At Decision Focus, building scalable, robust software isn't just about keeping up—it's about pushing ahead of the competition. Our Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platform isn't bogged down by legacy technologies. Instead, we've deliberately chosen modern tools that let us scale, perform, and innovate faster.
Recently, we put our system to the test in a rigorous, real-world performance trial—running continuously for 24 hours under a substantial load of 1000 concurrent users from locations across the EU and US. Our goal was straightforward: can our platform handle heavy demand without breaking a sweat?
Spoiler alert: it absolutely can.
Built to Perform Globally from Day One
Our tests ran simultaneously in Europe and the US, incorporating a balanced mix of typical end-user workflows. We used Playwright and Artillery—tools respected industry-wide for their ability to realistically mimic user behaviours. This approach made sure we tested scenarios reflective of real-world usage, not just ideal lab conditions.
Setting Records with Real Data
This wasn’t just theoretical—we pushed the system with over 3 million real-world records, proving our platform's capability to handle substantial, complex data volumes common in enterprise scenarios.
The Results? Even Better Than Expected.
Our platform breezed through the demanding tests, delivering results we were proud of:
- Response times: 95th percentile response times consistently stayed under 376ms, easily surpassing our ambitious benchmark of 500ms.
- Reliability: The error rate was incredibly low—just 0.000573% in Europe and 0.00068% in the US—comfortably below our maximum threshold of 0.1%.
- Scalability: Our platform effortlessly managed 1000 concurrent users, maintaining a solid 100% uptime throughout the entire test duration.
Kubernetes: Our Secret Sauce for Scalability
One reason we can confidently handle these loads is our reliance on Kubernetes orchestration on AWS.
But what exactly is Kubernetes, and how does it help?
Imagine a busy restaurant. Customers (your users) constantly arrive, placing orders that your kitchen (your platform's services) needs to fulfil rapidly. Kubernetes acts like a highly skilled restaurant manager, overseeing everything:
- Automatically scaling: Kubernetes adds more "chefs" (server instances) during peak times to ensure speedy service.
- Fault tolerance: If one chef gets overwhelmed or falls ill, Kubernetes immediately replaces them with a new chef to ensure uninterrupted service.
- Resource efficiency: Kubernetes ensures resources (like CPU and memory) are optimally used, preventing waste and keeping operating costs controlled.
- Self-healing: Kubernetes detects failures or crashes instantly and automatically restarts services, ensuring continuous availability without manual intervention.
In practical terms, when we ramped from 20 users up to 1000 in our tests, Kubernetes smoothly handled this rapid increase. It quickly spun up additional server instances to absorb the spike, then scaled back down once demand eased, all without any disruption.
Tech Stack Behind the Scenes
Here's how our stack comes together to deliver these impressive results:
- AWS & Kubernetes: Our infrastructure on Amazon Web Services (AWS) paired with Kubernetes enables rapid, reliable, and global scalability.
- Playwright & Artillery: Advanced testing tools that ensure realistic, rigorous, and representative load tests.
Staying Ahead, Always
At Decision Focus, our goal is not only to deliver powerful GRC software today but to ensure it remains future-proof and adaptable. By using tools like Kubernetes, AWS, Playwright, and Artillery, we've positioned ourselves distinctly ahead of legacy competitors.
This successful performance test proves that Decision Focus is ready—and specifically engineered—to thrive under the demands of large-scale enterprise environments.
Ready to experience a GRC platform built for tomorrow? Talk to us—we’re eager to show you what's possible.