When NQ Mobile was founded, it leased servers from a third-party hoster. But as the company expanded into international markets, that strategy became too constricting. “We were constantly opening up overseas markets, and the drawbacks of the third-party model soon became clear,” says Xiaohua Wu, Director of NQ Mobile Business Support Center. Using a traditional infrastructure to deploy applications took anywhere from 3 to 15 days. “It hindered our ability to release updates and promote new applications,” Wu says.

Server rental costs were also high. The company already maintained a few physical servers, but expanding its on-premises infrastructure would require a significant investment, not to mention ongoing costs for staffing, maintenance, and hardware refreshes.

Finally, with headquarters in both the US and China, the company needed an infrastructure that would ensure low latency, no matter where its users were located geographically. “It was imperative that we change the way we deployed our applications,” Wu says. “We needed a solution that was fast, efficient, and reduced our costs.”