There are a number of people responsible for developing our two main products, AdServer and Affiliate Software. We decided to show you what it looks like to work on products from the perspective of Ivan Heged, the main developer of the two platforms in the rising software industry.

Software solutions for online advertising are surely very complex. How do you manage to cope with such complex projects and deliver new updates so frequently?

We use agile methodology, which means shorter deadlines for smaller parts of the project. After we finish testing the project piece by piece, we send it to our clients right away. This methodology certainly improves the productivity and the quality of work. It also helps us receive faster feedback, and if we want to improve a functionality, we can instantly do it in the next sprint.

Ad Server must process billions of requests daily. As a main developer, your task is to make it possible. How do you approach that challenge?

In our job we have two different approaches – optimizations and scalability. In the past two months I have been working on banner delivery optimization. We found a way to speed up request analysis, and consequently reduce the time needed for banner delivery. We have noticed that the number of campaigns linked to the ad place affects the time needed for analysis. Because of that, we have made a caching mechanism which stores those checks that we had already made, so when a new request comes, the system does not have to analyze it again. More specifically, I am talking about targeting checks by device, geolocation and other criteria.

Besides banner delivery optimization, there were some other efficiency improvements as well. We have adapted the communication between the platform and the database. Additionally, we have reduced a number of tasks that we can process at the same time. In the past we used a lot of threads, which ended up in spending too much processor time deciding which thread should be processed first. After testing new different configurations and reducing the number of threads needed for the ad request analysis, we achieved big performance improvements.

Why is scalability important for advertising platforms?

Scalability is the capability of platforms to endure an increasing number of requests and users without changing the application. There are two types, horizontal and vertical scalability. Horizontal is a more practical solution, especially for big platforms, so we use it on our platform as well. By adding new nodes, the platform continues to work in the same way, only with one extra node in the team. That way we have designed a multi node architecture that takes over a number of requests to proceed by adding new nodes.

How would you describe working in AdCumulus development team? What is the best part of your job?

As a software developer, my job is challenging and has many advantages. It is really motivational to have a job that constantly pushes you to achieve more. Having smaller and bigger challenges on an everyday basis motivates you to do your best. Continuously working on products, making them faster, better and more precise gives you great pleasure. Besides that, I love being a part of the AdCumulus team because we work on various things. Although it is challenging, it is really useful to gain knowledge in different areas instead of being focused only on one field. For me, gaining that extra knowledge that helps you increase your capabilities and expand your horizons is the biggest benefit of working in AdCumulus team.

How would you describe the working atmosphere?

I work in Varaždin office where the work atmosphere is great. People are quite friendly, and we have great communication in our team. Despite the friendly atmosphere, we take our duties seriously and separate work from fun. As for my tasks, I have many, so it is not unusual for me to continue working at home after working hours are over.

That tells me you really love your job. Can you keep your productivity at the same level while working that much during the day?

Yes, I do love my job. It would be really difficult to work that much if you didn’t love your job. Sometimes, I work the whole day and I get stuck at one point without knowing how to solve the problem and progress further. In those situations it can be helpful to pause everything, take a break, and after that you will soon find the solution that was right around the corner.

What do you do in your free time?

My favorite hobby is cycling. If I didn’t work at my job, I would definitely be a professional cyclist. Besides cycling, I am a member of the fire department in my district. I lead a young firefighter team and mentor them for competitions in firefighter drills. We also go to interventions when needed. It is all volunteer work that gives you plenty of pleasure in being able to help people.

In the end, how do you see the future of technological development in AdCumulus?

In our future development we will be more focused on machine learning and data mining. We are using collected data for analyzing which offers have greater possibilities to be useful to the end user, so we can increase chances for the user to make an action. When we achieve that, everyone in the value chain of advertisers, users and us, technical providers, will have maximum benefits. Our goal is to ensure the highest profitability to our clients, that is, to increase efficiency of the campaigns as well as user and configuration simplicity. Let’s not forget, AdCumulus is designed to drive your advertising business.