"People Expect Real-Time Information. We Make That Possible"

Located in the KPN office in Amsterdam Sloterdijk, the Digital Engine Streams (DE Streams) platform team operates. Stepping out of the elevator, one enters an open office floor with desk clusters, a coffee corner, and a few meeting rooms. Here, we meet Busra, Gerhard, Max, Reid, and Santiago. Alexandre and Marcos are absent but are still part of the team.

Technical Transformation

Team DE Streams has developed a central data platform for real-time data, which was previously scattered across various systems and processes within KPN. The team continues to expand it, supporting other departments in developing applications that utilize real-time information. This includes internal analysis or providing up-to-date information to end-users and wholesale partners.

DE Streams is one of the ten components of KPN Techbase, aimed at driving the technical transformation within the company to serve customers faster and better. The idea is to base information management on events, real-time data changes, rather than scheduled database updates. Data is accessible via the streaming platform for applications, significantly less burdensome than querying databases due to smart caching. The benefit? Data changes are immediately visible, and data sources are decoupled from their applications.

The platform team consists of six people, including Max, Reid, Santiago, Alexandre, and Marcos as software engineers. Gerhard is the principal engineer, also serving as the product owner, and Busra is the IT manager. With an engineering background, she possesses comprehensive technical knowledge, much to the satisfaction of the team.

"We're really working on exciting technology, everything is changing rapidly, which presents fascinating challenges."

Responsibility

On paper, tasks are more separated than in practice. All team members bear some responsibility and directly interact with stakeholders, primarily DevOps engineers from other development teams within KPN. They contribute to onboarding new applications utilizing streaming data, conduct presentations, and organize meet-ups. Additionally, they program themselves, mostly using open-source software written in Python.

The team members are enthusiastic about their work environment. "You can take as much responsibility as you dare, and everyone is open to questions," says Max, who joined the team almost a year ago through the Young Talent program. "Teams like DE Streams are fantastic places for young talent," adds IT manager Busra. “Everyone needs some guidance at the beginning, and every team member can help with that.”

"We're really working on exciting technology, everything is changing rapidly, which presents fascinating challenges," enthusiastically explains Gerhard. "You become an expert in technology that truly matters in a short amount of time," adds Reid. He also appreciates the autonomy and recognition he receives in his work. According to Santiago, the effort of DE Streams is valued by other DevOps teams and higher management. "We make the work of other teams easier and faster, so they're happy to collaborate with us. We feel genuinely supported."

Data Availability

So, what has the team been working on recently? The list is long, notes Gerhard, the elder statesman of the group. "We started seven years ago, initially focusing solely on real-time data analysis," he recalls. "We built the platform but had no data to use. That changed when we became part of Techbase and started focusing on data availability. For example, for wholesale customers. When something happens on our network, notifications are shared with them in real-time. Editing and sharing are done using our platform. We enable development teams to request all authentication and authorization on the platform via our self-service. This allows them to build their own streams and applications."

Customers See Information Instantly

Another application utilizing the streaming data platform is BOSS, the central system through which KPN manages all mobile subscriptions. The system is extensive and feeds data to various applications. This often resulted in significant queues, causing delays before information was visible to customers. "Nowadays, the delay is minimal, and data is also available during system downtime," says Reid. Consumers now see changes in their subscription or usage almost immediately in MijnKPN. The system also no longer gets overloaded when too many people log in simultaneously.

"We really want to make our company event-driven."

Streaming data is the future, concludes the team. Busra adds, "We really want to make our company event-driven. It's quite a bit of work, you know. It comes into play especially when applications need to be replaced. That's when we ensure that the new solution utilizes streaming data. Nowadays, people simply expect real-time information, and we make that possible."

Personal Stories

Are you interested in reading more stories about the development, challenges, and choices the project team members have made in their careers at and within KPN? Then read their personal experiences!

Reid - Software Engineer | KPN

Gerhard - Principal Engineer en Product Owner | KPN

Busra van engineer tot IT-manager | KPN

Max - Software Engineer | KPN

Santiago - Software Engineer | KPN