Food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy handles billions of orders annually across approximately 700 cities. Managing such a scale requires real-time coordination between restaurants, delivery partners, and customers. This is where data streaming platform Confluent steps in, supporting Swiggy’s massive data flow for seamless order processing.
As the exclusive data streaming partner, Confluent has been supporting Swiggy for over three years now.
At its core, Confluent’s platform is built on Apache Kafka, facilitating real-time data streaming. Notably, Confluent was founded in 2014 by Jay Kreps, Neha Narkhede, and Jun Rao, the original creators of Apache Kafka.
“If Confluent is down, Swiggy is down,” Rohit Vyas, country presales leader of India at Confluent, told AIM in an exclusive interaction. He emphasised the platform’s role in Swiggy’s infrastructure.
Scale and Demand Spikes
Data streaming platform Confluent has been in the space for over a decade, catering to more than 5,000 enterprises.
“We are the second fastest software company to reach a billion dollars in revenue,” said Rubal Sahni, area vice president and country manager at Confluent, to AIM.
Catering to different domains, Confluent recently partnered with Jio Platforms to integrate its data streaming platform with JioCloud Services. Another major customer is Swiggy, where real-time data processing is mission-critical.
Swiggy has processed over 3 billion orders, requiring a system that can scale dynamically. Initially, Swiggy relied on open-source Apache Kafka for its data streaming needs. However, as order volumes surged, maintaining an in-house Kafka setup became resource-intensive for Swiggy’s engineering teams.
This led to the transition to Confluent’s fully managed service, which provides real-time data streaming while reducing operational overhead. This move not only enabled Swiggy to streamline operations, and handle order surges efficiently, but also optimise resource allocation during high-demand periods such as festivals.
“So when they scaled up in a hyper scaling manner and their customer base began to bulge on, they realised that babysitting open source Kafka was draining a lot of their engineering talent. Then they approached Confluent,” Vyas explained. “What we enable for them is a multitude and a multi-dimensional aspect.”
Real-Time Data Processing
Confluent plays a critical role in enabling Swiggy to track order progress in real time, ensuring transparency at every stage. By ingesting vast amounts of data and processing it within milliseconds, the platform updates order statuses, estimated delivery times, and driver locations without delays. “If Confluent is down, apparently, Swiggy is down,” Vyas said.
From the moment a customer places an order, Confluent’s data streaming platform ensures that every step, from restaurant confirmation to assigning a delivery partner, happens seamlessly.
This entire complex system of fulfillment is happening over Confluent, making real-time updates possible, Vyas explained. The platform dynamically maps delivery partners, estimates preparation and packing times, and continuously syncs this information with Swiggy’s app.
Beyond scaling, ensuring security and governance is another challenge. Swiggy processes massive volumes of customer data, making compliance and security a top priority. Confluent provides built-in governance and monitoring tools, helping Swiggy maintain regulatory compliance while securing sensitive information.
Beyond logistics, Swiggy utilises AI-driven analytics powered by real-time data streaming. Predictive algorithms help optimise delivery routes and inventory management. “Swiggy Instamart tracks high-demand items in specific locations, ensuring better stock availability in dark stores,” Vyas further said.
The Future Ahead
As Confluent continues to expand its presence in India, the company is focusing on scaling its industry reach and strengthening partnerships. “We have scaled our teams in India. We have opened newer industry verticals. We have invested in the public sector,” Sahni said. The recent partnership with Jio Platforms aims to support public sector organisations with infrastructure for GenAI applications.
Beyond public sector expansion, Confluent is also increasing its footprint across industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and tier-two markets. “We are adding more resources to cater to newer industry verticals, not just metro cities but also down south and up north,” Sahni added. To further strengthen its presence, Confluent is working closely with hyperscalers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud while expanding partnerships with enterprises looking for scalable data solutions.
The company will continue to cater to markets of different sizes, from startups to large-scale enterprises. “We have various offerings depending on the size of the customer and nature of use cases,” Sahni said.
