As with any startup, Autone were faced with the challenge of building a SaaS platform from the ground up. Exploring the necessary foundations of infrastructure, cloud enablement, resource and recruitment, scalability and a multitude of complex and data-orientated capabilities within their own technology.

They needed to be able to quickly take business ideation, and turn it into a live, visible product that could be taken to market as well as demonstrated to raise funding by VC and Angel investors. They also needed to work with a consultancy that could stick around after the initial setup, providing Managed Services that related to support, guidance, security and governance checks and much more.

Autone knew that in order to accelerate their journey, they’d need to work with a multi-disciplined partner. One that could rapidly absorb their ideas and technology needs, whilst delivering a best practice cloud framework with the necessary ingredients for scalability.

Firemind were able to absorb their years of experience in data and analytical understanding in the retail and CPG industries, fusing workshops and ideation with a solid plan for value add. We’d also had the privilege of working with Autone Co-founders within previous cloud projects for a world renowned retailer. During this time, we’d forged strong ties with the Founders, developing a trust base that took us on their journey in their new venture.

Autone also knew that as their business relied heavily on the ability to forecast and predict, they’d need a partner who fully understood data, AI/ML integration and predictive solutions using AWS. And not just how to implement them, but support them through the years via Managed Services.

Autone’s project required a multi-level approach, beginning with the core best practices for adopting an AWS cloud environment, then delving into future applications of predictive technology. The platform had to cover topics including product pricing, inventory replenishment and re-ordering with the goal of covering all operational processes.

With Autone, we had to gain a thorough understanding of the many challenges that this project faced, in order to build on the following adoptive practices:

• Best practice architecture – To ensure a secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient infrastructure, we had to make sure we had the right tools in place. Otherwise, many of the costs, simplicity, and agility benefits of cloud applications would not have been achieved.
• Cloud roadmap – As Autone was a startup, and therefore early doors in progression, a thorough cloud roadmap had to be created. This included aligning key objectives, developing a plan of action, preparing for execution stages, establishing governance whilst mitigating risks, optimising as the build was underway and ensuring collaboration across the team as they scaled. This roadmap formed a 6-9 month rigid timeline, merging both business and technical requirements.
• Establish managed services – Building a production level environment meant having the foresight to incorporate resource optimisation, integration of 3rd party solutions, and define predictable spends in AWS storage.
• Licensing and governance – In the past, organisations have had to choose between innovating faster and maintaining control over cost, compliance, and security. With Firemind and our use of AWS Management and Governance services, Autone didn’t have to choose between innovation and control — they could have both in-house access rights and visibility, as well as customer orientated dashboards.

In terms of AWS use, we began with the implementation of the core adoptive tools:

• API Gateway – AWS service for creating, publishing, maintaining, monitoring and securing REST, HTTP and WebSocket APIs – at any scale.
• Amazon CloudFront – A web service that speeds up distribution of static and dynamic web content, such as . html, .css, .js and image files, to multiple users.
• AWS Amplify Hosting – A set of purpose-built tools and features that let frontend web and mobile developers quickly and easily build full-stack applications on AWS.
• Amazon DynamoDB – Allows users the benefit of auto-scaling, in-memory caching, backup and restore options for all of their internet-scale applications using DynamoDB.
• Amazon Simple Notification Service – A fully managed messaging service for both application-to-application (A2A) and application-to-person (A2P) communication.
• Amazon Cognito – Lets you easily add user sign-up and authentication to your mobile and web apps.

Within just 2 weeks, we had successfully helped build the framework for Autone’s services, enabling them to begin handling retail and CPG data. This included AWS setup, governance and user access options for new starters, cost optimisation and integrated AWS Managed Services.

Having a defined platform in AWS to begin introducing customer data, meant a rapid move for investment and pre-seed funding. Autone were able to secure €2 million with Y Combinator backing the company as part of their S22 batch.

Autone secured a wide array of managed services, covering everything from modernisations and infrastructure checks to security and governance updates and alerts. This brought the team peace of mind as they continue to experiment, innovate and deliver new services to their growing customer list.

Knowing that their platform would incorporate predictive analytics and future insight meant that Autone was in a strong position to continue working with Firemind for AI/ML integration. As they ingest a retailer’s data, recommendations are generated, allowing users to approve a given action. Their platform covers topics including product pricing, inventory replenishment and re-ordering with the goal of covering all operational processes in the future, using services such as Amazon Forecast and Amazon Comprehend.

With a concrete foundation and platform to begin ingesting customer data, Autone could provide an unrivalled product within the retail market. Their close ties to global powerhouses in the retail space ensured they could showcase their new offering and gain immediate traction – spurring on a wealth of new interest.