Big Ideas in App Architecture

Whether you need to send greeting cards or flowers, Moonpig makes personalized gifting for any occasion easy. But behind the simplicity of Moonpig’s platform are complex technologies that enable the deep customization that customers love. To talk about the architecture behind Moonpig, Principal Engineer Alexis Lowe sat down with our host David Joy.Join as we discuss:How serverless technologies are helping Moonpig manage costs and handle spikes in usageThe failover solutions that are implemented to ensure Moonpig can provide an always-on experience even during high-traffic events such as holidaysHow Alexis experiments with new AWS services and why he loves Lambda

Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton plays a pivotal role in keeping federal agencies including the United States Department of Defense and the VA on the cutting edge. In this episode, host David Joy is joined by Booz Allen Hamilton’s Sr. Solutions Architect, Brian Johnson, for a discussion on the exciting, intricate world of data analysis as well as expert insights on solutions architecture.Join as we discuss:Brian’s extensive global career that spans test engineering, software architecture, metrology, and his time in the military.Demystifying the approach to problem-solving and technology selection.Scalability, risk assessment, and the suitability of architecture frameworks.

Madalina Tanasie's career has been led by her belief that technology should be purposeful. Embracing choices that reflected this conviction, her professional path ultimately led to the C-suite.David sits down with Madalina to discuss the always-evolving technology landscape and the recent advancements in AI, especially in the context of her work at Collibra. Join us to discuss: The need for engineering leaders who can translate technical issues into business pains.The “buy vs. build” mentality — and the benefit of leveraging managed services.AI governance and the importance of regulatory compliance and informed business decisions.

Years before Rod Senra became VP of Engineering, he started out in academia in Brazil. He recalls the early days of Python and teaching computer engineering to his students. Today, he leads as VP of Engineering at Loadsmart, a logistics technology company helping shippers, suppliers and carriers to move goods more efficiently.Join us to discuss:How to understand different database offerings and how to choose the right one.What it takes to manage an engineering team like Napoleon led his frontlines — strategic, yet tactical.How he uses AI/ML at Loadsmart, and other interesting AI/ML projects Rod has been a part of including the Gatorade Sweat Patch and mobile ordering app for Philz Coffee.

With a growing library of media properties including CNET, Lonely Planet, and Bankrate, Red Ventures’ data platform has scaled from handling 16 million events per day to nearly 2 billion. To dive into the evolution of their architecture and understand how data effortlessly travels through their systems, our host David Joy sat down with Principal Software Engineer Majid Fatemian.Join as we discuss:Why Red Ventures migrated from SQL Server to Amazon RedshiftHow the data landscape has changed over the last two decadesThe challenges every leader should expect when running a data platformMajid’s time at Ubisoft and his involvement in one of David’s favorite games, Far Cry 2

Bluecore’s retail marketing platform is trusted by companies including CVS Pharmacy, Neiman Marcus, and more to transform data into effective customer journeys. To learn what it takes to build architecture capable of powering some of the world's biggest marketing campaigns and gathering valuable insights along the way, our host David Joy sat down with Software Architect Mike Hurwitz.Join as we discuss:The technical decisions behind Bluecore’s architectureWhy Bluecore prioritizes bandwidth over latencyThe most effective ways to work with AI/ML in marketingMike’s perspectives on programming languages including Visual Basic, C#, Scala, and Go

Revolutionizing education with technology, and classrooms in particular, is no easy lift. But the right interactive tools and the ability to navigate the complexities of scaling in a market driven by digital advancements, is essential for success.We hear all about the transformative journey of Kami, an education technology company, from Founder and CTO Jordan Thoms. He shares the company's evolution story in New Zealand, its early focus on teacher empowerment, and the pivotal moments in adapting its product direction based on the needs of the education community. Join us as we discuss:The iterative process of product development and adaptation to meet the evolving needs of teachers and studentsChallenges faced in scaling a startup, including balancing team size, retaining company culture, and delivering a high-quality product.Discussing the value AI brings for education.

Brian Chambers, Chief Architect at Chick-fil-A, discusses how the company uses edge computing and Kubernetes to improve customer experience. They talk about innovation processes, high availability systems, and why Kubernetes is essential for their operations.

In this best of 2023 episode, Tim Veil talks to Peter Mattis, Co-founder and CTO at Cockroach Labs.In this conversation, Peter goes way under the hood to talk about how CockroachDB is architected, how that architecture has evolved, and how the architecture will continue to evolve to make developers’ lives easier.Join us as we discuss:The origins of GIMP and early days at GoogleHow Peter built Pebble & how it compares to RocksDBLessons learned building Postgres compatibilityWhat the future of “serverless” databases will look like

As a multi-cloud expert with 100+ certifications, author of the book “Mastering Terraform on AWS”, and Director of PwC, Erol Kavas has plenty of perspective across the cloud ecosystem. Join as we discuss:Implementing cloud infrastructure and migrating legacy applications to the cloudWhat enterprises should consider before moving to multi-cloudWhy Erol fell in love with Terraform [Buy “Mastering Terraform on AWS: Automate AWS Infrastructure with Terraform using streamlined frameworks and best practices” by Erol Kavas, click here]