CONST SSK OOO

CONST SSK OOO is a Russian fintech startup that provides an easy way to receive donations by simply entering a credit card number. This generates a link that allows supporters to tip a person. It may be provided on paper via QR-code, so waiters in restaurants can receive tips on the fly. Similar services exist, like buymeacoffee.com or donationalerts.com, but none of them work in real time, funding cards at the same moment someone tips.

CONST SSK OOO uses dashboards to query data from InfluxDB and also for direct SQL queries from the company’s Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS). The company not only monitors its deployments and app health status, but also provides business analytics with a beautiful UI and simple-to-use dashboards. Though CONST SSK OOO just started using InfluxDB, they have already been able to uncover some interesting data by using the Flux query language.

The company chose InfluxDB because it integrates well with other tools, it is open source, and the integration with Telegraf is simple and easy. The provided Go library and even built-in HTTP API really make sense. However, the best feature is the built-in support for other databases like PostgreSQL, so the company can easily start exploring the data. SQL and Flux are also a joy to work with. The fact that InfluxDB is open source is also important because you can check how some features work and even contribute to projects to make them better.

When CONST SSK OOO first built their analytics tool, they started with a self-made CLI app and proprietary API to query their services. However, this consumed too much time to maintain. Adopting a standard stack with Prometheus, Grafana, etc., came with unneeded features and was too complex. The release of InfluxDB 2.0. turned out to be the perfect solution!

CEO Igor Melekhine recommends taking some time to understand time series data. He is looking forward to continuing to use InfluxDB because it is easy to start, easy to test, and easy to deploy. Though it’s not as mature as older, popular solutions, the overall potential is huge. Finally, don’t give up if it’s hard at first, because the end result is worth it.