ClickMechanic Enhances Media Asset Management with Cloudinary

• System Integration

ClickMechanic, an online marketplace for automobile mechanics based in London, was facing challenges with managing and optimizing their media assets. As an online business, it was crucial for them to ensure that images loaded quickly on their website. They wanted to serve their images as quickly as possible through a content delivery network (CDN), but were apprehensive about the complexities of setup and integration. The company needed a solution that could not only meet their current needs but also scale with their growing business. They were also looking for a solution that could handle a large number of photos, some of which were several megabytes in size, and display them efficiently on their website.

ClickMechanic is a London-based online marketplace for automobile mechanics. The company connects car owners with local mechanics who can provide a range of services, from routine maintenance to major repairs. As an online business, ClickMechanic relies heavily on its website to facilitate transactions and communicate with customers. The company needed a solution to manage and optimize its media assets, including photos of vehicles being serviced and profile pictures of mechanics. The solution needed to be scalable to grow with the business and efficient in handling and displaying a large number of high-resolution photos.

ClickMechanic chose Cloudinary as their media-asset manager. Cloudinary impressed ClickMechanic with its features that met the company's needs and its potential to grow with the business. One of the major benefits of Cloudinary was its storage capability. ClickMechanic could upload photos of their customers’ vehicles being serviced, which their customers could then view on the ClickMechanic site to monitor the progress of the service. Cloudinary’s resizing-capability saved 25-30 GB of monthly data bandwidth. With just a few lines of code, ClickMechanic could display thumbnails of these photos, significantly reducing load times. Additionally, Cloudinary's face detection feature enabled ClickMechanic to display clear pictures of the mechanics on its site, enhancing customer experience. Cloudinary's Ruby gem was easy to integrate into the ClickMechanic app, requiring minimal engineering effort.

• The integration of Cloudinary into ClickMechanic's operations has resulted in a smoother and more efficient process of managing and displaying media assets. The company can now easily upload and display photos of vehicles being serviced, enhancing transparency and customer engagement. The face detection feature has improved the display of mechanics' profile pictures, contributing to a better customer experience. The ease of integration and compatibility with ClickMechanic's tech stack has also minimized the engineering effort required, providing peace of mind for the company. Looking forward, ClickMechanic plans to leverage Cloudinary's capabilities for videos, further enhancing their media asset management.

• Cloudinary’s resizing-capability saved 25-30 GB of monthly data bandwidth.
• Significant reduction in image load times on the website.
• Efficient handling and display of a large number of high-resolution photos.