The Customer
COBAN
The Project
Camera DevOps
Overview
Coban, a company specializing in law enforcement fleet data capture, digital evidence, and video recording, approached Improving with a problem. They needed to build and deploy on-device software that could interact with hardware in a repeatable and automated way. Additionally, they needed to enhance their product to allow for higher data rates for streaming back to the control centers from the in-vehicle systems. The challenge was significant because it required changing some of their development practices, product development strategies, and workflow. In the past, the client had tried using off-the-shelf tools without expertise in doing it internally. They needed someone who had been there and done that. Improving built enhancements to the system and a DevOps pipeline that allowed Coban to continue to rev features quickly. The solution involved building on top of Azure DevOps and integrating with a hardware lab that allowed them to build in the cloud and deploy into controlled environments in their hardware lab.
The Business Challenge
Coban’s revenues were based on their feature-based sales in a competitive market with multiple offerings for law enforcement fleet data capture, digital evidence, and video recording. They needed to provide as much information to the operations and support centers for different law enforcement agencies as possible to remain competitive. Revenue was tied to the ability to develop features rapidly. The challenge was significant because it required changing some of their development practices, product development strategies, and workflow. The client had tried using off-the-shelf tools without expertise in doing it internally.
Our Solution
Improving built enhancements to the system and a DevOps pipeline that allowed Coban to continue to rev features quickly. The solution involved building on top of Azure DevOps and integrating with a hardware lab that allowed them to build in the cloud and deploy into controlled environments in their hardware lab. The process enabled features to be tested in isolation rather than one big bundle. Improving implemented branching and merging strategies that allowed Coban to isolate changes until those changes were fully tested. The technology used was fairly standard, including Microsoft build technologies, Azure DevOps, and deployment agents from the TFS family or team foundation server family. The unique and innovative part of this solution was setting up isolated VPNs that allowed Improving to build these DevOps environments with hardware interactions that historically weren’t possible with cloud tools.
The Business Benefits
Drastic reduction of over half in build time and creation of new functionality
Speed up of speed to market
Innovation rate to their customers became a major selling point
Technologies Used
Microsoft build technologies
Azure DevOps
Deployment agents from the TFS family or team foundation server family
Partnerships
Improving engaged Microsoft as a partner throughout this project. Microsoft helped with some of the feature pieces of tying together a cloud and Azure-based networking to hardware platforms on-prem.
Lessons Learned
The project timeline was about six months, with the first delivery of a proof of concept pipeline in about four weeks. Improving continued to iterate on top of that. Once the pipeline for the DevOps was stable, there were another two and a half months of actual enhancement on the platform itself. Changes and obstacles that came up through the implementation were handled mainly through a usage of our quick review and account review process, as well as day-to-day collaborative conversations from our team on the ground. The project was phenomenally successful and Improving remains a Microsoft partner to this day.
Conclusion
Improving was able to help Coban with their DevOps pipeline and enhance their product to allow for higher data rates for streaming back to the control centers from the in-vehicle systems. The solution involved building on top of Azure DevOps and integrating with a hardware lab that allowed them to build in the cloud and deploy into controlled environments in their hardware lab. The project was a success, with a drastic reduction in build time and creation of new functionality. Improving’s partnership with Microsoft was also critical to the project’s success.
Get Started
Learn more about how Improving can help you get started by contacting us today at sales@improving.com.