How Tangent saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure costs

Tangent is a digital product and technology agency working with major brands and companies to design and develop digital experiences.

One of their clients, a major UK electricity distribution network operator, provides the infrastructure that supplies power to around eight million households. When severe weather or a power fault affects that network, customers need reliable access to information and essential online services.

Preparing for the unexpected

Tangent had committed to keeping their client's website available 99.99% of the time, including during periods of exceptional demand.

But unpredictable events can bring sudden surges in website traffic. Tangent needed to understand how the platform would respond, where its limits were and whether its infrastructure could scale efficiently.

In 2022, Tangent brought us in as their independent software testing partner to assess the website's performance. The aim wasn't simply to handle more visitors - it was to give Tangent the evidence they needed to make informed decisions about performance, resilience and infrastructure costs.

Better performance, without unnecessary costs

Over 12 months, we worked closely with Tangent through four rounds of performance testing, completing more than 50 test runs. The testing explored how the website responded to sudden traffic spikes, sustained demand and changes to its functionality.

Early results showed errors as traffic increased. Working together, we used the findings to identify opportunities for improvement, with Tangent's developers adjusting the website architecture and infrastructure between tests.

Each round gave the team a clearer picture of what was working and where further changes would make a difference. By the final test, the website could support more concurrent users without reporting errors.

Just as importantly, the findings helped Tangent make better decisions about infrastructure capacity and configuration.

The improvements gave Tangent greater confidence in the website's ability to handle periods of exceptional demand, while also helping them avoid unnecessary infrastructure costs.

Beyond the results, Tangent valued having a testing partner who understood what they were trying to achieve for their client.

Together, we helped Tangent improve performance, reduce infrastructure costs and give their client confidence that the website was ready for whatever the weather might bring.