HiHi case study
A custom mobile soft client using WebRTC & SIP technologies to connect to a cloud-based PBX.
The flagship product of 4Com is HiHi, a desktop phone with a detachable touchscreen tablet display that connects to a cloud PBX phone system for businesses. It allows users to access the Google Play Store and download apps, access Google accounts, and sync contacts into the phonebook. The detachable tablet allows users to access files, photos, and calendars from anywhere. To complement this product 4Com saw the need to design and develop HiHi Connect, an Android & iOS mobile app which synchronises perfectly with the HiHi handset.
Services
UX/UI Design
Development
SLA
Project size
Duration
Client partnership goals
4Com required a team who had experience delivering mobile apps used for audio and video communication, and a team who could provide technical consultation on matters such as advising on “the viability of using cross-platform development tools…” Despite having a talented team of developers responsible for developing the Android apps running on the HiHi handsets, 4Com required an external development partner that could extend and support its internal Android team, use the existing code base, and develop the iOS version from scratch.
Values that we deliver
Expertise
Combined experience of our pros goes beyond a lifetime of one person
Transparency
We will always keep you up-to-date – we know that business is based on trust
Time-to-market
You will save the most valuable resource – time. Optimization is our second name
Unique approach
We want to know you better, and we wish to understand your projects
Expertise
Combined experience of our pros goes beyond a lifetime of one person
Transparency
We will always keep you up-to-date – we know that business is based on trust
Time-to-market
You will save the most valuable resource – time. Optimization is our second name
Unique approach
We want to know you better, and we wish to understand your projects
Expertise
Combined experience of our pros goes beyond a lifetime of one person
Transparency
We will always keep you up-to-date – we know that business is based on trust
Time-to-market
You will save the most valuable resource – time. Optimization is our second name
Unique approach
We want to know you better, and we wish to understand your projects
Expertise
Combined experience of our pros goes beyond a lifetime of one person
Transparency
We will always keep you up-to-date – we know that business is based on trust
Time-to-market
You will save the most valuable resource – time. Optimization is our second name
Unique approach
We want to know you better, and we wish to understand your projects
Project
Our expertise in developing custom telecommunications software has allowed metavative and 4Com to create a long-lasting business relationship
With metavative knowing exactly how to design and develop mobile (and tablet) softphone clients using SIP & WebRTC to connect to a cloud PBX, and allow users to make and receive audio and video calls, and host video meetings, the HiHi Connect project at 4Com aligned perfectly with metavative expertise. metavative discovery team flew to the UK to meet with the 4Com team to learn more about the requirements, and dive deeper into why 4Com wanted to consider using a cross-platform framework for developing HiHi Connect. metavative team was able to quickly identify the limitations of using a cross-platform framework, and advise the business goals 4Com had for HiHi Connect could be better achieved by using native frameworks including reducing latency in connections.
Challenges we overcome
COVID lockdowns forced the pre-engineering workshop to be conducted online.
The workshops were conducted online over multiple days to ensure all stakeholders were consulted and a viable development plan was created. metavative system analysts were able to take the draft version of 4Com’s user stories to create full project documentation to be used to create a backlog of tasks in JIRA which both 4Com’s internal team and metavative could facilitate agile development sprints which were managed by metavative project manager in conjunction with 4Com’s Senior Product Owner.
Solution
The teams collaborated on a daily basis and focused on the tasks which delivered the highest business value for the product.
The main focus of each sprint during the first 5 months was replacing the functionality of previously-used third-party apps with custom-built mobile apps that provided audio and video communication which synchronised with the HiHi handset. The agile development services provided by metavative has allowed 4Com to have consistent products on iOS and Android which meet the expectations of their clients.Since the release of HiHi Connect in 2021, metavative have continued to provide support to the 4Com team by augmenting Android and iOS developers, as well as QA engineers and UX/UI designers as required.
Results
“The processes they use in the software development life cycle allowed us to deliver a high-quality digital product in an area of expertise we lacked experience in.”
500K+
Calls processed per month
10K+
Active customers utilizing app monthly
3+
Years of successful collaboration
15K+
Users make at least 1 call daily
The reduction of support issues reported in comparison to the legacy app was the first measurable outcome by 4Com. The new version has substantially reduced the user support requirements which positively affected customer satisfaction and in turn 4Com operations.
by Gareth Smith
4Com Account Manager
Team composition
Forming a dedicated team of experts allowed us to not only execute our plan, but also to overcome any obstacles we faced during this project. Thanks to experience and expertise of our pros, we were able to go smoothly through the whole project. See the team below.
1
Project
Manager
2
System & Business
Analysts
3
UX/UI
Designers
2
Mobile
Developers
1
QA
Engineer