Ganz, a Canadian toy and gift manufacturer, is the maker of Webkinz, a line of stuffed plush toys that is currently one of the top selling children’s toy brands in North America. Webkinz Jr. is the first spin-off of the Webkinz line, aimed at 3-6 year olds and their parents.
With the explosive growth of the online user base for Webkinz World far exceeding several million, Ganz knew they needed a website infrastructure for Webkinz Jr. capable of keeping pace with the brand’s popularity. Affinity System’s experience in real-time, data driven solutions in the finance, energy and online security industries made them an ideal choice to deliver a high performance website, scalable to a virtually unlimited number of users. The infrastructure of the Webkinz Jr. website is a culmination of Affinity’s experience and one of their largest projects to date, delivered within a seven month timeframe.
Webkinz Jr. is Flash-based virtual world that includes an abundance of games in dozens of virtual locations, a deluxe subscription tier, an extensive Parent’s Area geared toward tailoring the educational experience as well as an e-commence hook-in. The front-end Flash site was built within an ActionScript framework with atomized Flash components, connecting the front-end with the back-end for a complex client-server infrastructure.
One of the key considerations by Affinity Senior Architect Rodney Gill and Director Hugh Hyndman when designing the server side components was reusability for future gaming offerings, reducing future development cost and enhancing time to market for new verticals. Included in the design are two of Affinity’s core specializations, a Distributed Cache, which ensures redundant, failover site stability, and a sophisticated Business Intelligence system. The Business Intelligence system produces dashboard reporting for various metrics surrounding Webkinz Jr., useful at all levels of the organization, Examples include the popularly of Flash games, most common customer service complaints and trending for account sign-ups.
Another important design feature is comprehensive database management systems, including the Content Management System and a Customer Account Management System which facilitate the management of the website and customer accounts by non-technical Ganz personnel. Through these tools the Webkinz Jr. site content can be easily updated, scheduled, translated into multiple languages, and managed for subscription tiers. Similarly, customer service personnel can upgrade tiers, move pets from one child account to another and a host of other services to maintain customer accounts.
Proving itself a valuable corporate software partner, Affinity Systems is currently involved in architecting a next generation gaming offering for Ganz build on the Webkinz Jr. platform. Ganz Director of Interactive Services Ron Laudadio says, “Affinity’s technical expertise is unparalleled. They have been a pleasure to work with.”