WE MADE BUSINESSDESK
EXIT IN JUST 18 MONTHS.
WANT TO KNOW HOW?
INFRASTRUCTURE OPTIMIZATION
Separation of servers and installation of CI/CD pipeline
When we first joined the project, the infrastructure was running on a single server, this caused performance and security issues. We rearranged the situation into 5 servers; all serving a different purpose.
All improvements are stored on a private GitHub repository, then tested, merged and transferred to the relevant server, completely automatically.
Installation and setup of project management tools
The project did not have a pre-set project management tool, and we found it more appropriate to proceed in sprints through Jira so that the work could progress more smoothly. We took advantage of these tools and planned the process to achieve our team's full potential.
We can also monitor the status of the works instantly via Jira, and solve any problem or access information very quickly.
Optimizing the website
If a website took too long to load, or didn’t let you access advertised data, would you bother to wait and look around? So, what attracts users to the website and keeps them interested?
The page layout, content and speed, of course.
It is a priority for big news sites like BusinessDesk to deliver the information to the user in the fastest and most up-to-date way.
-We used Redis to perform module-based caching, which took some weight off of unnecessary traffic and improved performance.
-We then activated the CDN service, which takes advantage of user location to reduce their waiting time.
Isn't the story here fascinating?
It doesn't matter if it's from scratch or an active project. We can start from any point and see what we can do.
A response above your expectations in a short time, why not?
Mobile Application Development
For BusinessDesk, we decided to write both native IOS and Android applications. Our priority was to provide users with an application that is fast, accessible and easy to use.
Since these applications should present the same information as the website, we fed the website with the APIs we wrote from the backend. With the subscription transactions we made here, we enabled the users to access the news on the website without any interruption.
MARKETING OPTIMIZATION
Mailing adjustments
We use MailGun for operational mails and MailChimp for mass mailings. operational mails such as registration mails, are automatically triggered and sent to the user ASAP.
However, other mailings like bulletins are created individually according to the author or categories the user follows. We create them with background processes so that they do not affect the system.
Revival of the Marketplace section
BusinessDesk shares New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) content with users.
In the first version, we used to instantly extract data from the relevant exchanges with socket and bring it to the user. After a while, with the increase in visitors, this process started to have a negative effect on performance. With a new version, we moved the flow here to the background processes and started to provide data to users from the data we have.
INTEGRATIONS
Third party integrations
As in every site, we continue with various integrations in the BusinessDesk project.
We use 3rd party integrations for Payment System, Mailing, Comments, Images, etc.
If we need to give examples of these;
- Stripe, Google Pay and Apple Pay for payment
- MailGun and MailChimp for mail system
- Publit.io for cdn use in images
- Bibblio for related news
- Search for Algolia
- Comments for Coral
- ASX/NZX Marketplace for market information
We take pride in our fast and steady work while bringing these integrations to life, with examples like completing an integration in 3 weeks, when it was estimated by Google to take three months.
PROJECT AWARDS
Public Sector
The Public Sector project aimed to connect people, companies and even ministries through the news they had accumulated. Here, we decided that it was appropriate to proceed with Neo4J, a graphical database. We tried to keep the number of instant visitors to the maximum by keeping the data coming from here on Redis without accessing this database every time, and we have been able to successfully respond to all requests without wasting any time.
PROJECT AWARDS
Google uses News Showcase to provide users with the most accurate information through reliable news sources.
Since BusinessDesk is one of the leading companies in New Zealand, it was one of the news sources allowed to present its news in Google Showcase, and we worked in integration with Google here and ensured that our news was instantly included in the Showcase. With the work we have done here, we have ensured that users have an uninterrupted experience.
Fund Source
BusinessDesk Fundsource is New Zealand's most comprehensive source of information on Kiwisaver, wealth management, PIE funds and super performance.
We save the data we receive instantly and daily as json over api, depending on the data type, in our own database. Since users can see the data both visually and as text, in this module, which is fed with graphics, we are constantly working to provide users with the fastest and error-free solutions for comparison processes.
New website design and optimization studies
We needed to completely renew the website interface. During this renovation process, the BusinessDesk team sent us their designs via figma, and with our experienced frontend and backend team were able to renew the entire site in 2-3 weeks. This process involved changing the process running in the background as well.
Rebuilding mobile apps with Flutter News Toolkit
After redesigning the website, we realized that we needed to overhaul our IOS and Android applications. Since the applications are native and it is costly to constantly update for both platforms, a cross-platform application was more attractive.
Since BusinessDesk is supported by Google, we decided to take advantage of Flutter. In this process, we made a request for access permission for the "Flutter News Toolkit", which was published by Flutter for news sites in the last quarter of 2022, and we continued our process as planned after the permission was obtained.
Volvo - Android Automotive OS
We took action after it was decided that BusinessDesk news would start to be published in an integrated way from the news tab on Volvo's interior screen.
Android Automotive OS is a variation of Google specially prepared for use in vehicle dashboards with Android operating system. Introduced in March 2017, the platform was developed in conjunction with automakers such as Volvo.
Since BusinessDesk is one of Google's most important partners in New Zealand, they wanted to work with BusinessDesk in displaying news on these screens. And we have developed the system suitable for this structure and made it ready for use.
