CADblanche accelerates processes thanks to Interconnect's cloud solution

Both companies started small in a garage in a city in Brabant. Both started as family businesses and still are. And both grew – from the idea that it has to be right the first time – to become pioneers in their sectors. And those are not even the only similarities between engineering firm Wagemaker and Interconnect. Because short lines, a strong customer focus and powerful innovative capacity are also characteristics of both companies.

“Our collaboration with Interconnect goes back to the nineties, when we received a fax from them suggesting that we register the domain wagemaker.nl ,” says Jan Vereijken, who focuses on software development at Wagemaker and is closely involved with Wagemaker’s subsidiary CADblanche . After this first introduction and commercial collaboration, both companies grew strongly and the technology grew along with them.

Expertise in precast concrete

“Wagemaker is a technically specialized engineering and consultancy firm for infrastructure of all times. In a nutshell, we are a classic engineering firm where we know everything about constructions and work with steel and concrete every day,” says Vereijken. “Our clients are builders and clients in the civil sector who approach us for consultancy work, various engineering or, for example, to supervise the execution. Due to our years of experience in this field, we have built up a lot of expertise in the field of engineering, production and execution. We have bundled this knowledge with our passion for innovation and knowledge of software in subsidiary CADblanche.”

Accelerate construction processes

CADblanche develops software for the construction sector that accelerates the calculation and design process and enables direct control of production. The software ensures that repetitive work is automated using, among other things, smart algorithms. In simple terms, this leads to a reduction in failure costs and greater efficiency thanks to more optimal deployment of personnel. Vereijken: “With CADblanche, we are active in the entire construction sector. For example, a customer uses our software to ultimately provide robots with data so that they can glue bricks onto a facade in the correct masonry bond. Another customer configures sewer wells automatically and our algorithms are also used, for example, to supply custom-made insulation boards fully automatically.”

Virtual Private Cloud

To allow customers to benefit maximally from the CADblanche software tools, Wagemaker opted for a Virtual Private Cloud environment (VPC) at Interconnect. Vereijken: “Since the nineties, when we registered our domain name with Interconnect, we have grown with all the services. From internet and e-mail to colocation for our own servers and now a solid private cloud environment. The most important reasons for choosing a VPC were stability, Interconnect's expertise, scalability and management. As for stability: with a VPC we no longer have to worry about power supply, connectivity and performance. We can count on availability without having to worry about it ourselves. Furthermore, Interconnect's expertise is beyond doubt. Just like with Wagemaker and CADblanche, Interconnect applies: we start working on something when we are certain that it is 100% good. Furthermore, a VPC is optimally scalable. If we notice that extra capacity is needed, it can be added immediately. Finally, there is no management burden for us of the platform. We do not have to build up specific virtualization knowledge. We leave that to Interconnect.”

Future

Vereijken also points to the short lines and direct contact with the specialists at Interconnect. “That is impossible with the large, global cloud players. When we housed our first servers in the Interconnect data center a few years ago, the fact that we were located close to each other played a role. That is less important now, but the personal and direct approach of Interconnect remains very important to us.” Looking to the future, Vereijken mentions CADblanche's desire to do more with containers based on Kubernetes. “We are going to roll out a new software concept in which flexible capacity plays a more important role. Containers fit in with that. In the long term, we will look at the opportunities and possibilities together with Interconnect. In this way, we will continue to grow together when it comes to innovations and new technologies.”