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Microsoft Azure (Microsoft) > Case Studies > Ground-breaking Service for Millions Uses Cloud for Online Psychotherapy

Ground-breaking Service for Millions Uses Cloud for Online Psychotherapy

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing

Applicable Industries

Healthcare & Hospitals

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

The Challenge

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 1.7 billion people in the world suffering from a range of mental health conditions. This might be anything from acute anxiety and clinical depression to obsessive-compulsive disorders. The WHO believes there are 23 million people suffering from these and similar conditions in Egypt alone. However, one of the factors preventing people from receiving treatments are cultural values and social stigma: they say that either these conditions do not exist, or that if people are indeed suffering, they just need the willpower to overcome their afflictions rather than seeking specialized treatment.

With an estimated 10,000 website hits per month, Shezlong needed a hosting platform that could not only provide a foundation for the service but also accommodate its open source architecture.

The Customer

Shezlong

About The Customer

Shezlong is an Egyptian start-up company that offers a unique, innovative service: online psychotherapy that addresses the needs of millions of people and counters the social stigma associated with such services

The Solution

Software:

Microsoft Azure
Microsoft BizSpark Program

As a start-up company, Shezlong qualified for business-boosting support from the Microsoft BizSpark program, which provides Azure hosting at an extremely low cost in initial phases. BizSpark is available to private tech startups that are less than five years old and earn less than US$1 million annually. It provides US$150 monthly credit for Azure cloud services for three years. Program participants also have the possibility to move to BizSpark Plus, which offers more features and up to US$5000 of Azure services per month for a one-year period

Quantitative Benefit

Azure’s ability to accommodate open source technologies also means Shezlong can quickly create new virtual machines. This provides the scope the company needs to operate cost-effectively and grow its business.
The Azure platform and BizSpark have provided Shezlong with a solid base for its open-source based platform. This will not only support the business as it grows but also help it flourish and thrive.
The BizSpark program enabled Shezlong to get its business up and running, while keeping expenses low thanks to what is, in effect, a free service during the first year after launch.

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