Case study - Preisvergleich.de
How Preisvergleich.de got a new start as one of Germany's most successful portals for price comparison
How Preisvergleich.de got a new start as one of Germany's most successful portals for price comparison
[ 0 ]
Introduction
Introduction
[ 1 ]
Equiqo's first task
Equiqo's first task
[ 2 ]
Setting Preisvergleich
up for success
Setting Preisvergleich
up for success
[ 3 ]
Successful changes
with tangible results
Successful changes
with tangible results
[ Introduction ]
The start of a radically new phase is a challenging time for any company. Preisvergleich.de chose resilience, embraced change, and adapted through a challenging transition. Read here how Equiqo used its user focus and multi-skill team to support Preisvergleich in becoming one of Germany's biggest portals for price comparisons.
The start of a radically new phase is a challenging time for any company. Preisvergleich.de chose resilience, embraced change, and adapted through a challenging transition. Read here how Equiqo used its user focus and multi-skill team to support Preisvergleich in becoming one of Germany's biggest portals for price comparisons.
When Preisvergleich.de got sold by its parent company in the summer of 2016, a lot of things happened at once. Preisvergleich, at the time a medium-sized portal to compare prices for everything from Insurance to Mobile Phones and Banking Services got new leadership, and with new leadership came new ideas and new energy along with the courage and the openness to rethink a lot of the core parts of the business.
When Preisvergleich.de got sold by its parent company in the summer of 2016, a lot of things happened at once. Preisvergleich, at the time a medium-sized portal to compare prices for everything from Insurance to Mobile Phones and Banking Services got new leadership, and with new leadership came new ideas and new energy along with the courage and the openness to rethink a lot of the core parts of the business.
At Preisvergleich, this manifested physically as a change in office location (with a move from Dresden to Leipzig) and in everyday work with difficulties in knowledge transfer. The whole product team got restructured, and before long, Preisvergleich was looking for outside help to handle all of the transitions they were planning for the future of the company.
At Preisvergleich, this manifested physically as a change in office location (with a move from Dresden to Leipzig) and in everyday work with difficulties in knowledge transfer. The whole product team got restructured, and before long, Preisvergleich was looking for outside help to handle all of the transitions they were planning for the future of the company.
Before
- Manual data entry
- Dozen of sec to load the subpage
- A significant cost of infrastructure
- Average security measures
Before
- Manual data entry
- Dozen of sec to load the subpage
- A significant cost of infrastructure
- Average security measures
After
- Automated data entry
- Less than a second to load the subpage
- Infrastructure costs are down by 90%
- The new high level of cybersecurity confirmed by an audit
After
- Automated data entry
- Less than a second to load the subpage
- Infrastructure costs are down by 90%
- The new high level of cybersecurity confirmed by an audit
[ 0 ]
Introduction
Introduction
[ 1 ]
Equiqo's first task
Equiqo's first task
[ 2 ]
Setting Preisvergleich
up for success
Setting Preisvergleich
up for success
[ 3 ]
Successful changes
with tangible results
Successful changes
with tangible results
[ Equiqo's first task: Really getting to know their new customer ]
The goals sounded simple on paper: They wanted to renew their digital infrastructure to increase efficiency and decrease costs, accelerate the operational capacity, and attract new developers to future-proof their operations. The leadership at Preisvergleich was ready to make big, important decisions, and they started looking for the right people to execute them.
The goals sounded simple on paper: They wanted to renew their digital infrastructure to increase efficiency and decrease costs, accelerate the operational capacity, and attract new developers to future-proof their operations. The leadership at Preisvergleich was ready to make big, important decisions, and they started looking for the right people to execute them.
In the second half of 2016, they reached out to Equiqo with the task of revamping everything simultaneously. Mateusz Ochman, CTO at Equiqo and a Solutions Architect with experience from working with well over 100 companies had just finished a project and headed the call. Apart from just implementing changes, one thing was of paramount importance: The customer should not be bothered by any of the work happening in the background - that meant no interruptions and no access or maintenance issues.
In the second half of 2016, they reached out to Equiqo with the task of revamping everything simultaneously. Mateusz Ochman, CTO at Equiqo and a Solutions Architect with experience from working with well over 100 companies had just finished a project and headed the call. Apart from just implementing changes, one thing was of paramount importance: The customer should not be bothered by any of the work happening in the background - that meant no interruptions and no access or maintenance issues.
"No one was able to tell us much, because it was so new for everyone there as well. We had very limited information."
"No one was able to tell us much, because it was so new for everyone there as well. We had very limited information."
Mateusz Ochman,
CTO
To get a lay of the land, the team had to employ their listening skills and immerse themselves in their new customers' needs. With workshops, team building, and regular visits, the seven-strong team from Equiqo learned what they needed to know. With this knowledge, the Equiqo team supported the process of rebuilding Preisvergleich from the ground up and shaping a future-proof, adaptable tech stack that powers Preisvergleich to this day.
To get a lay of the land, the team had to employ their listening skills and immerse themselves in their new customers' needs. With workshops, team building, and regular visits, the seven-strong team from Equiqo learned what they needed to know. With this knowledge, the Equiqo team supported the process of rebuilding Preisvergleich from the ground up and shaping a future-proof, adaptable tech stack that powers Preisvergleich to this day.
"It's important to start by listening and explaining. It's not just about providing technical solutions, but about guiding a customer through the entire process."
"It's important to start by listening and explaining. It's not just about providing technical solutions, but about guiding a customer through the entire process."
In Mateusz’s experience, business leaders don’t always know what they want or need when it comes to technical solutions. They need the right information about the options available to them to make informed decisions. All of this meant that Equiqo’s work at Preisvergleich was not just technical - it was a task that encompassed all aspects of the business.
In Mateusz’s experience, business leaders don’t always know what they want or need when it comes to technical solutions. They need the right information about the options available to them to make informed decisions. All of this meant that Equiqo’s work at Preisvergleich was not just technical - it was a task that encompassed all aspects of the business.
[ Setting Preisvergleich up for success ]
And for that, Equiqo was dependent on Preisvergleichs’ trust. Without the trust and foresight of Preisvergleich's leadership, none of the coming changes would have been possible. Equiqos team planned to completely redo the old systems architecture, which contained a lot of legacy features hindering stability and scalability. So next to learning about those problems, Equiqo also needed to win the trust of the colleagues at Preisvergleich they were working with. Some careful team-building measures in the beginning soon turned into regular visits between Leipzig and Wrocław, where Equiqo is at home. Next to all the important technical things to discuss, the teams always made sure to save some time for Lasertag or to explore the local pub scenes. This created lasting friendships - and created the understanding that was needed to go ahead with the bold plans for Preisvergleichs’ technical foundation.
And for that, Equiqo was dependent on Preisvergleichs’ trust. Without the trust and foresight of Preisvergleich's leadership, none of the coming changes would have been possible. Equiqos team planned to completely redo the old systems architecture, which contained a lot of legacy features hindering stability and scalability. So next to learning about those problems, Equiqo also needed to win the trust of the colleagues at Preisvergleich they were working with. Some careful team-building measures in the beginning soon turned into regular visits between Leipzig and Wrocław, where Equiqo is at home. Next to all the important technical things to discuss, the teams always made sure to save some time for Lasertag or to explore the local pub scenes. This created lasting friendships - and created the understanding that was needed to go ahead with the bold plans for Preisvergleichs’ technical foundation.
"It was new techs, new architecture, new everything."
"It was new techs, new architecture, new everything."
During 2018 and 2019, they completely relaunched Preisvergleich.de, frontend, and backend. The platform underwent a major transformation from a monolithic architecture to a scalable and efficient macro-service-oriented architecture. While some parts remained in PHP (an heirloom from prior leaderships), others were rebuilt in Java Vert.x for efficiency and simultaneous work with different markets and infrastructures. These changes allowed Preisvergleich.de to handle more requests with higher stability and lower costs - a competitive advantage since Preisvergleich needs to process millions of queries every day.
During 2018 and 2019, they completely relaunched Preisvergleich.de, frontend, and backend. The platform underwent a major transformation from a monolithic architecture to a scalable and efficient macro-service-oriented architecture. While some parts remained in PHP (an heirloom from prior leaderships), others were rebuilt in Java Vert.x for efficiency and simultaneous work with different markets and infrastructures. These changes allowed Preisvergleich.de to handle more requests with higher stability and lower costs - a competitive advantage since Preisvergleich needs to process millions of queries every day.
[ Successful changes with tangible results ]
All of the changes, and the work Equiqo put in over their years working with Preisvergleich, paid off in the end. Today, Preisvergleich is Germany's third-biggest provider of price comparisons. Infrastructure costs were reduced by 90%. Subpages that previously took around a dozen seconds to load now open in less than a second, and new IT solutions prevent delays caused by the massive traffic generated by bots. And, very importantly, automation got introduced: That meant that tasks that before required manual changes, for example, some price updates, could now be done without human help. Electricity prices often get updated on the 1st of January - thanks to Equiqo, one more employee at Preisvergleich gets to spend New Year's Eve outside of the office. It was changes like this that enabled Preisvergleich to work with 60% less IT staff than before.
All of the changes, and the work Equiqo put in over their years working with Preisvergleich, paid off in the end. Today, Preisvergleich is Germany's third-biggest provider of price comparisons. Infrastructure costs were reduced by 90%. Subpages that previously took around a dozen seconds to load now open in less than a second, and new IT solutions prevent delays caused by the massive traffic generated by bots. And, very importantly, automation got introduced: That meant that tasks that before required manual changes, for example, some price updates, could now be done without human help. Electricity prices often get updated on the 1st of January - thanks to Equiqo, one more employee at Preisvergleich gets to spend New Year's Eve outside of the office. It was changes like this that enabled Preisvergleich to work with 60% less IT staff than before.
Even more, audits have confirmed the high level of cybersecurity now present at Preisvergleich, and the changes set the company up for scalability and expansion: Entry into the British and Italian markets went smoothly thanks to the solid technical foundation.
Even more, audits have confirmed the high level of cybersecurity now present at Preisvergleich, and the changes set the company up for scalability and expansion: Entry into the British and Italian markets went smoothly thanks to the solid technical foundation.
Today, the partnership between Preisvergleich and Equiqo continues. The regular visits on both sides of the border have continued, and what started out as a business relationship has turned into a trusted partnership.
Today, the partnership between Preisvergleich and Equiqo continues. The regular visits on both sides of the border have continued, and what started out as a business relationship has turned into a trusted partnership.
"If there are ever any problems, with technical aspects, with business aspects, no side is afraid to reach out."
"If there are ever any problems, with technical aspects, with business aspects, no side is afraid to reach out."
[ 0 ]
Introduction
Introduction
[ 1 ]
Equiqo's first task
Equiqo's first task
[ 2 ]
Setting Preisvergleich
up for success
Setting Preisvergleich
up for success
[ 3 ]
Successful changes
with tangible results
Successful changes
with tangible results
Equiqo is not just some random service provider to Preisvergleich. They are close, they are in the EU, they are in the same timezone - and they deliver consistent quality.
Equiqo is not just some random service provider to Preisvergleich. They are close, they are in the EU, they are in the same timezone - and they deliver consistent quality.
With the right ideas, decisive leadership, a trustworthy partner, and a new technical setup, Preisvergleich proved their resilience, adapted to rapid changes, and gained a new foothold in the market - and Equiqo gained another happy partner. When Preisvergleich faced its biggest challenge yet, they found a transformative partnership with Equiqo - and have not looked for a new technical service provider ever since.
With the right ideas, decisive leadership, a trustworthy partner, and a new technical setup, Preisvergleich proved their resilience, adapted to rapid changes, and gained a new foothold in the market - and Equiqo gained another happy partner. When Preisvergleich faced its biggest challenge yet, they found a transformative partnership with Equiqo - and have not looked for a new technical service provider ever since.