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.