The National Television Awards (NTAs) stands as a highly esteemed awards ceremony in the UK, dedicated to commemorating excellence in television programming. Renowned as one of the most significant events within the British television industry, these awards recognize exceptional performances, productions, and programmes across various television genres. A unique aspect of the NTAs is that winners are selected by the British public through diverse voting methods, encompassing online, telephone, and postal voting. The results are then broadcast live on ITV.

Hyve Managed Hosting: A Critical Partnership

For the past four years, the NTAs have entrusted Hyve Managed Hosting with a vital task – maintaining a robust infrastructure for the online voting system. The challenge lies in effectively handling the surge in traffic during peak voting periods leading up to the ceremony. In 2023, Hyve was tasked with ensuring a seamless experience for every member of the British public who wished to cast their vote.Hyve leveraged its extensive expertise in cloud technology to provide a scalable and reliable solution. They offered secure and reliable server infrastructure to host the NTAs' online voting platform. Additionally, Hyve implemented a dynamic scaling strategy that automatically adjusted resources based on real-time traffic demands. This ensured smooth operation even during the busiest voting periods.

The Problem of Traffic Surges

Each year, the NTAs encounter a substantial increase in website traffic during the voting window preceding the ceremony. As millions of viewers attempt to participate online, this annual traffic spike can overwhelm the servers. The result is server crashes and a hindered voting process. Such downtime not only leaves voters frustrated but also discourages participation. It has the potential to undermine the overall excitement and the legitimacy of the awards.Overloaded servers struggle to handle the influx of traffic, leading to slow loading times, error messages, and, in extreme cases, a complete site crash. These issues not only affect the voting experience but also pose logistical challenges for the NTAs and its broadcast partner, Indigo Television. Delays in voting results and disruptions in the live broadcast can disrupt scheduling and production plans, impacting the overall viewer experience and the success of the event.

The Solution: A Bespoke Load-Balanced Cloud Platform

To address this challenge, Hyve designed a custom load-balanced cloud platform specifically tailored to handle the expected increase in website traffic during the voting period.Last year, server resources were increased by a remarkable 24 times their usual levels during the two voting windows. This allowed for the accommodation of the increased heavy traffic from British public participants. Once the traffic subsided between voting stages, the resources were dialed back to their usual levels. This approach helped cut out unnecessary cloud resource usage and reduced costs for the customer.In addition to creating a scalable cloud solution, Hyve's support team was on hand to continuously monitor the servers even after resource adjustments. Hyve set alert thresholds for the servers as a precautionary measure to ensure the NTAs website could handle unprecedented levels of traffic and quickly increase resources if needed.The dynamic scaling of cloud resources on virtual servers also streamlined the voting process for Indigo Television. There was no need to introduce new hardware or logins when voting commenced, making the process more efficient.

The Challenges Faced

The first challenge was accurately anticipating traffic surges. To overcome this, Hyve set threshold alerts for its servers. This proactive approach allowed the servers to ramp up resources in response to unexpected levels of website traffic. It ensured smooth voting processes even during peak periods.The second challenge was cost management. To avoid unnecessary costs, Hyve dialed back server resources once the voting period ended. This ensured efficient allocation of resources.Finally, there was the challenge of Indigo's compatibility. Hyve's dynamic scaling of cloud resources on virtual servers streamlined the voting process for Indigo Television without the need for new hardware or logins.

The Successful Result

Behind the scenes of the NTAs, a seamless collaboration with Hyve ensured a smooth voting process throughout the ceremony. The event celebrated a wide range of winners across different categories, honouring the best of British television. Kim Turberville, the NTAs' executive producer, expressed her gratitude for Hyve's crucial contribution to the event's success. This partnership showcases Hyve's commitment to creating tailored cloud solutions and builds trust that keeps the NTAs team coming back year after year.If you want to learn more about cybersecurity and the cloud from industry leaders, check out Cyber Security & Cloud Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.