Case Study: SGS International achieves 4x faster development and 80% lower TCO for global color consistency with Microsoft Azure

For consistent color across the globe, major brands turn to SGS. And SGS turns to Azure

SGS International, a Louisville-based global supplier of marketing and brand services for consumer packaged-goods, faced rising integration and data challenges: color measurements and databases were fragmented across dozens of Mac laptops and disconnected systems, making it hard to aggregate readings, trace issues, and deliver consistent brand color across global print and packaging runs without high costs and long development cycles.

SGS built a cloud-based solution on Microsoft Azure—using BizTalk Services for integration and DocumentDB, WebJobs, Websites and Visual Studio Online to create the InkLab platform—centralizing color data, enabling real-time processing and faster development. The result: InkLab launched in two months (about 4× faster), applications became more responsive and competitive, and annual hosting costs fell roughly 80%, letting SGS respond to client needs more quickly and affordably.

SGS International

Shane Davis

Senior Director