Accelerating Mobile App Development with Server-Driven UI

With over 14 years of experience in mobile application development and expertise in Server-Driven User Interfaces (SDUI)—where the server defines and delivers the UI for dynamic rendering on mobile applications, Pranay Airan has established himself as a leader and innovator.

A true forward-thinker, Airan holds several patents to improve application performance and uses his skills to contribute to the broader tech community.

What Is SDUI?

Server-driven user interfaces are a software architecture approach in which a server dictates how an app's UI should look and behave rather than having the UI logic hard-coded into the client-side application, such as a mobile app or web browser.

This technique enables greater flexibility, rapid experimentation, and faster updates across mobile platforms without relying on app store releases.

Airan's Professional Journey

Airan started at Siemens as a research engineer, exploring new ways mobile devices interact with electrical systems. This experience ignited a passion for mobile app development, which he transitioned to his next role at Intuit.

'A pivotal moment in my career was during my tenure at Siemens,' Airan recalls.

'Working on interfacing home automation systems with mobile devices showed me the transformative potential of mobile technology in everyday life. This experience solidified my decision to focus on mobile app development.'

During his nearly eight years at Intuit, Airan worked on various fintech and small business mobile products, including TurboTax, QuickBooks Self-Employed, and QuickBooks Mobile.

After Intuit, Airan became the mobile tech lead at SoFi, responsible for building the next generation of credit card features and overhauling the company's mobile core infrastructure.

Airan currently leads Android app performance optimisation efforts at a leading tech company in travel and hospitality, focusing on innovations like SDUI.

Solving Significant Technical Problems With Patents

Throughout his career, Airan has been a co-inventor or primary inventor for three US patents to solve technical problems.

Battery-Efficient Automatic Mileage Tracking: This invention addresses the critical industry challenge of accurately tracking mileage for self-employed people and small businesses without quickly draining the tracking device's battery. The patent achieves a battery consumption reduction of approximately 40%, surpassing industry benchmarks.

After being integrated into the QuickBooks Self-Employed app, this patent helped the platform grow from 85,000 users in 2016 to an estimated 4.1 million by 2024. The patent also contributed to the app's revenue growth, rising from $100 million in 2016 to an estimated $800 million in 2024.

Session Persistence for Accessing Test Sites: This invention addresses the issue of maintaining session persistence and a seamless user experience when switching between text messaging and internet protocols, especially for unreliable data connections.

When integrated into the txtWeb platform, this patent facilitated over 1,000 registered applications and engaged more than 500 active developers. It enabled access to internet-like services via SMS for over 100,000 users and generated approximately 1 million daily transactions.

A Mobile Application for Consistent Functionality Without Data: This invention enables mobile applications to switch between text messaging and data protocols, ensuring consistent functionality without a data plan. The app was successfully launched on the Google App Store, expanding accessibility for those without data plans. Major companies, including Samsung, Alibaba, and ZTE, cited this patent, indicating industry recognition and influence in mobile technology.

How Airan Uses SDUI as a Leader in Mobile App Development

SDUI is one of Airan's primary areas of expertise, establishing his position as an influential leader in mobile app development.

His ongoing work and leadership demonstrate how SDUI systems address key challenges in modern mobile app development by reducing development time, enabling faster updates, enhancing performance, and improving the overall user experience.

Airan's work has influenced companies like Shopify and PhonePay to adopt similar frameworks, reflecting the extent of his industry impact.

SDUI enables faster development, reducing traditional times from 16-23 days to 4-6 days; dynamic content updates, enabling UI changes from the server without app store releases; rapid experimentation, granting the ability to test different UI without needing to ship updates; improved responsiveness, reducing client-side processing; and scalability across teams, streamlining collaboration and maintaining consistency.

At Airan's company, over 40 teams and more than 100 developers have adopted SDUI solutions for their applications. His insights and continued success in project implementation have spurred several major tech companies to explore and develop their own SDUI systems. Such broad industry adoption demonstrates his impact and promotes this new technology.

Establishing Industry Best Practices and SDUI Methods

When companies like Shopify and PhonePay choose to implement SDUI at scale, they look to Airan's practical experience and the challenges he overcame. As part of his work in the field, he helped establish industry best practices and methodologies for SDUI implementation.

A Future of Industry Influence

Airan's SDUI implementation has delivered transformative results within his organisation and the industry. At his company, he slashed development cycles by 73% (from 16–23 days to 4–6 days), with over 40 teams and 100+ developers adopting his solutions. His battery-efficient tracking patent helped QuickBooks Self-Employed grow from 85,000 users to 4.1 million, driving revenue from $100 million to approximately $800 million between 2016 and 2024.

His innovations extend beyond a single platform: his SMS-based technology serves over 100,000 users with a million daily transactions, while industry giants like Samsung, Alibaba, and ZTE have cited his patents. Major tech companies, including Shopify and PhonePay, have adopted his SDUI implementation strategies as their blueprint.

'Technology becomes truly powerful when it's accessible to everyone,' Airan emphasises, reflecting his vision. Through his patents and implementations, he continues to architect solutions that prioritise efficiency and accessibility in mobile development.