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Project Overview
The Donky In-App Messaging SDK has been designed to bring the features of a standalone messaging app; capable of Rich HTML5 Messaging, Push Notifications and two-way OTT chat, to branded apps.
Donky allows companies to create dynamic two-way conversations with their users to increase engagement and retention. The SDK incorporates APIs which enable developers to easily access Donky’s core functionality, along with pre-built user interface elements for faster app development.
Once integrated the Donky SDK gives complete visibility of all in-app messaging interactions and Donky Control provides detailed analytics on user behaviour.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Dynmark has been a leader in Mobile Messaging and Intelligence since 2001. Dynmark conceived Donky Messaging and was responsible for implementing the high performance cloud based Donky network, administration portal and enterprise class SaaS based campaign tool, as well as creating the UI designs for the standard Donky iOS and Android apps. Dynmark engaged Compsoft to provide specific mobile expertise for the development of the mobile based SDK/API components of the Donky project, and the two companies collaborated closely during the creation of the Donky mobile solution.
Compsoft have been specialising in mobile since 2009, having designed and developed web-based applications for many years prior. Compsoft combine stunning interface design with cutting edge development to deliver the best possible app for each customer. Our thirty-strong team lives and breathes mobile - we love nothing more than to apply our passion, creativity, skill and experience to each client’s individual requirement.
Project Brief
A high proportion of mobile apps contain some messaging functionality, whether that’s rich messaging, chat, group-chat or push notifications. However developing messaging functionality from scratch can be both costly and time consuming, and off-the-shelf messaging solutions are extremely limited, typically focused on just push messaging or chat, and with minimal support for messaging campaigns.
Dynmark International created the concept of Donky Messaging to provide app developers with an affordable, easy-to-integrate messaging toolkit. In October 2013, Dynmark approached Compsoft to create native Software Developer Kits (SDKs) for Android and iOS, including support for both phones and tablets. Due to demand from major clients, Dynmark required delivery within a tight timeframe, but needed the solution to be richly functional, developed using industry best practices, and to provide the flexibility to cope with a wide variety of implementation scenarios.
Donky Messaging enables app developers to quickly and easily integrate:
• One-to-one chat
• Group chat
• Simple push notifications
• Rich messages with configurable settings to allow reply and forward
• Messaging/marketing campaigns
Developers can either re-brand the standard SDK UI, or utilise the comprehensive API to access the Donky core library within their bespoke app. The Donky Network manages user accounts and message processing, and enables the creation of push, rich and chat messages. A developer can quickly set up their app using the App ID provided by Dynmark – this then connects the app to the relevant account on the Donky server.
Project Need
The Donky Network provides companies the opportunity to add two-way communications into their apps by simply integrating the Donky SDK. The SDK incorporates the core Donky messaging client functionality, an API for accessing both client and server-side features, and a comprehensive set of tools and UI elements for ease of implementation in scenarios including:
• Simply pushing one way messages from the brand to their users to send updates that flash up on screen.
• Using rich messages created in HTML5, bringing the benefit of rich media, currently only used in email, through to app messaging.
• Allowing users to send inbound messages through the chat function, helping with customer services or assisted sales such as a personal shopper experience.
• Creating your own branded social network within the app, like a WhatsApp just for your users. Once updated, any contacts in the phone that also use the app will be listed in known contacts within the app, encouraging your users to share their content and purchases and increase dwell time with their friends who also have the app.
These features are all available within one SDK which is downloaded from the website. From within Donky Control you can turn functionality on or off, such as two-way or updating known contacts. Donky can be integrated for free on up to 100 devices providing developers with the ability to get started immediately with no large overheads. Once over 100 devices you're charged 1p per active device.
User Experience
The Donky SDK has been developed to allow developers a wide range of UX options, from use of the SDK user interface (UI), where the developer is only required to style the app (colours, fonts etc.), to use of specific Donky modules via the API within a custom look and feel.
The SDKs were built in a modular fashion to enable developers to implement any Donky feature(s) within their own UI. This provides a wide range of options, and enables developers to create their own bespoke UX while ensuring a seamless transition between bespoke elements and Donky features.
Messaging is a familiar concept to most users, so it was important that the UX of the standard interface feels second nature to users. The UI for each app was designed based on the device’s interface guidelines and utilises native iOS and Android controls and animations, ensuring a smooth and responsive UX. For example, in order to ensure that scrolling of the chat window is smooth, particularly on older devices, messages are read from the database in batches. This process happens asynchronously on a background thread, so the performance of the UI is not affected.
Additionally, during the design process, existing chat and messaging apps were examined, including those provided on each device. Certain familiar principles of these apps were adopted in Donky, such as displaying the sender and receiver’s chats on the right and left of the screen respectively, so it is clear who sent which message.
Project Marketing
As the Donky solution is for businesses Dynmark have created the Donky demo app for Android and iOS to showcase the functionality of the SDK and to enable users to gain a full understanding of the chat system and the social aspect. Dynmark will also send sample rich messages out to users followed up by guides on how to engage users.
As it’s a new and innovative technology Dynmark have also invested a lot in seminars and exhibitions to enable them to help educate their target audience. As Donky is a new B2B technology the aim has been to educate users so they understand the benefits of using the solution. Dynmark have invested in a lot of events and promotional activity, including:
• Apps World in San Francisco
• Masterclassing in London, New York and Los Angeles
• Figaro Digital Conferences, seminars and digital health checks in London
• Sponsorship and creation of whitepapers for the target audience
Dynmark are highly focussed on pay per click advertising and creating engaging content through their blog, which so far has a few hundred subscribers, as well as continually sharing through social media.
As Donky Messaging has only recently gone live Dynmark are unable to promote any customer apps using the software (clients are still in beta). Once available Dynmark plan to showcase their customers and highlight the returns on investment they are seeing to encourage other brands to use the technology.
Project Privacy
Donky employs numerous measures to ensure data being transported and used by Donky remains secure, including:
• All communications between the Donky network and the SDK are encrypted using 2048bit SSL to avoid network sniffing and middleman interceptions.
• Donky SDK utilises a client API key system to authenticate initially and then oAuth tokens for the next 24 hours. This reduces the risk of keys being compromised and reduces the window of opportunity for replay attacks to a maximum of 24 hours.
• Donky utilises two types of keys; one to secure SDK communications and another to secure server-side integration API’s to ensure attack surface areas are minimised.
• A key rotation system exists to allow client and integration API keys to be rotated without causing interruption to existing app users, thereby promoting easy regular key refreshes.
• The Donky network only retains data as long as it has to in order to facilitate delivery of messages; once the messages are delivered the SDK retains the data within the integrator’s app. The data lifetime for the received messages is controlled by the integrator or the app user. This approach limits the potential for a compromise on the network to expose integrators’ data.
• The Donky network itself is strongly partitioned into isolated sub-networks. Authentication keys used within the system perform two functions; authentication and identifying the partition that should be accessed, thereby strongly enforcing the partitioning right from the API level.
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