Tag Archive for: Communication in enterprise apps

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!

3 Ways Internal Mobile Apps Can Improve Company Culture

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Every business leader must improve company culture to retain valuable employees and increase efficiency. While this sounds challenging, it’s an achievable goal with the right internal mobile apps. Furthermore, there’s hardly an enterprise that wouldn’t benefit from deploying business apps that streamline several crucial business processes. 

But what business processes can internal mobile apps actually improve? Well, it’s not uncommon for companies to struggle with internal communication between employees, especially with the prevalence of remote work nowadays. How does any company get its onsite employees to collaborate efficiently with remote workers? While several solutions exist, mobile apps offer the most optimal pathway.

And that’s due to the wide adoption of mobile devices throughout all levels of the business hierarchy. It’s hard to imagine any company employee without a smartphone or tablet or not using these for completing vital tasks. Thus, the implementation of these devices no longer has to be ambiguous but work in tandem with company goals. Now, let’s take a more detailed look at several ways these apps can improve company culture.

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Improve Company Culture With Onboarding And Training Apps

It’s expensive and challenging to hire, onboard, and train employees. Moreover, it’s all too easy to get these procedures wrong — and ultimately — demoralize new hires or cause them to leave within days or weeks.

But internal mobile apps can handle these procedures efficiently, especially those aimed at onboarding and training. Onboarding apps can provide new hires with all the information they need, such as the code of conduct, company expectations, and a description of the company culture. 

To further engage the new hires, onboarding apps should provide demos of a company’s flagship products or services and mini-games or quizzes related to the company’s products, services, and mission statement.

Training apps should offer relevant training programs to new hires according to their job positions. These programs may include PDF files, multiple choice quizzes, videos, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) training. Moreover, new hires should be able to contact a mentor or trainer and be encouraged to embark on ongoing learning.

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Internal Mobile Apps Make Communications Truly Internal

Nowadays, employees use all kinds of communications and messaging apps from multiple vendors. Some employees may use Skype, others WhatsApp, and several others Zoom. But there are problems with this approach related to the security and long-term sustainability of using these platforms.

While all these platforms offer convenience, they’re easy to hack, may sometimes go down, and their pricing model may not suit your budget. Fortunately, you can avoid all this via a custom-developed internal communications app for all your employees. You can homogenize your communications channel and make it even more secure than commercial alternatives.

Implement The Ultimate Collaboration Tools

However, your communications app should also make it easy for all your employees to collaborate on projects. All your onsite and offsite staff, and even remote staff, should have tools that facilitate collaboration across various locations and time zones.

The most basic tools should allow for the easy sharing of files and media, while the more complex tools should allow for real-time editing of documents, spreadsheets, images, sketches, or even 3D models. Whether staff prepare a presentation or design a logo, your collaboration tools should make all this possible. As they complete projects successfully using these tools, it will increase employee morale and improve company culture.

The Bottom Line

Internal mobile apps not only improve company culture but help streamline many vital business processes. And several key areas that benefit from these apps are communication, collaboration, and employee training. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you build custom mobile apps for all your internal business needs.

How Can Mobile Apps Help Improve Company Culture?

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Company culture can make or break a business. And that’s because company culture consists of the formal and informal behaviors, values, and systems that impact customers and employees. But it’s easy to ignore or misunderstand these facets of an organization since few people can tell apart these behaviors and values at face value.

Yet we can easily identify the organizations that have a good company culture, and here’s how? We look out for companies with good customer service, high employee retention rates, solid financial results, and boast a culture of innovation.

Another way to identify good company culture is by surveying the staff of an organization. And we’d ask them the following: How well do they communicate with each other? What is the decision-making process like within the organization? Does the organization acknowledge and fairly reward staff contributions? And how are employees hired, promoted, and laid off? 

Surveying an organization’s customers makes sense too. And we’d want to know the following: How well does the company respond to customer complaints and feedback? Do the products and services of the company meet or surpass expectations? And does the company delight and surprise customers with innovative products and services?

Think of how customers and employees perceive a company such as Apple. We’re willing to bet that it’s mostly positive, even though it isn’t perfect. But more likely than not, expect Apple to improve company culture constantly to stay ahead of the curve.

Now, you may be wondering what all this means for your organization. Actually, it means far more than you’d think, especially if you bring mobile apps into the equation. We look into how mobile apps can improve company culture in more detail below!

Improve Company Culture With Powerful Communication And Collaborative Tools

Your employees may have multiple email accounts and use several communications tools to get work done. But that’s an administrative and security nightmare, especially if you have staff coming into the office and working remotely. Furthermore, they may use desktop PCs and various mobile devices to complete daily tasks, increasing the complexity of your systems. 

Relying on third-party vendors to provide essential productivity software makes sense if you’re a startup. But you’ll eventually reach a roadblock since you’ll likely find this software doesn’t scale with your needs or lacks features essential to a growing company. Then, there’s the case that not all your productivity software integrates well with your existing or upcoming systems. 

That’s why you’re better off working with an experienced developer such as NS804 to create a custom solution for your needs. Together, you can build a mobile app that provides staff with a tightly integrated mobile app for communications and collaborative purposes. And you can allow them to log in with a secure two-factor authentication (2FA) or even passwordless authentication.

Your staff will become more productive, as they will no longer rely on disparate pieces of software to get work done. They can work within a singular all-in-one solution with a cohesive user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). Furthermore, they won’t have to wait for a third-party vendor to release features and updates when they’re most needed. And there’s a risk that new features may take months or years to arrive, and sometimes — never!

But with a custom mobile app, this isn’t a problem. You can add new features on short notice and have these implemented to your specifications. And staff will feel confident knowing they have access to the most productive tools tailor-made for them.

A Mobile-First Approach Enhances Company Culture

We mentioned earlier that you could be using desktop PCs and mobile devices. There’s also the possibility that you could be relying on web apps for some of your mission-critical business processes. If that’s the case, it’s a messy approach that will make your systems and staff workflows more inefficient than they should be.

But the good news is that you can streamline all this with a mobile-first approach. The latest smartphones and tablets are powerful enough for most business tasks. And if you opt for native app development, your mobile app will boast high performance and speed on these devices. Thus, it’s no longer necessary to have most, if not all, of your staff using desktop PCs or laptops. 

And if you have staff that works outside the office or remotely, they’ll appreciate using lightweight devices with small form factors. Also, consider those employees that don’t feel comfortable or like using desktop PCs or laptops at home. Either because they feel intimidated by these or need a break from the computer screen and desk when not in the office.

But a smartphone or tablet feels more accessible, especially to non-tech-savvy employees. And with an intuitive mobile app, they can get work done while sitting on their couch, back porch, or while waiting for an order at their favorite restaurant. Knowing that they can quickly complete tasks on the go and in any environment helps improve company culture and staff satisfaction.

Staying Connected With Customers

While it’s a wise choice to develop a custom app to improve staff efficiency, you should also consider your customers. And think of how you will build an effective and sustainable communications pipeline to connect with them. Now we know what you may be thinking, “Why not use Facebook or Twitter to stay in touch with customers?” 

While social media platforms do a reasonably good job at connecting businesses and customers, they have several shortcomings: 

  • Firstly, you don’t have ownership of these platforms and are subject to their terms and policies, which means you could lose access to your account for reasons within or beyond your control.
  • Secondly, you’re only a business in a sea of businesses on these platforms, so it’s challenging to stand out or prevent your customers from discovering competitors with a few clicks. 
  • Thirdly, you can’t create your own UI/UX and messaging functionality and are strictly reliant on what each social media platform provides, which may not meet your expectations and requirements. 
  • And finally, you can’t directly contact users that engage with your business unless they specifically provide you with their contact details and email addresses.

From a business standpoint, relying exclusively on social media to stay in touch with customers isn’t a good move. You’re better off building an email list via your website, especially if you want to build long-term relationships with customers. But a website isn’t the only avenue to help you accomplish this goal, as you can also utilize a mobile app. 

Furthermore, a custom-built mobile app allows you to present your products and services exactly how you want. And you can keep your UI/UX and identity on-brand and tailor your messaging features so that they’re satisfactory to you and your customers.

The Bottom Line

As a business leader, one of your key goals is to improve company culture. While this isn’t easy, you can accomplish much by utilizing the methodologies and tools that will impact customers and employees positively. And the good news is that one or more custom-built mobile apps can bring about changes that can radically transform your organization for the better. Contact NS804 today to learn how we’ll help you create mobile apps that mean business!

Garnering and Implementing Feedback From Remote Teams

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Developing Stronger Remote Teams Through Feedback

Feedback is an important element in any cycle. Especially in the context of business. Whether that feedback be between an employee and manager, between two colleagues, or from a company to a consultant; feedback is both necessary and valuable. In the last year, remote teams and remote staff quickly became the norm. This was, partially, due to the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and an economy already moving toward a digital age. Regardless of how we got here, though, here we are. By embracing newly established normals and the transition to a more remote workforce; it remains important to foster a comfortable, welcoming, and productive company culture.

One tactic managers and business leaders can use to nurture a functional culture, even remotely, is employee feedback. Employee feedback from remote teams is will highlight issues and problem areas in operations that could be easily overlooked by other staff with less intimate knowledge of that specific task or business activity. By encouraging employee feedback from your remote staff, however, your team opens the channel of communication allowing management and remote teams to address persistent issues together.

Build Feedback Forms Into Your Custom Enterprise App for Remote Teams

With the entire economy embracing the digital era; many companies have invested in custom enterprise applications. These applications serve a variety of functions depending on the company and their specific needs, but many of them contain a strong focus on internal and external communication. However, these custom enterprise applications also offer a rich opportunity to further cement the lines of feedback between the company and its personnel. For instance, companies can build feedback forms directly into their enterprise applications. The forms can provide anonymity to users who submit, and can be a platform for feedback of any kind.

By presenting your staff and remote teams with conveniently provided feedback forms, there’s a much higher chance that those forms be utilized. This is also the case with anonymity. Often-times, employees and staff (humans in general really), are nervous or timid about bringing forward issues in the workplace. Whether those issues are strictly operational, or deal with colleagues and co-workers; regardless, remote teams need a clear and concise way to deliver feedback to their employers, managers, and organizational leaders.

Listen, Implement, Benefit

By taking the time to listen to your remote teams and remote staff; problems within operations, innovations, and other workplace conflicts will be more evident. While airing dirty laundry, so to speak, is never exactly fun; letting it fester is much worse. By hearing your remote staff and actually implementing solutions to the feedback provided, your organization will develop longer-lasting relationships with more loyal employees.

Right now, building a reliable and dedicated staff of remote employees and remote teams will bring long-term sustainability and long-term value to your organization. The era of remote work is far from over, by creating a superb remote company culture now; your team will attract higher-tier-talent down the line.

Wrapping Up

Feedback from managers to employees is vital. Feedback, also, from employees to managers and organizational leaders is vital. Show your remote teams and remote workers that you truly are dedicated to creating a culture around them by cultivating, hearing, and implementing solutions to feedback provided.

For more information on custom enterprise application development, or anything else related to app development, keep browsing NS804’s content library.

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.

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.

Improving Remote Team Collaboration

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Further Improving Remote Team Collaboration

2020 has officially closed the door and we’re all-aboard moving forward. However, while hope is shining bright, a lot of the change from 2020 is likely here to stay. For example, the remote team, and the entire work from home environment will probably be the standard for the foreseeable future. As such, it’s important that managers, companies, and work-teams have the tools they need to successfully work remotely. On top of that, employees still need to feel connected, and projects need to be accomplished.

Pre-existing Options

In terms of remote team collaboration tools there are plenty to choose from. This is because working from home and the digital era were already well on their way. Although the events of 2020 certainly advanced those societal shifts. There are several options, though, already on the market for remote work teams.

These options range from popular communication applications like Slack to Zoom. Zoom is the app that historically rocked the charts last year. Slack is an internal communications application and instant messenger. Companies can use Slack to set up internal work-channels, establish direct lines of communication between staff members or groups of staff members, and offers other features as well.

Zoom, as we all know too well, is the popular video conferencing application that has been used by businesses and citizens alike. Zoom made it easy and accessible for anyone to video-chat with anyone. This allowed for businesses to keep lines of communication open all across the globe.

Develop A Custom Enterprise App

An alternate solution to employee communication and connection is to develop your own custom app. Developing a custom enterprise application benefits the remote team as well as your business as a whole. Having a custom enterprise app offers more customization to the suit of features included. This is good for you business and the remote teams they work with.

A custom enterprise application could combine the instant-chat features of Slack with the video-conferencing ability of Zoom to create an all-in-one solution. A solution specific to your business.

Team Building Exercises For the Remote Team

Another aspect of managing remote teams is to continue conducting team-building exercises. While the team may not be able to gather in conference room F anymore, there is still a virtual landscape that allows for employees to meet up and connect. For instance, one strong team building exercise can be a remote-dungeons-and-dragons campaign. The remote team can link up via applications such as Roll20 and have fun solving puzzles, overcoming obstacles, and most of all – blowing off steam and cracking jokes.

However, there’s a whole library of team building exercises you can choose from that fit your people.

Consistently Scheduled Collaboration

This is a balance. The goal here is to increase regularly scheduled collaboration while reducing everyday meetings. Giving employees a time and platform through which they can flush out ideas and collaborate on projects is good way to replace draining status meetings and other types of regular daily meetings. Instead, give your staff the chance to collaborate freely.

Wrapping Up

Empowering your remote team to succeed is a combination of equipping them with the software and technology required, as well as maintaining morale and promoting team-bonding.

For more tips on remote team management, or to explore a custom enterprise application, visit NS804 today.

Why Communication is the Main Priority in Enterprise Apps

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Understanding Enterprise Apps

Enterprise apps are focused on providing solutions to the business world. Assisting with workflow, streamlining processes, and providing a myriad of other functions. These apps are designed with companies and organizations in mind that are executing large-scale, or even micro operations. With so many implementation possibilities, enterprise apps must have an integrated communication platform.

Built for Communication, Internally and Externally

Communication is essential for businesses both big and small. Strong communication channels are arguably one of the most valuable aspects of an organization – and with the implementation of technology, comes a necessary element of communication. Yes processes can be automated, and systems can be optimized; but if the staff running those apps have no reliable communication channels native to the systems the benefits of integrating technology may be completely nulled.

Not only does the staff need to be able to communicate; but the systems and technology need to be able to communicate with one another as well. This is key to identifying certain aspects of enterprise apps. For example, an app that is used to automate business to consumer communications might need a feature that identifies where the specific consumer is in their customer journey with that company. This information is then used to generate the right version of copy from a library, and deliver it to the user through their preferred channel.

This is a powerful example of an enterprise app that can completely alter the communications process, supplement customer support, and totally automate certain communication aspects of the consumer journey, like check-ins, status updates, and other pertinent information.

Communication During COVID-19

On top of the practical benefits seen from implementing strong communication channels into the design of enterprise apps, there are social and emotional impacts to consider as well. During COVID-19, feelings of isolation in individuals have started to climb. The lack of human-connection is palpable throughout society, and there is a real need for human-to-human connection.

Enterprise apps built and designed with systematic and personnel communication in mind can streamline operations and build efficiency into the culture of an organization. On top of that, it promotes a higher quality of company culture, and employee satisfaction.

In these hard times – being able to talk and share with members of an organization is vital for our societies success, as well as our individual mental health.

Enterprise apps are designed to be versatile, flexible, and user-friendly. This makes them marketable to businesses and organizations across industries and market sectors. Providing solutions for business owners all over the country that are looking to streamline processes and optimize their operations. Including a strong network of communication channels improves the efficiency and utility of an enterprise app and yields additional benefits to the company.

NS804 has experience in app development across the board, from AR to enterprise apps and beyond. Now, NS804 is changing the game and making app development and design services available to anyone with a great idea. Get in touch with NS804 to get the conversation about your app development project started today.