The Problem: Scraper Bots Stealing Data & Distracting Engineers

Montreal-based Softvoyage offers innovative IT solutions for the travel industry. Embraced by hundreds of travel agencies, tour operators, and other providers, Softvoyage’s tools enable seamless distribution and management of travel services. Unfortunately, travelers eager to reach their next destination weren’t the only ones crowding to the platform.

“The volume of bot traffic we had was just amazing,” says Celine Lavoie, VP Operations at Softvoyage. “Some people were scraping our data to bolster their own shopping databases, some bots came from competitors, and we even suspected that certain customers were scraping us for price comparison purposes. Either way, we didn’t want to give away our data for free, so we needed to stop this activity.”

The team initially tried to block unwanted bots with manual methods, but quickly realized it wasn’t efficient.

“It was difficult to get the rules right, and we ended up blocking real people,” Celine explains. “Besides, bot detection isn’t really our mandate, and it took up way too much time—minimum a day per week for one resource, even more when there were severe attacks—so we decided to implement a third-party bot protection system.”

For a while, the first tool they chose worked well enough. But when the provider was acquired by another cybersecurity company, the user interface changed and became impossible to use across Softvoyage’s many hosted websites.

The Solution: Accurate Detection, User-Friendly Interface

“Our previous system required too many manual rules, and certain attacks were still getting through, so we started to look for alternatives,” Celine recalls.

“Efficiency was our key criterion, so during the free trial of DataDome, it was interesting to see the side-by-side comparison where DataDome detected bots that our existing tool let through. We also wanted something that was easy to use, and when we saw the DataDome demo, I said right away: ‘I want that interface!’”

The implementation process was smooth and completed in a week, including setting up personalized CAPTCHA pages for all Softvoyage’s customers. “It wasn’t strictly necessary, but I liked it and the customers liked it, so we took the time to add all their logos and test every page,” Celine smiles.

In the DataDome dashboard, the team can observe their bot traffic in real time, classified by different types of bots. In addition to the all-too-familiar scraper bots, there were also a few surprises, such as regular SQL injection attacks. But now, the team no longer needed to do anything about them.

“We were so excited to finally have a solution that works on autopilot,” Celine attests. “And the user interface met my high expectations. It’s really easy to understand and to work with, whether it’s to add a URL or explore an IP, and I love watching attacks being blocked in real time! The reports are also very good. With our previous tool, we had to build the reports ourselves, but DataDome always seems to know exactly what we want to know.”

The Results: Protected Data, Stable Platform & Time Savings

For Celine, implementing DataDome has provided three main benefits.

“Accurate detection means that our data isn’t taken anymore, while real customers don’t get blocked. Bookings represent a big part of our revenues, so it’s important that we don’t block good traffic, and it’s reassuring to see that our bookings are steadily increasing,” she observes.

“We have also found that our infrastructure is stabler and less vulnerable. In the past, big attacks could take down parts of our engine, but that doesn’t happen anymore. Our uptime is now 99.9%, and whatever downtime we do have isn’t due to bot attacks. That’s big for us as well.”

Last, but not least, the team has greatly reduced the time they spend on bot-related matters.

“Protecting our architecture and dealing with the consequences of attacks used to be huge tasks, and we were always in reactive mode,” Celine comments. “Now, DataDome is there for us and we’ve gotten our time back.”

In conclusion, she praises the constructive collaboration.

“The DataDome support team is amazing. I always get answers right away, and they often help me understand things better. I really appreciate it!”