In today’s world, companies often find themselves grappling with unpredictable surges in workloads, especially during pivotal events. Think about retailers gearing up for Black Friday, sports betting companies preparing for specific games, or marketing teams orchestrating major campaigns. These organizations face a common challenge – how much infrastructure do they need to ensure optimal performance without overprovisioning – which can become very costly, very quickly. This poses a significant challenge for businesses since miscalculations can lead to latency, lost customers, and significant financial losses, even as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars per minute.
Remember when the Game of Thrones spinoff had technical difficulties during its premiere? Millions of viewers were left disappointed, and HBO's reputation took a hit. This incident serves as a stark illustration of insufficient infrastructure planning during a critical event. Similarly, numerous instances of customer backlash during major shopping events have highlighted the urgency for effective solutions in managing fluctuating workloads. Even retail giants like Amazon have faced customer dissatisfaction during events like Prime Day when the website couldn't handle the traffic.