Hello, everyone! I hope you're all doing well. Many of us have a Netflix subscription and enjoy their content while relaxing with friends or family in the comfort of our homes. Whether you're vacationing in the mountains or cruising at sea, have you ever wondered how all of us can access the content, no matter where we are? Whether we're 1000 meters above sea level or out at sea, the content gets delivered to us without any delay, making our lives comfortable and enjoyable. It's all made possible by the magic of the cloud.
Back in 1998, when Netflix was launched, they were sending copies of DVDs, movies, shows, video games, and other forms of media through a standard mailing system. Due to rapid technological changes, Netflix transformed its business model. They transitioned from physical copies to allowing customers to conveniently stream their favourite content from their own homes. However, this shift marked the first time it had to face its competitor Amazon, which launched its video-on-demand service, Amazon Prime Videos, in 2006. To counter this, Netflix launched its own data centres in 2007. However, these initial efforts failed because they realized that managing these large data centres with significant hardware was a challenge. As a result, they decided to migrate to AWS.
Why Did Netflix Decide to Move to AWS?
In 2008, Netflix faced a critical issue when it was unable to ship its DVDs due to corruption in its database. This was unacceptable for their business. Consequently, they decided to migrate to AWS, Amazon Web Services. Despite being a major competitor, Netflix recognized that AWS had expertise in cloud services and managing extensive data centres. This move offered several benefits, including minimizing points of failure in their system. AWS provided highly reliable databases, storage, and redundant data centres. By embracing cloud computing, Netflix eliminated the need to build large, unreliable data centres of their own. They aimed to become a global service without the burden of constructing their data centres. These capabilities were absent from their previous infrastructure and would never have been achievable.
The migration process to AWS took nearly eight years for Netflix. In early January 2016, Netflix completed their cloud migration and shut down the last remaining data centre components used by its streaming service.
How Does AWS Support Netflix?
Netflix currently operates in more than 190 countries. Cloud computing has enabled them to virtually add thousands of servers rapidly, facilitating seamless scaling. This approach allows them to efficiently expand their services worldwide, a process that is more cost-effective and streamlined compared to their previous business model of physically distributing copies to users. AWS has also enhanced the customer experience by offering real-time network monitoring. Netflix can now identify new opportunities to optimize its applications, whether by moving an application to a different region or adopting a more suitable network protocol.