Acintyo uses Firebase to streamline and speed up app development by 25%
Introduction
Galarm is an innovative alarm and reminder app developed
by Acintyo, Inc. Its patented collaborative alarms allow friends, family, and coworkers to
set reminders that can ring simultaneously or consecutively on everyone's
devices, allowing people to manage their loved ones’ medical needs, arrive
on time for group activities, manage their personal schedules, and more.
First launched in 2017 for Android
and iOS, Galarm now boasts more than 3 million
users across 175 countries. In March 2022, Galarm also launched a web application
which allows users to configure their mobile alarms and reminders from their web
browser, helping them schedule to-dos without the risk of being distracted by their
phones.
Challenge
To build their app, the Galarm team was looking for a platform that would accelerate
the development process, freeing up more engineering hours for feature-building. They
wanted cloud-based infrastructure that they could get up and running quickly and
securely, but without breaking their budget. It should also be able to scale as they
grow and support real-time updates, which are critical for Galarm’s core functionality.
Finally, it was important to everyone that their solution be backed by an established
company that would continue to support the platform, with a passionate developer
community so the team could ask questions.
Solution
After a brief search, the team found that Firebase met all
of their criteria. To start, they built a prototype using
Realtime Database,
and found the developer-friendly API easy to set up and
use. Because the cloud-hosted NoSQL database stores and syncs
data between users in real time, it made it easy for Galarm to
build the collaborative features of the app. They also used
Authentication
to seamlessly implement user sign-in and onboarding. Based on
the success of their proof of concept, they used Firebase to bring
their vision from prototype to production and get to market quickly
and safely.
As they grew, they used Firebase for even more, including
Cloud Functions to execute long-running tasks without managing their
own servers, Cloud Storage to
store and serve user profile data, Google Analytics
to gain insight into user behavior and plan their product roadmap, Cloud Messaging
to send automated alarm notifications, and Hosting
for their main marketing website and web app interface. They also use Firebase
to measure their performance and In-App Messaging
to engage users and share updates from the app.
Just as they’d hoped, Firebase allowed Galarm to focus on their core
competency without spending too much time on standing up, maintaining,
and scaling their backend infrastructure. Firebase streamlined
time-consuming tasks by providing fully-managed, scalable infrastructure
that easily integrated into their workflow, with ingrained privacy and
security features that allowed them to automate tasks and increase
development velocity.
Galarm is now developing a new enterprise tier for Galarm, using Firestore
to scale more efficiently. Its advanced querying capabilities allow them to
create charts and reports to track incidents without duplicating a lot of data,
resulting in faster development.
Results
25% - faster development time with Firestore, as reported by Acintyo
60% - reduction in operating costs
100% - uptime with Firebase Cloud Functions to date
"Firebase has had a deep and positive impact on our app development experience. It allows us to stay focused on building an awesome and innovative app experience, never having to worry about whether something can be supported by the backend, as the plethora of integrated solutions allows us to bring all of our ideas to life - faster than ever before."
- Pradeep Singh, Founder, Acintyo, Inc.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[],[],null,["# Acintyo Case Study\n\n[*arrow_back*\nExplore other case studies](/case-studies) \n[View more solutions](/solutions) \n\n##### Acintyo uses Firebase to streamline and speed up app development by 25%\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\n##### Introduction\n\n[Galarm](https://www.galarmapp.com) is an innovative alarm and reminder app developed\nby [Acintyo, Inc](https://acintyo.com/). Its patented collaborative alarms allow friends, family, and coworkers to\nset reminders that can ring simultaneously or consecutively on everyone's\ndevices, allowing people to manage their loved ones' medical needs, arrive\non time for group activities, manage their personal schedules, and more.\n\nFirst launched in 2017 for [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.galarmapp)\nand [iOS](https://apps.apple.com/ly/app/galarm-alarms-and-reminders/id1187849174), Galarm now boasts more than 3 million\nusers across 175 countries. In March 2022, Galarm also launched a web application\nwhich allows users to configure their mobile alarms and reminders from their web\nbrowser, helping them schedule to-dos without the risk of being distracted by their\nphones.\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\n##### Challenge\n\nTo build their app, the Galarm team was looking for a platform that would accelerate\nthe development process, freeing up more engineering hours for feature-building. They\nwanted cloud-based infrastructure that they could get up and running quickly and\nsecurely, but without breaking their budget. It should also be able to scale as they\ngrow and support real-time updates, which are critical for Galarm's core functionality.\nFinally, it was important to everyone that their solution be backed by an established\ncompany that would continue to support the platform, with a passionate developer\ncommunity so the team could ask questions. \n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\n##### Solution\n\nAfter a brief search, the team found that Firebase met all\nof their criteria. To start, they built a prototype using\n[Realtime Database](/products/realtime-database),\nand found the developer-friendly API easy to set up and\nuse. Because the cloud-hosted NoSQL database stores and syncs\ndata between users in real time, it made it easy for Galarm to\nbuild the collaborative features of the app. They also used\n[Authentication](/products/auth)\nto seamlessly implement user sign-in and onboarding. Based on\nthe success of their proof of concept, they used Firebase to bring\ntheir vision from prototype to production and get to market quickly\nand safely.\n\nAs they grew, they used Firebase for even more, including\n[Cloud Functions](/products/functions) to execute long-running tasks without managing their\nown servers, [Cloud Storage](/products/storage) to\nstore and serve user profile data, [Google Analytics](/products/analytics)\nto gain insight into user behavior and plan their product roadmap, [Cloud Messaging](/products/cloud-messaging)\nto send automated alarm notifications, and [Hosting](/products/hosting)\nfor their main marketing website and web app interface. They also use Firebase\nto measure their performance and [In-App Messaging](/products/in-app-messaging)\nto engage users and share updates from the app.\n\nJust as they'd hoped, Firebase allowed Galarm to focus on their core\ncompetency without spending too much time on standing up, maintaining,\nand scaling their backend infrastructure. Firebase streamlined\ntime-consuming tasks by providing fully-managed, scalable infrastructure\nthat easily integrated into their workflow, with ingrained privacy and\nsecurity features that allowed them to automate tasks and increase\ndevelopment velocity.\n\nGalarm is now developing a new enterprise tier for Galarm, using [Firestore](/products/firestore)\nto scale more efficiently. Its advanced querying capabilities allow them to\ncreate charts and reports to track incidents without duplicating a lot of data,\nresulting in faster development.\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nResults\n\n25% - faster development time with Firestore, as reported by Acintyo\n\n60% - reduction in operating costs\n\n100% - uptime with Firebase Cloud Functions to date \n\n\"Firebase has had a deep and positive impact on our app development experience. It allows us to stay focused on building an awesome and innovative app experience, never having to worry about whether something can be supported by the backend, as the plethora of integrated solutions allows us to bring all of our ideas to life - faster than ever before.\"\n\n\n- Pradeep Singh, Founder, Acintyo, Inc. \nTry Firebase today\n\n\nIntegrating it into your app is easy.\n[Get started](https://console.firebase.google.com/) \n\n#### All Firebase products\n\n##### Build\n\n- [App Check](/products/app-check)\n- [App Hosting](/products/app-hosting)\n- [Authentication](/products/auth)\n- [Cloud Functions](/products/functions)\n- [Cloud Storage](/products/storage)\n- [Data Connect](/products/data-connect)\n- [Extensions](/products/extensions)\n- [Firestore](/products/firestore)\n- [Firebase ML](/products/ml)\n- [Genkit](https://genkit.dev/)\n- [Hosting](/products/hosting)\n- [Realtime Database](/products/realtime-database)\n- [Firebase AI Logic client SDKs](/products/firebase-ai-logic)\n\n[Generative AI](/products/generative-ai) \n\n##### Run\n\n- [A/B Testing](/products/ab-testing)\n- [App Distribution](/products/app-distribution)\n- [Cloud Messaging](/products/cloud-messaging)\n- [Crashlytics](/products/crashlytics)\n- [Google Analytics](/products/analytics)\n- [In-App Messaging](/products/in-app-messaging)\n- [Performance Monitoring](/products/performance)\n- [Remote Config](/products/remote-config)\n- [Test Lab](/products/test-lab)"]]