Welcome » Case Studies » SoundTalks – Next-Gen Managed Services
AWS CASE STUDY
Executive Summary
Belgium-based SoundTalks created an artificial intelligence-powered monitoring platform for pig producers that helps detect early-stage respiratory disease symptoms to limit outbreaks. Initially built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2014, the platform required enhanced security and scalability to meet growing demands. Partnering with AWS Partner Cloudar, SoundTalks re-architected its system to follow security best practices, leveraging Amazon ECS, AWS Fargate, and AWS Lambda to enable dynamic scaling.
Beyond the re-architecture, Cloudar now also provides managed services to ensure the platform’s ongoing performance, security, and compliance. Using a managed service framework that includes AWS Landing Zone, SCP policies, AWS Config, Site24x7 monitoring, Cloud Conformity, and Atlassian IT Service Management, Cloudar delivers proactive operational support. This transformation led to a significant reduction in infrastructure costs and improved platform performance by over 1,000 percent.
CUSTOMER:
SoundTalks
PROJECT:
FIRST LAUNCH:
August, 2024
Customer Profile
SoundTalks is a Belgium-based startup that has created a cloud-based product for pig producers that uses sound to detect potential respiratory health diseases. Its product allows pig producers to apply their protocols in an earlier stage of disease outbreak, which results in improved productivity and reduced costs. The company operates in China, Europe, South America, and the US.
The Challenge
Founded in 2011, SoundTalks is a Belgium-based technology startup that leverages audio-based algorithms powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to operate a monitoring platform in the pig farming industry. This system listens to sounds made by pigs to detect those associated with respiratory diseases, enabling early intervention that reduces antibiotic use, improves animal welfare, enhances productivity, and lowers costs for farmers. Already adopted in markets across China, Europe, South America, and the US, the platform has gained a global footprint.
The system relies on a specialized monitor installed in barns, which records audio along with environmental data like temperature and humidity. Data is then transmitted to the SoundTalks Gateway, which connects to the cloud for processing. Capable of identifying potential respiratory issues up to five days before they might be noticed manually, the platform provides early alerts to pig producers, enabling swift action to prevent outbreaks.
Originally developed on AWS, SoundTalks found that as its customer base expanded, its platform needed enhancements for handling growth, minimizing single points of failure, scaling efficiently, and adhering to robust security standards. To address these needs, SoundTalks engaged AWS Partner Cloudar, who conducted an AWS Well-Architected review in February 2023. This review highlighted key areas for improvement to make the platform more secure, scalable, and cost-effective.
Building on this transformation, Cloudar now provides ongoing managed services for the platform, using a framework that includes AWS Landing Zone, SCP policies, AWS Config, Site24x7 monitoring, Cloud Conformity for security and compliance, and Atlassian IT Service Management. With Cloudar’s proactive operational support, SoundTalks is assured of a platform that remains resilient, compliant, and optimized as it continues to grow.
Partner Solution
To meet SoundTalks’ evolving needs, Cloudar provided a solution that combined an enhanced AWS infrastructure with comprehensive managed services designed for resilience, scalability, and security. The solution began with migrating SoundTalks’ application containers from Docker and AWS Elastic Beanstalk to Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and AWS Fargate. This re-architecture provided a robust, serverless environment that scales automatically based on demand, alleviating previous issues of manual scaling and single points of failure.
Cloudar’s managed service framework was then deployed to ensure ongoing platform optimization, security, and compliance. This framework includes AWS Landing Zone for a secure, multi-account structure, along with SCP policies and AWS Config to enforce continuous governance and policy compliance. Cloudar integrated Site24x7 for real-time monitoring, allowing proactive identification and resolution of potential issues before they impact SoundTalks’ operations. Additionally, Cloud Conformity is used for continuous security and compliance monitoring, ensuring that all AWS resources are consistently aligned with best practices.
Through Atlassian IT Service Management and Confluence, Cloudar provides a structured approach to incident management, documentation, and knowledge sharing, ensuring transparency and continuous improvement. This managed service framework allows Cloudar to take full responsibility for the health and performance of SoundTalks’ infrastructure, providing proactive monitoring, compliance support, and risk management. By offloading infrastructure management to Cloudar, SoundTalks benefits from a secure, scalable platform capable of supporting its global expansion, allowing its team to focus entirely on advancing their core AI technology and expanding their reach in the agricultural sector.
Results and Benefits
Through Cloudar’s managed services, SoundTalks achieved a resilient, scalable platform that ensures high performance, cost efficiency, and robust compliance—all critical for its expanding, global customer base.
-
Scalability and High-Volume Processing
With Cloudar’s managed AWS infrastructure, SoundTalks now processes up to 10,000 messages per second using Amazon SQS and AWS Lambda. The platform seamlessly handles large, unpredictable data batches, enabling efficient processing without manual intervention. Cloudar’s managed services ensure the system auto-scales to meet demand, maintaining performance during peak loads. -
Cost Optimization
By adopting a serverless architecture with AWS Fargate and AWS Graviton processors, SoundTalks reduced infrastructure costs by 25%. Cloudar’s managed services also continuously monitor resource usage, optimizing configurations to align costs with actual load, ensuring SoundTalks pays only for what it uses. -
Enhanced Security and Compliance
Cloudar’s managed service framework includes Cloud Conformity and AWS Config for continuous security and compliance checks, protecting SoundTalks from risks as it expands into new regions. The proactive monitoring and compliance tools in place ensure all resources adhere to global security standards, providing SoundTalks with a secure foundation for growth. -
Operational Efficiency
With Cloudar’s proactive incident management and monitoring through Site24x7 and Atlassian IT Service Management, SoundTalks reduced the need for internal resources to handle infrastructure maintenance. This efficiency allowed SoundTalks’ team to focus on product development while Cloudar manages system health, security, and compliance. -
Improved Global Reach and Customer Satisfaction
The optimized platform now delivers reliable, responsive service to customers in Asia, Europe, South America, and North America. Cloudar’s managed services framework ensures low-latency, uninterrupted service, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and a strong foundation for continued global growth.
