What is the AWS’s microservices architecture?

Microservices are a type of software architecture designed with the goal of building systems from small, independent services that communicate through APIs and are easily scalable and adaptable to changing demand requirements.

AWS offers building blocks that support different application architectures, including containers, storage and databases, networking services, messaging, logging and monitoring, and DevOps. In the world of online gaming, this software structure is becoming an essential pillar for operators who want to grow and leave behind the problems of the past (website crashes, slow loading times, dissatisfied users, ineffective payment methods, etc.).

According to a study by Mordor Intelligence, the cloud microservices market is expected to grow from USD 1.3 billion in 2023 to USD 3.72 billion by 2028, representing an annual growth rate of 22.8%.

Monolithic vs microservices architecture

In a monolithic architecture, all processes are part of a single service and are tightly coupled, making it challenging to manage the entire software system. If you want to scale a specific service, the entire architecture must be adapted.

In contrast, a microservices architecture creates independent components, allowing you to scale only the microservice experiencing a demand spike without affecting the rest of the structure.

For example, if there is an issue with a payment provider, a monolithic architecture would require working on all the services within the software to resolve it, delaying the process and complicating the solution. However, with a microservices-based architecture, the problem can be addressed in a simpler, more isolated, and faster manner.

Playson: Increase in bets per second

Playson is a game provider operating in 26 regulated markets with over 200 partners worldwide. In 2015, the company decided to migrate its monolithic architecture to work with AWS cloud microservices, using Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Services (Amazon EKS).

This shift allowed the company to improve across all areas, reducing game turnaround times, delivering games 10 times faster, and increasing bets per second by 200% (Source: Amazon AWS).

Playtech: Video Streaming

Playtech is another leading game provider in the online casino market. Founded in 1999, the company has over 7,900 employees in 20 countries and is one of the main game and software providers for online operators.

In 2019, the company decided to migrate to AWS, using Amazon CloudFront, a content delivery service designed for high performance, security, and developer convenience. By June 2021, CloudFront had become Playtech’s main CDN provider for live video delivery worldwide.

Another AWS service they used was Lambda@Edge, a CloudFront feature that allows code execution closer to application users, improving load times and reducing latency.

By using this service, the average code runtime takes only 3.7 ms to make a routing decision. Additionally, they achieved high-quality streaming, connecting thousands of players simultaneously around the world (Source: Amazon AWS).

KTO: Cost Reduction and Scalability Improvement

KTO is another success story in the use of microservices within the iGaming landscape. In 2022, they decided to scale their platform to handle the traffic spikes they were starting to experience, with their active customers increasing by over 1000% year-over-year (Source: Amazon AWS).

In an article published by AWS, Jonathan Bonett (CTO of KTO) stated, «Previously, the platform could take 30 minutes or even an hour to pay out winners and update all accounts. Now, this process takes just seconds.»

They have also seen significant benefits in terms of scalability by using Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling, a service that allows them to add or remove capacity to meet changing demands.

Conclusions

Microservices architecture has proven to be a powerful solution for companies looking to scale quickly, improve stability, and optimize operational costs. The cases of Playson, Playtech, and KTO illustrate how this technology can completely transform a business on multiple levels.

If you want to take your business to the next level and grow at the pace your users demand, contact us, and we’ll help you get there.

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