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Building a platform that puts industrial software in the hands of engineering students.
Challenge
Building a cloud platform from scratch, one that can integrate tools from industry partners and host applications of its own, all accessible through the browser, requires software development expertise well outside the organization’s core strengths. Combined with the constraints of a nonprofit budget, the margin for error was thin.
When OpenTechCloud started looking for a development partner, the project was at an early conceptual stage – full of potential, but still open in its technical direction. The team spoke with several providers. Cloudflight stood out by taking the time to genuinely understand the mission: the right partner would need to do more than just write code – they would need to think alongside the team.
Solution
Cloudflight built the platform from first concept through to a working product. The team developed a cloud application with a React frontend and a C# backend, hosted on Microsoft Azure and provisioned using Terraform:
- At its core, the platform acts as an integration layer: it connects APIs provided by industrial software partners to a unified, browser-based user interface with built-in user management and job processing.
- The collaboration followed an iterative, sprint-based approach, with scope and priorities refined as the product vision matured.
- Since the client team had no prior experience with software projects, we invested in hands-on knowledge transfer: development processes, tooling, and project management practices. The goal was to leave OpenTechCloud in a stronger position than when they started.
- Beyond development, we also stepped into a budget advisory role. When early requirements included costly infrastructure guarantees, we recommended a leaner approach better suited to the project’s stage, helping OpenTechCloud focus resources on what mattered most: getting the platform to users.
Value
Before this project, OpenTechCloud could only pitch an idea. Now they can demonstrate a live product:
- The platform already offers tools such as a sheet metal bending simulation, a 3D model viewer, and engineering file converters, all accessible for free through the browser.
- University partners have begun testing the platform and providing structured feedback that feeds directly into the next development cycle.
- Just as importantly, the client team now understands how software projects work. They are actively steering the product roadmap and preparing to bring development capacity in-house over time.
Our partner
OpenTechCloud gGmbH is a German nonprofit organization on a mission to bridge the gap between industry and education. By collecting professional software tools from manufacturing partners and making them freely accessible through the cloud, OpenTechCloud supports universities, students, and research institutions across Germany’s mechanical engineering sector. The organization works closely with industry partners and has backing from public institutions to advance its educational mission.
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