Bilt’s continual expansion surfaces certain challenges. How do you choose a CIAM solution that checks all your boxes, while still being flexible, performant, and affordable?
The Problem
Bilt is a housing and neighborhood commerce network founded by Ankur Jain, and operated by a team of large-scale software and infrastructure veterans. The company allows renters to earn rewards through paying their rent. With millions of users logging in from around the country (particularly when rent is due), scaling and compliance were of the utmost importance.
The company had some technical needs that were non-negotiable:
- Serve millions of users
- Deploy to GCE
- Must integrate with their CI/CD pipeline
- All data had to stay within the Google Cloud environment
As Bilt evaluated the options in the market, they found roadblocks. Many of the pure multi-tenant SaaS CIAM options looked appealing at first, but fell short on closer inspection. Some lacked the robust features that Bilt needed, or they didn’t meet the security posture required for a financial platform of Bilt’s scale. Still, others were too rigid in their deployment options, forcing user data outside of Bilt’s direct control–which was a non-starter.
Cost predictability was another sticking point. Most solutions used billing models that seemed reasonable as long as your business stayed small. But if you grew, those costs turned unpredictable and almost punitive. This was especially true with Bilt’s cyclical bursts of usage patterns (Rent Day, limited time experience drops, and more). In the end, other tools couldn’t deliver the right mix of features, flexibility, and price transparency.
The Solution
Bilt proceeded with FusionAuth for two main reasons:
- First, it’s a downloadable piece of software where they’re completely in charge of version control.
- Second, as a Google Cloud partner, deploying FusionAuth into GCE-managed instance groups was simple. This allowed Bilt’s engineers to keep full control over the authentication system, integrating it tightly with the existing CI/CD workflows. It also meant that all user data remained within the Google Cloud infrastructure.
“Our need was ultimately simple; authentication infrastructure that could handle complex user experiences. FusionAuth has been an excellent partner, delivers the necessary functionality and performance, and maintains active development cycles.” - Kosta Krauth, CTO, Bilt
FusionAuth’s dedicated architecture meant that Bilt could scale on-demand and run instances for each environment. This helped the company eliminate the risks of being limited to multi-tenant SaaS only, while also giving them straightforward scalability as their user base grew. The platform’s API-first design made it easy for Bilt’s team to automate deployments and manage authentication across multiple environments.
FusionAuth’s transparent pricing model (that doesn’t include an Identity Provider tax) was an added bonus, too. This helped the company maintain predictable costs, even as user numbers surged at the start of each month. Procurement happened via the Google Cloud Marketplace, and FusionAuth’s engineer-led support gave Bilt confidence that they’d see issues resolved quickly in partnership with authentication experts.
The Results
With FusionAuth in their authentication stack, Bilt continues to scale its rewards program. The platform handles millions of users and absorbs predictable surges in traffic without missing a beat. By keeping authentication infrastructure within its Google Cloud environment, Bilt is able to maintain operational sovereignty. The engineering team was able to integrate FusionAuth into their CI/CD pipeline, helping to accelerate development and deployment cycles. And with direct access to FusionAuth’s expert support, Bilt’s engineers could focus on building new features rather than firefighting authentication issues.
FusionAuth was a classic “built by devs, for devs” success story – a secure, scalable, and flexible CIAM platform that fit seamlessly into their cloud-native infrastructure and delivered exactly what they needed to power their business at scale.
