Videology (www.videologygroup.com) is thriving in an industry that changes as fast as consumer tastes. Founded in 2007, the privately held company is now one of the world’s leading video advertising platforms, helping advertisers effectively reach consumers around the globe wherever they watch video. As of early 2016, Videology employed over 300 people in 28 countries. The company also relies upon its partner Coherent Solutions to supplement internal staff with knowledgeable professionals who can scale up and down to meet project needs.
With hundreds of customers and thousands of video advertising options, Videology’s complex applications are high-load, enabling customers to plan, buy, optimize and measure digital advertising campaigns. There are also complex analytics for scrutinizing audience characteristics, revenue streams and more. Needless to say, the potential for error is high as all this technology is being deployed across a labyrinth of servers by dozens of users at any one time.
So in early 2014, Videology began experimenting with DevOps in an effort to create more stable, scalable apps. Recognizing its potential, they brought on Joseph Julian (Jules) as the Director of Engineering to establish the company’s DevOps program later that year.
“The company wanted to reduce downtime and optimize its infrastructure,” explained Jules. “Efficiency, speed, accuracy – those were the primary goals. Saving money was expected as a by-product, but it wasn’t the primary goal.”
Server usage cut in half, saving tens of thousands of dollars a month
Yet save they did – to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars monthly. But it took time. Jules had to build his team from resources that came from both systems administration and software development. They were eager to learn, but required months of extensive training. Eventually Jules was able to seed each of them into Videology’s various development groups.
