Is it possible to build a real-time data platform without using stateful stream processing? Forecasty.ai is an artificial intelligence platform for forecasting commodity prices, imparting insights into the future valuations of raw materials for users. Nearly all AI models are batch-trained once, but precious commodities are linked to ever-fluctuating global financial markets, which require real-time insights. In this episode, Ralph Debusmann (CTO, Forecasty.ai) shares their journey of migrating from a batch machine learning platform to a real-time event streaming system with Apache Kafka® and delves into their approach to making the transition frictionless.
Ralph explains that Forecasty.ai was initially built on top of batch processing, however, updating the models with batch-data syncs was costly and environmentally taxing. There was also the question of scalability—progressing from 60 commodities on offer to their eventual plan of over 200 commodities. Ralph observed that most real-time systems are non-batch, streaming-based real-time data platforms with stateful stream processing, using Kafka Streams, Apache Flink®, or even Apache Samza. However, stateful stream processing involves resources, such as teams of stream processing specialists to solve the task.
With the existing team, Ralph decided to build a real-time data platform without using any sort of stateful stream processing. They strictly keep to the out-of-the-box components, such as Kafka topics, Kafka Producer API, Kafka Consumer API, and other Kafka connectors, along with a real-time database to process data streams and implement the necessary joins inside the database.
Additionally, Ralph shares the tool he built to handle historical data, kash.py—a Kafka shell based on Python; discusses issues the platform needed to overcome for success, and how they can make the migration from batch processing to stream processing painless for the data science team.
EPISODE LINKS
Apache Kafka 3.5 - Kafka Core, Connect, Streams, & Client Updates
A Special Announcement from Streaming Audio
How to use Data Contracts for Long-Term Schema Management
How to use Python with Apache Kafka
Next-Gen Data Modeling, Integrity, and Governance with YODA
Migrate Your Kafka Cluster with Minimal Downtime
Real-Time Data Transformation and Analytics with dbt Labs
What is the Future of Streaming Data?
What can Apache Kafka Developers learn from Online Gaming?
Apache Kafka 3.4 - New Features & Improvements
How to use OpenTelemetry to Trace and Monitor Apache Kafka Systems
What is Data Democratization and Why is it Important?
Git for Data: Managing Data like Code with lakeFS
Using Kafka-Leader-Election to Improve Scalability and Performance
Real-Time Machine Learning and Smarter AI with Data Streaming
The Present and Future of Stream Processing
Top 6 Worst Apache Kafka JIRA Bugs
Learn How Stream-Processing Works The Simplest Way Possible
Building and Designing Events and Event Streams with Apache Kafka
Rethinking Apache Kafka Security and Account Management
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