Mobile App User Retention: How iOS And Android Users Differ

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How To Optimize Mobile App User Retention

When it comes to mobile apps, one of the main priorities of developers and programmers alike is user retention. Mobile app user retention is incredibly important to building a long-lasting application that generates continual success for your agency. Therefore, finding ways to boost and optimize mobile app user retention is a constant endeavor. Mobile app users are extremely finicky. This is because of the hyper accessiblity and super saturation of the mobile app market. In other words, when a user is unsatisfied with a mobile app experience, they’re highly likely to move on from that specific application. Then, they’ll replace it with a comparable one. In fact, user experience is one of the most vital factors in determining whether mobile app users will continue to use your app or not.

Understanding and accepting that the mobile app market is so volatile in terms of user retention, will help you to identify tactics and strategies aimed at boosting and optimizing mobile app user retention.

Different Device; Different Features

In talking about the mobile app market, it’s important to distinguish between the various marketplaces. For instance, the two most common are by far, the Apple app store, and the Google Play store. This is important to separate because the devices and operating systems of these two categories differ wildly, offering the users an almost entirely different experience. One of the main differences between iOS and android programming is the flexibility. Android prides itself on providing a platform in which users have nearly endless possibilities and complete customizability.

This is an absolutely stellar feature for some, especially the more technically savvy, as they essentially get an open-sandbox type experience. The drawback here is that unfamiliar or amateur programmers or developers have a higher level of risk exposure. slightly less security built into the software innately, and a higher rate of applications in the store that are bug-ridden, clunky, or simply incomplete.

Apple, on the other hand, provides slightly less creative flexibility in their software and programming. However, they make up for this lack of unending possibility with bolstered security. Additionally, there is a much lower rate of bug-ridden applications found in the Apple App store.

Understand Your Demographics

Another important realization to make when working on mobile app user retention is that the demographics differ. Not only between devices, but also between niche-markets in the mobile app space. The reason this is so vital to understand is because different demographics of consumers often showcase varying consumer behavior habits. For example; there’s a general trend that iOS users are more likely to make in-app purchases and spend money on applications in general.

Equipped with this knowledge, your team can choose how to most appropriately monetize your application. With an iOS app, including a robust in-app marketplace where users can make purchases will yield a higher result than it would in an Android version. On the flip side of this, an Android app benefits from other monetization techniques, like selling ad-space.

A Quick Summary

Mobile app user retention is the name of the game, no matter what your application is. And in such a super saturated marketspace, user retention must be made a priority.

For more information on mobile app user retention, or development in general, keep browsing NS804; the proud app developer of the everyday appreneur.

How To Create A Better iOS Ecommerce App

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Developing an iOS eCommerce app that keeps users engaged takes time and work. But to achieve desirable results, it’s best to work with an experienced iOS development agency. And if you follow these handy pointers, you’ll increase your chances of releasing an app that truly shines. 

1. Why You Should Study The Competition

For many enthusiasts and tech industry insiders, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is a yearly highlight. Developers, in particular, follow this conference to keep updated about the latest developments concerning the iOS app platform. And the media wait with bated breath to hear announcements from keynote speakers, such as Tim Cook and Craig Federighi. These announcements clarify the direction of Apple and how that affects developers in the foreseeable future.

While developers can learn much about the Apple ecosystem by following WWDC, it’s not enough. They must continue researching and studying the market segment they are targeting. If an iOS development agency plans on entering the eCommerce space, then it should study its competitors. After all, this market segment is highly competitive, and developers must do their homework to find success. And with eCommerce app use growing by 36% between April and July 2020, competition will only get tighter.

2. How To Optimize For The iOS App Platform

Apple wants developers to release polished applications that showcase the iOS app platform to existing and potential users. That’s why it’s crucial to optimize your app by closely following Apple’s guidelines.

Your app needs to be lightweight and responsive for the best user experience. Therefore, you should implement the most efficient file and video formats and reduce the size of updates. Then, take things further by leveraging app thinning and utilizing on-demand resources by shipping these as separate asset packs.

However, your work doesn’t end there, as you’ll also need to do App Store Optimization (ASO). Ensure that your store page has the following: app name, subtitle, the app’s URL, all relevant keywords, ratings, reviews, listing CTR, and the category of your app. Furthermore, you should insert high-quality images and videos, an apt description, and design an eye-catching icon. 

3. What Ecommerce App Features Are Most Important

Keep users engaged by providing them with the features they want and a seamless experience. So, ensure that your eCommerce app has the following features: 

  • Hassle-free customization
  • Simple onboarding process
  • Intuitive and responsive design
  • A frictionless process from registration through to checkout 
  • Analytics measuring all applicable user behavior 
  • Push notifications for promotions and call to action (CTA) 
  • Engaging and relevant content

4. Why You Should Hire An iOS Development Agency

It may seem tempting to hire a freelancer to develop your upcoming eCommerce app to save on development costs. However, that may not be the wisest choice, especially with what an iOS development agency brings to the table. An agency is more accountable, likely to stick to deadlines, work within the budget, provide maintenance and support, and stay on top of trends.

5. How To Keep Users Coming Back

You’ve invested heavily into your new eCommerce app and hope that users will keep coming back. But to ensure this happens, your user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) should be excellent. Moreover, prepare a minimum viable product (MVP) and conduct regular testing to determine whether or not your app’s engaging users. And update your app regularly with features that delight your users and help keep it in the spotlight. 

In Conclusion

When targeting the iOS app platform, it’s best to go in prepared with a clear strategy. Start by studying the competition, then optimize your app and add the most important features. And don’t forget to implement great UI/UX design and regularly roll out updates. But to create an outstanding app, work with an experienced iOS development agency, such as NS804 today.

On The Other Side of COVID-19

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The State of Things Post COVID-19

While the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t completely behind us, we’re certainly close to coming out the other side. It definitely hasn’t been easy, as the road forward hardly ever is, and the last year will absolutely have a lasting impact. One way in which the pandemic impacted the world was through a swift acceleration into digitalization. With stay-at-home mandates, and health risks everywhere, much of society embraced a virtual expansion. Despite the sudden onset of the pandemic, a lot of the world was already prepared for a digital age. During the last few decades, society made giant technological strides. From the birth of the internet, smartphones, mobile apps, VR, AR, and so much more. Correspondingly, this technology already prepared many businesses to allow for remote staff and a work from home environment.

As the world reopens, though, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic won’t simply just disappear. In fact, the pandemic may have changed the world forever.

Impact on the Application Market

One of the few markets that saw a boom during the majority of the pandemic was the application market. This boom resulted from the intersection of a few key variables. The first; timing. This isn’t the first pandemic that’s swept the world. However, it’s the first pandemic to sweep the world since the birth of smart-tech, loaded with capabilities. This presented opportunity. The second variable; accessibility. In recent years specifically, there has been a push of creating accessible technology. In this same push is the shift to a more technological basis for education that includes coding, script writing, and programming. Finally; free time and isolation.

With smart technology an integrated aspect of everyday life, and the push for more accessible technology all around, the last pair of variables that led to the app market boom were free time, and isolation. With the surge in unemployment, more and more people were looking for a way to spend their days. Not to mention, social interactions were kept to a bare minimum, and stay at home mandates were implemented all over the country. Enter smart, accessible technology, paired with the college of YouTube, and other free avenues through which to learn programming, and suddenly a whole new pool of programmers and developers hit the scene.

That’s only half of the coin though. On the other side of this same perfect storm is the influx of user-base, for all the same reasons the app market saw an increase in developers. New users flocked to applications all across the market, from enterprise, to gaming, to meditation. It was truly a gold-rush.

Spreading The Word

While the surge in app developers, programmers, and users isn’t going anywhere in the post-pandemic wake; applications certainly helped to encourage users to get the vaccine. Organizations in today’s economy have higher expectations to participate in the social atmosphere than they have in previous decades. Corporate America isn’t perfect, by any means, but some of the players are at least trying. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, applications specifically, helped to encourage users to get the vaccine. Many applications used advertisement slots on their own dime to inform users on where to get the vaccine for free. Even large name applications like Tinder, and others, offered vaccinated users an incentive, like a free premium trial, date-night specials, or other in-app incentives.

Beyond Spreading The Word

Applications and technology helped us through the pandemic in more than one way, though. Applications also saw a boom in usership as they worked to bring people together in dire times, unlike any technology has before. Video conference applications like Zoom saw unprecedented growth as families relied on it to commune with one another, long distance relationships only survived because of it, and businesses got by with it. Gaming applications became a way for communities to develop even while individuals dealth with physical or mental isolation.

Enterprise applications were another market segment to see an influx during the COVID-19 pandemic. As businesses and organizations of all industries had to adapt to the virtual economy; many sought the help of enterprise applications. Business oriented applications designed to facilitate communication and collaboration between remote employees.

Beyond spreading the word, and bringing communities together, the technology available even helped in the actual creation and distribution of the vaccine itself. Discovering optimal distribution channels, running algorithms, and elevating scientific processes, the technology of today is, at least partially, responsible for the availability of the vaccine across the globe.

Looking Ahead

Moving forward, there is some question as to what the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be. However, there are some trends that certainly seem stickier than others. For instance, it’s quite possible that the majority of the workforce remains remote, as there seems to be little-to-no evidence that professionals were less effective working remotely. On the contrary, many studies found that the individual professional was more proficient working from home than they were in the office for a variety of reasons, and largely attributed to quality of work-life balance. Additionally, the lack of a commute to and from work, proved significantly beneficial to workers mental and emotional health, which ultimately led to stronger overall performance.

The application market as a whole, is also likely to remain in a ‘boom’ period. While a large percentage of amateur programmers and developers might begin to drop off from the scene, there are bound to be a few who fell in love and stick around. Not to mention, the influx in the userbase is likely going to see a much softer dropoff. Therefore, there will ultimately be a higher user-to-developer ratio in the application markets than we even saw during the height of the pandemic.

The Virtual Economy

In addition to the trends that are likely to stick around, the virtual economy is likely here to stay. Permanently. Businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes faced a sobering reality during the pandemic. Supply chains all over the globe disintegrated into thin air, as a tragic number of smaller businesses closed their doors. The organizations that successfully pivoted from in-person operations to remote or virtual operations are the survivors. Larger organizations that took a financial hit also had to make the pivot from brick and mortar to remote operations. This is a lesson that won’t be soon forgotten. In fact, current and future businesses are more likely to offer remote services and virtual operations now, and moving forward, than any type of in-person services. If it’s possible to be digitized, it will be.

Of course, the entire world won’t stay virtual forever, with live-performances opening back up, and bars and restaurants inviting customers back indoors, a portion of society will always be personable.

A Brighter Future Beyond COVID-19

The last year+ of the COVID-19 pandemic really flipped the script in more way than one. Between the massive influx into the application market, and the push for a more digital economy; some of these soceital changes and trends are going to remain long after the last case of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on the application market as it stands, or help planning out your next mobile app venture, keep browsing NS804. NS804 is the proud developer of the everyday appreneur.

How To Measure App Performance To Release Better App Updates

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Anytime you roll out app updates, you should measure your app’s performance. The data you collect will reveal much about your app and whether it’s gaining traction with users. Moreover, you’ll gain greater insight into your app, allowing you to work on more meaningful future updates.

1. How To Track App Usage Growth

As an appreneur, you’re not only concerned with releasing a quality app but also measuring its performance. You’ll want to keep tabs on app usage growth by implementing analytics and checking all relevant data points regularly. For example, you’ll need to know how many downloads you’re getting on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. And, also keep an eye on any sharp spikes or declines and quickly ascertain why these occur.

There are several powerful analytics tools that you can use, such as App Annie, Apple App Analytics, and Google Analytics. These will give you insight into how well your application is performing in the app stores. Of course, the more well-versed you’re in understanding this data and utilizing these analytics tools, the more likely you’ll improve app user acquisition. But if this seems intimidating, it’s best to work with a professional studio, such as NS804, to help you with your App Store Optimization (ASO) strategy.

2. Why You Should Track Feedback After App Updates

Users can potentially become your biggest fans but also your staunchest critics. The latter may not be fun to deal with, as nobody wants to hear that their app isn’t meeting expectations. However, you must set up a robust pipeline to gather and keep track of all user feedback, especially after rolling out app updates.

After all, a big part of maintaining a mobile app involves listening and responding to user feedback consistently. Your pipeline should allow you to comb through and respond to feedback as quickly as possible. Positive feedback means that you’re on the right track, but negative feedback reveals issues with your app that you need to address. If you do listen to feedback and address these issues, then you’ll increase app usage growth. But if you choose to ignore your users, you risk losing them and having your app stagnate. 

3. Why You Should Measure App User Acquisition Type

Many of the best analytics tools allow for greater granularity, allowing you to look at user data in detail. And this data can help you determine whether app user acquisition is either paid or organic. But you should also be measuring whether app updates spur further growth of your app. You may have added new features and made changes to the UI/UX to improve user retention, but you’ll never know for sure until you start measuring these data points.

4. How To Track Overall Engagement

You can track the overall engagement of your app by measuring average session length, daily active users (DAU), monthly active users (MAU), retention rate, exit rate, churn rate, and stickiness ratio. Here’s a quick breakdown of these and their respective formulas:

  • Average session length –  Amount of time users spend on your app: Total duration of all sessions in seconds during a set time frame / total number of sessions during that time frame 
  • Daily Active Users (DAU) & Monthly Active Users (MAU) –  The number of users who use your app: The number of DAU or MAU
  • Retention Rate – The number of users who use your app during a given time frame: Number of users at the end of a period – number of users acquired during this period / number of users at the beginning of this period x 100
  • Exit Rate – The number of users who leave specific screens: Total number of visits to a screen / total number of exits from a specific screen
  • Churn Rate – The rate at which users uninstall the app: 1 – Retention Rate
  • Stickiness Ratio – The number of users who return to the app monthly: DAU / MAU x 100

In Conclusion

Measuring app user growth should always be a top priority for any budding or experienced appreneur. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you with your app user acquisition strategy.

What Are The Top Enterprise App Development Challenges In 2021?

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Developing an enterprise app in 2021 presents several challenges that you need to know. App security vulnerabilities have become a cause of concern, and delivering a great user experience (UX) has become paramount. We take a deep dive into what enterprise app development looks like in the foreseeable future.

1. How To Decide The Enterprise App Type

When embarking on enterprise app development, you should carefully consider what tasks your application should handle. Start by looking at what processes require improvements at your company. Then, determine if these processes affect the entire company or are limited to a specific department. Moreover, pinpoint any tasks that your upcoming app should address, such as facilitating communication or stocktaking, as examples.

And even having already implemented several solutions, continue taking a holistic view of your company. As we enter a period of rapid digitalization, companies will need to enhance their business processes or be left behind. Thus, it’s wise to take a hard look at whether you’ve already implemented the following systems successfully: 

  • Automated billing and payment process
  • Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
  • Business Intelligence (BI)
  • Call center and customer support
  • Content management 
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  • Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) 
  • Enterprise Management Systems (EMS) 
  • HR management
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 
  • Social media management

All these systems should work flawlessly with each other and improve staff productivity. Also, upgrade outdated systems as quickly as these often cause bottlenecks and security vulnerabilities.

2. How To Ensure A Worthwhile ROI

Ideally, your enterprise app should make completing specific tasks far easier and quicker than before. And do so consistently and effectively so that it pays for itself in the long run. But how do you go about developing an app that does indeed deliver ROI? Well, you should ensure that your enterprise app development efforts produce a solution that offers several benefits.

Firstly, your app should improve productivity and empower staff by ensuring they have access to the most up-to-date data. By implementing business intelligence (BI) together with a robust cloud solution, staff members can complete mission-critical tasks at all times, even when out of the office. Secondly, your app should reduce running costs and speed up all relevant business processes. Thirdly, it should give your company a competitive edge by improving the customer experience and help you stay ahead of market trends.

3. Why The Enterprise App UI Matters So Much

When people think of enterprise apps, they picture dull and ugly-looking WinForms applications. Fortunately, that period in business computing is steadily coming to a close. Businesses no longer rely on desktop-only solutions, especially with the growing popularity of cloud-based web apps. Moreover, Windows desktops are no longer the only game in town, with Apple Macs and Linux desktops gaining traction. Not to forget about Android and iOS devices, which have gradually become powerful productivity tools in many organizations.

With this gradual shift, there has been a steady revolution in User Interface (UI) design. And with the increased use of mobile devices in enterprises, it’s crucial to deliver an optimal User Experience (UX). After all, a well-implemented UI/UX goes a long way in improving conversion and retainment rates. Company staff can fulfill their duties effectively while customers can complete registrations, purchases, and bookings in a frictionless manner.

Thus, it’s paramount that you always consider the UI/UX when embarking on enterprise app development. In many cases, errors and flaws could be due to the interface instead of any underlying issues. Utilize user testing and web analytics, and give this data to your designers to initiate improvements where necessary. Furthermore, a great UI/UX will help boost search engine rank, enhance customer loyalty, and promote your self-service channels.

4. How Can You Keep Enterprise Apps Secure

Your enterprise app shouldn’t only look good, but it must also be secure. And the security of your app should be a top priority, especially if you’re developing for smartphones. According to a report by the Synopsys Cybersecurity Research Center (CyRC), approximately 63% of Android apps contain open source components that contain security vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities expose sensitive data and utilize an excessive amount of device permissions.

What’s even more concerning about these findings is that 94% of these vulnerabilities have security patches available. And most developers are ignoring or failing to secure the components they use to build their apps. Therefore, whether you’re developing a mobile, web, or hybrid app, you must regularly conduct vulnerability tests. For example, if you’re developing a mobile app, make sure to test for the following:

  • Client-side injection
  • Dangerous third-party code
  • Data storage issues
  • Detecting insecure communication
  • Exposed authentication
  • Failure to encrypt data over a web service
  • Server-side control failures
  • The exploitation of the device’s permissions and operating system (OS)

5. Why You Should Invest In Regular App Updates

It’s vital to look at your enterprise app as an ongoing project and not a one-off. Why this is so important is because your app will become outdated after some time. So you’ll need to roll out updates at regular intervals to introduce new features and patch up security vulnerabilities. And every update presents a golden opportunity to receive employee feedback to see how they’re finding the latest iteration of your app. 

6. How Should You Manage Your App’s Data

Users have become increasingly concerned about how their data is collected and used. And given the growing number of security breaches as of late, this is a valid concern. That’s why you should pay more attention to how you manage your app’s data. Ideally, you want to limit the amount of data usage and bandwidth of your app, as long as it doesn’t impact productivity negatively. But you should also encrypt this data, as you don’t want malicious parties to gain access to sensitive information.

Furthermore, analyze how your app stores data, especially in mobile devices with limited storage space. Ensure that the app isn’t storing unnecessary or unwanted data, which can rapidly eat up the available storage. And limit the number of app permissions, as it’s seldom necessary to share information with too many apps.

7. How Much Does Enterprise App Development Cost?

Applications vary in complexity, and that directly correlates with the cost of development. Succinctly, a simple app costs approximately $ 37,500, an app with medium complexity costs up to $ 150,000, and a highly complex app can reach $ 750,000. A low-cost app developer, such as a freelancer, may charge between $ 85 – $ 105 per hour. While this may seem reasonable, do check if this also includes back-end integrations, graphic design, cross-platform support, and additional features.

In most cases, a freelancer or cheaper developer won’t be able to deliver all of these. That means that you’ll have to hire an additional graphic designer, developer, and back-end expert to complete your project, which will drive up costs more than expected. However, if you work with an experienced agency, you can have your app developed on time and within budget.

The Bottom Line

Enterprise app development is a long and complex process that requires the expertise of seasoned professionals. Ideally, you’ll be working with an agency that understands the needs of your company. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you create an enterprise app that takes your business to the next level.

Is It Still Possible To Develop Innovative Enterprise Apps?

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Creating innovative enterprise apps seems like a monumental task. And you’re not wrong if that’s what you’re thinking? However, all the best apps have something in common, which involves solving a pain point exceptionally well. So yes, it’s still possible to develop innovative apps for enterprises, provided you spot a gap in the market.

1. Innovative Enterprise Apps Help Deliver Business Value

With behemoths such as Microsoft, Salesforce, and SAP, delivering high-quality enterprise apps, it’s easy to become intimidated by these strong competitors. But as an appreneur or lean startup, you can make a dent in the market by developing innovative enterprise apps. After all, there’s bound to be a gap in the market that the big players aren’t servicing yet. 

Some of the most indispensable apps that businesses use are those that facilitate communication internally and externally. And this has become even more important in the COVID-19 era, as more company staff work remotely. But even in a post-pandemic age, businesses will still seek out the most effective communication solutions. Thus, there will be many opportunities to innovate on the cloud but also with business mobile apps.

2. Four Things Your Enterprise App Should Have

With a plethora of excellent enterprise apps in the marketplace, user expectations have risen considerably. The days when business applications would only run on desktops and thin clients are long gone. Business mobile apps have grown in popularity as company staff make greater use of smartphones. And apps with complex, inconsistent, and unresponsive user interfaces (UI) are also being shunned in the enterprise space.

The most successful enterprise apps all have these four elements: good visual design, full integration with a company’s systems, compatibility across devices, and robust offline capabilities. Company staff and remote workers love using apps that encapsulate all these elements since they facilitate productivity.

3. Identify A Gap In The Market

Before commencing with development, you’ll need to discover what pain point your app is trying to solve. What problem are you regularly experiencing, which can be solved by a well-conceived application? And does this problem also affect people within an enterprise environment? If you can provide an answer to both questions, then you may have discovered a gap in the market.

However, don’t rush into development without conducting a market opportunity analysis beforehand. It will help you identify customer needs, competitors, and risks that you may face. Thus, you’ll be more informed and better positioned to deliver an innovative enterprise app to users.

3. Business Mobile Apps Are Driving Forth Innovation

While the desktop is the undisputed stalwart of enterprise environments, smartphones have also penetrated this space in recent years. Today, company staff use an average of four apps per day for their work. These business mobile apps keep staff engaged and enhance their well-being and productivity. 

From executives through to sales staff, they now have mission-critical information available to them at all times. Mobile apps diminish the need to be in the office or a specific location to access a PC, saving staff valuable time.

4. Work With An Experienced Developer 

Innovative enterprise apps, such as Flock, Trello, and SurveyMonkey have radically transformed the workflow of modern businesses. These apps came into existence because there was a real need for them. Moreover, the developers behind these apps identified the pain points users were experiencing and responded with powerful and intuitive solutions. 

If you have an app in mind that’s potentially world-changing, then talk to us. As an experienced developer of enterprise and mobile apps, NS804 can help you create the app you’ve always wanted to make.

Bring it Back To Basics: Making a Splash as An Appreneur

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Offering Value As an Appreneur

When it comes to app development, it is one of the most supersaturated markets that exist. This is because of its wide accessibility, and the massive audience pool from which to draw. As an appreneur or aspiring appreneur, it’s important to understand how it is that you or your application are providing value. Because app development is such a competitive market that utilizes technology, it goes to reason that it’s a field that sees an above-average amount of technological advances and evolutions.

However, new technology doesn’t always equate to high-quality applications to which users flock. Creating a truly valuable application that attracts a wide range of users takes a comprehensive approach to app development, which includes utilizing new technology, delivering value to users through optimized user experiences, and offering solutions or utility to the end-user.

The Picasso Effect

Picasso is famous for his abstract approach to art. The way that he depicts people and objects is completely surreal. However, Picasso didn’t start his journey creating brilliant works of abstract and surreal art. Rather, his first education in paints was as traditional and classical as it gets. Before he revamped the art world almost single-handedly, he first mastered the traditional fundamentals of the craft. In other words, he learned how to paint a perfect bowl of fruit, before flipping it on its side and making it something else entirely.

This evolution also occurs in application development. Oftentimes, new developers, programmers, and appreneurs want to jump headfirst off the high-dive and right into the deep end. In other words, appreneurs get so excited about the newest technology and newest features that they start sacrificing fundamentals in order to layer more and more features, without doing the due diligence to fully flush out those features.

This leads to a poorly designed application that feels unfocused and clunky. Worse yet, rushing through the integration process of a new sophisticated technology into your existing applications can lead to bug-ridden applications that are faulty, incomplete, or simply non-fucntional altogether.

This is why Picasso mastered classical painting before branching out and evolving into his legacy of abstract art. By fully understanding the concepts and fundamentals of the classical and traditional form; he was then able to evolve the field entirely.

Merging The Old with The New

In integrating these hot new technologies as they emerge, an appreneur needs to have a strong sense of vision. I’m not talking about your prescription glasses, rather, the term vision here indicates an ability to see vertical alignment and synchronization. It’s important, of course, to learn and be aware of the new technologies that hit the market place, but on the other hand, integrating them into your current and future projects is another endeavor completely.

The most successful applications find a hole in any of the existing niche-markets of the application development world. By providing a solution to an existing issue that end-users are experiencing, your application begins its journey with an advantage. Furthermore, by continuing to invest into the time that it takes to develop a comprehensive application, your end result is a more thoroughly thought through application that offers users a direct solution and immediate value.

Going beyond the value-proposition and the solutions that applications offer, the next level is both design and user experience based. It’sp important to note that the user experience is often regarded as the most important aspect of any application. Mainly due to the supersaturation of the application markets and the hyper competition that accompanies them.

A Look At The Newest Technology

When it comes to the new technology of applications, the choices range far and wide. One of the fastest growing technologies over the past decade is VR, or virtual reality. Some of the first iterations of VR came through gaming systems, like PS4, or Google Oculus. However, VR has a much deeper practicality than merely the video game market. Virtual reality technology has real life practicality in massive industries like healthcare, mental health, sporting, and even fashion.

By taking the time to learn the ins and outs of VR programming, your team will not only be able to build a quality VR system, but further, they’ll be able to construct a high-quality VR system that offers genuine practicality.

AR, or augmented reality, is next on the list. AR is a type of application that overlays additional imagery or visuals over physical locations. As you can imagine, this type of technology has a ton of potential. However, AR is still even a bit newer than VR, so many developers and programmers are still finding avenues through which to integrate and make use of AR in their application designs.

Finally, another technology that’s generating an incredible amount of buzz is facial recognition software. This software has quite swiftly become a popular feature. Think about the new Iphones and the ability to unlock your screen with a facial scan. On the flip side of this, however, is the dangers that facial recognition software poses to individual privacy. Many are weary that military and police institutions will leverage sophisticated facial recognition software inappropriately.

Value Versus Flash

When you boil it all down, successful applications have one thing in common: a strong and practical value proposition. This value proposition is then flushed out, developed, and used to inspire and create an MVP, or minimum viable product. The MVP leads to investments, funding, and partnership, which leads to a finished application, and finally your product launch.

Keeping that progression in mind, it’s rather clear that an application stuffed full of sophisticated technology is not guaranteed to be a success, nor even fully functional. It’s much more important in application development to focus on a fluid user experience, a strong value proposition, and aligned technology. By focusing on integrating only the modern technology that will benefit or elevate your specific value-propoisition, your application will stay much simpler and much more user-firendly.

Implementing User Feedback as An Appreneur

Once you’ve identified the value proposition and built the app, it’s time for an app launch. This is like cutting the big red ribbon on opening day, and it’s extremely exciting. Yet, the work is far from over. At this point in an applications life, your team needs to ensure that it remains relevant, updated, bug-free, and offers value to the user.

One of the most helpful strategies that appreneurs use is the user feedback in the app store. Paying attention to the app store reviews, and user feedback in general, brings your team better understanding of where they hit the nail on the head; and where their application could use some work.

A Brief Overview On What it Takes To Be an Appreneur

Noone said that being an apprenuer would be easy. And if they did, they lied. However, for the dedicated and committed appreneur, there are resources to help guide you. Do your due diligence, and conduct plenty of market research before jumping down the rabbit hole of your newest application, and consider the Picasso effect before attempting to tackle sophisticated application technologies like AR, VR, and Facial recognition.

For more information on successful appreneurship, or anything app development related, keep browsing NS804. NS804 is the application developer of the everyday appreneur.

Perfecting Your MVP Pitch

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Crafting The Perfect Pitch For Your MVP

Businesses do not start from nothing. No, rather, a business forms from a thought. Sometimes, a single thought that undergoes nurturing and care until it’s a full-blown business operation. Think about Steve Jobs starting the behemoth that is Apple out of his garage. That’s some all-star thought-nourishment. As with any venture, a vital step is taking that thought, and turning it into a tangible prototype. This is the epicenter of an MVP when it comes to app development.

Designing a prototype that exemplifies the core concepts and values that your idea offers is integral to gaining traction; not only with investors and potential partners but with users as well.

The Ins and Outs of an MVP

MVP stands for minimum viable product. However, an easy way to think about MVPs is like they are the prototype of the application market. In that way, they share many of the same responsibilities and functions that a prototype serves in other industries. For example, MVPs often contain core components of the ultimate design, function, and user experience so that investors and potential partners can get an idea of how your app will deliver its value to the end-user. Now, that’s an extremely important word when it comes to MVPs – ‘value’.

The value-proposition is what should really drive the development of your MVP. When asking yourself or your team which elements need to be included in the MVP, consider which components you would regard as a core aspect of the value proposition. Asking and answering this question acts as a guide that yields a well-crafted MVP that contains the core aspects of your application and demonstrates the value that it will bring to users.

Building Value With Investors and Partners

Investors and potential partners are often akin to NFL coaches in a sense when it comes to “seeing it on the field”. In other words, ideas and potential are just that until they’re proven and tangible. This is what an MVP offers to your investors – the proof they need to sign on the dotted line and hand over the rest of those start-up funds. Plus, by having an MVP to show to interested parties and partners your team will be generating more buzz around the exciting new project that’s being developed.

Doubling down on this point, an MVP should also contain aspects of the user experience and design intentions. This will give investors a more immersive sense of what to expect from the final product, which keeps everyone aligned to the same value proposition and expectations.

Pitch Tips and Tricks

There are many pitching techniques and sales strategies that developers and programmers use. However, the most potent strategy in delivering an impactful MVP pitch is the integrity of the MVP and the value-proposition themselves. A strong MVP speaks for itself.

Wrapping Up on MVPs

The minimum viable product, or MVP, is an extremely important aspect of the application development world to grasp and master. For more information on MVPs or anything else related to app development; continue browsing NS804. NS804 is the proud app developer of the everyday person.

Why Custom Enterprise Development is Soaring

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The Digitalization of The Economy & Enterprise Development

In the last year, our world saw a massive acceleration into a more digitalized state. This was largely due to the global pandemic that swept the world. However, the wave of digitalization was well on its way long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless, in today’s world, the economy has shifted to an almost entirely virtual experience. To meet this large appetite of the consumers for instant gratification and virtual service, companies have turned to custom enterprise development for a wide variety of solutions.

Developing a custom enterprise application for your organization leads to a wide variety of benefits.

How Businesses are Utilizing Custom Enterprise Apps

Companies are already making great use of custom enterprise apps and enterprise development. One of the main functions for which many organizations employ a custom enterprise application is communication. Communication is one of the most important aspects of any organization. Without strong communication channels, it’s fairly difficult to accomplish large-scale projects that require robust teamwork, cooperation, and strategy.

Furthermore, this is extrapolated when you consider the remote work atmosphere that many organizations have embraced following the COVID-19 pandemic. While working from home has proven beneficial for both organizations and staff members, it goes without saying that communication efforts saw strain as companies dealt with the transition from office work to remote staff.

The Benefits Of Enterprise Apps

There are many benefits to developing a custom enterprise application that streamlines business operations and creates internal efficiencies throughout the organization. From bolstering communication channels to fostering stronger collaboration sessions between remote employees, custom enterprise development offers firms a wide variety of solutions.

The Lifetime Value of a Custom Enterprise App

Investing in the enterprise development of a custom application is a big decision. However, when you consider the lifetime value that an application of this nature offers your firm, it really becomes a no-brainer.

For more information on custom enterprise applications, or anything else related to app development, keep browsing NS804.

Is It Time To Launch a Custom Enterprise App?

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The Rise of The Custom Enterprise App

Organizations all over the globe adjusted operations over the past year in order to meet the needs of the market. Specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic completely altered the economy as we knew it. As a result, many companies began developing custom enterprise applications. These applications have a wide range of features and capabilities and vary significantly from business to business. However, despite the large variance in design and function, there is no denying that a custom enterprise app is perfectly capable of elevating your organization to the next level.

Finding the right time to invest in custom enterprise app development is sometimes crucial to successful implementation. Therefore, it’s vital to do your due diligence before pulling the trigger on custom enterprise app development to make sure that you’re setting yourself up for success.

Conducting an Internal Analysis

One of the very first steps to take in considering the development of a custom enterprise application is; conducting a thorough internal analysis. Performing an internal analysis is a vital process because it yields a waterfall of helpful insights and data that inform decision-making in the context of custom enterprise app development. For instance, by conducting an internal analysis you’ll gain impactful insights into the types of functions and capabilities to be sure to include.

Be sure to take note of your staff’s input when conducting your internal analysis. Staff will often provide deep insights into the exact functionalities that would benefit them the most. Then, by including those features in specific, you’re well on your way to a successful custom enterprise app design.

Another major area to pay attention to throughout the course of your internal analysis is your financial standing. This is arguably the most significant indicator to determine whether or not your firm is in need of a custom enterprise application. Furthermore, this data will allow you to know what sort of budget you would be able to invest in enterprise application development.

Developing Custom Enterprise Applications

As mentioned above, finances are an extremely significant determinant of when to develop a custom enterprise app. However, there is still more than one avenue through which appreneur’s and app developers can pursue custom enterprise app development. There are really three options when it comes to recruiting the programming team. First, you can look in-house if you have a few talented programmers, developers, and designers on staff already. This is arguably the most cost-effective as all of the development processes remain in-house and self-contained. Not to mention, when working with staff and employees, there’s a stronger internal sense of communication that already innately exists.

For those that aren’t lucky enough to have their own suite of developers in-house, there are still two other options. Organizations and decision-makers can look to agency developers, or they can seek help from a freelance developer. As you can imagine, each of these options comes with its own series of pros and cons. For instance, with freelance programmers, there is generally a higher risk associated with the quality of the end result, as well as timing, and other factors that could throw off your project. While some freelancers are more than worth their weight in salt, so to speak, there’s a wide market percentage of freelance developers that are under-trained and under-experienced whose work ends up being subpar. This can range from issues like bug-ridden applications full of faults; all the way to incomplete code, or a final design that feels clunky and unprofessional.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, if fishing for a freelancer isn’t your game; you can trust the development of your custom enterprise application to an agency developer.

Choosing Your Developer

By far one of the most enticing benefits of choosing agency developers to take on your custom enterprise application project is the guarantees that come with. Agency developers and programmers are often part of entire project teams. In other words, they’re pieces of the whole or cogs in the machine, if you will. As such, your app has more people working on it from a variety of angles. With design specialists to UX experts, and everything in between, by choosing an agency developer, you can rest assured your application is in good hands.

There is, however, a common misconception with the agency development avenue. Since agencies come with quality guarantees on design, user experience, and delivery, they too bring with them a slightly heftier price-point. Consider this, though; when it comes to application development costs, the true lifetime value of the development process is presented in the final application. In other words, while agencies may require a bit more capital; there is a lot less risk when it comes to the end result.

The Benefits To Employees

Committing the time and capital necessary to develop a custom enterprise application, though, will go miles. In the new economy that is nearly fully virtual and with the world quickly accelerating toward an entirely digital social experience, consumers are hungry for instant gratification. As well as instant results. Beyond the growing expectation for instant results in the consumer base, however; is the fact that a large majority of the corporate workforce now operates remotely. To accommodate the remote workforce, more and more companies are buying into custom enterprise solutions for their organization.

One of the most common areas that these custom enterprise applications address is internal communication. While there are plenty of options in the enterprise app market that already target communication, employees show a significant uptick in productivity and efficiency with custom solutions.

Communication Solutions

In today’s day, communication is being recognized as one of the most valuable elements in any context. This extends from business settings to emotional life situations, and every and any type of relationship in between. As such, business leaders and decision-makers have put a much stronger emphasis and priority on developing strong avenues of communication, both internally and externally.

Developing a well-connected and interlaced internal network through strong communication channels elevates business operations, efficiency, and employee productivity. By creating strong channels through which team members can communicate swiftly and seamlessly, you’ll be providing them the suite of tools that they need to conduct and complete their daily activities from wherever they may be stationed.

Equip Your Staff For Success

Following suit, by investing in a custom enterprise application; your company can create a unique suite of enterprise solutions that is specific to your organization. This is a major benefit. It’s a major benefit because it offers you and your team the opportunity to elevate and optimize the processes that are specific to your firm.

Wrapping Up On The Custom Enterprise App

Many companies are trusting custom enterprise applications with the bulk of their internal communications. Not to mention, firms are finding more and more uses for their custom enterprise apps each and every year. This is another benefit of investing in a custom enterprise application. Once your enterprise app is launched, it always has the ability to grow, scale, and adjust itself to the needs that are most pressing in your organization.

For more information on custom enterprise app development, or anything else related to application development, keep browsing NS804. NS804 is the proud development agency for the everyday appreneur.