The WhatsApp outage highlights our dependence on realtime technology - but why is it so hard to get right?

WhatsApp's recent global outage highlights the importance of reliable realtime communication in today's world. As society increasingly relies on realtime experiences for work, study, and play, downtime can have significant financial and reputational costs. WhatsApp's $22bn realtime data architecture played a crucial role in its acquisition by Facebook due to its ability to deliver instant chat messages reliably even in areas with poor internet connection. To ensure the dependability of realtime experiences, organizations must consider various scenarios such as intermittent networks, globally distributed users, and maintaining stability and reliability. Leveraging infrastructure designed for these challenges can help avoid outages and provide a seamless user experience.