Akamai and Hydrolix’s joint solution addresses the need for real-time visibility in streaming events, simplifying data management and optimizing performance for seamless event execution. In this video, Nathan Hoffman, enterprise cloud architect from Akamai, and Tony Falco, VP of Product Marketing at Hydrolix, discuss streaming media and broadcast challenges and how their joint solution is helping to address these challenges.

Hoffman says, “Real-time visibility into streaming events is one of the key needs from streaming customers, especially for live streaming events where they are under a lot of time pressure.”

How Akamai and Hydrolix’s solution helps streaming media and broadcast challenges 

• Hoffman discusses the challenges faced by streaming media and broadcast companies during major sporting events. He highlights the need for real-time visibility into streaming events for troubleshooting and operational decisions.
• Hoffman explains that Hydrolix’s solution ingests and indexes data from both CDN logs and client-side telemetry in real-time, aiding in the assessment and management of live streaming events.
• Hoffman explains that types of metrics and data which are crucial for identifying and addressing issues quickly, from both the delivery side and the player side.
• Hoffman explains how Hydrolix’s technologies are being used to ingest, index, filter, and present data, primarily through customizable dashboards to fit customers’ operational procedures.
• Akamai is utilizing Hydrolix’s real-time ingest and query capabilities to meet their specific needs. Falco discusses the significant data compression they achieved, reducing 41 terabytes to 5.76 terabytes.
• Hydrolix’s key benefit lies in its ability to ingest and query multiple log sources almost in real-time, enabling Akamai’s operations team to diagnose and address problems quickly.
• While major events can seem highly stressful due to the need for flawless execution, having real-time visibility into issues reduces long-term stress. Falco explains how immediate insights allow for quick problem resolution.

How to minimize stress during live events, and defining success

• Reducing stress during events involves thorough preparation, such as building dashboards and visualizations that align with operational needs. Hoffman discusses how this precise approach ensures only affected users are impacted.
• Domain knowledge is crucial for minimizing stress during events. Falco emphasizes that it is essential to make focused, precise queries on large data sets in real-time.
• Hoffman explains that Hydrolix TrafficPeak excels in handling large volumes of data during events with millions of concurrent plays, unlike other solutions that lag as traffic increases. He highlights its benefits.
• To define success, Falco highlights a significant accomplishment of ingesting 53 billion records during a peak event, maintaining high throughput and delivering real-time, quality responses for end users.
• Hoffman defines success as ensuring successful events for customers through effective workflow architecture and real-time data visibility. He highlights how Hydrolix’s solution improves rapid issue resolution, minimizing impacts and financial losses for Akamai and its customers.
• Hoffman discusses how Hydrolix TrafficPeak’s role extends beyond the event itself, providing data for in-depth analysis of performance issues, and allowing teams to refine future workflows and operational measures.
• Falco says working with Akamai is easy due to shared history and values, as many Hydrolix team members previously worked at Akamai, fostering deep connections and understanding of their approach to scaling and problem-solving.

How GenAI can be harnessed for successful live events

• Hoffman discusses the potential of generative AI (GenAI) for handling events, emphasizing the complexity of creating dashboards and visualizations for expected issues. He explains how Machine learning (ML) can help.
• Hoffman explains how GenAI can be particularly beneficial for smaller streaming customers with less operational knowledge.
• Tony Falco adds that GenAI can aid in interpreting, summarizing, and connecting data from events, improving the response to anomalies by generating insights and actionable information.
• ML algorithms can detect and predict anomalies, while GenAI helps in anticipating and effectively responding to events, ensuring better communication and operational decisions.

Guests: Nathan Hoffman (LinkedIn) | Tony Falco 
Companies: Akamai (Twitter) | Hydrolix (Twitter)
Show: Let’s Talk

This summary was written by Emily Nicholls.