Last week we reviewed the technology we’re using to build Showpitch. This week we’re going to present the ecosystem that has emerged from that technology and what the Showpitch Platform looks like as a result.
Let’s start by breaking down the ecosystem at a high level:
- Showpitch Core
- Platform Application Stack
- Configuration Service
- Agent Services
- Service Manager
- Administrative Service
- Consumer Services
- Business Services
- Clients
- Web Clients
- App Clients
- 3rd Party Clients
- Media Stack
- Repository
- Connectors
- Distribution Channel Partners
Taken together this comprises the Showpitch Ecosystem from a very high level. An immediate take away here is that Showpitch is more than just a website. What we’ve built is a full platform.
Further, as covered in the prior post, this ecosystem lives in the cloud, implemented on top a variety of cloud technologies, service providers, and partners.
So let’s get into the details for each of the components of this ecosystem.
Showpitch Core
This is, as the name implies, the core of Showpitch. That is, many of the other components of the Showpitch Ecosystem rely on this core, leveraging the business logic implemented within to drive business processes and provide services.
Platform Application Stack
The Platform Application Stack contains the aforementioned business logic for Showpitch. Any request that passes through the Showpitch Platform subsequently uses this component to determine what to do or how to do it.
Configuration Service
The Configuration Service takes typical application configuration to another level. With this service configuration across application components, and even environments, can be shared while allowing settings to be specified for individual application instances. Further, the Configuration Service allows settings to be updated without having to redeploy application components, meaning the behavior in and across Production can be changed from a simple Management UI and take effect without impacting Production service.
Agent Services
Agent Services are vital to the performance of Showpitch. Agent Services off load the work from the platform services, allowing the heavy lifting for long running tasks, or large task sets, to run “in the background” without taking up processing and memory resources from the real time services that Showpitch provides. Agent Services also allow for multi step work flows to be executed, which enables much more complex business logic to run on the Showpitch Platform.
Service Manager
The Service Manager is the other half to the Agent Services. While the Agent Services perform all the background processing and work flow for the Showpitch Platform, the Service Manager allows control of the Agent Services. It handles monitoring, stopping, starting, updating, and deploying the Agent Services. One of the most interesting features built into the management of Agent Services is that they can be newly configured or reconfigured using the Configuration Service, and then spun up in multiple instances across the same machine or multiple machines, which allows for horizontal scaling to handle load.
Administrative Service
The Administrative Service puts management capabilities directly into the hands of the Business Owners. CMS Tools, Item Lists, and Advertisement Managers, among others, allow the Business greater control over the content presented on Showpitch.com. This is important for maintaining the messaging the Business wants to put forward on the site.
Consumer Services & Business Services
The Consumer and Business Services are provided by the Showpitch API. This API provides all functionality for the Showpitch Platform. For instance, the API is what provides all the functionality for the Showpitch.com Web Client. It’s also used by the Administrative Service and for many of Showpitch‘s internal systems. This API serves both Consumers of the Showpitch Platform and Business integration partners, like Joint Venture Partners and Media Distribution Partners.
Clients
The Showpitch Platform has, and will have, many different types of Clients.
Web Clients
The most obvious example of a Web Client is Showpitch.com. Other Web Clients are planned in the future. Web Clients communicate with the Showpitch Platform via the API, as a Consumer of the Platform. Through these Clients Users can interact with Showpitch through any modern browser, including on desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
App Clients
In addition to Clients on the Web Showpitch also supports native App Clients, on any type of device that can consume a REST API, which includes just about every device out there. App Clients aren’t simply restricted to native Mobile Apps either, but can potentially include Desktop Applications, Game Console Applications, TV Applications, and even IoT devices.
3rd Party Clients
3rd Party Clients include other platforms and systems that consume services from Showpitch. These Clients may consume both Consumer and Business services from the Showpitch Platform.
Media Stack
Of special note among the Consumer and Business services available on the Showpitch Platform are services related to Media. These are of such great import that they’ve been separated from the rest of platform and given their own domain.
Repository
The core of the Showpitch Media Stack is the Media Repository. This is where all Media provided to Showpitch resides, regardless of how it was provided. Without this store, there’d be no Media to consume. This Repository is provided by a combination of JW Platform and Cloud Files. The Repository is secured, requiring authorization from the Showpitch Platform to gain access.
Connectors
Where the Repository provides for storage of the Media on Showpitch, Connectors allow for access to this Media. As mentioned previously, access to the Media is secured, requiring authorization from the Showpitch Platform to gain access. The Connectors all integrate with this authorization scheme, allowing for various types of access to the Media depending on the Connector and the authorization available. This can include viewing the Media, downloading the Media, or even uploading or changing the Media.
Distribution Channel Partners
If the Repository is the store for the Media, and the Connectors provide access to it, then the purpose of the Distribution Channel Partners is to provide Media to Showpitch or distribute the Media available on Showpitch to various platforms and channels. The first Distribution Channel Partner we have is Showpitch.com itself. Here one can browse the Media on Showpitch, upload new Media to the platform, view the Media directly, and download it as well.
This sums up the Showpitch Ecosystem from a high level. Over several future posts we’ll start to dive in to each part of the ecosystem, providing specific stories of implementation within these components. Is there a part of the ecosystem you want me to cover first? If so please leave a comment below. And keep checking back!
john brunnings 