Technical Evaluation Guide

Version: 1.0 | Last Updated: Nov 2025 Audience: IT Directors, CISOs, Technical Evaluators

Technical Overview

PulsePlus is a cloud-based SaaS platform built on Google Firebase infrastructure, providing enterprise-grade security, scalability, and reliability for employee engagement gamification.

Tech Stack:

Platform: Google Firebase (Cloud Functions, Firestore, Authentication)
Frontend: React/Next.js (web), React Native (mobile)
AI Engine: Google Gemini 2.0
Hosting: Firebase Hosting with global CDN
Database: Cloud Firestore (NoSQL)
Storage: Firebase Cloud Storage

Architecture

System Architecture

┌─────────────────┐
│   End Users     │
│  (Web/Mobile)   │
└────────┬────────┘
         │ HTTPS/TLS 1.3
         ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  Firebase Hosting CDN   │
│  (Global Edge Network)  │
└────────┬────────────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│  Next.js Application    │
│  (Server-Side Rendered) │
└────────┬────────────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│       Firebase Services              │
│  ┌────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐ │
│  │ Auth       │  │ Cloud Functions│ │
│  │ (SSO/SAML) │  │ (Business Logic│ │
│  └────────────┘  └────────────────┘ │
│  ┌────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐ │
│  │ Firestore  │  │ Cloud Storage  │ │
│  │ (Database) │  │ (Files/Media)  │ │
│  └────────────┘  └────────────────┘ │
└──────────────┬───────────────────────┘
               │
               ▼
      ┌────────────────┐
      │ External APIs   │
      │ (Integrations)  │
      └────────────────┘

Key Components

Frontend Layer:

Progressive Web App (PWA) for web access
Native mobile apps (iOS/Android) via React Native
Responsive design for all devices
Offline-first architecture with sync

Application Layer:

Cloud Functions (serverless backend)
RESTful and GraphQL APIs
Real-time WebSocket connections
AI content generation (Gemini 2.0)

Data Layer:

Cloud Firestore (primary database)
Real-time synchronization
Automatic scaling
Multi-region redundancy

Integration Layer:

Rules Engine for external data processing
Webhooks for event-driven integrations
REST APIs for bidirectional sync
CSV import/export

Security & Compliance

Data Security

Encryption:

✅ In-Transit: TLS 1.3 for all connections
✅ At-Rest: AES-256 encryption for all stored data
✅ Database: Firestore automatic encryption
✅ Backups: Encrypted backup storage

Authentication:

✅ SSO/SAML 2.0: Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace
✅ Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Supported
✅ OAuth 2.0: For API access
✅ Session Management: Secure token-based auth
✅ Password Policy: Configurable complexity requirements

Authorization:

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Granular permissions (Admin, Manager, User)
Data isolation between organizations
Firestore security rules enforce access control

Compliance & Certifications

Current Certifications:

✅ SOC 2 Type II: In progress (expected Q1 2026)
✅ GDPR Compliant: Full compliance
✅ CCPA Compliant: California privacy compliance
✅ HIPAA-Ready: BAA available for healthcare customers

Data Privacy:

✅ Privacy-first design (no tracking, no data selling)
✅ Data Processing Agreement (DPA) available
✅ Right to erasure (GDPR Article 17)
✅ Data portability (full export capability)
✅ Privacy Policy: https://pulseplus.dev/privacy

Infrastructure Security (via Firebase/Google Cloud):

ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018
PCI DSS (for payment processing)
FedRAMP (for government customers - Firebase certified)

Data Residency

Primary Regions:

🇺🇸 US: us-central1 (Iowa), us-east1 (South Carolina)
🇪🇺 Europe: europe-west1 (Belgium)
🇦🇺 Asia-Pacific: australia-southeast1 (Sydney)

Customer Choice:

Select primary region for data storage
Data stays in selected region (no cross-border transfer)
GDPR-compliant EU data residency available

Integration Capabilities

Supported Integrations

CRM & Sales:

Salesforce (API + Webhooks)
HubSpot
Microsoft Dynamics

Project Management:

Jira (Cloud & Data Center)
Asana
Monday.com

ITSM:

ServiceNow
Jira Service Management
Zendesk
Freshservice

ATS / HRIS:

Greenhouse
Lever
Workday
BambooHR
ADP

Communication:

Slack
Microsoft Teams
Google Chat

Development:

GitHub
GitLab
Bitbucket

Integration Methods

1. REST API

OpenAPI 3.0 specification
OAuth 2.0 authentication
Rate limiting: 1000 requests/minute
Webhooks for real-time events

2. CSV Import/Export

Bulk user import
Activity data import
Scheduled imports via SFTP
Export all data anytime

3. Webhooks

Event-driven integration
HTTPS POST to your endpoint
Configurable event types
Retry logic for failed deliveries

4. SCIM 2.0 (User Provisioning)

Automated user provisioning/deprovisioning
Works with Okta, Azure AD, OneLogin
Real-time user sync

Rules Engine

Purpose: Process external data and trigger gamification actions

Capabilities:

Conditional logic (IF/THEN rules)
Field mapping and transformation
Complex calculations
Multi-step workflows
Audit logging

Example Rules:

IF activity_type = "deal_closed"
   AND deal_value > $50,000
THEN
   award 500 XP
   AND unlock "Big Deal" achievement

Data Sources:

CSV upload (manual or scheduled)
REST API (real-time sync)
Webhooks from external systems
SFTP for automated imports

Scalability & Performance

Infrastructure Scaling

Auto-Scaling:

Firebase automatically scales based on load
No manual intervention required
Handles spikes in traffic seamlessly

Capacity:

✅ Tested up to 50,000 concurrent users
✅ Database: 1TB+ per organization supported
✅ API: 1M+ requests/day per organization

Performance:

Page load: <2 seconds (global CDN)
API response: <200ms (95th percentile)
Real-time updates: <500ms latency
99.9% uptime SLA

Data Limits

Resource	Limit
Users per Organization	100,000+
Objectives per User	100
Achievements (total)	10,000
Quests (total)	1,000
XP Transactions per Day	Unlimited
File Upload Size	100 MB
Database Size	1 TB+

Deployment Options

SaaS (Standard)

What You Get:

Multi-tenant cloud hosting
Managed infrastructure
Automatic updates
99.9% uptime SLA
Shared regional deployment

Best For:

Most customers (100-10,000 employees)
Fast deployment (1-2 weeks)
Lowest cost

Dedicated Environment (Enterprise)

What You Get:

Single-tenant Firebase project
Dedicated database
Custom domain (yourbrand.pulseplus.app)
Isolated data and compute
Enhanced SLA (99.95%)

Best For:

Enterprise customers (10,000+ employees)
Regulatory requirements
Enhanced security needs

Additional Cost: +30% subscription fee

On-Premise (Not Currently Offered)

PulsePlus does not support on-premise deployment. All hosting is cloud-based via Firebase/Google Cloud.

Rationale:

Firebase architecture requires Google Cloud
On-premise would lose key features (real-time sync, auto-scaling, global CDN)
Maintenance burden would be prohibitive

APIs & Extensibility

API Documentation

API Specs:

RESTful API (OpenAPI 3.0)
GraphQL API (for complex queries)
Webhooks (event notifications)

Documentation:

Interactive API docs: https://api.pulseplus.dev/docs
Postman collection available
Code samples (JavaScript, Python, cURL)

Authentication:

OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow
API keys for server-to-server
JWT tokens for user-scoped access

Webhook Events

Subscribe to events for real-time notifications:

user.created - New user registered
user.level_up - User reached new level
achievement.unlocked - Achievement earned
quest.completed - Quest finished
objective.completed - Objective achieved
leaderboard.updated - Rankings changed

Webhook Format:

HTTPS POST to your endpoint
JSON payload
Signature verification (HMAC SHA-256)
Retry logic (3 attempts with exponential backoff)

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Backup & Recovery

Automated Backups:

✅ Daily database backups
✅ 30-day retention
✅ Point-in-time recovery (up to 7 days)
✅ Geographic redundancy

Disaster Recovery:

RTO (Recovery Time Objective): 4 hours
RPO (Recovery Point Objective): 1 hour
Multi-region failover capability
Annual DR tests

High Availability

Infrastructure:

Multi-zone deployment (within region)
Load balancing across zones
Automatic failover
No single point of failure

SLA:

99.9% uptime guarantee (standard)
99.95% uptime (dedicated environment)
Financial credits for SLA breaches
Detailed incident reports

Technical Support

Support Tiers

Standard Support (Included):

Email support: support@happy-tech.biz
Response time: <24 hours (business days)
Business hours: 9am-5pm ET, Mon-Fri
Knowledge base & documentation

Priority Support (+$5k/year):

Phone support
Response time: <4 hours
24/7 critical issue support
Dedicated Slack channel

Enterprise Support (+$15k/year):

Dedicated support engineer
Response time: <1 hour
24/7/365 phone support
Quarterly architecture reviews
Custom integration support

Technical FAQs

Q: Do you support on-premise deployment? A: No, PulsePlus is cloud-only (Firebase/Google Cloud). On-premise is not supported.

Q: Can we use our own Firebase project? A: No, we manage the Firebase infrastructure. Dedicated environments available for enterprise.

Q: What's your data retention policy? A: We retain data as long as your subscription is active. After cancellation, data is retained for 30 days, then permanently deleted.

Q: Do you support custom branding? A: Yes, custom logo, colors, and domain (yourbrand.pulseplus.app) available on Enterprise plan.

Q: Can we export all our data? A: Yes, full data export (JSON/CSV) available anytime via self-service or request.

Q: What programming languages do you support for API integration? A: Any language that can make HTTP requests. We provide code samples in JavaScript, Python, and cURL.

Q: Do you have a staging environment? A: Yes, included with all plans. Separate environment for testing before production deployment.

Q: What's your incident response process? A: Status page (status.pulseplus.dev), email/SMS alerts, incident reports within 24 hours, post-mortems for major incidents.

Technical Evaluation Checklist

Use this checklist during technical evaluation:

Security

[ ] SSO/SAML integration tested
[ ] MFA enabled and tested
[ ] Data encryption verified (in-transit and at-rest)
[ ] Security audit review (if required)
[ ] DPA/BAA signed (if applicable)

Integration

[ ] Key integration tested (Salesforce, Jira, etc.)
[ ] API credentials generated
[ ] Webhook endpoints configured
[ ] Rules engine validated with sample data

Performance

[ ] Load testing with expected user count
[ ] API response times measured
[ ] Mobile app performance verified
[ ] Network requirements validated

Compliance

[ ] Data residency requirements met
[ ] GDPR/CCPA compliance reviewed
[ ] Privacy policy reviewed
[ ] SOC 2 report received (if available)

Operations

[ ] Backup/restore process understood
[ ] Monitoring and alerting configured
[ ] Support SLA reviewed
[ ] Incident response process documented

Document Owner: Solutions Engineering Review Cadence: Quarterly (update with new features, certifications) Last Technical Review: [DATE]

Technical Evaluation Guide ​

Technical Overview ​

Architecture ​

System Architecture ​

Key Components ​

Security & Compliance ​

Data Security ​

Compliance & Certifications ​

Data Residency ​

Integration Capabilities ​

Supported Integrations ​

Integration Methods ​

Rules Engine ​

Scalability & Performance ​

Infrastructure Scaling ​

Data Limits ​

Deployment Options ​

SaaS (Standard) ​

Dedicated Environment (Enterprise) ​

On-Premise (Not Currently Offered) ​

APIs & Extensibility ​

API Documentation ​

Webhook Events ​

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity ​

Backup & Recovery ​

High Availability ​

Technical Support ​

Support Tiers ​

Technical FAQs ​

Technical Evaluation Checklist ​

Security ​

Integration ​

Performance ​

Compliance ​

Operations ​