Passed 50 percent cost savings to customers through subscription services

Products and Services

Story Details

Callidus Software launched its Callidus OnDemand project to meet its customers' need for a sales performance management solution in a cloud-based on-demand environment. From the beginning, it wanted to focus the project team’s resources on delivering software—not managing IT operations. It also did not want to invest the time and resources in re-architecting its software so that it would run in an environment where multiple customers use the same instance of the application. To achieve this it sought a deployment platform and a managed services partner that could meet requirements such as security, operational scalability, and platform reliability in a cloud computing environment.

“Sun was the most cost-effective solution," says Jeff Saling, Senior Vice President of Callidus OnDemand at Callidus Software, "but what really swung the deal was Sun’s willingness to partner with us as we designed the cloud-based environment for Callidus OnDemand.”

" The combination of Sun technology and Sun Managed Services has been invaluable. The Sun technology is a very solid base for our business, and the services team has worked as a fully invested partner since the beginning, helping us launch in five months and responding quickly as we innovate and grow. "

— Jeff Saling, Senior Vice President of Callidus OnDemand, Callidus Software

Together Sun and Callidus developed a Java-based solution in which Sun Services provisions (through Sun Microsystems Global Financial Services) and manages the servers and the network in the cloud, and Callidus manages its own applications. This approach offers Callidus a scalable, reliable infrastructure with no capital investment.

Callidus and Sun adjusted and improved the initial design by migrating from the Solaris 9 Operating System to Solaris 10 to take advantage of its robust security features and Solaris Containers. They also fine-tuned the mix of the Sun Fire E6900 , Sun Fire X4600 , and Sun Fire X4200 servers to cost-effectively address various processing needs and build in redundancy. To help meet its service-level agreements, Callidus also contracted for SunSpectrum Platinum Support.

Sun and Callidus designed a cloud computing architecture in which each customer environment is placed in an individual Solaris Container. This approach offers great flexibility in assigning resources as needed. This architecture isolates customers from one another to maintain a high level of security. After testing the solution in a proof of concept, Callidus moved quickly into production and brought its first customer on line in August 2006.

Callidus easily exceeded its original estimate for the number of subscribers for the first year, growing 100 percent in a single quarter. Callidus OnDemand has gone from 0 to over 74, 250 subscribers from more than 120 countries in just 36 months, and expansion continues. High availability has been a key factor in this growth, with the solution stack averaging 99.97 percent availability.

Solaris Containers are enabling a high level of server utilization. Eight Sun servers hosting 135 Solaris Containers are running at 75 percent utilization. Sun Managed Services provides ongoing monitoring and management of the cloud, freeing staff to continue to improve the Callidus software offering. This virtualized environment results in an operational cost savings of about 50 percent for the subscription service as compared to the on-premise model—a savings that Callidus passes on to its customers.

Encouraged by the reliability and innovations in the Sun cloud platform, Callidus plans to continue refining the subscription service, augmenting disaster recovery capabilities, and delivering services from Europe.