React Native at Scale With Rafael Mendiola

Presented on React Universe On Air podcast #33, hosted by Łukasz Chludziński and Jakub Stadniczuk. This conversation explores adopting and scaling React Native across companies of all sizes.

Key Takeaways

• Adoption strategy varies dramatically by company stage
  Startups build MVPs for both platforms simultaneously, scale-ups integrate React Native into existing products, and enterprises use it to solve delivery inconsistencies across platforms
• Mobile requires higher quality standards than web
  Unlike web where bugs can be fixed instantly, mobile apps have a “long tail of versions” that can damage app store ratings and user acquisition if bugs are shipped
• Native expertise remains essential for React Native success
  Teams need native engineers for implementing modules, fixing platform-specific bugs, and building infrastructure. Relying solely on web developers creates significant risk
• Operational excellence drives React Native value
  The framework enables simultaneous delivery across web, iOS, and Android while leveraging existing frontend expertise and ensuring platform consistency
• Enterprise adoption requires executive sponsorship
  High-level champions navigate organizational complexity, identify stakeholders, address concerns, and ensure projects have necessary runway to succeed

Navigating the React Native Revolution

The business and technological intersections of React Native offer distinct advantages for companies at different stages, with practical implementation strategies emerging from years of real-world experience.

React Native Adoption: A Journey Through Company Sizes

The adoption strategy varies dramatically depending on company stage.

Startups often consider React Native from day one. They build impactful MVPs for both iOS and Android simultaneously to get products working quickly. The framework’s efficiency aligns perfectly with the need to move fast and validate ideas.

Scale-ups typically have an existing native app, often iOS-first, and look to React Native to add an Android version or improve cross-platform consistency. The focus shifts to integrating React Native into an established product that has found its product-market fit.

Enterprises usually consider React Native when facing delivery issues. Common scenarios include an unbalanced development team with a large frontend team but smaller iOS/Android teams, leading to inconsistent delivery across platforms. The goal becomes delivering consistent value to users across all platforms.

Key Considerations for Driving a React Native Revolution

CTOs contemplating a React Native revolution must consider several paramount factors.

The primary concern should always be how quickly features are delivered and whether they reach the right platforms in a timely manner. Operational effectiveness is key to business success.

Organizations with many frontend engineers find React Native particularly attractive. React developers can be trained for mobile development. However, moving from web to mobile represents a different domain with its own challenges, including solving specific iOS and Android issues and maintaining performance.

Traps and Hurdles in React Native Adoption

Implementing React Native, especially at scale, comes with specific challenges.

Unlike the web, where bugs can be fixed instantly, mobile apps have a “long tail of versions.” If a bug is shipped, it cannot be fully retracted for all users. This can damage app store ratings and new user acquisition.

A mix of expert native engineers and web developers is essential. Native engineers are crucial for implementing native modules, fixing platform-specific bugs, and building necessary infrastructure. Relying solely on web developers can be risky and lead to critical gaps in platform-specific knowledge.

React Native is a rapidly evolving, open-source ecosystem. Teams must actively seek knowledge from verified sources like Meta, Microsoft, and Callstack. Attending conferences and networking with other developers helps teams stay informed about the latest developments. Passionate team members who genuinely care about the operational value of React Native are invaluable for maintaining momentum and quality.

Enterprises often have existing native mobile teams. Leaders must be transparent about the change and frame React Native as another tool to solve problems more efficiently, rather than a threat to existing technologies.

Core Benefits of React Native

Despite the hurdles, the benefits are compelling.

React Native enables companies to deliver value to users on web, iOS, and Android simultaneously. Organizations leverage existing frontend expertise and codebase. This speeds up product delivery and ensures consistency across platforms.

The robust and vast JavaScript ecosystem provides a wealth of tools and libraries. This makes development more efficient, especially if an organization already has a React web presence.

React Native allows for unified feature teams that can oversee the entire user experience across web and mobile. Teams speak the same language and contribute across platforms, leading to a more cohesive product vision.

Adopting React Native in an Enterprise Setting

For large enterprises, the decision requires strategic planning.

The switch makes sense if the organization faces bottlenecks or delivery issues in its current mobile development process. If existing native delivery is working exceptionally well, introducing React Native might be a higher risk.

Define clear goals, or “Point B.” A good starting point: build a brand new feature (perhaps one already on the web but not mobile) using React Native. This demonstrates value to stakeholders and developers through a controlled proof-of-concept with clear ROI.

An executive sponsor or high-level champion is crucial. These champions navigate the complexities of a large enterprise, identify stakeholders, address concerns, and ensure the project has necessary runway to succeed. Addressing common misconceptions, such as the widely cited Airbnb article, also proves important for building consensus.

Educating and Scaling the Team

Once the decision is made, focus shifts to enablement.

Successful training programs implement brainstorming and learning sessions alongside practical workshops. Recording training videos creates reusable resources for new team members. Direct collaboration with developers to discuss architecture and map out solutions proves highly effective for knowledge distribution. This hands-on approach ensures practical understanding rather than theoretical knowledge alone.

Web applications moved to mobile might expose hidden performance issues due to less horsepower. Developers need training in React performance, focusing on optimizing components and hooks to maintain 60 frames per second.

As organizations scale, establishing a core development or infrastructure team becomes essential. This team focuses on developer experience, keeping React Native updated, setting up tooling like TypeScript and ESLint, managing CI/CD pipelines, and implementing various forms of testing including integration and visual regression. Clear code ownership across the entire codebase prevents unattended sections and maintains trust.

Frustrations and Hopes for React Native’s Future

Current perspectives on React Native as a product reveal both challenges and opportunities.

Vanilla React Native has never been fully “productized” in the way older development tools like Flash were. There’s no singular vision. Developers must constantly seek information and piece together solutions from a large open-source surface area.

The increasing involvement of major companies like Microsoft gives confidence in React Native’s future. The biggest opportunity lies in defining an “idealized frictionless React Native development pipeline.” A comprehensive guide or consortium of companies working together could standardize best practices for continuous integration, visual regression testing, and overall development experience. This would prevent every company from reinventing the wheel and accelerate adoption across the industry.

Strategic Implementation Considerations

Bringing React Native into an organization demands strategic thinking, commitment to quality, collaborative team culture, and a proactive approach to leveraging the framework’s strengths. The goal remains achieving operational excellence and delivering exceptional user experiences across all platforms.

The journey from initial adoption to scale requires careful planning, continuous learning, and organizational alignment. Success depends not just on technical implementation but on building the right team composition, establishing proper processes, and maintaining focus on user value delivery across all platforms.