Top Mobile Application Development Projects at Netguru (Recruitment Perspective)

This is why we want to let you in on our approach to building mobile apps. We’re also going to tell you about some of the projects we’ve worked on – to help potential future team members decide whether they want to join us.

5 years of experience on the mobile market

Netguru’s adventure with mobile development began in late 2013, when the team made the decision to build a separate mobile dev department capable of creating high-quality iOS and Android apps. As time went by, we saw the added business value of cross-platform apps and expanded our focus to include them, too. Three years ago, Netguru’s mobile dev team broadened their skillset with React Native, which allowed them to cut development time by up to 33% when building cross-platform projects. Besides React Native, we use Flutter, and continue looking into emerging solutions – such as Kotlin Multiplatform – to make sure we’re always up-to-date with mobile development trends.

Mobile product development approach

While the technology you choose can impact a project significantly, it’s important to start with a business strategy. At Netguru, we’re not just robots producing good code. We’re experts with commercial experience who care about the apps they build, and who are happy to help clients with in-depth consulting. The key to this is to never let ourselves grow too attached to a particular set of mobile development solutions. Instead, we want to tailor our approach to the specific challenges each client faces. We often work directly with stakeholders, learning what their expectations are, and why they are important.

This approach helps us recommend reliable solutions that support business goals. Examples include:

• a robust conference app that works smoothly for tens of thousands of attendees;
• an app that helps employees navigate around a large office, with an interactive map and a meeting room booking feature;
• a robot, built from scratch by three teams scattered around the world.

We’ve worked on location-based apps, maps, wireless (BLE / WebRTC / IoT), chats and other real time communications, complex UIs, and more.

We put much of our focus on the engineering side, too, emphasising security, scalability and stability. We combine all this with exceptional speed of development. We comply with OWASP recommendations and use thorough quality assurance practices. Our security review process follows the OWASP mobile testing guide, and is especially useful in industries such as fintech or healthcare, where protective confidential data is absolutely crucial.

Full mobile development support

Aside from producing code, our teams provide a broad range of consulting services, including marketing guidance and UI/UX design. The latter is a full suite of services that can involve workshops, Product Design Sprints, and more. Netguru’s designers are widely recognised as masters of their craft. If you’re curious about the kinds of designs you’d work with as a member of our team, check out our portfolio on Behance. In-house design is a big added value we offer to clients.

Introducing Netguru’s top mobile projects

A custom Android embedded solution for a personal assistant robot

A sister company to a leading provider of unmanned ground vehicles, Temi started with a vision of a personal assistant robot that would take the home robotics market by storm. The robot, also called Temi, has been called the “Alexa on wheels”. In fact, with its Alexa upgrade, Temi can help users control their smart homes, among other things. It was recently used by the physicist David Deutsch to deliver his TED Talk remotely.

Netguru joined Temi the company to help build their robot from scratch, including the hardware, design and software. The job involved challenges such as introducing Natural Language Processing and creating an open SDK for Temi. Netguru’s developers built the robot’s (Android-based) operating system, as well as the Android and iOS apps used to control it. We’ve also begun working on a set of apps that will make Temi a versatile and useful addition to people’s homes.

A healthcare app changing the lives of care providers and recipients

Helpr’s founders saw through their own experiences with the social care system in the UK that change was needed. They decided to build a marketplace that could cut out the intermediaries standing between social workers and those in need of care, thus making social care more affordable and helping care providers earn more at the same time. This revolutionary project was made even more difficult by the complex and highly regulated social care system already in place.

Netguru came in as a technological partner for Helpr, delivering an MVP version of the platform in just five months. Already at that stage, the app consisted of a web-based system for the authorities to procure and manage care needs, and a monitoring functionality to oversee care partners. To function correctly, the platform needs online training, GPS tracking, payments, real time alerts, and more. The hard work put into development was well worth the results: up to 66% higher earnings for care workers, and care costs lowered by up to 20%.

An award-winning app promoting self-care and mindfulness

Shine responds to a real need of the modern world: a way of dealing with mental or neurological disorders, which, according to the WHO, affect one in four people globally. The founders, Naomi Hirabayashi and Marah Lidey, came up with the idea to deliver daily reminders to be mindful and work towards one’s mental well-being through a mobile app. Shine started small as a simple chat app with daily affirmations, a messaging bot for positive reinforcement. Then it grew to offer podcasts, meditations, articles, and more. The in-app content helps users work on their confidence and happiness by creating a healthy routine for the mind. This app was featured as the Best App of 2018 in the Self-Care category in Apple’s App Store.

Shine needed a partner whose internal culture would be compatible with their own, and who had the communication and collaboration skills to constantly improve the partnership. Netguru matched those criteria, and soon began working on a React Native app for Shine. In time, we helped the client define their product strategy and develop and maintain native iOS and Android apps. We provided UX/UI design and marketing consulting. Throughout our partnership with Shine, we’ve used the Agile methodology to continue moving forward at a steady pace and remain ready for any new challenges.

A virtual marketplace supporting local traditional artisans

Artemest offers a beautiful collection of home decor, furniture, jewellery and lifestyle art. This Italian e-commerce platform has a mission: to keep centuries-old artisanal techniques alice and preserve local heritage. The artisans who sell their products through Artemest might have been forced to close shop if not for the platform. Ippolita Rostagno, Artemest’s founder, is a fine jewellery designer based in New York. She saw the struggle of Italian creators trying to compete in a globalised market, and the danger of losing the incredible tradition of craftsmanship. Her solution was to build a platform that would allow an international audience to see local artisans.

Artemest supports over 350 vendors and thousands of products. They needed a technological solution that would support their vision, attract buyers and showcase Italian craftsmanship in the best way possible. When Netguru’s team joined the project, Artemest was already a functional platform. It required renovation to support the company’s growth. We began with a comprehensive review of the platform, followed by an upgrade to the existing code. We had to make sure that our work would not interfere with Artemest’s everyday operations. Aside from full-stack development, Netguru’s team conducted a DevOps review, prepared intuitive UX designs, and improved the app’s scalability and security. The result is an increase in ROI estimated at 15%.

Robust R&D initiatives

Stagnation is the death of creativity, and we need to be up-to-date on new trends and solutions if we want to provide our clients with good technical advice. To achieve that Netguru’s mobile experts regularly conduct R&D experiments to expand their knowledge in areas such as the Internet of Things, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and Flutter and Kotlin Multiplatform development. Our engineers participate in events, speak at conferences, and remain active on social media, sharing and verifying their experiences. Members of our Machine Learning team devote some of their time to natural language processing, anomaly detection, and recommendation systems.

Some of our experiments turn into full-blown projects:

• CarLens – a mobile app that identifies car models with Augmented Reality and Machine Learning.
• Response Detective – a service that offers networking monitoring, tracking what happens when your iOS app interacts with web servers. It’s a great debugging tool.

Building relationships with clients

We’ve built a culture of transparency and good communication at Netguru. Our project teams put a lot of emphasis on effective collaboration, both internally and when working with clients. We approach most projects as partners and consultants, caring not only about delivering a high quality of service, but also about the projects’ success and future. We often meet our clients’ teams in person, during workshops, while visiting their headquarters, or when having them over as guests in one of our offices.

The relationships we build with our clients speak for themselves. Here are some examples of what has been said about working with Netguru.

I remember hearing from calls with Netguru’s reference contacts that the experience and breadth of knowledge of the team were great. The small development team we work with daily is good, but we know other resources within Netguru can be tapped, people with different skill sets. It’s almost like having extra consultants for free, or a support network.

- Jonathan Uy, CTO of Shine

The team’s agile approach not only produced a quality app but also had a positive long-term effect on internal methodologies. Netguru was always available for discussion, which proved helpful during a miscommunication about costs. Expect stellar designs and a professional environment.

- Employee at a large Polish consumer products company

Joining Netguru’s team

If you’re interested in working with us, don’t wait. Check for open positions relevant to you on our careers page, or simply talk to us if you have any questions. You can also follow us on social media and catch us at various events to get to know your potential future coworkers. We hope to hear from you soon!