Max, I wouldn't be that afraid of NATS. I am a real curmudgeon about learning new software, so I was sorta kicking and screaming about NATS.

I still don't know all the ins and outs, but I can reasonably competently use it now, and AJ is getting pretty familiar with it. It seems overwhelming at first, but really isn't bad once you get into it, and their knowledgebase is really good, and they do give you a pretty thorough overview on how to use it.