TigerEye's co-founder, Ralph Gootee, joined the It's All Widgets! podcast to dive deep into our company's use of Flutter.
Ralph discussed why TigerEye chose it, how it shaped our engineering philosophy, and what it means for enterprise software.
We needed a cross-platform development framework that didn’t rely on web technologies. After testing options like React Native and QT, our team found Flutter to be the best fit. It offered true cross-platform functionality, clean architecture, and performance without compromise.
Inspired by video game development techniques and a Sony white paper on automotive interfaces, Ralph saw Flutter’s direct access to the frame buffer as a performance breakthrough. That architecture, combined with unidirectional data flow and strong state management, made Flutter the ideal foundation for TigerEye.
TigerEye's platform runs at 60 frames per second while processing millions of data records. That speed is possible thanks to Flutter's efficient rendering system and DuckDB.Dart—a high-performance Dart plugin that processes data directly within the app. Because Flutter only loads visible data into memory, performance and efficiency are maximized.
Using Dart’s FFI (Foreign Function Interface), TigerEye integrates DuckDB at a low level for scalable, high-speed data processing. Our custom widgets are built for large datasets, avoiding the bottlenecks common to other enterprise apps.
Flutter's flexibility allows TigerEye to maintain consistent design and performance across all platforms. We use our own design system—not Cupertino or Material defaults—to create a unified experience for touchscreens, desktops, and everything in between.
Whether you’re on an iPad, a Windows laptop, or a Mac desktop, TigerEye looks and feels the same: clean, fast, and intuitive. Think Spotify or Diablo—we took a page from those playbooks to ensure polish and usability.
Flutter’s command-line-first build system fits seamlessly into our CI/CD pipeline. Unlike GUI-heavy tools, Flutter supports headless, code-based workflows that accelerate deployment. We ship hundreds of builds weekly without manual overhead.
Flutter’s testing framework also stands out. From widget tests to full integration tests, it lets us validate features quickly without booting full operating systems.
TigerEye is built for companies at IPO-level scale. We needed a framework that could scale with us. Flutter, backed by Google, delivers.
Dart powers our entire stack — both front-end and back-end. We even use Dart for Monte Carlo simulations, running the same logic server-side and in-app for real-time business forecasting. That shared foundation speeds development and ensures consistency.
If you're evaluating Flutter, here's our advice:
And most importantly: learn Dart. It’s powerful, elegant, and ready for both front-end and back-end logic.
TigerEye chose Flutter because we needed speed, consistency, and scalability. Flutter delivered, and continues to evolve with our enterprise needs.
Listen to Ralph's full conversation on the It’s All Widgets! podcast.
Kristina Milian, with over fifteen years in communications, currently serves as the vice president of communications at TigerEye. She has a rich background in strategy and press relations, previously contributing significantly to Meta's VR platform communications and managing crisis and artificial intelligence communications at Salesforce.
