Acronis

From a struggling Xamarin app to a platform acquired by a global cybersecurity giant.

IndustryMSP

Team3 Members

Started In2022

ClientAcronis

CountryNetherlands

Overview

Acronis Advanced Automation is a platform for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to manage services, track time, and automate billing — all from one place. What started as a bug-fix engagement grew into a full product overhaul, and ultimately a successful acquisition by Acronis.

Opportunity

Martijn, a Netherlands-based entrepreneur, reached out with a problem: his Xamarin mobile app was riddled with bugs and the codebase had accumulated significant technical debt. The app was central to his business — MSPs depended on it to manage tickets, log time, and invoice clients — but it was unstable and hard to maintain. He needed someone who could not only fix the immediate issues but also future-proof the product.

Approach

We began with a thorough audit of the existing Xamarin.Forms codebase. The app used a complex dependency injection setup (Autofac + Prism), ReactiveUI for state management, and a mix of third-party controls including Syncfusion charts and FFImageLoading. Rather than rewriting from scratch, we stabilised the core first — resolving crashes, fixing navigation bugs, and untangling lifecycle issues on both iOS and Android. Once the foundation was solid, we shifted to a full UI/UX redesign. We introduced a cleaner visual language using the Inter typeface family, replaced legacy control patterns, and rebuilt key flows — the dashboard, ticket management, and time registration screens — from the ground up.

Solution

The result was a polished, production-ready cross-platform mobile app (iOS and Android) built on Xamarin.Forms, featuring: Service Management — Centralised visibility into client contracts, tickets, and work items Time Tracking — Real-time logging of employee hours, tasks, and productivity Automated Billing — Consumption-based billing tied directly to tracked time and service delivery Analytics — Microcharts-powered dashboards giving MSPs instant operational insight The app is supported by a robust CI/CD pipeline with AppCenter Analytics and Crash Reporting for ongoing stability monitoring.

Impact

The redesigned app attracted the attention of Acronis — one of the world's leading cybersecurity and backup companies — who acquired it and relaunched it as Acronis Advanced Automation, now available on the App Store and Google Play as part of their MSP suite. A subscription to Acronis Advanced Automation is required to use the app. What began as a maintenance engagement for a Dutch startup became a shipped product used by MSPs globally under a Fortune-level brand.

Deployment

The app was published on the App Store and Google Play, with release builds signed and packaged via the Xamarin toolchain. Microsoft AppCenter handled crash reporting and analytics post-launch.

Testimonial

Martijn van der Schaaf

Senior Director Product Strategy at Acronis

“Great to work with — delivers on his word and was able to complete our mobile app with zero documentation left behind by the previous developer. We would hire him again for future projects.”