6 Internal Company Solutions A Mobile App Can Provide

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Internal company solutions often include communication, team collaboration, and project management tools. In most cases, these will be desktop or web-based applications and paper-oriented in more extreme cases. But, increasingly, more companies are shifting to mobile apps due to their versatility and widespread use of mobile devices. Below, we’ll look at what company solutions mobile apps facilitate in greater detail.

Bring Your Line-Of-Business (LOB) Apps To Mobile

Regardless of your organization structure, you likely use a suite of desktop LOB apps for most internal tasks. Also, you’re probably heavily invested in the Windows ecosystem due to its business-centric approach. And while many company solutions may run on Windows, this is not always the case. 

 

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It’s not uncommon for businesses to use macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, FreeBSD, or some other esoteric operating system (OS). There are cases when companies inevitably cling to legacy operating systems such as Windows 95 or DOS since these will only run on their older equipment and computer systems.

But what does this all mean for you, and how can your business benefit by porting your existing LOB apps to mobile? While desktops are great and allow for high productivity, they’re not the only feasible solution for your business. After all, most, if not all, your employees carry smartphones on them during the workday and after hours. And given the considerable computing power of most current smartphones, they’re also excellent productivity devices. 

So, it’s a wasted opportunity not to port several mission-critical apps to mobile, as this will allow employees to complete essential tasks when out of the office or late in the evening when necessary. Furthermore, most employees don’t like using a PC after hours, especially after staring at a computer screen all day at the office. 

But they’ll feel more comfortable with a smartphone or tablet, as these devices feel more personal and intuitive for use inside or outside the office. Thus, your employees won’t mind catching up on work at home or on the go, provided your mobile LOB apps have an intuitive and snappy user interface (UI).

How To Bring Your Internal Company Solutions To Mobile

Unless you have an internal development team, you should partner with a reputable mobile studio, such as NS804, to port your existing LOB apps. Founded in 2012, we have worked on over 100 mobile apps for Android and iOS and received acclaim for our hard work and commitment to excellence. We work with organizations of different sizes and industries, such as CarLotz, Dominion Energy, and Wells Fargo Advisors, to name a few.

But even if you don’t have any desktop or web-based LOB apps but need us to create mobile-first or mobile-only company solutions, we’re happy to assist. We have developed several notable business and productivity apps that you might have used or heard about, like the following:

  • Béné
  • CFO Sidekick
  • EntreConnect
  • Paxis Pro
  • Referral Buddy
  • Substation App
  • Text Surge
  • Transsporter
  • True Home Review
  • Yards4Yeardley

As a native mobile app developer, we use the best-in-class programming languages, tooling, and methodologies for Android and iOS. Ultimately, this guarantees we create apps that offer optimal performance, look, and feel on both mobile platforms. 

But what if you only need to release on one platform due to budget constraints? Which platform should you choose and why? Preferably, opt for the platform that enjoys the most use in your organization. For example, if most of your employees use iPhones, go with iOS. However, if there isn’t a dominant platform, Android is preferable due to its more open nature and ability to sideload apps easily. Android smartphones and tablets are also cheaper to acquire if you plan to equip all your employees with a device.

1. Automating Employee Onboarding And Training

As your business grows, you have little choice but to hire additional staff. But you’ll need to offer a comprehensive onboarding and training program. The only problem with this is that it can become an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. 

That’s because you’ll need training staff to teach newcomers the skills and methods to function effectively in your organization. And every time you hire someone new, you’ll need to repeat this process, which will inevitably increase your costs. It makes little sense to keep training staff around if you only require their services occasionally and at irregular intervals.

One solution is to outsource to a third-party training provider. But that’s not always a good idea, as their pricing may be higher than expected, or you may not want to share methodologies that reveal trade secrets. Instead, you should build a custom training platform that automates these processes continuously.

You’ll only need to hire training staff once to write documentation, film videos, and record audio training courses. Once you’ve assembled all this training media, it’s time to put it to work for you within the framework of a training app. The app will commence with the onboarding process consisting of a welcome video, your company’s mission statement, achievements, goals, and what you expect from new hires. 

Once they complete onboarding, the app will launch a training module specific to each new staff member’s position in the company. They will gain access only to the documentation and media suitable for their roles, then tested via questionnaires and multiple-choice questions (MCQs). The app will also send you progress reports and test results for each candidate so that you can better assess their suitability for their assigned roles.

2. Improve Staff Efficiency With A Team Collaboration Mobile App 

Internal company solutions often revolve around powerful collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Trello. And while all these are great, you may want a more custom solution geared toward the workflows and methodologies of your company.

Furthermore, you may want that extra peace of mind of having complete control of the privacy and security of your collaboration app instead of relying on a third party. After all, it’s not uncommon for popular apps to suffer security breaches and for hackers to steal user credentials.

A side benefit of having your own team collaboration app is that you’re not subject to the end-user license agreement (EULA) set by a third-party software vendor. And that’s because you may not like some terms within the EULA, or updated terms and conditions may pose potential legal risks to your business. It’s also common for vendors to introduce app updates that disrupt staff workflow and business operations. 

With your custom team collaboration platform, you’ll have a level of control to keep undesirable elements blocked off. But you’ll also have complete control over how, when, and where staff may use your app.

Perhaps, you want staff to communicate via text to save on data costs, or you want them to use the app during office hours only. Ideally, you’ll want to make use of what the best team collaboration apps bring to the table, such as video conferencing and the ability to share all types of files. 

3. Accelerate Digitization In Your Organization

Whether you create a communication, project management, or team collaboration app, these will boost digitization within your organization. These apps require you to convert all your physical-based data and media into digital form. All paper documents within your file cabinets are ripe for digitization, and there are many tangible benefits in taking this path. 

Having documents in a digital format will make it easier to archive, share, and update your organization’s files. And you can follow through with other media, such as 3D models, draft plans, illustrations, photos, videos, and audio recordings.

It’s also more cost-effective to store all these on your servers or the cloud instead of allocating significant office space for this purpose. You can also easily backup digital files within and outside the physical confines of your organization, ensuring you never lose this valuable data due to a fire or any other mishap.  

However, one of the reasons why you want to implement digitization for company solutions is to give your business a competitive edge. And that’s only possible if your staff has access to the correct information all the time. You want staff to access the information they need rapidly. Moreover, you want this data to be accurate and up-to-date. 

4. Enhance Supply Management With A Mobile Solution

Even if you already have supply management software for your business, do you have a mobile version? This is a crucial question because a mobile app can radically improve all supply management tasks.

If you’re relying exclusively on a desktop app, your staff is probably wasting valuable time moving back and forth between the office and the storeroom. They’re probably back checking on the inventory in stock and what appears on the computer screen or print out. 

Also, there’s no guarantee that they processed inventory information correctly the first time, as they probably ticked off or filled out a paper document before entering this information into the computer. That’s an additional step that wastes time and increases the probability of error.

With a mobile app, an employee can log all incoming inventory directly on the storeroom floor without needing to be near a desktop. The app will store all recent entries on the mobile app’s backend, and your desktop supply management app can query this data in real-time if necessary.

You probably want internal company solutions to handle your distribution and logistics pipelines. The mobile app can play a vital role here, as you can connect and monitor your drivers and third-party freight carriers and shipping companies to successfully fulfill all delivery obligations. You’ll also reduce the duration of delivery trips, paperwork, and the probability of items going missing in transit.

 

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5. Engage Employees With Social And Gamification Features

The last thing you want is for your employees to lose interest in their work and your company’s goals. Ideally, you want to keep them engaged and excited about coming to work so that they perform at their best. While you can offer them incentives like bonuses and paid company trips, you can achieve much more with the right type of company solutions.    

One good solution is to build a dedicated employee engagement app that functions similarly to a social media platform. It can act as a central hub where staff can gather, complete their profiles, connect with others, hold discussions, make announcements, read company news, and receive acclaim for meeting milestones. 

Furthermore, the app can facilitate your company’s emergency preparedness and response plans by providing staff with all relevant emergency numbers and a floor plan showing fire escapes inside company premises. You can further boost app engagement by including gamification features that reward staff with points and unique icons or emojis once they complete specific tasks within the app, such as completing their entire profile. 

And if you decide not to build such an app, you can still implement social and gamification features in your training, communications, and team collaboration apps. You may also share company news via your other apps and urgent announcements via push notifications. 

6. Take Charge With A Project Management Mobile App

Your organization needs a good project management app to plan and monitor projects from A to Z. If you already have one, that’s great, but you can achieve more with a mobile app. And that’s because you want staff to collaborate in real-time regardless if they’re in the office or out in the field.

You may also integrate with your existing team collaboration and communication tools to facilitate team project management. And depending on how you plan and execute your projects, you can optimize the app for Agile or Waterfall methodologies. You can take things further by including a Kanban board that allows you to schedule projects visually, making it easier for staff to follow all steps of the process.

The Bottom Line

Businesses are increasingly using mobile apps to fulfill many crucial internal roles. These often work in tandem with existing desktop or web-based company solutions or replacing them entirely. If you’re currently sitting on the fence, there’s never been a better time to enhance or augment your internal company solutions with a mobile app. Contact https://www.ns804.com/ today to learn how we’ll help you develop a custom app to boost your business!

5 Android App Development Myths, Debunked

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Whether we like it or not, development myths surround the Android platform. In a way, the Android platform is a victim of its own success, given its vast popularity. As the world’s leading mobile operating system (OS), it has evolved rapidly over the past 14 years. And with so many changes and new features introduced regularly, Android app developers have their work cut out for them.

It’s also necessary for developers to create apps that work well across a wide range of devices from various manufacturers. And there’s a need to test on more devices and spend additional time fixing bugs and patching apps.

These hoops that Android App developers have to jump through have led to several myths. One of which is that it’s far harder to develop for Android than iOS. And while there’s some truth to this, few realize that Android app development has become easier with the introduction of Kotlin and the Jetpack libraries.

But there are many more Android app development myths that we need to discuss. Read on to learn more about these myths and why we’re about to debunk them!

Myth 1: Android App Development Is Highly Profitable

During Android’s early years, many developers came on board to capitalize on this exciting new platform. And many of these developers found success, and much hype ensued about the Android platform. So much hype, in fact, that software developers specializing in other fields decided to pursue mobile app development. 

But as the platform matured and Google Play became inundated with an abundance of apps, Android app development became less profitable and far riskier. As of September 2022, the Google Play Store had over 2,6 million apps. But that’s significantly lower when the store peaked at 3,6 million apps in March 2018. 

So what does that bit of information tell us? It reveals that the golden age of Android app development has long passed. Developers and publishers have learned that it no longer makes sense to push apps onto the store on a whim. And that’s because the most successful and sustainable apps solve a problem and are high quality.

Ultimately, the Google Play Store still remains viable for those developers willing to go the extra mile. But newcomer Android developers will unlikely strike it rich with their first few apps. While there’s been a decline in apps available in the store, it’s still heavily saturated. Thus, it’s best to avoid being blindsided by claims on the internet about Android’s vast earning potential.

 

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Myth 2: The Android App Development Environment Is Inferior To iOS

That’s completely false and may even be the other way around. Google has gone to great lengths to improve the Android app development experience, and they’ve largely succeeded. Android Studio and the accompanying App Tools truly empower developers to make some amazing apps.

And if we’re to make a quick comparison between Android Studio and Apple’s XCode, we often find Android Studio’s code editor and layout designer more useful for handling larger projects. Some developers even seem to prefer Android Studio overall, but that’s also a matter of preference.

The only major downside of Android Studio is that it consumes far more memory than it should. Furthermore, it’s often a chore to configure and deal with the Android Emulator Hypervisor Driver. And this can get rather complicated if you’re using a system with an AMD processor. But once the Android Emulator is up and running, it truly gives you a feel of how your app will run on a wide range of devices.

Myth 3: You Need To Own A Wide Variety Of Test Devices

Preferably, yes, but it’s not necessary to own many test devices. The hard truth is that you probably don’t have the resources to own a large number of devices. Moreover, it doesn’t make sense to keep a bunch of older devices with deteriorating lithium-ion batteries in your studio, as that’s a potential fire hazard.

Instead, you’ll rely on the Android Emulator to give you a broad picture of how your app will run on devices made by various manufacturers. But you’ll still need to test on actual hardware, so you’ll use all the Android smartphones and tablets your team owns. And you can take things a step further by running an invite-only beta program where users with different devices can test your app.

You’ll implement analytics in your app to collect device and performance data. And you may also run a survey where you’ll ask your users questions related to the performance and smooth running of your app. Thus, you’ll gain a clearer picture of your app’s performance on a wide variety of devices. You’re also able to pinpoint the Android versions, manufacturers, models, and configurations that impact the performance of your app long before its official launch.

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Myth 4: You Need An Engine Such As Unity To Make Android Mobile Games

While Unity is a great choice for cross-platform mobile app development, you do have other options. There’s Unreal Engine if you need to create high-fidelity 3D games and AR/VR experiences. Then, there’s GameMaker and Godot if you want to make addictive pick-up-and-play 2D games.

However, if your team has the necessary skills, you may forgo a game engine. And instead, use tools and libraries such as Google’s Android Game Development Kit (AGDK). The AGDK libraries consist of the Android Frame Pacing library, Android Performance Tuner, and C/C++ game libraries. 

The latter libraries allow developers more comfortable with C or C++ instead of Kotlin or Java to create Android mobile games. And since many legacy games have been programmed in C and modern games have been programmed in C++, porting these to Android becomes a lot easier.

Myth 5: You Can Easily Release Your Android Apps On Windows 11 

Microsoft surprised everyone when they announced that Android apps would make their way to Windows 11. But it’s also one of the biggest app development myths to think this is as straightforward as it sounds. And that’s because Windows 11 users need to access the Microsoft Store and then download and install the Amazon Appstore. They’ll also need to sign in to their Microsoft Account (if necessary) and Amazon account.

That’s a very inconvenient process to gain access to Android apps only available on the Amazon Appstore. From a developer’s standpoint, it’s additional work to put an Android app onto the Amazon Appstore if it’s already on Google Play. It’s necessary to comply with Amazon’s guidelines and implement the Appstore SDK. Also, Amazon only accepts Android apps and not iOS apps, which may disappoint developers that support both platforms.

And while it’s possible to sideload Android apps on Windows 11 with Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), it’s a complicated process. Most non-technical users will likely struggle with this; thus, the Amazon Appstore will remain the more convenient option. However, it’s a straightforward process to run Android apps from the Google Play Store on Chromebooks.

Android App Development Myths And Misconceptions

The Android platform remains exciting while offering developers the opportunity to reach over 2.8 billion users. But the popularity and overall success of the platform has led to various app development myths and misconceptions. We’ve debunked several of these, but we expect many more to make the rounds. Contact NS804 today to learn how we’ll help you create phenomenal Android apps that will reach mythical heights! 

How to Find a Great Android App Developer Near You

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If you conduct a simple web search for an ‘app developer near me’, you are likely to be bombarded with numerous organic results as well as a few ads. The results may overwhelm you if you do not have a strategy to find the right app developer. Therefore, even before you begin the search, you must have your objectives well laid out.

Understanding Objectives

Before bringing in a developer, prepare a list of all the app’s requirements. State the industry, the main features it will include, and the platforms you wish to avail to customers. You should link the features to tangible problems you are attempting to solve.

App Developer Background

Once you have laid out what you expect the developer to deliver, you should then lay out what you expect of the right developer in terms of their working methods. While it may be easier to work with a smaller company where your project is likely to form a significant portion of their revenue, there are advantages to working with bigger companies as well that have delivered numerous projects similar to yours.

Some development companies have a bias or specialization in building apps for certain industries. If your app has complex features that aren’t common in many other industries, you may want to work with a team that has specialized in your industry.

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Culture and Working Methods

There are numerous cases of app development projects stalling because of a lack of fit between a client and the development team. Certain things such as communication styles can be picked up during the initial meetings. If you realize that a development company isn’t documenting requests properly or delays in providing feedback through official communication channels, then they are perhaps going to frustrate you down the road.

Past Clients

While conducting a search for an app developer in an area, it’s always a great idea to reach out to their past clients for honest reviews. It’s even better when the past clients are in the same industry as you are. Inquire whether projects were delivered on time, with the right specifications, and the nature of the working relationship with the development company.

Where to Find App Developers Near You

There are numerous platforms you can search to find app developers near you. You could use freelance platforms that vet professionals offering app and web development services.  The downside of this, however, is that reviews might be subject to manipulation.

A better option is to do a search on Google and review developers’ portfolios on their websites. By looking at past projects, you will gain confidence in their skills. Book a first meeting with them and have a discussion on your projects and listen to their understanding and interpretation of the deliverables. Other factors such as project pricing are important but shouldn’t take precedence over quality of work.

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If your company is in search of an app development team, reach out to NS804. We are a world-class app development company with hundreds of business apps shipped to clients worldwide. Schedule a call with us here.

 

8 Insights Developers of iOS and Android Apps Should Know

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After the initial release of an app, developers must realize that the app’s journey has merely begun. The success and longevity of the app depend highly on the team’s ability to follow the app’s roadmap into the future. Feedback from surveys and analytics tools built into the apps highly influences an app’s roadmap. Developers must determine the most important performance indicators and use the right measures to track them. Whether you are an Android or iOS developer, here are 8 insights you should know.

Performance Metrics

The primary metrics for the development team are performance metrics. If the app requires the support of network services, it would be critical to monitor the number and frequency of network errors. Network problems, such as HTTTP failures, cause low responsiveness and app crashes. App crashes result in poor ratings on app stores thus affecting future download numbers.

Other performance metrics include API latency, which is the amount of time it takes for a request on the app to be resolved. Latency needs to be less than 1 second so that users do not experience drags in their experience of the app.

Acquisition Metrics

The first kind of insights to track will be on app acquisition. Tracking the number of new downloads on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis indicates where the app is in its lifecycle and how the product team needs to act. For instance, if the number of downloads has been slowing down, they may decide to refresh the app through rebranding and introduction of new features.

Tracking metrics also helps you to assess of marketing campaigns that you might be running currently.

Beyond the downloads, the product team should track the channels through which new users are coming. These numbers help to determine how to utilize the marketing resources to maximize return on investment.

Activation Metrics

Activation metrics go beyond the download numbers. The activation rate is the percentage of new downloads that launched the app on their devices. An activation rate that is below 80% could point to an underlying problem. Perhaps the users experienced a bug when attempting to launch the app, and ended up not trying again. A long registration process or a poor UI could be other factors hindering your app from hitting healthy activation rates.

Tracking the ratio of first-time app launches over total launches over a 30-day rolling period is a great indicator of app growth. A 5-15% growth is considered healthy in most cases.

Retention Cohorts

The ability of an app to retain users is perhaps the greatest indicator of the app’s revenue potential. Whereas people have more than 50 apps on the phones on average, they normally use less than 10% of them daily.

One method to track an app’s retention ability is to categorize users into retention cohorts. This is done by tracking people who download an app on a given day or week then tracking their usage thereafter. You might find that by day 7, only 20% of the cohort members logged into the app and are likely to continue using it thereafter.

Another retention metric is the number of uninstalls. On average, 24% of all newly installed apps are uninstalled after a single launch. The reasons are varied but the most common reasons include bugs, poor user interface, or failing to solve the problem that a user had.  It’s important for developers to investigate the reasons for app uninstalls, even when they are just a small proportion of first-time app launches.

Demographics Metrics

Beyond monitoring the number of downloads of an app, it is important to drill down into the figures to realize what they mean. For instance, developers may want to know what the age distribution of their audience looks like and whether that was what they expected when making a business case for building the app. The geographical distribution of the audience matters. Developers may find the need to optimize the app and its content for different markets.

Importantly, developers must also monitor the different operating systems and devices that users are accessing the app from. When developers have built different iOS and Android versions of the app, they must ensure the quality of the experience is quite similar on both platforms. A too small of a market share on one platform could indicate perhaps a poor user experience that needs improvement.

Conversion Metrics

An important indicator of the app’s performance is the conversion rate. This is a calculation of the proportion of people who could have performed an action that ended up actually performing it. For a commerce app, how many people searched for an item, clicked on it, and completed the purchase as opposed to exiting? A high drop-off is an indication of an underlying process. A complicated UI might make it difficult for users to find what they are looking for. A long checkout process could also result in a high percentage of abandoned carts.

Opt-in Rate and Click-Through Rate

Within the app, the product team will invite users to allow such things as push notifications or allow location access. You might also request users to allow in-app notifications as well as sign up for newsletters. Tracking the proportion of users who have opted into these requests indicates how invested they are in the product. If more users are opting out than those that are opting in, it might be an indication of the app’s growth decline.

Stickiness Metrics

In order to understand the stickiness of an app, it’s important to measure the monthly active users and daily active users. The monthly active users the number of unique users that launched the app while the daily active users is the same metric calculated per day. The stickiness is calculated as the daily active users divided by the monthly active users. It is an indication of how likely users are likely to come back to the app.

It’s also important to track the number of daily sessions per user. It indicates the engagement level people are having with the app. The interpretation varies depending on the purpose for which the app was built. For a social app, one session might be considered as a low score. For a taxi-hailing app, a single session per user might be considered high.

The team should also track the average session length as an essential metric, too.  This is straightforward because longer sessions mean users enjoy using the app. However, a more nuanced metric is to measure how long it takes the average user to find what they are looking for.

Building iOS and Android Apps

Indeed there are numerous metrics that developers can use to gain insights into their apps. The initial release of an app is only the start of a journey towards improving features, adding new ones, and acting upon feedback from analytics and user comments. A successful app is largely the result of a development team dedicated to incremental improvement.

If your company is seeking to build and maintain a successful app, reach out to NS804 as your Android and iOS app development partner. Our team carries the experience of delivering hundreds of successful business apps to clients. Together, we will prepare and build an app with a clear roadmap. The team will track the right metrics for your app to ensure optimal user satisfaction. Book a consultation session with us here.

IOS Development Richmond, VA

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IOS development is a critical step of any mobile app development process. That’s because there were more than 1.2 billion iPhone users globally at the start of 2022. And this number is expected to grow soon. The APP Store gives users from every part of the world the opportunity to discover and download apps that meet the highest levels of security, quality, and performance.

This is exactly why developing an IOS mobile app with quality in mind is critical. App Store prioritizes and gives preferences to seamless, smooth, and quality apps that answer the most pressing of customers’ questions. So, if you’re a mobile developer or running an enterprise that ultimately needs one, you’re in the right place.

This article will explore some benefits of IOS mobile app development and give you tips on how to approach mobile app development – of course from an expert. In addition, if you need some mobile app development services in Richmond, worry no more because we already have you covered.

Why IOS Mobile App Development Richmond?

1. Elegant user interface

The first impression of an app is critical in its adoption and overall usability. That’s why it’s the responsibility of every mobile app development company to provide a superior user interface that’s appealing and satisfying.

A smooth user interface works proportionally for the customer. The smoother and more appealing, the stronger the relationship between the business and its target customers. Therefore, if you’re looking for IOS mobile development, in Richmond, ensure that the development project delivers an elegant user interface.

2. Tech-savviness

The iPhone has clearly distinguished itself as a tech-savvy device for like-minded users. That means that the typical iPhone user is a tech-savvy consumer who’s attracted to and impressed by innovative products.

So, if you’re developing an IOS app, think of developing a product with robust features. iPhone lovers are highly receptive to innovative and equally evolving products and apps. Your goal in developing a mobile application is to produce a product that will cause turbulence in the market and keep your head afloat from the competition.

3. Strong security

One of the primary advantages of IOS development is the high-end security protection provided by IOS. There’s no denying that every app developer must consider the security safeguards that protect data against theft, duplication, and encryption.

The primary purpose is to protect customers against phishing and hacking attempts, thus preserving their data, privacy, and security. So, it’s the responsibility of every app developer – customers, developers, and companies – to prioritize security in the IOS mobile app development.

4. Capital returns

Did you know that IOS app users are more likely to pay for an app than Android app users? So, developing an IOS app gives you better monetization opportunities than Android. However, it’s always advisable to consider a cross-functional app that can function in Android and IOS.

In addition, every app in the App Store must meet stringent criteria of security, usability, and experience. This means that every app in the App Store is worthwhile and helpful. Investing in an IOS development project will not only give you returns on investment, but will help you retain a large chunk of your clients.

5. Superior user experience

50% of customers uninstall their apps a week after installing them because of usability issues. Fortunately, this is not the case with IOS mobile app development. Apple has built a superior product for its customers because of fantastic software, superb customer service, and faultless hardware.

In addition, the contentment that Apple users derive by using such a superior product cannot be downplayed when considering whether to invest in Android or IOS development. Investing in IOS development fits into Apple’s overall culture of quality, functionality, and superiority.

Mobile App Development Services, Richmond

Richmond is a thriving capital that boasts hundreds of small, medium-sized, and large businesses. As an independent city with slightly over three hundred thousand people, Richmond Virginia is the fourth most populous city, and thus a business hub in the region.

Running a business in Richmond demands thrust, creativity, and innovation. This is because Richmond is home to one of the world’s leading brands – Walmart, Amazon, Infosys, Deloitte, and many more.

Luckily, mobile app development services will ensure that your business gets both a digital and physical presence. Mobile app development has been lauded as one of the most creative elements of modern-age businesses.

This means that leveraging mobile app development services will enable you to succeed in your digital marketing efforts by capturing an upstream of online customers.

Some of the benefits of IOS mobile app development in Richmond include:

  • Target customers. IOS mobile app development enables you to zero down on high-value customers. That’s because Apple users are tech-savvy and highly receptive to innovation and evolving technologies.
  • Returns on investment. It has already been established that iPhone users pay more for apps than Android users. That automatically means that your IOS app stands in a better monetary position than a typical Android app.
  • Quality. IOS mobile app development process is complicated and requires the latest software version. However, the results of IOS mobile app development are superior and superb, giving you better functionality and app control than a typical Android app.
  • User experience. Did you know that on average IOS apps are better and more impressive than Android apps? Investing in IOS development gives your app an edge, especially in a highly competitive and ever-changing landscape.
  • Faster development process. Unlike Android app development, IOS app development is faster, easier, and less expensive. However, all credit goes to Apple’s excellent programming languages that make app development a rewarding experience.

It’s critical to note that IOS development remains the best mobile app development for new and upcoming owners who want to remain ahead of the pack.

NS804 – Trusted IOS Development, Richmond

NS804 is a seasoned developer of superior mobile app solutions for Android and IOS. However, our years of designing and experimenting with IOS apps enable us to prefer IOS apps to Android apps because of speed, functionality, reliability, and security of IOS.

So, if you’re starting or simply looking to reinvent an existing mobile app, you’re in the right place. NS804 works with talented software developers and project managers who can design your app from concept to completion.

In addition, we provide a minimum viable product allowing our customers to experiment with a prototype of the app before going full-flung. Part of our provision is a mobile app calculator that lets you determine how much you will pay for a specific type of app.

So, whether you’re starting or improving on an existing project, NS804 will support all your IOS development efforts with precision and expertise.

Contact NS804 for superior IOS mobile app development solutions.

What Are The Most Profitable Apps In 2022

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Knowing which are the most profitable apps is a huge advantage. After all, knowing what types of apps gain traction with users helps appreneurs pick projects that will likely succeed. And given the maturity of the app market, it’s wise to reevaluate what works in today’s marketplace, as what was popular several years ago may have fallen out of favor with users.

But what apps are truly profitable in 2022? It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Bumble, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, TikTok, Tinder, and YouTube lead the way. However, we should delve deeper to see what segments attract users and lead to profitable apps that become household names.  

1. Dating

Dating websites were somewhat of a peculiarity when they first appeared in the ’90s and were generally considered an avenue for loners and losers to get a date. However, that’s no longer the case, as we all know someone that has found love or even tied the knot through a dating site or app. And, likely, this person is neither maladjusted nor hopeless in love.

The truth is that dating sites and apps offer a convenient way for busy professionals, students, and even elderly persons to meet potential suitors. And given the popularity of Bumble and Tinder, many people find it easier to meet others through these apps than in real-life social settings. So, dating apps have become something of a necessity in today’s more atomized world.

2. Entertainment

Some of the most profitable apps revolve around entertainment. And it’s easy to see why that is, as smartphones and tablets have primarily become content-consuming devices. Users love watching movies through streaming services such as Netflix and listening to music on Spotify.

Even game cloud and streaming services have become popular recently. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass allows users to play Xbox exclusives for a monthly fee and without needing to own a console. 

 

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3. Gaming

The mobile gaming sector should reach revenues of $164.10bn in 2022 and $241.40 by 2027. While that’s impressive, it also gives us a clue about the feasibility and vitality of mobile gaming. Moreover, games offer several ways to generate revenue via ads, in-app purchases, subscriptions, and upfront purchases.

But making games can be difficult and risky, especially for inexperienced developers. Newbie, small, and cash-strapped developers will find that creating impressive-looking 3D games or content-heavy RPGs is overambitious. And the likelihood of completing such games on time is next to impossible without cutting corners.

Thus, new developers who want to make mobile games should pick a game genre that’s popular but also doable. It’s better to tackle a battle card game or a visual novel than to attempt to make the next Genshin Impact.

4. Social Media

Many users prefer to stay engaged online via their favorite social media platforms. And if you’re wondering what grandma and grandpa are doing on their phones, they’re likely checking in on loved ones on Facebook or Whatsapp. They might even make a few online purchases, buying goods or services from marketplaces inside these very apps.

The marketing and money-making opportunities of social media apps are almost limitless. Gone are the days when most users would scout the web, perusing forums and websites that interest them. Today, they can find everything they’re looking for on social media and rarely have to leave the platform unless necessary.

 

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The Bottom Line

Current trends show that the most profitable apps serve users in areas that truly make sense. In today’s atomized society, people have a greater need to connect. Thus, both dating and social media apps fill that void incredibly well. And people also require entertainment, which is where streaming apps and mobile gaming thrive. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create top-earning apps today! 

What Kind of information Can App Data Reveal About Your Clients?

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Businesses create mobile apps for all manner of reasons. They include increasing interaction with customers, round-the-clock service delivery, growing revenue, content sharing, and standing out from the competition. However, an underrated opportunity that mobile apps create is the ability to collect data that sheds light on user behavior, properties and the opportunities therein. Businesses can frame problems and develop the correct metrics to answer such problems using data from their apps.

A good example would be asking how to determine the success of an app. Mere download numbers from app stores would be a too simplistic way to do so. However, with app data, you can track usage rates, length of sessions, frequency of certain events and more. App analytics tools allow your business to filter app data using all sorts of variables. You can view data by the device platforms, whether Android or iOS. You can filter by age, location, dates, and so forth.

So, what kind of insights can app data reveal about your users?

Active Users

A metric of how many users logged in to your app today may not be very useful. However, when plotted over a period of time, it starts to tell a story. Over a period of several months, you can spot hikes or drops in the number of unique active users and drawn correlations with other events. Perhaps you had a marketing campaign or launched a new feature. If a new version of the app was released and user rates dropped, you may be looking at a bug.

Being able to track active users will also help to make better marketing decisions. For instance, the best day to launch a marketing campaign would be when the number of active users is the highest.

Having a dashboard for real-time analytics is also important and helpful. It’s a great way to spot problems such as people being unable to log in. For instance, a sudden spike in the number of login events may not necessarily mean you have a surge in new users. It might be that there is a problem with the login feature hence the multiple attempts to log in.

Tracking Conversions through App Data

Apps have different use cases and varying definitions of what constitutes conversion. It could be making an e-commerce purchase, subscribing to premium content on the app, signing up for a newsletter, or referring new users to products. Whichever the case, using analytics tools to track conversions over time helps develop a narrative to guide decision-making. Most app analytics tools have an A/B testing feature that allows businesses to attempt two different approaches to solving a problem before settling on one. Using analytics, your business is able to test what resonates with your users. It leads to better utilization of marketing budgets.

Insights into Revenue

The success of any business app meant to generate revenue should be objectively determined through the revenue generated. However, the total revenue figure does not tell much on its own. It’s important to delve deeper to understand how various revenue drivers are affecting it. For instance, if there are multiple products or services on the app, how much is each contributing to revenue? How does revenue vary throughout the year? How does revenue relate to user demographics? Where are your most important customers located?  Such questions help your business to create better segmentation strategies, focus marketing spend on the right places, and so on.

Retention Data

App retention is one of the most objective metrics on the success of mobile apps. Businesses can classify users into retention cohorts- basically, a group of users who began using the app in the same period, for instance, a week. For each group, you can track the number of sessions logged over the observation period. You can slice the data by platforms, locations, and gender to get a better understanding of what is influencing retention rates. Remember, data analytics is about developing and testing different hypotheses.

User Session Data

Besides just tracking how long each user session takes, your business can gain massive business intelligence from user session data. Longer sessions may mean that users like the app, but it could also mean that the UI is too complex, and they are taking longer to find what they need. It’s therefore important to find more useful information about what the sessions entail. For instance, what’s the time between putting items in the cart and checking out? How many sessions does it take before users make a purchase? What features do users interact with most?

What are Mobile App Events

When you integrate an analytics tool into your app, they capture different events on the app. The sum of these events forms your mobile app data. When you begin tracking your app analytics, you’ll need to define your user properties. These are the different attributes you want to identify users with in order to contextualize the data. You may classify users using many attributes, age group, location, gender, period of use and more.

Most analytics tools with capture certain events by default. These include unique logins and length of sessions. However, you can also create your own custom events to be tracked based on the kind of data you are interested in.

The Advantages of Capturing Mobile App Data

Increasing ROI using App Data

The use of analytics to monitor business apps greatly increases the ROI of your business app. By monitoring metrics that affect user retention, for example, you will be able to make adjustments to various attributes of your app. You may tweak the content, the UI, or even fix bugs in your backend that could be negatively affecting the users’ experience.

Better Marketing Campaigns

Apps data will help you understand your customers better and target them with personalized and nuanced marketing messages. These perform way better than generic campaigns and you’ll realize a better response to your marketing efforts.

It Will Inform Your Product Development Path

In today’s business world, app development does not stop after the testing and launch of the first version of your app. The data from app monitoring is what informs further app improvement and the building of new features. If users are interacting with certain features, the team may want to build further upon those features. It may also lead to the dropping of features that don’t add utility to the user experience.

Finding the Right Analytics Tools

Once your business builds its app, your product team has to handpick the right analytics tool to integrate with the app. Remember, the analytics tools will not work in a vacuum but rather it needs to warp into the technology stack you are using to run your business. Most times, the stack of technology includes the data management platform, the app itself, the advertising platform, the payment processing solution, a content management system, a CRM platform and more.

Companies need to have a team with the right skills to get the best out of all these technologies. Reach out to NS804 for assistance with the development of your business app and integration of mobile app data analytics solutions. Our team will help you track the right metrics and craft a path for your future product development.

4 Education Apps to Train Your Employees

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Solving the training and upskilling problem is a major challenge for businesses that have employees spread out over a wide geographic area. Resources are limited and yet employees want to continually absorb new information. The rise of online learning platforms and the ease of course creation is a major boost for organizations today.

There are a range of employee education apps that offer unique abilities, such as course creation, assignments, in-app user guidance, personalized learning paths, gamification, and progress monitoring.

1. Corporate Learning Management Systems

Corporate Learning Management Systems (LMS) provide HR departments the ability to create courses to train their employees. They can also be used to train customers and to answer FAQs. It’s a great way to scale self-paced learning within an organization. Different LMS solutions are available, each with unique features over the others. LearnUpon and TalentLMS are popular options for medium and large enterprises.

2. Digital Adoption Platforms

These are tools that allow companies to create in-app content to guide users on how to use software applications. They are useful in helping onboard new hires and explain to familiarize them with the applications they will be using in their daily work.

3. Massive Open Online Courses Education Apps

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) are a great and affordable way for an organization to empower its employees with specific technical skills. Platforms such as Coursera and Udemy have helped millions of people attain skills such as programming, financial and data analysis, which are very useful in the corporate sector.

4. BoostHQ

This is an education app that allows users to share content with a select audience. Users can create channels where they push content on a specific topic. The content may be from any online content hosting platform. Its inbuilt analytics allow users to see how different content resonates with intended users.

If your organization is seeking to develop an employee app, consult NS804 for assistance with the preparation, building, and deployment of the application.

 

Mobile Apps in the News: 9 Trends Businesses Should Know

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Advances in technology and consumer demands are the key drivers of the evolution of mobile app development. Mobile app revenue will surpass $690billion in 2022 and is only going to grow. Despite this success, the untold story is that of a majority of apps that never get traction or generate enough revenue to provide a positive return on investment. Such apps often fail to adapt to evolutions in technology and consumer preferences while competitors do.

As a business, here are some key trends in the mobile app development space in 2022 and how they will shape the industry.

1. 5G Technology

The number of 5G-capable devices in use is growing fast. In 2019, there were just about 3.7 million 5G devices worldwide. According to Statista, the number has since grown to over 200 million and is predicted to hit 1 billion in 2023. While developing your mobile app today, it’s important to remain alive to this trend and build features that leverage greater connectivity speeds. 5G is up to 100 times faster than 4G speeds. Developers will add features without affecting performance due to latency. In order to remain relevant, businesses will have to add greater functionality to invest more into research and development because competitors certainly will.

2. Foldable Devices

Foldable devices no longer seem like a fad by mobile phone manufacturers. The release of foldable phones by more companies such as Huawei, Motorola, and Samsung shows that there is a market for such devices. Statista estimates that around 50 million foldable phones will be shipped in 2022 worldwide. The devices allow users to expand or compress screen size according to their own preferences. Mobile app developers must now take this market into consideration so that their apps work in either mode on foldable devices. Fortunately, apps in the market can fix this through an update.

3. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

Apps are leveraging AR and VR technology to offer more immersive experiences for customers on their apps. IKEA has famously been using AR to let customers visualize how a piece of furniture would look in their house. Live maps are a feature on Google Maps that allows users to see directions in real-time. LIDAR technology on Apple devices uses augmented reality technology to let users take high-quality images in low light conditions.  Asos, a British online fashion company, launched an AR-powered feature called ‘See my Fit’ in 2020. The feature allows shoppers to see how clothes look on models with different body types and sizes. The technology resulted in a 24% jump in revenue within 18 months after the launch.

The first movers have shown that users will embrace technology if it brings more convenience to their lives. Globally, the AR and VR market is worth more than $200 billion. The number of people who’ve interacted with augmented reality has hit 100 million. Going by trend data from Statista, the number will only continue to grow.

4. Developing for Wearable Devices

The number of wearable devices in active use is over 900 million in 2022. Apple WatchOS has been a major factor in the growth of this market because it delivers a native experience for its apps. Developers that want to generate revenue in this space must build apps for wearable devices to ensure the app experience is smooth as users toggle between the wearable and the smartphone. Developing app versions for wearable devices could be a competitive edge when competitors have not done so too. Your app is likely to be used more frequently than those by competitors.

5. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

More mobile app developers are taking advantage of advances in AI to build more features into apps. For instance, Google Maps has a feature that suggests less carbon-intensive routes to minimize fuel consumption by cars. Features such as image recognition, face detection, and speech recognition all rely on AI technology. The availability of these technologies mean that app developers can improve their apps significantly over the coming years.

On the backend, app analytics can improve to help developers decide on features to improve upon. AI models can be used to implement predictive maintenance on apps based on user trends. Developers can also rely on natural language processing to classify reviews and app mentions on social media to assess user thoughts on their products.

6. Mobile Wallets and Payments

It feels like online payments have been here for a while. However, the market is still young and growing.  Whereas PayPal has been around for over a decade, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay are expanding.  Mobile wallets allow mobile phone users to make in-app payments safely and on the go. Mobile app developers can boost app revenue by making it easier for users to make purchases even from wearable devices. The wallets will account for $13 billion worth of payments in 2022. Any business seeking to grow app revenue must introduce mobile wallet payment functionality.

7. Mobile App Security

As the volume of in-app transactions grows and more personal data is stored online, app security becomes more important. Malware attacks are on the rise to target mobile device vulnerabilities. Mobile app developers, therefore, need to implement security precautions that are up to date. One such method is allowing users to sign into apps using their Apple ID, Samsung ID or Google Account. In many cases, these sign-on options have 2 step authentications to add a security layer. Still, mobile app developers must keep testing for susceptibility and implementing correct fixes.

8. Super Apps

There is a new trend where apps are seeking to be a one-stop portal to solve several problems for users. Take Facebook, for instance. Besides being a social website, it is evolving to become a marketplace where people can create catalogs for their business. To add importance to an app, developers should think about how an app that’s already working well can become even more useful. For instance, a mobile wallet could become a place to pay all your bills. Whereas super apps are popular in China particularly, the trend is just starting in the west.

9. IoT Integration in Mobile Apps

The Internet of Things consists of a network of internet-enabled devices that are communicating with one another. Smart home technology is perhaps the most common and easiest way to understand how IoT technology is useful. From a mobile phone app, one can control their Air Conditioning system, switch on alarms and control the lighting in their house. But IoT technology is applied in far more sophisticated and high-value situations. For instance, an oil pipeline company can use IoT devices to monitor hundreds of miles of its infrastructure for peculiarities. Manufacturing companies can use IoT devices to inform their predictive maintenance operations.

As the IoT market grows, there is an opportunity for mobile app developers to spot opportunities for IoT to add utility to their apps. For instance, IoT can help a real estate management company to use IoT to monitor infrastructure such as HVAC in its property. Hotels can build apps that allow guests better control of their rooms.

Finding the Right Development Partner

Every business that has an app or is intending to build one must identify trends that will affect its industry. It can also find a trend it could pioneer in its industry and perhaps use it to build a competitive edge. Survival in a dynamic business environment such as the mobile app landscape requires constant adapting and evolution.

To work with a reputable mobile app development company, reach out to NS804. We help start-ups, entrepreneurs, and businesses build mobile apps using the right technology and in step with the latest developments in their niche. Schedule a call with us today.

What Makes a Good UI Design

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The user experience is the most common front-end, interactive feature in any app, website, or dashboard. The user interface supports all human-computer interactions.

The user interface provides a navigational platform to control software. Think of a user interface as an application programming interface that links users and a computing system, the back-end.

Although a user interface can take many forms, it accomplishes two fundamental purposes:

  • conveying information from users to machines
  • conveying data from machines to users.

The most important features of a great user interface design are:

1. Simplicity

Simplicity is the centerpiece of any navigation. Easy navigation depends on a highly simplistic user interface. So, the user interface design must be succinct: it must communicate the most with the least. The designer must ensure less navigation and fewer mouse clicks to accomplish any app or website task. It’s important to add new features only if they’re essential and bring substantial value to the application.

2. Consistency

Your user interface must deliver consistent browsing and search results. Consistency achieves stability and eliminates ambiguity and information chaos. Designers should apply size, typeface, and style conventions to screen components to improve readability and learning.

3. Intuitiveness

Intuitiveness is the most important detail of a great UI design. Intuitiveness means that users can easily learn your interface and quickly pick it up. Intuitiveness implies the ability to get accustomed to your app’s interface, element spacing, and overall layout. Intuitiveness means something that can be understood easily and applied with ease.

4. Familiarity

Familiarity is a critical feature of a great UI design. While many designers aim to create intuitive designs, few stop to ask themselves what does an intuitive design mean? Well, intuitiveness means making things understandable and easy to remember. Creating a great user interface concerns familiarity. Designers must aim to create apps that deliver personalized user experiences. Aiming for familiarity will reinforce your app design.

5. Responsiveness

A great user experience must be responsive to users’ needs. Today, most website visits come from mobile endpoints, which is surprising given that it’s convenient to leverage an Android or an iPhone. You encourage users to visit your website frequently and stay longer by having a mobile-responsive interface. Responsiveness is about reducing the latency time and offering a rewarding experience.

6. Clarity

Clarity is an important element in the user interface design process. Clarity signifies that you know what you’re doing and that the interface or platform your users leverage is trustworthy. Achieving clarity in user interface design involves consistency, truth, and simplicity in your messaging. If you aim for consistency, it’ll be simple for users. In addition, if you eliminate ambiguity and incorporate only relevant elements, your interface will be rewarding.

7. Attractiveness

Attraction is about aesthetic appeal. Attraction concerns making elements and layout appealing for prospective and existing users. Attractiveness aims to make the site enjoyable and thrilling to navigate. You can make your site or app efficient, simple, easy to use, and concise – but it will only do well by making it attractive. Your clients or prospective users will not only use a stirring interface; they will look forward to using it once again.

Contact NS804 to achieve a great UI design.