“With low-cost access to Microsoft tools provided by BizSpark, we can take advantage of the latest technologies and build far better products than our competitors for a lower cost.”

Andy Randall, Chief Executive Officer, eArcu

In today’s economic environment, employers often have a large pool of prospective employees from which to choose. But now it’s even more important that they hire the people best suited for the job. With its recruitment technology service, eArcu incorporates many of the collaborative and social media functions used in mainstream consumer media to help its clients acquire some of their most important assets—their employees.

Business NeedsWhen e-recruitment company eArcu started up in early 2009, its goal was to revolutionise hiring systems by providing software as a service that companies could use to power their sites. The company created a solution for the United Kingdom and Europe market that managed the whole recruitment process, including marketing job descriptions, providing application forms, screening candidates, and booking interviews.

Andy Randall, Chief Executive Officer, eArcu, says: “As software developers, we looked at the different types of consumer experiences available, such as Amazon and Facebook. We wanted to translate the way people interact online into a different kind of recruitment experience for candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters. Our goal was to make the hiring process more efficient, but also to attract and engage candidates by helping them take a more active role.”

Cost was important, as was access and security. “We launched at a time when the global economy was pretty much at its lowest point, so recruitment wasn’t on people’s priority lists. We had to be extremely cost sensitive, while giving excellent customer service,” says Randall. Clients’ recruitment databases had to be

accessible at all times. “We needed to make sure that if candidates want to apply for jobs in the middle of the night, they can do so,” he adds.

But providing hosting was not part of the eArcu business model. “We’re an innovative and agile company, but the underlying infrastructure has to be industrial in scale,” says Randall. “A lot of our potential customers are major organisations that want the reassurance of robust backup, scalability, and resilience before signing up for our solution. They want to make sure that there’s no single point of failure.” As a result, eArcu needed to find a hosting partner that could provide this.

SolutionAfter evaluating several options, eArcu turned to Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Rackspace. Randall says: “We wanted our pioneering solution to get to market as soon as possible, with minimal investment. Rackspace provided the best all-round option.”

Sajid Kalooji, Business Development Consultant, Rackspace, adds: “We remove the need for significant capital investment by providing enterprise-grade IT on demand that can be scaled to fit our clients’ requirements, accelerating time to

Customer: eArcuWebsite: www.earcu.comNumber of Employees: 35Country or Region: EuropeIndustry: Professional services—Software engineeringPartner: Rackspace

Customer ProfileE-recruitment development firm eArcu provides recruitment software as a service to help companies manage the recruitment process for new employees in an innovative way.

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard− Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

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Microsoft Server Product PortfolioCustomer Solution Case Study

E-Recruitment Specialist Builds Contemporary Consumer-Style Experience for Employers

market. As part of this, we also guarantee to replace malfunctioning hardware within an hour and provide continuous network uptime.”

The eArcu recruitment solution is built using Microsoft technology based on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 data management software. Rackspace introduced the company to Microsoft BizSpark, a global programme that helps growing software companies succeed by giving them free and low-cost access to Microsoft software development tools.

eArcu offers services to a large portfolio of clients, ranging from growing private sector companies, to large public organisations, including prestigious names such as Great Ormond Street Hospital for children in London. Randall says: “We provide a contemporary service. When people use our software, they feel that they already know what they’re doing. If they’ve ever ranked a book on Amazon or ordered groceries online, it feels familiar. For example, candidates can book into a self-service model and choose an interview time that suits them. They can also use their LinkedIn profiles as CVs. It’s more intuitive than traditional recruitment.”

BenefitsDespite launching during a global economic downturn, eArcu is rapidly expanding. Randall credits this success to smart use of resources and the flexibility to provide contemporary e-recruitment solutions to all sizes of clients. “Generally we find that people love our product. Obviously it’s configured in different ways for different clients, but it’s something that appeals right across the board,” says Randall.

Scalable solution fits all. Rackspace offers eArcu the flexibility to pay for server space as the company’s needs grow. It can pass this flexibility on to clients. “When you’re working with customers such as our customers, flexibility is key,” says Randall. “Clients turn to us for anything from a small recruitment campaign, to a complex multiserver solution for a global organisation.”

BizSpark improves access to Microsoft tools. “With low-cost access to Microsoft

tools provided by BizSpark, we can take advantage of the latest technologies and build far better products than our competitors for a lower cost. This licensing model allows us to pass savings directly to our clients. In the current economic climate, this is paramount,” says Randall.

Quick response enhances customer service. “While other companies would take months to achieve something, Rackspace is fast. We just put our stuff on the servers and it’s available within hours or, at most, a couple of days,” adds Randall.

Cost-effective model maximises resources. Removing the need for significant investment on enterprise hardware lets eArcu provide better service for less. “We can begin working with a company on a departmental basis for just one campaign and can quickly scale up to an enterprise-level solution,” says Randall. “We’re almost an extension to their IT team,” says Kalooji. “Around 80 per cent of our 3,000 people are dedicated to support, which means that eArcu can concentrate on its core business, knowing that the infrastructure and hardware are in safe hands.”

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published June 2011