What is Erlang, OTP and BEAM?
Erlang is a functional programming language designed for building massively concurrent, fault-tolerant, and distributed systems. Originally developed at Ericsson in the 1980s for telecommunications switches, Erlang has evolved into a powerful platform for building reliable, scalable applications that require high availability and soft real-time performance.
The Erlang Ecosystem
Erlang Language
- Functional programming paradigm with immutable data
- Actor model with lightweight processes (not OS threads)
- Pattern matching and guards for elegant control flow
- Built-in support for distributed computing
- “Let it crash” philosophy for fault tolerance
OTP (Open Telecom Platform)
- Framework of libraries and design principles
- Battle-tested patterns for building robust applications
- Supervisors for automatic process restart and fault isolation
- Generic behaviors (gen_server, gen_statem, gen_event)
- Built-in support for hot code swapping and live updates
BEAM Virtual Machine
- High-performance virtual machine optimized for concurrency
- Preemptive scheduling with microsecond precision
- Garbage collection per process (not global)
- Support for multiple programming languages (Erlang, Elixir, LFE, Gleam)
- Clustering and distribution built into the runtime
Key Features and Benefits
Massive Concurrency
- Millions of lightweight processes per node
- Each process has its own heap and stack
- No shared memory between processes
- Message passing for inter-process communication
Fault Tolerance
- Isolated failure domains
- Supervisor trees for automatic recovery
- “Let it crash” and restart strategies
- Built-in error handling and logging
Distribution
- Transparent remote process communication
- Automatic node discovery and clustering
- Network partitioning and split-brain handling
- Location transparency for processes
Hot Code Deployment
- Update running systems without downtime
- Gradual rollout and rollback capabilities
- Version management and code loading
- Zero-downtime maintenance
The BEAM Language Ecosystem
Elixir
- Modern syntax inspired by Ruby
- Phoenix web framework for real-time applications
- LiveView for interactive web applications
- Growing ecosystem and active community
LFE (Lisp Flavoured Erlang)
- Lisp syntax on the BEAM VM
- Macros and metaprogramming capabilities
- Functional programming with S-expressions
Gleam
- Type-safe functional programming
- Friendly error messages and tooling
- Interoperability with Erlang ecosystem
Joxa
- Lisp dialect with modern features
- Homoiconic code representation
- Seamless Erlang integration
Common Use Cases
Telecommunications and Messaging
- WhatsApp: 2+ billion users on Erlang infrastructure
- SMS gateways and telecom switches
- VoIP and real-time communication systems
- Network routing and protocol implementations
Real-Time Web Applications
- Chat applications and collaboration tools
- Online gaming and multiplayer systems
- Live streaming and video conferencing
- IoT device management and communication
Financial Systems
- High-frequency trading platforms
- Payment processing and settlement systems
- Risk management and fraud detection
- Real-time market data distribution
Infrastructure and DevOps
- Monitoring and alerting systems
- Log aggregation and analysis
- Configuration management
- Container orchestration and service discovery
Notable Erlang/BEAM Success Stories
RabbitMQ
- World’s most popular message broker
- AMQP, MQTT, and STOMP protocol support
- Clustering and high availability features
- Used by major enterprises worldwide
- Handles billions of messages daily
- Minimal server infrastructure for massive scale
- 99.999% uptime requirements
- Sold to Facebook for $19 billion
Discord
- Real-time voice and text communication
- Millions of concurrent users
- Sub-second message delivery
- Elixir-based backend architecture
Heroku
- Platform-as-a-Service routing layer
- Handles millions of HTTP requests
- Automatic failover and load balancing
- Zero-downtime deployments
How can we help?
IDEA Systems has deep expertise in Erlang/OTP and the broader BEAM ecosystem, with decades of experience building mission-critical systems that require exceptional reliability and performance. Our consultants have worked across telecommunications, financial services, and high-scale web applications.
Our Expertise
Erlang/OTP Mastery
- Deep understanding of OTP design principles
- Expert-level knowledge of BEAM VM internals
- Performance tuning and optimization techniques
- Distributed systems architecture and design
Modern BEAM Languages
- Elixir and Phoenix framework development
- LiveView for real-time web applications
- Gleam for type-safe functional programming
- LFE for advanced metaprogramming needs
Production Systems Experience
- High-availability and fault-tolerant system design
- Performance monitoring and optimization
- Clustering and distributed deployment strategies
- Hot code deployment and zero-downtime updates
Our Services
Consulting and Architecture
- System architecture design and review
- Technology selection and migration planning
- Performance analysis and optimization
- Scalability assessment and planning
Development Services
- Custom application development
- Legacy system modernization
- API development and integration
- Real-time and event-driven systems
DevOps and Infrastructure
- Deployment automation and CI/CD pipelines
- Monitoring and alerting system setup
- Cluster management and orchestration
- Performance tuning and optimization
Training and Mentoring
- Erlang/OTP fundamentals and advanced topics
- Elixir and Phoenix framework training
- Best practices for fault-tolerant systems
- Code review and architectural guidance
Why Choose IDEA Systems?
Proven Expertise
- Decades of experience with mission-critical Erlang systems
- Deep understanding of telecommunications and financial requirements
- Track record of successful large-scale deployments
- Active participation in Erlang/BEAM community
Comprehensive Approach
- Full-stack development capabilities
- Integration with existing systems and technologies
- Focus on maintainable and scalable solutions
- Long-term partnership and support
Industry Knowledge
- Understanding of regulatory and compliance requirements
- Experience with high-availability and disaster recovery
- Knowledge of modern DevOps and cloud deployment practices
- Integration with containerization and microservices architectures
Contact us to discuss how Erlang/OTP and BEAM technologies can solve your concurrency, reliability, and scalability challenges!