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Case Studies

Rhythmic Technologies Optimizes AdImpact’s AWS Infrastructure for Massive Traffic Surge

April 1, 2024      

About the Client

AdImpact is an intelligence company specializing in ad tracking and analysis. Initially focusing on creating top-tier intelligence tools for the political sector, AdImpact quickly became a trusted partner for major campaigns, consultants, media companies, and news organizations. The company has since expanded into commercial ad tracking, leveraging its experience in the fast-paced political arena. AdImpact now monitors millions of ad airings daily across TV, digital, and streaming platforms, providing real-time analysis and actionable insights.

The Challenge

AdImpact faced a critical challenge when a prominent political figure with a massive social media following announced plans to share a link that would direct millions of visitors to AdImpact’s media delivery system. This unexpected event put their Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in a difficult position, as their existing AWS infrastructure wasn’t designed to handle such a massive traffic surge. There were serious concerns that this influx would overwhelm their online systems, potentially causing days of downtime.  

The situation presented several immediate risks for AdImpact, including extended system downtime, overloaded systems, inadequate traffic management, and rapidly increasing operational costs. If these infrastructure needs weren’t addressed quickly, AdImpact faced the possibility of system failures or prolonged outages, which could lead to substantial financial losses, damage to the company’s reputation, and a loss of trust from its clients. For AdImpact, maintaining uninterrupted service was crucial to meeting its client’s needs and preserving their business relationships. 

The Solution

After extensive discussions with AdImpact, we quickly embraced their complex problem and produced a comprehensive strategy within a single day. Our plan addressed issues of speed, availability, and scalability. We then tested and implemented the new solutions within just a few days, all without causing any downtime for AdImpact.  

Throughout the process, we provided expertise across all necessary domains, bringing together all the specialized knowledge required. To help manage the project effectively from AdImpact’s side, we facilitated daily stand-up meetings, reviewing the sequence of tasks, processes, and dependencies.  

During initial testing, we discovered that the information being transmitted from AdImpact’s clients required stronger Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security. We swiftly resolved this by essentially flipping a switch in the system, immediately solving the problem and making the entire flow of data securely available.  

AWS Services Used

  • AWS CloudFormation 
  • Amazon CloudFront 
  • Elastic Load Balancer 

The Results

Instead of patching the hole and putting a Band-Aid on the incoming huge bursts of web traffic, we implemented a newly configured AWS presence with upgraded tools, all properly architected, setting AdImpact up for long-term success. The results were significant: AdImpact’s website and social media could now handle almost unlimited video views without any downtime, and videos started playing immediately, removing the frustrating 1-2 second delay that existed before. The new system, leveraging Amazon CloudFront, could easily handle up to 10 million hits in a day without stress, ensuring stability and scalability for both heavy traffic and normal usage.  

Moreover, AdImpact saw a 32% reduction in its costs, while its overall website performance improved by 90%. The comprehensive redesign not only solved their immediate problem but also significantly enhanced their system’s performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness while improving the user experience, particularly in video delivery during both high-traffic and normal periods.