Efficient and scalable backend API for a high-traffic magazine subscription system
Marketplaces 01 Challenge
With traditional printed magazines struggling on the market, many publishers turn to the web to sell their content. However, doing it on your own often proves difficult. Zinio was established to answer this problem. It converts magazines into digital products, giving the publishers the ability to enhance and sell them through many digital channels, including Zinio’s own newsstand.
As the magazine base grows, Zinio needs to continuously improve its software architecture to deal with millions of requests sent through their apps to third-party suppliers and back. To make it more efficient, they decided to aggregate all subscription data as part of one system. The Software House was entrusted with this project.
As the magazine base grows, Zinio needs to continuously improve its software architecture to deal with millions of requests sent through their apps to third-party suppliers and back. To make it more efficient, they decided to aggregate all subscription data as part of one system. The Software House was entrusted with this project.
Scope of work
Web development DevOps services
02 Solution
The Software House’s team, made of PHP developers and DevOps specialists, was tasked with the development of a backend API. The API needed to handle requests from Zinio’s apps, send them to external suppliers of content and then send the response to a centralized database. The solution had to be very fast and scalable – the client needed the API to work with the expected high service load.
The newly enhanced architecture, designed and developed at The Software House, can process Zinio users’ and clients’ information far more efficiently and using less processing power, while also possessing a centralized base for all subscription information. To make it happen, we worked with the Redis and RabbitMQ message brokers. The entire subscription sync process was also designed to work asynchronously.
The newly enhanced architecture, designed and developed at The Software House, can process Zinio users’ and clients’ information far more efficiently and using less processing power, while also possessing a centralized base for all subscription information. To make it happen, we worked with the Redis and RabbitMQ message brokers. The entire subscription sync process was also designed to work asynchronously.
Used technologies 
03 Effect
Despite a short deadline, the TSH team was able to complete a working solution that meets all of the high requirements. The system responds to scalability challenges that Zinio faces or may face in the future by greatly reducing the number of requests sent to third parties for the same data. It also serves as a standardized base for all subscription data across the system. And it does all that in a very efficient, future-proof manner.
digital magazine deliveries per year
API calls per month
countries served
Develop your next idea with us
Get in touchPortfolio
