HIMSS: Centralised Data Solution Handling 45,000 Conference Users Across 20+ Sites
HIMSS manages 20+ conference websites and needed a single place to store and query user behaviour data across all properties. When a record-breaking 45,000 attendees hit within seven days, the existing analytics service failed. We replaced it with a Drupal-based centralised platform and a purpose-built data microservice — delivered in one month.
Client context
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) runs a network of over 20 conference and media websites. Each site generated its own analytics data in isolation, making cross-site reporting difficult. The scale of HIMSS conferences — which can attract tens of thousands of attendees in a short window — put severe load on their third-party analytics service.
Challenge
Create a centralised data storage solution capable of aggregating user behaviour from 20+ disparate websites into a single accessible location, and replace an analytics service that proved unable to handle a record-breaking 45,000 users attending a conference within seven days.
What we did
- Designed a Drupal-based website to serve as the central data repository across all HIMSS properties.
- Built a microservice to collect, normalise, and aggregate event data from each of the 20+ websites.
- Extended data retention capabilities beyond the limits of the previous analytics service.
- Replaced the underperforming analytics service entirely while maintaining existing revenue and behavioural tracking.
- Validated the system under conference-scale load to ensure stability at 45,000+ concurrent users.
Process
- Requirements workshop: mapped data sources across all 20+ sites and defined the unified data model.
- Microservice architecture design and API contracts between each site and the central store.
- Central Drupal platform build and data ingestion pipeline.
- Migration of historical data and extended retention configuration.
- Load testing against conference-scale traffic scenarios.
- Cutover and parallel running until analytics parity confirmed.
Result and impact
The centralised platform successfully aggregated data from all HIMSS websites into a single queryable source, replacing the failing analytics service. During the next conference, the system handled the record 45,000-user spike without disruption, maintaining intended website behaviour and revenue metrics throughout.