Atlassian-owned HipChat is getting set to release native applications for Windows and Linux devices to help make the group chat and IM software feel as original as possible. In addition, the company is diving deeper into the enterprise space with a beta program for its HipChat server program it says will offer “secure communication” in the workplace. The company tells us that users can test out this new offering starting Thursday.
The two new native applications joins HipChat ‘s iOS, Mac, Android, and Web apps, all which were released earlier this year. HipChat says that, like the others, both the Windows and Linux apps have been “re-written” from scratch, both in the front-end and also back-end to handle the scale.
The company has more than 5,000 paying companies using the service and says that in the last year, has sent more than 1 billion messages.
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One of the things Windows and Linux users will notice is the improved speed. As native apps are tailored towards that specific operating system, HipChat’s new versions are said to have made the sign-in process twice as fast and use 30 percent less memory.
An important part of the process is also in how HipChat will make updates to the different apps. It tells us that the amount of time it takes to ship an iteration has decreased, which will improve scalability, especially as it plans on rolling out video and screen sharing in the future.
How significant is this release? The company tells us that approximately 60 percent of its users are on Windows and Linux-powered devices. With the native apps, HipChat hopes to have a better way for its users to interact with its software.
Pete Curley, the company’s co-founder, tells us that this update is the first time the service has been scaled so “dramatically” since it first hit the scene three years ago:
Our main goal when we we joined Atlassian 18 months ago was to get off of Adobe Air — native applications not only run faster and more reliably, but they allow us to customize HipChat so that every user has an outstanding experience regardless of which operating system they choose to use.
Also being unveiled is its HipChat server offering, which is only being piloted with a few of its customers. How much this service will be remains a mystery, but it will enable companies to host their own instances of HipChat right on their own dedicated services and even customize it however they want in terms of file storage, group permissions, and data retention.
The new native applications will be released on Thursday.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
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