Stuck: Roadside assistance when you need it, how you need it
Azimuth Labs is an Australian startup that has developed Stuck, a new app that will revolutionize the way you pay for and receive roadside assistance. The aptly named app is an on-demand service that connects local automotive experts with drivers who are “stuck” and in need of roadside help. The Stuck platform is designed to benefit both local businesses and stranded drivers alike, providing businesses with a way to supplement their income and increase their customer base, while drivers receive on-demand roadside assistance without having to pay exorbitant fees or splurge on annual subscriptions. Partnering exclusively with local auto experts enables Stuck to provide a roadside service that is faster and less expensive than traditional models, particularly those that are membership based According to the Stuck team, the average response time is 20 minutes from when you submit your request to the auto worker commencing work. Plus, real-time pricing models are immediately displayed so that you know exactly how much and what you are paying for.
Although there are other roadside assistance options currently on the market, Stuck’s business model puts it in a class of its own. Stuck has essentially merged the traditional roadside service assistance model (think AAA) with the on-demand, pay-as-you-go service of ride-sharing platforms like Uber. This combination gives you a familiar user-experience that shows upfront cost estimates and doesn’t require long-term service commitments.
According to Azimuth Labs Co-Founder and Technical Director Scott Simms, the Stuck application is intuitive, particularly for anyone who has previously used a ride-sharing app. “We designed Stuck so that it would be natural for anyone who uses a smartphone, regardless of their technical expertise,” Simms says, “Even if you aren’t accustomed to using smartphone apps, Stuck will still provide you with a simple, intuitive user-experience. Simply download the application, share your location, and the nearest accredited expert will swiftly arrive perform the work you need. Plus, you are given the service price upfront, which means no more guess work or paying for yearly membership fees that are overpriced and under used.”
The technology underlying Stuck was developed by a four-person team that brought decades of industry experience to the project. Previous experience drove the team to build with the Azure stack and the Xamarin technology suite, largely for analytics, scalability and cross-platform mobile capabilities. In addition to its basic framework, Stuck uses a wide range of Azure features including: Power BI for displaying the company’s primary operating information, Hockey App for managing the deployment pipeline to mobile phones, Machine Learning to build forecast and customer retention models, and Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) for orchestrating the delivery of builds to integration and production environments.
The Stuck team has been particularly impressed with Power BI’s advanced analytics, Simms says. “PowerBI has enabled us to gather deep insights into the operation of Stuck as it has evolved, providing the operational teams with a powerful dashboarding and reporting tool that doesn’t require a full Business Intelligence suite. These reports and dashboards allow the operational team to view where all suppliers are online in Australia, look at response times, service demands, and behavior trends over time. It has provided us with everything we need.”
After spending several months developing and designing their service, the Stuck team officially released their product in Western Australia in late 2016 and has quickly expanded to New South Wales, Northern Territory, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne – with releases planned in South Australia and Tasmania in the coming months. Simms believes that his team’s decision to leverage their service with Azure allowed them to go to market much quicker than they would have with another technology stack. “Azure tools have directly contributed to the speed that we have managed to bring Stuck to market, and continue to scale Stuck out as we roll out services around Australia. The ability of Azure to scale with our demand allows us to focus on the development of business features and not have to focus on provisioning and maintaining infrastructure. We see the benefits of Azure every day.”
Get back on the road today with Stuck.
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About BizSpark: Microsoft BizSpark is a global program that helps startups succeed by giving free access to Microsoft Azure cloud services, software and support. BizSpark members receive up to $750 per month of free Microsoft Azure cloud services for 3 years: that’s $150 per month each for up to 5 developers. Azure works with Linux and open-source technologies such as Ruby, Python, Java and PHP. BizSpark is available to startups that are privately held, less than 5-years-old and earn less than $1M in annual revenue.