The Software House (TSH) helped Ondat launch a new SaaS platform for Kubernetes storage management, bringing a complete team that delivered branding and development work to meet a fixed Board deadline.
Ondat wanted to enter the SaaS Kubernetes storage management niche with a new product under a fixed deadline agreed with the Board.
The company needed to launch a platform that would make monitoring, billing, and management of instances more transparent and easier for Cloud and DevOps Engineers.
Partnership goal:
→ To deliver a well-branded digital product that meets market standards and launches successfully within a fixed deadline.
Ondat
Since its founding in 2015, Ondat evolved into a provider of a cloud-native storage platform for Kubernetes with over 5,500 installed clusters. The platform allows different cloud storages to share their data into a pool that continues the exchange with applications in any technology and on any infrastructure. The company was known as StorageOS until October 2021.
INDUSTRY
Cloud Tools
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
SERVICE PROVIDED
Product design and development
Challenge
1. Meeting the expectations of power users
Cloud and DevOps Engineers had pre-defined expectations of how a cloud storage product should support their daily work. This group represented high-performers overloaded with information who needed a bare-bone tool. The platform had to be superior in style, usability, and practicality to the ones owned by Ondat's closest competitors.
2. A fixed deadline and an understaffed team
Ondat required more product designers and backend developers on board to ship the product on time. The company faced a fixed deadline agreed with the Board. Hiring the right talent internally would have taken months, putting the launch at risk.
The product executive figured bringing in a partner to share responsibility for full product branding and development would increase the success of the product launch. The assumption was that added talent could bring practical experience that would ensure the project could compete with similar solutions.
Key challenges
To create a SaaS platform superior to competitors in style, usability, and practicality
To meet the high expectations of Cloud and DevOps Engineers for daily work support
To fill the talent gap quickly without the months-long internal hiring process
To deliver a well-branded digital product under a fixed Board deadline
The stakes
Missing the Board’s deadline or launching an inferior product would mean losing the first-mover advantage in the SaaS Kubernetes storage management niche and falling behind competitors.
:quality(75))
As our Product Designers entered the project, investors had a set expectation of seeing new branding assets in just two weeks.
Solution
TSH filled Ondat's talent and knowledge gap in just one month where the company would have needed months to hire internally. Our team included:
4 developers
5 product designers
1 QA engineer
1 architect
1 project manager
A complete team under Ondat's leadership
The 12-person team from our side worked under Ondat's Product Owner's leadership and collaborated directly with the Development Lead, technology leaders from the Cloud, Testing, and Salesforce units, and business analysts.
This structure ensured the external team integrated smoothly with Ondat's internal processes and strategic vision.
Dual focus on branding and development
The partnership addressed both the visual identity and technical implementation. Ondat needed to establish a new brand (having recently rebranded from StorageOS) while simultaneously building a platform that would stand up to scrutiny from technical users who evaluate tools critically.
Technologies
Kubernetes, cloud storage management tools
Process
The team then worked for 5 months on design and development, leading to a successful product pivot.
Within just 2 weeks of starting, Ondat had a new brand with a competitive style. 5 months into the partnership, the company gained a completely new app for complex container management.
:quality(75))
The added 12 professionals from The Software House helped deliver a platform branded and coded above market standards
Outcome
Ondat successfully launched a new SaaS platform that entered the Kubernetes storage management market within the Board's fixed deadline, establishing a competitive position in the niche.
→ Ondat filled the talent gap in 1 month, avoiding the months-long hiring process
→ It also designed a new competitive brand identity in just 2 weeks instead of months
→ The company launched a completely new product for complex container management in 5 months total
