Chat integration has grown outside of it’s much perceived notion of being just limited to the real-time chats in social media applications. Today whether your app is in healthcare, education, e-commerce, travel, or any other industry, chat is an essential feature to cater the customers with high customer support and enhancing the user experience of the apps. It being an important yet effort-consuming feature, there is a constant dilemma for the app owners on whether to go with a custom-built chat module or a SendBird chat integration that has gained immense popularity in the recent years with the quality of services it offers.

  • 17% of the internet and software companies use SendBird in their apps.

  • 49% of the customers are from the USA, easily making if a first choice in the region for chat integration.

  • Suited for small and medium scale startups and businesses with 63% and 20%.

Without a doubt, it’s surely seems beneficial to integrate SendBird chat API rather than opting for the custom-built chat module. Let’s dive into detail to explore to further strengthen our take on why you should opt for SendBird chat API integration in your web and mobile apps?

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Challenges businesses face with custom-built chat module?

Though the idea of a custom-built chat module cannot be entirely negated or rejected, developing a custom chat module has it’s own challenges in real-time chat. Let’s look at each of those in detail.

  • Development Time and Complexity:** Creating a custom chat solution demands extensive time for development, testing, and deployment. It involves handling countless technical details, which often results in long delays.

  • Infrastructure Management: Managing a chat infrastructure independently involves setting up servers, ensuring uptime reliability, handling backups, and regular updates. These tasks take a toll not only on the development team but, finances as well.

  • Scalability Issues: As your user base of the apps grow, a custom chat solution can face significant challenges in scaling effectively, requiring substantial investments in server capabilities and resources. This eventually leads in increased infrastructure and management costs.

  • Security & Compliance Risks: Custom solutions must strictly adhere to regulatory compliance like GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO standards, increasing risk and complexity. Developing the module in a bespoke manner explicitly requires to keep a check on these compliances.

  • Maintenance & Updates: Ongoing maintenance, compatibility with multiple devices and platforms, and continuous software updates can strain resources. Hidden expenses, including long-term infrastructure, maintenance, and support costs, often significantly exceed initial estimates.

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How SendBird chat API integration addresses these challenges?

SendBird integration of Chat API overcomes these challenges allowing the app owners to focus on the core module development of the apps. Let’s look how SendBird integration addresses above mentioned challenges.

  • Rapid Deployment:** Sendbird provides comprehensive, robust SDKs and APIs that ensure quick implementation across iOS, Android, and web applications, enabling rapid time-to-market. You just have to create an account and get the API keys which then the mobile app development company can use to integrate the chat APIs to the apps.

  • Scalability & Reliability: No need to worry with increasing userbase of the apps. Sendbird's cloud-based infrastructure automatically scales to handle millions of concurrent users without downtime, ensuring a reliable user experience.

  • Comprehensive Feature Set: From basic messaging to advanced functionalities like rich media sharing, group chats, and moderation tools, Sendbird covers all your requirements seamlessly. It provides all the trending features of a chat ecosystem with single integration.

  • Built-in Compliance & Security: Sendbird ensures full compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO standards, significantly reducing your security risks and regulatory burdens. Should there by any other regulatory compliance to be followed, SendBird as a company takes care of it for it’s products, SendBird chat API in this case.

  • Predictable Pricing Model: Sendbird’s clear and transparent pricing helps businesses manage costs effectively, eliminating unexpected expenses related to infrastructure and maintenance. The costs are fairly low compared to that with managing and setting up an infrastructure with custom-built chat module.

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- FEATURES

- SENDBIRD

- CUSTOM BUILT CHAT





- Text, Media, File Sharing

- Built-in

- Requires additional coding





- Advanced Group & Channel Management

- Easily implemented

- Complex to develop





- Moderation & User Management

- Ready-to-use moderation tools

- Requires extensive effort





- Push Notifications

- Fully integrated

- Complex server setup

Integrate SendBird Chat API to your apps today. Connect today with Nimblechapps. **Contact us

Technical benefits of integrating SendBird chat API to your apps

On an administrative and financial level, we looked at the advantages of SendBird integration above. Being a mobile app development company, we are also more concerned about the technical benefits which makes the life easy for the development team. Let’s look at some of the technical benefits of integrating SendBird chat API.

  • SDK Integration:** It has a well-documented SDKs streamline integration for platforms like iOS, Android, ReactJS, and web apps, significantly reducing complexity.

  • Backend Simplicity: By offloading complex infrastructure management to Sendbird, your team can focus on app development and user experience improvements.

  • Documentation & Support: Sendbird offers extensive, clear documentation along with reliable technical support, facilitating quick resolution of integration or performance issues.

  • Analytics & Insights: Sendbird provides built-in analytics tools to monitor user engagement, app performance, and real-time insights, essential for data-driven decisions.

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Cost comparison of SendBird API integration vs Custom-built chat module

Let’s dive into the cost comparison to get a clear picture on why SendBird chat API integration is much advisable to go with.

- FEATURES

- SENDBIRD

- CUSTOM BUILT CHAT





- Initial development costs

- < 2500$

- 8,000$ to 12,000$





- Infrastructure costs

- No cost

- 2,000$ to 4,000$ depending of servers, databases, and other aspects.





- Maintenance

- Included in subsciption

- 750$ to 1,500$ yearly





- Advanced features

- Variable < 1,000$

- 5,000$ to 8,000$ depending on the feature like read receipts, live typing status, and other.





- Opportunity costs

- Low as SendBird provides all the setup

- High as everything is to be taken care by development team in bespoke manner.

Real world examples of how SendBird Chat API integration

  • E-commerce Applications:** Retail businesses utilize Sendbird to enhance customer service interactions, driving customer satisfaction and retention.

  • Healthcare Apps: Sendbird’s HIPAA compliance allows secure and efficient communication between patients and healthcare providers, ensuring privacy and compliance.

  • Online Marketplaces: Marketplaces leveraging Sendbird have reported significantly improved user interactions and transaction volumes.

  • Educational Platforms: Educational institutions integrate Sendbird to facilitate seamless real-time communication among students and educators, improving educational outcomes and engagement.

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Conclusion

Integrating Sendbird provides numerous compelling benefits over building a custom chat solution, including faster deployment, significant cost savings, robust security, scalability, and extensive features. For businesses looking for long-term success, improved user experience, and simplified maintenance, Sendbird emerges as the clear and optimal choice. Take advantage of Sendbird’s comprehensive solution to strengthen your app’s competitive edge and enhance user satisfaction.

Important FAQs

  • Is Sendbird customizable to fit specific business requirements?** Yes, Sendbird provides extensive customization through flexible SDKs and APIs, allowing tailored chat experiences.

  • What is the learning curve for Sendbird SDKs? Sendbird offers developer-friendly SDKs with comprehensive documentation, simplifying implementation.

  • How secure is Sendbird? Sendbird meets high security and compliance standards, including GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO certifications, ensuring secure and compliant communication.

  • Can existing chat data be migrated to Sendbird? Yes, Sendbird facilitates smooth migration of historical chat data, minimizing disruption during integration.

  • Can you provide the SendBird chat API integration in existing apps? Yes! integrating SendBird API to existing app is completely possible and we can assist you with this. Please contact us to know more.