A cross-platform messaging app running on desktop and mobile

A 5-Year Partnership Building Android, Desktop and Web for a 1B+ User Messaging App

Industry
Software Products, Telecommunications
Technologies
Android, MySQL, PHP, C/C++, Qt

Summary

Over a partnership of more than five years, INNERLUXES helped build and evolve a cross-platform messaging app that grew to over a billion registered users. Three INNERLUXES teams of around ten developers each delivered the Android app, the desktop apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and parts of the web back end.

About the Client

The Client is a startup that created a cross-platform VoIP and instant-messaging app of the same name, which quickly gained global popularity and now totals over a billion registered users. The company was later acquired by a large international ecommerce group.

The Need to Expand Beyond iOS, Fast

At the start of its business, the Client had no in-house development center and chose outsourcing to enter the market quickly and cost-effectively. With its iOS app already launched, it needed an Android app to extend its audience and a desktop app to strengthen its position among registered users.

A Multi-Platform Outsourcing Partnership

The cooperation began with a proof of concept for the Android app, carried out by an INNERLUXES senior developer and covering the basic functionality — contacts, calls, and chats. Pleased with the results, the Client outsourced the development of the Android app's first version and the desktop app to INNERLUXES. The Client managed development directly using Scrum, working in one-to-three-week sprints for prompt end-user feedback, and INNERLUXES established a Continuous Integration pipeline in Jenkins to streamline delivery.

After the successful releases, the Client extended the cooperation to the evolution of its Android and desktop apps and reinforced its core web development team with INNERLUXES back-end developers. In all, three INNERLUXES teams of around ten developers each worked in parallel on the project's key modules:

  • The Android team developed new modules, including a push-to-talk feature.
  • The desktop team evolved the apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
  • The web team contributed to the back end of the billing portal and the back end for in-app sticker purchases.

Collaboration included daily Scrum meetings and on-demand video calls to report progress. INNERLUXES used Confluence as a knowledge base for all project artifacts and Jira for task tracking to keep the process transparent.

Results

The outsourcing engagement lasted more than five years. The Client obtained the Android version of its app and continuously enriched it with new features based on user feedback, while the continuously evolved desktop app further increased the app's popularity. Over the course of the cooperation, the Client experienced rapid user-base growth, reaching some 900 million registered users by the end of the engagement.

Technologies and Tools

Project management: Confluence, Jira.

DevOps: Jenkins, GitLab.

Android development: Android SDK, Android Studio, Eclipse, ADT Plugin, jarsigner, SQLite, Volley, Gradle, Logcat, UiAutomator.

Desktop development: C++, Qt, WebRTC, Microsoft Visual Studio.

Web back-end development: PHP, Zend Framework, MySQL.

Android App Case Studies Qt Case Studies C/C++ Case Studies PHP Case Studies MySQL Case Studies Telecommunications Case Studies Software Development Case Studies