Turn any app into Whatsapp with the SaaS toolkit these guys built

Devash and Adarsh, Applozic’s co-founders

Last year, I had four messaging apps on my phone, and it didn’t seem excessive. I have family members who live in different countries. I am also more likely to give someone my Whatsapp than I am access to my Facebook. Still, I’m an avid Tumblr user, and when the app announced it was coming out with a messaging function, I was thrilled. It was so much more convenient (and somehow more fun) to have everything in one place.

Software engineer Devashish Mamgain was inspired by a similar desire for convenience when he was working on a way to add Google Maps to any application. He had worked on software in Bangalore at Xora and Azuga, and his co-worker Adarsh Kumar, was also intrigued by the idea.

“We were seeing a lot of interest in the messaging and chat space,” he tells Tech in Asia. He and Adarsh founded their first startup together, Bangalore-based MobiTexter, which added chat communication to mobile apps and websites. The startup is still running, though it works primarily with small and medium businesses and individuals who rely on SMS.

In June 2015, they began construction on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) toolkit that would add an IP messaging feature (think something like Facebook Messenger) to mobile and web applications. Their goal was to make it easier for businesses to keep up user engagement. Two months later, he and Adarsh launched Applozic, an SaaS software development kit (SDK) that adds messaging and file share capabilities to any Android, iOS, or web app. The startup also calls Bangalore home.

SDKs are software development tools that allow for creation within a certain type of software. For Applozic, this comes in the form of a few lines of code that a developer can add to his or her app to introduce the messaging function, which can be helpful for any business that connects two or more unrelated people through an app or website. San Francisco-based Layer and London-based Quickblox offer similar services.

About one million active users use Applozic’s chat feature through 100 businesses on multiple verticals. Real estate site MagicBricks, online vehicle market Carwale, and ride sharing portal Jekalo are just a few of Applozic’s customers.

The startup’s website also offers a blog, which details parts of Applozic’s development process and offers tips on user engagement.

The nuts and bolts

Seven of Applozic’s 22-member team

What exactly does a chat feature entail? Consider messaging apps like Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp. Once downloaded, developers can integrate one-on-one and group messaging into their apps, as well as audio and video calling. Users can send files to each other, including pictures, videos, and gifs. The SDK is open-sourced, meaning that options like changing the messaging colors or design are available for developers to tailor the SDK to their apps.

Applozic charges its users US$79 per month or more depending on company size, which is determined by the monthly number of users for the app. Users can go into launch (less than 25,000 active monthly users), growth (between 25,000 and 100,000), or scale (over 100,000) designations. A free trial feature is available for businesses in the launch and growth categories. Devashish mentions that the launch category specifically has startups in mind.

In comparison, Layer offers three price categories to its users as well, beginning as a free service for companies that have 1,000 monthly users or less, then beginning at US$599 per month for more users. Quickblox also begins as a free service for companies that have around 20,000 monthly active users, and then can range from US$49-$2,399 per month.

Chat nation

In the meantime, Applozic’s 22-person team is eyeing other opportunities for expansion. With an eye on the user engagement prize, Applozic plans to develop Slack bots, which automate tasks using artificial intelligence. An audio-video service will be available in two weeks, and the company is also looking to move into games, to allow players of mobile games to either chat one-on-one or within groups. The founders also want to improve data analytics for the current messaging service and move toward automating actions based on keywords detected within chats.