AWS in Action: Scaling SuperCity to Handle Millions

As SuperCity's user base rapidly expanded, the need for a robust, distributed, and easily scalable backend became critical. By utilizing AWS Marketplace, Infrastructure as Code, and geo-distributed deployments, we developed a future-proof infrastructure that supports seamless growth, quicker releases, and reduced operational overhead, all while maintaining performance and stability.

Challenge:

SuperCity needed a highly available, distributed infrastructure that could stay stable and resilient as the product expanded. The focus was on long-term maintainability and the ability to quickly deploy updates across different environments.

Our solution:

Using a combination of CloudFormation templates and Terraform, we successfully spun up core services, such as MongoDB, through the AWS Marketplace and efficiently deployed video processing pipelines without the need for complicated manual setup.

Key Benefits for the Clients

• Geo-distribution: Reduced latency by placing services physically closer to the user (especially important for U.S.-based customers)
• Faster time to market: We avoided building everything from scratch by leveraging AWS marketplace offerings
• Operational efficiency: Streamlined deployment processes and infrastructure bootstrapping with IaC
• Cost control: We reduced complexity and maintenance effort by choosing scalable managed services

Lessons Learned

This project emphasized the importance of maintaining technical proficiency in AWS architecture, particularly when operating in competitive international markets. Flexibility, automation, and a deep understanding of AWS services are crucial for providing long-term value.

What We’d Do Differently Today

We should have started using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) earlier in the process. Although we adopted it successfully later on, beginning with tools like Terraform from the start would have simplified environment replication and made managing multiple stages of development and production easier.

Conclusion

AWS provides the tools, but it’s our responsibility to use them wisely. This project demonstrated how effective architecture, automation, and global deployment strategies can accelerate delivery, maintain stability, and facilitate smooth scaling.