In the digital age, the importance of real estate photography has skyrocketed. Real estate agents recognize this shift and dedicate considerable time and effort to capturing photos that present properties in the best possible light. This need for perfection inspired Nodalview to create the ideal tool for the job. And to help them scale up, Skyscrapers is by their side.
“From updating websites to offering comprehensive views of properties through virtual tours and 360° views, agents strive to provide a holistic and enticing visual experience for potential buyers”, explains Philippe Van Eerdenrugghe, CTO of Nodalview. “Our platform assists customers with video processing, public galleries, social media integration, analytics and more.”
Challenge accepted
Remember the Covid pandemic? How could you not. It caused Nodalview to make a flying start and together with the business the need for scalability also grew. As additional recruitment in development or DevOps was not really what they wanted, they started a quest for a partner to accelerate their SAAS journey, which should lead them to organic expansion. That’s where Skyscrapers enters the picture –with Devops-as-a-Service, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Kubernetes.
“Scalability for us means providing a solution that works for every type of real estate professional, from part-time freelancers to agency employees and professional photographers. We offer flexible subscription and pay-as-you-go plans with no long-term commitment. Our app uses the agent’s smartphone camera, avoiding the need for special equipment, though we can also handle images from advanced gear. While we offer optional tripods and lenses to enhance quality, our focus remains on simplicity, reliability, and broad accessibility.”, says Philippe.
Nodalview needed flexibility, while maintaining autonomy, and that is what Skyscraper had to offer. Besides, of course, their vast experience and expertise.
We hit it off right from the start, a business similar in size, open to suggestions and not bound by rigid structures and guidelines, which is often the case for larger companies which have their one-solution-for-all.
Philippe Van Eerdenrugghe, CTO of Nodalview
Containerization & Kubernetes
Nodalview initially used AWS services such as Elastic Beanstalk. “Turned out Elastic Beanstalk was just the tip of the iceberg”, adds Philippe. “Skyscrapers talked to us about containerization and Kubernetes to enhance our infrastructure and streamline our operations. We knew we wanted it, we just didn’t know how.
A robust Kubernetes cluster was set up and various processes around it were automated. This setup not only included the basic cluster configuration, which could be done relatively quickly, but also integrated extensive automation, logging, security, and observability features. The comprehensive solution provided by Skyscrapers saved Nodalview significant time and effort, avoiding potential missteps and inefficiencies that could have arisen from attempting to implement Kubernetes independently.
Kubernetes
An open-source container orchestration platform, enables the automation of deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications. By leveraging Kubernetes, Nodalview can ensure their applications are consistently running and easily scaled, which is crucial for maintaining high availability and performance. This approach aligns with Nodalview’s growth ambitions, allowing them to scale their infrastructure seamlessly as they expand.
AWS, future-proof all the way
“We have worked with AWS from the beginning”, Philippe continues. It offers an extensive range of scalable solutions, which is a good match for Nodalview’s strategy. AWS provides a flexible environment suitable for both startups and large enterprises, ensuring that as Nodalview grows, their infrastructure can scale up accordingly. The familiarity and widespread adoption of AWS among developers and IT professionals also mean that Nodalview can readily find skilled personnel to manage their infrastructure, making it a future-proof choice.
Partners in success
The synergy between Skryscrapers and Nodalview is more than a relationship, it’s a partnership. “Because of our similarities, we felt that our success was also going to be their success, and vice versa.” Skyscrapers delivered – in just one year quite a lot of work has been done:
- Webload containerized
- Building future-proof microservices
- Blueprinted operations
- Onboarding completed, support launched
“One of our aims was to be better able to master the spikes in traffic. Typically at the end of the day, real estate agents are back at the office with their photos and start using the platform in large numbers. The app is one thing, but then the processing takes place in the cloud by means of the microservices”, Philippe adds. “Not all microservices are migrated yet, but the ones that were built or migrated, are scalable.”
Mission accomplished as far as the onboarding phase is concerned. The partnership is now entering support mode, with a single point of contact. Further projects will be defined. “We have an open and direct communication, and with Skyscrapers we have found the right professional, technological and human balance.”