TrackFly Optimizes Data Workflows with Astronomer and Apache Airflow

Challenge:

• Resource Constraints: As a fast-moving startup, TrackFly lacked the time and resources to manage Airflow infrastructure independently.
• Business Risk: Workflow failures could delay industry insights, jeopardizing sales opportunities for their customers.
• Manual Processes: Manual data classification was time-consuming and unsustainable at scale.

Solution:

TrackFly adopted Astronomer’s fully managed service for Apache Airflow to address these challenges:

• Operational Efficiency: Reliable, managed Airflow environment eliminated infrastructure burdens.
• Streamlined Development: Simplified local and deployment workflows accelerated time-to-value and lowered disruptions.
• Scalable Automation: Machine learning pipelines efficiently processed millions of rows of data.

Results:

• Faster Deployments: Developers could focus on innovation rather than DevOps, improving customer satisfaction.
• Consistent Uptime: Ensured seamless data delivery to clients, avoiding business disruptions.
• Actionable Insights: Machine learning automated data categorization, enabling faster insights for brands and retailers.

Every minute wasted on DevOps is a minute not spent serving our customers. Astronomer eliminates that waste, letting us focus on delivering value to our clients.

Hannah Lundrigan
Senior Software Engineer
TrackFly

Overview

TrackFly, a Utah-based startup, provides marketing insights and supply chain visibility for small retail shops in the fly fishing industry. The company connects brands with retailers, offering real-time inventory and industry insights to help businesses optimize their operations. As a startup, TrackFly needed to move quickly to deliver value to its clients but struggled with the operational overhead of managing Airflow infrastructure internally. They turned to Astronomer’s managed Airflow solution, Astro, to streamline their ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) workflows and focus on core business goals.

Challenges

Managing Airflow infrastructure required time and expertise that TrackFly, as a lean startup, couldn’t afford to divert from customer-focused development. Unreliable DAGs risked delayed data delivery, threatening customers’ ability to restock inventory or plan marketing campaigns effectively. For both brands and retailers, delays could mean missed sales opportunities and reduced profitability. With millions of rows of data to process, TrackFly’s manual data categorization processes were no longer viable. Scaling operations demanded a robust, automated solution to classify data efficiently.

Solution: Astronomer and Apache Airflow

TrackFly chose Astronomer for its ability to offload infrastructure management while providing a robust, developer-friendly experience. Astro’s managed environment ensured consistent uptime, freeing TrackFly from infrastructure maintenance. Astro’s intuitive local development and deployment tools allowed engineers to quickly test and release updates. With Airflow’s dynamic DAGs, TrackFly could automate data categorization at scale, powered by machine learning.

Astronomer’s tools made setting up new environments and deploying updates seamless. By eliminating DevOps tasks, engineers could focus on creating value for clients. Automated pipelines classified millions of data rows in minutes, enabling actionable insights for brands and retailers.

Astronomer makes it so much easier to focus on our core business rather than managing infrastructure. Our customers rely on timely insights, and Astronomer ensures we can deliver consistently.

Hannah Lundrigan
Senior Software Engineer
TrackFly

Outcomes

TrackFly’s data workflows are now more consistent and reliable, ensuring uninterrupted delivery of insights to clients. Machine learning pipelines built on Airflow and Astro enabled TrackFly to categorize millions of data rows in minutes—work that would have required hundreds of manual hours. Developers could rapidly iterate on workflows without being slowed down by infrastructure management, accelerating innovation.

Consistent data delivery helped brands and retailers make timely, informed decisions and improve customer satisfaction. By automating infrastructure tasks, TrackFly had more bandwidth to enhance its product and onboard new clients.Real-time metrics provided retailers with clear guidance on inventory and marketing strategies.

Conclusion

TrackFly’s adoption of Astronomer and Apache Airflow exemplifies the transformative power of managed orchestration solutions. By removing infrastructure bottlenecks and automating data workflows, TrackFly has unlocked operational efficiency, improved customer satisfaction, and scaled its offerings to meet growing industry demands.

With Astronomer, we’ve turned time wasted on DevOps into time spent delivering value to our customers. It’s been a game-changer for our business.

Hannah Lundrigan
Senior Software Engineer
TrackFly

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