Booksy and unlimited app development possibilities with Google Cloud
Deployment date: 2020
Sector: IT services
Google Cloud
OChK moved the Booksy application to the Google Cloud environment, which greatly simplified the process of infrastructure management.
Booksy allows its users to book appointments, e.g., with hairdressers, beauticians, and personal trainers. The service is already used by more than 25 million users in 100 countries around the world. Ensuring availability of the application to a large number of geographically dispersed clients while controlling technology costs is a major challenge that involves the IT department.
Challenges
The growing number of Booksy users in various time zones, acquisitions of competitors in local markets, rapid changes in client behavior related to COVID-19 and lockdowns – all of this was making management of the IT infrastructure a more and more time-consuming and costly process. The company was looking for a secure and scalable technology that would reduce IT involvement and allow it to focus on product development, while optimizing costs during lockdown periods.
Problems faced by Booksy
Lack of automation for infrastructure management
Cost of maintaining scaled infrastructure to ensure service availability
A lot of time put in by the IT department to develop scripts and applications to manage the environment
Large peaks in computing power needs due to rapid changes in the marke
Solutions
OChK experts carried out a comprehensive migration of the IT environment to Google Cloud. Not only did the team of experienced engineers and architects move the application, but they also optimized the environment in terms of cost and security. By doing so, they relieved the burden on Booksy’s IT department in the migration process, allowing said department to carry out its usual tasks.
New possibilities of handling the rapidly growing activity in the application
Support in cloudification of the Booksy platform according to best practices
Infrastructure as Code – making it easier to scale business (enter new geographic markets) and develop the platform
Optimization of the data architecture, and thus support for the dynamic growth of the platform
Results
The Booksy application was not just moved to the Google Cloud environment, but was also optimized to maximize the benefits of this platform. Now the environment automatically adjusts to the number of users of the application, the network architecture ensures stable, secure operation, and an advanced monitoring system watches over the entire infrastructure 24/7.
Advantages of migration to Google Cloud
Thanks to simplifying management of the infrastructure, the IT department got back the time it needs to develop the application
The service has high availability to users because Google Cloud automatically adapts to their needs
The migration did not involve an interruption to the service for users
Booksy gained a flexible cloud environment that supports further international expansion
Cost control and automatic cost scaling with load levels
25 million
Booksy users worldwide
100
Countries where people use Booksy to make appointments
0
Downtime (unavailability of the application to users) during the migration
Technologies used
Google Kubernetes Engine
Virtual Private Cloud
Cloud Monitoring
Terraform / Terragrunt
Locust
Working with OChK ensured the right choice of Google Cloud tools, configuration and optimization in cost and technology. We were able to significantly modernize Booksy in a relatively short time thanks to the combination of advanced Google solutions and the skills of the implementation team.
Paweł Sobkowiak
CTO of Booksy