Recent studies show that businesses are investing more in artificial intelligence.
According to studies conducted by DataProt, 37% of businesses employ AI in their operations. The industry will be earning $126 billion by the year 2025 and the market value is expected to cross $267 billion by 2027.
Another study, conducted by Oberlo, states that 91% of top businesses have already invested in Artificial Intelligence. Also according to them, around 62% of customers are ready to share data if it improves their experiences with a business.
As artificial intelligence and related development are becoming more popular, the programming languages used for developing such software are also becoming popular.
If you are someone who has an interest in developing AI solutions, understanding the programming languages used for AI development will be compelling to you.
Best programming languages for AI development
When it comes to AI development, there are several programming languages you can choose from. Among them, here are major 10 programming languages that are used extensively in AI and machine learning development in 2022.
1. Python
Python is a high level, general-purpose programming language. It uses significant indentation to improve its code readability. Using language constructs and an object-oriented approach Python helps with developing clear and logical code for small to large scale AI projects.
Python was released in the year 1991 by Guido van Rossum. Ever since its inception, the language has been used in desktop apps, web apps, networking apps, scientific computing, machine learning apps and data science applications.
The libraries offered by Python such as Tensorflow, Keras, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, PyBrain and MXNet etc. make it one of the popular choices for AI development. Since Python offers rich text processing tools and uses modular architecture for scripting, it has also become a popular choice for Natural Language Processing (NLP).
A few of the leading companies that use Python include Google, Amazon, NASA, Reddit, Instagram, Intel, IBM, Facebook, Netflix, JP Morgan Chase and so on.
2. R programming language
R is a very popular programming language for statistical programming, especially data analysis and statistical computing. The language was created by statisticians Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman in 1993. As of March 2022, R is ranked at 11th position in the TIOBE index.
R is primarily written in C, Fortran and R itself. It comes with a command-line interface and offers support for multiple third-party user interfaces like RStudio and Jupyter.
R’s S heritage enabled it to have best-in-the class object-oriented programming facilities. R supports procedural programming with the use of functions and object-oriented programming with generic functions.
Due to its advantages, R is considered the primary programming language for statistical computations in domains such as biology, sociology, finance and medicine. The advantages of R can be extended through user-created packages that offer statistical techniques, graphical devices, import/export, reporting etc. The packaging system allows researchers to organize data, code and files in a systematic way for sharing and archiving. It is the ease of using such packages that drives the popularity of R as the best programming language for data science.
The alternatives to R programming language are SPSS, Stata and SAS, However, they are commercial statistical packages while R is a free software under the GNU General Public License.
Renjin and FastR used in the Java Virtual machines is a Java implementation of R programming language. The runtime engine “TERR” that is part of “Spotfire” is developed in R.
R is used by most of the leading companies including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Uber, Airbnb etc.
3. Java
Java is one of those programming languages that everyone has heard of.
This high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language was designed in the year 1995 by James Gosling and became popular in the industry due to its write once, run anywhere (WORA) principle. WORA simply means that a compiled Java code can be run on all platforms that support Java without recompiling.
Java is one of the most used programming languages for client-server web applications. Even though it shares similarities with C and C++ in terms of the syntax used, Java has fewer low-level facilities than both.
Apart from web applications, Java is also used in Android apps, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning applications, search algorithms, server-side programming, neural networks and multi-robot systems. Its scalability, low dependencies, platform independence and support for Java Virtual Machines have made Java a popular general-purpose programming language.
When it comes to AI development, Java offers several libraries and frameworks such as Apache OpenNLP, Java Machine Learning Library, Neuroph, Deep Java Library, MLlib and so on.
Java is used by several companies including the noteworthy ones such as Google, Uber, Netflix, Airbnb, Instagram, Amazon, Spotify, Slack etc.
4. Rust
Designed by Graydon Hoare in 2010, Rust is multi-paradigm, a general-purpose programming language designed for performance and safety. Even though it is syntactically similar to C++, Rust guarantees memory safety unlike the former. Another benefit of Rust is that it offers memory safety without garbage collection and reference counting is only optional.
Rust offers low-level memory management as well as high-level features such as functional programming. Since it offers speed, performance and safety, Rust is gaining increased popularity day by day. It has been adopted and implemented by mainstream companies like Amazon, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Discord. Google announced Rust as an alternative to C/C++ for their Android open-source project.
Here is a list of recent adoptions we have seen in the industry.
Microsoft Azure IoT Edge, a platform used to run Azure services and artificial intelligence on IoT devices, uses rust to create some of its components.
The blockchain platform Polkadot is written in Rust.
The Servo parallel browser engine developed by Mozilla in collaboration with Samsung is written in Rust.
5. Prolog
Prolog, which derived its name from “Programming in Logic”, is a logic programming language mainly used in artificial intelligence and computational linguistics. It was designed by Alain Colmerauer and Robert Kowalski in 1972.
Unlike many other programming languages, Prolog inherits first-order logic and is intended mainly as a declarative programming language. The logic is declared in the form of relations represented by facts and rules.
Even though Prolog was one of the first logic programming languages, hence one of the oldest, it still holds its position in the industry. There are several free and commercial adoption of Prolog such as Tabling (used in systems like B-Prolog, XSB, SWI-Prolog, YAP, and Ciao), hashing (used in WIN-PROLOG and SWI-Prolog) and Tail Call Optimization (TCO).
Prolog has been mainly used as a primarily logic language for expert systems, term rewriting, type systems, automated planning, theorem proving and natural language processing. This programming language is best suited for an AI solution that features rule-based logical queries such as searching databases, voice control systems, and filling templates. IBM Watson is one such system.
C++ is one of the well-known programming languages due to the popularity of C, the programming language it inherits from.
Designed by Bjarne Stroustrup as a general-purpose programming language in 1985, c++ has seen significant expansion over the years. Now it supports object-oriented, generic, and functional features besides low-level memory manipulation.
The main advantage of C++ is its performance, efficiency, and flexibility as it was designed as a programming language for building resource-constrained software and large systems. The language is used extensively in building desktop applications, servers (mainly for e-commerce, web search and databases), video games and performance-critical applications such as telephone switches and space probes.
C++ offers several AI and ML libraries such as Caffee, Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit (CNTK), TensorFlow, DyNet, OpenNN, FANN, Shogun and mlpack library.
The popular companies that use C++ include Walmart, Google, Accenture, Twitch, Telegram and Lyft.
7. Lisp
Lisp, a name derived from “LISt Processor”, is the second-oldest high-level programming language still in use and is only one year younger than Fortran. Designed by John McCarthy in 1958, this family of programming languages has a long history with the presence of several distinctive dialects such as Racket, Scheme, Common Lisp and Clojure.
Designed primarily as practical mathematical notation for computer programs, Lisp later became the most favoured programming language for Artificial Intelligence. Several inventions in the field of programming are pioneered by Lisp and they include tree data structure, dynamic typing, conditionals, automatic storage management, recursion, self-hosting compiler, higher-order functions and read-eval-print loop. Apart from these, Lisp offers several features such as rapid prototyping, dynamic object creation, flexibility, garbage collection and information process capabilities.
CLML (Common Lisp Machine Learning Library), mgl, Antik and LLA are the popular AI and ML libraries offered by Lisp.
iRobot, The Mimix Company, NASA (in their PVS), Rigetti Quantum Computing, Grammarly, Mind AI, Carre Technologies, NuEcho, Kina knowledge, Emotiq and Anaphoric are a few examples of companies that are using Lisp in their products or operations.
Logo of Lisp programming language
8. Julia
Julia is a high-level, high-performance, dynamic programming language well suited for AI solutions that deal with numerical analysis and computational science.
Designed by Jeff Bezanson, Alan Edelman, Stefan Karpinski and Viral B. Shah in 2012, Julia supports concurrent, parallel and distributed computing.
Advantages of Julia include
It can direct call “C” and “Fortran” libraries without glue code.
Compiles all code by default to machine code before running it.
Automatic memory management/garbage collection
It uses easter evaluation
Offer libraries for floating-point calculations, random number generation, linear algebra, and regular expression matching.
Julia offers several packages for Artificial Intelligence and machine learning. Few of them are Flux.jl, Knet.jl, Mocha.jl, TensorFlow.jl, ScikitLearn.jl, TextAnalysis.jl, MXNet.jl, DecisionTree.jl, Merlin.jl, and LossFunctions.jl. Find the complete list here.
9. Haskell
Named after great logician Haskell Curry, Haskell is a general-purpose, statically-typed, purely functional programming language. Primarily designed for research, teaching and industrial application, Haskell boast of pioneering innovative features like type classes that enable type-safe operator overloading.
According to the number of Google searches conducted for tutorials, Haskell was the 28th most popular programming language in 2021.
The several features offered by Haskell include lazy evaluation, pattern matching, lambda expressions, list comprehension, type classes and type polymorphism. Since Haskell is purely a functional language, functions have no side effects.
Popular applications of Haskell include Agda (proof assistant), Cabal, Darcs (revision control system), Git-annex, Pandoc, TidalCycles, Cryptol, Facebook’s anti-spam programs and Cardano blockchain platform.
10. Smalltalk
This object-oriented programming language was specifically designed for constructionist learning. It is a dynamically typed reflective language which means that using Smalltalk, developers can create software programs that have the ability to examine, introspect and modify their own structure and behaviour.
Smalltalk’s reflective features help developers with advanced debugging in the most user-friendly way. In fact, Smalltalk ranked second in the list of “most loved programming languages” in the Stack Overflow Developer Survey in 2017.
Designed by Alan Kay, Dan Ingalls and Adele Goldberg in 1972, Smalltalk has influenced so many programming languages such as Python, Ruby, Java and Objective-C.
Even though it was created mainly for AI-related studies, Smalltalk lost its position in front of other popular AI programming languages such as Python and R. However, Smalltalk is picking up the pace by introducing more libraries for AI and ML development and natural language processing. For example, Pharo has a numerical package called PolyMath that is almost equal to NumPy of Python.
Due to its conciseness, object purity, simplicity and better OOP implementation, Smalltalk has started regaining the attention it always deserved as an AI language.
Conclusion
The adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning is growing at a fast pace. There are several programming languages used in AI and ML development. However, languages like Python and R are the most popular. To meet the growing demand of the industry, there are several other programming languages that are expanding their capabilities to become the best AI programming language of tomorrow.
The demand for hiring full stack developers is rising every day.
In LinkedIn top emerging jobs of 2020, full stack developer is featured in the 4th position. The role of full stack developers has grown 35 percent every year, compared to 2015.
Many companies are now viewing full stack developers as a critical asset for the company’s core operations. Such companies include software developers, IT and related services, and financial services.
Full stack developers can write both front and back-end code. They know how to create a minimal viable product with little to no support from others. Hiring Full Stack developers can provide a high-level specialty in a variety of technologies. Hiring a full stack developer instead of hiring a team of developers helps you save investment, managerial cost and other indirect costs like benefits and taxes.
What is a full stack software developer?
There is a general disagreement over the definition of full stack. It is somewhat a controversial subject in the technological field. Various organizations have different definition for who is a full stack developer and what kind of skills they should possess.
But all the definitions have something in common.
As per general sentiment, a full stack software developer is someone who knows how to create a fully functioning web application, and their knowledge of both the back end and front end is valuable to the organization. One of the best qualities of full stack developers is the amount of help they need from outside, which is very little.
This is because generally applications would have two major components; back end and front end (also called server side and client side).
While it is the backend that “powers” the applications, it is the front end that helps users to interact with an application. Since the approach, methodologies and technologies varies from front end to back end, their developments parts are assigned to different teams who are experts in their own fields (front end or back end). As a result, a single application would need at least two developers hypothetically.
But, if the same company hires a full stack developer, it can save up cost on human resources since a full stack developer would be an expert in both front end and back-end development.
MEAN stack developer vs. Full stack developer
A MEAN stack developer is someone who has knowledge in a specific technology. The term MEAN in MEAN stack developers refers to MongoDB, Expressjs, AngularJs, NodeJS.
Since these technologies are based on JavaScript a good MEAN stack developer should have extensive JS knowledge. Using these technologies together, a MEAN stack developer can develop a full stack application just like full stack developers. However, the knowledge and exposure of a MEAN stack developer will be limited to these four technologies unlike a full stack developer.
Similarities between MEAN stack and full stack developers
Both MEAN stack developers and full stack developers can create full stack applications. Both will be able to tackle client side and server-side development using their own knowledge and expertise.
Differences between MEAN stack and full stack developers
Area of expertise
A MEAN stack developer and full stack developer will have different set of expertise.
A MEAN stack developer will have knowledge on MongoDB, Expressjs, AngularJS, and Node.js.
Whereas a full stack developer will be an expert on technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Angular JS, PHP, ASP, Python, Node.js, and databases such as MySQL, SQLite or MongoDB, etc.
Framework
A MEAN stack developer uses AngularJS to accept requests and display results to end-user. They use NodeJS to handle client and server requests.
On the other hand, a full stack developer may be using HTML and CSS to power the front end and PHP to power the backend.
Database
Mean stack developers use MongoDB to store data. A full stack developer may use SQL MySQL, or Oracle, etc. to store data.
Scalability and flexibility
MEAN stack development is limited in a sense that it leverages only JavaScript based technologies. So, scalability becomes an issue since to upgrade an application, we must totally depend on JavaScript based frameworks.
On the other hand, full stack development offers better scalability and more flexibility as the developers will have the options to choose from several frameworks.
Popularity
MEAN stack development is less popular compared to full stack development. It is mainly due to the limited flexibility and scalability offered by MEAN stack.
Pros and cons of hiring full stack developers
At first, we will go through all the pros of hiring a full stack engineer.
Pros of hiring full stack developers
Scope of development
A full stack developer can take care of client side and server-side development. Since he has knowledge of both the front end and back end, the application will be simple, less buggy and offer better experience.
Range of skills
A full stack developer will have a variety of skills under his belt. It is mainly due to what the position demands in terms of technology expertise and product planning. Since the same person will be responsible for both front end and back end, he must have variety of skills to complete the application and have a better understanding of the user case and development roadmap to avoid development conflict.
Experience
Full stack software engineers are well versed in multiple phases of software development, covering fields such as front end, back end, testing, QA, and coding. The knowledge in all the areas comes over time, and full stack developers have the experience under their belt, making them more appealing to the companies. They can use the occasion to face challenges quicker without any hesitation.
Framework
Since full stack web developers know multiple technological stacks, they can be put to work on several frameworks instead of hiring different developers for different frameworks.
Cost
Since a good full stack developer can take care of front end and back-end development and even unit testing, hiring them over technology experts are more economical for companies. Hiring full stack developers helps companies to save up cost on infrastructure investment, office space, taxes and benefits and on managerial tasks since the size of the companies can be kept small.
Performance
Hiring Full stack engineers ensures better performance since the responsibilities are well defined. There is less dependability between team members and the complexities due to misunderstanding and lack of teamwork is also less. The project progress can be easily monitored and the performance to progress ratio can be calculated more easily.
Trouble solver
Experienced full stack engineers will adapt to the changes at any stages of the project development. They can easily identify problems and easily overcome them due to their familiarity with different development stacks and programming methodologies. So, by hiring full stack developers, companies can mitigate uncertainty and incorporate more flexibility to their development process.
Cons of hiring Full stack developers
Keeping up with technologies
Full stack engineers have expertise in multiple technologies. However, it become a hassle to be kept updated on all these technologies due to the rapid advancement happening in the software development industry.
Less performance
Being a jack of all trades comes with its disadvantages. A developer who works or specializes in a single technology or platform will perform better than a developer who doesn’t spend too much time on a single stack. Full stack developers have a large area of expertise to justify their profile. Still, a developer who has experience in only one specific field will have better output than a full stack developer.
Switching languages
Suppose a project demands the developer to work with multiple languages. It can be cumbersome for the full stack engineer, as they will constantly have to change the programming language on the fly. They can change the field, but they will need some time to brush up on the small things to get a grip on the language.
Transitioning between programming languages can slow down the process; hiring a specific individual who knows their way around one language will help smooth the transition from one language to another faster, requiring hiring another developer to fasten the process.
Types of Full stack developers
Having expertise in various programming languages makes full stack engineers heavy-on-demand in the market. But the demand and supply vary depending on what type of full stack developer you are looking for. Depending on the use case, we can categories full stack developers into different groups.
Full stack web developer
A full stack web developer is someone who can develop the front end and back end for a web application. The person will be an expert in web related stacks such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Angular, Vue, PHP, ASP, Python, Node, SQL, SQLite, or MongoDB.
Full stack Android developer
If you’re planning to develop a mobile app for the Android platform, a full stack android developer will help you complete the project. Android development focuses on Java, React, Python, HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
Full stack Python developer
A full stack python developer has the expertise in the python suite of language to develop various applications. Python is become popular day by day and a lot of AI and data science related applications are made using Pythons.
Full stack Java developer
Most mobile apps and computer software heavily depend on the Java programming language. Java is a popular server-side programming language for AI development. It is also the native programming language for the Android platform. A full stack Java developer will be able to write codes in Java and help you with developing applications for different use cases.
Full stack JavaScript developer
A full stack JavaScript developer can use programming languages such as JavaScript, jQuery, Angular, or Vue to program the front end and then use languages such as Node.js to create the server side.
When it comes to JavaScript full stack development, you have several options such as you can hire a MEAN stack developer (MongoDB, Express, Angular and Node.js), MERN stack developer (MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js) or MEVN stack developer (MongoDB, Express, VueJS and Node.js).
Full stack cloud developer
Full stack cloud developers uses HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Node.js, React, Python etc. to developer cloud applications. He is most likely to be familiar with DevOps practices, containerization, microservices etc. A good full stack cloud developer uses various Cloud Native tools and technologies to develop, deploy, run, and update applications on cloud platforms.
Full stack PHP developer
PHP alone can’t be used to develop full stack application. It must be used with front end languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Angular, or Vue etc. to create a complete application. A full stack developer can also use Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP (LAMP) to accomplish this task.
Full stack mobile developer
A full stack mobile developer uses several programming languages such as Swift, ObjectiveC, Java, Kotlin, Node, JavaScript, TypeScript etc. They also use software like Android Studio, XCode, Ionic and APIs to complete the development.
Full stack AI developer
A full stack AI developer has extensive knowledge of various technologies related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Programming languages such as Python, Java, Nodejs, etc., will come in very handy, connecting the machine learning model.
How to hire a full stack software developer?
It has more to do with the qualities than anything else. A full stack software engineer must have an interest or passion for new things, and they should understand different technologies and their best-case scenarios. Their decision-making abilities will also come into play as they must develop complete applications for different use cases and industries.
Depending on nature of employment, we can divide full stack developers to below categories.
Freelance full stack developer
A freelance full stack developer is someone who is self-employed. She creates applications for different clients and get paid based on hours worked, tasks completed, or projects finished. The scope of work, estimate, roadmap, and delivery terms are usually finalized before starting the project.
Pros of hiring freelance full stack developer
Low investment: You don’t have to invest on infrastructure, tools, and training
Fixed pay: Pay only the negotiated amount
Flexibility: You can hire multiple developers to shorten the development time. You can also terminate the agreement once the tasks are completed.
Large pool: Freelance full stack developers are available globally making it easier to hire them.
Cons hiring freelance full stack developer
Limited scope: The resource may not be available once the project is completed.
Compatibility: Not the right choice for huge projects.
Hard to find a quality developer
They will not share the same enthusiasm for the project as the organization.
Hiring in house/full-time developer
A full-time developer is someone who works at a specific role permanently for the company. Along with salary, she also gets other benefits and allowances that is borne by the employer.
Pros of hiring in house full stack developer
They are more likely tool invest time and effort in your idea and work for a better product to ensure a permanent role and better appraisal.
Less likely to bail out
Act as a long-term player
Availability
Cons of hiring in house full stack developer
Tiresome hiring process
Limited pool of talent if you are hiring locally
The time it will take to find the right developers
A lot of indirect cost related to hiring and maintaining talent
Difficult to upsize and downsize the team
You must invest on infrastructure and tools
Outsourcing full stack development
Outsourcing full stack development is the act of hiring an outside party, preferability an agency, to perform the development of an application.
Pros of outsourcing full stack development
Saving money. Outsourcing always leads to a cheaper method to get the work done for a quarter of the cost or less compared to hiring a permanent team.
Short-term commitment.
Away from office noise can help them to work better.
Access to expert talent pool
No need to invest on infrastructure
No indirect cost involved
Cons of outsourcing full stack development
Quality may dwindle
Trouble in communication can hinder the performance
Sometimes it is harder to monitor the progress of the project
The outsourcing agency may be working on other projects at the same time
Outstaffing full stack development
Outstaffing full stack development is the act of hiring remote developers to take up the development. Usually, organizations approach outstaffing agencies to outstaff the work. Such agencies will already have a pool of pre-vetted developers with them. The salary and benefits are paid by the agency to the developers and the organization must make a one time or task-based payment to the agency.
Pros of outstaffing full stack development
Work can get done at a faster rate
The outstaffing agency will be responsible for the quality of the final product
Training is provided by the agency
Pre vetted developers means you are getting the right person for the role
No indirect costs
Affordable
Easy to monitor the progress of the progress
You get dedicated resources
Cons of outstaffing full stack development
Miscommunication
Adding remote employees may slow down your team
It will take time for the developer to fully understand the project
Conclusion
The demand for full stack developers is on rise due to companies seeking an all-in-one solution for their software development requirement. Instead of hiring individual developers for different roles, companies are hiring people with variety of skills and knowledge to take up multiple roles.
AlignMinds has a wide pool of expert full stack developers. We make sure that all our developers have the right expertise, have high exposure to industry standards and ensure best outcomes for simple to complex projects. If you are looking for pre-vetted full stack developers for your next project, contact us now.
The number of people working from home has been rising since 2009.
Over the past decade and so, most industries have realized the benefits of allowing their employees to work remotely. In fact, hiring remote teams to build and scale businesses has become a norm in recent years.
According to Owl Labs, 16% of companies around the globe are fully remote. It may seem like a small percentage. Nevertheless, the trend shows a groundbreaking change happening in the industry. Because at the beginning of this century, terms like “remote teams” and “virtual businesses” were not so popular. Such approaches were often termed as “non-workable models” by most companies.
But at the beginning of the past decade, things began to change. More people choose to work remotely for better work-life balance and better opportunities. Companies also started granting remote work to increase employee retention rate, flexibility and to attract a high talent pool. Today, 85% of managers think that remote teams will become a common practice in their industries.
The trend is more apparent in the IT, financial services, and healthcare (surprise!) industries. In the IT industry, the hiring of remote engineers happens mainly due to three reasons.
It is difficult to find the right talent locally.
It is expensive to hire locally.
More people are preferring to work remotely. Unless companies choose to hire remotely, this talent pool, which mostly consists of experienced professionals, is out of reach for them.
We have seen a 44% growth in remote working over the last 5 years. The rate of growth becomes 159% if we consider a longer duration of 12 years. If these numbers have proven one thing, it is that remote working is becoming the new norm in the industry.
So, as a business, how can you cope with this latest trend and leverage it to your benefit?
If you are looking for an answer to the above question, don’t worry, we have the answer ready for you.
In this article, we are trying to answer three commonly asked questions related to hiring remote engineers. They are
How to build a remote engineering team that fits your business?
How to manage and scale a remote team of developers?
Why should you hire remote engineers?
So, let’s dive into them.
How to build remote engineering teams?
Understand the actual role
When hiring for a position, the hiring team should first understand the position in depth. They should understand what the position demands and how critical the position is for the business. They should also comprehend the existing chemistry between the teams and what work style will suit the environment perfectly. This will also help you as a hiring manager to evaluate whether the position is suitable to hire remotely.
Industry expertise
Along with technical and soft skills, the team should also evaluate the industry expertise of the candidates. A candidate who has enough expertise in the industry is less likely to make mistakes and she will need less supervision throughout a project. Hiring people with expertise will help you to avoid one of the biggest drawbacks of hiring remotely, communication issues.
Industry experience
Experience should be a primary parameter when evaluating candidates for a remote engineering role.
Just like candidates with industry expertise, an experienced candidate will be more familiar with the role and responsibilities. Such candidates can contribute to your business independently and also as a part of a team. The experience they have gained in their career will also help your existing team positively.
Also, keep in mind that remote working does not suit everyone. Hiring candidates who have already worked in a remote position will help you to mitigate the risk.
Availability and communication
Hiring a remote engineering team has its own challenges. When the teams are available on-site, communication is a breeze and availability is not an issue.
However, when hiring a remote engineering team, these two factors can become challenging. When you are hiring from a different time zone, the resource may not be available during a time that is convenient to you and the team. This will negatively impact the quality of the work and the timeline of the project. As a result, the cost of the project will also shoot up.
Thankfully the recent technological advancements have made a positive impact on the communication landscape.
The various communication and team collaborations tools available today can mitigate most of the communication issues arising from remote hiring. However, the hiring team should make sure that the candidates are comfortable working in a different time zone and the tools you are going to use are convenient for them too.
Hire remote teams from existing markets
Outsourcing talent is one of the most revenue-generating industries for many countries.
Countries like India, Vietnam and Ukraine already have a well-established outsourcing industry. This means that the talent in these countries is already accustomed to remote working, its culture and challenges. Moreover, they are more likely to be fluent in one of the international languages, making the language barrier irrelevant.
Since a major chunk of revenue is coming from the outsourcing industries, such countries are also focusing on improving the infrastructure in this field. There are more IT parks emerging day by day and the people in these countries have access to electricity, better internet and higher education already. The lower living cost around this part of the globe warrants that the cost of hiring a remote team of developers is also affordable.
Hire pre-vetted remote engineering teams
The hiring process can be hectic. Especially when you are hiring remotely. You have to make sure that the candidate is right for the role, right for the team, the “cultures match”, and successful hiring will contribute positively to the overall business. As a result, the hiring process can become complex, lengthy, repetitive, and tiresome for every party involved.
Thankfully, hiring pre-vetted remote teams helps you avoid this. A pre-vetted engineer is someone who has already gone through screening, interviews, and tests to prove that he or she is the right fit for a specific role. So, by approaching such pre-vetted developers, you are most likely to find the right candidate.
How to manage remote engineering teams?
Managing and scaling a team of remote developers is different from hiring a remote team. To make it easier for you, here are a few tips on how to manage a remote engineering team, once hired.
Communicate clearly
When working with remote engineering teams, it is better to define a formal communication channel and set clear expectations. Unlike in an on-site work environment where communication is faster and informal, a remote work environment demands a different approach. Since availability, cultural background and language barriers can cause gaps in communication and lead to misunderstandings, it is better to plan and schedule face to face virtual meetings or define a formal channel to communicate. In a remote working environment, formal communication supported with documentation is the right approach.
Build rapport
A remote team should not be unorganized and unengaging. There should be a good connection and better understanding between team members and friendly engagements should be encouraged. When there is a good rapport between the team members, it is easier to come up with innovative ideas and the team will move in the same direction. A supportive environment will transform any challenging task into an opportunity to learn.
Encourage transparency
The number of software that can help you with team collaboration, documentation, project management, task management, incident response, bug tracking, design thinking, review and quality check etc. is higher than ever before. The use of such software not only brings transparency to the team but also helps you with managing the resource most effectively.
Here is a list of the most common software used in the industry.
Communication and collaboration: Slack, Google Hangout, Twist, Zoom
Task management: Todoist, Tick Tick, Microsoft ToDo
Planning and scheduling are most important when managing a team of remote engineers. Every member of the team should have a clear understanding of the project roadmap and the role he is going to play. The task list and schedules should be communicated at the beginning of the project itself and they should be documented. With the right planning, the team will have a way to avoid uncertainty and can work in a stress-free environment.
Convenience and automation
One of the common mistakes everyone makes when dealing with a remote development team is excessive micromanagement. This can be in the form of an excessive number of daily meetings, morning, and evening status reports, using tools that question privacy, or excessive amounts of documentation. As a result, the remote team finds the working environment stressful and there is not enough time to complete the actual work.
So, it is better to schedule meetings only when necessary. The participation should be limited to people who would really benefit from the meeting. Most of the meetings can be replaced by a morning or evening email or with good project management software. Instead of using traditional documentation methods, we can use readily available tools, like the ones mentioned before, to improve team collaboration and track progress.
Why hire remote engineering teams?
Access to the right talent
Hiring the right talent locally can be difficult for so many businesses. There can be various reasons including affordability, lack of local talent, the nature of the business, indirect hiring cost, lack of flexibility or even the nature of the project.
For example, even though it’s rare in occurrence, companies may be forced to work on projects that are outside of their expertise. To fill the gap, they would need a person or a team of professionals who are an expert in a particular niche. If the demand for such expertise was always low in their country, the number of people with the right talent would also be less. It is because people are more likely to choose a career in fields with high demand so that they will never run out of opportunities.
So, if the talent is not available locally, what can the business do?
Of Course, dropping the project will have a negative impact on the business; especially when its growth is dependent on the completion of the project. In such cases, hiring remotely will be the right choice for them.
Affordability
The cost of hiring and maintaining a permanent team is the highest in countries like the USA. However, there are other countries like India and Ukraine where the salary for the same role is only a quarter of what it is in the US. So naturally, if a US-based company hires remotely from India or Ukraine they can save up on costs as they have to pay only an amount equal to the local pay band. This way companies can cut costs and improve their profit margin significantly.
According to Standford, employees that work remotely are more productive than on-site workers. The study also showed that remote staff have a lower attrition rate, and they work more hours per year than their onsite counterpart. This is mainly attributed to the better work-life balance and flexible working hours available to remote workers.
Flexibility
One of the benefits of hiring a remote engineering team is, you can hire them for the short term or long-term depending on the duration of the project. Since remote roles are not treated equally to permanent roles, cutting down or scaling the size of the remote team is easier and less complex.
If you are outstaffing the role, things become a lot easier since the salary, allowances and benefits are handled by the outstaffing agency.
Final thoughts
Hiring remote engineering teams has already become a norm in the industry. It helps businesses to save up costs, add flexibility to the business, find the right talents, and improve productivity. Even though building and scaling a remote engineering team has its own challenges, they can be easily mitigated by using the right methods and tools that are readily available.
AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in working on web, mobility, cloud, and AI technologies. We are offering a wide set of services including outstaffing and remote development. If you are looking for a pre-vetted team of remote developers, contact us now!
Striving to get your IT projects done effectively and efficiently?
Well, most of the IT projects get stuck because of numerous difficulties and complexities resulting due to a lack of development capacity.
IT companies require their staff to be updated, vigil, fast, and super talented. An IT company that faces the issue of lack of development capacity might face hefty losses in business and profit.
However, to avoid these issues, big corporations prefer to work with outstaffing their IT projects and strive to upgrade the effectiveness and efficiency of their core operations.
With Outstaffing their work, organisations are reducing their expenses up to a substantial amount along with improving their scalability and flexibility.
The majority of the organisations require IT specialists, temporarily or based on project requirements. In such a scenario, employing IT professionals for a permanent role can be a costly affair for the company.
Therefore, assigning the projects to an outstaffing company and entrusting them with management and developments of the same can be a smart decision for them.
To understand the concept of IT outstaffing services, let’s discuss its various aspects in brief.
Trends and statistics of outstaffing in the industry
Since the year 2020, there has been an unprecedented level of increase in the sector of remote working.
Remote working is also commonly known as hybrid working. Due to the devastating spread of Covid-19 majority of the organisations have adapted the culture of remote working to continue the core operations of the company smoothly.
Major organisations are concentrating more on their core business and prefer to assign complex tasks to professionals who are specialised in the respective fields. They are also boosting their work processby inducing their operations with RPA (Robotic process automation) to eliminate the repetitive tasks processes.
Most organisations are moving to cloud-based technologies for better scalability and security. The majority of companies prefer to outsource or outstaff all their infrastructure-related work.
Companies are looking for IT professionals that are specialists in building complex and advanced products. If the right talent is not available locally, they are open to hiring globally.
The substantial growth of Artificial Intelligence in the industry makes major organisations infuse themselves with this advanced technology. Therefore, such companies are looking to outstaff AI-centric projects to IT professionals who are specialised in automation and AI.
After the pandemic, more people are preferring to work remotely. Organizations are finding headhunting more tiresome, less fruitful, and most of the time the right talent is out of reach for an onsite job.
Several organizations are finding it difficult to maintain their talent pool and it is affecting their productivity. Since human resource plays a vital role in business growth, they are looking for innovative ways to attract and maintain talent.
Definition: What is outstaffing?
For a better understanding of the concept of Outstaffing, let’s discuss it in brief.
IT outstaffing is a concept where big corporations, companies, or organisations collaborate with IT professionals and hire them to work for them as independent developers. Hiring an IT developer or a team of developers to do remote work on the IT projects of the companies is known as IT outstaffing.
These IT developers are directly employed by an IT outstaffing agency, but they ensure to perform all tasks for your organisation and submit it on time. The IT outstaffing company also has the entire responsibility of paying wages, bonuses, and other employment benefits to the employees.
To be clear about this concept, you must know that outstaffing and outsourcing are two entirely distinctive concepts.
Outstaffing is a concept that allows you to gain access to hiring an independent development team. Moreover, in Outstaffing, the chain of communication is not complex and is simple because you can directly contact them for the status of the projects. It also eliminates the complex process of communication in the form of hierarchy.
Furthermore, in IT outstaffing services, you can also instruct the development team to work on multiple projects at the same time according to the work agreement conditions.
Outsourcing Vs. Outstaffing
The concept of outsourcing and outstaffing is commonly confused with one another.
Indeed, both the concepts are a bit similar in some aspects; but if you will try to understand it in brief they are entirely different.
Let’s clear your confusion regarding both the concepts and help you gain a clear understanding of the same.
Advantages of outstaffing
Outstaffing is a popular concept of getting work done by independent IT specialists without enrolling them as an employee in your company.
Besides the easy culture of getting work done, there are numerous other benefits of outstaffingas well. The various advantages of IT outstaffing services are as follows:
Smooth model of hiring
Outstaffing is one of the best forms of getting your IT projects done by IT specialists and professionals.
With the benefits of IT outstaffing services, the company can have their own permanent staff and also can hire independent professionals who are specialised in certain fields and technologies from other companies temporarily.
The features that makehiring outstaffing services beneficial for your company as well as for your hiring model is that this way, you can maintain a flexible team and can have full control over cost and resource management. You can make a onetime payment to the outstaffing service provider and the wages or salary of the IT specialist along with bonus and benefits would be handled by them.
Full control over the development project
Another benefit ofIT outstaffing servicesis that your projects and work is handed over to the hired development team, which means that the work will be done by the partner company employees. However, the control over the development projects remains with you.
While deciding whether to outsource or outsaff software development, you must keep in mind that with outstaffing, you will have a dedicated team of IT staff to work on your project.
By choosing IT outstaffing services, the companies will get a chance to vet the professionals before hiring and since she will act as a dedicated staff to your company the project will be delivered on time with the expected quality.
Full access to the resource
The prime reason why most organisations are choosing outstaffing is that this way, they will have full access to the day-to-day management decisions as well as resource management. If you have a project manager, she can assign the day-to-day task to the hired professional or you can also a hire team of IT professionals that include designers, developers, project managers, testers etc.
Substantially low costs
The cost of outstaffing is substantially low compared to hiring permanent employees. You do not have to pay any bonuses, benefits to the IT specialist you hire through outstaffing and you also get a dedicated employee to the team. Also, there is no labour penalties for downsizing your outstaffed team.
Moreover, if you are on a “pay per hour” contract, you will get a precise report on how much time each task is taking, and you can also request the staff to work on more specialised tasks.
Overall, the expenses spent on a permanent employee are substantially higher than making a single time payment to an outstaffing company. Furthermore, if the company is more careful and attentive in working effectively and efficiently, outstaffing will be the right option.
Cons of outstaffing
Outstaffing models are beneficial for companies in general, but every hiring model does have its loopholes as well. The outstaffing model has a few shortcomings or challenges that are as follows:
Communication gap
Since the hired professional will be working remotely or independently and separate from the entire development team, this might result in some communication gaps between the team of IT staff. Such communication gaps between the team might result in misunderstanding, complexities, and non-quality work.
However, today, due to the advancement in technology and communication, this can be mitigated by using the right communication tools.
As the project management team of the company, you must ensure a smooth communication channel with all the developers of the development team that are part of the outstaffing company. Moreover, you must also make sure that the entire team of the project is connected and updated with the required details of the projects.
The reporting and work status must be transparent and should be shared with the corporate team managing the IT project.
Responsibility of the project
Hiring anIT outstaffing company to provide the IT projects to them can raise a question relating to the responsibility of the projects. Indeed, the final responsibility of the project is within the hands of the outstaffing company only; however, it is fair enough to say that the responsibility must be shared.
It is always recommended to curate the contract based on all the aspects of the projects including responsibility and resolution.
What types of business will benefit the most from outstaffing?
Outstaffing is a common work model that is incredibly famous in the entire corporate industry.
It has various benefits such as cost-effectiveness, saving time and effort to find the right talent, quality of work, flexibility and more.
The concept of outstaffing is a common concept that is not linked with any particular industry or business. However, as per the popular trends of the market and survey reports of various experts, we can say that the concept of outstaffing is highly beneficial to small businesses who like to manage their resources more efficiently.
IT outstaffing is also beneficial to the companies who want IT projects to be done by professional developers without going through the pain of hiring them as direct employees.
This hiring model is also suitable for businesses that need people who are specialised in certain fields or technologies only for a particular project or temporarily.
Where to outstaff?
There are numerous outstaffing companies available across the globe. However, the cost associated with outstaffing varies depending on the living standard in these countries. If you are looking to outstaff software development with a minimum cost without compromising on quality it will be better to hire from developing countries like India, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, the Philippines etc.
But always vet the professionals before making a hiring decision. Also, it is recommended to check the history, vision, experience, expertise, and reviews of the IT outstaffing company before making a partnership with them.
Final thoughts
The outstaffing model is incredibly famous, beneficial as well as productive for organisations that want to implement IT projects. If you are aiming to develop complex or high-quality IT products without increasing your employment budget, then IT outstaffing is the best option for you.
AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in the field of web, mobility, DevOps and AI. We have a pool of specialised talent with the experience of working on small to complex projects for several verticals from media to government. If you are looking for an IT outstaffing company for your next project, contact us now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is IT outstaffing?
Outstaffing is a form of indirect employment of a developer, development team, or professional. In this hiring model, a company hires a dedicated and specialised professional temporarily through an outstaffing service provider to ensure better resource management, flexibility, and quality of work.
What are the advantages of it outstaffing?
There are numerous advantages of IT outstaffing. Some of the most beneficial pros are as follows:
IT outstaffing is more affordable.
Full control of the management aspect of the IT projects.
Full control over the resources hired.
Access to the vetting process.
Decrease of a burden on the corporate team in regard to talent hunting and management.
Saves time and promotes flexibility.
Access to the best talent and specialised professionals.
Promotes working on complex or multiple projects simultaneously.
Should I outsource or outstaff software development?
Outstaffing the development project can help the company to have access to the right talent with minimum cost and effort. It provides you with dedicated resources without the need to go through the complexities of hiring and maintaining talent.
On the other hand, outsourcing helps with getting the work done by an outsourcing company without any worries or additional effort from you.
How much does outstaffing software development cost?
As compared to the outsourcing model, the outstaffing model is comparatively cheaper and more cost-effective. However, the exact cost will depend on the speciation and experience of the resource. For an estimation, please contact us.
What is the best country to outstaff software development?
If you are cost-conscious, outstaffing IT projects to any developing country that has the right talent pool will be the right option for you. Since the cost of living is less in such countries, the project cost will also be less. However, male sure that the country and the organization has the right infrastructure, suitable working culture, experience in working on similar projects before outstaffing.
Microservices architecture has become the new trend in the software development industry. Big companies like Amazon and Netflix are also favouring microservices architecture as it offers several benefits like improved scalability, better data security and compliance, future-proofing, business agility and faster development.
According to research, 73% of firms are using or planning to use microservices as it helps them build next-generation services and applications. Around 63% of organizations surveyed are already building some or all of their applications using microservices.
According to Allied Market Research, the microservices architecture market is projected to reach $8,073 million by 2026 from an estimated market size of $2073 million in 2018. That is a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 18.6% from 2019 to 2026.
All these statistics are pointing to one thing; microservices are the future. However, if you are a business that is yet to adopt the new trend, trying to understand the benefits of microservices will convince you to do so.
But before listing out the benefits of microservices architecture, let’s start with understanding what is microservice architecture.
What is microservices architecture?
Microservices architecture, commonly known as “microservices”, is an architectural style for developing applications. It allows a large application to be separated into smaller independent parts, with each part having its own realm of responsibility. As a result, a microservices-based application can call on many internal microservices to compose a response to a single user request.
“A microservices architecture is a type of application architecture where the application is developed as a collection of services. It provides the framework to develop, deploy, and maintain microservices architecture diagrams and services independently.”
Microservices are typically used to speed up application development. Website migration, data processing, transactions and invoices, media content storage and retrieval etc. are the other usages of microservices.
Microservices vs Monolith
Traditionally developers followed a monolithic design approach. In a monolithic architecture, components share a common memory space and work together as one cohesive unit. As a result, such applications are self-contained, and their components are interdependent. To make changes to a single component, developers must rebuild and redeploy the entire software altogether. This is a big drawback for businesses who want to add new features to their applications frequently. The monolithic architecture limited their rate of technology advancement, took away their competitive edge and constrained their growth opportunities.
On the other hand, the microservices architecture allows an application to be divided into a set of individual and autonomous services. Each of these services can be implemented in a different language on a different platform. Yet, it won’t affect the quality of the application as a whole. Moreover, each service is robust, flexible and complete on its own. So, adding a new feature to the application or removing an outdated feature is no more a difficult task. Since you can make changes to a particular feature without affecting the remaining part of the application, the cost of development and maintenance also went down.
Overall, microservices architecture offers more benefits than monolithic architecture to businesses that want to be competitive in the industry.
What are the benefits of microservices architecture?
Scalability
Microservices run independently. That means each microservice can be added, removed, updated, and scaled without affecting other microservices that comprise the application. During an increase in demand, you only have to allocate more resources to the concerned microservice(s) to meet the demand. As a result, an organization can save costs on server resources.
In 2008, Netflix had to ditch their monolithic design and adopt microservices after a three-day service failure caused by a major database corruption. The migration helped them to serve a wider audience in 2016 as the numbers of streaming members went up by eight times and the overall viewership tripled in those eight years! Their viewership is growing ever since and moving to microservices architecture became one of the best decisions they have ever made as a business.
Data security
Microservices architecture supports secure APIs. Developers can use them to connect with microservices without security concerns as APIs ensure that the data is accessible only to authorized parties.
iPaas (Integration Platform as a Service) providers like DreamFactory can help you build secure APIs in minutes using their automatic API generation tools.
Legal compliance
Since APIs provide a secure way for developers to handle and safeguard the application data, following legal policies and data and privacy rules are no more an issue. Microservices along with secure APIs help developers to meet various legal compliance including HIPAA, GDPR and other security standards.
Future-proofing
One of the main advantages of microservices architecture is that it supports CI/CD/CD (Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Continuous Deployment). It enables you to quickly deploy core microservices as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and continuously update it with additional microservices to make it a full fetched product in the future.
Also, as technology advances, new features may be introduced in the market and it is much easier to add them as microservices. Besides, a higher level of application security can be maintained all the time by adding a new security feature to the application as new security threats arise.
Conflict free
Compatibility and conflict are two major nightmares for every developer. Compatibility issues can lead to service outages and bring down the quality of the user experience. However, if you are using microservices, you don’t have to worry about such issues.
Due to its pluggability, microservices architecture offers faster and easier application development and updates. Since each microservices in an application will be functioning autonomously, making changes to a microservice or adding/removing a microservice to the application will not conflict with other microservices. As a result, there are fewer chances for coding conflicts and server outages due to the compatibility of codes.
Fault isolation
Along with being conflict-free, microservices architecture also offers circuit breakers that prevent cascading failure and server resource depletion. As a result, dependency related shutdowns are least to nil in a microservices architecture-based application.
Developers can also avoid using Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) between microservices to prevent cascading failures. Furthermore, fault tolerance libraries like Hystrix help you to build fault-tolerant microservices so that you can totally avoid cascading failure and enable resilience in your complex application.
Business agility
The market is ever-changing. Businesses need to cater to different demands that may not be permanent in the market. However, making changes to their applications frequently to fulfil user’ demands was always a difficult task for businesses. New features had to be designed, developed and tested before they are integrated into a live application. The whole process cost them time and money and even then the results were not promising.
With the introduction of microservices, agility became no longer an issue for businesses. An application that is based on microservices architecture is comprised of several microservices that work independently and enable certain feature sets in the application. To enable a new feature, you just have to integrate a new microservice into the system, and thanks to its autonomous nature, you don’t have to worry about any dependency failures. Thence, businesses can now easily integrate new features to an existing application and roll back to the previous version if the new feature doesn’t work out.
Focused teams
A microservice is small enough for a single team to build, test and deploy it. In Amazon’s terms, a team that is small enough to be fed by two pizzas can manage everything related to a microservice. By keeping the size of the team small, they noticed that the work efficiency improved, there was more ownership, teams were easier to manage, they achieved their goals faster and the quality of the end results were often better.
Since the teams are working independently and there is a good rapport between the team members, fostering creative thinking and innovative ideas becomes spontaneous. Moreover, there will be a positive relationship and trust between the team members and the teams will be highly motivated.
How to implement microservices architecture?
Decentralize
Microservices replaces monolithic design thinking. In a microservices based application, everything from code to teams is decentralized. Small autonomous teams shall be responsible for designing, developing, testing and deploying services and there should be no sharing of code or data schemes.
Business-focused design
Microservices should be designed around the business domain. Each business microservice should have a single cohesive domain model. Depending on the scenario, a business microservice can be composed of several physical services that share a single domain model. However, the domain model must capture the business language, rules, behaviours and constraints of the business microservice it represents.
Ownership of data
A microservice should be totally independent. This rule is applicable in the case of data storage too. In a microservice-based application, data ownership lies with the service that handles the data; so the data storage should be private to that particular service.
Use APIs
All service communications should be handled using secure APIs. The APIs should be modelled around the domain not the internal implementation of the services.
Use gateways
Simplify application development by offloading cross-cutting services such as SSL certificates and authentication etc. to a gateway.
Decouple
Coupling between services should be avoided to make each service independent. So that any changes you make to one service will not affect any other services that comprise the application. This is applicable to communication protocols and even shared database schemas.
Functional cohesion
Functions that are serving a single purpose should be packaged and deployed together to avoid tight coupling.
Tight coupling is a sign of low cohesion. When there is low cohesion, a change in one service will affect other services in an application. Therefore, you will be forced to make changes to other services when updating a particular service. So, the focus should be to create services that are loose coupled and have high functional cohesion.
Fault isolation
The purpose of microservices architecture is to design reliable applications. You should implement fault isolation along with a resilience strategy to avoid cascading failure and dependency related shutdowns.
Adopting microservices: The Netflix and Amazon stories
Netflix and Amazon identified the potential of microservices and leveraged it to their business advantages earlier than any other in the industry.
Netflix
In the beginning, Netflix was using monolithic architecture for their application. In 2008, due to a major database corruption in their servers, the services of Netflix were unavailable to their customers for three days. Around the same time, the company also realized that the vertically scaled model was hampering its growth. They were not able to meet the demand of their growing customer base with the then-existing model.
Around 2009, Netflix started moving their services to microservices architecture. They began by moving to distributed cloud systems that are highly reliable and horizontally scalable. In 2016, Netflix expanded their services to more than 130 countries and became a global service provider. Their API gateway handled more than 2 billion requests daily around the same year. Now Netflix has more than hundreds of microservices instead of a single monolithic application.
Amazon
The growth of Amazon started in the early 2000s. As they were growing, more issues related to scaling started to interrupt their operations. The company quickly recognized that a single model that acts as a master product will not help them in the long run. So, they started to create independent teams that are small enough to be fed by two pizzas and assigned them the responsibility to develop autonomous services that are complete on their own.
The idea was to use microservices to power every feature of their platform and the term “microservices” didn’t even exist at that time! These microservices together would give the impression of a big, single application and communicate with each other via secure APIs. The developers would be fully responsible for the services they build and that includes coding, testing and deployment.
However, a lot of operational work became repetitive, and it slowed down the process. With the introduction of AWS (Amazon Web Services), Amazon was able to automate these operational processes and it helped them to scale the services depending on the demand and business needs.
Conclusion
It is true that moving to microservices architecture requires a paradigm shift. But the benefits of it will depend on the nature of the business and its long-term goals. For large enterprises, adopting microservices is a necessity due to the complexity arising from their large-scale operations and the magnitude of demands they must fulfil. For startups and small-scale businesses, microservices architecture may not seem attractive now. However, if you are a growth-oriented business, choosing microservices architecture will benefit you in long run.
N.B.: AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in developing trendsetting yet cost effective solutions for startups and enterprises alike. If you are looking for a microservices developer for your next project, contact us now!
2021 saw many technology trends as a continuous response to the COVID pandemic that emerged in 2020. Industries were in shock during the first quarter of 2020. But towards the end of the year, most of the industries were able to take control of the situation and we saw somewhat an accelerated growth during the year 2021.
In 2021, most industries optioned for technology adoption and it helped them tremendously. The industries that took advantage of digital transformation included manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, education, financial services, media, and retail. Since customers were mostly confined within their homes, we saw some big jumps in emerging technologies in industries like education, media, retail, and healthcare.
2021 is already over and we are now in 2022. Most of us will be wondering what to expect this year especially in technology industry since it was the driving force behind all emerging trends for past couple of years. To help the curious minds, we have curated a list of emerging technology trends for the current year, 2022.
Major technology trends to watch out for in 2022
Automation
The word “automation” is not new to any of us. We have been hearing about automation and how different industries are adopting it to improve their productivity, efficiency, cut costs and boost profit margin. However, as different industries are seeking out more ways to adopt automation, automation is also seeing a diversification.
In the beginning, it was the manufacturing industry that recognized the benefits of automation. Later, the service industry also adopted automation in the form of CRMs, inventory management software, payroll software, invoicing software and so on. These days automation has reached every nook and cranny of a business. People have become familiar with terms like self-driving vehicles, autopilots, smart wearables, smart home notifications etc. We are also seeing an increase in consumer numbers for IoT devices as they are becoming more affordable and convenient.
“By 2025, more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), generating 79.4 zettabytes of data yearly.”
We can expect more growth in the field of automation and IoT in coming years as the potential is limitless and we have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
Metaverse
Facebook renamed itself to Meta in October last year. The tech giant rebranding itself after a decade and a half reflects the potential of metaverse. While AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) are not a new trend in 2022, the coming together of physical, augmented, and virtual world to form a single and seamless entity, where people can hang out with friends, meet new people and places, do shopping, participate in entertainment and professional activities alike, is something new and yet to experience. Of course, the idea has been lingering around for a while and we even had a chance to see few demos and experimentation, the Metaverse was still in its conception stage. But we can expect some breakthroughs soon especially since trillion-dollar companies like “Meta” have recognized that it is the future.
Here’s the full video of our Walmart VR store concept demo! Almost 5 years later, this demo is proof of how experimental VR once was and how far it has come today!
The pandemic forced so many physical stores to close down. Businesses around the globe, irrespective of their industry, discovered that it is difficult to find customers in traditional ways since movement of the people are mostly restricted. It forced businesses to migrate from offline business model to an online business model with a focus on websites and apps to connect with their customers.
However, the results were not promising since most businesses were out of reach for the customers. Their websites and apps failed to show up in search results and were undiscoverable for potential clients. It forced businesses to put more focus on search optimization and become discoverable for their customers.
Due to the comfort and convenience it offers, people are still preferring online shopping even after the restrictions are lifted. We can expect the trend to stay the same for a while at least until there is some incentives for customers to prefer the traditional way for shopping. So, currently businesses are forced to find new search and discoverability strategies to attract sales.
Decision intelligence
Decision intelligence is a new discipline that can help such organizations with their organizational decision-making process. It can support and enhance human decision-making using intelligence and analytics to inform, learn from and create a set of processes to find the right decision. It combines various disciplines like data science, engineering, social science, decision theory and managerial science. We will be seeing decision intelligence in action more often in the coming years.
Distributed business
A distributed business or distributed company is a business that has a remote workforce and consumers connected via digital technologies. It is a digital-first, remote-first business model that encourages hybrid workforce and virtual services to improve employee and consumer experience. Ever since the pandemic there is an apparent shift in employee and consumer preferences and distributed business model can help companies to meet the expectations of both.
Cyber AI
Hacking, breaches, data theft etc. are becoming widespread despite technological advancements. Hackers are leveraging the advancement in technology to find loopholes in systems and create novel ways to get access to them. In 2022, businesses need to be proactive than ever to counter such cyber threats.
Thankfully, artificial intelligence and machine learning help to build models that can learn their own and detect novel patterns in a system. Processes like “Anomaly detection” etc. are a big step towards achieving this goal. Such models can not only detect an unusual pattern, but they can also contain them, notify about such events to concerned parties and use the data to improve themselves.
Distributed ledger and Blockchain
Decentralization is happening in all fields. Data storage and processing are also undergoing a major transformation. The traditional, centralized databases are giving way for distributed ledger (shared ledger or DLT) and blockchain models that are more secure and safe.
Industries like finance and banking are taking full advantage of these technologies as they offer more efficient transactions. The transactions and their details are recorded in multiple places at the same time making them impossible to be lost.
DLT is still an emerging technology if we compare its potential to the current rate of adoption. Since it can help to deter issues like hacking, unauthorized access, data theft etc., we can expect it to become an emerging trend in 2022.
Cloud
Businesses are moving from legacy environments to the cloud at a faster rate. The necessity to go virtual and remote forced most businesses to ditch legacy models and find alternative solutions.
Since the tech industry foresaw the rise of cloud a long time ago, most of the new solutions like productivity tools, businesses suits, even games and media services are already cloud-based. Along with the necessity to go for a decentralized and distributed model, the potential for much better compatibility and integration are forcing companies to build their infrastructure and solution using cloud tech.
Wordless Passwords
Are you someone who always click on the “forgot password” button every time you try to log in to a platform? If yes, here is good news. The traditional, character-based passwords are giving way to more sophisticated biometric passwords. The use of fingerprint, face recognition, iris scan and voice authentication etc. are becoming popular as an authentication mode. They are not only secure but also convenient compared to traditional passwords that are based on alphabets, numbers, and special characters that we always manage to forget.
Also, service providers like Google etc. are moving towards more convenient authentication methods like signing in with your phone or authenticator app where you do not have to remember any password or code but to tap on the matching code that appears on your device/app.
Fewer keys
The introduction of the Apple Pencil was revolutionary. Even though stencils were in use for a long time, Apple Pencil offers something more than a pencil. They are integrated very well with the devices and designed in a way that is convenient to users. It can undertake different functions based on pressure, tilt, the application that is currently open, double-tap, or for navigation and everything else including notetaking and drawing.
In short, we are moving from an era of keyboards and input tools to a new era that enables us to interact with devices just like how we interact with other human beings.
Immersion
Technology is moving its focus from experience to immersion. Until now each component in a system had its own set of functions that focused on delivering a specific experience to users. However, the recent technology trends are moving towards immersive experience where each component is designed in a way to offer a realistic, more enjoyable and wholistic experience and eliminate any chances for interruptions. The vision is to narrow the border between the virtual and real world and deliver the experience the users want rather than they need.
The two industries that are more focused on this emerging trend are gaming and media. It is because these industries were always struggling to deliver “the right experience” to their users especially when the users’ interests span across history, science, and fantasy. For example, it always was a challenge for game developers to offer the experience of living in space or a treasure hunt in ancient times to its users even though the storyline and models were of the best quality. The fault was not in the quality of the design but the delivery of the experience.
Ever since AR and VR became more mature and there are significant improvements in rendering, physics, display and audio technology, the experience has become much better for the users. In 2022, we can expect this trend to become widespread and more industries adopting it to improve customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
There are some exciting technology trends we can expect in 2022. Some of the names associated with these tech trends may seem familiar to you. Even if they are familiar, we are yet to see the adoption of such technologies on a scale that is large enough to make an impact on our day-to-day life. 2022 seems like to be the year we are going to experience them in our regular life.
AlignMinds is an award-winning technology consulting company that specializes in product engineering in mobility and cloud platforms. We offer best in class consulting in web and mobile app development, AI, AR, IoT, cloud, blockchain and cybersecurity. Are you looking for a technology partner for your next project? Contact us now!
Imagine one day you discovered an app called “MobileApp”.
The app helps its users to find rides that are economical by letting you share the occupancy with other users who want to travel in the same direction. You were not sure about the practicality of what it offers, so you tested it on a weekend night when you were not in a hurry. Fortunately, the app worked perfectly. You were able to find a ride quick enough and save some money too.
You have been using the app for a while now. All your rides, including the one to your office, are handled by the “MobileApp”. Like on any other morning, you woke up, got ready, took your mobile and opened the app to book your ride today too. To your horror, the map is not loading, and the app keeps on freezing even after several reboots.
You open Play Store to see whether there is an update pending. But alas, you found nothing! However, you notice that most of the recent comments are about the similar issue and seems like it is happening for a while for most users.
But you got no time at least enough time to read all those comments. You must hurry now or be prepared to reach your office at the wrong time. luckily, you discover one of your colleagues lives just nearby and he will be able to offer you a lift for the day. Now you are feeling ashamed of yourself for trusting a mobile app and depending on it too much enough to bring you trouble. You lost trust in the whole technology thing itself.
This is what happens when app developers don’t take care of application maintenance. The trust and image that built over time is just lost within a minute. The existing users are lost mostly forever, so are most of the potential users who see those feedbacks on Play Store. Revenue, hard work, development, and everything else went into vain.
What is application maintenance?
Application maintenance is the process of continuously monitoring, analyzing, evaluating, updating, and upgrading part of an application or application as a whole to offer the functions and features as intended without any interruption or lack of usability for the end-user.
Application maintenance comes at later stages of app development. But it plays a vital role in deciding the success of an application.
Due to evolving market needs, competition, new technologies and technology adoption, change in business strategies, and other external factors like government policies and latest events in the industry, an application need regular modification to maintain its relevancy among customers. It is irrelevant whether you are developing the app in one go or the development is scheduled in several stages, maintenance and technical support are very crucial from the moment the app goes live.
Why is application maintenance important?
There are several reasons why application maintenance is so important.
Ensure application functions
An application’s functions and features are what make it unique. They offer an advantage over its competitors and play a crucial role in whether the app is going to be successful in the market.
However, due to technology advancement and some of the existing technologies getting outdated, the app needs to be modified and updated in regular intervals to ensure that all its functions and features are still available to the users. Otherwise, the app will lose its functionalities and its place in the market. It will become obsolete within a short span due to how fast technology is evolving.
Technology adoption
Technology is evolving at a fast pace. Existing ones are replaced by faster, modern, and safer technologies. Businesses and applications that leverage the latest technologies will have the upper hand in competition because it will help them offer an enhanced experience to their customers.
However, most applications are not able to leverage upon latest technologies due to the wide gap between the existing one used in the application and the latest technology. Either they must recreate the whole application once again or compromise on what they can improve to offer a better experience to their users. This often happens when an application missed maintenance for a while increasing compatibility issues.
New features
Since applications that are devoid of maintenance for a while will have compatibility issues, such applications are more likely to be at a disadvantage when it comes to integrating new features. Most of the new, trending features are powered by the latest technologies. It is due to the lack of these technologies earlier applications failed to include these features during their launch. So, it is clear that to integrate any new features that depend on the latest technology, application maintenance is a must.
Security
As technology evolves, more and more vulnerabilities and security threats are surfacing. Hackers try to exploit loopholes in an application to get access to sensitive data. These loopholes are the product of outdated codes and technologies the application still uses. Also, there are other threats like malware, ransomware, data breach, etc. because the application is not up to date and has not deployed the latest security measures. To ensure security alone, application maintenance is critical for any application.
Legal compliance
Governments across the world are identifying more user rights like the right to privacy, right to option out, right to accessibility, right to request for the removal of information etc. They are not only identifying but also legalizing them to ensure that these rights are respected by tech companies. For example, new policies like GDPR forced most tech companies to change their way of collecting data or withdraw from the market. So, to become compatible with ever-changing market needs and legal obligations, application maintenance is a must to follow.
User satisfaction
User satisfaction is a critical factor in deciding the success of an application. However, there are many factors, like the ones stated above, that are contributing to user satisfaction. In other words, to ensure user satisfaction, an app should take care of security, its functions and features, legal compatibility, user experience, the addition of new features version wise etc., which are not possible without application maintenance.
Trust and brand image
Remember the story at the beginning of this article? Trust is hard to build but easy to lose!
Nowadays applications are focusing on certain niches. They are trying to help the users with one specific action. It can be booking a ride, booking a table in their favorite restaurant, trading in the stock market or trying their luck in online dating. Whatever it may be, once a user becomes familiar with the application and its usage, it is more likely that he or she is going to use it on a regular basis making the app a part of their day-to-day life.
When you are interacting with something on a regular basis, there will always be some emotional bonding. In other words, applications are taking over the place of other human beings in one’s life. Not a long time ago, you used to book tickets from travel agencies. If you are one who is frequently travelling, you mostly have an emotional connection or even friendship with the ticket agent. However, these days such positions are slowly replaced by mobile applications.
But the point is that, due to the same emotional connection, when an application fails to do its job or totally mess up, the user feels like they are being cheated and the trust is broken forever. And often they share their experience with friends and family circles just like how they used to recommend the ticket agent when everything was going well. And when something goes wrong? The negative news spread faster!
Application maintenance services
Now you might have understood why application maintenance is so critical. It is as important as application development and can solely decide the future of the application.
Thankfully when it comes to application maintenance, there are several options available to you. Most of the application development companies offer app maintenance as a standalone service or as part of their application development service.
Approaching a single company that offers both app development and app maintenance has its own benefits.
> It is easier to create a solid and comprehensive roadmap if you are approaching the same agency for app development and maintenance.
> When maintenance and support are included as part of the whole package, it becomes more economical.
> Since application maintenance is a long-term service by nature, it is more likely that the agency and you will have a long-term relationship, which in turn offer you the opportunity to negotiate.
> When the app development company is also responsible for maintenance and support, the probability of bugs and errors will be less since they understand the system very well. Also, they will be able to resolve issues faster if in case one arises, and the application development will be futureproof.
> You will have more control over the budget due to the opportunity for negotiation. Also, companies that offer both development and maintenance services mostly have flexible pricing plans.
> You have more control over the future of the application. For example, since it is the same agency that developed the application, they will already have a team that is familiar with the architecture and infrastructure of your application, the strength, and weaknesses of the system, and how to migrate to an upgraded environment in future to integrate more features to the existing system.
Whether you are looking for an agency that offers both development and maintenance services or planning to purchase app maintenance services from another company, the important thing is that you must plan and create a roadmap for application maintenance at the beginning stage of product development itself. It will help you allocate enough resources for the maintenance part and play the long game.
Cost of app maintenance
The cost of app maintenance depends on so many factors like how the pricing is calculated, the location of the team, nature of the work, the complexity of the work, technologies to work with etc.
Pricing model
There are different pricing models available. For example, some companies charge per hour, some others charge per new version release or as a monthly retention plan.
Location
If you are from a developed country and looking for application development or app maintenance services within a minimum price range, hiring an offshore company from geographies like Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe will be the best choice. Tech companies from these parts of world have a more affordable rate compared to companies from developed countries like the US.
Nature of the work
Are you approaching a different company for application maintenance or are you planning to purchase both development and maintenance services as a package from a single company?
1. Are you also looking for technical support from the same team?
2. Do you want them to just fix the bugs or release a new version with more features periodically?
3. Do you want to migrate the application to a better environment when there is a better opportunity available?
As you see, the nature of the work can vary from project to project. So, it is important that the nature of the work is well identified in advance to calculate the cost of app maintenance.
The complexity of the work
The cost of maintenance will change depending on how complex the work is. More complex work demands more resources and the involvement of an expert team. A complex work also demands more time unless more resources are invested. These factors will increase the cost of maintenance to a certain level.
Technologies involved
Even though there is a team involved in the development and maintenance of applications, each team will have members who are an expert in specific fields or technologies. Some technologies are easier to work with and there is a lack of experts in some fields. In other words, when more technologies are involved and it is difficult to find the right expert for the project, the cost of maintenance will be on the higher side.
Usually, an experienced developer or a developer from a developed country like the US may charge $30 and above per hour for their services. Whereas in a developing country like India, the price starts from $15. However, these prices will vary depending on the above factors mentioned.
Conclusion
Application maintenance plays a vital role in deciding the success of an application. So, it is important to plan and allocate enough resources for the maintenance services at the beginning stage of product development. AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in developing trendsetting yet cost-effective applications for various verticals. We have successfully implemented application maintenance and app management for thousands of projects throughout these years. If you are looking for an expert team to take care of app development or maintenance for you, Contact us now!
DevOps consulting services are becoming popular day by day. The estimated value of the global DevOps market was USD 4,311.95 Million in 2020. It is expected to cross USD 5,114.57 Million by the end of this year. Considering a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.95%, experts have forecasted that the value will reach USD 12,215.54 Million by 2026.
The reason why DevOps has become so popular is that it promotes a culture of trust and risk-sharing between team members. It motivates teams to continuously work together, experiment and shares knowledge to reach a common goal, i.e., make a software product ready as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The statistic shows the importance of DevOps in scaling software development. Courtesy: Statista
As it promotes team play and encourages communication and mutual support, the uncertainty regarding the quality of the end product is minimized. As a result, so many businesses are adopting DevOps at a fast pace to eliminate uncertainty and improve the quality of their products.
“DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes. This speed enables organizations to better serve their customers and compete more effectively in the market.”
“A compound of development (Dev) and operations (Ops), DevOps is the union of people, process, and technology to continually provide value to customers.”
The above definitions make it clear that DevOps is not just a method or technique. Rather, it is a combination of principles, practices, methodologies, values, and philosophies that are shared between teams to help them achieve a common goal of creating software with maximum value.
Benefits of DevOps
DevOps offer so many benefits to a business. But what makes DevOps more popular is how crucial these benefits are to a business.
High collaboration
Communication between teams is crucial when developing a product. Developing a web or mobile application is not a simple process. It involves a set of processes such as market study, product conceptualization, product designing, development, deployment, and maintenance. The quality of the final product will depend on the level of mutual collaboration, communication, and integration across various teams who are part of the whole process.
DevOps encourages an environment where the boundaries between each team are reduced. There is a free flow of information and mutual support between teams to ensure that the quality is maintained at each stage of product development. Did your IT team have to send back the module your development team had worked tirelessly for the last few months as there was a conflict between the code and the deployment environment? DevOps will save you next time!
Early conflict detection
DevOps encourages knowledge sharing between teams. Each team will have a clear idea of what must be done and what are the requirements at each stage. These requirements are clearly communicated to other teams. The automated, continuous monitoring along with rigorous testing eliminates the chances for any conflict. And even if a problem arises, it is identified and mitigated in the initial stage itself.
Innovation
DevOps promotes collaboration between teams. When a group of talent comes together, the chances of finding something disruptive is much bigger.
Also, DevOps streamline the whole process of product development starting from market study to deployment and maintenance. The roadmap, automation, rigorous testing, and continuous monitoring help with eliminating extra work and reworks. The teams are more relaxed and there is a good work-life balance that promotes a fresh mindset and innovative thinking.
Faster delivery time
Automated processes, an environment that discourages conflict, quick feedback cycle and continuous delivery models help with transforming software development into a smooth and fast process. Effective communication and continuous testing ensure that quality is not lost in any stages. As conflicts and rework are less to nil, the projects are completed within deadline and with maximum efficiency.
Better quality
From the above points, it is clear that DevOps directly improve the quality of the end product. Rigorous and continuous testing, mutual collaboration, effective communication, continuous feedback cycle and automation are a few of the many factors that contribute to the quality of the product.
Reduced cost
Most businesses wonder whether they can afford DevOps services. This doubt arises from the misunderstanding that the budget can be reduced without affecting the list of features or quality of a product. Chances are, if you are opting for the traditional development process, the cost may increase due to conflicts and reworks. You may end up spending more than forecasted.
DevOps consulting services
To get all the benefits of DevOps, you must find the right DevOps consulting company. However, finding the right one may seem difficult due to the variety of options available in the market. Also, there are certain parameters you must check while choosing a DevOps consulting service. These factors not only help you to find the best DevOps consulting company but also you will be hiring the right one for your requirement.
Finding the right DevOps consulting company
Here is a list of things to check while hiring a DevOps consulting firm.
Identifying your requirement
The first step in choosing a DevOps consulting firm is to identify your requirement. Ask yourself questions like
What are your requirements
How are you planning to meet these requirements?
What is the available solution for your requirements?
What are the pros and cons of each available solution?
Which are the solutions that match your budget and timeline?
For example, if your requirement is to develop a complex product that demands certain technical expertise and faultless implementation, hiring a DevOps expert will be better than hiring a full stack developer.
If you are planning to hire an external agency instead of hiring a team in house, DevOps will be a better choice since it offers a robust feedback cycle along with ensuring that the product is ready as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Expertise
DevOps consulting firms should be an expert in software development and IT operations.
A DevOps consultant usually works on complex projects. Without having a better understanding of the process, technology stacks, methodologies, and operation constraints it will be harder for them to implement a project and achieve the results that are intended.
Also, since a DevOps engineer is most likely to work with an external company, it should be easier for them to understand the current technologies used by the said company, what are the strength and weaknesses of these technologies, and how to improve them to match the actual requirement without increasing the cost to an exorbitant level. The best DevOps companies are a maestro in doing research, analysis, evaluation, and planning.
Communication
Communication plays a large role in any DevOps project. In fact, it is one of the core aspects of DevOps project management.
Since DevOps demand mutual collaboration and knowledge sharing between teams and there is a continuous feedback cycle involved, communicating in a clear and precise manner is very important. Not only that, but a DevOps expert should also be well versed with popular communication and project management tools since most of the communications and monitoring will be done through technology platforms.
Support mentality
What DevOps tries to achieve is a rapport between different teams in the same project. It helps with finding innovative ideas and helps with avoiding conflicts and glitches in product development.
While elimination is a reactive process, avoiding a conflict altogether will need a proactive approach. The approach demands proactive communication and a supportive mentality between team members and different teams. For example, the IT team can help the development team to understand the strength and weaknesses of the client’s IT infrastructure and help them develop codes that are fully compatible with the existing environment. This also demands that each team has expert knowledge and adequate experience in their own field.
Being friendly
Only a friendly environment can promote team collaboration and communication. When team members feel intimidated or not valued it will negatively impact the whole process. It will also add certain biases to the product development cycle and the quality of the final product will be below the bar. So, a DevOps Expert should be friendly in her approach and promotes friendly gestures and expression of gratitude whenever possible.
Professionalism
Friendly yet professional. That should be the description of a DevOps expert.
While friendliness encourages communication and feedback, overdoing it may add certain biases to the product development cycle. For example, as a DevOps professional your duty is to ensure that a software product is ready as quickly and efficiently as possible. It demands keeping up with deadlines, monitoring resource allocation, monitoring the status of tasks assigned to team members and checking and verifying quality at every stage of the development. These duties demand an honest approach towards identifying problems and solving them as early as possible. But biases due to lack of professionalism and being overfriendly may result in overlooking these issues and the quality of the product will suffer.
Willingness to learn
A good DevOps expert never stops learning.
Most likely that a DevOps engineer will be continuously exposed to different problems and different teams each time they take up a project. Since the core philosophy of DevOps is to work as a single team trying to achieve the same goal, each member of the team should have a proper understanding of the whole project. They should also understand why certain things must be done in certain ways and how not following the guidelines will jeopardize their team or the next team in the product development cycle.
Empathy and patience
Software development is a complex process. It involves different stages, continuous feedback, and several iterations. Not all members of the team will be familiar with the scope of the project especially when there is a junior member involved. Since DevOps demands different teams, who may be an expert in their field but lack knowledge in other aspects of software development, to work together, it is likely that some members have some catching up to do. They may need more time for getting familiar with the project or need occasional technical assistance from an experienced member.
A good DevOps consultant will take notice of this and try to solve it in the most effective way possible. It is because she understands that when it comes to teamwork, there are no individual problems but problems that are common to everyone as a team. This is also why a good DevOps engineer can easily help their clients with solving the technological challenges they are facing.
Conclusion
The popularity of DevOps is increasing day by day. It is mainly due to the advantages DevOps is offering compared to other product development methodologies.
Hiring DevOps consulting services helps businesses to develop software products as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, the success of the projects will depend on factors like whether the business was able to hire the right DevOps consulting service. AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in working with projects that are varying in scale, technology, and complexity. If you are looking for a DevOps expert for your next project, contact us.
In 2020, global revenue from mobile apps crossed 318 billion U.S. dollars. This was a big jump from 60 billion U.S. dollars in 2019.
The mobile games segment topped the chart with a revenue of over 200 billion U.S. dollars. Social networking mobile apps created revenue of around 31 billion dollars and came second on the list.
Due to high earning potential and the chance to capture a huge market share, mobile apps are becoming popular in all segments. Statista reports that as of the first quarter of 2021, over 3.48 million mobile apps were available on the Google play store.
As mobile apps became popular, the demand for mobile app development services also saw a huge rise. Businesses and entrepreneurs recognized the importance of finding the right mobile app development services, so they can maximize the potential for growth and revenue.
However, as the demand for mobile application development services increased, the industry also saw significant growth. Countless mobile app development companies came into existence across the globe to tap on the opportunity.
As a result, finding the right app development companies from the plethora of options become a difficult task for most businesses.
The number of available apps in the Google Play Store from 2nd quarter 2015 to 1st quarter 2021. Courtesy: Statista.
Resources required for mobile app development
You may think the new-age businesses like mobile games and social media etc. are different from traditional businesses. Their business strategy and resource allocation are something new that traditional businesses can never relate to.
However, this is a false notion.
Just like a traditional business, any technology-oriented business also has the strategies set out almost similarly. The resources are invested in market research, competitors’ analysis, consumer behaviour study, planning of solutions, implementation of the solution, marketing, and post-purchase services. The major segments where a new-age business invests its resources are listed below.
Market Research
Before you start building your app, there are a few steps you must complete. The first one on the list is “market research”.
Try to find answers to questions like
Who is your target audience?
What are the problems they are facing?
How the solution you are going to develop will help them?
What are the current options in front of your target audience?
How can your solution help the audience better?
Business strategy
You have to strategize how the mobile app you are going to develop will help you as a business. For every business, profit and growth are the ultimate goals. So, any investment they make should bring them returns in terms of profit or growth.
At this step, a business should strategize whether the mobile app is part of their growth plan or a source of revenue. For example, a construction business can create a mobile app as a media consumption platform where they share the latest designs, DIY tutorials or general tips and guides on construction and design. Here the strategy is to help their brand name reach a larger audience, so it will be easier to sell to the same audience later.
On the other hand, a revenue-oriented solution will be a platform where a business connects with their customers and sell products and services directly to them. eCommerce websites are a suitable example of this.
The other things a business should decide include how are they planning to implement this strategy. Are they planning to generate revenue via ads, subscription offers, in-app purchases, one-time payments, upgrade plans or any other modes? If the strategy is to increase their brand reach, what types of content they can utilize? How frequently the content should be updated? Should the content be available in multiple languages?
Consumer study
To be honest, this one should be a part of all the stages of app development. The targeted audience will come into contact with a business in several instances. Each time, the interaction will provide more data about the targeted audience. As a business, you should leverage this information to improve your products and find better and efficient ways to reach the target audience.
In the preliminary stages, you can make use of direct surveys and market research to build a customer profile. Once the app is live, you can leverage the data from the inbuilt analytics or third-party tools. More information can be collected from customers directly once they have directly engaged with your business either during a business transaction or post-purchase.
The collected data can be used to improve existing products, introduce new products, improve your marketing efforts etc.
Building the app
The app can be built in house or by hiring external agencies who are experts in mobile app development.
While building an app in-house will offer you more control over the whole process, it may increase the cost of the process and may delay the launch of the app. You have to invest in technology, infrastructure, human resources and set methodologies and quality standards all by yourself. You also must take care of app deployment and post-deployment strategies. All these will build up cost and hiring the right resources and setting up infrastructure etc. will take time.
If you are hiring a mobile app development company, they already have the right resources and methodologies with them. So, the development cost and time may be less compared to developing an app in house.
If you have no prior experience in this field, has budget constraints or need to launch the app as early as possible, hiring an app development agency will be the right option.
App launch and post-deployment
Whether it is an iOS app or an Android app, your app should follow certain guidelines and quality standards to become eligible to be featured on respective app markets. For example, this is a guideline offered by Apple. And, this is one of the guidelines offered by Google. There are several such guidelines and tips available for both App Store and Play store.
However, submitting your app to the app store or play store won’t be enough. Even if the app store optimization is done right, the success of your app can’t be guaranteed at this stage. You have to promote your newly launched app to your target audience and for that implementation of a well-planned marketing strategy is necessary.
You should also update your app periodically to meet new technology standards and keep it secure and bug-free.
Should you hire mobile app development services?
As you just read, mobile app development is a complex process of combining business strategies and technological innovation. It demands market and technology expertise. The resources needed for developing a mobile app is demanding and you should plan it carefully to not waste your investment.
Thus, unless you have prior experience in developing a mobile app, it is always better to hire mobile app development services so the result can be somewhat guaranteed. The good thing about hiring a mobile app development company is that the right one will have enough experience and expertise in the industry to help you out with the whole process starting from market research and product conceptualization to app launch and app marketing.
But the question is how do you find the right mobile app development services?
Finding the right mobile app development services
Definition of “right mobile app development services” may vary from one business to another. There are different factors that decide whether a mobile app development service is suitable or non-suitable for a business.
Price
First and foremost, the cost of hiring an app development service should be affordable. Unless the services are available at a price range you are able to meet, hiring becomes futile since the project will never be completed or you may lose ownership of the final product.
The best way to find affordable app development services is to hire globally. For example, the cost of developing mobile apps is comparatively less in south-east Asian countries like India or Eastern European countries. If you think hiring from these countries won’t handicap you in terms of communication and quality, this will be a wise decision to make in terms of investment.
Pricing model
Often app development agencies will have different pricing models. For example, some agencies charge you per project, some charge you based on services offered and some others may charge you based on resources. There are also app development agencies that offer you a flexible pricing model.
Experience
Hiring an experienced app development agency will be the right decision for most businesses as it will reduce risk.
When hiring a mobile app development company check whether they have any previous experience in developing similar mobile apps or a mobile app for the same market or industry. Check how the apps are performing in the market. If they have prior experience in developing a similar app, they might be familiar with the industry, business model and target market. So, they can leverage their experience in each stage of development such as user experience, choosing the technology platforms, payment integration, data security and legal compliance etc.
You must also check the performance and quality of the mobile apps they have developed by downloading a few of them and using them on a device. You can also check the ratings and feedbacks their previous customers have given them.
Expertise
Mobile app development is a complex process. It involves different stages and each stage demand expertise in certain disciplines.
For example, the first stage of app development can be identified as product conceptualization. This stage involves planning the product you are going to develop, what are its strength and how it will help you as a business and how it will help the targeted audience with their problems. Here, the expertise should be related to market research and business planning.
The next stage of app development deals with product design. It involves the process of transforming the product concept into design in terms of wireframes, icons, typography, and images. Here, creativity and design capabilities are the expertise called for.
In the next stages, experts are needed for
Finding the right technology platforms,
Maintaining coding standards,
Understanding quality parameters,
Following legal and security guidelines,
Meeting app store eligibility
Promote the mobile app
User analytics etc.
If your plan is to hire an agency to take care of the whole mobile app development process, you should check whether they have the expertise to manage each stage of the development cycle. Lack of expertise in even a single stage may negatively impact the success of your mobile app.
Location
If you are hiring from outside the country, you should be careful about communication and cultural differences.
If there is a big difference in time zone, it may negatively impact the communication since the team you hired may not be available at a time that is convenient for you. So before hiring, you must check whether support is available around the clock or during the time that is convenient to you and your team.
You should also check whether the team can communicate in a language you are comfortable with. Miscommunication will lead to misunderstandings. It will cause unnecessary delays in the development and may impact the functions of the final product negatively.
Quality standards
The quality of a mobile app is necessary due to several factors. First and foremost, the app should provide a good experience for the end-user. It should meet security standards to avoid any legal proceedings from authorities or the users who think the app has violated their basic rights. The quality should be kept in check to become eligible to be submitted to App Store and Play Store, the most popular app markets currently in the market.
So, while looking for mobile application development services, you should check whether the service provider has any understanding of these quality standards. Normally any professional app development agency will have a document that states the quality standards they follow, what are the measurements they take to ensure the mobile app quality and how they mitigate any issues that arise related to this matter and details of contact points who are responsible for monitoring and maintaining the quality of the product they develop.
Before hiring, you should check whether the agency can share any such documents. If no such documents are available, you should check what options are available to check what quality standards the agency follows.
Property rights and Disclosure
Have no doubts. If you are the one paying for the services, you should be the owner of the product idea and final product. A proper non-disclosure agreement should be signed between you and the app development agency in the preliminary stages of communication itself and the agency should respect the product as intellectual property of your business.
Security
Security standards are compulsory for any app product. The app should be safe and secure to use, it should be protected from unauthorized access and the data should be stored securely following all data policy and data security standards set up by security experts and legal authorities.
Any failure in this department will not only impact the business negatively but also cause additional costs in terms of fines and compensation and tarnish the image of the business in front of the public. It may even force the business to shut down its operation and the parties involved may have to undergo legal scrutiny.
Delivery management
Hiring mobile application development services doesn’t mean that you are handing over the whole process to the agency and left waiting until the final product is ready.
The agency should keep you updated periodically as the development progress and seek frequent feedback from you. You should not be left out as an external party but should be respected as part of the team. Regular meetings should be scheduled, and you should have ways and means to raise your concerns and share your feedback.
The delivery management standards and guidelines should be documented and shared with you in the preliminary stages of communication itself. As a client, you should also have the details of contact points at different levels so that if an issue arises, you can seek for remedy immediately.
Deployment
Deployment is the process of launching the final version of a mobile app and offering a way for the actual users to access it.
Generally, apps are deployed on app markets like App Store or Play Store depending on the technology and platforms. To be eligible for deployment, each app market has its own guidelines and quality standards. The app will be approved only after the review of the same. The agency should be familiar with all these guidelines and ensure that the app is deployed as preplanned. They should also take care of all the App Store Optimization(ASO) techniques that will help the app to reach more users.
Post-deployment services
Post-deployment services are mainly app maintenance services. It includes bug fixes, releases of the new versions, adding new functionalities and features, user analytics, data on acquisition etc.
Most companies charge based on hours or a monthly retainer fee for post-deployment services. But this will wholly depend on their business and pricing model. As a business, you should try to hire the best post-deployment services as they will have a direct impact on uptime and the user experience.
Conclusion
Finding mobile app development services is not difficult in this day and age. However, finding the “right” application development services may be difficult for most businesses as the definition of “best app development services” vary from one to another. As each business is unique, you should find an app development agency that understands your industry and business goal and share the same business values as yours.
AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in developing mobile apps for startups and enterprises alike. We have developed several trendsetting yet cost-effective solutions for multiple verticals throughout the years of our existence. If you are looking for an experienced mobile app development agency who is also an expert in this field, contact us now!
Cloud migration services are becoming popular day by day. As more businesses are optioning for cloud technologies, the industry has seen a sudden growth in recent times. The surge in demand for infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) is an example of this.
According to Gartner, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 23.1% in 2021 to total $332.3 billion, up from $270 billion in 2020. Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report states that enterprises are continuing to spend on the cloud and most of the respondents are leveraging multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies.
Cloud migration: The driving force
The COVID pandemic has had a significant impact on the pace of cloud adoption. However, the trend was much noticeable even before the pandemic. Organizations that recognized the benefits of cloud technologies were the first to move from traditional environments to cloud ones. In other words, the benefits that are offered by the cloud environments are the driving force behind this trend. The pandemic has just fastened its pace.
Why migrate to the cloud?
The main advantage of the cloud is that it offers growth and scalability. Since these two are the major goals of any business, most of them saw the emergence of cloud technologies as an opportunity to turn their ambitions into realities.
The major benefits of cloud include,
Cost
Setting up and maintaining technology infrastructure will drive up the total cost of ownership. You must spend on purchasing the components, hiring experts to set up the system, place proper authorizations and security measures, enable hardware and software compatibility, and update the system as technology and industry advances. It is your responsibility to train your staff or hire an external team to periodically evaluate the strength and weaknesses of the system, make it up to date and running. These are the major drawbacks of any legacy systems.
However, ever since companies like Amazon and Microsoft started offering cloud services to thousands of customers, companies could opt for infrastructure as services and pay only for the usage. Since the cost is divided among a large customer base, the price of the services has become affordable.
Resources
To set up, run and maintain legacy systems, businesses have to invest on human resources. The systems are maintained by dedicated staff who need to have adequate knowledge on how the system works and how to make it compatible and future-proof.
However, when a business is optioning for infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS), they are also getting expert support as part of the service. The service provider will take care of staffing, training, maintenance and updating of the system. So, the businesses can fully focus on their core functions.
Security
The security of data was a big headache for businesses. Even now, it remains a major concern for them and their end-users. The introduction of cloud systems couldn’t change it. However, ever since businesses have started adopting IaaS, businesses could worry less and spend less on this area as the infrastructure providers also offer security as a part of the overall package.
During the time of legacy systems, businesses must allocate a portion of their profit to security and threat prevention. They are also compelled to periodically evaluate whether their infrastructure has any vulnerabilities, and it can withstand the latest threats. Many small businesses find it difficult to allocate funds since the profit they are gaining is already marginal.
However, the introduction of cloud as services brought new concepts like the “shared responsibility model” to the industry. The services provider, for example AWS, will be responsible for the hardware, network and other facilities needed to run the systems and you will be responsible for encrypting the data and authorization.
The benefit is that businesses no longer have to invest in research and development and maintenance of the infrastructure. The responsibility and cost of the same will fall on the service providers. Since their whole business model depends on the quality and security of what they offer, it is more likely that they will invest in these areas, and they are more than capable to do so compared to businesses depending on legacy systems.
Accessibility and Authorization
Legacy systems are more vulnerable to data theft and similar threats as the data are stored in local premises. Anyone who has access to such premises may have access to the stored data whether it is in raw form or encrypted form. So, companies had to take extra precautions to ensure data security when it comes to legacy systems.
On the other hand, data are stored safely and remotely in a cloud system. Often the services providers demand that the data should be converted into encrypted form to avoid any data leakage. They also offer several features to enable multi-level authorization where not everyone can access the whole data and often systems are in place to track who is accessing what.
Collaboration
Cloud enables several people from different locations of the world to work on a platform at the same time. This not only increases productivity and communications but also enables companies to hire from across the globe. Sometimes it is difficult to find the right talents locally or the cost of hiring locally may be higher. Using cloud technologies, businesses now have a way to overcome these challenges.
Speed
As cloud platforms leverage the advantages of latest technologies, they are often fast and more responsive compared to legacy systems. Also, cloud service providers have a good portion of their budget allocated to research and development of the platform to increase speed, compatibility, and uptime.
Should you migrate to the cloud?
For most businesses, migrating to the cloud will bring at least one or more benefits mentioned above. However, cloud migration has its own challenges. Often the process is considered troublesome and demands support from experts. Sometimes, the existing system may not be supported on the cloud and a new solution have to be developed from scratch.
Legacy application migration: Challenges
To understand the challenges of legacy application migration to cloud, we first must understand what a legacy system is.
Legacy systems
Legacy systems are self-managed applications deployed within a company’s on-premises. Typically, the pieces of equipment and facilities are owned by the company and the system is maintained by the company staff. This type of system requires huge cost to set up and run as the companies must invest in space, equipment, licenses, post-purchase services, hiring and training staff, maintenance and replacement, security and periodic evaluation etc.
What are the problems with legacy systems?
Legacy systems are sometimes considered as a hindrance to growth as businesses must find capital to invest in the infrastructure to enable scaling. Without uninterrupted cash flow, it will be difficult to invest in infrastructure and resources at each stage of growth. It becomes more challenging when the growth is sudden, or the business is not confined to one market.
How do you deal with legacy systems?
When it comes to dealing with legacy systems, there are mainly two ways.
You can maintain the legacy system
Or modernize the legacy applications
Maintaining legacy systems
Businesses choose to maintain legacy application to avoid cost involved with modernizing their applications. Be it maintaining, adding additional features, or replacing the existing applications with new one, it all demand additional investment in terms of money, resources, and time. However, most businesses consider maintaining the existing systems cost less money as compared to replacing it. So instead of investing on new technologies and methodologies, they will allocate a portion of total budget to maintain the existing system.
However, maintaining legacy applications become problematic for most business in long run. They must ensure frequent cashflow for maintenance, hire and train expertise to maintain the systems, replace outdated or failed components with new ones, and the uptime may go down causing a dissatisfaction among the end users. Maintaining legacy applications become more challenging when the industry is too narrow, where finding the expertise and replacing components are difficult and costly. When the applications are not modernized for so long, compatibility issues may arise, and it may force the business to replace the entire systems causing heavy investments.
How do you modernize a legacy application?
Through containerizing, rehosting or re-platforming businesses can maintain a legacy system. Amazon states that GE Oil & Gas reduced their TCO (total cost of ownership) by 52% by rehosting hundreds of applications to the cloud as part of a major digital overhaul.
With the help of containerization, businesses can improve the efficiency and portability of their legacy applications. It involves encapsulating software code and all its dependencies in order to make it suitable to run on any infrastructure. In simple terms, containerization helps applications to be “written once and run anywhere.”
Other ways of modernizing legacy applications include
Rehosting
Rehosting is moving the applications components to physical, virtual or cloud infrastructure without modifying the functions, features or structure of the applications.
Re-platforming
Migrating the entire system to a new platform to make the system compatible and futureproof. The system may undergo small modifications to make it fit for the new platform. However, the basic functions and features stay the same.
Restructure
Change the code of the applications and make it optimized for the current time. It is mainly done to make the applications more compatible, remove outdated methodologies from the code and incorporate efficient coding methods to the system.
Rearchitect
Change the entire architecture of the applications. It is mainly done to improve the capabilities of the application or make is compatible with a new platform. Sometimes it become costly as restructuring the entire code may also be involved in the process.
Rebuild
Rebuild specific functions of the application from scratch or rebuild the entire applications. The challenge is the process requires right planning and more investment.
Replace
Replace the legacy applications with modern systems. For example, the number of businesses moving from legacy applications to cloud based modern ERP solutions are increasing.
When it comes to modernizing legacy applications, the best way is to evaluate your situation and choose the path that is more efficiency, affordable and future-proof.
What is legacy cloud migration?
For most businesses cloud migration of legacy systems is the efficient and cost friendly way to modernize their systems.
In simple terms, cloud migration of legacy applications is a process of moving existing applications and its components from a on-premises infrastructure to a cloud based one. With the help of cloud migrations, the businesses will gain benefits like better scalability, security, efficiency, speed, team collaboration, less upkeeping cost and better end user satisfaction. As the legacy application is not replaced but only moved to a new platform, the functions and features of the systems remains almost the same.
However, businesses will also have an option to add additional features to the system as the new cloud platform will be more compatible with latest technologies. Since we are not replacing the entire system, the overall cost of modernizing legacy application is less compared to replacing it with a new one or rebuilding it entirely. It is also beneficial than maintaining the legacy application as the compatibility, uptime, and the cost of upkeeping of legacy systems will be on a downward trend each day.
How are applications migrated to the cloud?
Often, application migration to cloud is implemented in a systematic way.
Process of moving legacy applications to the cloud
Evaluation
The first step is to evaluate why you must migrate legacy applications to cloud. Often though it is adopted as a part of an organization’s long term digital strategy. As strategies are solutions to problems that may arise in the future, an organization will evaluate its current state and future trends in the industry periodically. The main objective of this evaluation involved doing a SWOT analysis of their existing systems and whether they can meet the businesses long term ambitions. Most businesses find legacy applications as a hindrance in long term as scaling and growth will be slowed down due to the characteristics associated with legacy systems and the cost involved with maintaining and upgrading such systems is also high.
Planning
Planning mostly involves identifying the systems that to be migrated, how much resources can be allocated for the process and when it can be implemented. The objective of the planning is to reduce the overall cost of migration by either migrating only the necessary components of a system or do it in a way as the resources needed for the process is bare minimum. This step also involves the process of deciding the right time to implement the migration to avoid any negative impact on the ongoing businesses functions. During this step you may also list down the objectives of cloud migration and what are the things you as a business trying to achieve from the process. The success of cloud migration will depend on whether you are able to meet these objectives and a reevaluation will be necessary at the end of the process.
Choosing the right cloud environment
Each cloud environment will have its own strength and weaknesses. You must evaluate each opportunity and identify which one is best suitable for your businesses case. Here the objective you set in the previous step become handy. The strength of a cloud environment can be anything like its price, unique development opportunities, uptime, customer support, compatibility features, futureproof or even marketing potentials.
More focus should be given to businesses core values and its long-term goals like end user satisfaction rather than short term objective like keeping the budget of the process under control. You may need the help of an expert to choose the right environment and to avoid making any mistakes. Please keep in mind, choosing the wrong environment will force you to spend more in future.
Choosing the right tool and expertise
There are numerous data migration tools available in the market. Since you are migrating an existing system, there will be data that is already stored in the system that have to be migrated safely and securely.
Just like different cloud environment, each these data migration tool has its own functions, strength, and weaknesses. So, a single tool cannot be used in all business cases. You must choose the one that is compatible with your existing infrastructure and the cloud environment you are planning to migrate to. Different data migration tool has different pricing. However, you should choose one considering factors like data loss prevention, efficiency, safety and compatibility, and security.
Reevaluation
As a final step, you as a business must evaluate whether moving to cloud has helped you to achieve the things you are intended. You must consider whether the new environment is helping you to overcome the weaknesses of the old system and how efficient it is in helping you achieve your businesses goals. You can also compare the results of the whole process with the list of benefits you had curated on step 2 (Planning). Only if the result of revaluation is positive, we can say that moving of legacy application to cloud was a successful endeavor for your business.
Conclusion
Moving legacy applications to the cloud offers several benefits that are crucial to you as a business. However, the migration must be planned and implemented carefully which may requires the help of a cloud migration expert. AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in working with legacy applications, cloud environments and cloud migration. If you are looking for a technology partner to plan and implement the entire process for you, feel free to contact us.
Hiring remote developers enables you to meet your business’s objectives a lot faster and efficiently. However, organizations find the process of hiring remote developers troublesome and tiring. This article will help you understand why you should hire remote developers for your projects and how to hire them.
Remote developers
Remote developers, as the name suggests, work remotely. They are not physically present on the premises of the organization, but they are part of the organization’s process and contribute towards its business goals and objectives.
The main benefit of employing remote developers is, you can hire them globally based on talent, market expertise, industry, or cost. In fact, these are the four main parameters organizations are using to scale whether a candidate is a right fit for a remote role.
Talent
Just like any other industry, raw talent is invaluable in the software industry too. Be it coding, designing, testing, deployment, management, or any other skill relating to software development, there is always a high demand for talent that can make the implementation of projects fast, smoother, efficient, and trouble-free. One of the reasons why outsourcing development becomes popular is because of the non-availability of talent in an organization or even in particular geography and organizations as a supplier of software development services is forced to find talent to meet their clients’ expectations.
Usually, the best talents are found in developed and developing countries as they have better access to new technologies. Also, since the industry existed there for so long, the human resources in such countries have gained massive experience due to either being a part of the industry or working under an experienced organization or mentor. Exposure to different methodologies and working culture has helped them to become familiar with most of the challenges in the industry and it has boosted their creativity to find unique solutions to challenging problems.
Market expertise
Ever since globalization, the border between markets has narrowed and even faded away. However, there is still a demand for products and services that are tailored to fit a specific market. Developing such tailored solutions demand insight into the target market and what type of solution would be better suited for them. So, the demand for people who can understand the market, find the best possible solution and implement it in a way that meets the goals effectively arises. A demand such as this forces organizations to hire workers who are more familiar with the market even if that means hiring them remotely.
Cost
Cost is a bigger factor that’s in play when it comes to hiring developers. Hiring a developer internally and long term may increase the overall cost for an organization. They have to account for the cost of infrastructure, allowances like travel expenses and rent, etc. So many companies, especially the one that manages short-term projects prefer to hire developers remotely as they can be employed short-term until the project completes. Hiring developers remotely also allows them to hire from a large talent pool. Also, there are countries where the cost of living is less compared to other countries, and you can find developers who charge less from these countries.
Industry expertise
Just like market expertise, industry expertise is also an important factor when it comes to hiring remote developers. Since different industries have different problems that are unique to themselves, companies need developers who can think differently to address such problems in the most efficient way. For example, a solution targeting the logistics industry needs to address several issues like tracking, cost, the time needed to deliver items, pick up and schedule, space allocation, etc. However, developing an e-learning platform demands a different approach since it has at least no nil presence offline.
Why hire remote developers?
The main reasons to hire remote developers are productivity, the right talent, low investment, less legal work, and experienced candidates. Let’s discuss the reasons one by one.
Productivity
Remote working allows developers to work from an environment that enhances productivity. They can work from the comfort of their own home, or from their favorite coffee shop. Some companies do away with regular 9-5 schedules and employees are allowed to work during the time convenient to them. The only expectation is the compilation of work assigned to the employees. Due to these benefits the developers will be working with the comfort of mind, there are fewer chances for error, and the work will be completed faster as there will be fewer creativity roadblocks.
As mentioned earlier, sometimes it is difficult to find the right talent locally. This is especially true for companies who work in niche markets or the ones from developing or underdeveloped countries. Since developed countries are spearheading technology innovation, they have enough talent who are already familiar with the latest technologies in the industries. They might also have people with decades of experience in an industry and it is most likely that the industry is pioneered by them.
Low investment
Remote developers work independently. They are less dependent on company infrastructure since they are working away from the official premises. So, companies who hire remote developers can save the cost of infrastructure and space and may be able to allocate the budget to find the right talent in the global market.
Quality
Hiring remote software developers is one of the ways to increase the quality of work for many companies. Since they are no longer restricted to limited geography to hire from, the large pool of talent available at the global level helps them hire skilled developers who also have experience in the industry and the market. Right skill along with optimal experience directly contribute to an increase in the quality of the work.
Less legal work
Hiring internally, especially from abroad, demands excessive paperwork. The process undergoes excessive legal scrutinization, making many companies think double while hiring globally. For example, when hiring a foreign nationalist as a regular employee there is a need for official documents like passport, background check, application of VISA and approval of the same, etc. As result, the overall cost increases as allocation of more resources are needed for the extensive documentation and the onboarding process will become longer since VISA approval takes time.
However, if you are hiring remote developers, you can avoid such hurdles without compromising on finding the right talent.
Availability
Being available to clients around the clock is one of the challenges faced by software companies. It becomes more of a challenge when their client base is spread across different time zones. So, companies are looking for a way to create multiple shifts with different rosters. This challenge also forced companies to hire from the same time zone as it will also help them with narrowing cultural and communication barriers with their clients and market.
Employee retention
Employees, especially millennials and gen Z, are moving towards a good work-life balance rather than job security and higher-paying jobs. Unlike previous generations, they are quick to change jobs and more likely to choose a job that gives them comfort in terms of quality of life and convenience. Most of them prefer remote jobs as it offers them an option to choose how they work and their working environment. According to this report by Gartner, “By 2020, organizations that support a “choose-your-own-work-style” culture will boost employee retention rates by more than 10%.“
Cost
Hiring remote developers is one of the best ways to reduce operational costs. Apart from the reasons like low infrastructure investment, no need to pay allowances like transport expenses, rent, etc., the availability of options to hire from countries where living expenses are less is another contributing factor to the reduced cost. Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Vietnam, and some east European countries can offer great talent at a reduced cost.
Daxx reports that hiring remote developers from India will cost you around $19–$40 per hour. Wherein if you are hiring from Eastern Europe the rate can be anywhere from $30-$65. However, you should consider the skills and experience of developers when evaluating the cost of hiring.
Challenges of hiring remote developers
Even though the benefits of hiring remote development teams are known to most organizations, they are hesitant to hire remotely due to many reasons. The challenges they are afraid to face are,
Tracking productivity
Many organizations are afraid that working remotely will make developers become less productive. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has already proven it wrong. In fact, reports like the one from Great Place to Work® show that working remotely improves productivity.
Communication
Another challenge they are afraid of facing is the communication barrier. Since software development involves collaboration between different teams and members, a gap in communication can increase the cost of development due to quality issues and fixes, and it can also extend completion time. However, if developers are using the right tools and methodologies, such worries are just imaginary. Apps like Asana and Slack, virtual meeting solutions like Google Meet and Zoom, and productivity suites like Google sheets and docs, etc make communication between teams, and between developers and clients, smooth and effective.
Time zone
The difference in time zones can become a potential challenge when it comes to remote hiring. However, it is more of a planning and communication failure than anything else. As mentioned above, with the right tools and methodologies, organizations can avoid emergency situations and employees will not have to worry about odd calls.
You can use certain techniques and procedures to hire remote developers. This will allow you to hire the right people and avoid any trouble.
Define requirements
This is most important. To find the right developers, you first have to define your requirements clearly. Start with understanding the project and its requirements. Find what skills and levels of experience are required to meet the requirements. If you are totally new to the industry, you may need help from an experienced person to define the requirements.
Usually, the requirement listing starts with identifying the problem you are trying to solve and the features of the solutions you are trying to develop to solve the said problem. Then you must choose a platform that makes the development of such solutions easier and future-proof. Once the platform is confirmed, you can break down the features into a set of requirements and identify what level of skills and experience is required to build these features. This step may not be possible without choosing a platform as different platforms have different strengths and weaknesses, and each may follow different approaches and methodologies.
Once all these are well defined, you can look into the cost and timeline required to complete the projects. The quality of the solution can break or make how successful it will be in the market. So, cost and time should be considered as an elimination method rather than a primary requirement when it comes to software development.
Search for candidates
Start looking for eligible candidates and share requirements online and offline. You can share the details with your professional and personal circles and also create a list on the various job listing websites.
Another way to find talent for your requirement is to search the internet, especially B2B websites Clutch and GoodFirms, freelance websites like Upwork and Fiverr, and also make use of your connections on LinkedIn.
Screening
Once you have a list of potential candidates for the job, start screening based on eligibility and the nature of the requirement.
You can check the candidates against various parameters like,
Expertise and experience
Check whether the candidate has the right skills and enough experience to do the job. He should be an expert in his field and also have a basic understanding of the technologies and methodologies that are going to be used for the development of the solution. Since software development requires an interdisciplinary approach, a lack of basic knowledge of the overall process may cause conflict during the development. Another point is to note that, while hiring the most experienced candidate may seem like the best approach, it will shoot up the cost unnecessarily. So, hire only for the required role.
Location
The location of the candidates has an impact on the development process as people from different geography may have different cultural backgrounds. It is always better to make sure that their values and ethos are aligned with that of your organization.
Even though you can give importance to time zone, it is not as important as we usually think as most remote developers are already prepared to work during the time the client prefers. In fact, some of them may be looking for remote jobs due to the flexibility it offers.
Cost
It is better to screen out candidates who are outside of your budget. Make it clear how much you are willing to pay them and negotiate if possible. But do not expect them to lower the price significantly. Keep in mind that you need someone who is eager to take up the job and complete it with the same enthusiasm.
Work set up
Even though as important as any other factors mentioned above, this one is usually neglected by hiring companies. Even if the candidates have eligible skill sets and experience, they will not be able to complete the required tasks without the right tools. If you are willing to pay for the setup they are going to use for your project, communicate it in the very beginning itself or even on the descriptions of your listing. There may be potential candidates who are not interested in applying for the position as they think the job demands a costly setup. Stating your willingness to pay for the cost may make more developers interested in the job.
Interview
Conduct a virtual interview with the selected candidates. Make sure that the interview is scheduled for a time they are also comfortable. If possible, give them the time required to understand your project and requirements. This will help you to weed out candidates who are not so serious in their approach.
During the interview, check their communication and technical skills. You can also discuss the challenges they faced during previous remote works, how they overcame them, and what are the challenges they are expecting to face during your projects. If it is required, you can also conduct a machine test along with the interview.
Contract
Once you have decided who fits for the remote job, make it formal by requesting them to sign a contract. The contract should clearly state the nature of the work, requirement, nature of employment, the pay and payment mode, and how the work will be delivered to you. The contract should also protect your intellectual property rights.
Conclusion
Hiring remote developers may be the right choice for many organizations. It will help them reduce costs and legal work and hire the right talent for the required job. The best thing is that hiring remote developers is not as difficult as many people think. The latest development in technology and communications has made it trouble-free and transparent.
If you are looking to hire remote developers, AlignMinds offers On-Demand Talent with a wide range of expertise and experience. To know more, contact us now.
The software development industry has seen a lot of changes in the last decade. It is predicted to continue changing at an exponential rate, with technologies like AI and IoT becoming more prevalent. As software becomes more complex, the need for highly skilled developers will grow exponentially. Even though there are many skilled developers out there today, it’s still difficult to find qualified candidates that have all the skills needed to fill these positions.
Software development in 2021
The markets for IoT, data, telecom services and system integration grow to $520 billion in 2021, almost double the spent in 2017. The IT sector is recovering in the post-pandemic period and will return to the growth trend line soon with an estimated 5% CAGR. The employment of software developers is expected to improve 21% between 2018 and 2028.
(Information Technology (IT) services spending forecast worldwide from 2008 to 2022. Source: Statista)
Software development continues to be a critical component of any company’s ability to compete on a global scale, as new technologies continue to transform the way we work and live. The advancement and innovation of technologies such as cloud computing, mobile applications, and artificial intelligence have contributed greatly to the growth of these industries over time.
Software development outsourcing trends
Software outsourcing services help organizations to get software developers they can afford and depend on for high-quality results. It also helps them to be more competitive in the marketplace by leveraging expertise from other parts of the world where labor costs are cheaper than they would be at home.
(Recent IT outsourcing trends. Source: Statista)
Almost 60% of companies believe software outsourcing services allow them to completely focus on their core business programs. Outsource app development is the popular IT function in 2021. One among two technology companies is doing application development outsourcing because of its immense benefits.
What are outsourcing and offshore software development company?
Outsourcing and offshore software development are terms that have been popular in the business world for years. An offshore software development company provides outsourced services to businesses. Outsourcing is when a company hires outside talent or programmers located overseas (typically in countries like India and China) to complete their projects or tasks rather than hiring employees internally. This may not only save money on salaries but it also provides access to specialists that might not otherwise be available locally or even regionally.
Software outsourcing services and offshore software development companies are excellent choices when you need help developing an app or website that is too complex for your current staff or budget. You can also use them if you’re running short on time and need a project done quickly without compromising quality.
Benefits of hiring an offshore software development company
Small businesses are always looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality, and hiring offshore software developers is an effective way to do just that. Outsource app development can help companies cut costs in excess of 50% when compared with on-premise development teams.
The best part about it is there’s no need for your company to relocate overseas or send employees abroad – you’ll have the same access to the team as if they were an in-house group! Software outsourcing services provide a number of benefits including cost savings, high productivity rates, 24/7 customer service availability, reduced risk due to geographical distance from key business operations, increased innovation potential due to cultural diversity within the project team.
Cost savings
In the modern business world, companies are looking for ways to cut expenses and increase productivity. In fact, a recent survey states that 62% of CFOs plan to outsource IT services in order to save on costs. An outsource mobile app development company is a cost-effective way to hire the best talent without breaking the bank.
Hiring offshore software development companies can help you save up to 50% or more on labor costs, as compared with hiring in-house teams. As the offshore software development industry continues to grow, it will become more important for companies to cultivate their offshore relationships as they look for ways to reduce IT costs, improve quality of service, and increase agility in decision-making.
High productivity
The offshore organizations hire expert developers who are great at work. They have experience working on small to large-scale projects, so they are able to provide their best work; no matter the size of the project you assign to them. Outsource mobile app development companies improve productivity by utilizing the latest technologies to create software applications that are innovative and user-friendly.
Round-the-clock business operation
With the current state of business and society, it’s important to have a 24/7 support system with people who can cover your needs at any time. Since there are more developers from different geographical areas, the business will remain operational all the time. This enables the timely completion of the app development process.
Stay focused on core business function
Offshore software development is a form of software outsourcing service that enables companies to stay focused on their core business functions. It allows businesses to free up their resources so they can focus on innovating or expanding their current product offerings instead of being stuck by maintenance tasks.
A dedicated outsource app development team is a great way to scale your business as per the requirements. Since these professionals come with experience from different industries such as IT or engineering they know all about making sure their clients’ needs continue being met no matter where they may be located across the globe.
Improved security
Outsource app development and software development improves security by allowing the software development team to work remotely. This allows for a more secure environment, as company secrets and data are not shared with the offshore business partner. Additionally, offshore teams typically have fewer employees than on-site teams which decreases the risk of sabotage.
Access to the newest technologies
The offshore software development companies specialize in creating high-quality, cutting-edge programs that address your needs. They use their time wisely by learning new skills and improving existing ones to create something perfect for you as soon as possible! The small business owner can now finally afford all these technologies at an affordable cost.
Offshore software development service providers of dedicated specialists can help you get better results. A software outsourcing service provider brings new insights to the work, improving your overall product development lifecycle with their knowledge in a range from engineering through design and production.
Reducing liabilities and improving opportunities
Offshore software development services are a reliable way to reduce business liabilities and take on more important projects. The offshore development team has a dedicated team that works on one particular project instead of working with multiple projects. This means they can ensure high-quality service and fewer errors, which is something you want from your business partner!
Cost comparison of hiring offshore development services
Offshore employees are always less expensive than onshore ones if you’re a business based in any of the developed countries. Businesses located in Europe or North America find it lucrative to hire virtual workers for outsource app development projects paying like $30 per hour but those who choose to do their work through an experienced local developer may end up spending upwards of $100K annually!
In 2021, the virtual work ecosystem will be a reality for businesses. It’s important to consider that this decision should not be taken lightly as it can have consequences on your budget and timeline in hiring an offshore employee or onshore recruit – so make sure you’re ready before diving right into these types of recruitment methods!
The best countries to outsource software development
Software development outsourcing is now a major global industry, with countries such as India and China becoming centers for outsourcing app development. Many companies outsource to save money but there are other advantages as well. The best countries to outsource software development will depend on the needs of the company and the budget.
You should also consider whether or not the country is a good fit for your business and if it will be easy to work with their team remotely.
India
India offers affordable talent with a high level of education and English proficiency, making it easy to find employees who are both qualified and capable of communicating effectively with clients from all over the world. India has lower rates than others, ranging from $15 to 30 per hour. This is an attractive option for many businesses who want to outsource their work but are not able or willing enough themselves with the project management aspect of things possible in India which includes quality assurance as well!
China
The number of app development jobs outsourced in China alone has increased by over 50% since 2017. Other reasons include lower rates for labor and better-qualified employees with a stronger work ethic.
Russia
With its abundance of skilled labor and low production costs, Russia is an ideal country for outsourcing software development services.
Ukraine
Ukraine is home to many skilled programmers who enjoy lower living expenses than their Western counterparts and can work more hours per day due to fewer time constraints on weekends and holidays.
Choosing an outsourcing partner for web and mobile app development
Finding the right software outsourcing service partners to outsource app development can be a daunting and often costly process. These tips will help you find the perfect fit for your business.
Do online research
Take your time to evaluate offshore software development companies carefully by checking out their website, reviews, testimonials, and portfolios. Look at their website and see if they have a page dedicated solely to describing this aspect of doing business with them. It is important to make sure they work in a field that matches your industry or the scope of your project.
B2B directories and listings
B2B directories provide an excellent way to find the perfect vendor for your company’s needs. These directories are a valuable resource for finding offshore software development companies that can offer the services you need at an affordable price. They offer detailed information about each vendor, including testimonials and reviews from other companies that have hired them before. You can search by industry or by location, which is great if you need someone close by.
Check out the portfolio
Look at projects that are similar to yours and see if they have experience working with other companies like yours. If their work looks good then it’s worth asking them for more information about what they can offer you.
Get references
References are a great way to get an idea about the organization and culture within any given company. They can provide insights on what services you will be working with, how communication is handled between partners or clients of those companies and all sorts of really valuable points that might otherwise take some time to find. Ask about recent clients who have had similar needs as you so that you can get feedback from people who have actually used this service before.
Review contracts
Never sign anything without reviewing it thoroughly first with an attorney or other trusted advisor. Be wary of any contract that has terms that are not clear or states something you do not agree with. This could lead to problems down the road when things go wrong between the parties involved in the project.
Explore the case studies
Case studies show how the selected outsourcing partners have handled various challenges they met when developing customer products and solutions. They mention which technologies were used, tools that helped them test out their applications for smooth running in order to create outstanding user experiences.
Things to consider when hiring outsourcing software development companies
There are a lot of options when it comes to hiring offshore software development companies. It can be overwhelming and difficult to figure out who is the best fit for your needs. There are some factors that you should consider before making a decision on which company to hire. It includes the type of services they offer, their pricing structure, experience level, and how quickly they can complete the job.
Another thing you need to look at before hiring an outsourcing software development company is their history as well as their customer reviews. These two factors can make or break your decision in terms of how good they might be for your business. Hiring an offshore software development company can make the business process easier.
Final note
Hiring an offshore software development company will save you time and money. Whether your business needs a mobile app or website, it can be costly to hire local developers with the best skills for all of these different tasks. An offshore team is capable of developing any type of application that suits your budget and timeline.
Choosing to work with an offshore company for your app development needs may be the best decision you ever made. With so many benefits, it’s hard to find a downside. You can get more done in less time and at a lower cost than if you did everything yourself or hired someone locally.
Are you looking for an offshore development company for your next project? Contact us now!
Cross-platform applications are critical for any business enterprise and it is the most popular development trend in 2021. Recent studies and surveys say that Flutter is the most preferred choice for developing cross-platform applications as it speeds up the app development process and reduces the cost.
According to Statista, Flutter is the second most popular cross-platform technology in 2021 with a massive 532% growth over the last two years. Google confirms that half a million developers are using Flutter each month. This framework allows us to build high-performance, attractive, and customized solutions in a short span of time.
What is Flutter?
Flutter is an open-source mobile user interface software development kit from the world’s largest tech giant Google. It helps to develop cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows, and the web from a single codebase. Flutter is the most advantageous framework in mobile application development.
Courtesy: Flutter.dev
Flutter combines the ease of application development with native performance while maintaining visual consistency across various platforms. Since it is open-source and completely free, Flutter is preferred by developers all over the globe. Also, it is amongst the top and most powerful frameworks as compared to various other languages. Flutter is set to dominate the market with its reduced code development time. This cross-platform application development framework reduces the development efforts without compromising on the user experience.
Why Flutter for mobile application development?
Mobile applications are becoming an integral part of our life today. The total number of mobile applications launched on Android has exceeded the 100K per month mark with another 30K iOS app releases. Since the post-pandemic period, app development services have become accessible even to small companies located in remote areas of the world, every business is launching new apps. Selecting the most suitable framework with improved performance is the most decisive factor in deciding the success of a mobile app.
Comparison of cross-platform technologies
Flutter from Google
Since Flutter uses Dart programming language instead of JavaScript, the app developers can see modifications in real-time. So, it is easy to avoid mistakes and build complex applications in comparatively less development time.
React Native
Just like Flutter, React Native is also an open-source framework for cross-platform mobile application development. However, it uses JavaScript and a small amount of native component APIs. Here a developer should strictly define the sequence of actions that describe how the application should work and turn the design into a real-world application.
Percentage of developers who are interested in continuing to use the same technology they are using. Flutter ranked 3rd while React Native stand at 10th position. Courtesy: insights.stackoverflow.com
Xamarin
Xamarin is another popular cross-platform application framework for iOS, Android, Windows, vOS, watchOS, and macOS. It uses C # and .NET. Since a variety of APIs is available, Xamarin developers can easily integrate many native hardware components into the solution which could, in turn, improve the user experience further. However, the user interface development is time-consuming.
Benefits of Flutter app development
Flutter helps with developing and maintaining mobile applications for both Android and iOS in a single code base. Let’s discuss the major advantages of using Flutter for application development.
Large community support
Flutter is an open-source project developed by Google. It is not only free, but the framework gets frequent updates and bug fixes. Google organizes meetup events and conferences to help companies learn how Flutter can help them to strengthen their businesses. Since they are open to collaboration, it is easy to create solutions and you can even modify the framework to suit your project requirement.
The total number of apps launched in various periods. Courtesy: Statista.com
Cost-effective and fast development
Code then compile is the common procedure followed by both Android and iOS developers. However, with Flutter, developers can check the results immediately after every modification in code and roll them back if necessary. Thus, the probability for bugs and errors is less in the case of Flutter app development. As a result, hiring a Flutter app developer makes it less time-consuming to launch your business apps into the market and utilizing minimum human resources.
Organizations using Flutter can quickly create well-tuned applications for their business and with an innovative UX design. Since Futter is using Dart programming language, debugging is also a comparatively easier process.
Web application capabilities
The Flutter framework has destroyed the traditional approach of developing separate solutions for web and mobile. With Flutter, you can build apps for iOS, Android, and the browser from the same codebase and offer the same experience to end-users.
Customized and attractive user interface
The layered architecture provides faster user interface rendering to produce personalized designs. It is also equipped with packages that contain custom widgets for both Android and iOS operating systems. Even a smaller development crew can build a beautiful mobile app using the Flutter framework.
Easy integration with the existing applications
Flutter offers a trouble-free integration facility with the existing business applications. You can try Flutter technology on an existing mobile application running on native code with least to nil compatibility issues.
Top 5 applications built with Flutter framework
Flutter is gaining popularity among developers and in the industry. This feature-rich developer-friendly framework has aided in the creation of many modern applications.
Google Ads
The mobile application for Google Ads allows you to manage the paid advertisement campaigns directly from your smartphone. The application’s feature includes campaign statistics and real-time updates on campaigns. This helps advertisers and marketers with real-time monitoring of campaigns and effectively manages them to meet their adverting goals.
Xianyu by Alibaba
Flutter helped the eCommerce giant Alibaba to come up with Xianyu. It is the online retail platform of Alibaba Group. This application is used by more than 50 million users to buy and sell various products.
Reflectly
This Flutter app allows users to create stories in a personal journal with artificial intelligence support. Reflectly adopted Flutter recently to overcome the issues faced with its React Native counterpart.
KlasterMe
KlasterMe is the first social media platform built with the help of Flutter framework. This application enables users to share creations with their friends. Users can build dedicated pages, add images, and create blog posts.
Hamilton Musical
Flutter framework supports the official application for Hamilton – the award-winning Broadway musicals. This application updates its fans with all music news and provides access to merchandise.
Lunching
Lunching is a Flutter app that facilitates the delivery of food online. Flutter helped Lunching with an easy and elegant design, smooth animations, and a rich user interface.
Factors to consider when hiring a Flutter developer for your project
Technical and professional expertise
A Flutter developer should familiarize themselves with the best practices in the industry. They should have a good understanding of common development methodologies, quality guidelines, cross-compatibility, and update themselves with the latest trends in the industry. Someone who has prior experience in working on similar projects or markets may have a visible advantage over other developers.
Geographical proximity
Traditionally, the best choice was always to hire someone from proximity. The common notion was it helps with avoiding conflicts that might arise from differences in time zone and culture. However, modern innovations have made remote working a viable possibility and it is time to make the best use of it.
Service cost
Flutter framework helps in bringing down the development cost. However, you should be careful about the development cost since it usually varies across the world. For example, developers from countries like India may charge less compared to someone or some agencies from USA. Also, you should be careful about the service model and how the agency will charge you.
Innovation and technology update
The domain of application development is very dynamic. Upgrading your technology can help you work better and more efficiently. The Flutter developer should be self-motivated and innovative. This not only helps them to have greater flexibility but also make them a great problem solver which is an essential characteristic for a developer.
How to hire a Flutter developer?
Agencies
Certified agencies provide full-time engagement and it is beneficial for long-term projects. You can rely on their expertise and professional skills.
Freelancers
You can easily find specialists offering services on various freelancing platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. Hiring Flutter developers from the same time zones can help with easy communication. However, it is better to focus on quality and affordability when hiring a Flutter developer.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing combines the benefits of both in-house hiring and freelancers. You can collaborate with Flutter application developers around the globe. There are also reputable outsourcing agencies you can partner with to discuss and implement your project. Such agencies will mostly have the right talent for your requirement since they are employed full-time in the agency, and they are hired only after professional evaluation. Also, such agencies will also have the infrastructure to support the app development process from start to end.
How to find the best Flutter app development company?
Work portfolio and customer retention
A successful company will showcase the previous work details on its website. You must be attentive to the details as it will show you what you can expect from that particular Flutter service provider. Give special attention to the scale of the work, nature of the work, the timeline of the project, the technologies used, and also check the final product by trying it out by downloading it from the app store or visiting their client’s website.
Expertise and cost-effectiveness
Make sure you find someone who can work within the set budget without compromising on the quality. If you are cost-conscious, it is better to hire someone from countries like India where you can find the right expertise for comparatively less cost.
Reviews and client testimonials
Most app development companies will have active profiles on platforms like Clutch and GoodFirms. Such platforms feature client reviews, ratings, and testimonials provided for their Flutter development services. By assessing their profile, understand whether the app developer was able to meet their client expectations and what are the strength and weaknesses of the agency.
Flutter for app development in 2021
Flutter is one of the most used technologies in the mobile app development industry in 2021. Flutter mobile application programmers can develop cross-platform apps that run seamlessly on several operating systems. Flutter framework poses minimal risks to you as a business and so it should be your first choice for cross-platform app development. If you need to know more about Flutter development, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Place and time. These are the two main barriers men have always despised. Ever since the adoption of technology, we as humans have been somewhat successful in breaking these barriers.
In recent times, one of the industries that are seeing the fastest growth due to the elimination of these barriers with the help of technology in the education industry. Learningnews reports that the e-learning market will exceed USD 375 billion in 5 years. According to Global Market Insights, the e-Learning Market size is set to exceed USD 1 trillion by 2027.
The below graph shows the size of the global e-learning market in 2019 and 2026, by segment in million U.S. dollars
“In 2019, the global online e-learning market was sized at approximately 101 billion U.S. dollars. During that same period, learning management system market generated roughly 18 billion U.S. dollars. By 2026, the total market for e-learning worldwide is forecasted to grow exponentially, reaching over 370 billion U.S. dollars”.
The reason for this exceptional growth is now people are looking to learn from the comfort of their home or they have very limited time that they can invest in learning and looking for something flexible so that they can learn whenever they have free time. Also, the pandemic has boosted the growth of the e-learning industry since people have no option to go out and there are restrictions put down by the government in so many countries. So many EdTech companies tapped into this opportunity and invested heavily in e-learning solutions to meet the demand.
A learning system based on formalised teaching but with the help of electronic resources is known as E-learning. While teaching can be based in or out of the classrooms, the use of computers and the Internet forms the major component of E-learning.
However, not just computers, students and teachers are using other devices like smartphones and tablets that support connectivity to participate in an e-learning system. In fact, smartphones have become one of the strong pillars of e-learning systems due to them being more affordable and mobile. Almost all e-learning systems have a native version for at least the major mobile platforms, Android and iOS.
What is an e-learning app?
An e-learning app is an application that is built specifically to impart knowledge, encourage creativity, and most importantly encourage healthy dialogues between teachers and students to simplify the process of learning.
As mentioned earlier the process of E-learning is performed through an application like a mobile app which can be easily downloaded through your Android and or iOS devices. It is a closed-end system ensuring effective privacy and security to both teachers and students ensuring a safe environment for all the participants. The interface used in the app is simple and easy to use making it a comfortable place for students to learn each topic.
How to create an e-learning app?
There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that the e-learning app is the future of learning, the pandemic has further solidified this observation. e-learning apps are a global phenomenon, and it is the right time to capitalize on the same. As per Reuters, the e-learning App industry is expected to touch $275 billion globally.
Now, the billion-dollar question of 2021 is how to develop an e-learning app, e-learning app development consist of five steps they are as follows:
1. Identify and develop the concept
The next step in how to create an e-learning app process is to further develop your concept. This stage can be defined with the help of six key product dimensions they are as follows:
Target audience
The first step in the process of developing an e-learning app is identifying the target market. The biggest question to be answered in this stage is who is your app catering to? For example, is it for elementary school students or for bachelors’ students, masters, STEM field, architect, or just a general portal that provides diverse educational material?
The right target group must be identified as it influences the e-learning app development process. If the target audience is elementary kids, then the fonts used in the app will have bright attractive colours and a lot of animation to capture the attention of the children.
Public vs Private
The next important factor to consider is will the app be available to the public or will the information be accessed only to a close group. For example, if your e-learning mobile app development is for an educational institution like school or college then it is important to make the app private.
Geographical scope
Is the app directed for specific geography like India or is it for a specific economic area like the EEA? such decisions will play a vital role while developing the app. Each country has its unique grading systems, class structures, and so on, which are very important considerations while developing an e-learning app.
Customizability
Is your product flexible enough to be customized as per the requirement of each organization?. Is it possible to add or delete certain functions in your app to suit the requirements of each customer or is it a non-flexible product targeted at a specific crowd? Clearly, an important topic to consider.
One way vs two-way communication
Does the e-learning app have two-way communication enablers like video telephony, videoconferencing, voice call, and so on? Two-way communication is especially useful for universities and schools that might require frequent student-teacher interactions. Does the market require one-way communications like lectures, pre-set audio files, slides, and so on? It is important to keep this aspect in mind while developing the e-learning platform.
Price
Price is arguably one of the most important dimensions while identifying the scope of the app. Will the app be paid or unpaid? and if it is paid how do you expect to get paid, is it a monthly subscription, or it is based on the modules, contents consumed, and so on. A perfect price strategy can determine the success of the product.
2. Competitor analysis/Feasibility study
The research phase is an important phase in the e-learning mobile app development process. In this phase, the individual concerned will have to do extensive research on the competitors. It is very important to be aware of the latest developments in the industry and to be updated about the same. Once thorough research is performed it is safe to move to the next stage, selecting a development partner.
3. Selecting a development partner: e-learning app development company
Selecting a development partner for developing your e-learning project is very essential to ensure timely delivery of the product. While selecting the e-learning app development company it is important to look at their past projects and judge based on their success. You could also contact their previous clients to know more about the quality and performance of the e-learning app development company. Associate with a company only after you are 100% satisfied with identifying who they are and what their capabilities are.
4. Promotion and advertisements
Even though this step cannot be counted as a core aspect of how to create an e-learning app, nevertheless it is a very important step. No product however good it may be will not survive without proper promotions and advertisements. It is important to engage with potential businesses across the spectrum through both conventional as well as new-gen advertisement platforms. Promotion and advertisements are a must-do in today’s dynamic environment to get the best ROI for your buck.
The essential character of e-learning app
e-Learning apps usually has a unique set of characters that makes the product flexible, dynamic, and user-friendly. Some of the most important characters of the e-learning app include the following:
1. User-friendly and intuitive interface
The e-learning website should be user-friendly, clear, and easy to operate. The functions in the dashboard should be marked clearly with clear fonts. There should be a logical flow of functions making the system predictable. All these factors enhance the functionality and the ease of operation of the product making it accessible to a wide array of audiences.
2. SCORM compliant
SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) compliance enables learning software, e-learning material to be compatible with SCORM compliant LMS. It is the industry technical standard that ensures efficiency and standardization within the overall ecosystem. Hence if you are looking to develop e-learning solutions it is important to comply with internationally accepted standards to ensure competitiveness and future proof.
3. Easy dissemination of Information
The platform should offer easy upload and dissemination of information for its users. The users should be able to upload different document formats like pdf, words, jpg, along with video and audio formats depending upon the requirements. Furthermore, this information should be easily available to the selected group. The platform should have the capability to offer selective viewership of the information along with selective editing capabilities and view-only modes to ensure a seamless experience.
4. Scalability
e-Learning platforms need to be scalable, depending on the user requirements. The app should have the necessary infrastructure to handle heavy traffic as and when required seamlessly. Scalability is not limited to the number of people it can cater to but also functionality, this makes the app future-proof. Scalability plays a vital role in making the product versatile, efficient, and relevant in today’s world.
5. Integrability, documentation, and reporting
In most probable cases e-learning platforms are not sold as a separate unit rather it is sold along with a fully integrated CRM system. This ensures data is transferred from one system to another with minimum effort. Documentation function helps e-learning platforms to document day-to-day functions, results, grades of students, subjects’ wise information, and so on to create functional information that can help identify the performance of an individual. This information can be reported to the appropriate authorities, parents at ease with a well-connected and integrated e-learning app.
6. Learning automation
e-Learning apps should have significant automation of rudimentary and repetitive tasks that otherwise consume a lot of time. The users should have the capacity to send reminders, information to any number of people with a push of a button. These functions help bring flexibility and efficiency to the learning process helping instructors to fully devote their time to the core aspect that is teaching.
How much does it cost to develop an e-learning app?
The cost of creating an e-learning app depends on the specification and functionality of the app. The specification and functionality of the app can be further divided into four major parts they are as follows:
1. General specification and functionality
General specifications and functionalities for an e-learning app usually include things like user-friendly interface, push notification facility, multiple device sync facilities (for example mobile, laptop, tablet, and so on), multimedia content support capability, graphical designs, and so on.
2. Students and parent specification and functionality
Let us look at student specifications and functionality in the first paragraph. Some of the key specifications and functionality required for students include registration for a course or a specific optional subject, course information, course structures, assessment upload portal, assessment marks and exam marks portal, payment portal receipt generation, and downloading facility to name a few.
In the case of a parent, they should have the ability to develop a profile for themselves so that they could monitor the progress of their children, pay fees, and so on.
3. Teacher’s specification and functionality
Teacher’s Specification and Functionality include the following: Editing course materials, submitting and sending new documents, sending and receiving information with the class (including all audio, video, document formats), being able to mark assignments, send push button notifications, and so on.
4. Admin specification and functionality
Admins are in a way the most powerful person who uses the app as he enjoys the maximum power of the lot. He shall have full access to the e-learning software. He shall have access to creating his personal profile, he shall have the ability to monitor, and manage the activities in the platform. He will have the required authority to troubleshoot problems and help carry out activities as requested by other stakeholders.
How do I market my e-learning app?
Marketing is an art that helps suppliers identify potential buyers and sell their products at the best price possible. It doesn’t matter how good the product is, only with appropriate marketing tools can it reach potential buyers which in turn converts to a sale. Some of the most widely used app marketing techniques include the following:
1. Identify and reach your target customer
The first step is to identify who your target customer is and then identify ways and means to reach them. The most popular means to reach your potential customers is through the use of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and so on. You could also take the help of Google ads, online forums, to further accelerate your outreach. Offline media include newspapers, magazines, scientific journals, and so on to reach your target audience.
2. Educate your potential customers on e-learning benefits
For this purpose, you could create small animation videos describing your app and how to use them. Finally ending the video with the benefits associated with the app. Visual messages have the capacity to captivate the audience hence they can offer a better customer acquisition rate when compared to other mediums.
3. Live demo
Let say you are targeting schools with your product, a live demo in front of school staff, teachers, and decision-making authorities could give you a better conversion possibility. Do not forget to allow your target audience to use your system and when they understand the simplicity of the system, they would certainly give it a thumbs up. You could even demonstrate the key strengths of the system and how it can simplify the work of the stakeholders using it.
4. Remind them about you through your online presence
Make sure you sign them up with your newsletter. Send them regularly about the new products developed by your, the new offers available, new functions available, and about popular events. You could even offer free passes to those events through your newsletter. Engage with them through multiple platforms like social media, ads, promotional emails, and so on. This will help you cement your brand name in their head.
These tips can surely help you grow your sales and eventually help you to expand your business beyond geographies and product verticals. Please note that understanding these tips does not automatically guarantee success but a careful and well-planned execution of the same will generate the right result.
Conclusion
e-Learning apps help to eliminate the distance between students and teachers. An e-learning app also makes education accessible to more people due to the flexibility it offers. However, to be fully effective and meet its purpose, an e-learning app should have a set of certain qualities that should be planned and implemented correctly. Such features are easy to be identified and implemented if you have the help of an experienced app developer. AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in developing trendsetting yet cost-effective digital solutions for multiple verticals. If you are looking for some ideas for your next project, contact us now!
Ever since companies and businesses identified the strength of enterprise applications to achieve their corporate goals, the enterprise software market has experienced tremendous growth. The market revenue has doubled within the last decade and it is expected to reach $429 billion in 2021. It is a 7.2% growth from last year. As more businesses are adopting technology at a faster pace than ever, due to COVID and the change it caused in work culture and market, this number may reach double digits this year.
Usually, a wide range of applications is considered under the term “enterprise applications”. It includes ERP software(Enterprise Resource Planning software), accounting software, Human Resource Management(HRM) software, Office suits, Customer Relationship Management(CRM) software, Supply Chain Management(SCM) Software, Business Process Management(BPM) software, Business Intelligence(BI) software, etc.
The main difference between enterprise applications (also known as Enterprise Application Software (EAS)) and other applications is that the former is mainly used by organizations rather than individual users. A collection of such software applications is known as an enterprise system. Such systems can undertake a large number of organizational operations with the purpose to maximize the quality of business and management reporting tasks. The ability to process data at a high speed and the advantage of being deployed across a variety of networks help enterprise applications meet their purposes.
What are enterprise applications?
Enterprise applications are computer software that are integrated with all phases of an enterprise’s operations to facilitate cooperation and coordination of work across all levels.
An ideal enterprise application should,
1. Control all major business processes in real-time.
2. Make complex operations easy and simple.
3. Save time and human resources.
4. Can be easily integrated into a variety of networks.
Advantages of enterprise applications
Sharing of data
Enterprise application software increases interoperability between the departments of an organization. It integrates a variety of operations and their respective applications with IT structure, making data sharing fast and efficient. Based on their user level, all the employees of the organization will have access to all these data and applications.
Easy management
As information exchange and management are improved, the management will have better data and control over the business processes. Enterprise applications make it easier for them to analyze where they stand as a business, and what improvements they can make to achieve their corporate goals.
Easy workflow
As information is readily available, and enterprise applications make technology integration a lot easier, most of the workflow within an organization can be automated. For example, the employee database can be integrated with attendance and payroll software to help the HR department. As most CRM applications store and update customer data in real-time, they can be integrated with marketing tools to automate promotional campaigns.
Increasing efficiency
The availability of information in real-time and the opportunity to automate most of the workflow improve an organization’s overall efficiency. More tasks can be executed with comparatively fewer resources and the margin of error can be reduced to a bare minimum. Since a common workflow can be implemented across the organization, there will be better interoperability between departments.
Competitive edge
Increased efficiency and reduced operating costs due to the introduction of enterprise applications offer an organization with competitive advantages.
Simplify business processes
Normally an organization has two major processes it has to take care of internally. They are day-to-day operations and achieving their long-term goals.
As stated earlier, with the help of enterprise applications, you can automate most of the day-to-day operations and backend work. The recording of all the information by the enterprise software enables the organization with real-time data that they can use to achieve their long-term goals.
Save up cost
Since enterprise applications enable automation and most of the tasks are performed electronically, an organization can save up on their operating costs by a big margin. The demand for fewer human interventions combined with information being recorded and exchanged electronically brings down the cost to optimum level without compromising on efficiency.
Lower time and efforts
By enabling automation of operations, enterprise applications help with reducing the time needed to complete tasks. Also, there is less human intervention needed comparing to a traditional business.
Increase opportunities
A reduced operational cost will help with investment opportunities. It enables funding needed for scaling the business and since most of the operations are now automated, an expansion for the business will be much easier.
Easy adoption
An organization that utilizes the benefits of enterprise applications will have a strong IT structure. As such organizations are technologically strong, adopting new technologies will be easier for them. Also, since information is stored and processed electronically, more tools and applications can be integrated into the existing system to boost productivity and efficiency.
Adopt enterprise applications for your business
The ever-growing challenges in the business world are forcing companies to adopt technology at a faster pace. Moving away from traditional methods and adopting leveraging technology has helped companies to not only cut down the competition but also save up on their operating cost. The increasing demand for technology solutions by such future realistic companies has driven up the growth of enterprise applications development. Nowadays the demand is equally or more than equally met by enterprise application development companies whose services are available across the globe.
The improved availability of supply has benefited the technology industry and companies alike. However, due to the same reason, some companies are feeling it difficult to choose the best enterprise application development company for themselves.
So, how do you choose the best enterprise app development company for your organization?
Hire the best enterprise app development company
There are a few important points to consider while choosing an enterprise app development company. They are
Nature of the requirement
You can be looking for enterprise application development services for internal purposes or you may be a part of an organization that wants to develop a product to later sell it in the market. Most of the time, just like how different the nature of the requirement is, the approach and parameters for choosing a technology partner should also be different.
When you are developing an enterprise application for your organization’s internal purposes, you have to consider things like what would be the objective of the solution, what are your organization long term goals, what growth and changes you are expecting in the future, the company culture, the size of the organization, the internal policies of your organization, organization hierarchy, and communication flow, etc.
However, when you are developing a product to sell in the market, you must consider the demand in the market, existing and future competition, features of the products competitors are offering, development cost and sale value, revenue potential, data collection, and privacy policy and many other things which are totally different from the above one.
Usually, it is difficult to find an enterprise application developer who has expertise in both these fields. So, the first step you need to take when you are looking for enterprise application development services is to identify your requirements.
Organization goals
Consider what are your future goals, both long term and short term.
Is it cutting down the operating cost with the help of technology? Or is it to expand your operations to a global scale within the next 5 or 10 years? What is your expansion plan? Have you considered the peculiarities of new geographies and whether the solution can meet the special requirement of the same?
These questions are important because when you are looking for enterprise application development services, the company you are going to hire should analyze and understand all these aspects of your business and help you with achieving your goals. In fact, the company and the solution they are going to develop for you should help you with achieving your goal faster and more efficiently.
Organization growth
When you are hiring an enterprise application development company, you should consider your organization’s growth over time. The service provider should have a good understanding and prior experience in developing large-scale enterprise applications. The solution should be easy to scale and futureproof. Additionally, it is better to choose an app development company that can offer you long-term support.
Data policy
Always choose an enterprise application developer who understands different data policies and their benefits. Protection of data and privacy is a major concern for individuals and corporates alike. You should partner with an agency that can use data effectively to maximize the benefits of the product and at the same time protect it from intrusion, misuse, and legal suits.
Technology expertise
The development company should have expert knowledge on all the aspects of technology and where the industry is heading. They should be able to suggest the best solution after evaluating your requirements, business nature, and market trends.
Choosing the right platform is most important in any type of application development. The right choice will improve efficiency, save up cost and avoid any bottleneck that otherwise would arise in the future due to some technology being outdated or replaced.
Another reason why you should choose an expert technology partner is that enterprise applications are required to be compatible with many other modules/applications that are already used by an organization or will be used in the future. Technology expertise is much needed when it comes to optimizing a product for cross-compatibility. Furthermore, if you are looking to migrate from legacy applications, their expertise will make it easy to do so.
Experience
Let us acknowledge that great ideas bring no benefits if they are executed poorly. Faultless executions are the result of practice and experience. Even though the stages of enterprise application development look simple and familiar, it may be challenging for a new app development agency to execute them. It is mainly due to each business being different, their objectives and goals being different, and the varying micro and macro variables that affect the business.
If we are going to develop an enterprise application to sell in the market, the development company should understand the market first. Each market will be different from one other. A developer who has already worked for a similar company or the same market will have a huge advantage over an app development company with no prior experience. The former one can understand the challenges much easier and they can incorporate countermeasures in the initial stages of product design itself.
Conclusion
Moving from legacy applications to enterprise applications will bring you so many benefits. However, the expertise of an experienced enterprise application developer is much needed to reap the full benefits. AlignMinds has more than 12 years of experience in developing technology solutions for startups to enterprises. If you are looking for a renowned technology partner for your next project, contact us now!
Cloud applications are becoming one of the popular options for businesses all over the world. The reason is, it helps them with their cost-cutting strategies.
Since cloud computing works with the help of the internet, the cost of setting up hardware and maintaining the infrastructure can be avoided. Also, the SAAS products have better support and they are easy to use due to their popularity and user base.
What is cloud computing?
Microsoft defines cloud computing as
“Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.”
The main benefits of cloud computing are
You pay only for cloud services/resources you use
Scalability: As more resources are easily available
Affordability: As you can run the infrastructure more efficiently
As cloud computing became more popular, there was a new trend that became prominent in the industry. The rise of cloud applications.
What are cloud applications?
A cloud application is software that works with the help of data stored in a remote server and uses its resources to process the data and functions. A cloud application has two different systems that work in synchronization. They are client-side and server-side systems. While some processes will take place on the client-side (client’s device/local hardware), the remaining process will be taking place on the server-side which is located remotely and connected with the help of the internet.
One of the main benefits of cloud applications is that they can be accessed from different devices, at any time from anywhere. Also, there are cloud applications that can work without being installed on local devices. Due to such benefits, cloud applications are becoming more popular in the technology industry.
Why should you use cloud applications?
Cost
The main advantage of cloud applications is that they save you money. Most of the cloud applications offer “pay as you go’ plans helping you pay only for the features you use. Also, there is no setup and maintenance cost in the traditional sense.
As cloud applications offer flexibility in terms of features, it is easier for you to upgrade them when a need arises. You can add more features to your existing plan and the investment is reasonable.
Security
Another major benefit of cloud applications is security. Since cloud services are offered by big companies, they can invest dedicated resources in improving the security of data and their services. They have more resources to invest in research and measurements to prevent data theft that may not be possible for a company that chooses in house data storage.
Flexibility
Cloud applications can be accessed from different devices by different users at the same time. You can access the same applications – if they are cloud-based – from a mobile or personal computer anywhere in the world. Due to this, cloud applications are the popular choice for big companies that spread across the globe or companies with a remote workforce.
Team collaboration
If you are a business that needs your team to collaborate on a large number of tasks, cloud applications are the best solutions. As cloud applications handle data instantly, sharing of information between team members becomes fast and secure. Some dedicated cloud applications offer their users the advantage of working on the same task simultaneously from across the globe. As a result, the execution of tasks takes less time.
Quality culture
Cloud applications can be used as a way to implement your company culture and quality control. As everyone in your team can access the same data and information stored in the applications, you can maintain quality standards, consistency in data formats and avoid human errors. It also helps with record-keeping as any updates from a user are automatically recorded by the cloud applications. Monitoring work progress and reviewing tasks will also become easier.
Low risk
As data is stored remotely and across multiple servers, the chance for data loss becomes less in the case of cloud applications. On the other hand, if you had gone with the traditional method of storing the data locally – in your company premises – any accident or natural calamities may lead to the loss of such valuable data. By storing data locally, you will also have the risk of data theft from a malicious insider.
Competitive edge
As mentioned earlier, cloud computing services are offered by big companies or companies that dedicate a good portion of resources in research and development in the latest technologies to cut down the competition for themselves. As they offer cloud computing as a service, it is natural for them to have competitors and the only way for them to stay in the business is to offer their clients – you – the best and latest services possible. As a result, when you opt for cloud applications you have a higher chance that you have the most up to date technology in your hand compared to your competitor who still uses traditional methods and invests their own limited resources on technology research and advancement.
Other benefits of Cloud applications
There is no need to install a cloud application on your device to get it working. Unlike traditional apps, they can work with the help of the internet and without using the resources of the local system. It also offers all features of a desktop app.
The main advantage of using a cloud application is that it uses many cloud servers that are placed across the world. So, the data is faster to retrieve irrespective of your location. Also, the data are more secure as they are remotely stored.
The virtual server helps the user to access the data from the nearest server thus decreasing latency.
Updations and deployment can be done quickly for a cloud app.
As only authorized users can access the data on cloud apps there is less data theft from internal parties.
Cloud applications offer mobility. A user can access the cloud app at any time, from anywhere. Usually, cloud applications support a variety of devices too.
Cloud-based services for app development
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This includes services such as storage, security, and backup. IaaS is an important part of web architecture. Businesses get servers in which they can run their applications without giving the operational costs when choosing this service.
Platform as a Service (PaaS): Provides a platform for application creation. You can deploy your app at a low cost and significantly reduce the amount of coding.
Software as a Service (SaaS): Can be rented on a per month or per user basis. Applications managed by a third-party vendor are delivered through the internet. Can reduce the time spent on processes such as installing, updating etc.
Cloud application development
Now you already know that cloud applications offer several benefits for your business. However, these advantages can be taken away by bad development practices. If a cloud application is developed in the wrong way, it is more likely that it will handicap your business than offering you any advantages.
So to ensure the quality of the cloud application, the cloud application development companies should follow certain principles.
Cloud application development: Dos
Decoupling
One of the purposes of cloud applications is to store data separately, remotely, and safely. By storing the data on your application, you are not only sabotaging the purpose but also making your apps slower as it now has to handle data and operations. By separating data from the app you are making your app function faster as it now has to only take care of the processes it intended to do.
Separate logs
Technology is not immune to errors. Even if the application is built by the best developers, there are chances for bugs due to reasons out of their control. So keeping a log file of things is very important for every application.
However, if you store the logs in the local system, it is less accessible compared to storing them on third-party log aggregators. The use of third-party log aggregators will prevent situations where the logs are lost forever, become partially corrupted, not synchronized, or just simply not accessible.
Futureproofing
One of the reasons why businesses choose cloud applications is that they are easy to scale. However, scaling is not an easy task. If there are restrictions like the ones caused by bad coding, selection of improper platforms, components, or the environment, the application will be difficult or even impossible to scale. So, it is important that future-proofing should be implemented from the conceptualization phase itself.
Optimization
The advantage of cloud applications is that the data is stored remotely and separately. However, if poorly executed this can turn into a disadvantage.
Data is an important component of an application. To work as intended, the application should be able to communicate easily with the server and process the data faster. So it is important that each component of a cloud application is working as intended and the communication between these components is properly optimized.
Security
As the data are stored remotely and separately away from the local system, there is a higher risk of data vulnerability. To overcome this, the developers should adopt the best ways to make the communication between the app and server secure. Also, as cloud servers are a favourite target for hackers and people with malicious intent, you should always choose cloud services providers who follow strict security measures and adopt the latest technologies at a fast pace.
Go generic
Use a common standard for your codes, platforms, and topology. This will ensure that the app you built will fit in most cloud environments. It will also help you with the scalability of your applications as mostly the process will be automated and certain standards need to be followed.
Vulnerability checks
Periodically checks for vulnerabilities. Since Cloud applications work with the help of the internet there is a higher risk of data breaches and security exploit.
Consultation
Cloud technology is a fast-growing industry. New technologies are emerging day by day and the services are becoming complex. However, the client may not be aware of the complexity of cloud technologies. So, always try to educate them on the benefits of the cloud, what features will benefit them, what are the limitations and how the cost can be calculated.
Cloud application development: Don’t s
Security and privacy
Never neglect data security and privacy. Two of the major concerns when it comes to cloud applications are how secure the application is and whether it values user privacy. Follow strict policies on security and privacy and always adopt the latest trends in these fields.
Downtime
Server outages can be common. However, it must be avoided when it comes to cloud applications as without server connectivity the application will not work. For most businesses, it will affect their day-to-day functions and revenue.
Complexities
You won’t be seeing yourself moving to the cloud anytime sooner. However, that does not eliminate the possibility of you adopting cloud as the requirement changes in the future. As mentioned earlier, you should always keep this possibility in mind and avoid any complexity in the system which will hinder the process.
Don’t test your luck
There are several companies offering almost the same cloud services. But that does not mean that all of them offer the same quality of services. Instead of trusting your instinct you should carefully evaluate your options, study what their services offer, check their customer feedback and review their service level agreement (SLA). Switching between various cloud providers may not be easy and it will cost you a lot of resources and expertise.
Don’t force
Never force all your existing applications to migrate to the cloud. It is common that big corporations have hundreds of applications in their arsenal. However, not all of them will be suitable to migrate to the cloud. A few may not be worth migrating when evaluating the cost and benefits. So, prioritize the applications based on the value when it comes to cloud migration.
Don’t underfund
Never try to save money on cloud migration and the process by underfunding. You should first analyze whether it is beneficial for your business to move to the cloud. If yes, make sure that the process is well-governed, monitored, and implemented. That way you can save more money in the long term and avoid any pitfalls due to quality issues.
Documentation
Never forget to document everything. It will not only help you with reevaluating the process if any pitfall occurs but also help your team with future development. Without documentation, your team will not have any clarity on the limitations of the application and the environment and it will be difficult for them to envisage a roadmap for further development of the application.
Cost
Never forget to start the process with a cost analysis. Approach a good application development company that is an expert in cloud-related services. They can help you with evaluating the cost most accurately as there may be additional or indirect costs that you may miss out on. For example, as a business, you may not know the right cloud architecture for your application or you will not know the additional cost associated with optimizing the application prior to moving it to the cloud. A cloud application development company can easily identify them.
Hiring cloud application development company
Before hiring a cloud application development company, consider some of these points:
Define your goals prior to approaching a cloud application development company. Having a perfect understanding of your goals helps the cloud application developer to plan and execute the project easier.
Analyze if your application is suitable for migrating to a cloud. There might be a need for a complete rewriting of the application.
Select your deployment model-whether it is a private cloud or a public cloud. Private clouds are more costly. Public clouds are less costly but there is a higher risk of security.
Build custom cloud management platforms to keep everything in checks such as the security and application performance.
Prior to deployment, test the cloud app for potential security risks. Testing should also be done to ensure optimal performance.
Before hiring a cloud application development company, always research their credibility. Choose one which is following global standards for data processing and handling.
Make sure that the cloud platforms have containers. Containers are used to divide the applications into components which help in easy deployment.
Conclusion
Moving to the cloud has its own benefits. However, these benefits come with their own complexities. While cloud applications are becoming more popular and they are replacing traditional applications across multiple verticals, businesses need the assistance of an expert in the field to reap the actual benefits of the cloud. AlignMinds has more than a decade of experience in developing best-in-class applications in mobility and cloud platforms. If you are searching for a technology partner for your next project, contact us now.
Choosing the right development framework has a major role in deciding the success of any digital solution. Web development is not exempted from this. If you are a business that has always been cautious about choosing the right platform for your technology solution, you might have come across Laravel, a trending technology framework that is getting popular among businesses like you. If that is true, you might have also wondered whether to hire Laravel developers for your next project.
Here, as a technology partner for startups to enterprises for more than 12 years, we are trying to list out the benefits of hiring Laravel developers for your next project.
Is Laravel the right platform for businesses?
As a serious business that has its own goals to achieve in the long term, you want someone who is an expert in the latest technologies as your technology partner. Especially since, due to the ever-changing nature of the technology industry, new technologies are being introduced every day and existing technologies are being updated or outdated.
As a web development company, we have seen a new trend in the industry, The rise of a new framework that is often preferred by businesses and developers alike. The framework is none other than Laravel.
There has been a huge rise in the popularity of Laravel in the last decade. Compared to PHP, the programming language this framework is based upon, Laravel is a new kid in the block. However, due to the features and benefits it offers, more developers are choosing Laravel over other PHP frameworks nowadays.
The benefits are not exclusive to developers. The huge rise in demand for Laravel based solutions underlines that businesses are also getting benefited from this framework.
What is Laravel?
Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework, intended for the development of web applications following the model–view–controller architectural pattern and based on Symfony. It is primarily used for building custom web apps using PHP. The advantage of Laravel is that it handles routing, templating, HTML, and authentication perfectly. Laravel is a server-side framework, and it focuses heavily on data manipulation.
Model–view–controller
The Model-view-controller is a design pattern used for designing user interfaces that divides the codes into three categories, Model, View, and Controller, and each category of code has its own purposes. For example, the model deals with raw data, logic, and rules of an application. View deals with the representation of information and the controller ties together the model and view. It is the controller that accepts user inputs and converts them to commands for model or view. While the model is the central component, the controller is the brain of the application.
Laravel is based on the same “Model-view-controller” architecture and functions in the same way.
Why hire Laravel developers?
The reactive businesses change their business approach due to the pressure from the market. They introduce new products or services because the demand for the existing ones is on the decline, or their competitors are offering better ones. There can also be other reasons like the cost of the current business model is increasing and they are forced to come up with a new one. The market preferences have changed, and they must analyze the new trends and align their products and services to meet the latest demands. Since these businesses are led by the market, they have least to no control over the industry they are operating in.
On the other hand, the proactive business is the one that sets new trends in the market. They invent new products to create fresh demands in the market. They come up with unique solutions to win the attention of the market and increase the demand for their existing products and services. They keep on rejuvenating the industry with the help of the latest technologies and they are always ahead of their competitors.
Among these two, which one will be more likely to survive as a business in the long run?
The answer will be proactive businesses.
As a business, if you want to win the market and have an advantage over your competitors, you must be proactive in your approach.
Technology is the best tool available to any business that wants to be competitive in their industry. As a competitive business, you are not using technology to survive in the market. You are leveraging the latest technology to cut down your operating cost, maximize customer interaction, satisfy your customer’s needs, and inventing fresh methods to reach more customers. The right technology can help you with saving resources like money and time and increase your profit margin.
So, if you are a business that falls into the second category and is looking to build a web solution, Laravel is the right choice for you. This PHP framework comes with a ton of features that helps business and developers alike. These features make the development process easier and when the process becomes easier the cost and time will be reduced. So, if you decide to hire Laravel experts, you can have the best solution at an affordable price within a short time as a business.
So, let’s discuss the features of Laravel that make the framework the best choice for most businesses.
Features of Laravel
The question of whether to hire Laravel developers is not a brainer for most businesses due to the advantages the framework offers. The main advantages of Laravel are;
Better performance
Most businesses hire Laravel developers because the framework has certain performance advantages over other frameworks in the market.
Laravel comes with native support for Memcached and Radis caching systems. The benefit of such systems is that they help you to build applications quickly by storing diverse cached objects so there is no need to rebuild the configuration for every request. The availability of route optimization helps you with maximizing your app performance even if it has lots of routes. The scalability and multilingual support make Laravel one of the best PHP frameworks to work with if you are expecting more users in the future.
Laravel also offers features like Image optimization, limiting the number of plugins, composer load optimization, precompiling assets, etc. to improve the performance of your application.
Object-oriented libraries
Laravel boasts of having Object-oriented and pre-installed libraries. The availability of such libraries makes Laravel one of the easiest frameworks to use for complex solutions. Laravel programmers can easily integrate functions like Bcrypt hashing, checking active users, CSRF (Cross-site Request Forgery) protection, password reset, encryption, etc to the solution with the help of these libraries.
Security
Security is a major concern for any business. Offenses like Data theft, cybercrime, leaking personal data of users, etc. are increasing day by day. Businesses must make sure that the solution they are going to develop and use is immune from such threats.
The good news is, if your decision is to hire Laravel developers, you will no longer have to worry about application security.
The framework supports salted and hashed passwords. This means that it will be harder for hackers to decipher your passwords. Also, with Laravel, implementing authentication is amazingly simple. The framework comes with all settings preconfigured. If you want to make changes to the authentication logic or process, it is easily doable since many documentations are readily available.
The CSRP protection offered by Laravel helps you with safeguarding your application from cross-site request forgery. So, fraudsters will not be able to get access to your application by running unauthorized commands through an authenticated user.
The use of prepared SQL commands by Laravel avoids injection attacks; so, it becomes impossible for untrusted inputs to alter the execution of a command in your web app.
Artisan
Laravel comes with a command-line interface called “Artisan” that provides you with several helpful commands to develop your application easily. Every command has a help screen that shows the command’s available arguments and options. Artisan is powered by the robust Symfony Console component. The availability of such a powerful tool makes the application development process easier and less time-consuming. As a result, when hiring Laravel developers, you can expect a quick turnaround time.
Better user experience
User experience is a crucial factor that decides the success of an application. According to a survey conducted by PWC,
“32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience.”
In this online age, most customers are interacting with businesses online. In fact, the market is rapidly moving towards digital services and products where all the interactions between customers and businesses are done solely online.
Do you think it is possible for a business to survive in the industry without giving enough attention to user experience these days?
Fortunately, PHP frameworks like Laravel offer more features to improve user experience. Laravel uses a template engine called “Blade” that simplifies the development process and makes your application lightweight and easy to use for the end-users. The intuitive interfaces offered by the engine helps you with building your own unique brand image and giving your customers an experience that sets you apart from your competitors.
Better database migration
Database is a crucial component of any application. If not taken care of properly, it can render the whole application useless within a fraction of the time. One of the challenges faced by developers and businesses alike is migrating databases between different environments and syncing them between development machines. Since Laravel offers a convenient way to deal with database migration and management, the pool of potential problems is further reduced.
Automatic package discovery
Laravel has a user-friendly feature known as “Automatic Package discovery” that automatically identifies the packages which the users might want to install. If you are someone who wants to disable this option, Laravel also lets you do so.
Community
Laravel has one of the most active communities. This means that the technology is still on a growing stage and there is no sign of it fading away anytime soon. While developers can seek help from the community on complex problems related to coding and development, as a business you can ensure the solution you will have in hand will be future proof. Also, such communities make it easier to find the Laravel experts you are looking for.
Who should hire Laravel developers?
As stated earlier, if you are a business that wants to be competitive in your industry, it is better to hire Laravel experts for your next projects. The advantages of Laravel – most of them are stated above – make it one of the easiest and wise decisions you can ever take.
If you are a business that operates in banking, entertainment, healthcare, eCommerce, or other industries with high traffic where a lot of data processing and complexities are involved, Laravel will be the best option for you. Features like Service Container, Event Broadcasting, baked-in queue systems, etc. helps Laravel to handle these functions better than any other frameworks available in the market.
Laravel also supports microservices architecture. This means that when you are hiring Laravel developers, you can create one massive application that comprises several independently functioning modules. Such applications are efficient, robust, and can handle multiple functions simultaneously at the same time without compromising on processing time.
Laravel can be integrated with existing content management systems like WordPress or Drupal. You can also build content-based applications entirely from scratch using Laravel. So Laravel is also the best choice for entertainment businesses, news portals, etc.
Popular systems built using Laravel
Due to the wide range of advantages stated above, Laravel is used by many businesses that spread across different industries. If you are looking to hire Laravel developers, you must be interested in knowing a few of such popular solutions built on Laravel.
MyRank
MyRank is a popular e-learning platform that is built using Laravel. Being an e-learning platform, one of the major requirements for MyRank is scalability; so that it can add more scholars and more learning resources to the platform. Choosing Laravel over other frameworks has helped MyRank to meet its requirements easily.
Contendoo is a platform for businesses to find the right talent for their content needs. It acts as a bridge between business and freelance content creators. The platform features a variety of talent including translators, content writers, designers, content strategists, marketing specialists, etc.
Businesses can choose talent based on subject expertise and language. Contendoo handles management, invoicing, and payment for the businesses so that they can have all the advantages of in-house and freelance combined.
Such a complex solution demands innovative features and third-party integration. By choosing Laravel to build the platform, Contentoo made the development process easier and less time-consuming.
Other features of the platform include a secure messaging system, contact management, and a reminder system to implement deadlines.
October is an open-source self-hosted content management system based on the Laravel web application framework. With October, even users with the least technical knowledge can manage page contents with the WYSIWYG editor. They can manage images, videos, and other files, and even edit website menus with a simple visual interface. It is fully compatible with the PHP composer package manager. Adding new functionalities and configuring them is easy due to CMS page components. October supports CDN and image cropping and has a ton of plugins that can be integrated into the platforms.
The purpose of any forum is to host engaging conversations online. To enable it, the platform has to be fast (so conversation happens instantly), secure (users’ data should be secure), reliable (downtime can affect user experience and it will also render the platform useless), responsive (users can engage in a conversation from a wide choice of devices; even while on move) and good looking.
Flarum is one such platform that is also modern, simple, fast, and free. All the advantages of Flarum are made possible due to the capabilities and huge potential of Laravel. By hiring Laravel developers, you can start building simple discussion platforms and scale them to complex solutions with the help of numerous tools and plugins supported by the framework.
One of the popular forms built using Laravel is Laracasts.
Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja is an accounting solution that offers a ton of features to its clients.
The features include invoicing, tracking payments and expenses, auto-billing, recurring invoices, creation and sending of work proposals, time tracking, easy sharing of invoices, supports for different types of attachments, custom design for invoices, auto-reminder, payment notification, bulk sending, voice commands and a lot more. You can see the complete list of features offered by Invoice Ninja here.
Invoice Ninja is one of the best examples that showcase the real capabilities of Laravel.
Tably
Tably is solely built for restaurants to help them with online reservation, reservation management, walk-in management, and event booking. The solution automates most of the routine operations in a restaurant and helps the owners to solely focus on the actual business. Tably is one of the best examples of how Laravel can be used to build solutions that are specially designed for certain industries. It shows the versatility and robustness of the framework.
BonAppetour is a solution built using Laravel to leverage the potential of culinary tourism. It connects travelers and hosts and offers them a platform for finding local homemade dishes. The advantages of Laravel made it easier to store, manage and display the huge database of local hosts in a meaningful way that helps travelers to find their next stay, easily.
Bagisto is a free & open-source Ecommerce Platform built on Laravel.
It enables you to create your own free eCommerce website and scale it is using various extensions. The main features of Bagisto include sales through multiple channels, customers and groups, various payment modes, custom attributes, insights and reports, localization, multi-currency support, access level control, and so on. Bagistop proves that if you want to build an eCommerce solution, Laravel is one of the best choices for you.
Canvas is a minimal blogging app built by Todd Austin using Laravel. It features writing in markdown with the Summernote WYSIWYG which also supports autosaves, a media uploader, post tags, and post scheduling. Canvas is a simple to use yet scalable solution that underlines the value of Laravel as a flexible framework.
If you are a competitive business that is looking to develop an innovative web application, Laravel will be your best choice. The advantages offered by Laravel over other frameworks make hiring Laravel developers for your next project a no-brainer.
Want to hire the best Laravel developers in the industry? Contact us now. We have more than 12 years of experience in developing trendsetting yet cost-effective web and mobile solutions for startups to enterprises.
Custom web design involves a team of people who are specialized in their respective fields working round the clock to build a website as per the customer requirements, keeping their brand uniqueness. The custom web design company takes cues from its customers and develops the website accordingly. When it comes to custom web design and development the possibilities are endless.
How is a custom web design service different from template based web designs?
Template-based web design involves designers choosing from the available templates and working on the same to create websites for their clients. The basic integrity of template structure and navigation flow of the template cannot be altered, and the level of customization is limited. WordPress for example offers many templates for its customers to play with. But as mentioned earlier the level of customization is limited and it is mainly opted by amateur web designers or small businesses who just need a website for the sake of it.
On the other hand, custom web design companies offer tailor-made solutions to meet customer expectations. For example, a custom WordPress website design will in most cases be more professional than what is possible with a template design. Custom-designed websites are by all means a superior product offering when compared to template-based websites.
Advantages of custom web design
Custom web design services offer a high level of customization giving the website individuality.
Websites that are custom built are SEO compliant, aiding in better Search Engine ranking like in Google.
People prefer websites that are unique and that reflect that brand’s ethos, only custom website design can truly reflect the same in their website.
Custom web design and development promotes a customer-friendly(user-friendly) website interface. Customer-friendly websites not only attract large traffic but also drive up user engagement.
Custom web design and development ensure a high page speed. High page speed contributes to the overall user experience, better engagement, and maximum conversion.
Custom web design and development process
Custom web design and development process can be divided into 5 simple steps, they are as mentioned below:
Goal and scope identification
The first step in the custom web design process is to identify the goal and objective of your business. This stage is considered vital for the smooth flow of the project. Any discrepancies in clearly identifying the goal and scope of the project can impact the outcome of the project. Hence you (the client) and the custom website design company will take adequate time and effort to develop the goal and scope defining framework.
Identifying the goal of the project involves defining the purpose of the website(is it to sell products like an eCommerce website or provide news reports, blog, and so on), how should it interact with the potential customer, what is its USP, how much should the website be similar or different from the competitors, and so on.
Some of the common tools that facilitate the website goal identification process include the following:
Competitor analysis
Brand attributes
Target audience
Target geography
Target demography
Once the goal and objective of the website are understood, the client along with the custom website development company can set the scope of the project. Scope of the project includes the website features, graphic and icon design, add-on features, and so on. The biggest advantage of customized web design is the possibility it offers for a business to go above and beyond to develop a product that is unique, distinct, and most importantly reflects the character of the brand. Any discrepancies in the goal and scope identification cause disruption in the execution timeline and budget. Hence, this stage as mentioned earlier is especially important.
A legally binding contract and a timeline chart are used by the custom web design agency as a basis to start the project. This ensures that both you and the web design company are on the same page.
Sitemap and wireframe creation
Sitemap lays the foundation for a well-designed website. A sitemap will usually consist of all the links available on the webpage. It gives you an understanding of how information is spread across the website. A good sitemap also represents the logical flow of information within a website by defining the relationships between various pages on it.
While Sitemap is the blueprint for the website, a wireframe is a two-dimensional architectural skeleton of a web page. This helps designers identify the flows in the components and designs of the webpage, furthermore, it gives them a brief idea about the type of content required for the web page. A well-designed web page can be sleek and user-friendly at the same time.
Content creation
Website content plays a major role in attracting web traffic to the website. The website content should be crisp, clear, precise, and engaging. Website contents should be unique and use simple language for wider acceptability of the same. Furthermore, the structure in which the content is laid plays a major role in making the page attractive, informative, and engaging at the same time.
SEO-friendly content can help with having a good ranking in Search Engine Results (SERP). Tools like Google Keyword Planner helps content writers across the world to identify the most searched keywords on Google.
It is typically the business or the client who offers the bulk of the content. The custom website development company usually structures the content and makes it SEO friendly.
Visual elements
It is only when the designers start inserting visual elements into the website, it comes alive. Visual elements help make the website unique, this is especially true when the designer designs the right logo, images, frames within the website to disseminate information logically. Visual elements come in handy when you want to customize the design of the websites to resemble the brand image and exude brand ethos.
Testing and launch
Testing comes in the last phases of developing a website. In this stage, the custom website design company will test the website performance using a variety of methods and techniques to ensure that the website is ready to be used by the end user without trouble. Testing helps to fix issues present on the website. Furthermore, it ensures that the website performs the work it is meant to do in the real world.
Once the testing part of the website is performed successfully and the testers have given a thumbs up, the website is launched with the help of a server. Once it is launched, the website can be accessed by you and your customers alike with the help of the internet.
What language is best suited for custom web design?
There are a variety of programming languages used to develop custom websites. Each programming language comes with its unique set of frameworks and libraries that make them unique in their own ways. Some of the most widely used programming languages in the field of custom web design are as mentioned below. Please note that most of the time, more than one programming language is used to develop a complete website.
PHP
PHP is considered as one of the most commonly used programming languages to create custom websites. The biggest advantage of the PHP language is that it is open-source, which means that it is available for free of cost. PHP is also browser-friendly, making the website user-friendly, efficient, and fast.
HTML
HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is the language used to implement the structure and layout of web pages. Unlike PHP, HTML is a frontend language which means that it helps to develop the part of the website that the end users interact with directly.
SQL
Structured Query Language, or SQL as it is widely known, is a database query language that deals with data and databases of a website. It helps with adding, storing, modifying, deleting, and retrieving data using commands.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets helps with adding styles to the web pages. Like HTML, CSS is also a markup language and the two often go together. However, the CSS has the most influence on how the web page will appear to the end user in terms of font, font size, colours, etc, and make the style consistent across the website.
Python
Python is relatively a new language but has gained immense popularity in the past few years. More and more developers are showing affinity to Python. It is a very powerful language, that is both simple and easy to operate. It is highly flexible and fluid making it an excellent language for developers who are responsible for building complex applications.
Java
Java as a language was developed in the 1990s, believe it or not, it is still one of the most in-demand programming languages of the 21st century. It is still considered as “the right choice” when it comes to programming. The program has the capability to work on multiple platforms making it highly versatile. A java programmer is still the most in-demand profession in today’s world.
Java Script
Javascript has the capability to support object-oriented styles, this makes it an extremely valuable language for building versatile applications. Javascript was created with the intention to develop websites, apps, and games that can run on all browsers. It can support both function-oriented and object-oriented styles helping programmers make excellent websites that look exotic.
Go
Go is a programming language designed at Google that is relatively a newcomer to the scene. It solves the problems that other programming languages have like ease to use, high readability, excellent integration to name a few. Being a product from Google and Google being the king of search engines its popularity is expected to outshine other languages in the years to come.
Why is a custom website the best choice for your business?
Web customization
Custom website design services offer a high level of customization giving the website individuality. The first impression is the best impression. When a customer enters your website, he/she should feel excited. The color combinations used, the simplicity of the design and the effortless dissemination of information will have a lasting impression on the customer.
These factors motivate the customer to visit the website again. Word of mouth publicity can further accelerate the traffic to your web page. People prefer websites that are unique and that reflect that brand’s ethos, only custom website design can truly reflect the same in a website. Did you know that 75% of perceived web credibility comes from design elements of the website?. This fact emphasizes the importance of customized web designs in this day and age.
Enjoy high SERP ratings
A custom built website is more likely to be SEO compliant; aiding in better Search Engine ranking like in Google. These websites are fast, easy to navigate, tick all the right boxes when it comes to SERP parameters. Even affordable custom web designs, when done right, can meet the basic SERP requirements. When all the right boxes are ticked the website will be ranked top in the organic search, helping you get more customers and business at a cheap rate.
But why is using website templates instead of a custom design bad for ranking in search engine results?
Usually, website templates are clunky and filled with unnecessary features to cater to a variety of businesses. As a result, they are slow, have low onpage scores, and are difficult to rank in SERP. Ultimately this will lead to 89% of customers shopping at your competitors’ websites due to the poor quality of your website.
Mobile-friendly websites reap the benefit
Mobile accounts for about 50% of the global website traffic today. About 74% of people are likely to come back to your website if you have a mobile-friendly interface. This is because as per the statistics available people spend about 70% of their internet time using mobile phones.
To capitalize on this opportunity, it is important that your website is mobile-friendly. If you choose custom web design services over ready-made templates, you have more control over offering the best mobile experience to your customers.
For example, if you are looking for a custom eCommerce website design, you can make sure that the front page is tailored to your customer interest, the inner pages are aligned with the sales funnel and it is easier for your customer to find the products they need, add them to cart and complete the order by making payment the most convenient way for them.
We should not forget that there are thousands of mobile-friendly templates available for websites that are built on platforms like WordPress. But are they able to showcase your business’s value and ethos? Can they incorporate the identity of your business as it is?
Also remember that in order to convert high traffic to more sales, the sales funnel should be properly planned and implemented. It is quite common that these sales funnels may vary from industry to industry and business to business. So, to make your website an effective conversion tool, it is better to go for a custom web design that focuses on your customer, their interest, and the brand identity and strength of your business.
Custom websites help with creating engaging websites
Websites need to be engaging. Only an engaging website can retain traffic. Only when the customers are engaged the traffic gets converted to sales figures.
95% of the internet users testify that a good user experience is an important factor while consuming content from the website. Hence, creating and displaying engaging content is a necessity for any website to sustain. Only a custom-made website allows you to develop a website that disperses information in a logical manner that engages the users and presents value and facts in a clean and crisp manner.
AlignMinds has more than a decade of experience designing best-in-class custom websites that are tailored to fit the interest and preferences of end-users. If you are in search of a competent custom web development company, contact us now!
Earlier it was difficult for people to communicate with their family members and friends when they were working in a foreign country. The family members have to wait for days to receive a letter and vice-versa. Now, the situation has drastically changed. The advancement in communication technology has resulted in more communication modes such as video calls, chats, and emails. And, it has made communication easier and efficient.
The advancements in communication have also transformed how businesses function. Every business tries to adapt and change according to the need of the hour. Startups or established businesses- both try to grow in a short span of time. In order to attain maximum growth, they need to adopt quality and efficiency and the “team” becomes a crucial component to achieve that.
Building the team
Interviews, training, onboarding-everything of the hiring process consumes time and money.
But it is now possible to hire a team who is fully equipped with the required skill set and knowledge. Also advancements in communications and technology have helped businesses to hire an exceptional team from any part of the globe. This type of hiring, known as ‘offshoring’, is considered the best way to develop a quality product at a low cost.
According to Forbes, offshoring “ does not only relate to the production of physical goods, but also services. The Indian IT industry, for instance, has been powered by waves of offshoring by technological companies in the West.”
The following graph shows the total contract value of the information technology outsourcing (ITO) market worldwide from 2000 to 2019.
From the above graph, we can see that, even though there was a dip in the contract value in the year 2016, it has bounced back in the year 2017 and remained almost consistent in recent years. With a value of around 60 billion US dollar, the outsourcing industry is one of the key industries in the world. It has helped in boosting the employment generation and income level in the east while the west was able to cut down their operating cost.
The reason for hiring offshore developers may vary according to the businesses goal. It can be done to gain greater global scalability, for cutting the development cost or to develop a quality product.
As mentioned earlier, hiring offshore developers is a type of outsourcing where a business hires a development team from another country. Companies hire offshore development teams with different aims such as web development, mobile app development etc.
Hiring offshore developers can be broadly classified into two. You can
Hire offshore development agencies: You outsource a whole project to an agency abroad. They will take care of every aspect of the project and hand you over the final product.
Hire dedicated offshore developers: You hire an individual player to an existing team under your wing. They fill specific roles that are crucial for the implementation and completion of a project like design, coding, testing etc.
What are dedicated offshore developers?
Dedicated offshore developers are a team of professionals from another country who you hire to work for your project. A good team of dedicated offshore developers will work solely on your project and will deliver the project on time.
Hiring dedicated offshore developers will help you greatly in cost-cutting strategies. There is no need to spend on office space and other perks such as health insurance and salary hike. You only need to pay for the service they offer.
Dedicated offshore developers are the apt choice for a project that does not have a fixed framework. Dedicated offshore developers are equipped with the required skill set. So it is easy for them to adapt to the random changes in the parameters of the project.
Pros of hiring offshore development teams
Low development cost
Developing countries have a lower cost of living than a developed country. It reduces the cost of hiring offshore developers from these countries. India is a popular destination for hiring offshore development teams.
No training needed
An offshore development team does not need any training. They are equipped with every skill which enables them to start the work immediately. Or if put it in another way, you can hire a team based on the required skill and expertise.
Shared responsibility
When you outsource to an offshore development team, both you and the offshoring team have a shared responsibility. If the project does not end up as planned, some offshoring companies also provide a partial refund.
Working infrastructure and latest technologies
Offshore development teams are already equipped with all working infrastructure facilities. They also work with the latest technologies and have a better understanding of the competition in the field. You can use their expertise and technological advancement to the advantage of your business.
Cost-effective business scalability
When you hire an offshore development team, it can help you to scale your business in a cost effective way. It is a low-risk growth approach to expand your business.
Helps to concentrate on core areas of the business
Offshore development team comes with a better manageable workforce. So, when you hire an offshore development team, you will get more time to focus on other core areas of the business. A good offshore development team will also make sure that your project will be completed within the budget and timeline which was agreed upon.
Easily increase and decrease the size of the team
You can easily remove and add team members when you hire an established offshore development team. You will also save time on interviews and the process of onboarding.
Cons of hiring offshore development teams and remedies
Communication issues
Time zone differences make it difficult to communicate with the offshore software development teams. Monitoring the activities of an offshore software development team is also a problem. You may not be available or there will be some network issues that can happen when the project manager tries to communicate with you on some serious problems.
Remedies
Foster a good rapport with the team. You should communicate with them regularly through video or voice calls. If time permits you can go and meet your offshore development team at their place.
Setting up a dedicated chat room for proper communication between your project manager and offshore software development team is a good strategy. When there is a constant transmission of ideas, the scope of flaws in communication can be reduced to a certain extent. There is no need to regularly spend time interacting with the offshore software development team if there is a dedicated chat facility.
Data security issues
While hiring an offshore development team, data security is the most common problem faced by the clients. If you didn’t have a correct background check on the offshore development team, it might lead to information leak.
Remedies
Check if the offshore developers are following strong security policies. As most information leak happens through the internet, allow only necessary internet interactions.
A best offshore company encrypts and stores the given data. Before hiring an offshore software development team, you should ensure that they follow proper data encryption protocols.
A regular risk assessment carried out from your side will minimise the risk of a data breach. You can also ask your offshore development team to conduct random checks.
Regular scanning of the network for vulnerabilities and security issues will help in minimising the risk of a data breach. You can also ask the team members to not bring any data storage devices to work.
Management issues
It is easy to manage an in-house team as every one is available in the same workspace. Some may find it difficult to manage a team of offshore developers.
Remedies
You can send one of your trusted employees to oversee the work of your dedicated offshore developers. It might incur extra charges for you but, it is a good option if your project takes only a month or two for completion.
You can also seek help from a team member and ask him/her to write a detailed daily work report. You can regularly schedule conference calls with the offshore developers and convey your ideas to them.
Issues relating to cultural differences
Cultural differences might reflect on the quality of work. The developers from different countries have the same technical skills but different cultural backgrounds.
Remedies
Prior to the start of the work, you can have a conference call with the offshoring team and can discuss working standards that both can agree upon.
You can make sure that every member of your dedicated development team understands and speaks English or any other common language.
You can invite your offshore developers to your office events. This will help to understand them better.
Geopolitical issues
Since your offshoring development team is from another country, geopolitical situations of the country can affect the work. Geopolitical issues include terrorist attacks, wars between nations etc.
Remedies
You should always have a contingency plan when you hire offshore development teams so that you can take necessary steps if something goes wrong. A good awareness about the geopolitical situations in the country where your team is located is an absolute must.
Where to look for an offshore development team?
When you are looking for offshore development teams prefer a location that is having similar cultures as your homeland. The best offshore developers are found in Asia and Eastern Europe due to their affordable rates and good communication skills. In Asia, India and in Eastern Europe, Ukraine is a popular destination for hiring the best offshore developers.
You can search popular directories such as Clutch, ITFirms, GoodFirms etc. to find offshore developers who are having the required skill set according to your needs. When you search on these platforms you will get the reviews of the past clients and choose the best offshore developers among them.
You can also seek help from consultants who can connect you with the best offshore developers out there. They can be a mediator and help you in making negotiations on the rates.
How to hire an offshore development team more effectively?
When you are looking for offshore development teams you should check some factors. You should have a good understanding of your project and its expected outcomes. You need to communicate important details like number of members you need, skill level, and expected date of project delivery etc. to the offshore development team.
Hire a team of offshore developers who are committed to delivering quality work. If you are choosing dedicated offshore developers, always double-check for reliability and experience.
A complex project may take years to complete depending on the workforce. So it is advisable to hire offshore development teams who not only understand your current requirements but also the future needs as well.
Shortlisting countries that have the best price/quality ratio is an important part of hiring. You can get a quality product at a reasonable price when you hire the right offshore developers.
The communication process is the most important part of hiring an offshore development team. So hiring a team of offshore developers who can interact with you without any flaws is an essential requirement.
Always have a deep-check on the data protection norms of the country before hiring an offshore development team.
You should choose an offshore development team who respects and has clear specifications about intellectual property rights.
The following graph shows the leading countries in offshore business services.
Managing offshore development teams is as easy as handling an in-house team if you know how to handle the communication gap between two time zones. Some of the things that should be kept in mind while managing offshore development team are as follows:
Always check that the offshore development team is having the same business mindset as yours. Ensure that the cultural differences do not lead to any challenges in product development.
At the start of the project itself, make the offshore development team understand the values put forward by your business. Managing offshore development teams becomes easier when the offshore development team understands the values and objective of your business.
If you think that cultural differences will pose some issues in the development, you can hire offshore development teams from a country that possess similar cultural standards as yours. Managing offshore development teams are easy when the cultural standards of both sides are similar.
Managing offshore development teams becomes difficult when there is less communication or there is a language barrier. You should hold meetings regularly with your offshoring software development team. It helps to avoid misunderstandings and moreover, it gives good control over the team.
Always dedicate some time to listen to the offshore developers. They have years of experience and worked for many clients on a global level. They can help you in brainstorming ideas that may help your business to grow beyond boundaries.
Hiring an offshore development team is not a simple task. But it offers more advantages than having an in-house team. When the concept of offshoring is fully understood and when the offshoring team works in sync with the ideas put forward by you it helps in the smooth development of a quality product.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning mobile app development company with a decade of success stories. We offer digital product engineering services that include strategy and design, web and mobile app development, DevOps and cybersecurity. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
People have used telephones to communicate with each other. It is considered as a pinnacle in communication technology. Nobody might have thought that one day the technology will advance to a point where everyone will have their own portable mobile phones. Not just that, a device which was originally invented as a communication device will perform almost all tasks related to day to day life and eventually replace personal computers!
The high usage of smartphones phones and mobile apps during the last couple of years have led to an increase in the number of mobile app development companies. These companies are launching new mobile apps almost daily. But only some of the apps are catching the attention of the end-users.
The following survey shows the time spent by the users on different app genres.
The above graph gives an insight into the profits that a business earns by offering a quality mobile app.
But why does a user prefer one app over another?
Some of the reasons include the following
A user will like an app that has a lower battery consumption.
An app that has better integration with mobile hardware like cameras, microphone and sensors is admired by the users.
Users like an app that works online and offline.
While navigating, users like to access information that is simple and easy to understand.
Security and privacy are the most important factors a user considers before downloading an app.
Users also love a guidance feature in an app that easily makes them understand the features of the app.
Below are some tips on how to make your mobile app go viral.
Tips: How to make your mobile app go viral
Title
The first thing that a user notices while downloading an app is the title.
A title that stands out will make a user curious about what’s inside. The title like Messenger and WhatsApp also tries to give an idea of the category to which it belongs to. To know the content of the app, he/she might read the description and images. Make sure that the images and the description are attractive.
Online presence
The online presence of the business also helps with mobile app marketing strategies and to make your mobile app go viral.
It won’t be easy to make your mobile app go viral in the beginning itself. Especially if your business has low visibility. In cases like these, you can use paid marketing to promote your business and mobile app. Social media are a good option when it comes to promoting your mobile app. Use eye catching banners and good ad copy to catch the attention of the users and make them download the app.
Also, create a website that gives details about the mobile app and include a link for downloading the app.
Rewards
One of the most used mobile app marketing strategies is giving rewards to users. An example includes that of Google Pay, which offers a cashback for its users. Rewarding users helps in gaining new users and building brand loyalty over time.
Social media integration
There should be a feature in the app that allows users to share their app activities on social media platforms.
For example, some games allow users to gain more rewards when they clear each level and share their new rankings through social media. A predefined eye-catching image and description are also shared by the game app that creates curiosity in other users. This curiosity generated will make others download and try the mobile game. When more users download and share it with others, this will make your mobile app go viral.
Increasing curiosity
Increasing curiosity among users is an important mobile app marketing strategy.
Creating a mystery around the features of the app before the launch is a good marketing technique. A business can also promote a mobile app with the help of celebrities. People show interest when they see a familiar face. A T.V ad can also help with increasing the visibility of the mobile app..
Before the launch of the app, conducting a giveaway can increase the popularity of the mobile app. A giveaway will attract many users and it will also help with word of mouth marketing.
Promotion through videos
You can make your mobile app go viral by posting and promoting short videos that can be shared through social media platforms. Users usually like to see a video than to read a description. If the video is successful in promoting the benefits and features of the mobile app, users are more likely to download it and try it out. They will also share it with family and friends. If done correctly, videos are the best option you can adopt for your mobile marketing strategy.
Retaining users
Gaining new users will be important for a mobile app. However, retaining the existing users is also equally important.
By giving reason for the users of your mobile app to stay on the platform and increasing their usage time, you are not only increasing your revenue margin but building brand loyalty by giving them the best app experience. By doing so, you are indirectly encouraging them to become a brand ambassador for your mobile app and pitch it to their friends and family. As we commonly say, “A satisfied customer is the best marketing effort you can have”. The same applies for app marketing too.
Updating the app with engaging content regularly is one of the best options to ensure user retention.
FOMO
A user may download and use an app due to the fear of being left out. This phenomenon is called FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in marketing.
When marketed well, FOMO can be used to the advantage of a business and can help to make your mobile app go viral. Take the example of Facebook. Earlier only a few people used Facebook. Now the number has increased to a stage where people will get surprised if you say you don’t use the social media platform.
Making a user comfortable
Building a good relationship with the users is also an important part of mobile app marketing strategy. If a suggestion put forward by a user is a good one, the business can implement it to improve the mobile app. Also answering their queries and making them comfortable is an essential part of mobile app marketing.
What are the best mobile app marketing strategies?
There are mobile app marketing services that help to make your app go viral.
The mobile app marketing strategies followed by an app marketing company include:
Referral marketing
Most of the businesses use this type of mobile app marketing strategy.
A user shares a link to download the mobile app with their friends and family in return for rewards or points. These types of promotions are mainly done by gaming apps and eCommerce apps.
Email marketing
Email marketing is one of the most used app marketing strategies where a business uses email communication to promote a mobile app.
Emails are sent regarding an app launch to people who might be interested in such apps. Email marketing can also be used to educate potential users about the benefits and features of a mobile app.
If you are an ecommerce company, you can promote the products on your platform via email marketing and the people who are interested in purchasing such products may try out your platform.
Social media marketing
Social media is one of the best and cost-efficient ways for marketing your mobile app.
There are millions of users active on different social media platforms. With a correct marketing strategy, you can attract people to your app within a short span of time. Facebook uses A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) to deliver ads to a potential user. So it is a good option to find people interested in your product. You can also use messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to invite users to your mobile app.
Offering a trial
You can offer a free trial to help potential users understand the benefits of the mobile app . If the customers find the features to be useful, they will pay for it after the end of the trial.
Call-to-action (CTA) campaigns
CTA is a successful mobile app marketing strategy. Here, many techniques are used to get the attention of the users.
The Ice Bucket Challenge by ALS Foundation is a famous example of a CTA campaign. It was created by the ALS Foundation to promote awareness of a disease- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Another example includes that of Uber- “Drive with Uber – Be Your Own Boss”. It suggests that anyone can make money with their vehicle.
App store optimization
Correct app store optimization helps your mobile app to gain maximum visibility, organically.
If your mobile app has a dedicated website, search engine optimization can help with gaining more website visitors and increasing the app downloads. Likewise, app store optimization is an important part of app marketing. You can seek help from a mobile app marketing company to better your scores in app store optimization.
Knowing about competitors
You should have a clear understanding of your competition. This helps in developing a better mobile app that is easy to promote and easy to be accepted by the user.
As users like to try new features and they are always on a search for the best mobile app that can make their life easier and more entertaining, there is always a chance for new mobile apps to win in the market. Having innovative features that your competitors do not possess will make your app stand out.
Planning a burst campaign
Burst campaign provides a boost to the marketing strategies.
Before 24 or 72 hours of the launch date, a business aggressively advertises the mobile app through paid media such as T.V., social media, websites etc. This is called a burst campaign.
Burst campaign helps the app to gain a good exposure and make the app go viral even before the launch.
You can hire marketing and advertising professionals to help you with your burst campaigns.
Hire mobile app promotion services?
A perfect mobile app marketing strategy is necessary for an app to be successful.
Mobile app marketing is the planning and execution of a set of ideas to ensure maximum exposure for your mobile app and get more people to try it out. Some studies show that over one-third of the companies dedicate 31% to 50% of their budget to mobile app marketing services.
About 68% of mobile companies have a fully documented and 30% of mobile app development companies have partially documented mobile app marketing strategy.
Some of the strategies employed by mobile app marketing agency are as follows.
Market research and other promotions
Market research is a vital part of any app marketing strategy. All mobile app promotional activities should be based on the latest trends in the industry. So, deep and constant market research is the first step towards promoting your mobile app.
App Store Optimization (ASO)
ASO has a vital role in making a mobile app go viral. To ensure you follow all ASO standards, you should hire an excellent mobile app development company and maybe a mobile app marketing agency.
Growth Marketing
Growth marketing is achieving a stable and maximum growth under a short time span. Growth marketing or growth hacking is a very good option for a start-up company. As usually growth marketers work based on metrics and data, you can be sure that your marketing efforts are result oriented and there is a good chance of outdoing the competition.
Generally, since an app marketing agency will have years of experience in market research and mobile app marketing, it is always a good choice to approach them for your app promotion as a failure in marketing will not only cost your marketing expenses but the app development expenses too.
Promote Android apps
Following Android design principles is essential when you promote Android apps.
Some of the best ways to promote your Android app are as follows:
Get the Android app featured in Android related platforms such as the Android Community, Android Developer forum etc.
If you are promoting a paid Android app, Google recommends starting with a higher price. Later you can cut down the price or give discounts during festive occasions to increase new signups.
An icon defines your business. Icon and the title is the first thing a user sees while browsing the app store. So it is important to create an eye-catching icon for promoting an Android app.
The landing page of your app in the app store should have attractive in-app images and videos. A proper description based on the benefits of using the app will be appreciated by users.
Google helps to promote both Android and iOS apps. You can make use of the Google app campaigns. It helps to promote your mobile app through Google services such as Google Play, YouTube, Google search etc.
Remarketing is considered as a strategic component of advertising by Google. Remarketing helps with increasing new registrations, sales and brand familiarity among users. If done in a proper manner, remarketing can help to make your app reach maximum targeted users.
For more guidelines on android app marketing, you can visit the official Android page.
There is a different strategy for marketing iOS mobile apps.
Promote iOS app
Promoting an iOS app may seem a bit different compared to promoting an Android app.
It is better to promote an iOS app by giving two versions- A free one and a paid one. The paid version of your app should have more engaging features than the free version. You will see more downloads for the free version. Eventually some users will turn to the paid version to get access to the full feature.
You can give discounts during the launch to promote iOS apps among the people. Building your app’s online presence is also an important iOS mobile app marketing strategy.
Apple recommends to follow these points when you promote iOS apps.
You should always use Apple provided product images in all your marketing materials when promoting the app through supported Apple devices.
Apple product images should be readable at the provided image resolution. The minimum device size should not be smaller than 25 mm in height for printed materials and 200 px on screen.
You should not promote iOS apps based on Apple features. The headline and copy should focus on the app rather than the iOS platform. Apple also recommends using a clear and simple description. This along with a call to action to download the app is important while you promote iOS apps.
Last word of advice: When you formulate your mobile app marketing strategies to make your mobile app go viral, you should also ensure that you have proper resources to update the app content regularly. This increases the user retention rate and will help you to build brand loyalty over time. Hiring a top mobile app development company ensures that you have a quality mobile app in your hand that will be loved by the user. A good app developer will also ensure that their development strategies will be supportive of your app marketing strategies.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning mobile app development company with a decade of success stories. We offer digital product engineering services that include strategy and design, web and mobile app development, DevOps and cybersecurity. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
The internet has revolutionized the lifestyle of humans to a great extent.
A British computer scientist named Sir Tim Berners-Lee paved the next step in internet technology. His invention, popularly known as the WWW (World Wide Web) and HTML (HyperText Markup Language) transformed the usage of the internet to a whole new level.
The last couple of years have seen many improvements in internet technology. The invention of the WWW led to the development of web pages. Later it developed into the combination of web pages known as a website.
Web applications or web apps is the most recent advancement in this field.
Websites and web apps have made tasks such as booking tickets and buying commodities much easier.
But what is a web app?
What is a web app or web application?
A web app uses a remote server to store data and has functions and interface similar to a native app. Users can access a web app through the internet. It is done with the help of a compatible web browser which is already installed on the device.
A web app is different from mobile applications installed on mobile phones.
Web apps are popular among individual users and business firms due to its easy access through mobile phones. eCommerce shops, webmails, social networking sites such as Facebook are some of the businesses that use web apps. As the majority of people use mobile phones, business firms hire web application developers to change their websites into a more interactive web app. Offering their services and products through a more user-friendly and preferred platform helps these business firms to widen their reach.
There are two types of web applications- static web apps and dynamic web apps
A static web app is a basic type of web app. Interactivity features are less as compared to a dynamic web app.
A dynamic web is much more complex than a static web app. Updations are easily done in dynamic web apps.
What’s a website?
A website is a collection of related web pages.
The interlinked web pages of the website have a single domain name. Website is publicly accessible. Individuals or business firms create websites to carry out many functions such as business branding, to showcase and sell their products etc.
Now, a question may arise.
If a web app and websites are using the same basic structure, what is the difference between the two?
Difference between a web app and a website
Web apps differ from websites in terms of features and functions. Web apps have interactive elements while a website has static content.
Web apps offer more features and options than a website.
Regular updations are necessary for websites to keep the content authentic.
The user can control and use the features of the web app.
Storing and accessing customized data, according to the needs of the user is possible in a web app. But websites do not have this option.
Is web app and mobile app the same?
Difference between a web app and a mobile app
Native mobile apps are those developed for a particular platform such as Android or iOS.
Some of the difference between a web app and a native mobile app is as follows:
The development cost of native mobile apps is higher than that of developing a web app. This is because native apps use platform-specific designs for development.
To develop web apps, You need to hire a web app development company or web app developers who are proficient in programming languages such as JavaScript, CSS or HTML5 etc. For native apps that will be working on an Android platform, mobile app developers widely use Android Studio for development. An iOS native mobile app developer uses Swift or Objective-C to develop an app for the Apple platform.
Templates are available for the web app developers but do not have access to any development kits as available for native mobile apps. Web apps are easier to build than a native mobile app.
Native mobile apps have more advanced features than a web app.
There is no need to download the web app as other mobile apps. You only need a compatible web browser to interact with a web app.
The loading time of a web app is slower when compared to a native mobile app.
‘Progressive web app’ is another type of web application that is widely used nowadays as it is having the qualities of both native and web-based apps. Progressive web apps can work in low connectivity and load faster as a native app.
Why do businesses now prefer to hire web application developers over websites developers?
There are many advantages of using a web app.
Advantages of web apps
As web apps use a supported internet browser to function, there is no need to download the web app. Thus, a web app does not affect the external or internal storage of the mobile phone.
A user always has access to the updated version of a web app. This is because changes made in the server get reflected in the web app. The user does not need to update a web app as compared to a native mobile app.
A business firm using a web app can easily change the contents according to their growth and change in demand when they hire web app developers who are having the required expertise in this field. Web apps are easily customizable and scalable, so a business can add or remove functions from the app within a short time.
As mentioned earlier, web apps store information in a remote server. So if the device gets stolen, the user can retrieve his/her personalized data from another device with the help of a supported web browser.
Many types of mobile phones with different screen sizes are available in the market. When you hire a web app development company with the right talent, it makes a web app equally functional and customizable for a wide range of devices.
Websites and web apps are both cost-efficient ways to deliver your content to the users.
But which is a better option for your company- website or a web app?
Which is better: a website or web app?
There are some factors to keep in mind while choosing a website or web app for your business. To an extent, cost and features have a role in deciding whether to go for a web app or a website.
Websites, compared to web apps, do not integrate well with other online tools or third-party apps. Integrating with other software is one of the basic functions of a web app. Web apps provide a better user experience than websites by combining with third-party applications.
All websites need a good internet connection to function. But web apps have offline compatibility. This is a function which most users prefer while browsing the internet.
Personalizing web apps based on user needs is a comparatively easy process. Different users see different content while using a web app that gets personalized to his/ her needs. A website hosts content that is publicly accessible by any viewers. As usually, personalization is not possible, every user sees the same information on a website.
A variety of functions are available in web apps and they are more responsive to customer choices. Users can manipulate data while using a web app and receive information based on their request. Websites are usually not that responsive to a user’s request.
A website is a good choice while looking for cost, cutting strategies. If you are looking for developing more interactive, secure and personalized content for your business, opt to hire web app developers. Also, a web app is a feasible option in the long run.
But what are the important points to keep in mind when you hire web app developers?
How to hire web app developers?
It is a simple task to hire web app developers if you have a correct and detailed analysis of your business challenges and purpose.
While hiring web app developers, you should give preferences to the one that uses modern technology and development methods. Hire web app developers who know and follow the latest trends in the industry.
Hire web app developers who are having experience and expertise in their field of work. This will help in ensuring that the app will meet all the industry standards.
Checking skills and qualifications is important when you hire a web app developer. There are mainly three types of web app developers.
They are:
Front-end web app developer
Back-end web app developer
Full-stack web app developer
Each of them has different job roles.
1. Front-end web app developer
Front-end is the part of the web app where the users directly interact with.
Front-end web development is also known as client-side development. The tools required to develop web front-end constantly changes. This is the main challenge faced by front-end web developers.
Front-end web app developers develop the design and layout features of the web app. Hire web app developers who have exceptional working skills at the front-end to make the interface of the web app an eye-catching one.
The main duties of a front-end web developer include the following
Front-end web app developers analyse the UI/UX designs and make sure if it is technically feasible.
Client-side development also finds suitable ways to optimize web application for peak speed and performance.
Front-end web app developers confirm all user input and submit it to the back-end for further actions
2. Back-end web app developer
The back-end is what determines how a web app works. This part of the website is responsible for the structure of the application.
Back-end development is also called server-side development. The back-end web developers write the code that helps the front-end communicate with the database.
Some of the responsibilities of back-end web app developer are as follows:
The back-end web app developer creates and maintains the server-side of the application or website. Back-end web app developer is also responsible for checking and resolving errors at the back-end.
The back-end web app developer makes sure that data and other services are delivered promptly when requested by the front-end.
The creation and integration of the database are managed by the back-end web developers.
3. Full-stack web app developer
Web app developers who have expertise in developing both front-end and back-end are called full-stack developers.
You will get a full package when you hire web app developers who have very good knowledge about front-end and the back-end. Which means that hiring full-stack web app developers is the most suitable option for startups.
The main objectives of a full-stack web developer are as follows:
As they are well-versed in the client-side and server-side languages, they can analyse and provide solutions to problems in the server, network or hosting environments.
Hiring full-stack web developers help to cut costs and improve efficiency. Since you hire web app developers who have the expertise to handle both the front-end and back-end, the cost of hiring separate web developers can be reduced.
The workflow of the team improves when you hire full-stack web app developers as there is no need to collaborate with more members of a team and there is no chance for error due to a flaw in the communication.
There are three choices you can opt for when you hire web application developers for your business. You can pick any one of the following according to your requirements and budget:
Hire a web app development company
Hire a freelance web app developer
Hire a dedicated web app development team
But, which is the best option?
Hiring web app development company vs freelancer vs dedicated development team?
To choose the most suitable option for your company, you need to get a clear understanding of these three choices.
Let’s start with hiring a web app development company.
1. Hiring a web app development company
Mobile phone users are increasing day-by-day. Major companies have turned to concentrate more on developing web apps as it will generate a wide market and reach.
The growing demand for web apps has produced more web app development companies. You will get exceptional web app developers to work on your project when you hire a web app development company.
1.1 Advantages of hiring a web app development company
1.1.1 Hiring a web app development company is time-saving
Hiring a web app development company that has the required experience and expertise in the field of web app development significantly reduces the development time. Understanding and fixing errors become easy or there is no scope for errors while hiring an expert web app development company.
1.1.2 Hiring web app development company helps in developing a more reliable web application
An experienced web development team will help you in creating a perfect web app with the right structure and code. Crashing and breaking issues of a web app is least while hiring a web app development company.
1.1.3 Hiring web app development company gives an insight into the latest technologies
A good web app development company equips itself with the latest technology and tools. So hiring a web app development company also helps you in bringing innovations to your web app that a user would like.
To hire a web app development company that suits your business challenges, consider the following aspects.
1.1.2 Consider these points before hiring a web app development company
Conducting a proper search on the internet helps you in hiring a web app development company which is the best according to your requirements.
After searching the internet, compile a list of the best web app development companies based on their years of experience and expertise, ratings and reviews of past clients, awards and other recognition etc. Hire a web app development company, which is the best according to this evaluation.
Contacting the past clients will help you in knowing more about the web app development company, you chose to hire. Enquiring about the work satisfaction of the former clients will help you in your decision.
Hire a web app development company according to your budget. Pricing is always the deciding factor. Price is decided mainly by three factors
The experience of the company
The expertise of the employers
Technology used
A right-minded web app development company follows all coding standards and guidelines. So hire a web development company that writes clean and consistent codes.
2. Hiring freelance web app developers
Hiring freelance web app developers is the best option if yours is a startup business and if you are looking for cost-cutting strategies.
Searching the internet helps you hire freelance web app developers with the required skill set. Some of the search platforms and coding communities that help you in hiring exceptional freelance web app developers include DevTeam.Space, Upwork, Hired, StackOverflow etc.
Your professional contacts from the industry can help you to hire web app developers who do freelancing. Compare their rate and quality of work before hiring a freelance web app developer.
Some of the advantages of hiring a freelance web app developer are as follows
2.1 Advantages of hiring a freelance web app developer
2.1.1 Less project turnaround time
An experienced freelance web app developer is always working on one or another project. This makes him/her more experienced than a fresher. Freelance web app developers do not need to spend time on routine tasks such as documentation and communication like employees in a company. This helps in the significant reduction of project turnaround time.
2.1.2 Knows the latest trends in web app development
Due to their continuous exposure in the field of web app development, freelance web app developers are up-to-date with the latest trends. This will help in providing a good user experience to users.
2.1.3 A good contact with expert web designers and testers
Experienced freelance web app developers will have contact with many web designers and application testers who are exceptional in their work. Freelance web app developers can team up with web designers and testers to develop the perfect web app for your business.
2.2 Consider these points before hiring freelance web app developers
Always conduct initial screening and tests before hiring a freelance web app developer. There are many freshers who take up freelancing and poses as an expert. Hire web app developers with the necessary skill-set. Also, check their previous works before hiring a freelance web app developer.
While hiring a freelance web app developer through the internet, closely examine the ratings and reviews of the previous employers. The rate of hiring freelance web app developers also differs based on the geographical location. So consider the geographical location as well.
Freelance web app developers work hourly or per the project basis. Hire web app developers according to your project needs.
Hire freelance web app developers who provide proper support and maintenance after the deployment of the web app.
3. Hiring a dedicated web app development team
Hiring a dedicated web app development team is the best choice for developing a quality web application at a low cost.
Opt for hiring a dedicated web app development team if the project needs to be started soon. As a dedicated web app development team is equipped with a workspace, the project can start the next moment an agreement is signed.
Hiring a dedicated web app development team have some of the following advantages.
3.1 Advantages of hiring dedicated web app development team
3.1.1 Flexible and transparent hiring process
You can directly take part in the selection of the team members while hiring a dedicated web app development team. You can also increase or decrease the number of team members at any stage of development.
3.1.2 You will have total control of the dedicated web app development team
You have direct control over the team members. A project manager is always available for proper communication. This helps in delivering proper updates and project status. You can also make changes in the requirements of the project at any time.
3.1.3 Security is not compromised
A chance for data breach is minimal as you are directly involved in every stage of development. Hiring a dedicated web app development team that follows strong data encryption protocols ensures better security.
3.1.4 Hiring dedicated web app development team is highly economical
If you hire the dedicated web app development team for a project, he/ she needs to pay only for that individual project. You do not need to spend money on bonus and other perks of the employees.
A dedicated web app development team also updates themselves with the most modern tools, technology and training. So there is no need to spend money on these aspects.
3.2 Consider these points before hiring dedicated web app development team
Always verify the quality and expertise of the dedicated web app development team by contacting past clients. An initial screening that consists of tests and interviews of the team members help you to check whether they are the right candidate for your project.
While hiring a dedicated web app development team from another country, consider the difference in the time zone. It is better to confirm the availability of the team according to the time zone you prefer. Also, make sure that the dedicated web app development team is having proper communication skills.
From the very initial stage itself, you should make clear the requirements and intended results of the project to the team members. This will reduce confusions and help with developing a perfect development roadmap for the project.
Best place to hire web app developers
When you hire web application developers of your choice, you should have a clear-cut idea about your project- size, scope, intended results and future developments.
The internet can help you hire web app developers who are having the skill-set and experience you are looking for. When you want to hire web app development companies and dedicated web app development teams, you can also search B2B directories such as Clutch and GoodFirms.
Before you choose to search and hire web application developers from B2B directories, you can create a framework which includes all the relevant details. This can include budget, salary, required skill-set etc. This will help you to cross-check your requirements while searching for hiring a suitable web app developer.
Always double-check the reviews and ratings before hiring a web app developer considering that there are web app developers with fake reviews. Reliability and quality should be your prime concerns while hiring web app developers.
To hire a web app developer, you can also seek help from your professional contacts. This is a more reliable option than the internet because your contacts might have worked with a web app developer in the past and know the quality of their work.
Hire web app developers who have the perfect knowledge of programming languages and understand UI/UX and design principles.
You can hire a web app development company from another country or can develop your own in-house team. There are many advantages and disadvantages when you opt to hire web app developers from another country and when you develop your web app through your in-house team.
Developing web app: in-house vs offshore team
An in-house team is your internal team, where you hire web app developers and other team members such as project manager, UI/UX designer, QA analyst etc. to work for your company.
When you hire web app developers for working on your project from another country, it is offshoring. India and China are some examples of Asian countries that are famous for offshoring.
There are many merits and demerits for an in-house team and offshore web app development team.
1. Benefits of in-house web app development teams
Your internal team devotes all their working time towards the development of your web application. This will ensure that the web app is completed under the specified time.
You are in direct control of the in-house app development team. You have total control of the workflow and will have an insight into the daily status of the work. There are no focus issues for your employees as they work only for you.
You can individually give salary to your team members according to their performance, expertise and experience.
An in-house web app development team will understand the target audience, goals, brand voice and competitors in the field of work better than an offshore web app development team.
In-house web app development team does everything promptly. As everyone is working in the same office, approvals and reviews happen in a time-bound manner and at a faster rate.
While developing a project with your in-house team, you can have any number of revision checks that increases the quality of the web app. But when hiring a web app development company, you are having limitations of the budget, so you can have only a certain number of revisions.
2. Disadvantages of in-house web app development
2.1 Recruitment
The main disadvantage of an in-house app development team is that it takes time for the recruitment process.
To hire web app developers and other team members, you need to have an initial screening such as tests and interviews. After hiring the right team members, you need to give them proper training for the execution of the project. This increases time and budget.
2.2 Cost
Hiring in-house web app development teams are more expensive than hiring web app development companies and hiring dedicated web app development teams.
You will need infrastructure and office space. You will also incur extra expenses like taxes, rent etc. You also need to pay for various types of software and hardware that are essential for work. There are also expenses for maintaining an in-house development team.
2.3 The team
When an important member of the in-house team resigns, you may need to put the project on hold.
You can only resume the project only after finding a replacement. You may also need to train the employee, which further increases time.
2.4 Expertise
If you hire web app developers without the proper knowledge or expertise, it will have negative impacts on the project.
You may not deliver a quality web app if the employees are not up to the mark. Costs could also go up unexpectedly as you may need to give more training to the employees who are not up to the mark.
Hiring an offshore web app development team makes up for some of the disadvantages posed by in-house web app development teams. The advantages of an offshore web app development team are as follows.
3. Advantages of offshore web app development team
You get access to a good number of talents while hiring offshore web app development teams. You can hire web app developers who can build quality web applications at a low cost.
The vendor company will take care of project management activities such as human resource management, hiring and onboarding employees etc.
There is no need to spend money on office rents, recruitment and training, insurance benefits, provident funds etc. while hiring an offshore web app development team. This will drastically reduce the cost and time needed to develop a web app for you.
Hiring an offshore web app development company is very beneficial for a start-up. A startup has less workforce than an established firm. They can save a lot of time and money on hiring and managing manpower. Thus, they can concentrate more on the actual business.
Hiring an offshore web app development company can help you analyse the competitors in the field. As an offshore web app development company will have an understanding of the global market, they can have a better evaluation of the competition. They have professionals who are working in the field for many years. With their help, you can develop one of the best web apps using the latest technology, market data and the newest trend among consumers.
4. Disadvantages of offshore web app development team
4.1 Time Zone
You and the offshore web app development company are in different time zones.
This is one of the major drawbacks of hiring an offshore web app development team. Reporting issues to the web app development team and getting them solved will take time.
4.2 Communication
While hiring an offshore web app development team, always give importance to communication. English is commonly used by offshore web app development companies to communicate with you. But there can be a communication barrier arising due to cultural influences and English being a second language to many.
There will also be issues related to phrases, usages, style of communication etc. For example, if a team member uses the sentence structure of his/her native language while communicating in English, you may have difficulty in deciphering it.
4.3 Geopolitical conditions
The geopolitical conditions of the offshore web app development team will affect their work and could increase the completion time. So you should have a proper understanding of the situations in the country to which the development team belongs. You should have a contingency plan if there is a probability of geopolitical unrest.
4.4 Cultural and social practices
While hiring offshore web app development teams, it is difficult to overcome the cultural barrier. The culture will have an influence on the attitude and behaviours of the people and can influence the product quality.
How much does it cost to hire web app developers?
There are many factors that determine the cost of hiring web app developers. Some of them includes the following:
1. Experience and expertise
When you hire web application developers, one of the prime factors that determine the cost is experience and expertise.
A project is divided based on its complexity level such as simple, advanced, complicated etc. It is always economical to hire web app developers with different seniority levels. This helps in dividing the payments and the project according to their expertise.
2. Location
When you hire web app developers, always have a look into the geographical location.
There are web app developers from many countries such as India and Ukraine who develop quality web apps within a low budget. It is very expensive to hire web app developers from the U.S. You can hire web app developers from the US in the price range between $75-$115. If you are looking to hire web app developers from the Western European countries, they charge between $65-$80 for an hour.
Hiring web app developers from Asian countries such as India is the most suitable choice in terms of rate and quality. It is very economical when you hire a web app development company from India, as they only charge between $25-$40 per hour. The quality of web apps is also not compromised when you hire web app developers from Asian countries.
3. Billing models
There are two types of billing models which decide the cost when you hire a web app development company. They are
Fixed price model
Time and material model
3.1 Fixed price model
In the fixed-price model, the budget will be fixed before signing the contract with the web app development company you hire. You cannot modify the requirement once you sign the contract. Or a new contract or additional contract will be made if there is a change in the requirement.
This type of billing is most suitable for a short term project with a clear understanding of the requirements. You only need to pay the rate which was finalized before signing the contract. A development roadmap and date of delivery of the product will also be discussed prior to signing the contract.
3.2 Time and material model
In the time and materials model, you have to pay for the time and resources used. This type of billing guarantees a quality end product. It involves paying for the work completed. You can modify the requirements of the web app while using this model. It is suitable for developing a complex web app with more functionalities. So it is flexible compared to the fixed price model.
4. Features and functionality
The functionalities are another factor that determines the cost when you hire web app developers. Web apps with simple functions have a lower rate of development compared to a complex web app.
5. Other factors
While developing a complex web app, there is a possibility for more bugs and errors. Fixing them also increases the cost of development.
Using the latest technologies reduces time. But it increases the cost of development as money is needed to be spent on buying these technologies and training the team.
Security is users’ top priority. To enhance the security features of the app, you need to invest some money and in most cases it is unavoidable.
Having a web app for your business is better than a website. But to develop one, you need the expertise and skill set of a remarkable web app developer. You can choose to hire dedicated web app developers or a web app development company. You might need inputs from the best web app development company to build a web app that will generate more revenues for your business.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning mobile app development company with a decade of success stories. We offer digital product engineering services that include strategy and design, web and mobile app development, DevOps and cybersecurity. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
Innovations in technology have brought many changes in the lifestyle of humans.
One of the examples involves that of the internet. The internet has brought many innovations such as eCommerce, eLearning, etc. Earlier, the internet was accessed through a computer. Now, anyone can access the internet through a mobile phone.
The following survey shows the market position of various languages used in web development.
A huge market is created by websites or web applications. When used correctly it can bring good revenues to your business.
These web applications and websites are powered by many programming languages. Some of the examples include PHP, JavaScript, Python, etc. PHP is one of the most favoured programming languages of developers.
What is PHP?
PHP is the commonly used programming language in website or web app development.
PHP is an open-source language. This means that anyone can use PHP without any cost. The source code of PHP is released to the public for studying, modifying, and also for distribution.
Some of the websites that use PHP include Facebook, WordPress, Wikipedia, Yahoo, etc.
PHP is used for server-side scripting, unlike HTML which is used for designing the layout of the web page.
Difference between server-side scripting and client-side scripting
Server-side scripting
Server-side scripting is a process in the back-end of the website or web application. Server-side scripting helps in various operations of the website or web app such as customization, accessing application databases, etc.
Server-side scripting requires server interaction. The server-side scripting helps in establishing a connection between the server and the user.
Some of the most used server-side scripting languages include PHP, ASP.net, Python, etc.
Client-side scripting
Client-side scripting is a process in the front-end of web apps or websites. This scripting happens on the end user’s device. This may include all those that a user sees such as text, images, etc.
Client-side scripting does not need server interaction. It uses the web browser as a host program. Client-side scripting can minimize the load to the server
HTML, CSS, JavaScript are some of the examples of client-side scripting languages.
PHP and server-side scripting
PHP is one of the most popular server-side scripting languages.
Server-side scripting happens on the server-side and helps to connect to the databases in the webserver. HTML or HyperText Markup Language is the basic language used to create websites. Creating interactive features is not possible with HTML. But by using PHP, one can integrate interactive elements into a website.
As PHP is an open-source language, anyone with the proper knowledge can use it for bringing more innovations. There are no specified rules to use PHP and can build features according to the PHP programmers.
PHP supports a wide range of database management systems. MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Sybase, Cubrid, etc. are some of the popular examples of databases that can integrate with PHP.
Originally, the full form of PHP was Personal Home Page. Now it is changed to Hypertext Preprocessor.
Rasmus Lerdorf is a Danish-Canadian programmer. He wrote many CGI (Common Gateway Interface) programs by using the language C in 1994. This was used to maintain his personal homepage. This Personal Home Page (PHP) was later developed into Hypertext Preprocessor.
A blue elephant is the mascot of PHP. It is stylized as ‘elePHPant’ and was created by Vincent Pontier in 1998.
According to a survey, about 78.8% of websites work on PHP. This shows the popularity of PHP among developers and businesses.
Why is PHP favoured the most?
PHP is a reliable scripting language and one of the most affordable options that assist you in creating a website.
PHP works on every platform, be it Android, Windows or iOS. Most of the browsers also support PHP.
PHP provides foolproof security. PHP provides protection against viruses and threats.
Anyone with a sound knowledge of HTML can learn PHP very easily.
It is a very simple process to change your website that is based on HTML to PHP. PHP programming and HTML rendering are easier than other languages like ColdFusion, Python, etc.
Nowadays, PHP programmers use version PHP 7. PHP 7 shows improvements in performance and better memory usage. The newest version, PHP 8 is scheduled to be released on November 26, 2020.
The good thing about PHP
It is affordable for both startups and established firms to hire PHP developers. It is better to hire PHP programmers who are experienced rather than a trainee.
There is a large community of PHP programmers all around the globe who are connected. So there are always solutions to problems while using PHP.
PHP is a flexible language. The flexibility of PHP helps to integrate with application databases and develop advanced web apps.
PHP is seamlessly used in any platform without any issues.
PHP can help in creating a more SEO-friendly website than other languages like Ruby, Perl, etc.
Hiring PHP developer
If you are looking to create a perfect website, it is important to hire PHP developers.
PHP programmers are an essential part of a website or web application development team. PHP programmers help in combining your web project with other services. They also assist front-end developers in developing an ideal website or web app.
Why is a PHP developer a vital part of web development?
PHP programmers write the scripts for the back-end. The PHP programmers also make sure that the web infrastructure is working as intended. You can also hire PHP developers to modify scripts and also to test the code for errors.
How to hire PHP developers?
When you hire PHP developers for your business, make sure that they have the required experience and expertise along with good technical skills. There are three levels of seniority in the PHP programmer’s community. They are
Beginner
Mid-level
Senior-Level
1. Hiring beginner level PHP developer
A fresher who does not have prior experience in the field of PHP development is called a beginner-level PHP programmer. Good guidance and training can help a beginner-level PHP programmer to polish the skill-set. You can hire a beginner-level PHP developer to help with data manipulation and other simple tasks.
2. Hiring a mid-level PHP developer
A mid-level PHP developer is more experienced than a beginner. Mid-level PHP programmers have good knowledge in the field of work. They can smoothly work under senior-level PHP programmers with little supervision.
3. Hiring senior-level PHP developer
A senior-level PHP developer is having advanced knowledge and vast expertise in the field. Many years of experience will help a senior-level PHP programmer to quickly find solutions to problems while developing. He/she is highly skilled in every aspect of PHP.
Hire PHP web developers who have good knowledge in other languages such as MySQL, XHTML, etc. This will help in the proper integration of PHP with these frameworks that are usually used in website or web application development. Check the quality of the work by referring to the past works before you hire PHP developers.
When you opt to hire PHP web developers, always be sure that he/she is a good team player. The PHP programmer can effectively collaborate with others and ensure a proper workflow and quality of the product.
Hire PHP developers who can upgrade themselves according to the newest trend in the industry and who have all the required skill-set.
When you hire a PHP developer, you can go for any of the following options.
You can
Hire PHP development company
Hire freelance PHP developer
Hire dedicated PHP developers
Hiring PHP development company vs hiring freelance PHP developer vs hiring a dedicated PHP developer
The three choices mentioned above have their own merits and demerits. You can compare the three options and hire PHP developers that are best suited to your needs.
1. Hiring PHP development company
There are many PHP development companies that offer good quality work. Before hiring a PHP development company of your choice, you should understand its advantages and disadvantages.
1.1 Advantages of hiring a PHP development company
Experience
When you hire a PHP development company you get PHP programmers who are having years of experience in this field. There is no need for giving any training and can start the project once an agreement is made between the development company and you.
Expertise
When you hire a PHP development company, you get PHP programmers who are having excellent expertise in various fields of web development. Educational portals, eCommerce sites, news portals, NGO websites all make use of PHP to develop a better website.
Timely delivery
PHP development companies usually follow an established workflow. This makes sure that the product is delivered on time. So, hire PHP development companies with positive reviews of past clients and ensure that they can deliver the project under the specified time.
Best development practices
A good PHP development company will ensure the delivery of a quality product by following good development practices. This includes proper documentation, clean written codes, troubleshooting for errors, etc. A PHP development company also uses the newest technologies in developing your PHP program.
Certified PHP developers
PHP programmers are having a worldwide ever-growing community. Hiring PHP developers who are the best in this community is a difficult task. But when you hire a PHP development company, you get access to certified PHP programmers. The PHP development company will conduct interviews and tests to know the skill level before they hire PHP developers.
There are some disadvantages as well while hiring a PHP development company.
1.2 Disadvantages of hiring a PHP development company
If you didn’t perform a good background check before you hire a PHP development company, you might incur extra charges. Some PHP development companies can overcharge the client based on the increase in their employee salary or other office expenses.
Before the start of the project, an agreement might be made by the PHP development company and the client on the number of revisions. If the client needs more revisions in the future, he/she is bound by a contract that allows only a certain number of revisions.
The cost of hiring a PHP development company is higher than that of a freelance PHP developer. The client should pay for all the expenses while hiring a PHP development company. But when hiring a freelance PHP developer, he needs to only pay for the service.
There are some advantages and disadvantages of hiring freelance PHP developers, which are discussed in the next section.
2. Hiring a freelance PHP developer
Hiring freelance PHP developers are the best option if there are budgetary restrictions. Some of the advantages of hiring freelance PHP developers are as follows.
2.1 Advantages of hiring a freelance PHP developer
As a freelance PHP developer cost less compared to other available options, this is a good option for a startup. The startup can invest the saved money on other core objectives of the business.
A freelance PHP developer can work without any supervision or guidance. To be the best in the industry, a freelancer updates themselves with the newest technologies and practices.
Usually, a freelance PHP developer works on a global level. So the freelance PHP developer knows the different kinds of trends practiced by different businesses. A client can use this knowledge to the advantage of their business.
A freelance PHP developer may not follow a 9 to 5 work schedule. So a client can appoint time slots according to his/her choice. Therefore flexibility of communication is an advantage of hiring freelance PHP developers.
There are many search platforms available on the internet to find the best freelance PHP developers.
2.2 Disadvantages of hiring a freelance PHP developer
A freelance PHP developer who does not have any ethics would drop out from your project mid-way for more profitable work. So it is important to sign contracts between you and the freelance PHP developer.
A client has full control over the working of an employee in the in-house team. But, the client has little control over a freelance PHP developer.
There are only some freelance PHP developers who are experienced professionals in their field who give the best output. Quality of work is affected when you end up hiring a freelance PHP developer who does not show any professionalism and skill.
There are freelance PHP developers who post fake reviews and ratings of themselves. Confidentiality issues and disputes based on payments is a problem while hiring such freelance PHP developers
A freelance PHP developer might be working on multiple projects at a time. So meeting the deadlines is a problem while hiring a freelance PHP developer.
3. Hiring dedicated PHP developers
When you hire dedicated PHP developers, you can be sure that you get quality work for a reasonable price. Unlike freelance PHP developers, a dedicated PHP developer is like a member of your in-house team. You have direct control over the dedicated PHP developer. You get the following advantages when you hire dedicated PHP developers.
3.1 Advantages of hiring dedicated PHP developers
Quick completion time
When you hire dedicated PHP programmers, the project turn-around time can be significantly reduced. It is because the requirements are already understood and the dedicated PHP developer will be hired based on the required skill set to complete the project on time.
Easy management
Hiring dedicated PHP developers will help you greatly in team management. Dedicated PHP developers are flexible, which means that you can increase or decrease the size of the team according to the need. A project manager will be responsible for smooth communication between you and the dedicated PHP developers. You can hire dedicated PHP developers if you want to develop a quality product under your supervision, just like an in-house team.
Cost-effective
Cost is significantly reduced when you hire dedicated PHP developers. There are no additional costs incurred for training the employees as in an in-house development team. You also don’t need to spend any additional costs for equipment, allowances, annual bonuses, etc. These all expenses are implicitly covered in the service rate of dedicated PHP developers.
Experience and expertise
Hire dedicated PHP programmers to get a team of employees who are experienced in working on various areas of web development. Due to their level of mastery, they can come up with solutions to problems within a shorter span of time.
High level of security, reliability, flexibility, and professionalism
Hire dedicated PHP developers who are very professional in their approach. Dedicated PHP developers will mostly have the experience of working for several clients and projects at a global level. They can help you with the conceptualization of ideas that best suit your project.
Hire dedicated PHP programmers who follow proper documentation procedures and data protection protocols.
There are also some disadvantages when you hire dedicated PHP developers.
3.2 Disadvantages of hiring dedicated PHP developers
If you hire dedicated PHP programmers from another country, different time zones might cause problems in communication. If there is something important to communicate regarding the product development and if it is not possible due to network issues or one party being not available, it could increase the delivery time of the product.
Dedicated PHP developers might not always have a project manager to oversee the work as in the case of an in-house development team. You might need to also hire a dedicated project manager to oversee the work of dedicated PHP developers.
When you hire dedicated PHP developers from another country, always analyze the geopolitical situation. The development of the project would be stopped or delayed If there is any situation of geopolitical unrest such as wars or terrorist attacks.
Best place to hire PHP developers
You can hire PHP developers mainly from the
The internet
PHP communities
Referrals from your professional contacts
The internet
There are many freelance/B2B platforms that help in hiring freelance PHP developers from around the globe. Some of them include Freelancer, Truelancer, We Work Remotely, etc. If you want to hire dedicated PHP programmers, you can search in Toptal, Hired, Upwork, Clutch, etc.
If you have a LinkedIn account, you can use it to connect with PHP programmers who have the required skill-set.
PHP communities
PHP is having a large community of developers. A client can look in PHP communities to hire PHP web developers with the desired skill set. PHP communities and groups can be found in social media networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, etc., and also on internet forums. You can also attend PHP conferences where you can meet exceptional PHP developers.
Referrals from your professional contacts
You can seek help from your professional circles to find the best PHP developers. They might give you the contact details of experienced PHP developers who they might have worked with in the past.
Cost of hiring a PHP developer
There are some factors that influence the cost of hiring PHP programmers. Some of them include the following:
Experience
Geographical location
Skill-set
Complexity of project
Experience
As the experience of a PHP programmer increases, the rate of hiring also increases. For example, a junior PHP developer, on average, charges about $20 an hour. The mid-level PHP developer charges about $30 per hour and a senior PHP developer may charge $40 and above.
Geographical location
When you hire PHP programmers from developed countries such as the U.S., it could cost between $10,000-$15,000 for a one-month-long project. The annual salary of PHP programmers from the U.S is about $103,000.
Some countries such as India and Ukraine have PHP developers who could help you with your web project at a very low rate. A client may need to spend about $5000 for a project in these countries, or maybe more, depending on the size and complexity of the project. The PHP developers from Asian countries have an annual salary of about $50,000. It is less compared to the salary of the PHP programmers from the U.S.
Skillset
The required skill set will vary depending on the nature and requirements of the project. You can hire a mid-level developer for a simple project that does not need the expertise of a senior-level PHP developer.
For a more complex project, you will need to hire a senior-level developer who is equipped with the knowledge of different areas of web development, for example -back-end, front-end, SEO, technology architecture, web security, etc. So, the rate of hiring PHP developers differs according to the type of project and the skill level of the PHP developer.
Complexity of project
The rate of hiring PHP developers is influenced by the complexity of the project. For a simple project with fewer features, the cost of developing is in between $1500-$3500. A mid-level project can be completed in between $5500-$10,500. For a complex product with advanced features, it may cost $15,500 and above.
To develop a web-based solution that stands out from the competition, you need to hire PHP developers who are exceptional in their field of work. In other words, the experience, skillset, and expertise of developers are the backbones of any good web-based solution.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning mobile app development company with a decade of success stories. We offer digital product engineering services that include strategy and design, web and mobile app development, DevOps, and cybersecurity. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
We all are living in a world which is constantly evolving and adapting to needs.
In this fast-moving world, where everyone and everything is connected, there is absolutely no need for hiring regular staff for your company. Discovering and adapting to new approaches of working ensures a better workforce and work culture.
Technological advancement has helped in hiring employees from all around the world belonging to different cultural backgrounds who are an expert in their field of work. The dedicated development team is the newest entry into this segment.
Hiring a dedicated development team has become one of the best approaches for both cost reduction and quality maintenance. You can hire a dedicated development team and obtain the best skill set out there. Surveys show that many companies hire dedicated development teams from countries that offer the best services and quality at a very low cost.
Now, what is a dedicated development team and how to hire dedicated development teams?
Let’s look into the details.
What is a dedicated development team?
What will you do if your company doesn’t have the required expertise in developing your project?
Do you want to get involved in every stage of planning a software or an app and also want to work with a reputed and professional team?
All these questions lead to the concept of ‘dedicated development team’.
Dedicated development teams are another system or establishment different from your company that are hired to work for you. Hiring a dedicated development team helps you find talents from many parts of the world.
You will get a team of professionals who have the required expertise and experience in the domain while hiring a dedicated development team. Hiring a dedicated development team also helps you greatly in your cost-cutting strategies.
As the term suggests, dedicated development teams are fully committed to you and the work you offer. The team directly reaches out to you for updates on the projects and you can directly communicate with the team, control and monitor progress from any part of the world.
Advancements in cloud-based technologies have also led to the development of various working models. The dedicated development team is one such working model that came into prominence by using cloud-based technologies.
Now, why should you hire a dedicated app development team?
Why hire a dedicated development team?
Are you confused between hiring a dedicated development team or building your own in-house team?
If you find these points relevant based on your requirements, hiring a dedicated development team is your best choice.
If your team is not having the required expertise in the development of your project, you need to hire a team of experts. By hiring a dedicated development team, you can ensure that your project is developed by an expert team in the field.
If you do not want to spend on hiring employees and infrastructure and consistently reduce budget; hire a dedicated development team. As the dedicated development team has all the infrastructure facilities and a full-fledged team to support your project, you only need to pay for the services they offer.
If the project is a large scale one, and if your team cannot complete the project under the specified timeline, hiring a dedicated development team will definitely help you in reducing the project delivery time to a great extent.
Dedicated development teams regularly update themselves with the latest technological advancements and infrastructures. So you don’t need to spend on upgrades when hiring a dedicated development team.
If you want to develop a quality project with the insights from experts in the industry, hire dedicated development teams. This will also help you to combine your innovations with that of the team enabling in the development of a better product.
If you are looking for an easily manageable team of experts, hiring dedicated development teams can help you. Most likely they will be a team of professionals with the required skills and communication quality and a dedicated development team is directly controlled by the client.
If you want to start a project immediately and is looking for the best professionals in the field of work, hiring a dedicated development team makes sure that the project begins the next moment after the requirements are made clear.
You can also hire a dedicated development team if your company doesn’t have the necessary resources to support the development of a product.
There are certain factors to look into while hiring a dedicated development team.
Hiring a dedicated development team
You should have a good understanding of the factors that help in hiring the best one among the many dedicated development teams out there.
The main points to look into while hiring a dedicated development team include:
Requirements of your projects
Experience and expertise of the dedicated development company
Flexibility
Infrastructure and technological advancements
Analyse and evaluate the requirements of your project based on the targeted customer. Cost and project completion time will vary depending on the requirements.Calculate the cost, project completion time and accordingly hire a dedicated development team that best suits the requirements.
Experience and expertise is another important factor to look into while hiring a dedicated development company. Before hiring a dedicated development company of your choice, contacting past clients will help in getting an overall picture of the firm and evaluate whether the team has the skills and knowledge to complete the project on time without compromising on quality.
Gaining more and more experience in their craft makes a company perfect. Hiring a dedicated development team with many years of experience helps you in launching the ultimate product according to the demand in the market and which will be loved by the users.
Flexibility is another factor to consider while looking for a good dedicated development team in foreign countries.
While hiring a dedicated development team, you should check how the team is adapting to technological advancements in the industry. An ideal dedicated development team should have the latest technologies incorporated into their workflow along with necessary resources and high-end infrastructure.
Analysing the pros and cons of hiring a dedicated development team will help you in deciding whether to go with a dedicated development team or not.
Let’s have a deeper look.
What are the benefits and cons of hiring a dedicated development team?
Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Hiring a dedicated development team helps you in many ways. You also face some problems while hiring a dedicated development team.
First, let’s discuss the benefits of hiring a dedicated development team.
Advantages of hiring a dedicated development team
The main advantages of hiring a dedicated development team is a significant reduction in cost and time. Some of the other benefits are:
There is no need to invest in infrastructure as everything is already available with the dedicated development team.
There are no daily management issues as in an in-house model of development.
You get a team of professionals and experts who are hired after multiple stages of tests, interviews and evaluation.
You can employ cost-cutting strategies very efficiently while hiring a dedicated development team. You can cut or increase the number of members in the team at any stage of the development cycle.
All the stages of development are directly controlled by you. You can also make changes or bring innovations at any stages of development of the project.
You can carefully plan and assign tasks to each member of the team if needed.
You can access real-time updates on the project progress.
Hiring dedicated development teams is the best choice if your project is complex and long-term.
When you hire dedicated development teams, you will get to work with a more coordinated and affordable workforce that does not compromise on quality.
A replacement is always available if you think that anyone in the dedicated development team is not up to the mark.
Another important advantage of hiring a dedicated development team is, you can hire the team on an hourly, weekly, monthly or project basis.
Risk of a data breach is minimum while hiring a dedicated development team as most of them promise intellectual property protection and data security and will legally sign any related agreement along with a non-disclosure agreement.
There are also some cons to look into while hiring a dedicated development team.
Cons of hiring a dedicated development team
You should also consider some of the cons of hiring a dedicated development team. Some of the possible cons include the following:
This team model is ineffective for short-term projects, as the members need to adapt to the project requirements and this consumes time. Efficiency is also low for short term projects.
If you are hiring a dedicated development team from another country, communication barrier may be a problem.
The initial stage of hiring a dedicated development team takes time and multiple evaluations as you will need to search for the best team, compare price, reviews and ratings.
If you have changing project requirements, financial planning is difficult due to variations in cost estimates.
Now, another question remains:
How to hire a dedicated development team?
How to hire a dedicated development team?
The process of hiring an excellent dedicated development team is time-consuming. There are two stages of hiring a dedicated development team.
The first stage
The first stage is to have a thorough analysis of the requirements of your project before hiring a dedicated development team. Set priorities to your needs of the project.
Make an estimate of your budget.
Search the internet for the most rated dedicated development teams. Make acquaintance with past clients to know about the quality of their work and make a detailed analysis of the ones you have shortlisted.
Compare the rates of the dedicated development team you have selected.
Give priorities to the dedicated development teams with awards and recognition and that is flexible to work with.
Look out for the latest tech and infrastructural facilities, expertise in a variety of platforms and uninterrupted power supply and high-speed internet while hiring a dedicated development team.
Hire dedicated development teams with good project management skills such as prompt delivery time, focussed and adaptive to sudden changes in the requirements.
Hire a dedicated development team which is having secure encryption protocols for data protection.
Clutch and GoodFirms are a few examples of platforms that help you in searching for the best dedicated app developers. Conducting a search in these platforms helps you in finding the best dedicated development teams.
According to the project requirement, your quality expectations, budget and the timeline of product delivery, hire the right dedicated development team.
The second stage
After shortlisting a dedicated development team, there are some points to consider to ensure a good workflow.
Check the number of team members and analyse the skill set and field of expertise of each member.
The team members should be able to design engaging content to the users.
Look out for the team members who are focussed, reliable and experienced.
If time permits, you can ask the selected team members to show some past work or check whether they are fit for the project by asking questions related to the implementation of the project.
Good communication skills are also an important part of hiring a dedicated development team. Members with adequate communication skills are a plus point of an excellent dedicated development team.
Now let’s discuss the cost of hiring a dedicated team.
How the cost of hiring a dedicated development team is determined?
Cost is always a deciding factor while hiring a dedicated development team. There are many dedicated development teams with varying rates.
The number of team members is a determining factor in the cost of hiring a dedicated development team. You can change the number of members at any time in a dedicated development team based on your agreement.
As stated in earlier sections, you can hire dedicated development teams on an hourly/ weekly or monthly basis. Cost of hiring is different for each method. According to your requirements and financial estimates you can evaluate which of these methods is a better option for your project.
The cost will also depend on the level of involvement of the team. There are various stages of product development. Product conceptualization, product design, product development, QA (Quality Assurance) and testing, product deployment etc. As the team gets involved in more stages, the cost will also increase.
All these factors have an influence on the overall cost of hiring a dedicated development team.
What is the cost of hiring a dedicated development team?
The cost of hiring a dedicated development team is determined by the geographical location. Surveys show that the cost of hiring dedicated development teams from Asian countries such as India is low as compared to the USA.
Dedicated development teams from the USA charge a higher rate of about $150-$195 per hour, but South Asian countries such as India charge between $26-$35 dollars per hour.
The following table shows the estimated cost of hiring a dedicated development team.
Hiring the right dedicated development team is the first step towards the success of your product. AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning product engineering company with a decade of success stories. We can help your businesses to get an edge on the competition and bring more revenue and recognition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
We are living in a world where mobile phones have become a part of our lives.
Mobile phones, nowadays are not only used for calling but are used for many activities as well. Ordering food, shopping of products using platforms such as Amazon, booking tickets for various activities such as travel, watching movies etc. are made easier by the introduction of mobile apps.
Moreover, surveys show that the usage of mobile phones is increasing over time. This has led to the development of mobile apps in many genres. Every business is considering turning into developing quality mobile apps after evaluating the huge usage of mobile phones. But only a few mobile app development companies are investing time and money to develop a quality mobile app.
If you ensure a high mobile app quality then you can witness the steady growth of your business. Users of your app will admire your venture for keeping up the quality standards.
Users do not compromise on the performance of a mobile app. If the mobile app did not work as intended, users will uninstall it and give it a lower rating in the app stores. This will have a negative impact on your business.
Let’s see what are the negative aspects of a mobile app that makes a user remove it from their mobile phone.
8 things users hate the most about low quality mobile apps
Here are some aspects that reduce a mobile app’s quality.
Customers hate it when mobile apps crash while using it.
Freezing is another aspect that reduces the quality of a mobile app.
Users uninstall apps that are slow to respond.
High battery usage and too many ads are not appreciated by the users.
Some users try to free up their internal storage by moving mobile apps to external storage. Inability to move an app to external storage also declines the overall mobile app quality.
Not responding to feedback is another problem that a user hates.
If the user experience is not up to the mark, he/she will uninstall it from their mobile phone.
Users don’t like it when a mobile app is asking for unnecessary permissions.
To ensure mobile app quality, the mobile app development company or developers face many challenges throughout the development cycle of an app.
Following a mobile app QA checklist is an important factor which determines the overall quality of an app.
But, what is QA?
QA and ensuring mobile app quality
Throughout the app development cycle, QA is the most important factor that determines the popularity of the app among users.
QA means quality assurance. QA is the systematic monitoring and a way to check and prevent any errors or defects while developing a product. Ensuring QA in every stage of development helps in delivering a product that meets customer expectations.
Your company should plan a mobile app QA checklist and should work accordingly to meet the goals. Ensuring QA during every stage of app development helps in avoiding issues such as crashing or freezing of the mobile app. This will help in gaining positive feedback from customers.
There are about six stages of mobile app development. Every stage should have its own mobile app QA checklist. This will ensure an excellent mobile app quality.
1. Ensure mobile app quality during product conceptualization
Maintaining mobile app QA checklist at the very first stage of development helps in delivering a perfect app to the user.
Product conceptualization is the initial stage of app development. It is the stage where your ideas and concepts about the mobile app are envisioned.
The requirements and the design features of the product are drafted in this stage. This stage of development helps you to get a better understanding of the possibilities of your product.
Understanding the priorities of the user helps in ensuring mobile app quality from start to end of the development cycle. Market research based on customer needs helps to identify the demand for a particular product, in this case- the mobile app. Planning app specifications based on this evaluation will help you efficiently in the development process.
Involving employees, who are also customers during product conceptualization helps you in accessing more ideas. Verifying practicability of the suggestions put forward is also a necessary part of ensuring mobile app quality. Documenting these suggestions helps to make the necessary changes during the development cycle.
Take into account the calculations based on the future course of your business while planning a mobile app. In the future, your business might venture into new fields. There is no need to develop another app if you have a mobile app that can cater to the needs of the near future.
Users will not tolerate any performance or quality issues in a mobile app. Hardware and OS (Operating System) also determines the mobile app quality. So while product conceptualization, consider these two factors. A best quality mobile app will exceed the expectations of the user and also should work in every condition.
Planning based on the user requirements and interactive features of the app is another important aspect that ensures mobile app quality during product conceptualization.
A mobile app should have all the functions that a customer needs. Users look into many aspects while downloading a mobile app. Some of this includes seamless login and registration, user-friendly interface and design, engaging content etc.
Choosing a platform, which is the most preferred by users, is also important. There are three types of platforms in which mobile apps are developed. They are web-based apps, Native apps and hybrid apps.
A web-based mobile app is easy to develop and is directly linked to the website of the firm. All the functions of the website are accessible using the mobile app. Native apps are exclusively developed for a single platform (Android or iOS etc.). A Hybrid app is an app which is the blend of the two types discussed above.
The design of an app is also a part of measuring mobile app quality. There are certain aspects that help in building an app with a striking design.
2. Ensure mobile app quality during the design stage
Apps help to simplify your business and tasks. A good app with a brilliant design catches the eyes and mind of the users.
Attractive app design is an indicator of mobile app quality. There are about four steps in the design stage of an app.
2.1 Wireframing
Wireframing design is the first step in creating design layouts.
Digital sketches of designs are called wireframing. Wireframing provides a clear outline of the styling, colour, graphics etc. that will be used in the app. Creating device-specific designs during wireframing will help in providing a better user experience.
2.2. Style guide
Style guides provide a set of guidelines which is useful while designing the content.
A style guide is used as a reference manual that helps in achieving an overall consistency of the mobile app. Style guide documents the font style, colour scheme etc. which is based on the interests of the firm.
2.3. Mockups
The design is rendered using style guides and wireframes.
This visual layout is called mockups or high-fidelity designs. This high-fidelity design resembles the final product. It is a computer-based interactive representation.
2.4. Prototypes
Prototypes help in testing the functionality and design features of the app.
A Prototype is used to demonstrate how an app works. It simulates real-time user experience. App prototyping shows the basic functions and design of an app.
Different mobile app platforms have different design guidelines. Android and Apple recommend some design guidelines that will help in ensuring the mobile app quality.
2.5. Android app: design guidelines
Android uses a design system called Material Design which is based on print design methods. Some of the design guidelines put forward by Android includes the following:
Organize the content using cards, lists and sheets
Notify users with the help of snack bars, banners and dialogues
Usage of a floating action button to perform tasks
Android also has an organized system to apply colour to promote consistency and accessible contrast.
Material Design provides 13 types of typography which include headlines, captions and body text.
For more information on Android app design guidelines, please visit the official page.
2.6. iOS app: design guidelines
For apps designed for iOS, Apple recommends the following to enhance your mobile app quality.
Use legible text at every size with precise and bright icons
Highlight content using suitable graphics, colour, fonts etc.
Keep the interface design light and casual with minimal use of drop shadows and gradients
Use distinct visual layers.
Use of transitions provides the users with a sense of depth while navigating through the content.
For more details on the same, please visit the official page of Apple.
The design stage of the app is followed by the development stage.
3. Ensure mobile app quality during the development stage
A properly planned and documented development stages of the application ensures overall mobile app quality.
In the development stage of a mobile app, the developer writes the codes. These codes are then tested by another team that looks into errors in the code. By continuous testing, the team makes the code bug free.
In the development phase, a good level of attention is necessary to develop a bug-free app. A prototype of the app built by the developer and proper documentation sees to it that nothing misses out during actual development
Planning and maintaining a “mobile app quality assurance checklist” from the very beginning of the development cycle is a very important aspect of this phase. It helps in checking mobile app quality during every phase of development.
In the development phase, a good level of attention is necessary to develop a bug-free app. A prototype of the app built by the developer and proper documentation sees to it that nothing misses out during actual development.
There are three important parts of mobile app development. This includes the following:
Back-end or server technology: Back-end is a process which involves writing codes for an app to operate. The end-user does not directly interact with the back-end features. There are three types of back-end technology – cloud server, custom server and Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS).
Application Programming Interface (API): API helps the app to communicate with the back end. APIs are used to increase the user experience and also help the users to interact with other applications.
Mobile app front-end: Front end is the user interface part where the customers see and interact with the app. It is also called client-side development.
A simple and easy to use app helps in building up the reputation of the company. Issues such as security breach, crashing, slow processes, failing transactions during purchase will decrease your reputation in the eyes of the users. You will eventually incur a loss in your business as a result of a low-quality app.
If there are any such issues mentioned above in the app, this will lead to high remediation costs and also increases maintenance and marketing costs.The development team should follow popular coding guidelines and can thus avoid committing any such faults.
A good level of attention given to every detail during testing can help in fixing errors easily and early. Avoiding bugs from the early stage of development can help in reducing the cost of bug fixing, patching and updates.
Apps use data such as images and videos commonly. To increase the performance of the apps, the development team can reduce the size of this data by compressing it without compromising on the mobile app quality.
Reducing the load time of the app by pre-fetching data is also a good measure to ensure mobile app quality. Load the data as per the need of the user. Breaking down the content and pre-fetching them helps in reducing the data loading time.
Today, the mobile phone makers use different methods such as sensors, gestures, voice etc. to provide the best user experience. The app development team can use these to the advantage of their app by providing certain features which other apps of the same genre lack.
The next stage involves continuous testing for fixing the mistakes in the app. There are many types of tests that help in enhancing mobile app quality.
4. Ensure mobile app quality while testing
Fixing bugs through frequent testing ensures a higher mobile app quality.
Documenting every test will help in maintaining an overall consistency in mobile app quality. Another factor that helps with ensuring mobile app quality is high accuracy test results. Using real devices will help in achieving high accuracy during testing.
Different platforms use different types of testing to maximise mobile app quality. So the testing team should choose the suitable tools for testing in different devices working on different operating systems. As updates are rolled out for various operating systems every year, test the app on different versions to reduce compatibility issues.
Testing an app on various screen resolutions and rectifying the errors help in improving the performance of the app. Consider the geo-location and carrier while testing the app to reduce crashes as some apps are available only through particular carriers in some locations.
Tests done on the basis of confidentiality, authentication, authorization, storage and web services will ensure the development of good quality apps. Tests should ensure that proper encryption protocols are followed by the app to secure the privacy of the user. Before giving data access to a third-party application, the app should communicate it with the user.
Tests should also ensure that proper encryption protocols are followed when data is stored locally on the phone.
Making and receiving calls- this is the main function of mobile phones. Apps should not interfere with the connectivity and performance of mobile phones.
There are three methods of testing an app which includes:
Manual
Automated
Cloud-based
4.1. Manual testing
Manual QA testing is done with the help of a qualified tester without the usage of any automated tools.
Manual testing consumes time and money as it is done by professional analysts and testers. As the end-user is a human, manual testing helps in determining how the customer uses the final product.
4.2. Automated testing
Automated tests are done with the help of automated tools and without human assistance.
In this method of testing, a test script is generated based on the targeted platform. It saves time as it is faster than manual testing. It also saves money as fewer manual tasks are required in automated testing.
4.3. Cloud-based testing
Cloud-based tests are based on cloud-based technologies.
While using this method of testing, the testers get access to a wide variety of devices through the internet. The testers can test the app simultaneously in different platforms, thus saving a lot of time. But, the chance of data breach is higher while using this type of testing.
There are various types of tests conducted to ensure maximum mobile app quality.
4.4. Mobile app QA checklist: Different testing types
Proper testing makes a mobile app perfect. Security, compatibility and usability are given prime importance while testing a mobile app.
Testing done on real devices helps in getting a more accurate result than using an emulator.
There are various types of tests done to ensure quality before the deployment of the app.
Smoke testing: Smoke testing is also known as ‘build verification testing’. It is one of the tests done to verify if the app is stable and to look into the working of the key functionalities of the app.
Cross-platform testing: Cross-platform testing helps to know how your app functions in multiple platforms. It looks into the consistency, user experience, performance issues etc.in different environments.
Functional testing: This test helps to know if the app is functioning as intended.
User interface testing: It is a test used to detect faults in the graphical user interface of the app. The user interacts with the app through this interface.
Accessibility testing: It is a test which gives an insight into how a person with disabilities such as poor vision and hearing can use or access the features of the app.
Performance testing: The test helps to know how the app performs under various workloads and looks into battery consumption, network performance, memory usage etc. There are different types of performance testing. This includes load testing, stress testing, endurance testing etc.
Usability testing: Usability testing ensures better customer comfort. Usability testing is usually done with the help of people who closely resemble the targeted users. This test helps in receiving real feedback before the launch of the app.
User experience testing: The test helps in improving user satisfaction. User experience testing helps to know how the app interacts with the user. The test also ensures that the original design and specs are also maintained after the development of the app.
Security testing: This test helps to identify the vulnerabilities of the app. The most important tests under this category include vulnerability tests and penetration tests. Stick to global level security standards while testing app security. High security of the app provides a good reputation for the company and ensures an overall mobile app quality.
Compatibility testing: A test to ensure that the app functions smoothly in a variety of devices, platforms, screen orientations etc.
Beta testing: Beta testing helps in getting feedback from a real user.
There are also tests that help in knowing the reliability, content localization, Wi-Fi and GPS integration etc. Multiple testing approaches and testing on different devices help with improving mobile app quality.
5. Ensure mobile app quality during the deployment stage
Users download their desired app from various application stores such as Google Play and App Store. The policies for deploying apps are different for each store. You should have a good understanding of these submission policies to reduce time and effort during the deployment of the app.
You need to work on creating an End User License Agreement (EULA) to protect your organization, intellectual property etc. and also design an icon for your app before deployment.
The vendor of the app store will review your submission to look if your app is following the guidelines or norms put up by them.
Here are some important points to consider before launching Android and iOS apps.
5.1. Important points to consider before launching an Android app
Localizing content: Plan to localize your app according to differences in geography and culture before deployment.
Simultaneous release: Plan your release simultaneously on different platforms to ensure a better reception among the users.
Follow all mobile app quality guidelines: Offer the best design, features and functions for your users.
Design details for Play store listing: Add a description of the app along with videos and screenshots in the app store listing. Also, attach the privacy policy of your app.
Plan the in-app products and subscriptions: Add details about in-app products and confirm the countries which can access these products and subscriptions.
Promoting the app: You can promote the app using Google Play badge.
For more best practises, please visit the official page of the Android launch checklist.
5.2. Important points to consider before launching an iOS app
Before submitting an iOS app, consider the following:
Safety: People should download an app with confidence. The app should not have any offensive or upsetting content. Implementing proper data security is another factor that makes an app safe and thus ensures an overall mobile app quality.
Performance: Apple divides this category into five important sections.
App completeness: Apple App Store will reject an app which has incomplete app bundles and binaries, the apps that crash or have other technical problems. You should submit a fully developed app with all metadata, fully functional URLs etc.
Beta testing: App store does not include trial or beta versions of your app. To beta test, you can use the TestFlight (beta testing app of Apple).
Accurate metadata: Metadata provided in descriptions and screenshots of the app should mirror the content of the app.
Hardware compatibility: Apple encourages developers to build an app that is equally accessible with iPads as well.
Software requirements: Apps should not interfere with volume and power buttons. Such an app will be rejected by the Apple App Store. Apps should not alter features or functionalities of other apps and hardware components.
Business: Apps that cheat users with expensive in-app products will be removed by the App Store. Ads should be displayed according to the app’s age rating.
Design: Develop designs that are simple, refined and innovative. Update your apps and give more functions to the users.
Legal: All legal requirements should be followed according to the location where the app is going to be launched. All apps should include their privacy policy in the App Store metadata.
For more detailed information, consider visiting the official site of Apple.
After you submit the app, there is a review process of Apple to check whether the app has met all the quality standards.
6. Ensure mobile app quality in the post-deployment stage
Mobile app analytics platforms help you to get a glance into the performance of the app.
Updating the app to meet new user requirements will help in increasing the app value. Proper maintenance is another factor that determines mobile app quality post-deployment.
Users will give feedback once they start using the application. Use such feedback to update the app as per the requirements of the users. Take feedback and suggestions into account while planning an update for the app.
Replying to all the queries of users will help in gaining positive feedback. The app developers should watch for operating system updates and should fix compatibility issues by bringing necessary changes to the app.
Users look for mobile apps with high quality while downloading and using an app. In order to give the customers a perfectly built app, you need an expert and experienced team to develop the app for you.
In other words, hiring qualified developers is also an important aspect of ensuring mobile app quality.
You can get in touch with expert mobile app developers through a search on the internet. According to the budget and other requirements, you can choose to hire
Hiring a dedicated development team is the best option if you are looking for cost-cutting strategies without compromising on the mobile app quality.
For startups,hiring a freelance mobile app developer is a good choice. Hire only established freelance mobile app developers rather than freshers for assuring mobile app quality.
Hire a mobile app development company if you do not want to compromise on the mobile app quality and if budget is not a problem.
Make sure that the team you hired that consists of mobile app developers, designers, project managers and QA testers are top-notch in their field of work. Give preferences to the ones who update themselves with the latest trends and technologies.
Hiring a dedicated development team is the best option if you are looking for cost-cutting strategies without compromising on the mobile app quality.
For startups,hiring a freelance mobile app developer is a good choice. Hire only established freelance mobile app developers rather than freshers for assuring mobile app quality.
Hire a mobile app development company if you do not want to compromise on the mobile app quality and if budget is not a problem.
Make sure that the team you hired that consists of mobile app developers, designers, project managers and QA testers are top-notch in their field of work. Give preferences to the ones who update themselves with the latest trends and technologies.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning mobile app development company with a decade of success stories. We offer digital product engineering services that include strategy and design, web and mobile app development, DevOps and cybersecurity. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
The internet has become a crucial part of our lives.
Today, there are 3.5 billion mobile users worldwide. The transition of feature phones into smartphones during the past years has led to higher internet usage. There are many surveys that show an insight into higher mobile usage compared to preceding years.
The following graph forecasts an increase in smartphone users by the year 2025 in India.
This recent trend has led to the development of various mobile apps in many genres. Here is where a business firm thinks twice before developing an app. They find finding a good mobile app developer is rather hard.
Most businesses start planning a mobile app by looking into the interests of the user. The next phase usually involves hiring mobile app developers.
The future of the mobile app depends on whether you were able to hire the best mobile app developer and how much expertise he/she had in the field working on similar solutions.
Hiring a mobile app developer is not a troublesome task if you know how to approach it. Consider these points before hiring a mobile app developer.
How to hire a mobile application developer?
Which is better: freelance app developer, app development company or dedicated app development team?
The best place on the internet to hire a mobile app developer
Developing a mobile app: in-house developing team or offshore development team?
How much does it cost to hire a mobile app developer?
Let’s discuss these points in detail.
How to hire a mobile app developer?
As the number of apps launched on different platforms is increasing day by day, your app should have its own strong points. To ensure that your app stands out from the rest of the apps in the market, you should hire mobile app developers who are exceptional in their field of work.
How to hire a mobile app developer for your next project?
Usually, this is the first question that comes to the mind of anyone who is looking to develop a mobile app.
To hire mobile app developers, begin your search using the internet. You can also ask for help from your contacts from the industry. After finding the most experienced and the most reputed team of mobile app developers, compare the price range.
An analysis and comparison of the projects accomplished in the past will help in hiring the right mobile app developer for your project. The best way is to hire mobile app developers who have received awards and certifications.
Looking into the expertise in multiple fields of app development and search based on reviews by earlier customers will help you to hire mobile app developers who are exceptional in planning and developing a mobile app.
There are three types of mobile app developers.
This includes freelance mobile app developer, mobile app development company and dedicated app development team.
Which one is better?
Let’s analyse the pros and cons of hiring freelance mobile app developers, mobile app development company and dedicated app development team.
Hiring app development company vs freelancer vs a dedicated app development team
When it comes to finding a developer for your next mobile app, you usually have three options.
Hire a mobile app development company
Hire a freelance mobile app developer
Hire a dedicated team of mobile app developers
There are many mobile app development companies that offer exceptional development services. There are also fraudsters who take advantage of posing as a great mobile app development company, thus draining all your money.
Hiring mobile app development companies helps you in hiring staff with more skill, experience and expertise as they are appointed after an initial screening or tests. The mobile app development companies assist you in the full development of the app including testing and app deployment. A mobile app development company will also offer you a more professional approach and support.
There are also some disadvantages to hiring a mobile app development company. Communication barrier is one of the cons of hiring a mobile app development company. As you cannot interact directly with the team of developers, accessibility to the workflow is less. Rate of hiring mobile app development companies is higher if you are looking for developing a budget-friendly app.
A Freelance mobile app developer is a good option for startups. But hiring a freelance mobile app developer is not a good choice in the long run. The main disadvantage is he/she will have less exposure to new technologies and less expertise compared to app development companies. Also, a freelancer may not know all the aspects of mobile app development.
While hiring a dedicated app development team, one should look into the quality and commitment provided by the team.
Let’s take a closer look at each aspect of hiring a mobile app development company, freelance mobile developer and a dedicated app development team.
Hire mobile app development company
Mobile apps are now an unavoidable part of every business.
There are a lot of mobile app development companies that offer good services. But one should hire a mobile app development company, that is the best to succeed in the competition.
Before hiring a mobile app development company, you should have a thorough background check on the firm. This helps in knowing the track record of the app developer company.
Checking similar apps developed by the mobile app development company helps in knowing their expertise in the field and involvement in the project. This also helps in knowing the feedback and ratings from the users.
To hire mobile app developers, who are the best, you should emphasize on communication. Hire mobile app development company that briefs project updates on a daily or weekly basis. A good mobile app development company will arrange a project manager to communicate with the client on project updates.
Timely completion of the project is another important part of hiring mobile app developers. A right-minded mobile app development company respects project deadlines and will complete the project promptly.
To hire a mobile app development company offering the best work, a look into the data security norms will help you in choosing the right one. The mobile app development company should have strict laws on data security. Hiring app development companies without a single incident of a data breach is an added benefit.
The mobile app development company should have developers who are proficient in a variety of platforms such as Android and iOS. The firm should also have the best UI/UX team of designers. Choose the right one with unique creative skills.
Before hiring a mobile app development company, the client should have a detailed analysis of the commitment of the firm. You can contact past clients to get a detailed work review of the mobile app development company. Hiring a mobile app development company that supports the client in the entire process of planning and development including the launch of the mobile app is an admirable point to consider.
Hiring mobile app developers who give proper support and maintenance after the launch of the app is also an important part of this process.
Hire freelance mobile app developer
Hiring freelance mobile app developers is a tricky task.
There are many sites which offer help in hiring freelance mobile app developers. Top sites include DevTeam.Space, Upwork, Hired etc. Also, job portals like Jooble help you post vacancies for mobile app developers on their platforms and find the right talent.
Keep these points in mind before hiring freelance mobile app developers.
Request to present a portfolio of earlier works to know the skill level before hiring a freelancer.
There are people out there pretending to be a qualified mobile app developer, but in reality, he/she may be a fresher in the field. Only hire freelance mobile app developers after an initial screening.
Hire a freelance mobile app developer who is established rather than freshers. This will help you in securing fail-proof work.
Hire a freelance mobile app developer who is brilliant in mobile app planning, development and execution of ideas.
Hire a freelance mobile app developer who is trustworthy and works according to the needs of the client.
Hire mobile app developers who are flexible in their working hours.
Look out for good communication skills before hiring freelance mobile app developers.
Hire a freelance mobile app developer only after discussing the price and project deadlines. Some freelance mobile app developers work on different projects at the same time. This may increase the time for project completion.
Country of origin is another factor to look out for. Surveys suggest that some countries such as the USA and India have the highest number of android app developers in the year 2018. Rates also differ from one country to another while hiring a freelance mobile app developer.
Online interactions are another important part of hiring freelance mobile app developers. Identify the best freelancer available with the criteria set by you.
You can also choose between a group of freelancers or an individual according to the complexity of the project.
Conduct a thorough online and offline research before hiring a freelance mobile app developer to minimise risks such as data breach.
Hire dedicated mobile app development team
While hiring a dedicated mobile app development team, there is no need to set up a workspace as every necessary element is set up already. Give preferences to the dedicated app development team which has the most modern tech and innovations.
Hiring a dedicated mobile app development team who have the necessary skills to develop engaging digital solutions for the customers will help in getting positive feedback. The dedicated mobile app development team should consist of multi-talented individuals. The client should also have full control of the team.
Hire dedicated mobile app development team only if they have the proper infrastructure facilities which support uninterrupted internet, power supply and access to the latest technologies.
Hiring a dedicated mobile app development team can help in minimizing the risk involved in data security as you are in direct control of the team. Direct communication and involvement are other features of hiring dedicated app development teams. You should also make sure that strong encryption data protocols are followed before hiring a dedicated mobile app development team.
If you are looking for cost-cutting strategies while developing an app, you can definitely hire a dedicated mobile app development team. But you should ensure that it does not compromise the quality of the work and you have the resources and expertise to manage the team.
Hiring a dedicated mobile app development team will help you in getting a workforce that is better than hiring freelancers.
Consider experience and flexible hours of work while hiring from a different timezone.
Hiring a dedicated mobile app development team also helps you in analysing the skill set of each individual in the team. If anyone is not up to the mark, you can immediately have a replacement.
You can also hire a dedicated mobile app development team on an hourly/ weekly/ or monthly basis.
If you do not want to compromise on the quality of the product, you can hire a mobile app development company.
If you are just starting a business and need a mobile app for better reach, then hire a freelance mobile developer.
If you are looking for a minimum cost and best quality, hire a dedicated mobile app development team.
The next step of the hiring process involves finding the best place to hire a mobile app developer.
Let’s have a closer look.
The best place to hire mobile app developer
The best place to hire mobile app developers, of course, is through the internet. A thorough search on the internet helps you to hire a mobile app developer who is an expert in the field.
Search platforms such as google help in finding the best place to hire a mobile app developer. There are also B2B directories such as Clutch, AppFutura, TopDevelopers, GoodFirms which helps you to hire a mobile app developer.
Only hire mobile app developers from reliable sources such as mentioned above. Websites offering full details such as company profile, past work portfolio, reviews and ratings from past clients along with contact number and address is a reliable one.
Hire mobile app developer only and only if he/she understands and meets the requirements furnished by you. You can also search sites offering professional assistance which helps to hire mobile app developers from the best circle.
If you hire a mobile app developer using the internet, please double-check for reliability and quality.
You can opt for hiring an in-house development team or offshore development team for developing a mobile app.
Now, what is in-house mobile app development and offshore mobile app development?
Let’s have a closer look.
Developing a mobile app: in-house development team or offshore development team?
Hiring offshore mobile app developer
Offshore mobile app development in simple words is outsourcing mobile app development to other companies. Nearshore and onshore are terms associated with offshore mobile app development. It is based on the geographical location of the mobile app development company you are outsourcing with.
Nearshore mobile app developers are those from neighbouring countries. Onshore mobile app developers are the developers located in the same country as you.
Offshore mobile app developers are those from different countries mostly far away from your nation.
Hiring an offshore mobile app developer is one of the most feasible choices. The majority of the offshore mobile app development companies offer high-quality work at an affordable rate. Since they will be mostly from a different part of the world, they might have a different perspective in creating better solutions and add more value to the project you are planning.
Hiring an offshore mobile app developer helps you in cutting your cost as you do not need to hire mobile app developers including other staff and also do not need to spend on infrastructure.
Offshore mobile app developers have expertise in different areas of work so adding new elements to the project that was not discussed before is easy. There are also no problems when a staff resigns, as there will be a replacement.
Different nations have different economic structures. A good understanding of the currency differences helps you in developing a mobile app at the lowest cost. For example, if an American offshore mobile app developer can develop an app for around $100,000; a mobile app developer from India can develop the app for approximately $4000 which is due to the currency conversion rate and cost of living. Reduction in time and budget is the greatest advantage of hiring offshore mobile app developers.
There is a risk of piracy and copying codes in hiring an offshore mobile app developer. You should take extra care while hiring an offshore mobile app developer.
Hiring famous and established mobile app developers can help you in developing your perfect app and reducing risks. According to some surveys, India is one of the best countries to hire an offshore mobile app developer.
Now, what is an in-house developing team?
Hiring in-house development team
If you already have a team of developers who is part of your organisation, the team is called an in-house development team. There are many advantages and disadvantages while depending on in-house development teams.
You are in direct control of an in-house development team. There may be no language and cultural barrier as the employees have already adapted to the work culture of your organisation. You can have a deep involvement with the development of the project when you have an in-house development team.
You can communicate directly with the team and execute your ideas much more easily. The development process of the app is closely watched and evaluated by you. This helps in avoiding and rectifying errors as early as possible.
Sufficient training given to the team ensures that every member meets the requirements. There is also a very low risk of a data breach as you are directly involved in the project.
There are also some disadvantages of relying on an in-house development team for your app development.
The first one is the cost of creating an in-house development team. The cost of setting up a workspace and the necessary infrastructure is costlier compared to hiring an offshore development team.
To hire mobile app developers with the right talent, a lot of time and investment are needed. You would also want to pay allowances and bonuses on special occasions to the employees which will increase the cost of owning an in-house app development team.
Hiring staff and giving them necessary training will increase the time of mobile app development. Everyone in the team will not have the required expertise in the field. Training given to such employees will further increase the time of project completion or indirectly affect the cost.
According to the complexity of the app, the number of staff and infrastructure requirements may also increase. When a staff resigns, filling the position is a difficult task. This further increases the cost and time needed for completing the development of the app.
In the long run, hiring an in-house development team is a good choice. But if you want to consistently reduce costs and develop an app in a short time period, hiring an offshore development company is the best option.
How much does it cost to hire a mobile app developer?
Let’s assess this question in detail and find out how various steps of app development associates with the cost.
Every business is turning into developing mobile apps to widen their horizon. To plan, develop, and execute a perfect app, you should hire a mobile app developer who is a specialist in the field. The main thing to consider here is the cost to hire a mobile app developer.
There are mainly three factors that affect the cost of hiring a mobile app developer.
Mobile technology/platform
Location of the mobile app developer
App complexity
Mobile technology/platform
There are mainly three types of mobile applications.
This includes native, hybrid, and cross-platform mobile apps. To understand how much it costs to hire mobile app developers, let’s analyse these mobile apps in detail.
The first one is the native mobile app. Developed for a particular platform, native apps maximise functionality and user experience. Developing native apps is more expensive than developing apps in the other two categories. Cross-platform apps are designed using JavaScript.
Cross-Platforms are useful for those looking for compatibility in various platforms. The cost of developing cross-platform mobile apps are less compared to native apps. Cross-platform apps offer limited functionality.
Native apps and cross-platform apps are combined with the help of CSS, HTML, or other web tech to develop hybrid apps. The main benefit of using hybrid apps is that it works on any platforms with slightly modified codes. The cost of developing a hybrid app is lower compared to native and cross-platform apps. As this is a new category of app, troubleshooting options are minimum compared to other categories.
If budget is not a problem and if you want to provide maximum user experience, go for native apps. Also use this category, if the app is having a complex structure.
To be compatible with various platforms and to gain a wide market, use cross-platform apps.
If yours is a startup company and is looking for a low budget app, hybrid apps will be your best bet.
Location of the mobile app developer
The next factor that determines the mobile app development cost is the location of the developer. Mobile app developers from the USA, Canada, Australia charge the highest rate. Whereas India, Ukraine, South East Asia charges the lowest rate to develop a mobile app.
Another factor that determines the mobile app development cost is the app complexity. To develop a complex app you need to hire a mobile app developer who has the required expertise in the field of work. The cost of hiring experienced mobile app developers is higher than that of hiring a fresher.
App design and security, user experience are other factors determining the cost of mobile app development. User experience defines the success of a mobile app. A good app design helps in providing good user experience. Thus a good amount of money spent on the design helps you to get positive feedback from users. As an important feature, a significant part of the budget goes into strengthening the security of the app.
App deployment, maintenance, and updates are other factors that determine the cost of developing an app.
Time is also a factor determining the cost of development of a mobile app. If you want to launch an app very soon, then you need to hire more staff along with the necessary infrastructure to speed up the process.
How much does it cost to hire a mobile app developer?
Based on GoodFirms survey, the average cost of hiring a mobile app developer is as follows:
Choosing a perfect mobile app development company helps in planning the perfect app. Hiring mobile app developers who have the experience and expertise in each and every stage of mobile app development helps you in establishing a successful mobile app.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning app development company with a decade of success stories. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition and bring more glory and revenue through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
Every major company in the world is turning towards developing mobile apps for their eCommerce requirements.
The eCommerce apps help to conserve time and money by helping the customers to shop at their will at any instant. It helps in an easier lifestyle. It is not a simple task to be first in this never-ending competition. eCommerce apps help companies to deliver an enjoyable experience to the users.
Customers look out for eCommerce apps while using the services of a company. eCommerce apps help the company in broadening its perspective. They can use this app as a key to reach every section of the society. Here is the list of the most needed eCommerce app requirements to become the best of its kind.
1. Know your customers
The first eCommerce app requirement is to know your target audience.
The company should analyze the needs and outlook of its customers. Understanding the necessities of the customers are useful while planning eCommerce app requirements. Good interaction with the customers through surveys and social media also helps in the development of the best eCommerce app.
Digital marketing tactics help the company in broadening the number of customers. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are part of digital marketing strategies that help in promoting a brand. Google AdWords is the most important and most used example of SEM.
Social Media Marketing and Email marketing are other examples of digital marketing.
2. Know your competitors
The company should analyze and have a close study of the competition in the eCommerce field. Providing more features than the competitors is not enough for an eCommerce company to grow. Offering great user experience and engaging content are also an essential part of growth.
The eCommerce app requirements should be based on the preferences of the customers. The innovations and ideas should suit the existing and potential customers and should not meet but exceed their expectations.
3. Customization of the eCommerce app
An eCommerce app should be simple and elegant.
The prime focus must be to meet customer requirements. Customization of the app based on the customers’ need and demand is an essential eCommerce app requirement.
Before planning eCommerce app requirements, the team should have an insight from the customers’ point of view. The app should help them with solving their problems and provide them with an outstanding experience.
4. A good feedback system
A feedback system is a very important eCommerce app requirement.
The company can get insights from the feedback system of the app. A good feedback system ensures the proper growth of the company. The feedback helps in implementing certain initiatives such as quick response and follow-ups based on customer queries. This also helps in improving the performance of the app.
Feedback collected directly through the app and while purchasing products helps the eCommerce company to know their limitations. Through the feedback of the customers, the app can guarantee a good user experience that builds loyalty and brand image of the company.
As a very essential eCommerce app requirement, the feedback system helps the business in gaining perfection in the quality of its services and customer relationship management.
5. Search options
Search platform with filters is one of the basic eCommerce app requirement.
A customized search bar with customer preferences is better than a basic one. The filters can also include the price range and ratings.
The search pattern of the customer can help in showing a personalized home screen or product section. A provision for comparing different products through the search bar can help the customers.
6. Reviews and Ratings
eCommerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart use a system of ratings and reviews to help the customers. Such rating systems are an important eCommerce app requirement.
The ratings and reviews are very much helpful in determining whether the product fits the customers’ needs.
They also help a new user to know the quality and capabilities of a particular product. A provision for the users to upload images and videos of the products increases the chances of knowing the product. The system should also check and discourage fake reviews and ratings.
7. Sign up using various platforms
A Good eCommerce app should help the users to sign up using their social media account. This enables the customers to sign in by using other platforms such as Gmail, Facebook etc. and make the entire process a hassle-free experience.
This is another eCommerce app requirement which most of the customers search for while downloading or using an app.
The registration process should be simple and trouble-free. Customers can share their experience of using the app on social media. This will, in turn, help the eCommerce app to gain popularity and new customers.
8. Providing a good User experience
User experience is a significant eCommerce app requirement.
Knowing the needs and requirements of a customer helps in offering the best user experience. It shows how a customer interacts with the app, thus letting an eCommerce company know what are their priorities and desires. User experience helps in enhancing the quality of the app based on customer interests.
Discounts and rewards make the customer happy. This along with engaging content and best user experience make the customers delighted.
9. Optimization for offline availability
Many customers get frustrated when the app does not work properly in low network areas. App optimization for weak signals is a relevant eCommerce app requirement.
The developers should make sure that the users do not get disappointed while using the app. Offline compatibility of the app helps the company in gaining positive feedback from the customers.
10. Product gallery
A dedicated tab in the eCommerce app showing various images and videos of products helps the customers to an extent.
But these images or videos should be an accurate copy of the original product. Images and videos should be clear so that the customers can get a good understanding of the product.
A chief eCommerce app requirement is, it should provide accurate insight into product preferences and sales.
These data will help in understanding what products are selling and develop new products that are similar to trending products. This helps the eCommerce company to have positive growth.
The analysis of the data helps in enhancing the usability and features of the eCommerce app. Thus data analysis driven renovations help in increasing the number of customers. This will escalate the revenue of the company.
Data analysis can be also used to decipher the interests of the people.
12. Notifications and wish list
Creating a wish list based on the interest of the users is an essential component of an eCommerce app. Notifications about products on wish lists help the users to get better deals on their favourite products.
Discounts given on the price or delivery of items in the wishlist makes customers happy.
Push notifications help in advertising new arrivals on the platform. Notifications based on the search criteria inform the users about the availability of their desired product. Alerts should be customizable for the users based on their convenience.
Customers should be able to know if the desired product is available in their area. If not, the eCommerce app should help them with enabling notifications so that when the product becomes available, the customers can place an order.
13. Compatibility in various platforms
Compatibility is another important eCommerce app requirement. It should be equally compatible with various platforms such as Android, Windows, iOS.
Keeping the same design and interfaces across different platforms helps in avoiding confusion among users. A simple UI/UX design helps everyone with basic knowledge to use it conveniently.
14. Personalizing app usage
An option for personalising the app according to their taste and preferences will help an eCommerce app to win the heart of its users. Options like customising the theme and other features will give the eCommerce app a new dimension.
Full access over privacy settings is also a key eCommerce app requirement.
15. Usage of AI and AR
Using Artificial Intelligence (A. I) helps in minimizing human interaction. It creates a friendlier interface in the eCommerce app. AI customizes and revolutionizes the user experience by personalizing the content, according to the customer.
Besides, through AI, the eCommerce firm can check the customer choices by having a deeper understanding of the search patterns. This also helps in knowing the preferences and tastes of the user.
Augmented Reality (AR) offers the user a chance to see and feel the product, like in the real world, before owning it.
16. Payment options
The app should house maximum payment options to its users. Online payment, cash on delivery, e-wallet are popular among customers who use eCommerce apps.
Multi-currency payment options with high-level security are an essential part of an eCommerce app. Payment options for international users also help the app to rank as one of the most favoured one in the eCommerce section.
Security is the most important part of the payment feature. This eCommerce app requirement should be planned without any flaws.
17. A faster check-out and delivery
A good eCommerce app should value the time of the customer. So faster page navigation with a faster check-out is an additional eCommerce app requirement.
Details such as price and product specifications, accurate date of delivery help the customers to plan their purchase accordingly. If there are any delays in delivery, the app should communicate it with the customers with the help of notifications.
18. Special membership options and loyalty programs
An eCommerce app can provide special membership status to customers.
Customers with such special status can book and view products before they arrive on the platform. Loyalty programs catch the eye of the customers and this can generate more revenues if marketed well. Loyalty programs made available helps in increasing the number of users and building a long-lasting relationship with the brand.
These programs can also include discounts and reward points on specific items.
19. Discounts with flash sales
The eCommerce app can conduct flash sales with good discounts on a weekly or monthly basis. This eCommerce app requirement helps the brand in its promotions by making use of social media and other types of advertisements.
This helps in increasing the value of the app in the public’s eye. Flash sales also help in gaining more users for the app.
20. Using live chatbox
Enabling live chat helps the customers to interact directly with customer care in real-time.
Live chatbox make it much easier to clear the queries of the customer. Company representatives can respond and communicate with the customers through the chatbox and also help them with finding the best product for their need or solving any inconvenience they are facing on the platform. Live chatbox is a very essential eCommerce app requirement in this internet-connected world.
21. Returning products and raising questions
If the product does not satisfy the customer, there should be an option for returning it. Offering a refund or return option helps an eCommerce company to build trust in the eyes of their customers.
The customers should also be able to raise questions about their desired product or the purchase process. The questions, if answered in a time-bound manner, will help the eCommerce business to win the trust of the customer.
22. Ease of access
Any kind of disability should not stop anyone from using the features of an eCommerce app. The design should ensure that everyone can use the app with ease.
The app can incorporate screen narrator and provide search options based on speech. A smartphone camera can help a disabled person to search by product images. This eCommerce app requirement gives an equal level of accessibility to every customer.
New updates should use only a small amount of storage space from the device. Planning is important while releasing new updates. Safety and security are of prime importance and steps taken to resolve such issues make the app safer.
eCommerce apps should regard the privacy concerns of the users with the utmost respect.
24. Ads and featured products
Ads bring revenue to the business through more sales and commissions.
However, the presence of ads on the platform may irritate some users. The ads should not be too pushy to the viewers. Personalizing ads or an option to filter out sponsored products will help in solving this problem.
Personalised ads will help users to find their desired products more easily. It will help the eCommerce business to increase sales through better conversion. Personalised ads can be also displayed on the home screen of the app.
The most important factor determining the success of an eCommerce app is the team who develops it.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning app development company with a decade of success stories. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition and bring more sales and revenue through innovative eCommerce solutions. Do you have an eCommerce app requirement? Contact us now
It’s always great to split the content area when dealing with Website designs. Especially with today’s wide desktop screens.
2. Low Key Gradients
Too bright and flashy gradients are no longer in trend. It’s getting lighter and lighter nowadays. Because ultimately minimalism is the key!
3. Colour Palette
Choosing a matching colour palette is the most needed ingredient for an eye-catching User Interface. This initial step will decide the future of the design. The combination of light and warm colours are trending now.
4. Full Width Design
Fixed-size wrappers? No! Web designers can utilize the entire space for arranging the contents. Wasting too much space on the left and right of the content section became old!.
5. Serif-Sans Serif Combo
Mixing Serif and Sans Serif fonts became a trend in 2020 instead of using the same style fonts.
6. Empty Space
Depending on the message the UI is delivering, it’s important to give it some space. There is no need to create congestion.
7. Password-less Login
Are you still using native username-password login? There will be no such option in mobile interfaces very soon. The latest UX design is quickly moving forward with password fewer authentications like Fingerprint scanning and facial identification.
8. Interaction Sounds
Sounds are the fastest way to communicate an idea. But we didn’t try to add this in our applications. Just remember the transaction successful sound in google pay. No need to explain more!
9. Gestures & Buttonless Design
The number of buttons has decreased. So, it gives more space and content areas. Avoid maximum buttons and provide gesture navigation.
10. Say No to Navigation Drawers
Are you still stick on with navigation drawer? You know what? Google introduced this design style in 2013! Upgrade your design knowledge if you still using this.
11. Voice Interaction
Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant and much more! Voice-powered apps deliver precise and fast query results.
Some DO’s and DON’Ts
1. Inconsistency
Avoid using too many different styles. This will guide to a smooth and concise app. The key is repeating patterns and elements at any time you can.
2. Drop-Shadow
Try to use lightweight drop shadow rather than overusing them. Don’t use very harsh colours.
3. Prioritise Buttons
It is important to give visual importance to the primary action. Secondary action should be less prominent but still visible if the user is looking for them.
4. Text Hierarchy
Use the required space between text. Find text priority and arrange its weight. Always start with a big title which should be the most prominent element of the page.
5. Iconography
All icons should either be outlined or filled. In addition, ensure a consistent line thickness and corner radius. Don’t use different icon styles in the same design.
6. Alignment
Don’t align related items to different sides. Always try to aligning related elements to the same side because it connects them visually.
7. Contrast
Try to find a better contrast ratio for different items. Low contrast is equal to low usability.
8. Forms
Forms are used to log in, to sign up, check out, etc. So, it’s important to provide clear guidance before and after submitting the form.
9. Touch Targets
Poor touch targets in mobile/tablet devices may lead to frustration. So, try to create finger-friendly targets by keeping the required space between them.
10. Quality of Images
Images are the life of a design. Choose creative and realistic photos. Avoid fake or staged stock photos. Also, try to use high-quality images only.
If COVID has benefited any industry, it is the tech industry.
Due to quarantine and self-distancing as a measure against the pandemic, the direct interaction between consumer and business has widened. As a result, there is a surge in demand for technology innovation and adoption in the market to fill this growing gap.
Even the ones that were called “traditional” have either digitalized their business or are in the early stages of technology adoption.
However, there are businesses and entrepreneurs who are not yet able to make the transition. One of the major reasons is the budget and availability of a reliable technology supplier. For most of them, the current situation was unforeseen, and they are sceptical about the ROE they may gain through the digitalisation of their business. Or, they have a limited fund available with them.
This article is written with an aim to help such businesses and entrepreneurs.
What is mobile app development?
To understand what mobile app development is, we should first understand what mobile apps are.
A mobile app is a set of mobile programmers with specific functions that are bundled together targeting a defined population with specific needs. These programmes tried to fulfil the needs of the defined population through
Delivering services directly through the app
Helping the population to request for the services and products through the platform
Helping businesses to connect with the population
In the first and last cases, there will be a single vendor whereas in the second case there may be more than ne vendor.
Mobile apps are rapidly becoming popular since the last decade. Industries like retail, telecommunications, banking, insurance, healthcare, and government have already leveraged the power of mobile apps to enable users to conduct transactions and access information in the most convenient way.
The number of mobiles apps are increasing day by day and the usage of mobile apps have seen a rapid increase in the past years.
Number of mobile app downloads worldwide from 2016 to 2019 (Source: statista.com)
Number of apps available in leading app stores in 2020 (Source: statista.com)
These numbers are expected to increase many folds in coming years as technology is improving at a rapid pace and businesses are leveraging technology to offer a convenient medium for their customers to connect with them and get services and products from them.
Mobile app development cost
Due to the fact that customers are looking for more convenient ways to get services and products done and businesses are having a hard time with minimizing the gap between them and their targeted customer base, it has become almost a mandatory to use technology to your advantage.
However, one of the major hurdles in getting a mobile app for your business is the cost associated with the development of the app.
There are many factors that go to deciding the cost of developing a mobile app.
Factors affecting the app development cost
Geography
One of the major factors in deciding the mobile app development cost is the location of the app developer. Usually, service providers from first world countries charge a higher rate for their services. Whereas, app developers from south-east Asia and east Europe have a comparatively lower cost associated with their services.
Half of the mobile developing companies charge anything between $25 to $49 for each hour of work they do. Developers in Asia keep their hourly charges to a maximum of $100.
Features and functionalities
The function and features of the proposed mobile app is another major factor that decides the cost of the mobile app. For example, to fulfil a function, the developer may have to choose various technologies, services and components and the integration them together to make the app suitable to successfully execute the function. As the function varies, these technologies and components will also vary, and the cost associated with them.
Platform
There are mainly two types of mobile apps: Native and hybrid.
Native: Developed for a particular platform, for example, Android. These apps will work only on this particular platform.
Hybrid apps: These are cross platforms apps that works on more than one platform.
The advantage of a hybrid app is that it will on more than one platform and there is no need to develop separate apps for different mobile platforms like iOS and Android. This will help in cutting down the development cost significantly since the resources needed now will be less.
If you are focusing only on one platform, for example, Android, the cost may be different compared to developing the same app for the iOS platform. It is mainly due to the workflow, resource allocation and quality standards that vary from platform to platforms.
Time
If you want the app to be deployed as fast as possible, the cost may go up. This is mainly because more resources need to be invested in the process to deliver the product as early as possible.
Experience and expertise of the development team
Experience and expertise do not come cheap. If the app developer is an expert in the field and has years of experience under the belt, she will be charging a relatively higher price for the services. The good thing is that such developers can provide quality products, based on the requirement and the nature of the market, within a short time possible.
Design and user experience
Design and user experience plays a vital role in deciding the success of a mobile app. An app with good design and offer great user experience will win attention and popularity easily in the market. However, coming up with a good design strategy and optimizing user experience requires expertise, time, and resources. A good design strategy and user experience are the results of in-depth market research, conceptualization, testing and evaluation. Therefore, developing a disruptive product always requires a good investment.
App security
Most of the mobile apps deal with at least one set of sensitive data like user information, financial transaction, documents, user locations and user behaviours. This information may be critical in the smooth functioning of the mobile app. But, what important is ensuring such data are stored securely and there is no data theft or unauthorized access. Since the value of data is usually decided by the sensitivity of the same, we will have to put extra security measures to protect such data. Security is one of the critical features of any digital solution.
App Deployment
App deployment is all of the activities that make a software system available for use. Usually, it means, the app is ready for use and is uploaded to app marketplaces like Play Store by Google (In case of Android apps) or App store by Apple (In case of iOS apps). App deployment itself is a service and there is usually a cost associated with it.
Maintenance and update
Apps demand maintenance and regular updates. Releases of security patches in regular intervals is a critical part of maintenance. Usually, the first version of the app is released with minimum features. More features will be added as updates based on user feedback and market demand. Also, as technology advances, there will be new methodologies that need to be integrated with the app to replace the outdated ones.
Maintenance and updates plan (Post-deployment plans) varies from developers to developers. Industry, technology, future versions planned etc are some other factors that decide the cost of Maintenance and update.
App development cost and app development methods
Waterfall and Agile are the promising app development methods in the industry. In the case of waterfall method, documentation is required in advance before the process for development begins. On the other hand, if you are going to use agile methodology, there is no requirement for process documentation before the development. Using the waterfall technique, you will get a clear viewpoint on what you are getting and how much cost will it require. Agile method is the most adopted as it comes with a more flexible structure. You can adjust the products, functions, features and changes. Through the agile app, you get your app on time and start getting your target audience faster than the waterfall method.
Waterfall app development method goes right with a fixed fee structure. You can decide the fixed charges you would like to have while developing the app, however, you may have to compromise with the quality of the app.
In the case of agile methodology, you will get what you pay for. As mentioned above the method is flexible enough that you can count on the amount you invest in developing the app. The developers will provide you with estimated rates of their work and you can track the time, efforts, and resources they put into the development process.
Conclusion
Android is the most popular mobile platform today. If you want to target the maximum population but have a limited budget, go for Android apps.
The cost of developing an app depends on its functions, technology, app architecture, resources needed, planned stages, timeframe, security, and maintenance. Since App development is a dynamic process, there will be always an uncertainty associated with the cost until and unless all the requirements are finalized and there is a development plan in place. The inclusion or exclusion of even a single feature in your app will change its cost. However, never compromise on app quality due to expenditure.
If you have an idea that needs to be transformed into a mobile app, contact us now.
If you are wondering how much it will cost to turn your idea into a mobile app, contact us now and share your requirement! Our team of experts will get in touch with you soon!
Which is the best mobile app development company in Kenya?
Where could I get the best app developer in Kenya?
Who are the best mobile app consultants in Kenya?
What companies based in East Africa (particularly Kenya) are the best for developing custom mobile apps and websites?
What is common in these questions?
They are the same questions phrased differently!
Even though it looks like that may be true, these questions are asked by different people on Quora over a period.
These questions are asked by different people on Quora over a period.
There are so many similar questions that ask the same questions but phrased differently on the internet. The numbers are increasing day by day.
One of the reasons why such questions are asked more frequently is Kenya is rapidly becoming one of the technologically advanced markets in the world.
The number of people using smartphones and digital services is increasing in Kenya. As people are adopting technology to make their lives easier, businesses are investing more money on technology to keep up with the trend. As a result, the app industry is rapidly expanding in the country.
However, since Kenya is an emerging market, there is a gap in demand and supply when it comes to the app industry. While businesses are looking for technology solutions with top quality at an affordable price, there are not so many service providers who are able to meet this growing demand. This is just opposite to a developed market like the US which has already gone through several technology evolutions and the market is somewhat saturated with a good number of service providers.
Due to this wide gap between technology demand and technology supply, it is often difficult for a person or business to find the “right app developer” in emerging markets like Kenya. So, these questions are not without a cause.
Is that mean there are no good app developers in Kenya?
Absolutely not.
The Kenyan market is adopting technology at a fast pace. Due to the quality of the services provided and at the cost they were made available, there are several app developments companies who have already made their space in Kenya.
How to choose the best mobile app development company in Kenya?
There are many ways to find the best mobile app development companies.
Use Google
As always, Google is your best friend. Simply do a search on Google using keywords like “Best app development company in Kenya”. See what comes up.
Google has a sophisticated search approach that is developed to show only the best results.
Go to Business directories
There are several websites that list the businesses by industry and services offered. Websites like Clutch.co, Goodfirms.co etc features reviews from clients on the listed company profile. They also release curated lists of top app development companies based on the client ratings and reviews periodically.
App developers with good ratings and reviews may quote a higher price for their services. Unless you are looking for something cheap, always go for companies with top ratings since they are more likely to deliver quality and results.
Seek help from your business network
Investing in an app will cost you money. But, it will be the most beneficial step you can take for your business. The only thing is, you must make sure that the money is invested in the right team.
One of the most reliable sources to find the best app developers can be your professional network. Check whether anyone in your network has worked with any app developed company in the past. If yes, how was the experience and what was the result? Ask them questions like
What was the overall cost of developing the app?
What were the features offered at that price?
How long it took the development team to deliver the final product?
How was the communication between the teams?
How was the quality of the final product?
Did the app development company take care of deployment and maintenance?
Has the app helped your friend to achieve the same result she was expecting?
How did the market respond to the app?
What was the feedback from the actual users? Was it positive?
Find the creators of popular apps in your industry/market
In the past, as an app development company, we have partnered with some of the prominent organisations in Kenya to implement some of the cutting-edge solutions the market has ever seen.
Look at the examples below.
EMS2GO: Developing pick and delivery app for POSTA Kenya
Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) is the largest distribution name in Kenya. They vowed to deliver superior communication, distribution, and financial solutions to customers. As part of their mission, PCK wanted to develop a real-time pickup/delivery solution for their customers. AlignMinds developed a comprehensive pickup and delivery solution that consists of three components.
A consumer pickup and delivery app to help registered users to place and track orders real-time.
A driver app to help drivers and riders timely deliver the package to the right recipient.
A web backend that helps the staff of PCK to manage the system.
Royal Media Services Limited is the largest media house in Eastern Africa with fourteen radio stations under their wing. They also own Kenya’s most popular TV channel, Citizen TV.
To meet the demand of their growing fanbase, RMS wanted to develop a mobile platform that will enable them to live stream all their radio programmes.
The mobile app AlignMinds developed, which are available for Android and iOS platforms, featured all the 14 radio channels of RMS and enable any smartphone user to enjoy their programmes live.
The app has been downloaded 100,000+ times in Play Store and a rating of 4.5 from 1206 users.
Citizen TV is the largest television news channels in eastern Africa. To widen their reach and penetrate even the remote areas in the countries, Citizen planned to develop a web news portal and a mobile app with live streaming to deliver unbiased news to maximum population.
To help Citizen with their business objective, AlignMinds Technologies developed a modern news portal with live TV and other friendly features like news page, article share, font customization etc.
The citizen mobile app which is available for Android, iOS and windows platform set a new trend in the news industry with its robust features that encourage users to spend more time on the platform. The app has been downloaded more than 1,000,000 times on Google Play and has an average rating of 4.1 from a total of 6,599 ratings.
Balton CP has worked in Africa for more than 50 years with a mission to bring the highest quality products and state-of-the-art technology from around the globe to develop new services for the emerging African market. They are a leading player in the field of agribusiness, technology and innovation, energy and project management with their operations that span across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Ghana, and Nigeria.
AlignMinds developed an integrated digital portal with a central point of web management to help Balton CP to have distinct websites with independent web management for each of their subsidiaries and centralized management for the super admin.
Finding the developers behind the most popular apps in the market has its own advantages.
These apps became popular not by fluke. Only with a deep understanding of the market, right conceptualization, supervised development, and flawless deployment (Testing and maintenance) a solution can be turned into an awesome app.
To build something like this, the team must have the right talent, genuine passion, and good quality standard.
If you are searching for such an app development company in Kenya, you are in the right place.
We have implemented numerous projects for our Kenyan and international clients throughout the period of 10 years. We have done projects for POSTA Kenya, Royal Media Services, Citizen TV, Balton CP group and many other prominent players in the Kenyan Market. Contact us now!
“One single vulnerability is all an attacker needs” -Window Snyder
Mobile phones are becoming an efficient mode of communication and making life easier. New models and more advanced technology are introduced into the mobiles to meet the needs of people and make their life easier. With the ability to stay connected with people, pay bills online, storing data, taking pictures and many other irresistible features, the mobile phone has become an inevitable part in human lives.
As the different applications and features in a mobile phone make our life easier, it is also raising the risk of exposing our sensitive and confidential data to the hackers.
How do hackers cheat people to get their devices hacked?
The hackers are so much active and finding new ways to cheat people through a fake email, a fake web page etc. Especially, as people are in a state of fear due to this Covid-19, hackers are taking advantage of this situation. They use Covid-19 themes to create urgency and people unaware respond to this malware becoming victims of phishing and hacking. The scammers pretending to provide support and help by providing free meal coupons and such offers, often trick people to believe this is real. People unknowingly fall prey to this by clicking the malicious link and giving access to the personal information stored in their phones. Other sets of attackers persuade citizens to download malware by impersonating health organizations conveying important health information and tips.
Mobile malware, phishing, hacking is becoming common factors of threat in the mobile world. Protection of mobile phone data at personal and at the enterprise level has become very crucial.
How to protect your data in your mobile phones?
Bring self-awareness about security threats, training employees about the security measures, taking enough precaution steps are some good ways to protect the mobile phone data.
Popular brands have their own expert teams to protect their products and their users from attack. For example, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) is a group of experts that provide a solution to protect their products and their users from phishing and scams. They work continuously to identify new threats and scams in the market.
Various organizations provide several mobile security services such as Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile App Access (MAA), Data Leakage Protection (DLP), Identity Right Management (IRM).
Here are few recommended security practices everyone should follow at personal and at enterprise level:
Implement robust authentication measures
Ensure routine updates and data backup
Block suspicious applications
Continuous monitoring of connected devices
Perform regular health checks
Let’s consider each of the security practice in detail.
1. How to implement robust authentication measures in mobile phones?
At personal level,
Set a screen lock (there are a number of ways to lock your smartphones based on the model of your phone), eliminate unwanted apps, block ads/tracking malware etc in your phone, keep notifications off the lock screen are some of the simple and common ways to secure your mobile phones.
Some more advanced mechanisms to provide secured passwords are providing pattern lock, setting a PIN number, and biometric authentication with fingerprint and face recognition. To make the authentication even stronger, one can combine these authentication methods along with multifactor authentication:
The different levels of authentication that can be applied on mobile devices are listed below:
Username Password authentication is sufficient where the apps are not very sensitive. This is a common form of authentication among social media apps.
Dual factor authentication
This method adds an additional layer of security making it harder for the intruder to get access to the mobile phone and its data. Here, PIN along with security token is used to authenticate users accessing the device.
Three factor authentication
Biometric factor along with this dual-factor authentication makes this authentication more secure to access the devices. The personal attributes of the user such as the voice or fingerprint are also used to authenticate the user in this method.
Geographical location tracking and device information
Geographical location tracking and device information can help prevent fraud by providing limited access to devices.
Behavioural analysis
Bigger enterprises also make use of technology connected to behavioural studies. It helps track any unusual user activities. If any different behaviour is noticed at the user end, they will be subjected to re-authentication. This behaviour also gets included in the Audit Analysis database for further monitoring and analysis.
The authentication mechanism that an enterprise adopts depends on their needs and ability to adopt security mechanisms. Some enterprise uses OTP to authenticate their user that works well for the enterprise needs. Many banking applications use OTP as a mean for ensuring security.
Other enterprises adopt PKI authentication which utilizes a private non-transferable encryption key stored as a hardware token. They are also recognized by government regulations.
2. Ensure routine updates and data backup
Ensure the updates are installed in mobile phones. Software updates for the mobile devices include the patches to the security holes for various security threats, so make sure to install the update as soon as they are available. Running an outdated or pirated version of OS could be more prone to mobile malware and malicious attacks.
Data backup is an essential security procedure that must happen at personal and at the enterprise level. The user data can be set for auto backup. How much and how often can be pre-defined.
At the enterprise level, based on how much data to back up and the budget available for data backup processes, they can choose an appropriate media like an external hard disk or NAS box with cloud back up for backing up their data. Other optical storage media like CD/DVD, Blu Ray etc can be considered as other cheaper alternatives, however, their life and capacity could be short.
3. Block suspicious applications
It is worth to check periodically what applications are given access to your device. The malicious apps may contain a piece of code that can extract personal details and other critical data. Before a download, always check the permissions of the app, the number of downloads, ratings, and reviews about the app. Do not download from third-party stores.
There is also good antivirus software available. Some are free, and some are paid but might provide better support. Based on your preferences, you may select a good one that meets your requirement.
4. Continuous monitoring of connected devices
Logging of activities at a various level can help to make access to mobile phone secure. Logging of text messages, social media activities, other web activity, application blocking etc to track any unusual activity can bring better security.
Protection can be made stronger at the enterprise level by using security services by various providers. For Example, AWS Security Hub, you can receive security threat alerts using services like GuardDuty for continuous threat detection.
5. Perform regular health checks
With emerging technologies and evolving security risks, the security aspects have become a huge challenge. Strong security solutions must be in place to identify vulnerabilities and an organization’s risk against real-world threats.
The more we are technology-dependent, the more we are prone to malware and cyber-attacks. It is mandatory that every individual is self-aware about phone security threats and preventive steps to protect their mobile phone data. Every employee at the enterprise level must be trained for security awareness.
Even if all the necessary steps to prevent the threat are in place, the security threat cannot be eliminated, however, it can be mitigated. There could still be attacks and losses, however, those losses could be controlled in a reasonable manner if we are well prepared. Security breaches, the violation to compliance law, data leakage etc. can cause severe damage to an organization’s reputation and trust among their users and business partners. So, it is very critical to adopt enough security measures to protect the data in smartphones and mobile applications.
Implementing effective security measures, making data protection practices a mandate, setting defined protocols for lost or stolen devices, spending money to bring security awareness among employees is a worthwhile investment and would benefit the organization in their long run.
“The only real security that a man have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability” Henry Ford
For the last few years, our mobile usage grew extremely high and this leads to a huge risk of data theft. Here the Government itself promote digitalisation and there arises a discussion on a very interesting topic of securing financial transactions on mobile devices.
Security for mobile devices has been advancing in an enormous way. But, compared to computers within your home network, mobile devices can be less secure. Here are a few tips you can follow to make your mobile devices more secure and use them to perform transactions that are protected.
How to make financial transactions on mobile secure?
1. Do not download apps from untrustworthy sources
Do not download 3rd party applications from other areas outside the App Store. Download apps only from the official App store for your device. Also, checking and verifying the following things before you download an app will help you with securing all the finical transactions you are going to perform later.
Read Reviews and check the ratings
Imagine ourselves as a customer who is buying a product from a shop. We would usually check the reviews and ratings of the shop and the products before making a purchase decision. Like that, you should undergo a habit of reading the reviews and checking ratings of the app before downloading it. There are apps that are fake and do not reveal much information on the app store. Going through the reviews and ratings will help you with deciding whether the app is useful to you and secure.
Number of Downloads
An app with a high number of downloads is more likely to be genuine and secure. An app with 1 million downloads makes it evident that there is a positive buzz created around the app due to its usefulness and security. A security breach will be less likely in case of such apps since it will affect the wide customer base they have.
Also, due to its huge customer base, the developer will usually have the budget and resources to maintain the security of the app even if the threats surrounding the mobile app evolves. So, using only the most popular apps is an easy way to secure financial transactions or any type of transaction on mobile devices.
Find the vendor or developer
App store shows the contact details of the vendor/developer of the app. Find and learn their security and privacy policies. Check whether your information is used for any other purpose and what are the purposes of sharing user data with third parties, if they are doing so.
Granting Permissions
Do you have a habit of granting all the permissions asked while getting the app installed on your device?
Due to convenience, users have the habit of granting all the permissions without checking what are they and whether they are really needed while installing a new app on their device!
While granting all the permissions allows users to explore the features of the app, granting unwanted permissions may put you in trouble. Asking permission to access the camera or social media accounts may be appropriate for a video editing app. Messaging apps like WhatsApp asks permission to access your messages and contacts. But, a mobile app that in no way is designed to make a call or send messages or email to people is asking for access to contact list may be inappropriate, especially if the app was downloaded from untrustworthy sources.
So, make sure that only the appropriate permissions are granted while installing the app.
2. Strong Password Protection
The first thing a user does in his new mobile is setting up a security password/pattern lock. The reason may be privacy more than security.
A strong password is a better way to protect your device. Nowadays, most of the smartphones are enabled with at least one of these features like facial recognition, iris scan, and fingerprint etc to secure mobile devices, restrict unwanted people accessing them and protect all types of transactions that will be done using the devices. These features offer more security and protection for your devices than a PIN or password can offer.
3. Keep your software updated
You must ensure that software on your devices is up to date. Updating software regularly ensures more security, and since they often fix security vulnerabilities from time to time, hackers will not be able to use them to their advantages.
4. Transactions only through secure mobile websites
In some cases when you have no computer to access online shopping portals to do some shopping and there are no apps available on the App Store to help you with it, you will be forced to use the mobile version of their website. In such cases, using only a secure HTTPS connection to access the website will be the first step to secure your transactions. This is a guarantee that any data passed between your device and the server are only shared between these two machines. Always check whether there is a padlock icon before dropping items to the shopping cart. The padlock symbol usually means that the transactions are protected and the webpage is secure. This also means that you should not be doing financial transactions through websites that do not have the padlock symbol on the address bar or on the top of the screen in case of mobile devices.
5. Don’t pass sensitive information through public Wi-Fi
Any information sends through public Wi-Fi can be accessible by those who have access to the network. So, use only your phone’s cellular network or your home’s password-protected internet connection for doing secure financial transactions.
6. Check bank statements and mobile charges
The majority of identity theft cases and cybercrimes involve financial fraud. So check your bank statements regularly and immediately report if there is any suspicious activity. Authentication through fingerprint can be enabled for banking apps on top of PIN or passwords authentication, allowing you to maintain more security for your financial transactions.
The Bottom Line
As technology is advancing, more techniques and methods and deployed to secure financial transactions. But, frauds and thefts are also on the rise as culprits are leveraging the same technology advancement. It may not possible to prevent all fraudulent transactions and data theft. These are some of the tips you can follow and invest in some type of protection to some extent.
An era without software seems to have been a millennium ago. We are used to software like never before. Be it creating a meeting appointment or switching on your air conditioner before you get home, software is an integral part of our life.
What is the future of app development and what will be the role Microservices Architecture?
Traditional software development has been following a monolithic approach. Any change will require the whole system to be updated. For example, if you run an ERP software and you want to make a change to the purchase module only, you’ll have to upgrade the rest of the software as well. It’s a single code base with multiple modules bundled together. However, this approach brings in a lot of disadvantages
Over a period of time, this becomes complex and impossible to manage.
Developers find it difficult to understand.
Modules are tightly coupled, eliminating the possibility of reuse.
Increases the risk of failure.
Testing is slow due to the higher amount of regression to be performed.
IDEs and Web servers tend to get overloaded due to monolithic code.
A high degree of coordination is required to scale development.
Results in long term lock-in of technologies.
Difficult to scale the application.
The result is that it takes ages to develop and deploy even small releases or bug fixes causing huge expenses and missed market opportunities.
The smartphone revolution in the latter part of the last decade has placed cutting edge software in the hands of the consumers. People are using mobile apps for everything they do – shopping, health, entertainment, work and securing their home. Every enterprise out there is looking to woo the consumers and get a share of the pie. Global IT spend is expected to touch $4 Trillion in 2022 after factoring in the expected decline in 2020 due to COVID-19 situation.
In today’s dynamic and competitive market, it is all the more important for software providers to be able to quickly and continuously release product updates and bug fixes. And where the traditional methods fail to deliver, newer ideas like Microservices are taking centre stage.
What are Microservices?
Microservices, by definition, is an architectural style in which the application is a collection of loosely coupled services. In Microservices architecture, a large application is divided into small modular services and have the following characteristics –
Services are technology agnostic and use light weight protocols to communicate.
Services are organised around specific business capabilities.
Services are small in size, autonomously maintainable and independently deployable.
Services are built and released with automated processes.
What are the advantages of Microservices?
The advantages of breaking an application into different smaller services are numerous.
1. Modularity and simpler development
Each Microservice is a small module. Hence it is easy to understand, develop and test.
2. Scalability
Microservices are implemented and deployed independently of each other. Since they are independent processes, they can be monitored and scaled independently.
3. Empowered teams and distributed development
Microservices can be developed, deployed and scaled in parallel by small autonomous teams. Each team is empowered to make architectural decisions. The architecture of each service evolves independently to achieve the best results.
Microservices architecture helps with building and deploying application faster.
4. Build and deploy faster
Microservices architecture employs continuous integration, continuous delivery and deployment. This significantly reduces time to market and human errors.
5. Isolation of services and reduced risk of failure
Since Microservices are modular and independent, there is a reduced risk of overall system failure. Isolated services are easier to debug and fix.
6. Freedom to try different technologies
Since Microservices are technology agnostic, each service could be implemented in a different technology, whichever is best suited to the business function being performed. Sometimes, the choice could be based on the knowledge levels of available developers. A service written in Node.js works harmoniously with one written in Go. The focus is on implementing the business capabilities and not technology.
7. No long-term lock-in of technologies
Microservices are sufficiently small and independent. Hence it is easy to implement a service in new technology and replace the old one when the technologies become obsolete. It is easy to upgrade without impacting the system.
Companies like Amazon, Netflix, eBay, Coca-Cola, PayPal, Walmart, Spotify and many more have refactored their applications into Microservices. We are seeing deeper integration of microservices offerings in Google Cloud, AWS and Azure. AWS Lambda is a great example of serverless microservices. Microservices style of architecture is gaining traction quickly as the preferred method of implementing applications throughout industrial verticals. Companies are embracing innovation to increase the efficiency of product teams and reduce development and deployment times. With its rapid adoption rate, it is predicted that Microservices will become the default architecture for applications in the years to come.
Erik Ries who wrote the bestseller The Lean Startup says that the best strategy to dive into the Product-Market fit is by rolling out a Minimum Viable Product(MVP) and continuously iterating the same based on user’s feedback. This is the exact opposite to what we do today which is to release with what we think is our final and perfect product to the public.
This is not a wise idea!
“If you are not embarrassed by your first release, you probably spent too much time on it”
Here are the 5 most important rules for building a successful Minimum Viable Product(MVP).
5 Most important rules of building a successful MVP
1. Learning must be your goal!
MVP is the version of a new product which allows the team to gather a maximum amount of validated learning about the customers with the least amount of time and money. Your concept must be genuine. If you cannot explain it clearly and simply, don’t expect that your customers will understand it.
The important point is that you must have a clear idea about what you want to learn from this feedback. What problem your MVP is going to be addressed? Are your customers really like your idea or not? What is the important feature you would like to have on your product to solve the problem which you are planning to address? The problem you are choosing to get answers is the most important thing and chose it smartly to validate the results in build, measure and learn product building ecosystem.
2. Do not waste too much money
The whole idea behind building a minimum viable product is that you get a chance to review and improve your product before you are pouring a lot of money into it. So, you don’t need to release a full-fledged version of your product and instead, please concentrate on the main problem you are planning to get resolved or your core idea. It must be a cheap and not time-consuming solution to get feedback from your customers. You can choose the best-suited one from the different types of MVP.
3. Choose your target customers wisely
You will face more difficulty in finding the right customers if your proposed solution is more innovative. It’s not necessary that your proposed solution must be for everyone! You can share your MVP with the same people from your professional network who find passion in new ideas, give honest and constructive feedback. I am sure that they will give you an impartial opinion about the questions you are asking and will be the entry point to a wider section of your targeted customers.
4. Test, test, test and more test
If your assumptions are not correct, then there is a great chance that your MVP is going to be a disaster. Avoid it at any cost. The best way to get it is to test our MVP more and more. Your thinking will not always be the same as what the customers are actually looking for. Instead of assumptions, it’s always better to find an answer and validate every hypothesis even if it looks good. The more feedback you get through testing, the more you are closer to your customers’ needs and goals.
5. Changes make your product fantastic
“ Everybody has ideas, however, what really matters is having ideas to solve real problems” – Orkun Ozbatur
Our ideas and views are so dear to us so much so that we always have a tendency to avoid the actual feedback from the customers. Most of their feedback might not be in align our ideas. This is the prime reason that many products are ended up by using very fewer people apart from us. The thumb rule is that if your product needs to be successful in the market, it must be liked and used by the real customers not us. It’s anytime a good idea to develop one which the customers love and are ready to spend their hard-earned money on it.
If you want to be a winner, you must have a good user experience for your apps. Major game changers in the field like Facebook, Apple and Google invest a lot of time and energy on user experience and they are very keen on building a UX team. It is their secret mantra for success and brand value.
But, except these powerful companies, many take the least interest in building a good user experience team. It’s because of this reason that the market is flooded with poorly user experienced products and services which are costing trillions of dollars in US e-commerce domain alone.
“88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.” – Justin Mifsud, Usability Geek
It’s at this point that a well-known usability method called “Heuristic Evaluation” is coming into the picture.
Heuristic Evaluation
Heuristic Evaluation is a stage in the product development process where few usability experts evaluate the usability of the product interface against a checklist of 10 accepted principles called Heuristics. This can be done throughout the product development life cycles to make sure that the designed solution satisfies all the expectations from the real user’s point of view.
After the evaluation is done, the usability experts submit a list of their usability findings to the product development team. The Product manager can then instruct his team to incorporate those suggested recommendations on their product. If properly incorporated, this will resolve around 80% of the usability issues of the product.
Heuristic Evaluation vs usability testing
Please do not confuse Heuristic Evaluation with usability testing. While Heuristic Evaluation is done by product development usability experts with accepted guidelines, usability testing is something that we give a task to the potential user and then observing how he or she is moving around the product with the tasks in hand.
When to do a Heuristic Evaluation?
It’s better to do Heuristic Evaluation at the early stage of the design process of your interface. If you do it early, you will get good usability opinion before the actual users are exposed to it. The more complex the user interface becomes at the later stage, the more difficult it will be to incorporate the feedback. It will also be at the cost of time and money.
If your product team is delivering stuff through SCRUM methodology, Heuristic Evaluation will be very handy for the product owners to design their sprints and prioritize the user stories accordingly. Normally the evaluators present the list of their findings on priority order. This will help the sprint team to get the works done on priority and thereby can reduce the chances of skipping the deadlines.
Why do a Heuristic Evaluation?
Heuristic Evaluation is the most practical and cost-effective usability technique compared to other methodologies which are time-consuming and costly. While developers are busy with developing the product, the experts can evaluate the product at each sprint and give their opinion to the team. Then the team can incorporate the suggested opinions and present back a much better product for review to the usability experts. It goes on until a well-refined product is delivered to the public for their use.
Heuristic Evaluation does not mean that you do usability testing at all! In fact, both can be used in parallel to find out the hidden usability issues which otherwise would not have been possible in the routine development process. You can use various usage reports to evaluate the effectiveness of the Heuristic Evaluation you have implemented on the product. If you can spot some trends on the usage reports, you can concentrate on that part for a Heuristic Evaluation.
Conducting a Heuristic Evaluation
You can select any user interface for a Heuristic Evaluation. Even if it’s a rough sketch, wireframe or a final high-fidelity layout, all these can be used for the evaluation. That is the best part of it. The only condition is that it must somehow showcase the same features and functionalities which you are going to be released to the market. It’s not a one-time evaluation but it’s a continuous iterative process.
It’s always better to use three to five evaluators to do it. This will give you a comprehensive picture of different viewpoints. Instead of using the product team members, it’s always better to use people from outside the team belonging to different professional backgrounds and age groups. This will give you different feedback from the real customer point of view of using the features which might have been downplayed by its own product teams.
After the selection of evaluators, we can proceed for inspecting the interface. Let each evaluator come up with their own exclusive feedback. In this way, we will be able to a get unique viewpoint of each of them. Observers can be deployed to assist the evaluators in case if they need any clarification about the design. Their evaluation is based on Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design which are regarded as the basics for creating a better product from the usability perspective.
They compare the design against each of these rules and record their findings for future analysis and implementation.
After the evaluation, the evaluators can sit together and discuss their findings. They can reach on some common grounds and the differences can be settled amicably. This will also help them if they had overlooked any functionality or not. They can collect all their findings together and prioritize them. Then the product manager or owner can come to the picture and can discuss those findings along with the evaluators. This will give valuable information to the product managers on how they can enrich their designs and if they have any questions; they can get it answered from the evaluators on the spot.
“Care for happy customers, and the money will follow.” – Stefan Freimark, Interactive Tools
If your company is not doing Heuristic Evaluation, it’s high time to do it now as it is very cost-effective and one of the best ways to fix most of the usability issues of your product. It is better late than never! Most of the products we use are built with business goals in mind, forgetting the user’s goals and needs. A minor investment in UX design and evaluation will lead to a massive return for businesses
Are you looking for a heuristic evaluation consultant? Contact us now!
There’s no stopping Covid-19 now. It’s spreading like wildfire. Any city or country, you name it, and you will find several positive or suspected Covid-19 patients there.
Speaking to Time magazine, Richard Kuhn, a virologist and professor of science at -Purdue University, informed that if the health officials had taken action earlier and contained the outbreak within Wuhan, things would not have escalated to this level.
So, now the question is how to control this pandemic that threatens to take the whole world under its wraps?
Sure, lockdowns and curfew imposed by many governments are helping us control the viral transmission of this global pandemic, to a very higher degree. But then is this enough?
Not until the health sector world over starts relying more and more on smartphone apps, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to fight the spread of coronavirus. These technologies are widely being used in a variety of industries, such as retail, banking, and more. High time the health industry takes note of it and starts applying technology to their industry.
Leveraging this technology might help stop the spread of this pandemic right in its track.
Consultancy for Covid-19 through apps
Currently, people who are suffering from fever, cough, and shortness of breath meet the doctor in person. This means, they visit the doctor at a clinic or hospital, and thereby transmits the virus to all those who came in contact with – it could be the doctors, nurses, other patients, and more.
Instead, if such patients stay at home and connect with the doctor via an app, and describe their symptoms, the doctor will be able to treat him accordingly. Given that the suspected patient doesn’t move out of his house, he is not exposing others to the virus.
Case study
In Singapore, nearly a million people have used the telehealth app called – MaNaDr. About 20% of physicians offer different services via this app. Patients were getting pre-screened on MaNaDr and advised to be at home if the symptoms were not severe. However, the patient reports to the doctor every evening to keep him posted about his condition. If the latter feels that he is getting sicker, then an ambulance is ordered to take him to the hospital.
This kind of virtual monitoring makes it easier for the doctors to treat patients and also puts less pressure on the hospital that is already facing resource crunch in the wake of Corona spread. More than anything, consultancy apps avoid transmitting the virus to others.
Covid-19: Tracker Apps
Worried that its healthcare system would collapse in the face of coronavirus scare, India has gone on a complete lockdown mode – which is being now termed as World’s Largest Coronavirus Lockdown. Not surprisingly, the tech community is keeping itself busy in developing different apps that could help control the spread of the pandemic.
CoWin-20
The soon to be launched app, CoWin-20, would most likely help users find if they came in close contact with people infected with the virus. Plus, it would also be able to tell you if you’re in an area with a high number of infected cases. The app most likely determines this by scanning the database of infected people and checking individuals’ travel history.
Co-Win is currently being tested on both iOS and Android.
Corona Kavach
This is yet another app being launched by the Indian government. Currently available in beta version, the app, Corona Kavach, would helps users check if they have crossed paths with patients who have tested positive for the virus. Plus, it keeps you posted with the latest details on the community spread of Coronavirus through the user’s location.
Covid Symptom Tracker app
This new app launched by British researchers of Kings College London will help track the symptoms related to the Virus, allowing people to self-report their condition daily. The app, according to a Techcrunch report, will measure temperature, tiredness, and symptoms such as headaches, breathing problems, coughing, and more. If the user is showing signs of Covid-19, a testing kit will be sent home to understand the symptoms better. Further, it will help parse between mild coronavirus from seasonal coughs and colds, which currently may be making people to self-quarantine unnecessarily, or inadvertently infecting people.
Covid News, Tips and Alerts Apps
WHO MyHealth
With the Covid-19 pandemic taking its toll world over, people are already on their tenterhooks. But what’s making the situation even worse is misinformation being communicated about this virus through Whatsapp forwards and all, creating further panic among people.
To combat misinformation, the World Health Organization is gearing up to launch an official Android, iOS, and Web app, called WHO MyHealth, for news, tips, alerts, and more to keep you updated about the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article is written by Jennifer Warren, a Content Crafter with GoodFirms , a research and review platform for service and software companies. The company provides a curated list of top mobile app development companies, top writing service companies among many others.
Whether you’re a retailer or restauranteur, bringing customer experience to the next level is a linchpin when it comes to fostering your company’s growth. This is why implementing a powerful POS is crucial to unlock your business’s full potential.
While there are plenty of tried and tested POS solutions in the market, customer demands constantly change, which prompt developers to incorporate new functions that keep up with the times. Below are some POS software trends that you should watch out for and try yourself:
1. Cloud-based POS
One of the largest developments in pos technology is the ability to host your system via cloud. According to Forbes, cloud-based POS software is amassing the market’s interest and adoption, thanks to significant advantages in expenses, usability, flexibility and performance.
It’s true. A cloud-based POS system offers both mobility and versatility. For instance, you want to find out when your enterprise’s slow season falls. Your POS system can determine the exact dates for you, thanks to past sales reports stored in the cloud.
Because data is also saved online, this enhances your system’s security, making it more robust against the most dangerous mobile security threats. Information is saved efficiently and automatically on the cloud, so you no longer have to break a sweat about back-ups.
2. Integration with other systems
Integrated POS solutions fuse the advantages of a sophisticated cash register and completely combines it with the back-office system. A fully integrated POS system will oversee both transaction and inventory, which means that all related data to client and stock information can be retrieved from a central database, which is run and updated by an enterprise resource planning system.
As stocks are sold, levels are simultaneously updated, which results in more productive stock holding management. This trend also works for organizations with multiple branches. Such grasp over inventory dodges stock shortages, which leads to lost sales and customers. As a bonus, reports and analytics on stock sales can also be released with information regarding bestsellers, seasonal demands as well as other relevant information.
As for customer information, an integrated POS paves way for loyalty programs and special offers to be awarded to particular customers. Everything about POS is centred on enhancing customer relations. Connecting customers in the system also enable enterprises to extract consumer data, which leads to more effective advertising, enhanced company-customer relations, ensured customer satisfaction and customer retention.
3. Strategic staff management
Modern pos systems have cutting-edge features that provide advantageous gains on superintending staff. POS software trends that focus on mobility are vital since mobile apps exist to enhance staff interaction.
Empowering your employees to regulate their shifts and schedule through an easy-to-use platform grants them a better work-life balance. This is especially important since employee loyalty is declining. According to Tiny Pulse, 43% of workers are inclined to leave their jobs for a 10% salary raise, due to feeble company cultures.
Organizing staff schedules to keep up with peaks and valleys of customer flux will guarantee that you’re fully staffed during busy periods while seeing minimal inactive time during slow periods. This also makes distributing payroll easier and should provide you monitoring capacity to make sure there are no missed hours.
For restauranteurs, modern pos systems can easily integrate production metrics for staff, from working hours in comparison to serviced tables to transactions completed during their shift, which grants you a better grip on staff costs while encouraging them to exert their best performance.
4. Mobile or tablet POS
Of all POS software trends, this rises on top of the list, especially when it comes to restaurants. Driven by an increased motive to enhance customer service, expand sales and cut down costs, restaurateurs are applying mobile or tablet-based pos solutions to broaden service range and upgrade traditional terminals.
The future of POS terminals lies in tablet-based pos. When equipped with these devices, diners’ orders can be swiftly and directly transmitted from table to kitchen. Customers can also use these tablets to review their orders on their tables. Rather than handing their cash or card to a server and going through the front counter, patrons can also relish in the convenience brought by the pos solutions’ pay-at-the-table feature. Servers can also finish transactions tableside or diners can accomplish the task themselves if the tablets are integrated on their tables.
5. Increased control over inventory
One of the most important POS software trends includes inventory management. Most modern POS systems allow users to organize purchase taxes and construct divisions, inventory items, storage points and vendors. They also grant them the power to create and oversee acquisition orders, invoices, transfers, consumption, opening stock, file status as well as stock number. Besides this, stock posting processes and stock modifications can be done with a simple tap of a finger.
Don’t miss out
Old pos models are still useful, but because customer demands change, they can be quite restrictive for your business. Remember that your focus should be creating a unique customer experience so that your enterprise can only go nowhere but up. Make sure you don’t miss any of these trends and that you critically appraise and productively allocate your resources to prepare for them.
Are you looking for a most modern POS software for your restaurant business? Check out IvyPlex, a lightweight, Android POS based on the latest cloud technology and specially designed for restaurants and food courts.
IvyPlex is a complete restaurant POS system developed focusing on mobility and efficiency. This modern, cloud-based, Android POS system helps you with all the functions of running a restaurant business starting from ordering taking, order management, CRM and to billing and inventory management.
IvyPlex is a cloud-enabled Android POS system specially designed for restaurants and food courts.
IvyPlex uses the latest cloud technologies, making it one of the fastest, secure, reliable and affordable restaurant POS systems. Choosing Android as the platform for developing the product has helped us to meet our objective of offering mobility in the restaurant POS industry with a quality that is unmatchable considering the cost and features offered by the solution.
Why IvyPlex?
As a private technology firm that focuses on introducing innovative products in the market, the intention behind the development of IvyPlex or any other product could be profit. However, such product innovations are not driven by profit alone. As a firm that values a human-oriented approach and committed to making a positive impact in the industry, our products always have a touch of “Social Consciousness”.
The detailed study we conducted about the restaurant industry and the challenges faced by small to mid-sized restaurant owners compelled us to develop a comprehensive restaurant solution that focuses on mobility, efficiency, affordability and customer satisfaction.
In the US alone, there are over one million restaurants that are in operation today. While the food and drinks sales of the restaurant industry were somewhere around 42.8 billion in 1970, the figure crossed 745.61 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. The number of consumers who have visited a sit-down restaurant looks more promising and, the figures are close to 200 million in 2018 alone.
The restaurant industry has seen steady growth in recent years and, The Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) sits at 101.6 as of May 2019. Anything over 100 is considered a positive trend. Another study states, 91% of restaurateurs expect profits to increase in 2019.
A detailed study of these trends showed us that there is a growing market existing in the restaurant industry that we can explore. A further study revealed the number of challenges faced by restaurant owners and managers while running the business.
Scalability
Since the restaurant industry is on the path of growth and projected to grow further in the coming years, over 80% of restaurant businesses are adopting technology to accelerate their pace of growth. However, scalability is one of the biggest challenges faced in the restaurant industry.
To help restaurants with this challenge, we decided to leverage the advantages of the latest cloud technologies and develop a restaurant POS system that is scalable, reliable and affordable at the same time. Choosing a cloud server had other benefits like helping us to meet our objective of making the product mobile and secure than any other product currently in the market.
Cost
Some restaurants are still facing difficulties in adopting the latest equipment that will help them with running their business. One of the major reasons is the cost involved in buying new equipment and upgrading the existing equipment to current standards.
A report by Toasttab states, 47% of restaurateurs would repair or update their equipment if they had extra money on hand. Due to the increase in running the business, 16% of restaurant operators have had to halt hiring efforts to lower labour costs. And the higher cost has compelled 65% of restaurants to increase their menu price.
A restaurant solution that is reliable and affordable seemed the need of the hour in the restaurant industry.
Efficiency
A report by ToastTab states, 95% of restaurant owners believe technology improves their business efficiency. To facility various services and improve their efficiency and service quality, over 80% of restaurants have already started incorporating technology into their operation. Technology helps them to facilitate a wide range of services and functions like online ordering, booking of reservation and inventory management, and report making and analytics.
Such trends and factors prevailing in the market were the major things we took into consideration while developing IvyPlex. Studying such trends and data helped us to brainstorm the features of IvyPlex and enabled us to turn the product into an effective and comprehensive restaurant POS system.
Customer satisfaction
When someone dines out at a restaurant, the person is seeking an experience that he can enjoy the most. A study by Eventbrite states, 78% of Millennials are interested in spending their money on an experience like dining out at a restaurant than buying an item from a store. More and more restaurants are realizing this factor and they have started investing heavily on improving customer experience.
One of the objectives of the IvyPlex is to help such businesses who want to improve customer satisfaction. The mobility, speed and convenience offered by IvyPlex restaurant POS system are unmatchable in the industry. Since this modern POS system is developed focusing on mobility, the quality of customer experience is something that can be guaranteed without a doubt.
Guest experience
There are many ways to improve customer satisfaction. A study says that server handheld tablets help restaurants to improve the quality of guest experience. Facility for online reservation is another factor that determines the degree of customer experience.
As part of being a complete restaurant POS system, IvyPlex offers the option of a consumer app that helps the customers of a restaurant to reserve tables online, before arrival or on their arrival. The consumer app will feature the list of all services and products available at the restaurant and guests can order them directly from their smartphone.
Customer Relationship management
Studies show that more than 45% of diners eat outside multiple times a week. 20% of diners eat at a restaurant at least once a week. But, this doesn’t mean that people go to the same restaurant every time they decide to dine outside. They want to try out a new dish or enjoy a new experience every time they go outside, and it is for that experience they are spending their hard-earned money. However, there are means for a restaurant to attract repeated customers. Customer relationship management is one of them.
A study by Accenture finds that more than 83% of people are ready to share their personal information if it helped them to get personalized service. IvyPlex restaurant POS system lets restaurants collect personal details like name and contact number and use it to send special offers and discounts to their loyal customer directly from the product interface.
Adoptability
The restaurant industry has one of the highest turnovers. Training the new staffs every time someone leaves is a task that is heavy on resources. A study by Toasttab states that staffing is a major challenge faced by the majority of the restaurant while 35% of restaurants say training staff is a top challenge.
IvyPlex try to solve these challenges through its user-friendly interfaces and a workflow that can be followed by anyone who has read the basic instructions at least once.
Business friendliness
31% of restaurateurs update their menu every month. 24% of restaurants do it seasonally. The business-friendly approach adopted by IvyPlex restaurant POS system makes it easy for any types of restaurants to customize their menu on the go.
Reports generation and analytics
68% of restaurant businesses review sales reports regularly. 45% of them review labour reports regularly and, 32% regularly review menu reports.
The inbuilt features of IvyPlex POS system make it easy for restaurant owners and managers to generate automatic reports on sales, inventory and staff performance during any time of the day.
Other features
Shift details
IvyPlex restaurant POS records the shift details every time a shift commences and closes. The shift details include the amount of cash in the drawer, sales statistics, date and time of the shift and the person in charge of the shift. This innovative feature helps management with accounting and bookkeeping.
Staff perforce report
IvyPlex is an advanced restaurant POS system that can generate real-time reports on staff performance. This helps the restaurant management identify and reward their best performing staffs who are dedicated to their work.
Inventory report
IvyPlex is one of the few restaurant POS systems that come with inbuilt inventory management. This Android POS system keeps a track on inventory all day long. It helps the management to identify the fast-moving items in the menu and restock them before it’s run out of stock.
Sales report
The automatic sales report helps the restaurant management to know much crucial information like real-time data on sales, what times of day they are busy etc. If a business can identify during what time of the day they have a maximum crowd, they can deploy an extra workforce to take care of the extra demand.
Split bills
IvyPlex makes it easy for a restaurant to split bills and improve customer satisfaction. This modern restaurant POS system also has the feature to merge bills. Spilt bills can be paid using different modes of payment, cash for one bill and card for the other.
Different payment modes
Make payments via cash, credit/debit cards and mobile money. In the case of cash, POS staff can enter the amount collected and system prompts the change to be returned to the customer.
Kitchen Display System
IvyPlex is a dedicated restaurant POS system. It features a powerful Kitchen Display System (KDS) that can be used to display customer orders elegantly in the kitchen, bar, or at the location of your choice. This user-friendly KDS system also offers an option to print KOTs (Kitchen Order Tickets), complete orders just with a touch of the finger, and map orders to different stores based on category.
Have you seen cashiers at the supermarket making settlements so precisely at the billing stations?
Have you ever wondered how he does these operations so fast?
How he gets information about each and every item that we buy at the same station?
The answer is simple.
It is all done with the help of Point of Sale systems set up at their counters.
What is a Point of Sale System?
Point of sale system is an ultimate solution for every business owner to know which product sells the most, which customer buy frequently, how much inventory is on hand, what method is preferred by customers when paying (cash, credit card, debit card or mobile money) and how much is actually sell on a particular day.
Any retail-based operations require a Point of Sale (POS) System to record the customer and product activity. The purpose of every point of sale system is to provide this information to the business owner.
History of POS systems
The history of POS systems can be dated back to 1879 when the cash register was invented.
The first POS systems were introduced by IBM in the 1970s. Two of the early users of POS were the Pathmark supermarket stores in New York and New Jersey and the Dillards department stores in California. But, most retail establishments were still using old fashioned cash registers, or the new electronic cash registers, which were in the form of electric typewriters combined with calculators. In 1986, Gene Mosher explored the technology for his deli with the first graphical point of sale software. His invention featured coloured widgets and a touch screen interface. The EMV standard was established in Europe in 1993.
The first cloud-based POS system was introduced in the United Kingdom in 2002. In 2003, Mc Donalds, America’s largest restaurant chain, started to accept credit and debit cards.
In 2013, Papa Johns and Dominos pizza attributed over 40% of their sales to orders made online. In 2014, Panera bread allows guests to order through to self-serve kiosk systems. In 2015, the United States introduced EMV chip card technology.
Modern-day POS systems make it possible for businesses to complete and track store transactions.
How is POS set up?
The components of a POS system can be categorized into two.
The first is the hardware. Typically, this includes a cash drawer, a computer, a scanner and a credit card reader.
The second part is the software. The software is programmed to meet respective needs. In general, a database of the inventory is loaded into the software and tell the software the cost per unit and the number of units on hand.
In addition, if there are regular customers, their respective data can be loaded into the software too.
Once the hardware and software are installed and the databases updated, the system is ready to be used.
The Importance of POS
Points of sale are considered as strategic points in a business since it is where consumers make their purchasing decision.
Generally, POSs are set up at store exits to improve sales by persuading the leaving customers to make a purchase. However, marketers can change the location of the POS if they think doing so may attract more sales.
For example, it is usual for department stores to have POSs for individual product groups, such as appliances, electronics, and apparel. The staff at POS can assist the customers to choose the products that fit the customer needs along with helping them to complete the purchase.
Types of POS systems
There is a wide verity of POS system available in the market that varies from small POS units that can be used in a local store to a business that has stores across the country.
Smartphone Point-of-Sale (Mobile POS)
Smartphone POS services are a popular choice for businesses who need to be mobile. Some smartphone POS also offers basic inventory management and collecting customer information. Most of them are compatible with a receipt printer. The receipts can also be mailed directly to the customer.
This form of application can be used by street vendors, fair or event vendors, contract services, farmers market vendors or any other mobile services.
Tablet POS
Android and iPad based point-of-sale systems are increasingly popular since they are more affordable and you can often use a tablet that you have already invested on. When it comes to credit card processing, some tablet POS services offer it for “free” while others require you to pay a low monthly subscription fee. But the latter allows you to choose your own credit card processor. Many support compatible hardware such as bar code readers, cash drawers and tablet stand.
Terminal POS
Terminal point-of-sale systems are one of the most common POS systems. It is widely used by various types of businesses and people are most familiar with it. Even though most of the terminal POS systems use traditional hardware/software, they may still require access to the internet. They can also leverage the advantages of Cloud.
The businesses that use terminal POS mainly include large scale restaurants, retail chains, grocery stores, boutiques, electronic stores, antique stores, bookstores, salons of all kinds, spas etc.
Online Point-of-Sale
The advantage of online POS is that you can use your own hardware. Hardware might be a PC or a tablet. The startup costs are minimal in this case. Online POS is most suitable for businesses that are low-volume and high-ticket-price.
Common users of online POS: small retailers, art galleries, salons, small cafes, pet groomers, consignment stores, high-ticket retailers
Self-Service Kiosk POS
Most kiosk POS systems are designed with a specific purpose and are considered as specialized solutions. Businesses may use such self-service kiosk as a complimentary service to help their customers purchase movie tickets or booking parking space.
Common users of kiosk POS: transportation passes, patient check-ins, grocers, ticket sales, parking, product look-up, human resources
Android POS, IvyPlex
We have developed an app for POS solutions named IvyPlex.
With Ivyplex, we can take orders to tables, takeaway or delivery, and instantly display the orders at Kitchen Display Systems (KDS) or print KOTs (Kitchen Order Tickets) in the kitchen, bar or wherever it needs to be produced. We can also easily handle variations in the ordered items and tables to orders, collect customer details and offer discounts or promotions that drive sales and revenue. IvyPlex also has options to split bills, merge bills and make payments via cash, credit/debit cards and mobile money. Ivyplex POS system continues running even when the internet connection is down. Data is stored locally, and then automatically synced to the cloud as soon as the connection is online.
This Android POS app can handle operations in large food courts and bars, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and ice cream parlours.
With the backend website, we can keep up to date by, stock level management, inventory management, and view real-time reports on daily sales and stocks. This Android Point of Sale system keeps a track on all your sales in real-time – so you can see which products are selling, the busiest time of the day, and the best performer among the staffs.
Ivyplex is a POS system which can be used at terminals and in tabs.
Advantages of Modern POS systems
Cloud-based POS systems, also referred to as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or web-based, are Web-hosted solutions that store data on remote servers and make information accessible online. Some of the advantages of such modern POS systems are
1. Integrated Systems
Restaurants etc mostly need integrated POS solutions that can manage everything from online ordering to generating financial reports. Such demands can only be fulfilled by full-featured cloud-based POS system that has the potential to support all components of a business.
Advanced SaaS systems also feature customer relationship management (CRM) for restaurants solutions that allow restaurateurs to record and use the history of customer data to personalize loyalty programs, online ordering, and email marketing.
2. Data Accessibility
SaaS POS systems store data in the cloud. The benefit is that you can access the data and make changes from anywhere with internet access.
The other advantage of SaaS POS systems is that the workforce can be managed more easily. The number of staffs needed to be deployed at a site can be reduced since registers, reports and inventory etc. can be accessed without visiting the site. It also enables real-time viewing of data which means the number of uncertainties in hand is less.
3. Frequent Updates
Legacy POPS systems are updated manually. Since manual updating involves extra labour, the cost of maintenance of legacy POS system is on the higher side. This forces businesses to upgrade POS software only once in a year at best.
SaaS POS systems are hosted centrally. This helps the provider to implement updates remotely with little disruption to the end-user. Cloud-based solutions get bug fixes and updates faster than legacy systems.
4. Cost Efficiency
Web-based POS systems are more affordable and require fewer upfront costs than their legacy counterparts. The less complex installation, remote maintenance, inexpensive hardware etc. have helped to bring the cost to an affordable range.
5. Innovative Hardware
Mobile technology has revolutionized worldwide commerce. Food and service industry is no exception. Mobile POS systems 0pen up possibilities for restaurants and nightclubs to modernize their service. Cloud-based POS systems are more advanced than legacy POS systems as they can support mobile devices to perform more than one task at the same time as sending orders tickets to the kitchen while storing customer information in the cloud.
Future of POS systems
Cloud-based POS systems provide countless advantages over traditional POS systems. An increasing number of retailers are switching to cloud-based mobile point of sale solutions (mPos). These systems are hosted on the internet and have the capability to store all kinds of data. Remote accessibility offered by cloud-based systems helps businesses by managing all their operations from anywhere, at any time. This type of POS software is great for getting instant software upgrades, In-depth data analytics, data consolidation, and it integrates easily with third-party applications.
1. Biometrics
Biometrics are in use for at least a decade now. With the use of biometrics, signing into your bank account and unlocking our phone has become more simple and safe. The retail industry has gone one step ahead by businesses deploying biometrics technology as a way for their employees to logging into the POS system and enable self check-outs for customers.
Biometrics, along with fingerprints, voice recognition, and retinal scans, is becoming increasingly popular as a way to verify identity and confirm transactions in a secure manner.
This advanced technology reduces theft as employees can use only those cash register, they are authorized to access. Any errors or unauthorized access can be traced, and the culprit can be easily punished.
2. Employee Time Management and Payroll Reporting
Modern technology is a powerful tool for workforce management. Using the latest technologies, a business can easily identify the busiest hour of the day and deploy additional manpower if necessary. Similarly, labour costs can also be calculated at the backend, whenever needed. In this day and age, employees can clock in and out with a simple tap on a screen without the need for a punch clock. Payroll reporting is becoming increasingly automated as well.
3. Payment Security
The modern payment terminals have plenty of built-in security features. One of the biggest and most important features in recent years has been EMV card readers. EMV is the acronym for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa and enables safe and secure payments. EMV has become the worldwide standard for cards with computer chips.
The benefit of making payments using chips cards is that every transaction creates a unique transaction code, and these codes can be used to identify transaction/transaction during the event of fraud or theft.
Summary: Point of Sale System
A good POS system provides great information to a business owner. From daily sales volume to inventory information, all this data helps the business owner increase profits and reduce stress. With this information, a business owner receives many benefits including highly specialized intelligence. Along with processing customer transactions, modern POS systems help businesses to build a meaningful relationship with customers and ensure they are happy and loyal.
Nowadays, retail businesses integrate Android Point of Sale with the other technologies, including payment terminals, accounting software, employee scheduling tools, loyalty programs and expands their overall business and consumer relationship. One of the most liked features of POS system is that they help businesses to does away with the need for price tags. Each product will have a product code that is linked with a selling price so that by simply scanning the code, the cashier can help the customers to complete the purchase.
If you are in a search for a modern POS system for your business, check out IvyPlex, a cloud-enabled Android POS system designed and developed by AlignMinds.
Smartphones are widely used across the world today, hence the security threats are also widely spread. Our phones have become the most connected devices, at the same time the least secure. The security threats we face are those which we fail to notice and will be more hazardous in the near future. Let us look at some of the major security threats that every mobile user must be aware of.
Cryptojacking
Cryptojacking is defined as the secret use of your smartphone device by the attacker to mine cryptocurrency.
Cryptojacking used to be confined to the victim unknowingly installing a program that secretly mines cryptocurrency.
When using browser there is no need of a separate program to do the In-browser crypto-jacking.
The threat actor compromises a website
The crypto mining script executes when the user connects to the compromised website.
Users unknowingly start mining cryptocurrency on behalf of the threat actor
When successfully adding a new block to the blockchain, the threat actor receives a reward in cryptocurrency coins.
Insecure communications
The networks that you use to communicate are never fully foolproof, making your device vulnerable to attacks from malware. There are chances that hackers tend to set-up fake access points when you access Wi-Fi in public places such as coffee shops, airports, etc. The access points are named using nonexclusive names, which can fool even the most brilliant people.
It is always good to be cautious when connecting to public Wi-Fi. Use public Wi-Fi only if extremely required and never use it to access personal information like bank account access etc.
Mobile ransomware
A form of ransomware which affects only mobile devices is called mobile ransomware.
A cybercriminal uses mobile malware to steal sensitive data from smartphones or attempts to lock a device, before demanding payment to return the data to the user or to unlock the blocked device. Sometimes people may find some innocent content or some software through social networks, which they download accidentally and get tricked into downloading some malicious ransomware.
After the malware is downloaded onto a device, it will ask the user to pay an amount before encrypting files and locking the phone. After the payment is processed online, often via Bitcoin, the ransomware will send a code to unlock the phone or data.
While installing any app, make sure the app is downloaded from Google Play or App Store than from any third-party app stores.
Phishing attacks
A social engineering attack often used to steal user data, including login credentials and credit card numbers is called Phishing.
It occurs when an attacker fools the victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message by acting as a trusted entity.
User can play smart by not clicking any unfamiliar email links. Always enter URLs manually as much as possible.
SMS–based attacks
From the email world, the phishing has evolved into the SMS world. You get SMS texts and links that you are asked to open to authenticate certain information. To any novice user, the links and the sender would seem genuine. However, clicking on these links can make your device vulnerable to the attacks, and in turn, give away your confidential information. This is a developing security threat for your mobile device.
Botnets attack
A botnet is just a short form for the terms “robot” and “network”.
A botnet is a number of web-connected devices, each of which is running one or more bots. Botnets can be used to perform distributed refusing of service attack (DDoS attack), send spam, steal data, and allows the attacker to access the device and its connection.
A botnet attack firstly requires creating numerous botnets or a botnet army. Once the attack is initiated, these botnets are used to send network/Internet-based requests to the target system in a large quantity. These requests can be in the form of bulk email messages to simple ping messages. The attack can slow down the network/server, making it busy or unable for others to access it or temporarily freeze the server.
Distributed denial of service (DDOS) is a common example of a botnet attack that utilizes a number of botnet devices to send a large number of simultaneous requests/packets to the targeted system.
Installing effective antivirus/anti-malware software can protect your device from such attacks.
User & device authentication
Most mailing apps have provided the user & device authentication, which has allowed the user to store passwords, and their data on the devices. If the device is stolen, your authentication and the data will be at risk. This is one of the major threats to mobile devices, as they contain our valuable personal pieces of information.
The smartphone is a device that blurs the boundaries between professional and personal life and the users are up to three times more likely to be the victims of mobile threats. Safe browsing, identifying suspicious files or phishing emails, ensuring safe data access at public Wi-Fi networks, safe downloads are some of the important tips that a user must be careful about. Other than these security measures, several mobile security software is available to download from Google Play and App Store to ensure safety in your mobile devices.
Understanding these common security threats and implementing recommended solutions can help you protect data in your smartphone.
We are always having a massive amount of data to deal with today. A visual representation is more perfect to express the data in a more meaningful way.
D3 is a successor to the earlier Protovis framework by Mike Bostock and team. Rather than any other libraries, D3.js allows great control over the final visual result and hence can be considered as a flexible way for data visualization.
What is D3.js?
Based on the data provided, the JavaScript library D3.js, manipulates documents. D3 stands for Data Driven Document. D3 helps us to bring life to data by using HTML, SVG and CSS.
We can certainly point out that D3 efficiently focuses on interactions, transitions and transformations which are making it more impressive and thus providing some awesome features for interactions and animations.
Why D3.js?
D3 is told to be data driven as it can use static data or can convert and use it from different formats like Arrays, Objects, CSV, JSON, XML etc… so as to produce different types of charts. Document Object Model (DOM) can be manipulated according to our data with D3.
More than 1000 different charts of D3.js are available on this site. You can easily look and use them for the different graphs you required and can also make changes in codes to get desired graphs.
How to work with D3.js?
As D3 is written in JavaScript someone who has experience in basic JavaScript coding can easily understand and learn it.
If you use npm you can install it as, npm install d3
To link directly to the latest release, you can copy this snippet on to your code:
Now, as we have created the directive let’s call the directive on the component HTML template of angular. We can call the directive name ‘appPiechart’ within division where we require the chart.
Within the input properties ‘chartOption’ we are supposed to provide the data, colour and radius.
Easily we could create a pie and donut chart which is animated. Similarly, we can create many more charts with little effort. The wide availability of the different type of animated graph examples of D3 helps to put much effort into creating and modifying for better visualization.
Mobile application development has driven everyone into a state or period of uncontrolled excitement. As mobile phones are an important and obligatory part of daily life, 1000s of new mobile applications are released day by day both in Android and iOS. Yet only a handful will survive. It is not just the development of an application, moreover, it is a business. Let us have a brief study of the important points to remember for successful development and launching of the app.
It is always the vast idea that develops into a mobile application so each and every tiny point has to be focused on the good future of the app. As application development need to infect mobile phones all over the world, the development process has to be very systematic and should focus on various aspects. Here is the list of top 7 factors you should take care of during sustainable mobile app development.
Methodology
UI & User Experience
Functionality Testing
API Management
Mobile Content Management
Connectivity with Users
Promoting and Marketing the App
1. Methodologies
In the field of sustainable mobile app development or software engineering in general, methodologies mean a framework that is used by the development team to plan, structure and control the process of developing an information system. It is a process of splitting of development procedure into various phases with the aim of better planning and management.
Common methodologies include waterfall, prototyping, spiral development iterative, incremental development, rapid application development, extreme programming and several other types of agile methodology.
A variety of such frameworks have evolved over the years, each with its own recognized ups and downs. A particular methodology used to develop software is not necessarily suitable for use by all projects. Each of the available methodology frameworks is suitable to specific kinds of projects, each based on various technical, organizational, project and team considerations.
While going through various app development methodologies, it is seen that Agile development methodologies are more popular than other traditional development methodologies and I would like to describe the same over here.
2. Agile development methodology
Agile software development is a primary framework for undertaking software projects including mobile application. There are a number of agile development methodologies like Dynamic Systems Development Model (DSDM), Crystal Method and Scrum.
Most of the agile development methods try to minimize the risk by developing applications in short timeboxes, called ‘iterations’, which commonly last for one-four weeks. Each iteration is like a mini software project and includes all the tasks necessary to release the mini-increment of new functionality: planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, testing, and documentation. While each iteration will not include the functionalities to warrant releasing the product, an agile software project intends to be capable of releasing new product at the end of every iteration. At the end of each iteration, the project team re-evaluates project priorities.
Agile development methodology is a crucial factor in sustainable app development.
Agile development method mainly emphasizes on real-time communication, avoids written documents and prefer face-to-face communication. Most agile teams are located in a bullpen and include necessary manpower necessary to finish the application or software. At a minimum, this includes programmers and the people who define the project such as project managers, business analysts, or even actual customers. The bullpen may also include technical writers, interface designers, testers band management team. Agile methods also highlight working software as the primary measure of progress.
3. UI & User Experience
How to amplify user experience by improving accessibility, usability, and pleasure is what the user experience design tells.
Some of the main factors that influence the quality of user experience are listed below. These factors are also important in the case of sustainable mobile app development.
1. Visual design
The motive of visual design is to use elements like pics, symbols and colours to convey the message of application to users.
2. Information architecture
It is the fine art of organizing and structuring the information related to software product and services by supporting usability and findability.
3. Structuring, organization and labelling
Structuring is the process of relating building units of a mobile application to each other, where each building units contains basic information regarding them. Grouping these units into meaningful and well-defined manner is called organizing. Labelling is the process of using of appropriate wordings to assist easy navigation and findability.
As the mobile app is delivered to the hands of a wide range of users, user experience design plays a very important role as it enhances user satisfaction by improving usability, accessibility and pleasure provided in the interaction between a product and the user.
It is better to start by an MVP (minimum viable product) and test the same in a small circle nearly 500-1000 users depending on our mobile application. Before launching the final product, it is good to have feedback from MVP and small iterations will help to launch the final product.
As mobile app development is not a onetime process, it needs to continue upgradation and improvement. Even if it is a freelancer or a reputed company, a good relationship is very important until the releasing of the app.
Begin it with a brainstorming session of all your plans, ideas, and features and design the mockups of each screen. Mobile applications working on various platforms have different UI, so follow the particular UI guidelines for each platform. Share the demo app with maximum people so we can learn from the feedback and iterate the design till we are satisfied.
4. Functionality testing
Functional testing is a quality assurance (QA) method and a type of black-box testing which is based on various test cases on the specifications of the mobile application under test. Functions are tested by examining the output for various inputs and the thing is that the internal structure of the program is very rarely considered, not like in white-box testing. Functional testing explains what the system does and it tests a slice of the functionality of the whole application.
Don’t consider it as the final testing of the app and it is not the system testing of the same. Functional testing is different from system testing in such a way that functional testing verifies a program by checking it against design document(s) or specification(s), while system testing validates a program by checking it against the published user or system requirements.
Functional testing is of different types and is pointed below;
Smoke testing
Sanity testing
Regression testing
Usability testing
The procedure of Functional testing can be briefly concluded in six steps.
Realizing the functions that the software is expected to perform
Analyzing of input data based on the function’s specifications
Analyzing of output based on the function’s specifications
Executing all the test cases
Comparing actual outputs with the expected outputs
Check whether the application meets customer requirements.
5. API Management
API Management helps organizations publish APIs to external partner and internal developers to unlock the potential of their data and services. Businesses everywhere are looking to extend their operations as a digital platform, creating new channels, finding new customers and driving deeper engagement with existing ones. API Management provides the core competencies to ensure a successful API program through developer engagement, business insights, analytics, security and protection.
6. Connectivity with users, Promotion and Marketing the App
1. Customers are our press
End users are the backbone of any business and due to them, application developers enjoy continues rewards.
2. Leverage your mobile website
If we have a mobile website that attracts heavy traffic, it can be used for marketing and promotion of the app and also many other advantages in excess. These people are the ‘targeted group’ who will be happy to accept the app from birth. It is the one way to make the app spot to users.
3. Feature the App in an official blog
Writing a blog will be very useful to make the customers know about the whole story of the application. Tell them about the plus points and how it helps them make thing easier. Including pp links, videos and images will help to provide a good idea of the application.
4. Focus on emails
91% of people check their emails regularly. Take this chance by incorporating our app links into newsletters, customer service mails and it is better to use it in email signatures.
5. Consider alternative app stores
Do not depend only on google play store and app store for marketing our app, there are many other online market where we can upload our app. The study has revealed that if the app is submitted on other relatively less popular stores, it will increase expected downloads 200 percentage more compared to google play store.
There are few app stores that can be considered for marketing like,
GetJar
SlideMe
Opera Mobile Store
AppsLib
Amazon Appstore
AppBrain
6. SEO matters if you aim for sustainable mobile app development
Identify the best-targeted keywords that can rank for. Also, analyses which keyword your app is currently ranking on. Build some high-quality link accordingly to increase the rankings.
7. Join Entrepreneurs & Developers group on Social Medias
Let’s try to increase our visibility in communities like LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and various other Media to become better known among entrepreneurs, app developers and users. We can build a correlation among them by discussing features, bug fixes, future updates etc. It allows an opportunity to boost our apps without spending a cent. It is also important to know about App Store Optimization (ASO) which also work similarly based on search relevance, keyword relevancy and keyword density.
The mobile application market is exponentially evolving along with the invention of new technologies, so it is important and inevitable to follow the path of sustainable mobile app development in order to deliver productive outcomes to the end-users including businesses and costumers.
Are you looking for a reputed mobile application development company to implement your next project? AlignMinds is an award-winning company with more than 10 years of success in the field. Contact us now!.
Rapid Mobile Application Development (RMAD) was introduced by the analyst firm Gartner which allows the business professionals to build and deliver cross-platform business apps quickly and easily increase efficiency and time. It is the mobile equivalent of Rapid Application Model (RAD) which is based on the concept that high-quality software can be built faster through much convenient process such as early prototyping, reusing the software components etc.
5 Advantages of Rapid Mobile Application Development Model (RMAD)
1. Speedy delivery of apps
Over the past 5 years, we have seen a drastic increase in the number of apps along with growing demand for quicker and more efficient apps. With the growing demands and building the apps in a short time, we have seen the failure rate has also increased throughout the creation, deployment and management of mobile applications.
Most of the companies increased spending time and resources for the development of the mobile applications, however in many cases after spending a lot of time and resources for building an app, there is no guarantee that it will be used by more users. In addition to this, new technologies are introduced at a lightning speed, forcing business to introduce them to remain in the market.
Under these circumstances, many of the companies have come forward with Rapid Mobile App Development.
2. No code or development with little code
The main problem of the app development was the time taken and the resources needed for the creation of the app.
Rapid Mobile App Development eliminates most if not all coding when comes to the creation of an app. This codeless platform makes it possible for everyone, whether they have experience with coding or not, to build an app in a simple platform. Thus, the severity involved in creating an app that would have taken months for completion has been reduced to mere minutes. That’s why the name RMAD, in which a non-developer can also create and deploy the app quickly and in a short time.
3. Organizational Benefits
Once a company knows how to handle different projects created with RMAD platforms they can truly experience some of the best benefits. It is said that about 94 per cent of the project either fail or the budget may be high, behind schedule or behind expectation. RMAD can help IT departments to meet their required quality and meet the project deadlines.
Also, it creates a common language between the IT department executives which increases the co-operation among the employees which can boost the company in their process.
4. Better Software development
One of the benefits of RMAD is better software development since it can make use of the readily available software components. The prototype development which starts in the early phase acts as a framework and the same can be set up on existing projects or parts of the projects. This reduces the time for the creation of the app from scratch which reduces the cost and time.
Rapid Mobile Application Development allows the developers to follow the Rapid prototyping model, in which a prototype is created with minimum requirement analysis and once the actual requirements are clearly understood the prototype is discarded and actual system is developed with a clear understanding.
5. Management of apps created in RMAD
We have seen above that RMDB increases productivity and build the apps quicker than earlier. If an organization uses the RMDB to create few apps, managing the whole apps is not a big challenge, but if a company creates numerous apps with a short time, suddenly they get piled up and it will be very difficult to manage. Business who use RMDB should keep in mind about this problem, and the solution for this is an enterprise mobile application management platform.
With this platform, a business can easily manage and keep track of all their apps, who should use and when it should be used. With these benefits, it will lead more people to use the apps and will have better investment in return.
Are you looking for a reputed mobile application development company to implement your next project? AlignMinds is an award-winning company with more than 10 years of success in the field. Contact us now!.
Every software companies always tend to have an increasing interest in cross-platform applications since they have dramatically reduced the amount of resources required to build mobile apps.
React Native applications stands at the top when comes to cross-platform apps.
React Native has tremendous possibilities in designing the user interface of an application.
The main time-consuming process for building an app is its user interface. Many third-party libraries and UI toolkits are now available to help you build next level React Native application.
Let’s see some possibilities of React Native UI designs.
1. NativeBase
NativeBase is the most popular and widely used library. It provides a wide range of cross-platform UI components for React Native.
Nativebase is 100% open source.
One of our main goal with NativeBase 2.0 is to make it easy to theme the components with very little changes to the components themselves.
Nativebase is built with blocks called components. The Components are constructed in pure React Native platform along with some JavaScript functionality with a rich set of customizable properties. They are constructed in pure React Native platform along with some JavaScript functionality with a rich set of customizable properties. These components allow you to quickly build the perfect user interface.
Building a button using normal React Native code on left and with NativeBase on right
NativeBase includes components such as anatomy of your app screens, header, input, buttons, badges, icon, form, checkbox, radio-button, list, card, actionsheet, picker, segment, swipe-able list, tabs, toast, drawer, thumbnail, spinner, layout, search bar etc.
Each of these components in NativeBase is made with a better version of the same component in its native part.
After finding out about NativeBase we found ourselves using it in every app we develop.
For example, we used it in various screens in Referr app, a mobile application that helps users to win points and gift cards by recommending local businesses to their friends and family. Titles of every screen were made with NativeBase { Header, Title }. This helped us in saving a lot of time and effort.
We use NativeBase Header component in Referr to make a better feel in UI and to reduce time and effort.
2. React Native Elements
React Native Elements is another cross-platform React Native UI toolkit. It is completely built-in JavaScript and is very much easy to use. React Native Elements also supports Expo. Every component in React Native elements is customizable. You can change the basic colour, size, fonts etc. for each component.
With React Native Elements, coding becomes much simpler. If you want to create a button component, it is as easy as the below code.
import { Button } from’react-native-elements’;
React Native Elements also gives a wide collection of icons. It has all the social icons that a developer needs in the current scenario.
3. React Native Material UI
React Native Material UI provides highly customizable material design components for React Native. To make more customized components, React Native Material UI is using a single JS object the uiTheme. By default, it is a light theme that can be changed easily.
Installing React-native-vector-icons helps to unveil the full potential of React Native Material UI. React-native-vector-icons has wide support for icons. It helps to easily change the primary colour of the application.
4. UI Kitten
React Native UI Kitten is a mobile framework with a set of easily customizable elements. Despite there are a lot of standalone react-native components nowadays, there are not so many frameworks that offer you a wide set of commonly used components as a single dependency with similar UI design.
For instance, in Web Development there are CSS frameworks like Bootstrap that allows you to add dozens of nice-looking elements. You can also style them according to your corporate guidelines by just changing variables.
UI Kitten framework attempts to fill this gap.
All components are flexible and can be customized. It aims at boosting your mobile application development and allows you to focus on business logic instead of view composition. It helps you to bring your MVP to life in a shorter period of time.
Using React Native UI Kitten you will be able to create style configurations of components that you use the most (buttons, inputs etc.). These styles can be reused then in the process of development. Configure them once and use anywhere!
For example, below code showcases how to build a button using UI kitten.
Nachos UI is a React Native component library. It has almost 30 customizable UI components. Nachos UI Kit is coded with Avocode which is a fully-featured tool to share, hand-off and inspect Photoshop and Sketch designs.
Nachos UI also works on the web with the help of React Native Web. It also has Prettier which is an opinionated JavaScript formatter. It also uses Jest Snapshot Testing. Nachos UI is so easy to use. For example, let’s look into an example of building a simple slider.
import { Slider } from ‘nachos-ui’
const Example = ({ value, handleOnChange }) => {
return (
)
}
Conclusion
For every developer, his main aim is to build his application with impressive UI in a limited time frame. When I stepped into React Native, a most difficult milestone for me to pass was to build the user interface for an application. Because this took me a lot of time and effort to offer my client an effective solution with a mind-blowing interface. But now, with these predefined and customizable UI components, the styling of the user interface is made a lot easier. I suggest you should try at least one of these UI components in your next project.
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Accelerated Mobile Pages is an Open Source Initiative to overcome the slow and frustrating experience of web pages and to provide fast mobile experience. Google together with other publishers and technology companies found this solution – AMP Project to bring the whole internet to your mobile really fast – be it images or videos. AMP is a fantastic approach to make the mobile web faster.
How does Accelerated Mobile Pages work?
AMP basically has three components
1. AMP HTML
These are a subset of HTML designed to create “reading” contents than interactive contents. This strips out most of the elements that make the app pages load slowly in mobile devices.
2. AMP JS
It strips down third-party JavaScript and manages resource handling and asynchronous loading.
3. AMP CDN (Content Delivery Network)
Cache and optimize AMP-enabled pages for better performance.
Pros and Cons of AMP
Pros of AMP
Instant speed
Increased performance and reliability
Increased customer visits
Excellent support for ads
Improved ranking
Cons of AMP
Rewrite your template to accommodate the restrictions (like, CSS must be inline and less than 50 KB).
A custom amp-imp element must be used for images and width and height must be included explicitly.
Custom tag amp-video must be used to embed videos via HTML 5. Amp-YouTube must be used to embed YouTube videos.
Is using Accelerated Mobile Pages good or bad?
Performance is crucial for a website to be successful. If the web pages cannot load fast, the user will simply leave your website and try somewhere else.
AMP provides the free flow of information and works faster and better for everyone and everywhere. However, it comes with the cost of removing sometimes your most desired piece of code because AMP does not allow some form elements and third-party JavaScript as they really slow down your pages.
Therefore, for the developers who are interested in exposing their website features to the fullest, rather than relying on a stripped-down version of their code, there are so many performance gauging tools available online that provide recommendations on how to improve performance. It provides you with a list of blocking JavaScript files, large-sized images, resources requesting for an HTTPS connection, the order of display of items in your web page and every other information that is required to improve your website’s performance.
Instead of using AMP to shorten your piece of code, focus on finding slow areas that affect your app performance and think of ways to fine-tune and optimize your code. You won’t end up displaying the stripped-down version of your code and can utilize the power of your website to its fullest. In other words, AMP is not of much importance for developers who aim for code optimization and for those who are not interested in integrating a third-party concept to their code.
Not a long time ago, Google had only two operating systems.
Android OS
Chrome OS.
Later, Google developed a new operating system called ‘Fuchsia’.
What is Fuchsia?
Fuchsia is a cross-device, cross-platform and open-source operating system from Google. The Android and Chrome OS are based on Linux kernel, whereas Fuchsia is based on a new microkernel called ‘Zircon’(derived from operating system ‘Little Kernel’). Zircon is previously known as Magenta. Fuchsia is written in the mix of languages C, C++, Dart, Go, Python, Rust, Shell and Swift. The initial release was on 15 August 2016 on GitHub.
Advanatages of Fuchsia
1. Free and open source
Fuchsia is developed as an open source program. Which means that the licesnse is available for free to developers.
2. Graphical User Interface
Fuchsia currently provides two different layouts, mobile design called ‘Armadillo’ and the traditional desktop design known as ‘Capybara’. The mobile design will drop the App Drawer and a shortcut model for a combined view of all recent apps, quick settings, Google Feed etc. The desktop design is still work in progress, using a taskbar that contains only time at right side, a placeholder for quick setting, and something like the start button at left side.
3. Cross-device OS
In today’s world, almost everyone has multiple devices like phone, desktop, laptop, tablet etc., Google is attempting to run Fuchsia in all devices simultaneously. Maintaining progress and context are some of the challenges with this implementation. If you have signed in with your Google Account on Fuchsia, then your applications get saved automatically across all the devices that are signed in with the same account. In Fuchsia, Google uses ledger as distributed storage, and everything is stored in cloud.
4. Split-Screen Mode
Fuchsia provides another new feature called ‘Split-screen mode’. Split-screen mode occurs when we drag one app onto another app, then we will enter split-screen mode with those all merged apps by taking up the top and bottom portions as per our linking takes place. We can add any number of apps into this group in order to use them all at once.
5. Security
Fuchsia provides more security than Android as encrypted user keys are built into the software to ensure that the information is protected every time there is an update in the software.
Armadillo – Mobile layout
Capybara – Desktop layout
In short, Fuchsia is Google’s attempt to unite the entire digital world under a single operating system. Not only it will look the same across a range of devices like various digital gadgets, PC, mobile phones etc., it is also designed to better accommodate voice interactions and provide more frequent security updates. We have to wait and watch to see whether Fuchsia would replace Android and Chrome OS or it would just become a part of them.
In today’s digital world, it is essential to create websites and mobile apps that enhance your brand identity, boost customer engagement and drives more traffic for your business. The customers expect a lot many things from brands and one of them is great user experience. We need to understand the customer’s preferences before we start designing our product.
The product should be user-friendly, easy-to-use and efficient. It should be neat and interactive. Your page design, logo design, navigation, and colour selection should be well researched and user engaging.
It’s important to leverage the UI designing trends that keep changing at frequent intervals. The competition bar has raised and mere updating your apps and websites bi-annually will not take you to a favourable position.
So, here are some latest trends for designing the UI that you can follow to remain ahead in the race.
Top 7 UI Trends in 2020
1. Gradients
We can see them everywhere; in illustrations, UI elements, and text. We love gradients because they add realism and depth to the platform, the way we see everything in real life. That probably explains why elements with gradients feel more natural.
The gradient designs also provide scope for performing creative colour experiments on the layout of the mobile apps, in an attempt to make them vibrant and eye-catching. Next year will probably bring us many more apps and websites with bold colours and gradients mixed with transparency.
2. Typography
Typography is one important factor that helps us to make the best UI. There is a trend of using big “headings” with gigantic fonts in combination with a little bit of smooth animation. Even if there is only a little content, it will catch the attention of eyes.
Today, UI designs for mobile apps seem to be incomplete without adding some bold typography as it is a key factor that contributes to holding the users’ attention. The typography trend works great with creative experiments that require a mix of elegant fonts with catchy taglines. Here are some examples of the same:
Text content that is visually integrated into creative images.
Addition of animated typographic elements.
Using interfaces based on typography as the core visual elements of a UI design.
3. Illustration and animated graphics
Illustrations are one of the most powerful tools in a designer’s toolbox. Well-crafted illustrations allow designers to convey pretty complex ideas without using too many words. So, when users see illustration, they can understand the concept in a glance.
An enjoyable illustration can give websites or mobile apps their own personality, thus making them more memorable.
Micro-animations help customers distinguish elements on the screens they are going to interact with. After an event takes place, feedback performs an important task in assuring the user that the intended action has actually happened.
This, in turn, brings users a better experience. Additionally, to make these pages stand out, these illustrations often come to life with complex motions.
4. Augmented Reality (AR)
In 2020, web design trends will all involve thinking outside the box, or rather, the grid. We need to forget UI fixed to screens. Instead, we should emphasise interactions which feel like they take place within the real-world environment. Google and Apple have already introduced their own AR development platforms, ARCore and AEKit, that blend the physical and digital worlds.
Designers will need to go beyond screen-only interfaces to include physical interactions. Augmented Reality has ushered a new era in user interface design, a new way of thinking.
Augmented Reality (AR) has become one of the top UI trends in the year 2020.
5. Voice User Interface
The popularity of Alexa and Google Home can’t be undermined. They are the new norm, as they become users’ go-to medium to seek nifty information, get entertained and even control their routine tasks. The navigation-less, button-less and menu-less experience seems so intuitive to a user that 40% of adults now use voice search once per day!
This makes it clear — voice search is not the future. It’s already here and will only become more prevalent in 2020. Voice interactions are slowly but fundamentally changing the way we interact with interfaces. Instead of relying on touchscreens, mice and keyboards, users are steadily accepting the hands-free way of doing their everyday tasks.
Smart home speakers have already found their place in the hospitality industry, automobiles and large enterprises. The convenience of having an always-on machine that helps you do your digital tasks will not only aid the visually impaired but also introduce a unique way for illiterate users to access the web, in years ahead.
6. Parallax Scrolling & Fixed Navigation Bar
Parallax scrolling is a website trend where the background content is moved at a different speed than the foreground content while scrolling. Parallax Design is a newer element which is being used by several designers in their designs. It involves creating a visual setting in which the object appears moving, or it appears different when viewed from different angles. This type of design is even possible with video and multi-layered parallax.
Fixed Navigation is helpful for users. When they scroll down a website, the navigation bar will be still visible to users and, it will help them to move to another webpage if they like to.
7. 3D graphics
The mass-market currently has little demand for this technology and 3D graphics seems a bit unusual for websites. Nonetheless, 3D elements rendered specifically for a platform get a place in this year’s UI trend list.
It is added at the end of the list because, the production cost of 3D elements is not only higher, they take a longer time to load on a screen.
Nobody loves waiting. Users expect platforms to load in an instant. Any element that adds more time to the user journey meets with frustration.
The good news is, we don’t have to give up entirely on 3D elements. Faux-3D lets objects look three-dimensional. The downside is, they are not completely convincing regarding light and shadow.
The change in the design-first approach
The design-first approach for digital products became a primary attribute this year.
Why?
These designs should improve people’s lives and help businesses to meet their goals.
Most phones have lost their borders and have rounded edges, bezel-less displays or notch displays. That changes their interface quite a bit. It will pose challenges for designers to use sharp-edged elements in their mobile UI and app design.
In 2020, the trends prioritise speed, simple page designs with asymmetrical layouts, and most importantly, a mobile-first approach.
It is more likely that these trends will also change in the coming years as the main platform(mobiles) will be having major changes in layout and sizes.
Has anyone ever heard of DApps? Decentralized App in short for DApps is a storm of change in the tech world.
Let’s see what DApp is.
What is DApps?
By definition,
“DApp is an open source application that operates autonomously on a decentralized public blockchain. It cannot be controlled by a single entity, and it generates and uses tokens by following a standard cryptographic algorithm.”
Let’s analyze the criteria that make an app DApp:
1. Open Source and Autonomous
DApp is open source, means, it is available for every one from anywhere without any restrictions. It has the freedom to govern itself or control its own activities. Since the code is open source and managed autonomously, it is available for everyone for checking out. The changes are decided by all or the majority of the users.
2. Public blockchain
The underlying technology behind a DApp is BLOCKCHAIN (we will discuss in detail below), which should be public.
3. Cannot be controlled by a single entity
Single entities can be interpreted as an operational unit. DApp, as the name indicates, is decentralized. Its control is spread all over the world. They do not come under the influence of a person or an organization. DApps are free from control and interference from any single authority.
4. Generate and use tokens following a standard cryptographic algorithm
DApps generate and use tokens from every single entity it is performing. These tokens are encrypted using a standard cryptographic algorithm for security. If an app doesn’t meet all these criteria, then it is not a DApp. Based on the above definition, the first DApp ever built was Bitcoin. Bitcoin is an implemented blockchain solution that arose from problems revolving around centralization. One can say Bitcoin is a self-sustaining public ledger that allows efficient transactions without intermediaries and centralized authorities.
Blockchain is the underlying technology behind DApp. Now let us look into the basics of blockchains for a better understanding of DApps.
What is Blockchain and how it works?
Blockchain is the technology that enables moving coins or assets from one individual to another. Always understand that Bitcoin ≠ Blockchain. The main use of blockchain is faster and reliable money transfer without a centralized third-party.
Let’s take the above example. Suppose a Person A in America wants to send $10 to a person B in India, A is dependent on a trusted 3rd party for the process. However, the process takes time, about 3 days for the trusted 3rd party to find the correct Person B in India and pay him the money. They will also charge B an amount as their service amount which means person B receives only $8.5 after 3 days.
If this same process is done with the help of blockchain, there won’t be a third party. Also, you can send your money directly to the person without any delay and approximately no service charge. Blockchain technology, made possible to dis-intermediate third-party operators to exchange value online. This decentralized trust.
Why use DApps?
Here is the list of the top reasons why you should use DApps.
1. Own your Data
The best advantage of DApps is that you can own your own data. Your data is the most valued possession in this digital era. Anybody can access your data and you can earn with this concept.
2. Increased data reliability
Since DApps is decentralized, there won’t be any central server which stores every data. Data will be distributed everywhere so that there won’t be any broken links or 404 not found.
3. Faster data transfer
Since data is distributed across the world, the number of peers will be more. Therefore, we can access data from the nearest peer. The download speed will be so fast as the number of peers increases.
4. Cannot be shut down
There are cases where some website, links or apps are not accessible for a person, region or country. For example, China blocked Facebook in 2009 June to stop a riot since Facebook was the main source of communication for the activists. Such cases won’t happen if DApps was in the scenario.
Prevention of mobile security threats helps organizations and individuals to protect their devices, apps, users and content from malicious attacks. Security teams can prevent these threats by using an app that scans devices and configurations within the network, or by setting up security protocols in case malware is present on the network.
1. Cryptojacking attacks
Check these steps to minimize the risk of your organization falling into a trap
Install an ad-blocking or anti-crypto mining extension on web browsers.
Since crypto jacking scripts are often delivered through web ads, installing an ad blocker can be an effective means of stopping them. Using ad blockers like the Ad Blocker Plus can easily detect crypto mining scripts. Experts recommend extensions like No Coin and MinerBlock, which are designed to detect and block crypto mining scripts.
Keep your web filtering tools up to date.
If you identify a web page that is delivering crypto jacking scripts, make sure your users are blocked from accessing it again.
Maintain browser extensions.
Browser extensions are meant to make our tasks simpler. But, some of them could be a trap set by an attacker to execute crypto mining scripts.
Use mobile device management (MDM) solution to better control users’ devices.
Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies for preventing illicit crypto mining. An MDM solution can help to manage apps and extensions on users’ devices. MDM solutions tend to be geared toward larger enterprises, and smaller companies that often can’t afford them. However, experts note that mobile devices are not as at risk as desktop computers and servers. Because they tend to have less processing power, they do not produce a great deal of profit for hackers.
2. Insecure communications
Here is a list of few best practices to be used for Android phones which may bring down risks related to insecure communication.
Understand that the network layer is highly capable of eavesdropping, thus making it insecure.
It is important to apply SSL/TLS to transport channels used by the mobile app to transmit sensitive pieces of information, session tokens, or other sensitive data to a backend API or web service.
When an application runs a routine via the browser/WebKit, using outside entities for third-party analytics companies and social networks could be more secure. Mixed SSL sessions should be avoided as they could expose the user’s session ID.
Always use a strong, standard cipher suites with suitable key lengths.
Use certificates signed by a trusted CA provider.
Do not pin certificate for security conscious applications and never allow using self-signed certificates.
Always establish a secure connection with trusted certificates from keychain after verifying the identity of the endpoint server.
Build a UI that alerts users when a mobile app detects an invalid certificate.
Avoid sending sensitive data over alternate channels (e.g, SMS, MMS, or notifications).
Apply a separate layer of encryption to any sensitive data before it is given to the SSL channel. In the event of a possible vulnerability in the SSL implementation, the encrypted data will provide a secondary defence against confidentiality violation.
3. Mobile ransomware
Only install applications from authorized stores like Google Play or AppStore. To be sure that no application makes its way onto your device from an untrusted source, go to Android settings, choose Security, and make sure that the “Unknown Sources” box is not checked.
Regularly check updates for your installed applications and your device OS. You can choose to update all installed apps automatically. It’s better to do update the system to the latest version as soon as an over-the-air (OTA) update arrives.
Install a strong security solution. Downloading apps from only the official stores and updating them regularly alone will not promise maximum security. Malware can lurk into even Google Play and, can also spread by means of exploit kits using yet-unknown vulnerabilities.
4. Phishing attacks
Think Before You Click!
Keep Your Browser Up to Date
Keep Informed About Phishing Techniques
Check Your Online Accounts Regularly
Use Firewalls
5. SMS–based attacks
Think before you click a link from SMS
Do not open spam messages
Keep informed about phishing techniques
6. Botnets attack
To avoid system compromises, it is advised to use only licensed and genuine software. Keep your mobile updated with latest security patches. Install anti-malware solution and update it regularly. Disable Autoplay /Autorun for removable drives.
Always protect your device from Trojans and other threats by using effective anti-malware software.
7. User & device authentication
Think before allowing store passwords, and your data in mailing apps and browsers
Remember there is no single fool-proof way to avoid mobile security threats.
Even I had no idea about machine learning a few months ago. My interest in machine learning developed when I saw a documentary on the latest trends in robotics. Ever after, my idea of machine learning keeps on getting simpler.
What is Machine learning?
Wikipedia says
“Machine learning is the ability of a computer to learn and act accordingly without being explicitly programmed”.
Well, that is just the technical explanation of machine learning.
Let’s investigate a much simpler one.
Humans learn everything from their past experiences whereas computers follow instructions for doing the same task. For a computer to acquire such instructions a human should have knowledge about the same. Think about a situation where computers can also learn from past experiences and act faster!!! This precisely is called machine learning.
Machine learning is an application of Artificial Intelligence. Machine learning concentrates on the development of computer programs that can teach themselves to grow and change when exposed to new data. Since we are living in a technically emerged era, there are plenty of examples of machine learning in our daily life.
For example, let’s take the case of Google Maps. Google maps help you to analyse the time required to reach your destination based on current traffic. Also, in case of heavy traffic, Google Maps redirects you through another route which helps you to reach your destination at lesser time. This can be considered as the best example of machine learning. Let’s have look at how machine learning works with google map.
Google maps use a combination of people currently using the app, historical data of the route collected over time and a few other tricks. Everyone using maps is providing their location, the average speed and the route in which they are travelling which in turn helps Google collect massive data of traffic which helps them predict the upcoming traffic and adjust your route accordingly.
Above depicted is a graph which is plotted based on the number of users at a location versus speed of the user. When the number of users using maps are on one specific location and the speed of the user is slow, we can conclude for heavy traffic and redirects another route. Google maps keep on analysing such situations and keeps on improving their data.
Types of Machine learning
Machine learning can be mainly categorized into three different types.
Supervised Learning
Supervised learning is the simplest form of machine learning.
Supervised learning uses labelled data to train the modal. This type of learning always has an input variable X and an output variable Y. We figure out an algorithm to get a mapping function from the input to output. In simple words, y = f(x)
Whenever you get a new input data x, the machine can easily predict the output y for the data. The result of supervised learning can be continuously predicted by the machine.
For example, let’s take Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant. Each one of these is a voice automated system which collects your voice and starts working based on this collected data.
Biometric attendance is another common example of supervised data from our day to day life. Here, the system first collects data of our fingerprints, retina scan or even face recognition and trains the machine with this data. And hence, it will validate our biometrics.
Unsupervised Learning
Unsupervised learning always has input X but we cannot directly predict the output Y.
They have unlabelled data for output calculation. They are important because they allow the machine to self-analyse and develop an output from the collected bulk data.
Unsupervised learning clusters input data into classes of statistical properties. Clustering and Association are the two most important concepts in unsupervised learning.
For example, consider cases of online shopping sites like Amazon, Myntra or Flipkart. When we add an item like mobile to their cart, they will suggest products people brought together with that mobile and also its similar product recommendations. This is possible by continuous observing of order details of customers and clustering such data.
Another example of unsupervised learning is Google maps which we already discussed earlier. Google maps also form two clusters where one is with high traffic and other normal traffic.
Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement Learning works on the principle of feedback. This type of learning is all about taking decisions sequentially. There should be an initial state of input which leads to output and the next input depends on the output of the previous input.
Google Survey in Google Photos is the best example of Reinforcement Learning. Google photos identify a face and groups all photos of that same face together. For this, Google photos first collect all of the images of that face and ask the user if they are all of the same people. Thus, it gets into a conclusion and groups all photos with the same face.
Summary
Machine learning is now the hottest trend. This will provide enormous hopes for building Artificial Intelligence. Sophia, the first social humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong is one of the first major achievements of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Hopes everyone had a good time reading this blog and have figured out more about machine learning.
Before we begin with the vulnerabilities in web applications, it is good to know there are several open communities like OWASP that are always looking out for vulnerabilities and are dedicated to resolving these vulnerabilities. Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is an open community dedicated to enabling organizations to develop, purchase, and maintain web applications and APIs that can be trusted.
Now let us check the top 10 vulnerabilities in web applications and how to tackle these vulnerabilities.
1. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
It is a very common application-layer web attack. XSS targets scripts embedded in webpages that are executed on the client side (i.e., the scripts run on the user’s web browser). XSS is a threat for client-side scripting languages like HTML & JavaScript. It works by controlling the client side to work as desired by the attacker. Such an attack may, for example, use a script to run every time page reloads or on any other events.
XSS is mainly used for tampering and stealing user sensitive data. XSS usually targets the user and not the application.
We can prevent XSS by separating untrusted data from active browser content. We can also use frameworks like React JS or Ruby on Rails that automatically escape XSS by design.
2. SQL Injection
It’s an application security weakness that allows the attackers to alter the data in the database or just read confidential data such as a password. The vulnerability occurs when we enter untrusted data to the database from web forms or when it is part of a SQL query.
Web applications use SQL query to communicate with the database. SQL injections occur when the application fails to validate the data in a SQL query (from web forms) and hence, an attacker can trick the database to execute unexpected commands.
Using LIMIT and other SQL controls within queries are a way of tackling injections.
3. LDAP Injection
This is similar to SQL injection. Here also, the attacker place codes in user input fields to gain unlimited access. It may lead to information theft, browser or session hijacking, defacement of the website or even other problems.
LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) injections work by inserting harmful codes to client provided data in LDAP statements. If a web application does not properly validate the input fields, attackers can construct LDAP statements which execute with user permission. Such queries can modify or delete anything in the LDAP tree and cause disastrous results.
To handle these injections, it is advised to use safe API, that avoids interpreter entirely and provides a parameterized interface, migrates to use Object Relational Mapping Tools (ORMs).
4. Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Usually, a website sends an application a request that a user is authenticated from another website. An attacker can use this to access data and functionalities of the web application as the browser is already authenticated using the user’s credentials. Attackers may use XSS to defeat CSRF defence the application might employ. So, avoiding XSS will prevent these types of attack to some extent.
5. Insecure cryptographic storage
It occurs when sensitive data is not stored securely. Make sure all sensitive data are encrypted while storing & secured key management must be adopted.
Use a good encryption algorithm.
Make sure you do not use cryptography of your own since you can never predict whether it is secure or not. Do not ship or deploy with any default credentials, particularly for admin users.
6. Broken Authentication
Broken authentication happens when application functions related to authentication and session management are often implemented incorrectly, allowing attackers to compromise passwords, keys, or session tokens, or to exploit other implementation flaws to assume other users’ identities temporarily or permanently.
Practice implementing multi-factor authentication for web applications to prevent automated, credential stuffing, brute force, and stolen credential re-use attacks.
7. Sensitive Data Exposure
Many web applications and APIs do not properly protect sensitive data such as financial, healthcare, and PII (Personally Identifiable Information). Attackers may steal or modify such weakly protected data to conduct credit card fraud, identity theft, or other crimes. Sensitive data may be compromised without extra protection such as encryption at rest or in transit and requires special precautions when exchanged between browser and server.
We can prevent such situations by applying controls as per classification. Classify data stored processed and transmitted by an application.
Don’t store sensitive data unnecessarily. Discard it as soon as possible or use PCI DSS compliant tokenization or even truncation. Remember, data that is not retained cannot be stolen.
8. XML External Entities (XXE)
Many older or poorly configured XML processors evaluate external entity references within XML documents. External entities can be used to disclose internal files using the file URI handler, internal file shares, internal port scanning, remote code execution, and denial of service attacks.
Points to keep in mind are, whenever possible, use less complex data formats such as JSON and avoid serialization of sensitive data.
Also, patch or upgrade all XML processors and libraries in use by web applications or on the underlying operating system. Use dependency checkers. Update SOAP to SOAP 1.2 or higher.
9. Broken Access Control
Restrictions on the privileges of authenticated users are often not properly enforced. Attackers can exploit these flaws to access unauthorized functionality and/or data, access other users’ accounts, view sensitive files, modify other users’ data, change access rights, etc.
The possible solution to overcome this problem is to implement access control mechanisms once and reuse them throughout the application. Also, Minimize the use of CORS.
10. Security Misconfiguration
Security misconfiguration is the most commonly seen issue. This is commonly a result of insecure default configurations, incomplete or ad hoc configurations, open cloud storage, misconfigured HTTP headers, and verbose error messages containing sensitive information. Not only all operating systems, frameworks, libraries, and applications should be securely configured but also, they must be patched and upgraded in a timely fashion.
We can avoid this by checking none of the default accounts credentials is the same.
The aim of this article is to give a good insight into common flaws that can lead to modern data breaches and could make web applications vulnerable to various attacks.
As the saying goes “Prevention is better than cure”, proactive and defensive security steps must be adopted beforehand than making it a practice only after a security breach.
Today there are many test automation tools available in the market.
But, why do we need an automation tool for testing at all?
What makes use of automation tool a “must-have” in the Software development industry?
In today’s software world, demand for high-quality apps and products within very tight deadlines gives very less time for testers to perform quality testing. It is just impossible to test the complete application/product manually every time there is a bug fix or new releases.
Also, when it comes to testing scenarios like a large number of users access the website or an application simultaneously, it leaves no choice for an organization than to hire several hundred thousand testers (and test machines too) to do a manual test.
However, these challenges can be overcome by a tester or an organization if they choose an appropriate automation tool that fits their testing requirement. Choosing the right automation tool helps in saving resources, time, effort and cost. It can also help in effective testing delivering a high-quality product meeting the deadline and thereby increasing organization revenue and achieving customer satisfaction.
Katalon Studio is one such test automation tool that provides advanced test generation capabilities, faster execution and excellent reporting features. With the evolving features, leveraging in-built features and templates, Katalon is becoming tester’s favourite automation testing tool.
What is Katalon?
Katalon is a free-license automation solution for testing web and mobile application. It is developed by Katalon LLC. Katalon’s first release to the public was in September 2016.
Katalon Studio is built on the open-source automation framework Selenium and Appium. It is a very user-friendly and simple tool with an intuitive interface. Katalon is becoming the number one testing tool in the software testing field. While with other test automation tools, it takes weeks to automate test scripts, Katalon Studio requires just a few hours to achieve the same.
Why Katalon?
What makes Katalon so powerful and unique in comparison to other test automation tools?
The main advantage of Katalon over other automation tools is that it requires very little coding experience.
While several other test automation tools require testers to have technical skills to design test scripts, Katalon Studio’s specialized IDE and simple interface make it very user-friendly for testers who have no prior coding experience. Testers with some development knowledge can use the advanced features of this tool for the automation purpose. Even a black box tester can use this tool efficiently for the automated testing of web and mobile applications.
The time and efforts required to design test scripts are greatly reduced using this tool. Reusability/ scalability aspects are some other major features of Katalon Studio. Katalon makes use of several of Selenium features, you can still leverage the features in Katalon Studio to build your own scripts.
Highlights/Features of Katalon
Katalon Studio plays an important role in DevOps toolchain. Tests can be easily integrated with CI tools like Jenkins and TeamCity using Console Mode Execution or non-GUI mode in Katalon studio. One can make avail of command-line mode execution by installing the Katalon Studio plugins using Katalon Store’s API keys. This is a very powerful feature supported by Katalon.
Katalon Studio supports dual scripting interface. The black box testers with limited or no coding experience can use its simple interface to create test scripts. The tool has record and playback and manual mode for non-programmers. Katalon Recorder records the test actions, captures the web elements and plays the recorded steps. Testers can play their recorded scripts as many times as they want for their testing. The learning curve is very less as testers do not essentially need any coding experience in this case.
Testers with an advanced level of coding experience can use the scripting mode for test script creation. Those who have knowledge in Groovy can easily edit the test scripts in scripting mode. Katalon Studio allows reuse of these automated test scripts.
The tests recorded in Katalon Studio in one browser can be executed on multiple browsers (in parallel or sequential) speeding up the test cycle thus improving test coverage.
Using its well-structured framework and leveraging built-in features, Katalon Studio enables to provide high-quality applications. For example, Katalon supports parametrizing test objects dynamically which means users can control the object dynamically (sometimes the properties of an object might change due to business rules). The Test Objects can be handled in both manual modes and in script mode. Katalon provides systematic and neat UI with menus, tree views and tables so that one can organize well their test cases, objects and data files. This makes Katalon well-structured framework.
Features like Spy web utility is a great add-on in Katalon Studio. Using Spy web utility, object properties and locating method can be defined by the user themselves. This makes Katalon an intelligent tool.
While we must use other third-party libraries to generate reports in other automation tools, Katalon provides reports in graphical format. Also, it generates reports in HTML, CSV or PDF format.
Failures are reported with screenshots and logs.
Script creation time is very less when compared to other test automation tools.
Katalon Studio can be launched on Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
Cons of Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio supports only Apache Groovy for test script creation. However, it supports Java libraries and Java-compatible languages for test script execution.
Katalon is not open source, it has closed source code leaving no option to the community to customize or use community-built packages.
Katalon Studio does not support distributed testing currently.
Katalon Studio is more focused on functionality testing and does not support any load or performance testing.
Katalon Studio supports only web, mobile and API testing and does not support automating desktop application.
Sometimes the tool just slows down and freezes, mobile automation testing takes even more time to record scripts.
Choosing a test automation tool depends on the testing requirement of an organization. If the organization is looking for a tool to test the functionality of their web/mobile applications, Katalon would be the right decision. Katalon Studio mainly focusses on functionality testing, but with very little focus on testing of design aspects like screen size, orientation etc.
Katalon: The future
As the tool is new and in early stages in the market and the features are still evolving, it sometimes throws some bugs and just gets stuck during test script execution. More updates and bug fix releases are expected in future to make it more stable and smooth-running tool.
Also, support to more scripting languages for test script creation would be a great plus.
However, with all the great benefits provided by the tool and with its simple UI, the tool has already won the hearts of testing engineers. In spite of the drawbacks, Katalon Studio is becoming an emerging tool for test automation and is gaining popularity in the software development industry. Overall Katalon is an amazing tool and has a great future.
Kotlin vs Java has been one of the hot topics of debate for the last few years.
Ever since Kotlin was released in February 2016 programmers have been having doubts about which language to use for Android development.
Java has been around for a very long time. It is being used by millions of programmers worldwide but had some minor drawbacks. Then Google introduces a new language specifically for android which is said to be better than Java.
Last year, Kotlin has been made a ‘first class’ language for Android development by Google in addition to existing support for Java and C++. The impact of Google’s decisions for adopting Kotlin can be seen from GitHub’s findings.
The number of GitHub notes and contributors using Kotlin for projects has more than doubled over the last couple of years.
I’ve been making android apps using Java for about 4 years now and, I learned Kotlin just three months ago. While making an app in Kotlin, I quickly understood that there are many advantages of using Kotlin over Java.
Advantages of Kotlin over Java
1. Readability
Comparing to Java, Kotlin has more readable and precise code which makes it easier to understand the program. After a small learning curve, a Java developer can easily understand how to write Kotlin very quickly.
After learning Kotlin I observed that it needed much less code than Java as shown below
Java
Kotlin
As we can see, Kotlin reduces boilerplate as compared to java. Now, boilerplate refers to those codes which must repeat lots and lots of times and which do not serve any purpose to the functionality of the application. Kotlin has been designed in a way that it eliminates the need for boilerplate code.
Kotlin requires fewer lines of code as compared to java.
In Java, we must create references for views using findViewById. In Kotlin, that is taken care of automatically, therefore, reducing the lines of code drastically. That makes it easier for a beginner to learn Kotlin.
2. Null-Safe
Null pointer exceptions also referred to as “The billion-dollar mistake”, is one of the most common errors that cause apps to crash if you are using Java.
Kotlin is null-safe by default. It does not allow variables to be assigned with a null value. But in Java, we can assign null values to variables and, it may lead to null pointer exception that may crash the application.
3. Using Getters and Setters
In Java, we have to use getter and setter functions for receiving data from variables in the modal classes. Model classes are just used for holding data. We can use the getters and setters for accessing the data from model classes.
In Kotlin we don’t need all those getter and setter functions. We can access all the data’s using the variable name itself. See the example below.
This modal class in Kotlin only has to define the variables instead of also defining the getter and setter methods. While comparing the above two images, we can clearly see that Kotlin uses less code as compared to java.
4. Interoperability
Kotlin language is interoperable. This means that both Java and Kotlin are somewhat similar and we can use java commands and Java libraries in a Kotlin project.
Since Java is still being used by most programmers, Kotlin has been made to be interoperable. It can be used with existing Java classes and won’t cause any errors. The compiler will allow the code containing the Java and Kotlin classes to work flawlessly.
Because of this feature, developers can transition from Java to Android with ease.
5. Immutability
An immutable object is an object whose state cannot be changed once it is created.
In Kotlin variables are defined using val or var to help developers easily understand which values can be reassigned.
Using val in our code makes it super clean and will be able to safely assume that the properties will never be changed and that they will not be null. The benefit is that it allows you to just get on with the project at hand.
Conclusion
I can confidently say, Kotlin language is far better than Java for Android development as it takes care of the drawbacks Java has. Moreover, the transition from Java to Kotlin is easy and anyone who is interested in programming can make good progress within a short span of time.
Kotlin is one of the fastest growing programming languages in the world. It is open-source, statically typed language primarily developed by JetBrains programmers based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Statically typed programming language means Kotlin performs type checking at compile-time as opposed to run-time.
Java was once among the most popular, most favourite programming languages. However, looking at the limitations and errors caused by Java, developers required a desperate rescue. That’s when the JetBrains developers created Kotlin which proved to be much more efficient than Java.
Kotlin has advanced benefits in terms of reliability, efficiency, runtime performance and maintenance when compared to Java, yet fully interoperable with Java. It provides seamless integration with Java frameworks and libraries and supports backward compatibility. Kotlin also boasts about the fact that fewer lines of code are required to solve a problem resulting in clean, concise, easy to write and understand the code.
Kotlin is developed just recently and is already gaining popularity among developers. Kotlin is becoming a strong competition to Java. The common issues that are a cause of frustration to Java developers are well covered in this young rival.
In May 2017, Kotlin was named as the official language of Android by Google. The team just decided to name it after an island and that’s why the name Kotlin (from Kotlin Island, near St. Petersburg).
Stack Overflow says that Kotlin is becoming developer’s favourite programming language and is outranking languages like Python and JavaScript. According to some survey reports, around 80% of Kotlin developers are using Kotlin as a programming language. Around 30% use it for Backend/server-side applications and another 30% use it for SDK/libraries.
Coursera, Atlassian, Basecamp, Pinterest, Keepsafe are already using Kotlin in their mobile applications.
What makes Kotlin the fastest growing language?
Concise
This is the biggest advantage of Kotlin over other programming languages that you can solve the same kind of problem using fewer lines of code with a reduced number of bugs and crashes. Also, it makes the code more readable, easy to make changes and to maintain.
Safe
Kotlin helps developers write robust and stable code. Kotlin’s smarter and safer compiler detect errors at compile itself and perform lots of compile-time checks reducing runtime errors.
Interoperable
Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java. The existing codebase can interact with Kotlin and all existing libraries in Android can be used in Kotlin as well.
Better productivity
As it requires lesser lines of code, results in better productivity.
There are other lots of features in Kotlin that will speed up the daily development tasks.
Conclusion
Kotlin has undoubtedly won the heart of developers and has become a highly competing programming language. As it is open source and bring all advantages of a modern programming language into the Android platform, it is a great fit for Android developers.
Migrating to Kotlin will really be a piece of cake for them. With all the cool features of functional programming, Kotlin is only getting brighter and better in the Android community.
However, only time can tell whether the popularity achieved by Kotlin in the Android community can be achieved in other communities.
As the name suggests, Progressive Web App is a combination of features of web and app. It uses the modern capabilities of web and app making it very powerful, providing a user-friendly experience. Progressive Web Apps can be accessed via URL, are fully responsive and secure.
Native apps are rich in user experience, but they must be deployed through app stores. The Web apps – easy to access, but as it runs over the internet and if the internet is not available, these cannot be accessed. Even though there were attempts to implement offline web apps, the attempts failed to provide solutions for complex offline app scenarios. However, the setbacks of Native and Web Apps were overcome by the introduction of “Service Workers” in Progressive Web Apps that could handle every network request even when the user is offline and provide a rich user experience. Rapid growth has now taken place in browsers.
The biggest gain of Progressive Web App is that if the mobile browser does not support the features of the web app, just nothing happens!! It will ignore the features of a Web app and it will behave like a regular app and will redirect it to Play Store to download the app – elegant fallback, isn’t it?
Features of Progressive Web Apps
1. Feel like an app
App-style interactions and navigation are provided as it’s built on app shell model.
2. Responsive
Desktop, mobile, tablet – works well in all of these.
3. Easy installation
Appstore is not required anymore to download the app. You just open the app via browser, and you get the feature “Add to Home Screen” that adds an icon to the home screen of your device.
4. Offline mode
Use of Service Worker code in Progressive web apps enables the web app to be used in offline mode or over low-quality networks.
5. Push Notifications
Push capabilities in these web apps provide native-like experience to the users.
What is required for Web Apps?
For a web app to be “progressive”, the browser must implement these three things:
1. Register a Service Worker
Service Worker is a powerful API that helps developer build site to work offline or help speed up by obstructing the network requests to deliver cached responses. Service Workers are currently supported by Chrome and Firefox. Safari does not support Service Worker code though.
2. Run on HTTPS
This is mandatory for Progressive Web Apps to prevent third-party attacks.
3. Create App Manifest file
JSON file where a developer can specify attributes like name of the app, display (full screen, browser), orientation (portrait or landscape) etc. to display the app to the outside world.
Future of Progressive Web Apps
Will Progressive Web App gain popularity and be the king in this mobile age?
This is still in question since this will have a considerable impact on the app business market and even the Google Store due to its hybrid features. Another setback is if your requirement needs access to hardware capabilities of the device and if the mobile browser does not support those features, in that case, you don’t have a choice than have to build a native/hybrid app anyway.
Also, time and amount of work needed to implement progressive web apps are quite high – due to the requirement of HTTPS in the API. However, since it bridges the gap between the performance of web and apps, it can still provide a better solution that is fast and reliable in the modern technology world and meet user expectations.
Android Broadcast Receiver is a component that responds to the system’s wide broadcast announcements. It can be registered for various system or application events. Whenever those events occur the system notifies all the registered broadcast receivers and then the desired action is being done. Broadcast originates from the system as well as applications. Like the alarm notification, low battery notification etc. are the example of broadcast originating from the system. While getting the push notifications for desired application describes the example for broadcast originating from the application.
How to make BroadcastReceiver works for the system broadcasted intents?
There are mainly two steps to make BroadcastReceiver works for the system broadcasted intents
Creating a Broadcast Receiver
Register Broadcast Receiver
1. Creating a Broadcast Receiver
public class MyBroadcastReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {public MyBroadcastReceiver ()
{
}@Overridepublic void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
{
This method is called when this BroadcastReceiver receives an Intent broadcast.
Consider a receiver class named as MyBroadcastReceiver implemented as the subclass of BroadcastReceiever class which overrides the onReceive() method. Whenever an event occurs Android calls the onReceive() method on all registered broadcast receivers. In the above code, the Intent object is passed with all the additional information required and also you have got the Context object in order to do other tasks like maybe start a service (context.startService(new Intent(this, TestService.class))
Register the Broadcast Receiver
There are two ways to register the broadcast receiver:
Static way (in manifest file).
Dynamic way (in code).
Static way
In static way, the broadcast receiver is registered in an android application via AndroidManifest.xml file. Consider, here we are going to register MyBroadcstReceiver for system-generated event ACTION_BATTERY_LOW which is fired by the system once the android system encounters the battery low.
Now, whenever your android device will encounter battery low problem it will trigger the BroadcastReceiver, MyBroadcastReceiver and the desired action mentioned inside onReceive() method will be executed. Like, if you look into your android device you gets a dialogue message warning you that the battery is low so put it in charge.
Some other important system events are as follows:
Event Constant
Description
android.intent.action.BATTERY_CHANGED
Sticky broadcast containing the charging state, level, and other information about the battery.
android.intent.action.BATTERY_LOW
Indicates low battery condition on the device.
android.intent.action.BATTERY_OKAY
Indicates the battery is now okay after being low.
android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED
This is broadcasted once, after the system has finished booting.
android.intent.action.BUG_REPORT
Show activity for reporting a bug.
android.intent.action.CALL
Perform a call to someone specified by the data.
android.intent.action.CALL_BUTTON
The user pressed the “call” button to go to the dialer or other appropriate UI for placing a call.
android.intent.action.DATE_CHANGED
The date has changed.
android.intent.action.REBOOT
Have the device reboot.
Dynamic way
In dynamic way, we use Context.registerReceiver() method. Dynamically registered broadcast receivers can be unregistered using Context.unregisterReceiver() method.
IntentFilter object that specifies which event/intent our receiver will listen to. In this case, it’s broadcast. This action name is used while sending a broadcast that will be handled by this receiver.
Once the component that had made the registerReceiver() call is destroyed sendBroadcast() will also stop working, hence the receiver won’t receive anymore be it an event generated from an app or the system. Whereas with the previous method where we registered via the manifest file, this is not the case.
Dynamically registered receivers are called on the UI thread. Dynamically registered receivers block any UI handling and thus the onReceive() method should be as fast as possible. The application may become sluggish of an “Application Not Responding” error is the worst.
Which Method to Use When for Registration
The type of preference among the two approaches is determined by the motive. Suppose you want to do some changes right on the screen (home screen, launcher, status bar, etc.) By showing up some notification or some indicator in the status bar by listening to system-wide events or maybe those sent by other apps, then it makes sense to use statically registered broadcast receivers. Whereas based on similar events you want to do changes right in your app when the user is using it or maybe it’s put in the background, then it makes sense to use dynamically registered receivers which last till the registering components are destroyed.
In fact, there are certain events like Intent.ACTION_TIME_TICK that cannot be registered in the manifest but only via registerReceiver() to prevent battery drainage.
Broadcasting Custom Intents
If one wants that the application itself should generate and send custom intents then one will have to create and send those intents by using the sendBroadcast() method inside the activity class. If one uses the sendStickyBroadcast(Intent) method, the Intent is sticky, meaning the Intent you are sending stays around after the broadcast is complete.
public void broadcastIntent(View view){Intent intent = new Intent();intent.setAction(“com.example.broadcastreceiverdemo“); sendBroadcast(intent);}
This intent com.example.broadcastreceiverdemo can also be registered in a similar way as we have registered system-generated intent.
Jasmine is a behaviour-driven development framework, used for testing JavaScript code. To know about behaviour-driven development, we must know about test-driven development.
Test-driven development, as per definition, is a software development process that relies on the repetition of a very short development cycle: first, the developer writes an automated test case that defines a desired improvement or new function, then produces a minimum amount of code to pass that test, and finally refactors the new code to acceptable standards.
Behaviour-driven development, on the other hand, is a software development process that is emerged from test-driven development. The behaviour-driven development process can be called as a combination of general techniques and principles of test-driven development.
Why use Jasmine for testing?
Jasmine is an independent software as it does not depend on any other software development frameworks. It does not require a Document Object Model (DOM). A basic advantage that can be called of Jasmine is that its syntax is so obvious that it’s easy to understand. It also helps you to write your tests easily.
Working with Jasmine
Function
Let’s start with an example code that you want to test using Jasmine. We all know, in every programming language, we start with a Hello World program. Here also, let’s begin with a helloworld.js. A JavaScript function that returns “Hello World”.
Spec
Initially, you need to grab the latest standalone version of Jasmine on your computer. They are easily available on Google. All you need to do is search for it and download it. Unzip the downloaded file. The /src and /spec directories will have many files in it. You’ll have to empty them out as they are just examples which you probably won’t require.
Now, the function or let’s call the helloworld.js file should be put into the /src directory. We now have created the src. What we must do next is to create the spec.
The code has two parts.
The ‘describe’ part and the ‘it’ part. The ‘describe’ part will contain the main codes or functions that do the tests. ‘Describe’ is followed by the suite, which is just the English language and not any code, which helps to understand what it describes. Inside of ‘describe’, you have the ‘it’ part of the code. ‘It’ part is generally called as a ‘spec’.
The whole code might look like classes written in a function. ‘It’ describes what the code must do in general English language and in JavaScript code. You can have any number of specs in a suite.
Matchers
When a code is needed to be tested, you will definitely require a matcher. A matcher is something that will do the checking whether your code provides the required output. For beginners, we can use expect() and toEqual() as matchers. In our Hello World example program, we need the code to return the expected output – “Hello World”.
To test this, the matchers will run as expect (helloworld()).toEqual(“Hello World”); If that comes true, the program is successfully tested with no errors reported. There are many other matchers too. Matchers are selected according to the requirement of what is to be tested and what should be returned. In addition to this, you can make your own matchers too.
Example code
describe(“The ‘toEqual’ matcher”, function() {
it(“works for simple literals and variables”, function() {
var a = 12;
expect(a).toEqual(12);
});
it(“should work for objects”, function() {
var foo = {
a: 12,
b: 34
};
var bar = {
a: 12,
b: 34
};
expect(foo).toEqual(bar);
});
});
it(“The ‘toMatch’ matcher is for regular expressions”, function() {
var message = “foo bar baz”;
expect(message).toMatch(/bar/);
expect(message).toMatch(“bar”);
expect(message).not.toMatch(/quux/);
});
it(“The ‘toBeDefined’ matcher compares against `undefined`”, function() {
var a = {
foo: “foo”
};
expect(a.foo).toBeDefined();
expect(a.bar).not.toBeDefined();
});
it(“The `toBeUndefined` matcher compares against `undefined`”, function() {
var a = {
foo: “foo”
};
expect(a.foo).not.toBeUndefined();
expect(a.bar).toBeUndefined();
});
it(“The ‘toBeNull’ matcher compares against null”, function() {
var a = null;
var foo = “foo”;
expect(null).toBeNull();
expect(a).toBeNull();
expect(foo).not.toBeNull();
});
it(“The ‘toBeTruthy’ matcher is for boolean casting testing”, function() {
var a, foo = “foo”;
expect(foo).toBeTruthy();
expect(a).not.toBeTruthy();
});
it(“The ‘toBeFalsy’ matcher is for boolean casting testing”, function() {
var a, foo = “foo”;
expect(a).toBeFalsy();
expect(foo).not.toBeFalsy();
});
it(“The ‘toContain’ matcher is for finding an item in an Array”, function() {
var a = [“foo”, “bar”, “baz”];
expect(a).toContain(“bar”);
expect(a).not.toContain(“quux”);
});
it(“The ‘toBeLessThan’ matcher is for mathematical comparisons”, function() {
var pi = 3.1415926,
e = 2.78;
expect(e).toBeLessThan(pi);
expect(pi).not.toBeLessThan(e);
});
it(“The ‘toBeGreaterThan’ matcher is for mathematical comparisons”, function() {
var pi = 3.1415926,
e = 2.78;
expect(pi).toBeGreaterThan(e);
expect(e).not.toBeGreaterThan(pi);
});
it(“The ‘toBeCloseTo’ matcher is for precision math comparison”, function() {
var pi = 3.1415926,
e = 2.78;
expect(pi).not.toBeCloseTo(e, 2);
expect(pi).toBeCloseTo(e, 0);
});
it(“The ‘toThrow’ matcher is for testing if a function throws an exception”, function() {
var foo = function() {
return1 + 2;
};
var bar = function() {
return a + 1;
};
expect(foo).not.toThrow();
expect(bar).toThrow();
});
it(“The ‘toThrowError’ matcher is for testing a specific thrown exception”, function() {
var foo = function() {
thrownew TypeError(“foo bar baz”);
};
expect(foo).toThrowError(“foo bar baz”);
expect(foo).toThrowError(/bar/);
expect(foo).toThrowError(TypeError);
expect(foo).toThrowError(TypeError, “foo bar baz”);
});
});
Jasmine is independent. It does not depend on any other JavaScript frameworks.
It does not require a DOM.
It has a clean, obvious syntax.
Help maintainers understand the intention behind the code.
Brings validation and proper data handling concerns to the forefront.
Conclusion
There is plenty more you can do with Jasmine. Overall, Jasmine makes your testing fun. So, if you’re not yet into testing, now is an excellent time to start your JavaScript testing. It makes your testing pretty simple with Jasmine’s fast and simple syntax.
App Store optimization is the process of improving the visibility of an App in an App store.
We know more than one million apps exist in the Apple Store and Google Play Store together. Making visible our app to the external world among this huge collection is not a simple task. I’m here to discuss some of the App Store Optimization techniques which can be used for the better recognition of our App. Here are some of the App optimization techniques for better visibility of the App in the store.
5 Ways to optimize your app for app stores
1. App Icons
App icons are the first impression that a user has about an app. In general, app icons should be eye-catching such that user has to either download or make him go through the description and screenshots of the app. An app icon should convey what the app is all about to the user.
Some of the best practices that can be followed for an app design are:
Avoid using words in the app icon.
The design of your icon should be consistent with your app design.
It is always better to add a margin to your icon so that it will look great in all backgrounds.
Also, research for various designs to stand unique in the crowd.
2. App Name
App name is the second thing after App icon that a user sees when he searches for something in the Store. Make sure your app name itself gives a complete description of your app and is unique. Sometimes we might have come across certain app names which not at all suits them. Always it is better if the name you put in there acts like a keyword. Avoid changing your app name often, that is stick on to one name even if there are multiple updates for your app. Finally make sure the name you selected for your app is short, attractive and catchy for all age group users.
3. Keywords
Keywords are one of the most important factors for app visibility in Store. When a user doesn’t know the exact name of the app, the search will be based on certain keywords associated with the app he/she searches for.
iTunes gives an option to enter the keywords with a 100 character limit which can be separated by commas whereas Play Store takes the keywords from the App description which has a 4,000 character limit. The Keywords should appear 5 times in the app description in the Google Play Store.
App names with keywords also have a better impact on the recognition of the app. In iTunes the character limit for App name is 255 words and if there is space left make sure you enter additional keywords which are relevant. But in case of Google play the character limit for App name is 30 and choosing the right keyword is so important.
4. Description
We all know, once the user clicks on our App on a desktop, iPhone/iPad or Android device only the first three lines of our App with App icon is visible. In all the cases the user has to click on the “more” link to read the description completely.
Always make sure to put the most important information in the first three lines, which gives the user a clear idea of what your App does and why is it different from others.
Also make sure you have included a Call to Action sentence in the App description which actually invite the users to download, like “Download AA to enjoy BB now”.
Avoid using a technical sentence in the App description, let every user understand what is the app for and why it should be used.
In the Google Play store, the word which is entered a minimum 5 times in the Description will be considered as Keywords. Always make sure proper repetition of the words which can be a Key for the users.
5. Screenshots
Screenshots are one of the first visual element that is visible to the user when viewing an App.
If adding a screenshot, make sure the first two images in the screenshots convey what the app is for and why it should be used. It’s not on the number of screens you have added but the information about the app in a few screens.
Always make sure there is some description of the screens you have added. Ensure the images used for this purpose are of the same size, attractive and clearly visible to the user.
Also, it is advised to add genuine videos that describe how the interface will look like and help the potential user to get an idea of the app even before downloading it.
There are more things that are to be kept in mind while uploading an App to the App Store for better visibility of the App. The points discussed here are some of them, which are to be followed in common. So, let’s together follow these simple techniques mentioned here for better recognition.
This blog post will help you to understand the basic principles of writing solid code.
Key principles of writing SOLID code
Single Responsibility Principle
Open/Closed Principle
Liskov substitution principle
Interface Segregation Principle
Dependency Inversion Principle
These are general principles that you want to always have in the back of your mind as you design your software. For the obvious reason, the first five are called SOLID. As in “we write SOLID code”. They are not always cut-and-dried; they are rarely 100% achievable. But active awareness of these issues will help you to avoid common coding errors.
1. Single Responsibility Principle
“A class should have a single responsibility”.
I prefer to think of ‘responsibility’ here as ‘purpose’ or ‘job to do’, but it’s called SRP. This is basically just another statement about modularity. Find the logical units and encapsulate them in a class. Don’t take classes that do some of this and some of that. You’ll get greater re-use of the component since the component wasn’t bundled with several other responsibilities the upstream consumer doesn’t want or need;
An alternative conceptualization of the SRP: A class should have a single reason to change.
This principle refers to the impact of a change of requirements on the code. For example, a class should either talk to the database, or format output for the UI, not both. Classes that deal with the database won’t need to be updated if the UI changes, and vice versa. When requirements change, modification is kept to just those spots directly affected, and these changes don’t have unanticipated consequences elsewhere in classes that whose responsibilities have leaked over into ours.
2. Open/Closed Principle
“Software entities (classes, modules, functions, etc.) should be open for extension, but closed for modification.”
Construct your classes so that requirements changes can be managed by adding code, not by modifying existing code. Once you have written code that works, you should ideally never touch it again, because if you don’t touch it, you can’t break it. If you’re writing nice modular code, you probably have objects being used by other objects all over the place (code reuse = good). If you now break that class, you break everybody who is using it (==bad).
This is a very simple little pizza ordering app. There is a TPizza class with an addTopping method and a computeCost method in this application. In this example, we’re interested in the TPizza class itself.
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{TPizza currPizza = new TPizza();
if (ckOlives.Checked)currPizza.addTopping(ETopping.Olives);
if (ckPepperoni.Checked)currPizza.addTopping(ETopping.Pepperoni);
if (ckMushrooms.Checked)currPizza.addTopping(ETopping.Mushrooms);
int pizzaCost = currPizza.computeCost();lblCost.Text = pizzaCost.ToString();}
Here is the button code. Again, we’re not interested in the interface code, so this is just to show how TPizza is used. So, all very straightforward. Now, let’s look at TPizza class.
enum ETopping { Olives, Pepperoni, Mushrooms
}
class TPizza{ETopping[] toppingArray;
int nToppings;
public TPizza(){toppingArray = new ETopping[10];
nToppings = 0;
}
public void addTopping(ETopping newTopping){toppingArray[nToppings] = newTopping;nToppings++;
}
So, it’s got a nice enum type and a nice array of toppings and an addTopping method and all is good.
Here is computeCost method.
public int computeCost()
{
int totalCost = 15;
for (int i = 0; i < nToppings; i++)
{
switch (toppingArray[i])
{
case ETopping.Olives:
totalCost += 1;
break;
case ETopping.Pepperoni:
totalCost += 2;
break;
case ETopping.Mushrooms:
totalCost += 2;
break;
}
}
return totalCost;
}
}
This works great. But the problem arises when I want to add cheese topping. I can’t add cheese without modifying existing code in the TPizza class. This gives me a chance to break the TPizza class. It could be worse, of course. If there are other places in the class where we have used the same approach (printing out an invoice, sending instructions to the pizza oven, drawing a picture of the pizza) their code will also have to be changed.
How would you have written that architecture so that you could incorporate the change in requirements (adding cheese topping) by adding code, rather than changing existing code? (Answer=> Use a topping class, who knows its cost and type. Or, if you’re really feeling elaborate, a base topping class and descendants). Not that this failure is also a violation of the SRP. It should not be the job of the TPizza to keep track of the cost of individual toppings.
3. Liskov Substitution Principle
Subclasses should be substitutable for their base class. All members of an inheritance hierarchy should fulfil the same behavioural contract. If they don’t then your “is-a” abstraction is probably wrong.
The LSP helps us to avoid misusing inheritance and consequently running into the problems that result when this occurs. A user of a base class should continue to function properly if any derivative of the base class is passed to it. Failure to follow the LSP almost always leads to problems with the OCP, as you wiggle around coding in special cases to your class family.
runWildLifeSimulator is what is called a ‘consumer’ function of TDuck. That is, it uses a TDuck instance. TDuck has made a contract – it will implement swim, quack and fly. Anybody who wants to be a TDuck needs to implement those, and it should make sense.
Surely, a Rubber Duck is a kind of duck. But because a Rubber Duck doesn’t fly and a TDuck does, this isn’t a good class hierarchy. Think about what you would have to do to the consumer function.
Why should a function that wants a TDuck has to know anything about THE DESCENDENTS of TDuck? What if there are other violations in the class hierarchy? A switch statement? And of course, what happens if you need to change something about these ducks.
There is a workaround for this, of course. It is? (Let TRubberDuckie override fly to { do nothing }
There are workarounds for all violations of good design. If you hit the peg with a big enough hammer, it will go into the hole. But these sorts of problems have been showed to produce rigidity and inflexibility and general goofiness in code. Try to avoid them.
4. Interface Segregation Principle
The dependency of one class to another one should depend on the smallest possible interface. Clients should not be forced to depend on methods they do not use. This one is very closely related to the SRP: don’t stuff everything into one big garbage multipurpose class. Changes to code are isolated to those classes that are logically affected.
interface Imessage
{
public bool SendSms(String message);
public bool SendEmail(String message);
}
In this case, all the classes that inherit this interface are forced to write methods for sending email and SMS. If some clients are interested only in emails, the issue arises.
The solution is,
interface Isms
{
public bool SendSms(String message);
}
interface Iemail
{
public bool SendEmail(String message);
}
interface Imessage : Isms
{
public bool SendSms(String message);
}
5. Dependency Inversion Principle
Program to the most abstract class possible. High-level modules should not depend on (concrete) low-level modules.
Consequences of ignoring these core principles
These core OOAD (Object-oriented analysis and design) principles will help you to write SOLID code. But, what are the consequences of ignoring these principles?
As a result of ignoring these principles, the system will be,
1. Rigid
Changing one part of the code causes or requires a change to many other parts of the code.
2. Fragile
Changes in one part of the code break other parts of the code.
3. Immobile
The components/parts of the code cannot be easily reused, because they are tangled.
The Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is a scalable, high-speed, low-cost Web-based service designed for online backup and archiving of data and application programs.
Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is simple storage for the Internet. You can configure it very simply and quickly in the AWS console. In S3, there’s no initial charges, zero set-up cost. You only pay for what you utilize. Unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, pay as you use and full control on file privacy are the most key features of S3. Amazon S3 also provides options to host static websites.
Why I find Amazon S3 great?
Most of the Websites are having Dynamic contents which are a collection of many Images, Videos and Audio, etc. These images will be either uploaded by the Users or the Admin of the website. Some websites will be having hundreds or even thousands of images depending on the Market they are focusing on. Storing the whole images inside Server will run out of the disk space and causes server issue. So, it will be good to save it directly in the Amazon S3.
How to Configure Amazon S3?
Amazon S3 is very simple to configure and use. This can be configured from the AWS console.
In S3 you can create Buckets. Buckets are very similar to Folders in our PC. It helps us to organize the files. S3 generates random URLs for each and every file uploaded to it. Each file is objects in S3. These objects can be accessed from the Web. S3 provides you with different policies and permissions to secure the contents stored in it.
Amazon Web Service (AWS) console provides you with the ability to create an IAM user. IAM user this the centralized user account provided by the AWS in order to access the AWS service remotely or through API calls, etc.
When we are using PHP code and if we wanted to access the objects from the S3, we need to use IAM user credentials to get the object from S3 bucket, if public access to the object is not allowed.
How S3 is used with a PHP web application?
As we have already mentioned that the S3 can be used for storing static contents like Pictures, Videos, Audio, etc. Let us see how it work in a real-life scenario.
Source (awsmedia.s3.amazonaws.com)
As the Image displays, when a user is trying to access a Webpage, the requests hit the Webserver. The Webserver sends a request to the Amazon S3 asking for an Image stored in it and the S3 returns the Image that is used in that particular Webpage.
How to set up Amazon S3?
Let us assume that we have a Web server running. We have a PHP site running in it with thousands of images as part of the content in it. We need to make sure there will be no storage issue due to running out of hard drive storage space.
Choose the following steps to mount S3 on an EC2 instance.
Create a new directory under that Webroot of the PHP Application where you wanted to mount the static contents.
Now you need to download and install s3fs from the source. S3fs is used to mount the S3 bucket to the system.
In-order to connect to the Amazon S3 bucket we need to authenticate. For that, we need to create a password inside the user home directory and pass the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY which we got from the AWS console.
Now, after mounting the Drive we can start using it as a local drive that is attached to the PC.
What are the PROS /CONS of using Amazon S3?
We understood Amazon S3 and its features, also how we can configure it. Now let us discuss the Advantage/Disadvantage of using S3, in the perspective of a web application.
PROS
S3 is that it can be mounted to an EC2 instance and can act as a local drive attached to a system.
S3 can be used as a Backup Volume where we can store the backups. This can save the EBS (Elastic Block Storage) space which is the main storage.
S3 can be used for many servers at the same time. Whereas EBS can only be attached to an instance at a time.
Highly Available, Redundant. Basically, data loss is not possible (99.999999999% durability, 99.9 uptime SLA).
S3 storage provides up to 5TB storage space.
CONS
S3 is an object store it is not a file system.
Hence S3 is not a file system it does not have file-system permissions.
S3 is slower than the EBS volume which is directly connected to the instance. Hence it is good to store static contents like Photos, Videos, etc.
Conclusion
Amazon S3 is the best way to Host web sites cost-effectively. Since the price of physical drives is huge, Amazon S3 will be a good option to store static content.
If you’ve ever done performance testing on a website, you know that there is not really an effective way to manually create enough load on that website.
Getting actual users to execute web application operations over and again is nearly impossible. For that, we need virtual users that can open multiple connections in parallel.
When bulk users attempt to access a website (say commercial websites) at the same time, there are high chances that the website suffers slowness and poor usability. Speed is one of the most important attributes of an application. A slow running application will lose many of its potential users.
Performance testing is done to ensure that the web application performs well under their expected workload.
In today’s competitive world, support for features and functionalities are not the only priority, the speed with which the website responds is also of great concern. The goal of performance testing is not to find bugs, but to eliminate the performance bottlenecks. A web application attributes like its response time, reliability, source usage and scalability do matter a lot. So, in order to test different aspects of a web application, we must test it in different ways. Different performance testing types are as follows:
Different Types of Performance Testing
Load
Load testing is performed to determine how a system behaves when multiple users access it simultaneously.
Stress
Stress Testing is done to ensure that the system would not crash in difficult situations.
Endurance
Endurance testing is done to evaluate how the system behaves when a significant load is applied over a long period of time.
Spike
In Spike testing, the web application is tested with extreme increments and decrements in the load.
Volume and scalability
Volume testing describes the ability of an application to handle additional user loads without affecting the performance. Scalability test is done to find the minimum and maximum loads at software, hardware and database levels. This gives the idea that the system is scalable after a load.
There are many robust testing tools available in the market that are capable to handle the various types of performance testing. Few of them have become the industry standard. The recent trend shows that most of the big players in the industry have taken tools like JMeter for all their performance testing needs.
JMeter
Apache JMeter is a load testing tool that is based on Java. This open source software is used for testing the performance of most of the web-based applications. Performance is an inevitable factor for both mobile and web application as the user strength is very huge.
Advantages of JMeter
Open source and built-in Java platform. It is highly extensible and platform-independent.
User-friendly- JMeter has got comprehensive GUI and it can easily create a test plan and configure the elements.
Support- Basically JMeter is designed for performance testing. But it can also be used for non-functional testing such as stress, distributed and web service testing by creating a test plan.
JMeter provides support for protocols such as FTP, SOAP, JDBC, HTTP
Documentation- Because of its robust documentation, user can have a clear idea on every step starting from the installation and configuration of test settings and generating the final report.
Recording- JMeter allows the user to record HTTP or HTTPS to create test plan using the recording facility. It uses a proxy server that allows JMeter to watch and record user actions while the user browses the web application with any normal browser. Once the recording is complete, we enter the number of threads, time and Start test. It is advisable to use the Non-GUI mode of JMeter if the user count is large.
Reporting- JMeter supports dashboard report generation. These reports help the user to understand test execution results.
Installation of JMeter
Before installing JMeter, it is essential to check that Java is installed in the system. JMeter is a pure Java desktop application. It needs fully compliant JVM 6 or higher to perform its tasks. User can download and install the latest version of the Java SE Development Kit.
The latest version of JMeter available is JMeter 5.1
From this website, user can download JMeter PGP or zip file under the Binaries section and then unzip the zip file into the directory where JMeter is to be installed. JMeter directory structure includes the following directories and files.
Bin: holds JMeter script file to start JMeter
Docs: holds JMeter documentation files
Extras: related extra files
Lib: holds the required Java library for JMeter
Lib/ext: includes core jar files for JMeter and its protocols
A test plan is stored in XML format.
Elements of JMeter
Thread Group
Thread group is the collection of threads. Each thread represents 1 user using the application under test. Basically, each thread simulates 1 real user request to the server.
Samplers
Samplers indicate which type of request is sent to the server. It can be HTTP, FTP, JDBC requests.
Listeners
Listeners display the result of test execution. It can show the result in different formats such as tree, table, summary report, log files and graphs.
Configuration Elements
Config elements in JMeter are used to configure the sampler requests sent to the server. Commonly used config elements are CSV data set config, HTTP Cookie Manager, Login Config Element HTTP Request Defaults and FTP Request Defaults.
Assertions
It is used to validate the response of the request that the user sent to the server. Here user can verify the expected result with the actual result. If a user wants to check assertion of a sampler, then assertion must be added as child of that sampler. User can view Assertion result by adding Assertion Listener to the thread group.
Testing in non-GUI method
In non-GUI mode, JMeter can handle more requests per second. Increasing threads after a certain limit will result in JMeter crash in GUI mode. The following command is used to run the test plan in non-GUI mode.
jmeter -n -t -l -e -o
Report Generation
A result log file can be generated in CSV or JTL format after running the load test.
Hope this article gave a real insight into the importance of performance testing in today’s web world and how modern testing tools like JMeter helps you to execute performance testing efficiently.
Each day at our work consists of a sequence of tasks that fill our working hours. In the same way, when you create an application, all the interface components (table views, UI controls, alerts, etc.) are run inside the main thread of your application. At some point in your application, you will want to populate these views with data. This data can be retrieved from the disk, the web, a database, etc. Using NSOperation, you can manage these data retrieval tasks efficiently without blocking the main thread.
The issue that we face when we want to populate or handle a huge amount of data is
‘How would you efficiently load this data into your application interface while still allowing the user to have control of the application without any disturbance?’
Many applications in the app store simply ‘freeze’ while their application data is loaded. This will disappoint the user interaction. The secret to making apps without this problem is to move the unnecessary work (the activities which can take place without user interaction) to the background as possible.
The iOS developer has two options here.
Grand Central Dispatch
NSOperation
Let me explain about NSOperation.
NSOperationQueue
NSOperationQueue manages the concurrent execution of code operations in Xcode. It acts as a priority queue because operations are executed in a First-In-First-Out manner, with higher-priority (NSOperation.queuePriority) ones getting to the lower-priority ones.
NSOperation
NSOperation is a single unit of work. It’s an abstract class that provides a useful, thread-safe structure for programming.NSOperation will perform network requests, text processing, or any other repeatable long-running task that produces associated state or data.
There are two different operations you can create, which are prebuilt in once which are NSInvocationOperation and NSBlockOperation.
Priority
All operations may not be equally important. Setting the queuePriority property will promote or defer an operation in an NSOperationQueue according to the following rankings:
When an NSOperation completes, it will execute its completionBlock only once. This provides a way to customize the behaviour of operation when used in a model or view controller.
Sass is the most mature, stable, and powerful professional CSS extension language in the world initially designed by Hampton Catlin and developed by Natalie Weizenbaum. Sass is completely compatible with all versions of CSS. We take this compatibility so that you can use any available CSS libraries. Sass boasts more features and abilities than any other CSS extension language out there.
There is an endless number of frameworks built with Sass. Compass, Bourbon, and Susy just to name a few.
Sass is an extension of CSS3, adding nested rules, variables, mixins, selector inheritance, and more. It’s translated to well-formatted, standard CSS using the command-line tool or a web-framework plug-in.
SASS Syntaxes
Sass has two syntaxes. The main syntax (as of Sass 3) is known as “SCSS” (for “Sassy CSS”) and is a superset of CSS3’s syntax. This means that every valid CSS3 style sheet is valid SCSS as well. SCSS files use the extension .scss.
The second, older syntax is known as the indented syntax (or just “Sass”). Inspired by Haml’s terseness, it’s intended for people who prefer conciseness over similarity to CSS. Instead of brackets and semicolons, it uses the indentation of lines to specify blocks. Although no longer the primary syntax, the indented syntax will continue to be supported. Files in the indented syntax use the extension .sass.
Pros and Cons of Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets (SASS)
SASS Pros
1. Clean Code
If you are coming from Python,Ruby (you can even write props with symbol-like syntax) or even CoffeeScript world, it will come very natural to you – writing mixins, functions and generally any reusable stuff in sass is much ‘easier’ and readable than in scss(subjective).
2. Shorter Development Time
With Sass, you can save a lot of time if you know how to use it well. In addition to CSS, sass lets you write functions, mixins, you can import styles and many such time-saving bits. With proper naming of classes, you can create your own common styles which can be used whenever you want instead of calling the same styles repeatedly. This saves a lot of time just like bootstrap does when you need a ‘text-centre’ class or a ‘pull-right’ to position your element.
3. Consistency
It is always easier to reuse what we have already written than to write new patterns. Along with the fact that this saves a lot of time, you can also have a consistent pattern throughout your page. You won’t have to scale through each element while continuing through the website development.
4. Reduced HTTP requests
Unlike the regular CSS, Sass lets you to breakdown your style sheet into several bits or parts and can be called using @import keyword. The Sass compiler will then combine your style sheet into a single CSS file, which will not only get your style sheet organized but also will reduce the HTTP requests passed and thus allow it to load much faster.
SASS Cons
1. Space Sensitive
Sass is space sensitive. Sass does not support the use of extra unnecessary spaces. If we, even accidentally leave extra space or forget to include a semi-colon, sass compiler will show an error which sometimes gets really annoying.
For example:On the below image, you can find an error on line 3057 that happened due to missing braces.
An error on line 3057 due to missing braces
2. Need to write all styles initially
One of the advantages of using sass is that we can reuse the same styles more easily. But to do that, we initially need to write up all the necessary styles which are to be later imported or included and which can be considered time-consuming. Nevertheless, it’s worth it.
In general, there are many advantages and disadvantages to using sass. If you know to use it well, you could get the best out of it. Even some of the disadvantages can be considered as an advantage.
Like a small mistake in the syntax will make the compiler to show an error message. This may be annoying but there might come certain situations when this could actually help you to save a lot of time. For example, in CSS, we make a small mistake like forget a space. But we won’t notice it and the compiler will show no error. But we won’t get the expected result either. So, we might actually spend lots of time researching what went wrong until we figure out that it was a small space issue. In sass, the compiler will immediately show the error even if a small space is missing and could be helpful.
Quick Tips
When you’re starting a project and you intend to do it in sass, these tips may come handy:
– Keep your sass style sheet structured so that it will be easy to maintain.
To create a sass file, first, you need to create a normal CSS file. Save it as ‘file-name’.scss in your CSS directory where your normal CSS files are saved. Also, create a normal CSS file in the same directory. The styles you write in your scss file will be automatically added to your CSS file by the sass compiler.
To compile the sass file, you need to perform the following steps:
Open command prompt
2. Navigate to the location where your CSS files are saved.
For example: cd C:\wamp\www\example\wp-content\themes\example\css
3. Write the SASS command
Write the SASS command to start compiling the SASS file. Command: sass –watch custom.scss:custom.css
Are you someone who always find it difficult to write the next line of code during the development process?
Do you need help in development, designing or coding domains?
How often have you stuck while coding as you have no idea on how to achieve the required function?
I know the answer may be a big ‘Yes’ from so many.
Stuck while coding. It’s the programmer’s worst enemy – it hurts your productivity, your confidence, your happiness and your peace of mind. It doesn’t mean that you are a failure or inefficient. It’s just that the problem you are facing is complicated and you need help. So, take this situation as a learning opportunity.
First, make sure that you do not get angry and frustrated on the situation, these will not guide you to the proper destination. So just take a break or do something else for a while and back with a fresh mind. You can make wonders with fresh eyes and a cool mind.
A good developer comes through proper practice and experience. They utilize all possible resources including Google search, Forums and any other available resources.
Seeking help from other resources doesn’t make anyone a bad or lazy developer. But, a worse developer is one who didn’t know where to look for help for resolving a problem.
There is a wide range of problem-solving tools and Forums available today. The most crucial thing is how we use it once information been found. Ideally, we should avoid copy and pasting and instead we must read and understand the code before incorporating int into the program we are developing.
Well, let’s see some excellent forums and sites which help to wipes out the obstacles in your work!
Top resources to solve your coding deadlocks
Stack Overflow
If you are a developer or designer, can you imagine days without Stack Overflow? Obviously, it’s difficult, right? If you are getting stuck, the best ever destination will be none other than Stack Overflow. So, this is one of the most active technical Question &Answer sites and it was evoked by Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky in 2008.
Today the Stack Overflow can be rated as Programmer’s Heaven with its excellent tips on problem-solving. There are thousands, if not lakhs, of programmers who can help us to resolve a problem.
If you are going to ask a question, first, you should do a proper search since a similar question may be answered by someone already on the platform. If you need an answer to something new, then you can ask a question. So, when you get stuck with an error, invest time to convey the question in a proper way. For example, you can post the exact text with the error or post the code you have already tried. Also mention the software version you are using along with the question.
Before going to ask a question, keep on mind about:
Invest Time
Be on Topic
Start questioning yourself
Be prepared to communicate
In short, Stack Overflow is extremely helpful, and it’s absolutely fit to be declared as ‘Programmer’s Heaven’.
Quora
Quora is an excellent question/answer (Q&A) forum permitting its members to post questions and answers. Users can also search for questions and answers for a quick fix.
You can get the best code written by the experts on Quora. It’s a huge treasure with millions of fascinating answers on each and every topic that may be interesting to you. Quora can be used as a quick reference for any kind of programming doubts you have in your mind.
One of our team implemented coco3D with guidance from an expert on Quora and we made it a great success. It’s not only used as a helping forum by people, but also it’s a popular platform to share your valuable knowledge. So, get ready to share some of your great ideas. Maybe it would help others who may be looking for an answer or idea that they need in their life.
GitHub
GitHub is awesome for finding info on coding related topics. I’ve used it for a lot of research purposes and got excellent bits of help on many topics. GitHub helps you to find that perfect set of code that will help you to solve the programming problem you are facing. It provides its users with a platform to discuss the problems that they are trying to solve.
GitHub’s tagging system can be considered as a great advantage. Another advantage is the GitHub repository. People can surely reap benefits from it. Availability of the complete code is the highlight of this site. In this competitive programming world, GitHub will surely help to win the race.
Creator’s own Forums
Are you a kind of person who likes to seek help from the creator’s domain? Here creator means the expert(s) who is the founder of a technology. I know some of my colleagues who usually choose this path whenever they get into any kind of deadlocks in programming. Finding solutions from the creator’s page will surely outrank the benefits of referring to any other resource.
Be sure to first visit WordPress own forum for any support on WordPress related problems. On this platform, every question are answered quickly. If you are facing any issues related to Android Development, then you must visit Android Support center and for iOS, you can get expert advice from iOS professional support team. So, start referring to Creator’s forum and solve your programming related issues with ease and in the most perfect way.
General Forums
Just like the listed resources above, there are many other knowledge treasures on the web as well. Let’s have a look at some helpful websites which may help you with solving your programming related queries.
Site Point
Site Point is one among the most popular online forum for developers and designers today. It is recommended as the best place to get expert solution for your problem and it has around 250,000 members.
Digital Point
Digital point is an excellent forum which is professionally managed by experienced technical leaders. It is one of the biggest webmaster communities for web developers and designers.
MacRumors
MacRumors provides the latest news related to Apple along with rumours related to the same topic. It is also an active iPhone and iPad development Forum. Every thread is replied to and there exist a wide variety of topics. It is worth to post your programming related queries there.
Experts Exchange
We can meet thousands of experts on Experts Exchange to answer every technical question, and it contributes to the success of professionals all over the world.
Dynamic Drive Forum
Dynamic Drive Forum is described as the programmers’ favourite place on the web because it helps them to find fault in their code and also the solution for the same.
So, next time you are stuck with an issue during the development of a program, don’t get depressed but explore these resources. You will surely find the light to come out of the cave you are trapped in.
You might see the Ads with the top row results in the Google search. What are they, why they differ from the other results?
Those are Google ads that a company paid for so that people will notice their business whenever they’re searching Google. And, the company only have to pay whenever someone clicks on the ad. This is known as cost-per-click advertising (CPC).
How to show your Ads on Google
Go to http://tinyurl.com/pevnb3j and create your own Google ads account. Then you can create your Ads with your preferred locations, keywords, etc. For help on creating managing your Google ads account go to http://tinyurl.com/qy6kuq7
Google ads API
The Google ads API allows applications to interact directly with the Google ads platform. You can build applications to more efficiently manage large or complex Google ads accounts. If you want to use Google ads API in your applications, first you will have to create an MCC account.
What is an MCC account?
MCC (My Client Center) Account
An MCC account -manager account- is a Google ads account that lets you easily view and manage multiple Google ads accounts –including other manager accounts– from a single location.
You can create a new MCC account here – http://tinyurl.com/q9n7gsh
After downloading go to the following path? “..\utilities\OAuthTokenGenerator\bin\Debug\”. There you can see a file named ‘OauthTokenGenerator.exe’. Run the file and you will get the following screen:
Submit Client ID and Client Secret you have handy then click OK, and it will show you the Refresh Token for your account.
Find the .dll files inside – “..\examples\AdWords\CSharp\bin\Debug\”.
Please note: You can use the Developer Token only after your MCC account is verified by Google Team. This process is done by humans and it needs long time so. (sometimes it takes more than two months!)
Want to start coding right away?
MCC test Accounts comes for help.
MCC Test Account
MCC test accounts allow developers to execute AdWords API requests against the production environment for development and testing purposes. The MCC Test Account will not server the Ads on real Google search.
You must use a production (non-test) MCC account’s developer token to make AdWords API calls against a test account. You can use the production developer token against a test account even when the production developer token is pending approval.
The search module is a vital component in today’s web applications. Its importance, as well as user-friendliness, is very critical in the growth of the business.
Two most important, most discussed, and widely used Search Engines are Apache Solr and Amazon CloudSearch. Both Solr and Amazon CloudSearch are search platforms that enable you to search your data by submitting HTTP requests and receive responses in either XML or JSON.
Apache Solr is open-source software. It is written entirely in Java and uses Lucene as the “engine” but adds full enterprise search server features and capabilities. Highly specialized search solution companies like lucid works, search technologies etc may prefer creating plugins and modules using open source code which gives more flexibility and control. The current, released, stable version of Apache Solr is 3.3.
Why need search engines?
So, why we really need a search engine?
Do the direct search in the database is not enough?
This is the first question that came to my mind when I was about to integrate Solr to one of our projects. I went on with some researches based on these questions.
What the search engines actually do?
Search engines go through each and every data and find a match if exist. If for a small web application direct database search is fine. But for applications with huge data, if we do a direct database search it will be a heavy process to perform a search.
What search engines like Solr do is, they read the data from database and keep a local index with that data. Periodically or when some data update occurs, we update the index also. And, when we perform the search, the search is done in the index and matching results are fetched from the index. Since the index and the code lie on the same location, search becomes tremendously fast and easy.
First, download the latest version of the Service from the official site. Solr is written in Java so you also need Java Runtime Environment to run it.
$ cd solr-4.1.0/example/
$ java -jar start.jar
Once JRE is installed and started, Solr will be available with a web interface on port 8983. Open a web browser and go to http://localhost:8983/solr/(assuming Solr is installed in your local server). You can see something similar to the following image:
If you look at the left-hand side navigation you will find “collection1″. Collections in Solr are something similar to a database table. You can query it. Click on the collection and choose “query” from the submenu.
The first option is called “Request-Handler (qt)” with default value “/select”. Request handlers are sort of pre-defined queries. Next parameter is a query and its default value “*:*” selects everything. If you execute the query, it will select all data from the index. For now, since the index is empty, it will give zero results.
Now, we need to insert some data to the index from our database, right? First, include the Solr service.php (the config file that reads and writes data to the Solr Index). Now, fetch the current index and save it to a new array say $results_old. So $results_old->response->docs shall contain all the data in the Solr index (if there is some data, for now, no value will be there). Fetch whatever data we want to index from the database and map it to the Solr index fields. Once all data are mapped, write them to the index in a key->value pair format.
If you do a normal select query from the web interface, you will get a result similar to the following:
Now how to use Solr with your PHP project? You shall be having the PHP library called solr-php-client. It offers an object-oriented interface to Solr, somewhat like the PHP Solr extension. This library is however fully implemented in PHP so it can easily be used on any PHP environment. You may download it from : http://code.google.com/p/solr-php-client/downloads/list .
Once the library is added along with your project files, go to the file SolrPhpClient/Apache/Solr/Service.php . This is the main configuration file.
To connect your project with Solr, include the service.php file in your code. Then you will be able to access the Solr object as:
$solr = new Apache_Solr_Service(SOLRHOST, SOLRPORT, SOLRNAME);
Now, we need to write our data retrieved from the database to the Solr index. First initialize the Solr document as:
$document = new Apache_Solr_Document();
Save each of your data as a key-value pair (if multiple tables, using multidimensional array structure so that, the table names fall on the parent key-value pair.). After adding all your data to the Solr document,
These are the basic steps, to integrate Solr with your project. You have connected your project with Solr, added your data to it and performed search too.
Distinctive advantages of Solr in my experience
Solr is one of the most widely used Search Engines in the current world. Here follow the major reasons for why Solr is most opted.
Apache Solr has multilingual support. So, you can make it useful for your websites which are not necessarily in English.
Faceting is one of the important features used in eCommerce website search modules. Faceting allows you to categorize your results into sub-groups, which can be used as the basis for another search. Solr supports Faceting to a minimal level.
When you do a search, as you type you will be able to see suggestions of popular queries in relevance to the input are presented as shown in the following image like what we see in Google Search.
This feature is called Auto Suggest. This feature can be implemented at the Search Engine level or at the Search Application level. Apache Solr has the native support for the autosuggest feature. It can be facilitated in many ways using – NGramFilterFactory, EdgeNGramFilterFactory or TermsComponent. Usually, you can find this feature of Apache Solr is used in conjunction with jQuery for creating powerful auto-suggestion experience in applications.
Ecommerce sites can benefit from the “Find Similar” feature as research suggests that users typically compare products before making a transaction and are likely to buy a product which is better. Apache Solr implements the “Find Similar” feature using handlers/components like MoreLikeThisHandler orMoreLikeThisComponent.
Sometimes when we type the search term spellings go wrong, then the search engine automatically corrects the spelling and present you with even the search result. This feature of presenting the user with spelling corrected suggestions is called “Did you mean…” feature. Apache Solr implements the “Did you mean…” feature with the Spellcheck search component.
Apache Solr has many algorithms including cache implementations such as LRUCache and FastLRUCache. Solr, being open-source, it can be extended by adding your own algorithms.
Solr is a free service. All you need to do is install the Solr to your server, add the Solr-php-client library, and write some small codes to connect your project to Solr.
Often in our work, we do not get managers, designers, developers, research experts etc. working in the same office premises. To get the right skills and experiences, we must expand our teams beyond within the same premises to locations in different cities, states of the same country and sometimes even to continents.
Managing spread apart teams is a very responsible task and even great managers struggle to establish successful collaboration among remote teams. To develop mutual understanding and trust among teams, to bring all team members to team’s objectives, to keep them stay on track, to give a fair deal to all teams irrespective of their locations etc. is a huge challenge that if not considered carefully can lead to disastrous results. There are some key criteria that need to be practised in order to have a successful set up for remote teams.
All team members must unite on the team’s objective. Everyone must be clear on the common purpose and the team’s goals.
Team Charter is a great solution to this. Team Charters are documents that describe the team’s goals, resources, roles and responsibilities, deliverables, desired end results etc. Contents of Team Charter might vary from situation to situation, find out the right contents that will help you convey team objectives. This will help teams to stay focused on the right things and in the right direction. It also helps the team to get a big picture of their mission.
Use proper and consistent communication methods
Communication is a key factor in building up successful remote teams.
Make sure all your team members report their work status regularly, train other team members as needed, share knowledge, inform if they are stuck with their work so that proper guidance can be provided, and goals are met.
50 years back it was almost impossible to think of remote communication, but with all advanced technologies in the market today, remote communication and collaboration have become such an easy task.
There are so many free and paid online tools for chat, calls, video conferencing etc. that can be used efficiently to communicate requirements, discuss, share ideas and see results. Make sure all your teams use a common medium to chat, call, attend meetings etc. Skype, Instant Messenger, Google Hangouts etc. are some good tools to stay connected with the team through text, video and voice chat. Basecamp, Trello, BusyFlow, Asana are some of the good Project/Task Management tools. Dropbox, Google Docs, GlassCubes etc. can be used for File Management/Sharing with the team.
Arrange weekly status calls
Schedule team meetings and 1:1s on a regular basis. Schedule a time that works for everyone. Sometimes it might be difficult to find a common time among people working in different time zones and work schedule, talk to the team and make sure you come up with a time that suits all your team members and everyone attends the status call so that you can ensure tasks set for each milestone is successfully met.
Reward them
Be willing to reward your team for their good work! Before you decide on a perk, understand how your team want to be recognized. Learning how your team want to get recognized for an achievement will help you make sure your efforts to reward them is successful.
For example, married people might want a few days off so that they spend time with their families, tech addicts might be interested in gadgets. Some people might just want a sincere “thank you” note that gives them that feeling of recognition. Understand your team’s interests and reward appropriately. Don’t forget they are the ones who worked sincerely, taking all pressure, keeping aside their families and other priorities and bring your company the success and money you looked for.
Whatever way you do it will only help build up the team and people will remember for a long time thus, strengthening the bond of trust and loyalty.
In-person gatherings
Team retreats may not always be possible especially if the teams are in different cities or continents but if you can make it happen once a while, it will help people know each other, build connections and friendship that would, in turn, help build better and strong teams.
Collaborating with a remote team: Don’ts
Don’t be too bossy
Don’t put strict rules. Managers have to closely monitor work progress, but if you impose strict rules about working hours etc., people maybe not be able to bring desired results. This may demotivate them from their work bringing failure to your project plan.
Trust your team
Best and most productive teams are built from trust. Unified culture and solid trust build understanding among each other.
However, trust is a big problem in many parts of the world. Managers are not sure if they can rely on remote teams to produce results. There is a deep-rooted apprehension that absence in office (and working from home etc.) means neglecting work and becoming less productive.
Trust is a key factor to decide if you want remote teams or not.
Do not be unfair to teams
People get a feel of isolation or being left out or unrecognized if one team gets more appreciation/recognition than other teams. Recognize every team and every individual’s work however small it may be. Tomorrow that team/person may be the one contributing most to your company.
Conclusion
Remote Working – boon or bane is in our hands. Challenges are there for sure in remote working, but with little carefulness, commitment and planning, remote working can become a wonderful thing and I believe you can reap substantial benefits in the long run. Giving the flexibility to work at home or remotely greatly boosts employee morale, increases productivity and help staff retention. Making sure the right processes are in place and the right policies are applied, you can have successful communication and collaboration among remote teams.
Market research has shown that 95% of users assess the value of your website based on its visual appearance. Websites must be creative and innovative enough to keep users attracted to your website.
When someone visits your website, their first question would be “Why must I access this site when I have other real worth websites? What is so different about this site?” and that’s where your website must stand out from the crowd dominantly, clearly and convincingly answering user’s queries and making them stay on your website.
Parallax Scrolling is one such hot design technique used in most of today’s websites providing its users close interaction with the site and making browsing more interesting. Parallax effect was more popular in 2D video games in earlier days, but with the advancement in JavaScript, one can successfully use effects of Parallax in their website to give completely unique experience.
How Parallax Scrolling works
Parallax scrolling is achieved by having the background image (or elements) move slower than the foreground image giving an impression of 3D depth. Different elements move at a different speed, creating a sense of animation and enhanced interactive user experience. Content is marked up using HTML tags, while jQuery checks how far the user has scrolled and move different elements at a different speed.
The Parallax movement started in the web using two simple layers. Thanks to advancement in JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS3, now foreground and background elements can be grouped into different layers and speed of these elements can be controlled based on their layers.
Pros of Parallax Scrolling
Holding visitor interest
As a user scrolls down the page, he is taken to the next level of information without having the user to click anywhere to see the information. This feature keeps user attracted to your website, stirring their interest and wanting them to view more of the information.
Better product display
Instead of just displaying your product as a static image, Parallax scrolling can help the user explore your product in a totally new and different way. It gives 3D view presentation controlled by their own scrolling behaviour.
Bagigia is a classic website where user gets totally different experience of viewing products. 3D presentation of the product is shown with the user controlling the scrolling behaviour.
Visual narration (Storytelling) made more efficient
Storytelling is the best way to communicate a message to a human mind. A well-designed, one-page website can prove powerful storytelling equipment because scrolling through it will be like reading an interesting book that you cannot put down unless complete.
With the right amount of animation and scrolling, Parallax scrolling can effectively communicate your message about your product, their effects and the audience. Parallax provides a nice overview of your website by letting the user visualize the website through scrolling efforts.
Unique Design
Using the Parallax effect, you can design a website that is visually appealing and user-friendly and make your website more fun place and interactive thus, making it stand out from the crowd.
Cons of Parallax Scrolling
Parallax site takes longer to load
JavaScript/JQuery is used to calculate the position of every element in the page and every time there is a scroll, position of all elements needs to be re-calculated that could slow down page load.
Parallax Scrolling does not always work
Parallax effect does not always work well with mobile technology. You might need to make sure you have a separate mobile-optimized version of your website if your parallax scrolling website does not play well on mobile devices.
Too much scrolling
Too much scrolling may irritate the user that would tempt them to leave the site before viewing the main contents of your website.
Conclusion
Parallax scrolling is just sweeping the entire web community and is expanding across the web. Parallax scrolling websites are the future of tomorrow’s website design. It has become the biggest trend in the design world today and when done right and with the right amount of Parallax scrolling, it can no doubt, put your website ahead of the curve providing that extra edge over your competition.
There are too many devices and applications flooding in the market by different businesses. These businesses need to transmit and access a huge amount of data every day across multiple devices. With the advancement in device technology, we have to make sure that the data transmitted and accessed do not fall into wrong hands.
In order to overcome this fear, most of the companies are using a Mobile Device Management software that helps to keep the data under vigilance. So, in general, Mobile device Management helps organizations to keep control of the various connected devices to avoid any possible security issue and improve better productivity.
Mobile Device Management software are tools that are used for deploying, monitoring, securing and managing the smartphones, tablets and laptops in the workplace that are involved in the distribution of application data and configuration settings.
With the advent of this tool, the main authority of an organization has now complete control over the devices that are connected to the network.
Mobile Device Management applications are either implemented as in-house deployed and managed applications or externally deployed via “SaaS” (cloud-based) or online hosted models.
Some of the Mobile Device Management tools are carrier-specific. Carrier hosted MDM application control only devices offered by the carrier. Most of them are Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) versions of MDM applications that are modified with specific carrier features.
In general, the main aim of MDM is to optimize the functionality and security of mobile devices. One of the popularly increasing approaches in MDM is the “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) approach which allows the employees to bring mobile devices of their choice with access to internal networks. These devices are remotely managed with minimum disruption to the employees.
Advantages of Mobile Device Management
Nowadays, Mobile Device Management tools are growing in number. By optimizing the mobile devices, security risks, and the support costs are lowered along with protecting the data and the configuration settings.
With the help of an efficient Mobile device management tool, users can trace the connected devices and can send messages to different devices simultaneously without any additional charges.
Whether it’s a company-owned or personal device, Mobile Device Management solutions can control and protect the data and configuration settings of any mobile device. With the arrival of MDM tools, it encourages more productivity by making the employees of an organization work any time and any place securely.
Some tips that have to be kept in mind while creating an MDM strategy.
Always make sure what device the workers use, whether it’s a corporate-issued device or bring your own devices (BYOD) issued by the company.
Make sure the chosen device can handle the security level as per your business requirement.
Device usage policies and Security related issues should be communicated with the employees from the beginning. Make sure the device has remote wiping capabilities and remote alert facilities if an unauthorized user tries to access the device.
Always give the employee clear information about what applications is permissible on the employee device.
Implement strong passwords to keep the data safe.
Smartphones and mobile devices nowadays are very similar to desktops and notebooks regarding communication power, data storage and accessibility. MDM applications can be used to control these devices together and preventing the data to reach the wrong hand. Since there are too many devices in the market along with with a lot a greater number of applications, the MDM is becoming a mandatory addition to the IT infrastructure.
Mobile Application Market is gaining so much popularity now. With so many innovations happening in the field of mobile technology, mobile application testing is becoming a very essential part of the Software Development Life Cycle.
Excellent quality and highly efficient application have become a great challenge. To meet this challenge in a fruitful way, thorough and repeated testing of the system is required. Thorough testing can ensure that the application runs smoothly and meets user expectation. Effective test strategy and a combination of manual and automated testing tools are required to ensure a high-quality app.
Automated tests increase effectiveness and productivity and help maximum code coverage. Automated testing is sometimes considered as high cost, but if utilized effectively with balanced manual testing, the end result is overwhelming.
Why Test Automation?
There are many advantages to using Test Automation. It is fast and can be efficiently used for repeated testing. It can quickly find out the defects that occur due to the code changes thus, ensuring stability to the system. Repetition of tests can be effectively achieved using automated testing.
What is MonkeyTalk?
MonkeyTalk is one such automation tool used for efficient functionality testing of iOS and Android mobile applications. It is a cross-platform testing tool that record and playback functional test suites for iOS and Android applications running on real devices, emulators or simulator. Monkey Talk supports both native and hybrid iOS and Android apps.
MonkeyTalk has basically three components:
MonkeyTalk IDE – is an Eclipse-based tool that helps in the record, playback, manage, edit test suites for iOS and Android apps.
MonkeyTalk Agent – are the libraries that must be included in the mobile application under test. These Agents help the application to record and play MonkeyTalk commands.
MonekyTalk Scripts – describe different activities that need to be performed while testing.
Benefits of MonkeyTalk tool
A free, Open Source and simple to use tool.
Can be used for both iOS and Android applications.
Easy to understand and learn.
Testers need not be expert programmers to use the tool.
Support almost all iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod etc.) and Android devices, either tethered or over the network.
Unlike other automation tools, MonkeyTalk uses Object-based recording. Object-based scripting is more flexible and unbreakable when compared to Image-based scripting.
Touch and gesture-based operations are easily captured by this tool. Actions like swipe, drag, move etc. can be efficiently recorded and played back.
MonkeyTalk is a cross-platform tool. For logically identical apps, MonkeyTalk commands recorded in one OS can be played in another OS.
Limitations of MonkeyTalk
Mobile app under test must be instrumented with MonkeyTalk Agent which means access to source code is required or help from the developer is needed. Also, 3rd party apps (like Camera, Map etc.) cannot be tested as the source code is not available.
Currently, it can be used only for iPhone and Android applications testing.
Conclusion
MonkeyTalk is a simple yet tremendously powerful test automation tool for iOS and Android applications. There are so many exciting things yet to happen in MonkeyTalk world and with all the upcoming features to test desktop apps, flex mobile apps, more reliable tests for game engines of mobile games etc., MonkeyTalk has a great future ahead of it!
With the emergence of advanced technologies, there is an increase in information sharing through social networking sites and using the web for doing business. As a reason, websites are being hacked more than often. Majority of website attacks happens due to imperfection in coding and failure to sanitize input to and output from the web application. Here are some of the software security issues that we face today.
1. SQL injection
An SQL injection is one of the mechanisms used by hackers or attackers to steal data from organizations. SQL injection as the name suggests it is the process of injecting malicious SQL statement into the application where the hacker or attacker has the access to back end database.
It helps the attacker or hacker to create, update, read, alter or delete the data stored in the back-end database. Once the attacker understands the system is vulnerable to SQL injection the hacker or attacker can inject SQL commanhds through an input field, which helps an attacker to take control of the database where he can execute various Queries.
SQL injection can be prevented by providing validation for the fields where the user input is authenticated for specific length type and business requirements.
Also, remove all the stored procedures that are not in use to improve your software security.
2. Cross-Site Scripting (CSS or XSS)
XSS allows the attacker to inject client-side script into Web pages viewed by other users. These may be used by attackers to bypass access controls. By using cross-site scripting the attacker or hacker can inject malicious Javascript, VBScript, Flash, ActiveX into a dynamic web page to gather all the data executing these scripts. Mainly web server applications that generate the page dynamically are vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting if there is no proper validation for user input and to ensure that pages generated are encoded properly.
Two types of Cross-Site Scripting are Persistent and Non-Persistent.
Persistent
A persistent type of CSS is done when the attacker enters the malicious data to the web application and the entered data is permanently stored in the database. In this case, each and every person visiting the page will be a victim of Cross-site scripting. This affects every user of the website as it is stored in the database permanently.
Non Persistent
The malicious code injected by the attacker is executed on the users’ browser and the code is not stored anywhere it is executed along with the response from the server.
3. Cross-Site Request Forgery
A malicious website will send a request to a web application where the user has already entered the credentials through a different website. Like this a hacker can access all the functionalities in a target web application via the victims already authenticated browser.
In these cases, the malicious request is sent from the attackers’ website to another site the user has validated against.
The malicious requests are sent to the target site through the victim’s browser, which is authenticated against the target site.
Cross-Site Request Forgery can be prevented by inserting unpredictable challenge tokens to each request and associating with the user’s session. Each token created will be unique for each session. By including these tokens, the programmers can be sure that the request is valid and not coming from other sources.
4. URL redirection
URL redirection happens when a user clicks on a link on the vulnerable website takes him to an untrusted website. This way an attacker can redirect web user to other websites which are used for phishing and similar attacks. These URL redirections can pass the applications access control check and make the attacker use the privileged functions that they would normally not able to access.
These kinds of URL redirection can be prevented by
Do not use users’ input for URL
If dynamic URLs are used Make a list of the valid URLs and never accepts invalid URLs
Always make sure that the accepted URLs are located on the accepted domains.
Make all the redirects to first go through a page notifying users that they are going off your site and have a confirmation link to click.
5. OS Command Injection
OS command injection is a technique used to inject the OS command through the web interface to execute it on the Server. Any web interface that is not properly coded will be subject to this attack. With these, the user can upload malicious programs or even obtain passwords if the attacker is successful in executing OS commands. These threats occur because the application fails to validate and sanitize the parameters invoking shell functions such as system() or exec() to execute system commands.
Types of command Injection
Direct command injection
Indirect command injection.
Direct Command Injection
In this case, the attacker understands the application invokes a system command as an argument to the command. Then passes the malicious command as a part of the expected arguments.
Indirect Command Injection
In this case, the additional commands are indirectly supplied to the vulnerable application through a file or environment variable. Once the attacker deducts that the application invokes a system command from an external source, then he modifies the contents from the external source to add a malicious command.
The best way to prevent OS Command injection is to sanitize the URL and form data for invalid characters. Also, a list of allowable characters should be created to validate user input. Characters that are misused and unwanted threats should be eliminated by this list.
Computer security is a vast topic that is becoming more important as all the transactions taking place are interconnected. If given proper attention to the coding standards and necessary validation for the field, we can have control over the main security threats happening.
In 1985, Canada’s Therac-25 radiation therapy machine malfunctioned due to software bug and delivered lethal radiation doses to patients, leaving 3 people dead and critically injuring 3 others.
During the first Gulf War, an American Patriot Missile system in Saudi Arabia failed to intercept an incoming Iraqi Scud missile due to a software rounding error in calculation. The missile destroyed an American Army barracks and 28 soldiers dead, 100 injured.
In May of 1996, a software bug caused the bank accounts of 823 customers of a major U.S. bank to be credited with 920 million US dollars.
Do you realize, how Testing is vital?
Do you think, understanding a product and testing the same against functionality, performance, security, GUI and many others is an easy task?
We can implement new & better choices for a product’s quality and security. There are lots of ways to test our product.
The most accepted deal is unit testing. Also, we should need to write functional or acceptance tests as well. For all these Codeception is the right choice! The Codeception testing framework figures out all these levels of testing and it is a multi-featured testing framework for PHP.
Codeception can handle unit, functional, and acceptance testing of web applications.
Major types of Tests
It was evoked in November 2011 and released the first stable version 1.0 in January 2012. Codeception tries to simplify and combine the process of writing tests, plugging different testing suites with the use of modules and it opens the way to anyone to extend and sharpen it. Codeception is testing framework in which all tests are written in a single descriptive manner.
What variety of tests & How?
Major types of Tests covered and its Pros & Cons
Acceptance Test (WebGuy)
Acceptance testing can be performed by a non-technical person. That person can be your tester, manager or even client. It allows us to test our applications using the normal website viewing process i.e.; visit a webpage, fill in a form, and submit the form to see the desired result.
The difference is with Codeception, we don’t have to waste time going to the browser each time we want to test a new feature out, instead, we can just run our acceptance tests to see its passes or not.
Try a sample scenario;
Probably the first test you would want to run would be signing in. In order to write such a test, we still require basic knowledge of PHP and HTML.
This scenario can probably be read by non-technical people. Codeception can even ‘naturalize’ this scenario, converting it into plain English:
It can be done by command:
The Want To section describes your scenario in brief. The $I object is used to write all interactions. The methods of the $I object are taken from the PhpBrowser and Db modules. We assume that all am commands should describe the starting environment. The amOnPage command sets the starting point of a test to the /login page. With the PhpBrowser you can click the links and fill the forms. That will probably be the majority of your actions.
Functional Test (TestGuy)
We can check our application without running it on a server, this is what done on Functional tests. These tests are written in the same way as Acceptance tests with PhpBrowser module enabled. It’s tested by a technically advanced guy i.e., TestGuy. The TestGuy knows how the application works, passes different $_GET, $_POST and $_REQUEST variables to assure the functionality. Codeception can connect to numerous web frameworks Symfony2, Laravel4, Yii2, Zend Framework and others which support functional testing.
We can open a web page with amOnPage command.
We can click links to open web pages of the application.
Functional tests will perform much better if we use powerful frameworks. It allows us to access and manipulate their internal states and this helps our tests shorter and faster. On the other hand, if we do not use frameworks there is no practical reason to write functional tests.
Let’s allow our application tested by this technically advanced guy for better results.
Unit Test (CodeGuy)
“Unit” casually refers to low-level tests and the developer understands how and what is tested here, though some would say a better name is DeveloperTest. The person testing, CodeGuy, knows the internals of the application and tests database operations and anything else that might need proof of concept. Codeception provides some well-built tools to make your unit tests simpler and cleaner. Even inexperienced developers should understand what is tested and how.
We can start with generating a classical PHPUnit test by this command:
We can use another command to create Codeception-powered unit tests.
Both tests will create a new ExampleTest file located in tests/unit directory.
A test created by generate:test command will look like this:
This class has predefined _before and _after methods to start with. We can use them to create a tested object before each test and destroy it afterwards. All Codeception tests are written in a descriptive manner. We can easily catch it from the test body. Its aim is to make tests easy to read, easy to write and easy to debug.
After all, this is how the Codeception works and you should give it a try on yourself.
The last decade was a victim of a big blast in the tech-Industry by the introduction of technologies like Wearable Computers, Ultra-private devices, Devops, Software-defined data centres, Big Data, Smart Mobiles, Cloud Computing, etc. Out of this, Big Data is becoming the next big thing in the IT world.
There is something that is so big that we can’t avoid it, even if we want to. “Big Data” is one of those things.
The Big Data is not just a group of data, but different types of data are handled in new ways. Big Data is nothing but a collection of vast and complex data that it becomes very tedious to capture, store, process, retrieve and analyze it with the help of on-hand database management tools or traditional data processing techniques.
Giant companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart as well as organizations such as the U.S. government and NASA are using Big Data to meet their business. Big Data can also play a role for small or medium-sized companies and organizations that recognize the possibilities to capitalize upon the gains.
Why Big Data?
Big Data is demanded for:
Increase of storage capacity
Increase of processing power
Availability of Data (different data type)
The three V’s in Big Data
The three V’s “volume, velocity and variety” concepts invented by Doug Laney in 2001 to refer to the challenge of data management. Big Data is high-volume, velocity and variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making.
3 V’s of BIG DATA
1. Volume
Volume refers to the vast amount of data generated every second. (A lot of data, more than can easily be handled by a single database, computer or spreadsheet)
2. Velocity
It refers to the speed at which new data is generated and the speed at which data moves around.
3. Variety
It refers to the different kinds of information in each record, lacking inherent structure or predictable size, rate of arrival, transformation, or analysis when processed.
Additionally, a new V, “Veracity” is added by some organizations to describe it.
4. Veracity
Veracity refers to the reliability and difficulty of the data. The quality of the data being captured can vary greatly. Accuracy of analysis depends on the veracity of the source data.
Big Data Analysis: Some recent technologies
Companies are depending on the following technologies to do Big Data analysis:
Speedy and efficient processors.
Modern storage and processing technologies, especially for unstructured data
Robust server processing capacities
Cloud computing
Clustering, high connectivity, parallel processing, MPP
Apache Hadoop/ Hadoop Big Data
9 ways to build-up Self–Assurance in Big Data
The various process to build up courage in Big Data
1. Data Exploration
Big Data exploration permits to discover and mine Big Data to find, Visualize and understand all Big Data to improve decision making.
2. Application Consolidation and Retirement
File the old application data and update new application deployment with test data management, integration and data quality.
3. Enhanced 360-degree view of the customer
It allows customer-facing professionals with improved and accurate information to involve customers to develop trusted relationships and improve loyalty. To gain that 360-degree view of the customer, the organization needs to force internal and external sources with structured and unstructured data.
4. Security and Intelligence Extension
The increasing numbers of crimes – cyber-based terrorism and computer interruptions posters a real threat to every individual and organization. To meet the security challenges, businesses need to enhance security platforms with Big Data technologies to process and analyze new data types and sources of under-influenced data.
5. Operations Analysis
It analyzes a variety of machine data for improved business results.
6. Data Warehouse Augmentation
Data Warehouse Modernization (formerly known as Data Warehouse Augmentation) is about building on an existing data warehouse infrastructure, influencing Big Data technologies to ‘augment’ its capabilities. It integrates Big Data and data warehouse capabilities to increase operational efficiency.
7. Improve Application Efficiency
Manage data growth, improve performance, and lower the cost for mission-critical applications.
8. Efficiency Application Development and Testing
It creates and maintains right-sized development, test and training environments.
9. Security and Compliance
It protects data, improves data integrity, and moderate opening risks and lower compliance costs.
If you arrange a system which works through all those stages to arrive at this target, then congratulation!!!
You’re in Big Data.
And hopefully, ready to start reaping the benefits!
In November 2013, Benedict Evans, a well-respected and widely followed analyst, said: “Mobile is Eating the World”. He foresaw the new revolution in the business and predicted it most accurately.
Mobile devices have witnessed a phenomenal growth in the past few years and on this Mobile-Era, people use mobile in Work, Gaming, Networking, Business, Education, Shopping and all day-to-day activities.
What about Mobile Apps?
As we all know, Mobile apps are software applications structured to run on Smartphone, Tablets, Computers and other mobile devices.
Every organization needs to ensure that the application meets a high-quality level in all circumstances. I think effective testing will help to achieve this eminent quality bar. Hence excellent testing is essential for addressing the challenges and complexities of a mobile application.
Mobile app testing: Elemental checklist
We’re seeing the current booming stage of Mobile apps; it is necessary to test apps carefully in all possible ways to reach a larger audience. Suppose if you are going to test a mobile app, we need to ensure our business goals, customer expectations and also follow up to the updated industry practices as well. The most important thing while you are testing a mobile app or even the web-based app is to make a checklist and test accordingly.
The major checklist categories are as follows:
Mobile App Checklist Categories
Device-specific checks
Installation, Uninstallation, Re-Installation and Updations: Verify whether the application can be installed, uninstalled, re-installed and updated successfully.
Verify that buttons/ keys which have no un-defined function & unexpected behaviour on the app when activating.
Verify the app behave as designed/desired if the sound on the device is turned off.
Verify whether the app behaves as designed/desired if the device is in aeroplane mode?
Verify that the app is found in the app store? (Check after go-live)
Verify whether the app switches properly to different applications on the device through multitasking.
Verify whether all touch screen positions (buttons) working when a screen protector is used.
Network-specific checks
Does the app behave according to specification if connected to the internet through Wi-Fi, 3G, and 2G?
Verify the behaviour of the application when there is a Network problem.
User should get a proper error message like “Network error. Please try after some time”
Resource Downloading: Verify whether the app handles the ‘Pause’ & ‘Resume’ to downloads.
Does the app resume work when it gets back into network reach from outside reach of the network?
Does the app use standard network ports (Mail: 25, 143, 465, 993 or 995 HTTP: 80 or 443 SFTP: 22) to connect to remote services, as some providers block certain ports?
App-specific checks
Has the app been tested on a different type of devices and different versions of OS?
Integration: Does the app connect correctly to the different social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc).
Is downloading of the app prevented in case it’s bigger than the OS allows downloading when connected to cellular networks?
The app does not interfere with other apps when in background/multitasking mode
Check if any payment gateway occurs like PayPal, Chargify, etc.
App UI checks
The main function of the app should be apparent immediately. It should speak for itself.
If there is a long list of data to scroll through, provide a search option above the list.
If performance is slow, indicate a progress status icon (“Loading…”), preferably with a specific message
Users should be warned of the consequences of deleting a document
All inactive buttons were clearly distinguished from active buttons
Check for navigation, tabs, page scrolling etc.
Store-specific checks
The app should not access information on the device outside the app without the user’s permission
The app cannot download code to be installed without the users’ consent.
The app can only get new functionality by way of an upgrade through the app store.
An app can’t be a “trail”, “beta”, “demo” or “test” version.
You cannot mention other app platforms in your app (for instance: “Also available on android!”)
Functionality should be in sync with the functionality described in store.
The app can’t use the user’s location without permission.
Interrupt Handling
Call
User should be able to accept/reject a call without any problems.
Sound of application should stop when the user is on the line.
The application should resume after user rejects/ends a Call.
SMS, MMS
User should get a Message alert while the application is running.
Messages should be received without any problems.
The application should resume after receiving Message.
Alarm Handling
Alarm should work without any problems while the application is running.
The application should resume after the Alarm is turned off.
Other elements of mobile app testing
Other app notifications should not affect app performance.
Storage low: Check the app by filling the memory and emptying it, and then compare the application performance.
Battery low: Check the app performance on low battery.
Securing data always remains a challenge while we are witnessing the growth of technology at an amazing pace. The more secured your website, the more the chances of users accessing your website.
Whether it is an e-commerce website, social media websites or any other company website, every website existing online is prone to one or the other form of security threat. It is very important to be aware of the web application security threats and be prepared for handling it.
Organizations now use advanced technologies and heavy security testing to keep their website safe and protect customer privacy. Security testing is not just restricted to the testing team, the development team also plays an important role in ensuring security constraints.
What’s the risk?
Hackers are increasing day by day who are in continuous search of the vulnerable website. It’s essential for an individual or an organization to take steps for protection of their data by improving the web application security. Although various tools and technologies are available to handle security threats, protecting your website is possible only by continued effort.
Hacked website is a terrible thing that causes a lot of distress to both the owner and the customers. A website that is a victim of abuse will poorly reflect on your business and brand.
Enough proactive measures must be taken to ensure all preventive steps are taken for better web application security in the long run.
Sources of web application security risks
The security threat to websites web apps and mobile apps come in many forms today. While online threats are continuously evolving, following are very popular among hackers:
Malware
Malware is nothing but short computer programs that attempt to get access to a computer without user consent. It can be virus, worm or Trojan.
Virus
Virus is a program written to damage or delete your files/contents from your computer.
Worms
Worms do not cause any harm to your data but replicate it again and again. Due to its replication nature, it takes lots of memory space degrading computer performance and consuming more network bandwidth.
Trojan
A Trojan horse is a destructive program (not a virus) that looks like a genuine application. Trojan horses do not replicate, but it enters your computer, can give access to your confidential information to unwanted users.
Spoofing
Computer or a user pretends to be another, usually, one who has higher privileges to attack system to damage data or to deny access. Many of the TCP/IP protocols do not provide a mechanism to authenticate the source or destination of a message. When extra precautions are not taken by applications to verify the identity of sending or receiving host, it becomes vulnerable to spoofing attacks. Firewalls can help prevent spoofing attacks.
Spamming
Electronic spamming is sending of messages repeatedly. There are many forms of Spamming like mobile phone-messaging spam, internet forum spam, junk fax transmissions, social spam, search engine spam etc. E-mail is the most widely recognized Spam.
Phishing
Hacker sends emails that look legitimate to the recipient asking for confidential information. Recipient falls into such tricks and provides the login information or other important banking details thus; hacker gets access to their confidential information.
SQL Injection
SQL Injection is a Code Injection technique in which malicious SQL code is inserted into an entry field for execution. Top websites are vulnerable to Injection flaws especially, SQL Injection Flaws. By employing injections, a hacker can have your code run unintended commands or accessing unauthorized data.
How to ensure web application security?
SQL Injection
Here, the hacker makes use of web form field or URL parameter to manipulate data or to get sensitive data. For example, consider the following query to get login credentials:
ELECT * FROM Users WHERE user_id = ‘my’ and password=’test’;
Now, the hacker enters ‘OR 1 = 1; /* in Email id text field and */– in the password, the query on execution would look like:
SELECT * FROM Users WHERE user_id =’ ‘OR 1 = 1; /* and password=*/–
This will display all users in Users Table.
There are several automated scanning and detection tools available in the market to handle SQL Injection, however, the best way to avoid such attack is proper code review as complete coverage involves manual code review and manual testing along with usage of detection tools.
Cross Scripting
Cross Scripting (XSS or CSS) is one of the most common application layers hacking technique. Here, hacker attempts to insert JavaScript, VBScript, ActiveX, HTML etc code into the dynamic pages in an attempt to run malicious code.
The use of XSS might compromise private information, manipulate or steal cookies, execute malicious code to generate undesirable results, create request taking others’ identity. This is the most prevalent form of security attacks.
One way of protecting from XSS attack is to have all the code pass through some kind of filter that will omit keywords like <script> tags, JavaScript commands, CSS tags and other notorious HTML Markup (the ones that contain event handlers).
There are many libraries available to implement a filter mechanism, which one you choose will depend on your back-end technology. Ensure you always use updated filters for better security as XSS techniques keep changing and new ones keep emerging all the time.
Error Messages
Be careful about the error messages that get displayed when a user enters incorrect data. Always give generic messages. For example, when a user fails to enter the correct username/password, give a message like “Invalid username/password”. Giving exact information about what went wrong can give the hacker the clue that he has reached halfway correctly and need to focus only on the rest of the part.
Server/Browser side validation
Validation must be used at both browser and server end for better security. Simple failures like invalid phone format, numbers only, blank field etc. can be found by form validation itself; however, using stronger server-side validation can help prevent malicious code that can bring undesirable results in your website.
Password
Always practice for using stronger passwords. Your password must be a combination of special characters, numbers and upper-case letters. Passwords must be hashed while storing in database.
In case your data get stolen, damage can be minimized if the password is encrypted as decrypting them would not be possible. Plain hashing is not enough for the security of passwords. You can make encryption more secured by adding salt to your password.
Salt is a randomly generated string inserted before or at the end of the password to generate randomized hashes. As shown in below example, it makes a password hash into a completely different string every time. Salt is stored in user account database along with hash, or as part of the hash string itself. Salt must not be re-used; new random salt must be generated every time the user creates a new account or change password.
File Uploads
In today’s modern web applications, it has become necessary to provide an option for file uploading. Various social networking applications like Facebook, Twitter etc, blogs, forums, and other websites provide the option to upload files, pictures, avatar, videos and several other kinds of files. The more this feature is available on the website, the more the website is prone to malicious attacks.
Sometimes an uploaded file may contain a malicious script that can just open up the entire site. Below are mentioned some best practices if implemented while uploading a file can help you have secure file uploads:
Define a .htaccess (Hypertext Access) file – A configuration file used by Apache-based web servers that has the ability to password protect folders, deny access to unwanted users, redirect users to another page, change the way files with certain extensions are utilized etc.
Do not place .htaccess file in the folder where your uploaded images will be preserved. Save it in the parent folder.
Provide a list of acceptable extensions for a website in the .htaccess file with proper deny/allow permissions. That way only allowed files can be uploaded by any user and can also limit access to each file type.
Always store files in a different folder outside of the webroot.
Avoid overwriting of files (to prevent .htaccess overwrite attack)
Create a list of acceptable mime-types
Generate a random file name and add the previously generated extension. Use a unique file name to uniquely identify each file name.
Implement both client-side and server-side validation for extra security.
SSL
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a protocol used to provide security to websites over the Internet. If the communication channel is not secured while transmitting confidential information between website and web server or database, a hacker can easily get access to user accounts and personal information. SSL helps overcome this security threat by establishing a secured connection between browser and web server.
SSL allows confidential information like SSN, Credit Card details, login information etc to be transmitted securely over the network. SSL certificates have a key pair – public and private key. These keys work together to establish an encrypted connection.
The certificate also contains the identity of the website owner. Once the webserver has SSL Certificate installed and the communication between client and server is secured, it gives a trusted environment to the visitor indicating that their connection is secured. Browser assures visitors that their connection is secured by displaying a lock icon or a green bar and URL starts with https:// than “http:”
Conclusion
Do everything you can to improve web application security. Stay up-to-date, limit access to resources, use strong passwords and password storing techniques, and constantly monitor your site. These are some simple steps that if carefully considered can protect your data and website from hackers.
JavaScript is the popular choice for frontend developers. Web development is ever-changing and if we take the list of programming language that has kept up with the latest trends, JavaScript will rank in the first position in the list.
Why JavaScript?
JavaScript was mainly developed as a client-side scripting language to be used across multiple web browsers in various web applications. JavaScript has the inbuilt behaviour that lets developer validate each field as the user inputs data in it and provide immediate feedback for incorrect entries without needing to load another web page to process their request.
Using JavaScript, you can provide an immediate response to various actions taken by the user without the need to load new web pages to respond. This interpreted programming language also helps web pages to be more interactive using animations without involving forms. You can even load new images, objects, or scripts into the web page without reloading the entire page.
JavaScript can efficiently handle requests being passed to the server and interpret results coming from the server. Most common areas where JavaScript can be used are Form Validation, Alerts, Image rollovers, advertising pop-ups and AutoComplete feature. With the advent of Node.js framework, JavaScript has become even more powerful and is widely used for server-side and networking applications.
Origin of JS
JavaScript originally known as Mocha was developed in May 1995 by Brendan Eich, then working at Netscape. The name Mocha was chosen by Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape. In September, the name was changed to LiveScript and in December, upon receiving Trademark License from Sun and for marketing reasons, the name was changed to JavaScript.
In 1996-1997, JavaScript was handed over to ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) to set standards that could be used by other vendors. Series of standards were applied to this language and ECMAScript 3 was introduced in 1999, which is the baseline for today’s JavaScript.
While all these events happening, in 2005, with the combined efforts by Open Source Developer Communities, JavaScript got a new touch by the introduction of a new concept called AJAX –set of technologies, using which data can be loaded in the background without the need to reload the entire page resulting in more dynamic applications. This resulted in the popularity of JavaScript and several libraries such as Prototype, jQuery, Dojo, MooTools, etc were released.
In July 2008, various browser vendors and other interested parties met to hammer out a new language based on JavaScript. Work began on a proposal called ECMA4 and ultimately got renamed to ECMA 5 and got standardized pretty quickly. As soon as ECMA5 was finalized, work began around code called Harmony. Harmony brought some basic changes to ECMAScript and closed a few of the open gaps in functionality. Main goals of Harmony included improve language for writing complex application and libraries used by those applications, keep versioning as simple as possible and adopt de facto standards (as much as possible).
Popularity of JavaScript
The different website provides a different ranking of JavaScript based on different measures like popularity, Search Index, Code hosted etc.
Tiobe Programming Community Index has rated JavaScript at 11th position based on the language’s popularity compared to other popular languages indicating only 1.37% internet searches were made for JavaScript language. Github Code Sharing site indicates that JavaScript is the most popular language accounting for 21% of JavaScript code hosted on the site. PYPL Popularity of Programming Language index has ranked JavaScript at 7th position.
JavaScript is more about client-side scripting language. JavaScript code can be written using any text editor (like TextEdit) and just a supporting browser is needed to run the code. Such simplicity of code is really useful for beginners to write their code. With the advanced framework of JavaScript called Node.js (server-side), it can now be used to develop an entire website.
Different Framework of JS/Popularity of JS
Some of the popular JS Framework are Node.js, Angular JS, Backbone.js, CanJS, Ember.js, SproutCore, Knockout.js, Spine, Meteor.js, Yahoo!Mojito, etc.
Node.js
Node.js is a cross-platform run-time environment for server-side networking applications. Node.js Framework is gaining high adoption rate as it can now be used to develop real-time applications. Big Giants like Microsoft, PayPal, Walmart, LinkedIn, SAP etc. are popularly using Node.js to create websites.
Node.js was created and published by Ryan Dahl in 2009. It was initially developed only to run on Linux, but after his presentation at JSConf EU Conference, it gained momentum, the package manager for Node.js libraries-npm was developed in 2011. In June 2011, Microsoft partnered with Joyent (where Dahl worked while creating Node.js) and released first build to support Windows in the month of July 2011.
JavaScript has no unified API for I/O providing ability to build modern I/O interface in its best way and this was considered the main factor that Ryan chose JavaScript to define series of asynchronous, event-driven I/O. The major advantage of Node.js is that it can keep alive many socket connections alive and can accept a request for new connections as well.
Node.js application runs in single-threaded environment; multi-threaded execution also supported in Node.js 0.10+ versions. Node.js applications maximize throughput and efficiency using the non-blocking I/O and asynchronous events. Node.js applications have great performance, and huge flexibility to implement both high end and low-end functionality.
Future of JavaScript
Third-party plugins that were used to develop the videos and other UI visuals using Flash are now replaced by JavaScript giving the same user experience. This programming language has made a unique position on the browser side, dominating almost everything a client computer does. With addition like Node.js, jQuery, JSON, JavaScript is conquering the server-side and the internet of things. In the world of mobile apps, JavaScript using Node.js help customers build incredible and responsive cloud-powered mobile apps.
With all the innovation and standardization applied to JavaScript, the JavaScript is prepared for a completely new cycle of evolution and for an exciting future. With the development of Node.js platform, making JavaScript to be used on the server-side, we can have web applications with two-way communications – both client and server can initiate communication and data can be exchanged between them freely.
Having worked in various organizations for many years in the area of Software Testing, I could firmly say that an Agile based testing approach is becoming a critical factor in bringing superior quality to today’s web and mobile applications.
Though there are several testing approaches available, it is high time to come out of traditional approaches and adopt more rigorous and iterative testing practices that make testing more real and bring more effective results.
Agile testing is becoming very crucial while delivering quality results to the customer. I thought I will share with you some basic principles if followed that can bring drastic value additions to your test approach and make your client happy.
Agile Testing: Top 10 principles
Deliver value to the customer
Ensure that each prototype delivered to customer meet their expectation. Example: Is the layout of the website as expected by the customer, are the messages meaningful and user-friendly, does the click on button work, are there any broken pages etc.
Enable face-to-face communication
Direct communication with the client is very important to get a clear picture of the requirements. There might not be proper documents for the change requests as change occurs in a rapid manner in agile environment, however, if a representative from each team (developer, tester, program manager) meet together on a regular basis to discuss the amount of work done, it can help measure the work progress, determine bug status (how many severe bugs still exist, how many were re-opened etc.) and where we stand when compared to customer needs.
Keep it simple
Make a note of changes happening. Organized documents might not be available for every change that comes from the customer, but if you have a record of all changes (with date and comments) preserved at a commonplace, it will help you refer in future in case any confusions arise.
Also, when you report issues to the developer via bug tracking tool (or any other means like a simple spreadsheet), give a precise description of the issue that gives clear idea about the issue, if possible always attach a screenshot as the saying goes “A picture is better than 1000 words”.
Keep a big picture in mind
Although in agile testing methods, prototypes are delivered in short intervals, testers must not get distracted from the big picture of the overall product. Continuous change in code and implementation can sidetrack you from the original requirement of the client. Ensure that rigorous code change does not alter the output from the original agenda.
Provide continuous feedback
Testers must be proactive enough to provide timely feedback to developers and program managers about the quality (bugs founds, requirement missing etc.) of each prototype being delivered to client as each prototype is developed in short time spans and the early the feedback, the sooner the developers can fix those bugs, thus, ensuring delivery of quality product to the client. Focus more on people – make sure all teams (including developers, program managers, and testers) and the customer has the same understanding about a requirement.
Have courage
Sometimes a customer might not have an exact idea of what fits best for his/her requirement. Asking questions and offering ideas can help them choose the best fit for their requirement. Also, it gives you better insight into customer expectations.
Sometimes implementation must be questioned as it might not be the exact way customer is expecting. So, dare to question implementation and the way in which system is behaving as a developer who has developed that piece of the product might not have enough understanding about the requirement and your question can help them build the right piece of product.
It might create friction among teams as you cross-question their code; however, a friendly approach and the right attitude can lead to a fruitful discussion to build a product that fulfils customer needs. Ensure that your team is not intimidated by developers.
Picture by Dave Gray on Flickr
Practice continuous improvement
Always strive to improve your testing skills. Evaluate your testing skills at each delivery. How closely you tested customer requirements?
Were any of the areas left out while testing?
Did customer raise issues that you missed while testing?
Learn from your past experience, make a note of mistakes happened, list out how testing could have been improved at your side and try to implement new steps in your next project.
Respond to change
Change is a constant part of agile testing. Requirements change continuously, code change continuously. If you are having difficulty in keeping track of changes, make a practice of writing down each change (with date and comments that will help you remember why the changes were made etc.). Sometimes this kind of documentation is also helpful to other teams while re-visiting requirements or you can also show it to the customer when they say your product does not match their requirements.
Self-organize
Plan beforehand how your day is going to be. Be prepared to handle an unexpected situation. In an agile environment, there will be constant changes; so, keep a note of what tasks are to be tested on a daily basis and on what priority.
Keeping your work organized and a planned approach to handle your testing tasks can help you to test better and finish tasks in a more efficient and productive way.
Enjoy your work
Knowingly or unknowingly you are doing a very responsible part of bringing the world to a better place, so take this responsibility with great enthusiasm and passion. It gives a great sense of satisfaction to see the product you tested is the built-in right way that makes your customer happy, thus, bringing joyous results to your hard work.
The success of your app is directly proportional to its quality. If a user’s initial experience is positive, then they’ll want to use the app again. Here are a few major points that if taken care of can help your app stand out from the crowd:
Visual Design and User Interaction
Few key areas that your app must have:
Alignment of buttons, labels, text etc.
Color combination used in header, footer, various elements, links etc.: Color combination can be used to focus user’s attention to important or actionable elements. Make sure not to highlight too many elements otherwise important elements might lose focus.
Spelling: Ensure that your app does not have any spelling mistakes. This is something that can also adversely affect your search ranking. Spelling and grammar play an important role in the evaluation of the quality of a site and its content.
Auto Focus on Input: This will speed up things because the user does not have to click on individual input fields to type. This may be implemented in input submission, search forms etc.
Speed
Does your app load quickly? Everybody expects a fast web experience. A fast site increases the overall quality of the app and increases user satisfaction.
A major reason that can severely affect the performance of your app is:
Size of individual files and images: Huge files and high-resolution images can take double the time to load and can drastically affect the performance of the app. Ensure that your high-resolution images are first compressed using default compressor and re-load these compressed images instead of uncompressed ones.
Scalability
Ask yourself following questions
How many visitors are accessing my app every day?
What is the peak number of visits that my app can support?
What areas of my app are most accessed by visitors?
What is the average response time of most popular pages of my app?
How efficiently can my hardware/software support the current volume of visitors?
How much infrastructure (hardware/software requirements) is required to handle these volumes?
Slow apps will frustrate the customer tempting them to leave soon.
Standards
Is your app built on provided standards? You have to understand who would be using your app. Identify their key tasks and key priorities that they want to accomplish through your site. Find out their goals and focus on how it relates to your business’ goals. Interacting with end users by conducting Surveys, User Testing sessions etc. can help you understand how closely user’s needs have been met by the app.
Also, your app must be built on a platform that is supported by standard skill sets across the organization and in the public domain. It must be flexible enough that is capable of integrating various systems for development and also the common set of functions and features must be sharable by different applications.
Security
Since mobile apps are running outside the security of your internal networks, you always have to make sure that the app is not vulnerable to security threats. One basic thing you can do is to encrypt traffic to the backend—at a minimum, by using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. However, SSL by itself isn’t enough because of the nature of how mobile devices connect. One solution would be to rely on WebKit to handle SSL.
Before getting into the details of app marketing strategies, we must understand the purpose of mobile app marketing & what is the relevance of implementing the best marketing practices for your application?
Marketing a mobile app is equally important as developing the app itself. According to the current statistics, there are approximately 2.2 million apps in the Apple App Store and 2.8 million apps in Google Play store (reference). This may give you an idea about how strong the competition is and how critical it is to market your application well!
It would be difficult for users to notice your app if you are not using appropriate app marketing strategies. Here comes the importance of app marketing strategies. However, marketing a mobile app requires careful thought and planning.
Here are some of the best and simple strategies you can follow to market your apps well.
10 Strategies to market your app
1. Target your audience
The first and most important step in marketing your mobile app is to find your target audience. Understand your niche market and their needs well. This will help you to attract more customers.
Create a blog/website for your app
Blogs and Websites are the best places to advertise your app. Here you can explain about your app as much as possible by elaborating its importance and how it is beneficial to the customers.
You can also invite customers to download the app.
Another way to market your app is Print Marketing. Along with digital marketing efforts, you can promote your app with print marketing materials like:
Postcards – engage your customers with direct mailing postcards.
Stickers – creative stickers will work for you in a cheaper way.
Banners – you can get the job done with the help of large banners placed near busy interactions or high traffic areas.
QR Codes – include QR Codes on postcards, stickers or even on your website/blog. It will be easy for your customers to access/download your app.
As an example, you can check out how AlignMinds has designed an amazing website for our own mobile app – Apprikot
Social media marketing for your app
It is very important and necessary to have strong social media presence to promote your app. It is important to spread the word about your app infamous social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. You can offer promotion & advertisements, offer gifts/rewards to download the app through social media.
Videos always help users to understand things easily. Most of the users like to watch rather than read the content. Create a video that explains how to use your mobile app. In the video, you must clearly explain what the app is all about & how it is useful in a real-life scenario.
Already, there are a number of mobile app demo videos in the market. A short, creative and clear demo will give a good mileage to your application. Video demos are one of the easiest ways to display the value of your mobile app.
Don’t forget to place your demo on your blog/website.
Animated explainer video
Animated explainer videos are another way to market your mobile app. They help you to explain the benefit of using your mobile app and the value it will add to the life of its users.
If you can make an interesting animated explainer video describing your app along with some storytelling touch and humour to it will really show the result. Experts say about 90% of the apps that have explainer video increases their reach around 4-5 times.
Check out this wonderful explainer video from one of our clients.
PingStamp Subbed
Network with other app developers
Networking with other mobile app developers will help you with marketing your mobile app. Find out some of the top-rated app developers from App Store; be sure that the developers have a good rating. You could propose a mutually beneficial marketing opportunity that helps you increase your downloads. There is a possibility that the users may end up downloading both the applications.
The old marketing tactics still work
Yes, it still works! Even though we have progressed in the world of digital media, the old marketing strategies still proved good enough for your app.
You may publish ads on websites or publications or print out business cards and distribute them.
You can even attend relevant business meetings and events so that you may spread the word about your app.
Radio and television ads, brochures and fliers also do a great deal in marketing the concept.
All these different marketing techniques can help you to promote your app.
Put the links to download everywhere
This is one of the easiest ways of app marketing. Put links to download your mobile app on your blog, your website’s home page, in your marketing emails, and on your social media accounts – you can even add a custom tab to your Facebook page.
Take a look at WhatsApp’s page below, which includes four calls-to-action on just one page, all of which is to download their mobile app.
Availability of your app on various platforms
Make sure that your app is accessible to everyone. The main question is – Is it available for all platforms – iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows? Don’t forget to mention your app’s compatibility.
Monitor feedback and encourage reviews
Last but not the least, the most important point is to collect your user’s feedback and encourage them to post reviews. This process will help you identify bugs that you may otherwise miss out and can make quick changes to improve the user experience to make your app greater.
It would be advisable to respond to feedback and comments without delay. This gives the users a reassurance that you are listening to their comments and making appropriate modifications. It’s an unwritten rule that the app with best reviews gets the most visibility and downloads.
Conclusion
In the present state of things, having an app is very important for your business. However, if you don’t market your app properly in the market, it may be lost out in the crowd. It is vital to understand the specific business need and plan accordingly. Prepare the best strategies for app marketing and spend the extra time making sure your app is visible, accessible and integral to your customers.
Are you one among the lucky people who have spent their childhood in the 90’s?
If your answer is Yes, then you have all the reason to consider yourself lucky.
We are part of a generation which has transformed tremendously over a period of 2 decades. The magnitude of this transformation has touched almost all aspects of our lives. One of the most crucial aspects that underwent mutation was “communication and networking”. During my childhood, there were days when we had to wait for weeks for a person’s letter to reach you from abroad. The times have changed and so did the means of communication.
Starting with the mobile phone revolution, people started getting addicted to the concept of Mobility and Social networking. Interestingly, these are two of many domains that AlignMinds Technologies has expertise on.
I am sure you would be remembering the legendary “Orkut” which sparked the Social networking concepts worldwide. Then came Facebook which overthrew all existing social networking platforms and service.
Have you ever imagined what is the core concept of Social networking?
Undoubtedly, it is the users and the user communities that the networking platform caters to. Every social networking platform has a focus group who would utilize the platform to its entirety. The success of any social networking platform lies in identifying and customizing the services to satisfy this focus group.
Now that we have discussed about social networks in general, let’s dwell more into the types and peculiarity of each type of social networks.
Type of social networks
Social networks can be broadly divided as Open and Closed networking platforms.
As an example, let’s consider Facebook since it’s the most successful social networking platform in the IT industry now. Facebook is an open networking platform where users from all demographics ( location, language, culture etc.) connect, communicate and contribute to each other. This openness has been one of the key reasons for the success of Facebook. On the other hand, we have closed networking platforms which is aimed at a restricted set of users who are particularly interested in a domain of activity.
Not a long time ago, we built a social networking application called “TieIn” which is a closed community network that caters to the Sports community. The application creates an excellent platform for sports fans, teams, coaches, players and enthusiasts to create private or public communities. The app provides the ability to these users to share information inside these private or public communities. Information is shared in the form of a normal text post, video or image. This privacy and closed nature are considered to be the success mantra of TieIn application.
In fact, there is no specific thumb rule which ascertains the success of a social network. But from the experience of dealing with clients in the social networking industry, here are a few tips that may come in handy during the conceptualization and development of social networking applications:
How to conceptualize and develop a social networking app?
Analyze well and be sure about the focus group that the social networking application is being built for!
Make sure that you know the real “problem” that the application is solving – It may be connecting families or people in the same field of interest!
Make sure the application is not “overloaded”. Be simple and straightforward in the initial launch. Ramping up may be considered once the focus group has accepted the app.
Figure out what is that “extra thing” that can be gifted to your focus group. This extra concept should be something that is tough or practically impossible without using the application.
Trust your inner self – Evaluate the application by putting yourself in the shoes of the end-user and make sure you are overwhelmed!
Applications are built for a global audience and hence, nothing lesser than the best gets the chance to survive. So, it’s the responsibility of each team member to think out of the box and built apps that will make users fall in love.
We are immensely happy to share our glorious success at the global hackathon event conducted by DBS Bank, Singapore in association with Ideatory, which is one of the most promising technology startups in Singapore. AlignMinds has elevated a notch higher in its global rating and positioning with this consecutive success.
The success we experienced at both these Hackathons helped us to underline our belief that victory is a result of persistent hard work, impeccable process patterns and a highly focused mindset that was mutually shared and resonated by each of the team members. Each of us put in our best effort to follow the best practices with reference to Rapid prototyping and this helped us in spotting the right areas to focus and execute during the three-day session.
Preparation for the event!
The news about the event reached us on the third week of October when Ideatory team member, Sudhanshu and Amrith contacted us and invited us for the event since we were the winners of the first hackathon event held on August 2014 (details can be read here). Once again, we wish to convey our gratitude to Ideatory team – Sudhanshu and Amrith in special for all their support and assistance.
It was a cold windy morning on 20th, October when we received the confirmation that AlignMinds was formally invited to participate in the DBS hackathon event scheduled on 29th, 30th and 31st of October at DBS Asia Hub, Singapore. We were quick to respond and formed our hackathon team without delay.
We had a couple of unanticipated setbacks since a few of our team members who participated in the first hackathon event were not available due to other international on-site assignments. However, this did not abate our interest to participate as we quickly restructured the team by collecting the best talents in the organization.
We were led by Devanarayanan who is the CEO of AlignMinds Technologies and the mastermind behind each of our successes so far. The team also included Vishnu and Divya who handles Android development, Juny George, Jaigel Jose and Jackson Jacob who are veterans in User experience and User interface tasks and Sowmya Sarath who is our Senior technology evangelist and project coordinator.
Last but not the least, I was fortunate to be able to take up the role of Business Intelligence analyst which gave me the chance to interact with the DBS team and build a smooth communication channel between the team members.
Day 1: The first glance of Singapore!
Our backpacks were ready on October 27th and we boarded our dream flight to Singapore from Cochin International Airport by 11 30 PM. The whole team was bubbling with excitement, anxiety and hopes for a great event in Singapore.
We landed at Singapore the next day and we were welcomed by a gorgeous city which mixed the right combination of technological and architectural excellence with an equal amount of greenery and cleanliness. We headed directly to our boutique hotel since we badly wanted some personal time to put ourselves in place and prepare for the pressure that was about to face on the next three days during the rapid prototyping session.
We were also invited to the ice-breaking session that was scheduled at 5 PM that evening.
After a quick nap, we started off to DBS Asia hub where the 5 other competitors, DBS team and Ideatory team members had gathered. It was a fun event where we met and interacted with our mentors and team members from DBS.
Our team was being mentored by Francesca, and was accompanied by an awesome team that included Fen, Dong, Claren and Chew. During the evening session, we also had the opportunity to select the team name, team number and the challenge to be solved. Our team was named “Dream Catchers” and we were team number 2 on the list. The challenge that was assigned to us was to build a pre-launch application for DBS that would popularize DBS bank in India and help gain maximum visibility among the users.
Day 1 at Singapore was fairly smooth as we returned back to our couches to take rest and be ready for the first day of the hackathon.
Day 2: Hackathon was officially flagged off!
The first day of the DBS hackathon saw the official flag-off of the events by Raju Nair, Laurence and Cade.
The agenda for the day included multiple short sessions which helped the teams to get the feel of how a rapid prototyping session and also helped us ingest the concept of “Customer Centric” development which was considered as the prime focus by the global CEO of DBS Bank, Piyush Gupta.
On the other hand, our team was already brainstorming about the topics that had the “fire” to capture the Indian smartphone users. We came across many different thoughts and opinions ranging from games to quiz applications.
It was then that the concept of a Private social networking application was put up by our CEO, Dev. Within the next few minutes, we could feel the acceptance of each of the team members towards the topic and we decided that this is going to be our “success sutra” for this hackathon event. Without delay, we had started our preparations in the form of mind maps, sketches and basic functionality listing which helped us to visualize the scope of the application. We followed the concept of “Lean Loop” as per the instructions from the team mentors and this proved to be a great approach for the rapid prototyping process.
By the end of the day, we had prepared a detailed idea about what the app would do and how would be designing the app to do it. We wound up our tasks for the day with a wrap-up session by Arjay and Cade. We finished our dinner and headed back to our room in the SMRT (Singapore Mass Rapid Transit).
Day 3: The actual “Hackathon” begins!
It was the day next critical task in our hands was to design a visually appealing user interface which has a highly optimized user experience flow. As this process required a high level of coordination between the design team and the functional and technical implementation team members, we decided that our team can take roles and split up.
Based on this suggestion, the DBS team members in our team decided to share the tasks related to preparing and documenting the early customer feedback based on quick surveys. They also decided to work out the financial figures which would allow the DBS decision makers to visualize the ROI statistics of the app.
We, on the other hand, had started working on full swing on the user interface and user flow aspects. Juny who is our lead UX architect was available on Skype conference call wherein he guided us through each and every design item in the app screens.
By lunch, we were ready with the initial set of flows that marked the foundation of the application.
The rest of the day was kept aside for designing the remaining design items and preparing a structured flow based on the user action.
By the end of day 2, we were prepared with the designs and pages that allowed the Android developers to take over.
Towards the end of the day, we took our status checks and listed out our tasks. At that point, we realized that we were going to have an exciting D day. On that expectation, we wrapped up for the day and returned to our rooms.
Day 4: The D Day!
We reached early on Friday (31st October) which was the D day of the event. We started working on the final touch-ups and tweaks on the prototype to make sure that everything is in place.
In the meantime, Fen, Claren, Chew and Dong had completed the surveys and come back with awesome news for us. It was reported that around 92.5% of the people surveyed expressed their acceptance of the app concept. This was a huge boost for us, and we made sure that every aspect related to aesthetics and functionality was optimized to the best of our ability.
Finally, at 16: 15 Singapore time, we submitted our prototype for review along with all the other team members. We presented the app together and answered all the questions that were put in front of us. We were happy to see that the judges were able to realize the value of the concept.
A flawless prototype and the right pitching of the app concept from our DBS teammates made it a wonderful presentation! By 18: 30 Singapore time, the results were out and Dream Catchers were confirmed as the Winning Team in DBS hackathon 2014.
Conclusion
This event, DBS Hackathon conducted at Singapore, was surely a great one for AlignMinds as we got yet another opportunity to prove our skill in solving a business problem with limited time without limiting the quality standards.
We also got the chance to work with some wonderful teammates and each of those moments will be treasured by our team AlignMinds.
We wish to thank each of the staffs at DBS Singapore and Ideatory for providing us with this great chance to build a concept that will surely be a game-changer for DBS in India! After the 4 days of unlimited fun, excitement, productivity and a great result, we have taken home a lot of learning from this event and we are sure that this will help us nail the next challenge put across to us by DBS!
All the fun and excitement began on a cold Wednesday morning when we got the news that my team at AlignMinds Technologies was shortlisted among hundreds of mobile app development companies in India. It was a pleasant surprise to know that we were taking part in one of India’s prestigious Hackathon events that was being hosted by Development Bank of Singapore (DBS Bank), Singapore.
For those who are less aware of DBS (the way I was, two weeks back), it is one of the largest banks in South East Asia led by the CEO, Mr Piyush Gupta.
Within a moment’s notice, AlignMinds team was ready for the technology warfare as we call it. We were being led by our top management that includes our CEO, Devnarayanan G Nair, our Head of Technology, Madhusoodanan M P, our Head – Execution and Delivery, Sowmya Sharath and our Head – UI/UX, Juny George. Our development team comprised of three Android developers who had a “bring-it-on” attitude towards the event! They were Muhamed Riyas, Divya and Vishnu. The team would not have been complete without our technical support gurus who ensured that there were always connected to the network. Ravi Varma led this team with the utmost confidence. Finally, it was me who took care of connecting and bridging the communication and analysis between the two groups.
The event was held at the Startup Village, Kochi which is currently the biggest and best incubation centre for technology entrepreneurship. Ideatory, a reputed Singapore based technology startup was in charge of ensuring that the event was a grand success. Ideatory team, headed by Sudhanshu Ahuja, did exactly this by ensuring perfect coordination and management of activities throughout the event.
The best part of the event was that my team would get the opportunity to work with the DBS team and technology innovators who have scaled the organization to its current glory. However, all this excitement came with an equal share of challenges which was to prove my team’s worth and this is exactly what we urged for throughout the 2-day extravaganza!
Day 1
The event was flagged off on 22nd August 2014 at Cherai in a magnificent beach-facing resort. My team and I reached the venue at sharp 6 PM and quickly finished the ice-breaking session with the program coordinators. In between, we were introduced to our wonderful mentors from DBS Bank. This included Ms Elizabeth Chapman, Executive Directors, Akhil Doegar, VP-Product Development and Harish S, Senior Product Manager at DBS. Harish was the primary point of contact from DBS for the 4 days of telephonic discussions with me before the event. During these calls, I could extract as much information as possible regarding the requirements.
During the inaugural event, we were keen to utilize every moment that was at our disposal in understanding the requirements and proactively involved in discussions which would ease our journey in the next two days. Once the initial ice-breaking and socializing was over, we met Harish at his resort cottage and had a detailed brainstorming which brought our ideas much more into alignment.
Interestingly, the whole team was so immersed in the conversation and did not realize the two hours went through! The next two days at the event can be summarized in three words: Excitement, Energy and Determination.
We started the day at 9 AM on Saturday. After a quick post-breakfast meeting, we rushed to our workstation and began our fight for success. The proactive attitude and functioning of the team were greatly appreciated at various incidents by most of the top management from DBS. For us, the question was not “who will do it”, but it was “how well can we do it”!
I wish to re-quote our CEO’s statement given to The New Indian Express, “We were aware of the challenges but we were more focused on the goal which was possible only with sincere hard work, impeccable teamwork and proactive analysis”.
Our CEO says,
“We were aware of the challenges, but we were more focused on the goal, which was possible only with sincere hard work, impeccable teamwork and proactive analysis”
Intermediate Demo
Although the start was perfect, we had our fair share of complexities and challenges in store during the second half. We developed our initial prototype within a record time frame of 6 hours using our rapid prototyping and collaboration tools including InvisionApp. This gave a much clearer picture to our mentors who decided to take a different route. This was followed by a 90 minute stand up meeting where each team member did their best to visualize and ensure that the iterations were bringing us closer to winning the championship. The meeting concluded with great applause which was an immediate reward for the amount of thought we put in to redesign the concept and conceptualize their requirement.
Final Hours
Sunday was reserved for redesigning, prototyping and ensuring that each functionality and layout that was requested for was working in the Android app. My team did this with so much passion and attention to detail, that the quality of the prototype was in par with a live Android application.
Our CEO coined an interesting name for the app – DBS Mongo! Mongo referred to “Money on the Go” since our prototype aimed at easing out the payment procedures and transactions to the bank customers.
We worked and worked till 18: 59 as we had to submit our app at 19: 00. And the rest is history. AlignMinds triumphs in winning the confidence and acceptance from our judges who were the top officials at DBS who had flown down from Singapore. The judging panel included the Group Head – Digital Banking – Olivier Crespin, Chief Innovations Officer, Neal Cross and the Head – Customer Journey Design, Raju Nair.
3d Printed Hackathon Memento
We believe that the success mantra of my team’s triumph was teamwork, speed and determination! We worked together with a single aim and focus which led us to our destination. I believe that our success was destiny but reaching it was our decision. I personally look forward to being part of such events which helps my team and me to take up challenges and prove that we are the best!
Often it requires unique teams to practice the philosophy of engineering knowledge. And I’m glad to state that this is what differentiates AlignMinds.
What is knowledge engineering?
Knowledge Engineering is conventionally associated with methodologies to build knowledge-based systems or ‘Expert Systems’. However, in today’s dynamic digital world, it applies to almost all the technology systems that we build, deploy and use.
What is Knowledge?
Our CEO often quotes David Weinber to define ‘Knowledge’ and I always felt that it’s a beautiful summary – “Knowledge results from a far more complex process that is social, goal-driven, contextual, and culturally-bound. We get to knowledge — especially “actionable” knowledge — by having desires and curiosity, through plotting and play, by being wrong more often than right, by talking with others and forming social bonds, by applying methods and then backing away from them, by calculation and serendipity, by rationality and intuition, by institutional processes and social roles”
“Knowledge results from a far more complex process that is social, goal-driven, contextual, and culturally-bound.”
For us, ‘Engineering Knowledge means’ acquisition of knowledge and this process is transformed beyond the conventional specification process used to capture most business requirements. We engage in meaningful conversations, research and follow a dynamic approach towards solving the problem in front. This is particularly relevant since we work with a lot of startups building Minimum Viable Products (MVPs).
Why ‘Engineering Knowledge’?
There are several reasons why such a process makes sense:
Unprecedented simplicity has become a crucial success factor of today’s applications compared to conventional software systems
Without adequate knowledge acquisition and involvement from key stakeholders, the application has a high likelihood of failure
Most of today’s applications – especially in mobility and cloud – have a social role to play.
Speaking a bit about me –After my Masters, I’ve been associated with other verticals in the previous episodes of my career before becoming a part of AlignMinds.
However, what made it enjoyable and inspiring despite my lack of exposure to a technology development environment was our acceptance of the dynamic nature of things around – fellow team members, customers, technology, and always, the business problems we were trying to solve.
Hence in a digital age that is so evolving and changing, we need to constantly seek to build systems based on actionable knowledge – which will excite people and transform the way we do things – compared to monotonous pieces of code that deal with just data and information.
