Cloudant Provides Data Layer as a Service for Heroku-based GAIN Fitness Mobile Application

BOSTON, Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloudant today announced that GAIN Fitness is using the Cloudant Data Layer managed cloud database service to support its Heroku-based, digital personal trainer mobile app. GAIN Fitness made the switch from PostgreSQL to Cloudant in order to provide more scalable application performance to their rapidly growing user base, and also enrich the user experience with real time workout analytics and mobile data sync for off-line app usage.

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Compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, GAIN Fitness helps users create customized workouts based on their physical characteristics, primary fitness goals, and available workout time and equipment, by using algorithms designed to apply the expertise of pro trainers. With more than 100,000 users and a four-star plus rating in Apple's App Store, the app's popularity continues to grow. In fact, user count is growing at a rate of 10 percent every two weeks.

GAIN Fitness chose Cloudant because it provides greater database scalability to handle their fast-growing user base. In addition, GAIN Fitness was able to completely hand off the management of its data layer to the experts at Cloudant who monitor, manage and scale it for them, so that their developers can stay focused on new development and not on database administration.

"The user experience is paramount to our success, and the mobile data replication and sync, and real time analytics enabled by Cloudant are a big part of that," said David Hoffman, CTO, GAIN Fitness. "And using cloud platforms like Heroku for our app layer and Cloudant for our data layer, keeps our development team squarely focused on new features that improve the user experience, not back-end IT operations."

Other reasons GAIN Fitness chose to use Cloudant as their data layer include:

• JSON data storage and API – Workout plan structures vary widely, so GAIN Fitness represents application data in JSON. Cloudant is schema-less, and it stores, indexes and queries data in standard JSON format, which was a natural fit for the company. Cloudant is also accessed via a RESTful API, which made development straightforward.
• Real time analytics – Built-in incremental MapReduce made it possible to compute and display workout progress to users, and application usage, as well as monetization metrics to users in real time.
• Mobile replication and sync – Cloudant's built-in data replication and sync enables users to record workout data and view reports whether there is a network connection or not (e.g., in the gym). Data on their mobile devices will then automatically sync with the server when the connection is restored.

For more information about Cloudant or to get a free Cloudant Data Layer account, visit Cloudant.com or the Cloudant add-on for Heroku page.

About GAIN Fitness

GAIN Fitness's web and mobile applications generate personalized training plans based on exercise science, matched to an individual's body, goals, and lifestyle factors, to help regular exercisers optimize fitness and adapt to schedule changes. We motivate exercisers with social tie-ins and game mechanics, and keep things fresh with our interactive multimedia packs in partnership with personal trainers and equipment retailers. For more information, visit http://gainfitness.com/.

About Cloudant

Cloudant provides developers of large-scale and fast-growing web and mobile applications with the world's first globally distributed "data layer as a service" for loading, storing, analyzing, and distributing application data. The Cloudant Data Layer is a managed service that helps developers to eliminate the delays, costs, and distractions inherent in working with databases and their administrators, while providing unmatched scalability, availability, and performance. This capability accelerates time-to-market and time-to-innovation, because it frees developers from the mechanics of data management so they can focus exclusively on creating great applications. Cloudant is privately held and backed by top-tier investors including Avalon Ventures and Y Combinator. For more information, visit https://cloudant.com/.

SOURCE Cloudant