Junie Agcaoili, Chikka's chief corporate communications officer, attributed the growth to the viral nature of the company's instant messaging or IM application, which allows users to send SMS via the Internet and vice-versa.
'Chikka Messenger's patent-protected features resulted in the greatest ease-of-use such as to grow the community to over 30 million registered users to date. The messenger's universal utility and viral nature is also a major factor in the way membership spread like wildfire,' Agcaoili said in an interview.
Chikka developed its IM tool in such a way that it would not be drastically different from the way people use SMS or text messaging on their mobile phones.
While steady growth translates to increased user traffic, Agcaoli assures Chikka is equipped with the necessary technology to sustain the growth. Chikka earlier this year announced its interoperability with search engine Google Inc.'s own IM tool, GoogleTalk.
He explained: 'Chikka's infrastructure was built to sustain the millions of hits that pass through its system everyday.'
'Even before the Chikka Messenger was launched officially in 2001, Chikka's founders knew that a robust back-end would be important in maintaining and withstanding volume of messages in a country that claims to be the text messaging capital of the world.'
With a sturdy infrastructure in place, Chikka is ready to further expand its membership base inside and outside the Philippines. Agcaoili said that Chikka will continue to do what it does best'bringing the Chikka Messenger and more Chikka services to people all around the world.
Currently, users are able to send free text messages to the Philippines, the U.S., Japan, Guam, Thailand and India. Agcaoili said that the company is hoping to add more countries in the near future.
'With the release of Chikka Version 4 and interoperability with GoogleTalk, Agcaoili estimates more than a million new users every month, adding, 'We see this growth to continue next year, continue into 2007.'