How Zillow runs 100 million daily notifications on AWS Step Functions
AI Summary
Zillow replaced its fragmented, multi-service notification system with a centralized, configuration-driven orchestration layer using AWS Step Functions Express Workflows and the Universal Content Generator (UCG). Handling over 100 million daily personalized email and push notifications, the new architecture reduces redundant engineering, isolates campaign failures, and leverages Step Functions HTTP Invoke to call stateless modules without extra compute overhead.
Key Takeaways
- Zillow scaled from 14 million to over 100 million workflows per day, handling thousands of executions per second at peak.
- AWS Step Functions Express Workflows were chosen over Temporal, Flowable, or an in-house engine, cutting estimated build effort and maintenance by roughly 75%.
- HTTP Invoke integrates directly with private containerized services via Amazon EventBridge connections and AWS Secrets Manager for secure authentication without adding compute cost.
Why it matters
Demonstrates how serverless orchestration can eliminate operational overhead and drastically reduce build and maintenance costs at massive scale, while increasing product delivery velocity through configuration-driven workflows and reusable modules.
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