Tushar, Author at anteelo

From a Startup’s Perspective: Mobile Web vs. Mobile App

Posted on 22/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

Mobile apps have to be built from scratch whereas mobile web are an adaptation of the website version. There is no denying that both the ways of mobility is great but there are some extraordinary factors that differentiate one from another.

If we stop and look around we will notice that the world is turning into a giant mobile strategy stopping at nothing. Every business, every corporation and every institution has come to use mobile in some way or the other for its functioning.

Earlier, the debates used to be between offline and online media but now the case is different. These debates have turned into one online media vs the other online media. For mobiles, there are two strong terms: mobile apps and mobile web. This app vs website discussion has not settled yet and the question of ‘Is it better to use an app or the website?’ always looms.

Many say that it’s better to have a mobile web than a mobile app but then there are advantages of the mole app over a website that proves them wrong. And, the same can be said of mobile websites.

In the end, the most important factor that decides is it better to use an or the website is the purpose. The aim with which the development is done is how the decision should be made.

With statistics hinting at the fact that by 2019 mobile users will grow to 5.07 billion, both website and mobile app seem to be a great option as both are mobile-driven. In a case like that, the only thing that will help make the choice is an understanding of both the elements.

How Are Mobile Apps Different From Mobile Websites?

It is often misunderstood that the mobile website and mobile app is the same. Since both are used on one media, i.e. mobile or smartphone, it does not mean both are same. There are differences between a mobile web and a mobile app which helps in deciding which option would be better for any web and mobile app development company. Developers must know which option to choose for which project to achieve the desired result.

Coming back to the difference between a mobile website and mobile app, let us look at the following points.

A mobile website does not need any separate downloading from the app store. It is simply the mobile view of the website version which is accessible from any mobile device. Whereas mobile apps need to be downloaded from the app store and are developed by mobile app development companies.
Mobile app vs mobile website has another difference of user convenience. In a mobile website, the original website content is composed within the screen of the device whereas mobile apps are built to provide a far better version of the website.
The chances of regular visits are higher on mobile apps than on mobile websites. As mobile apps are stored in the smart devices it can be reopened and used whenever one wishes to. However, mobile websites are used to announce events or programmes to a larger audience.
Because of difference in websites vs app development process, the updating process becomes different on app vs website. Websites update automatically whereas app users have to download and install an update of the app. Sometimes users delay the update of the apps which is not possible on mobile websites.
The data storage location differs in a mobile app vs mobile website. All the data stored in the mobile app is stored on the mobile device itself. And in the case of websites, the data is stored on the website servers.
The app vs website security is another major concern for users as well as developers. It is seen that mobile apps are more secure than mobile websites and are protected by various security tools. Mobile app development vs web development involves a different approach to security which in the end affects the overall mobile security.

Pros and Cons of Mobile Apps vs Mobile Websites from a Startup Viewpoint

The app vs website debate has some valid points and each has its own pros and cons which we will discuss in this section. The benefits of a mobile website vs an app are enough to determine which must be chosen.

Pros of Mobile Websites

Compatibility Mobile websites give more compatibility to users. The reason being mobile websites improve the user experience across multiple devices. Whereas mobile apps have to be built separately for different devices which affects the overall user experience.
Reach Websites have more reach than mobile apps because of its multi-device support feature. Reaching a large audience does not require much effort in case of mobile websites. When it comes to reaching the potential audience, mobile websites take the win.
Maintainance and support Mobile websites don’t need the regular download-install-update process which mobile apps follow. It is easy to implement the update without users having to download it separately. Once all the updates are active, it is visible on all devices.

Cons of Mobile Website

Convenience Mobile websites don’t match the convenience level of mobile apps. Mobile websites cannot use features that a smart device offers. Features such as camera, GPS, calling, etc. may not work with most of the mobile websites which add to the inefficiency to convenience.
User experience Fitting one giant website page within a small device screen seems to be impossible. And even if it is made possible, it will affect the UI of the website. Mobile apps provide a far better user experience by allowing personalization and interaction.
Offline accessibility Websites cannot be accessed offline and do need a network connection. This is not a problem until a user is unable to find the network and needs to access the website. Mobile apps have the option to be used offline without any problems.

Pros of Mobile Apps

Convenience Mobile apps have been ruling the world for a decade now and focus on user experience. By providing fast loading time, high-end performance and ease of use, apps have become a part of human life. Apps are revolutionizing the entertainment world, the healthcare sector, the political sector, etc.
Personalization Personalization is one of the best advantages of a mobile app over the website. Mobile applications are built in such a manner that users can make changes in the way they want to use the app. Apps allow setting preferences, saving useful information and even sharing media on social networks. All these features enhance the overall user experience.
Offline and online Mobile apps can be used offline without any issues. Since the apps are not an adaptation but rather a completely new product developed by app developers, it can work offline. This means that mobile apps can be used in places where there are no networks and gives apps an upper hand in the app vs website security. AI technology is also being implemented in mobile apps for a better future.

Cons of Mobile Apps

Maintenance and support Regular update and bug fixes are required in the mobile app or a mobile website. In the case of mobile apps, a new update has to be downloaded and installed which is the extra task for users. In mobile websites, updates are automatically implemented without requiring any action from users.
Compatibility As we know mobile apps are built from scratch which makes the whole mobile app development a huge process. But even after the efforts, some devices may not support the mobile app due to a different version or different platform.

Mobile App vs Website: Stats That Speak in Support of Both

The mobile app vs mobile website statistics shows that the app industry may be worth $190 billion by the year 2020.
In the above pie chart, it is seen that maximum users like to use a mobile website or application at different times as per the need.
The USA mobile users spend most of their time on mobile apps than on mobile websites on a daily basis. This app vs website usage shows the preference for mobile apps among US citizens in the app vs website debate.
These stats show some famous social media networks that have become mobile-first. Ever since these turned into apps, the engagement has risen two times more than it used to be.
Another mobile app vs mobile website statistics shows that website’s reach a larger audience as compared to mobile apps. However, mobile apps have 2X more usage time than mobile websites.

When To Use Which: Mobile Apps Vs Mobile Websites

The battle of mobile app vs mobile website has another interesting aspect: when to use which? This question can have many answers based on what you are trying to achieve. For a startup, gaining customers is more important so a website will be the way to go. However, this cannot be said for a startup looking for more engagement.

Here are some pointers that will help you find the best choice based on your need.

Want To Reach More Users?

When it comes to reaching more users then websites are always the better choice. Analysing the Google search traffic data, around 21% of the total traffic comes from mobile devices whereas the rest comes from a desktop. It was also seen that iOS apps have more reach than Android apps in 21% of mobile users traffic. So, for reaching a larger audience whether you are a business or a startup, websites would be the right choice.

Have App Visits that are More than 5 times A Day?

If your app has the ability to get multiple user visits in a day then you should definitely go for a mobile app. To maintain regular visits, the app must be fast and high performing. If you want users to ditch the website then make sure the apps have more to give.

Need to Use Device Features?

Features like GPS, Camera or Calling cannot be used in a web app. A dedicated mobile app will give a totally different experience when it comes to using such features. However, you can access these features on a web app with the help of HTML5, NodeJS, Geolocation API, etc. But then again the question lies about the user experience. To be honest, both the options are good for using features like these if the user experience does not matter much.

Need Fast Operational Speed?

Mobile apps are no doubt faster than web apps because of local storage of data. Unlike web apps, mobile apps don’t need to transfer data to the server or download data from the server which makes the app a faster experience. So when speed is the concern, mobile apps are the favourite choice.

Want to Work in an Offline Mode?

Sometimes network is not available in certain places and that’s when offline mode comes into the picture. The mobile app, hands down, wins in this argument. A mobile app can be built in such a way that it can be used offline or be able to download data for offline usage.

Can You Spend $10K+ on Your Project?

If the answer to this question is no then you might want to go for web apps. Mobile app development costs can range between $10K- $100K for Android and iOS which is a lot, especially for a startup. Also, the prices differ depending on the demography, type of app and other factors. It may cost you $10K for a simple app but a cheap app is not worth it. So, if you can’t spend a ton of money then a web app is your wisest choice.

Will You Update Your Offering Very Often?

If so, then go for web apps first and later you can go for a hybrid app. A hybrid app makes launching updates easier since the users will not have to go and update the app. Apps like Twitter, Instagram, Gmail, etc are all well performing hybrid apps. The benefits of going for hybrid apps are there is no waiting time, one platform needed to build more features and real-time updates.

For a Startup, Is it better to Use a Mobile App or Website?

When it comes to deciding one between mobile app vs website, there are some things to consider first.

Mobile web app vs mobile website has always been debatable especially for those who have wanted one developed for their business. We clearly saw the advantages of the mobile app over the website and found more pros than cons. So for a fair play, we can say that mobile apps are a better choice between the two.

If a startup wishes to reach a larger audience in a short time and less cost then mobile websites are the better choice. To gather a large audience and reach a wider population, websites are great.

However, if you want more engagement then mobile apps are the choice. As the stats for apps vs website usage show, mobile apps have increased the engagement among the users. If you are going for native app development then you get benefits like app security, better UI, high performing app, more engagement, etc.

The solution is not the choice between mobile app development vs web development. It is rather choosing the one that will be most effective for your business model. The right solution must be able to fulfill all the needs and execute the business strategies that have been pre-planned.

In addition to mobile apps and websites, businesses also have an option to go for PWA development. PWA stands for Progressive Web Apps which load just like web pages but have more features to offer. With PWAs, you can work offline, enable push notifications, and use any other feature that a mobile app offers. It is basically a web page that appears as a native application to the users. It is also claimed that PWAs are the future of the app development world.

If you wish to build a mobile app or a mobile website, contact us at Anteelo. We have a team of mobile app developers ready to turn your app ideas into reality.

The Impact of Google Material Design on Mobile App Design

Posted on 21/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

In the next eight minutes, you are going to read about how Material Design came into the inception to impact the mobile app design companies around the globe. You will read of the guiding principles that the Google Material Design standard is based upon, How different Material design is from Flat design. And lastly, how to incorporate Material Design into your mobile app. Let’s get on with the Design Journey called Material Design. UI and UX are the two mobile app elements that decide the present and future of not just the app but also of the mobile app design company that designed and developed it.

All the proven tips to enhance the mobile app UI gets concentrated on one element – Mobile App Design.

The way how your app is designed is what impacts the emotion of experience the users are facing when operating inside your Android app.

The demands of a modern day app user – apps that look the same way as their real-life elements feel – while seemingly easy to understand, can pose a challenge when converted into a design.

Now when it comes to the creation and inclusion of interactive design elements that give the feeling of the material world, Google with its Material Design, gave the Mobile app developers the much-needed aid.

The designing world that was earlier ruled by the minimalistic flatness was now replaced by the elements of minimalistic interactive materials with the introduction of Material Designs.

Before we delve in further into the Google Material Design UI and its tips and tricks, let us quickly look back at how it started.

A Lookback at the Google Material Design

Google had the reputation of being broken when it came to understanding the importance of Design. And today it is impossible to think of a good design (even on iOS) that doesn’t come from Google.

So how did this transformation happen?

This transformation resulted from the efforts that Larry Page took when he took the office to make everything look good and connected.

A directive that led to the creation of a design standard that is now followed and loved by the world – Google Material Design.

Material Design (codename: Quantum Paper) was the biggest part of the Android L release announcement in Google I/O 2014.

The design standard that made an appearance 4 years back, now allowed mobile app designers to infuse their own colour palette in the app, offer screen transition, bring in new system widgets, and animation.

Google, which was earlier lying behind Apple when it came to designing intuitive and experimental Android apps, now came steps ahead with the Material Design launch.

Material Design showed how technicality and the laws of physics can be added into the designing elements to develop a mobile app UI that offers a resonating enjoyable user experience.

Material design is what Flat design could never get to be, which brings us to our next section – Material Design vs Flat Design.

Difference in Material and Flat Design

The entire difference between Material Design and Flat Design lies in their core.

When we do a comparison between a flat design app vs material design app, the one striking difference that a user will find is the presence of shadows and multi-dimension in one and aesthetic flatness, lack of skeuomorphisms in another.

While both Android Material Design and Flat Designs are minimal, when it comes to implementing them in an Android app design, the decision between them both is usually taken on the basis of the need of the user.

While, Material design UI is preferred more for the development of complex, robust, and interactive mobile apps; Flat design UI is preferred by mobile app design companies for simplistic need and when there is a time crunch from the development side of the app.

Now that we have seen the difference between Google Material Design and Apple Flat Design, let us dig further into the Material Design.

Here are The Principles of Google Material Design

Material Design Apps are guided by the three principles shown in the image above. The principles that are sweared upon by all the leading Android App Design Company around the world.

Material is the Metaphor

The imaginative principle is based upon the study of material and how they look different in the varied amount of light, how they look when piled up one above another.

The principle is backed by attributes like edges, shadows, dimensions, etc.

Bold, Intentional, Graphic

Intentional white space in design, usage of bold and yet in-sync set of colours, and graphics that fit from screen to screen, while serving their direct purpose is what defines the second most pointer in the Google material design principles.

Motion Offers Meaning

Animation in Material Design is one that does not interfere with the other design elements, nor does it look forced. They emerge as the result of the user’s primary actions and follow their cues.

While these are the three main guiding principles of Material Design, there are other two principles as well which defines the globally accepted designing standard – Flexible Foundation and Cross Platform.

Flexible Foundation

Material Design comes with the advantage of the custom codebase that allows mobile app UI designers to add their branding elements into the design.

Cross-Platform

Material Design help maintain a similar UI across the different platforms, which help use shared components across all – Android, Flutter, iOS, and Web.

So here were the 5 guiding principles of Material Design for Android Apps. To speed up your approach to understanding these principles, let’s look into what all Google Material Design apps are prevailing in the market.

Best Apps That Revamped their Design with Material Design Guidelines

1. Google Calendar

Google Calendar is the foremost application that has received really impressive changes over the years with the implementation of Google Material Design guidelines. The application has ample useful touches such as graphics and maps that are introduced to the events automatically and a simple auto-suggest system that brings ease to add a new appointment.

2. Gmail

Thanks to Material Design, emails in the Google Gmail are categorized in a card-style interface. Also, a completely new slide-out menu is added to the interface along with a floating button for creating a new message, reminder or perform any other action.

3. Lyft

Lyft is another app that employs the power of Material Design. The app showcase a bunch of controls and a map displaying the required information by following Google material design principles without making the UI annoying.

4. BuzzFeed

Another mobile application that has made its mark among Google Material Design apps is BuzzFeed.

The application was earlier popular for its highly engaging entertaining content. But now, it is also known for setting a standard of how a Google material design web application should appear.

5. Google Maps

Last but not least, Google Maps is another application that is showing a major difference that embraces Material design. As per the recent news, Google Maps new design includes round and colored icons in the search section and a white background, which was earlier available in black and light grey color, respectively.

The application currently does not support dark mode, which brings an adverse impact on battery usage. But, it is expected that Google will add a dark mode in the app when it introduces dark mode feature in Android Q, the upcoming Android OS version.

And now, since you now know the different apps revamped (or revamping) using Google Material Design and the associated guidelines, it is time to look into how you can apply them in your mobile app UI design.

How to Master Google Material Design in Your Android App?

Assuming that you would have read the official material design resources released by Google as your Bible, let us get you started with applying those guidelines in your Mobile app.

Below are the tips that would help you build a Google Material Design mobile app and emerge as the designing star of your Mobile app design company.

1. Use Shadows to Show Hierarchy

Edges, surface, and realistic shadows count as the main tool of Material Design UI. Use shadows to show the hierarchy of the design elements to show which element comes on what.

2. Bold Colours

Intentional, Graphic, and Bold is the mantra of implementing Google new material design when it comes to mobile UI/UX development. Usage of bold colours make thing interactive and fun for the users, while making the app enjoyable to use.

3. Usage of Primary and Accent Colour

Google Material docs ask mobile app designers to use three shades of the primary colour and one of the accent colour.

The primary set of colours would be used for fonts, boxes, and backgrounds etc, while the accent colour can be filled in to show the main element of your mobile app screen.

4. Extract Colours from the Images

Google constantly encourages us mobile app designers to extract the colour from the images and use them as your colour palette when you are developing an image based design.

5. Incorporate Motion

Google goes big on the use of motion in an app UI design. It makes us understand how things move in the app and how the users should interact with the app.

6. Make Everything Float

If there is one visible Material Design App USP, it is the floating design elements. Your app’s button or the CTA bar should appear as if they are floating on the screen and not lying there flat on the screen.

7. Choice of Icon

Icons, when chosen rightly, enhances the usability and the design of the app. Now, Material Design gives you the choice of a number of icons falling into two main criterias – Product Icons and System Icons.

8. Make the App Typographically Right

If you are just starting with the idea of developing a an Android Material Design App, what we recommend is that you should stick with Roboto and Noto typography styles.

9. Incorporate Responsiveness in your design

One of the main guiding principle that Material thrives on is consistency. And the same should be visible in your mobile app design.

Every one of your design elements should work the same across all the devices the user interacts with.

While these 9 inclusions would help you with your current apps, the designing standards is all set to get redefined again with new Material Design Version being prepared inside the Google creative lab workshop.

Here’s what next in line for Material Design –

What Next for Android Material Design?

After changing the designing world standard with the Google Material design guidelines, Google has yet again brought in a change in its structure with Material Design 2.0.

The second generation of Material Design, which would be made live for the world in a few days, will bid adieu to the rectangular interface and move on with the rounded edges mobile user interface design.

With its new material design app guidelines, Google is planning on giving a facelift to all its crucial products such as Gmail, Google Search, Google Maps, etc.

The goal of Material Design 2.0 – The Material Design Successor – is to increase efficiency, readability, and eliminate clutter – thus providing the cleanest implementation of a UI, till date.

So here it was, the guide to Android Material Design for the not just the Android App Designers but also for android app development company which has just stepped into the world of Android app designs.

Now whether you are a designer or a business looking to rule the million Android hearts, to prepare your app to join the list of the best Google material design apps, consult our team of Mobile UI/UX Designer, today.

Understanding the Internet of Things’ influence on Healthcare

Posted on 20/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

Internet of Things in healthcare has more benefits than one can imagine.

The application of IoT in healthcare can improve the way things work in the medical world. From improved machine control to virtual medical assistance, IoT use cases in healthcare is the future. It can save the lives of patients with a fast diagnosis of diseases as well as finding an apt cure for it.

The application of the technology has become so far-fetched that there is hardly a question on What is IoT or how it works.

Like every new piece of technology, it has both advantages and disadvantages associated with it. IoT in healthcare has its own challenges and limitations which can impede the usage of the technology. But going by the joint advancement efforts of skilled IoT app development company and healthcare application development company, it can be ensured that we are reaching a time when the solution will remain safe.

Where Does IoT Fit in Healthcare?

A lot of times it happens that patients don’t get medical attention on time which can harm their health severely. The delay is caused due to many reasons- unavailable rooms in the hospital, traffic on the road, unavailability of extra doctors, delay in the identification of diseases, etc.

Most of the time, people have no idea that they are suffering from an illness. To identify any signs, a visit to the doctor is required. If heart rate checkups, blood pressure level, sugar level, etc. are regularly monitored then patients can be alarmed about any upcoming threats to their health.

Also, sometimes going to the doctor for something as simple as a stomach ache and paying a heavy fee is just not worth it. These could be easily solved if there was a way to connect doctors and patients virtually.

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a network of connected devices that collect data in real-time. IoMT is one of the key applications of IoT in healthcare and has the potential to solve medical issues. According to the IoT trends 2021, the IoT in healthcare market size was $22.5 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $72.02 billion in the year 2021. It will provide personalized care and individual data-driven medical solutions.

Not only will IoMT be able to prevent any upcoming diseases but also will be able to cure the ones that have already been caused. The technology has been made as wearables so that patients can be monitored easily without visiting the doctor.

The Internet of Medical Things has divided segments for each medical issue being faced by the healthcare industry. The on-body segment focuses on customer health wearables and other medical-grade wearables. Some products used in this segment are Fitbit, Samsung medical, etc.

The in-home segment aims at an individual’s personal health tracker solutions. This segment includes personal emergency response systems (PERS), telehealth virtual visits, and remote patient monitoring (RPM).

The community segment consists of five components: Kiosks that dispense products and provide services, mobility services to patients’ vehicles, emergency response intelligence, point-of-care devices that act like medical camps, and logistics that keep a record of all the medical equipment and goods.

Another segment is the in-clinic segment. This segment includes IoMT devices that can be used inside a clinic to provide services. The medical solutions of the in-clinic segment also provide point-of-care devices.

The last segment of IoMT is the in-hospital segment which includes various solutions for several areas of management. Asset management monitors, personnel management, patient flow management, inventory management, and environment and energy monitoring are some of the devices in this segment.

If we look at the role of IoT in healthcare sector at a stakeholder level, we can see the technology making an industry-wide impact.

For patients

Wearable devices like glucometer, heart rate cuffs, fitness bands, etc. give patients access to personalized attention. The constant tracking ability that these devices offer can have a major impact on people who live alone as it can send alerts to their family members.

For physicians

Through the mode of wearable and home monitoring devices embedded with IoT technology, physicians are able to track patients’ health a lot more effectively. The data gathered from the IoT devices can help doctors identify the best treatment and monitoring process for patients.

For hospitals

In hospitals, IoT devices embedded with sensors can be used for tracking the real-time location of medical enablers and equipment such as defibrillators, wheelchairs, oxygen pumps, nebulizers, and other similar monitoring devices. In addition to equipment, it also enables the analysis of the deployment of the medical staff at multiple locations.

These devices can also help with asset management such as environmental monitoring and pharmacy inventory control, for example, refrigerator temperature and humidity control.

Through its multi-stakeholder involvement, IoT solves a number of pain points that are prevalent in a healthcare ecosystem.

Inefficient patient care
Medical process mistakes
Supply chain management
Medical research
Rural healthcare management

What are The Benefits of IoT in Healthcare?

IoT in healthcare is helping the way hospitals attend to the patients. While the rapid population growth is not helping to control the increased illness, old age, and other health issues, the introduction of IoT in healthcare may do it. IoT can also reduce the cost of medical treatment to a great low. The following are a few of the most noteworthy advantages of the Internet of Things:

Simultaneous reporting and monitoring

IoT in the healthcare industry has enabled doctors to monitor the real-time conditions of a patient which can prevent any emergency situations like heart failure, diabetes, asthma attack, cardiac arrest, etc. The impact of IoT in healthcare has made it easy for doctors to attend to multiple patients in a matter of minutes.

The medical reports of patients including blood sugar levels, ECG reports, X-rays, etc. are stored in the cloud and can be accessed with a mobile device whenever needed.

End-to-end connectivity and affordability

The Internet of things in healthcare applications can allow a better connection and use of the latest technology to enhance connectivity and data sharing. With technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other features, tracking and identifying illness becomes easy and less time-consuming.

This also reduces the overall time and cost of treatment. With technology, the cost of treatment will reduce by a huge sum, allowing patients to be treated easily.

Data analysis and data assortment

The use of IoT in healthcare involves storing massive data about the patient’s medical history. The IoT device also has to send data to other devices without any issues occurring in the process. Manually analyzing such huge data is impossible but devices can do it.

IoT devices can gather, analyze, track, send and receive data with the help of a cloud base. The cloud base is required as the size of data is huge and cannot be saved on the server. What can help make this adoption further and make it more efficient in terms of data storage and transfer is the Blockchain of Things.

Real-time tracking and alerts

Imagine how many lives can be saved with emergency alerts sent by patients. The Internet of Medical Things has made this possible. With the help of a device, a patient’s medical information is recorded in real-time and can be sent to the doctor. In the case of any threat, the doctor will be informed immediately and can provide assistance accordingly.

Check-up on the go

With the help of IoT healthcare devices, patients can easily contact doctors on their mobile devices and get immediate assistance. With the latest IoT devices, doctors can identify any ailments on the go all the while saving travel costs and time. IoT in healthcare will also be able to dispense medicines from machines as per their prescription. This will be done by connecting the patient’s device with the medicine dispensing machine.

Internet of Things (IoT) Use Cases in Healthcare

The Internet of things healthcare is being used for some great work in the healthcare industry. From monitoring the patients to virtually assisting them, applications of the Internet of Things are immensely vast and diverse. Here are some of the use cases of IoT technology in healthcare:

Remote patient monitoring

It is one of the most common use cases of the technology in healthcare that an IoT mobile app development company works around. The applications are built to collect health vitals like blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, etc from the patients that are not physically present in the healthcare facility. The algorithms can then help analyze the vitals and recommend treatment or simply create an alert.

Reducing wait time

Often a patient’s condition gets worse while waiting for things to be arranged or rooms to clear out in a hospital. With IoT in the healthcare industry, the waiting time can be reduced by more than 50%. When it comes to occupancy, IoT can track all the rooms and find the empty ones for the incoming patients who need immediate assistance.

Keep track of hardware maintenance

Every hospital has devices, machines, and equipment that are used to sustain human lives. Availability of these tools is necessary in order to save as many lives as possible. With IoT technology, hospitals can not only track the types of equipment but also be informed when a piece of equipment is about to fail. This helps the hospital in getting new devices before it’s too late.

Tracking employees and patients

A hospital has huge buildings and it becomes impossible to track where each and every employee or doctor is at a particular moment. It is the same for all the patients as well. With IoT technology, tracking the patients and the staff is easy.

This technology is also being used to track the assets of the hospital for security reasons. It is a highly efficient technology to track objects or people without any additional cost or efforts.

Drug management

Medicines are now being monitored by IoT devices to ensure the proper dosage and tracking of the effects of the medicine. It can also remind patients to take their medicine on time and in the right amount. If there is an overdose or underdose of medicine then the patient will be alerted.

Identification of chronic diseases

The Internet of things healthcare technology identifies any chronic illness a patient is suffering from. How that works is: a patient enters his symptoms and the device matches it with the already existing information to identify the disease.

Wearable devices like Fitbit are great trackers of heart rate, sugar levels, and blood pressure levels. Healthcare app development solutions for wearables and mobile apps have made people more health-conscious and aware of their medical conditions.

A few examples of the Internet of Things applications in healthcare

Healthcare IoT devices are specimens of technical brilliance. These come in handy with loads of benefits of IoT like minimizing the waiting time for emergency rooms, patient, staff, and inventory tracking, discipline in drug management, and checking that critical hardware is available at all times.

Hearables

The hearing aid has been around for ages thanks to the genius of Miller Reese Hutchison. With time, these devices underwent massive changes and are the ones currently powered by IoT have transformed the manner of interaction for people with hearing loss. These hearables are synced with smartphones via Bluetooth. Sounds can be filtered, equalized, and tailored to create real-world sound.

Moodables

Stress can often cause declining mental health and there are times when patients with mental disorders or neurovascular problems need to uplift their moods. They are wearables mounted on the head that pass low-intensity currents to the brain. These electrical impulses help to alleviate the pain and lighten up the mind.

Smart pills

Smart pills are edible IoT pills that are used to monitor our body functioning and alert if any anomaly arises. They have micro-sensors that are ingestible and dissolve in the stomach. The body too is attached to a device that accumulates the data transmitted via the sensors. One can easily access the data through their smartphones. This is one of the IoT advantages which proves how powerful the technology is.

Healthcare charting

Patient charting by doctors requires a lot of time and effort. It’s a fascinating thing to know how IoT is implemented and through voice commands, doctors can summon a patient’s vital clinical information like medical history, demographics, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, progress notes, immunization plans and schemes, allergies, tests (X-Ray, cardiology, radiology, urine, blood, etc.) and the results. Augmedix is one such device that does that.

Computer vision technology

A major development of IoT in healthcare projects is the drones which have proven to replicate visual perceptions ergo influencing decision making. These drones are powered by AI and have been known visually impaired people to alert about obstacles and avoid them.

Challenges Faced in Internet of Things (IoT) Based Healthcare System

Even though IoT is being helpful in the healthcare industry, it has its limitations and challenges. Let us look at the adoption challenges of IoT in healthcare:

Privacy and security

Though the IoT benefits in healthcare are many yet we cannot ignore the challenges it is facing. The biggest threat to healthcare in IoT is data privacy and security. The massive data that is being transferred and stored on a regular basis can be hacked and used against the patient and the doctor.

Hackers can create fake IDs to buy drugs and medicines only to misuse them further. A solution to this pestering issue, however, lies in following the compliance set up by the government for healthcare application development USA.

Multiple devices and protocol integration

Everyone owns a different device and this difference in devices is causing problems with the performance of the technology. The internet of medical things has yet to find a solution regarding the compatibility of different devices with the Internet of Things network. The connectivity of different devices slows down the entire process of data transfer, analysis, and retrieval.

Overloading and inaccuracy

Storing patient data means storing an impossible amount of data. Even with the internet of healthy things, the huge amount of data is becoming difficult to manage by the doctors. If this continues then the decision-making will be affected putting many lives in danger all at once. The more devices being connected to the network, the more will be the inflow of data.

Cost of the technology

It must be a surprise to see Internet of Things cost in the challenges section. But the truth is IoT can reduce the treatment cost for a common man but hasn’t been able to do it yet. The Internet of things and healthcare have yet to make things cost-effective and it will take time. It has created the medical tourism situation where people travel to developing countries to get the treatment at a much cheaper cost. The cost of IoT app development is also higher than the usual cost of mobile app development.

The Future Scope of Internet of Things in Healthcare

IoT has a lot of potentials and it’s not only in healthcare. Many IoT healthcare companies are working on new ways to use this technology to help our medical world. According to the IoT healthcare market trends, the industry is expected to grow to $8.9 trillion in the year 2020.

Even though IoT has challenges and limitations, it will not stop the technology from growing. The need for IoT in healthcare is huge and it can help the industry immensely. It can reach every patient from all over the world and connect doctors with patients. There is no denying that IoT has already made a huge impact and is only set to grow further.

It is a matter of time when the medical industry will be run mostly by IoT technology and will be treating patients in less time and low cost of treatment. Google and Apple are companies trying to make IoT and healthcare success and soon we shall see iOS and Android devices interacting with our medicines.

We at Anteelo have IoT app developers in New York and India that are ready to help you with your app idea. We have a proven track record for making IoT real-time applications. Contact us today!

Angular 5.0 for Mobile App Development- Understand

Posted on 20/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

A short time ago, on November 1, 2017, Google rolled out its fifth version of the tool that app developers have been swearing by, Angular – Angular 5.0.

And ever since its launch, the version has been an active source of discussion among the various Google developers communities.

While it’s the technical features and improvisations that Angular 5.0 has been launched is what making the developers swoon over it, let us look at why you, as a brand that has decided to launch a mobile app, should have a peek at it, as well.

But before we get into the reasons that would make investing in Angular 5.0 for your next app, let us look at the upgrades this version has got over its previous one, very briefly.

How is Angular 5.0 Different From its other Versions

Build Optimizer With Angular 5.0, Google has been able to mark the parts of users’ app as pure, which removes the parts of users’ application which aren’t needed. It even removes the Angular decorators from the users’ application code run time. The aim is to increase your app’s boot speed.
Angular Universal State Transfer API The API is focused specifically on helping the developers perform the server-side rendering of the Angular applications. By doing this and then bootstrapping it on HTML generated, one can give support to the crawlers and scrapers, which do not support JavaScript, thus increasing your application’s performance.
New Router Lifecycle Event It allows the developers to track cycle of their router from the very start of the running guards till the completion of the activation.
Improvements in Compiler The improvements now provide fast rebuilds, Specifically for the production builds and those with AOT. There have also been features addition in the Decoraters, which now makes it possible to ship small bundles by eliminating the whitespaces.

While these are just the few, there are a lot many additions in the Angular 5.0 version, making it one of the best Google’s tools for Application Development.

Now that you must have gotten the idea of the latest Angular version and what it entails, let us now look at some of the reasons that make Angular 5.0 worth investing for any brand looking to enter the mobile world with their partner app development agency.

Reasons to Choose Angular 5.0 for your next Mobile App

1. Reduced Loading Time

A greater loading time implies greater user dissatisfaction and lowering user patience. A factor that translates in greater app abandonment numbers, and greatly dissatisfied customers along with poor productivity. All of which can be tackled with one of the Google offerings – Progressive Web Apps.

Angular 5.0 has introduced an API called the Service Worker that is made in sync with the concept of Progressive Web Apps. The API, which is also used to migrate websites into PWA, is the JavaScript Worker, which runs in browser background and even allows the admissions of features, which don’t need any involvement of the web page and/or the user-interaction. Now with the API, when the app utilizes caches to serve its users, one can expect the app to showcase offline mode functionalities. This is a massive move for the Mobile Apps community, as the inability to serve users in offline mode has kept maximum mobile app brands in the back seat.

2. User Experience to Go Better with Enhanced Material Design

Material Design in mobile app is that comprehensive framework, which is mixed with resources, theories, and tools which are aims at providing the required guidance to make the mobile experience a creative one.

AngularJS 5 is to make Material Design components compatible with server-side rendering. Beyond doubt, this is no less than a reward for the UI-UX designers. The attempt by Google will help in improving the visual language that users understand the best irrespective of their ages. If you are an AngularJS developer, hold your breath as Google is yet in the process of eliminating a few bugs before releasing this functionality.

3. Lower App Abandonment Rate

The number reason behind app abandonment has been slug issues. When it comes to the app users, they have very less patience towards the apps that work slow and even worse is not responsive. Both the issues, clubbing as app’s poor performance together increases the app abandonment and bounce rates. But, no more.

Angular 5.0 has completely revamped the RAIL model (Response, Animation, Idle, and Load Model), which focuses on making the app much responsive towards its user’s actions. In the developer’s guidelines, Google has emphasized much strongly on faster user-interface, and Angular 5.0 is just the tool for that. The tools is expected to allow the users to be acknowledged within 100 ms, in case of no scrolling or animation, the page should appear in under 10 ms and lastly, for they should be delivered the content they came looking for within a time frame of 1000 ms.

The Build Optimizer feature of Angular 5.0 aims to do just that. As the tool comes in as default, the developers don’t have to do anything extra to make it come into the process. It helps reduce the mobile application size by leaving out unnecessary codes. By introducing the StaticInjector instead of the ReflectiveInjector, Google has made it easy for the AngularJS developers to lower down their application size, substantially.

Angular JS 5 is all set to make the app industry faster and responsive. Are you ready for the future.

Agile for Mobile App Development Process-Reasons to Trust

Posted on 19/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

Agile Mobile Application Development has emerged as a concept that ensures not just a quick delivery of projects but also the one that guarantees app responsiveness and overall business growth and agility.

It was after three app projects, developed and deployed using the Waterfall model, we realized that we were not just slow but also the team lacked clarity, which showed in the apps. It was a loss for both us and the brands we were developing apps for, as the resources were getting freezed for more time than they should along with the missing sense of a clear process.

Let us look into the concept in more detail. Highlighting the meaning of the methodology and the associated benefits and ultimately the approach we follow for developing apps using agile methodology.

Let’s start –

What is Agile Mobile App Development About?

The Agile Methodology is a term used for an incremental and iterative app development approach, which consists of breaking down the complete app development process cycle in various different tasks. The whole array of segregated processes are further categorized into number of sub-tasks, every one of which performs as separate modules among the app development team. Next, each of the module is handed to a dedicated cross-functioning group of specialists who then work on every module as an independent mini-project.

Using this agile methodology for mobile application development enables multiple teams to develop different parts of the apps simultaneously. The whole project becomes a combination of various small modules. Agile software development method not just lowers the associated risk, but even provides developers with full freedom and flexibility for developing a superior-quality app, which quickly adjusts to alterations post-release.

Now that you know what Agile Development is, let us look at why agile is best for app development, reasons to use agile methodology, and why app development companies like us, swear by it.

Why use Agile App Development Process?

Agile for mobile app development helps agile software developers to efficiently come up agile development methodology and project management system that is foolproof in many ways. It certainly assists agile software development company and development teams to overcome some critical development issues like varying demands of various classes of users, which in turn hinders seamless development across multiple running platforms.

Agile is the go-to framework for helping app startups and development agencies maintain a focus on delivering a quality application ー rapidly and productively. Agile maximizes value throughout the development process and significantly decreases the overall risk of any given project.

1. Quality Product

It was expected to test software before the launch, however with agile, testing is integrated at every phase of development to guarantee a quality end result. This type of continuous testing of every single module provides space for changes and reduces the risk of encountering a bug during quality testing of the complete project. It also helps mobile app developers to inspect app elements at every phase of the development process and make alterations as per the requirement, eventually helping in providing high quality of services.

2. Customization

While opting for agile development best practices, developers get the chance to customize the whole app development process according to their preference and work upon user- driven solutions. Thus, customization is another reason behind why use agile methodology for creating mobile applications.

In a situation where developers are on the hunt for various techniques for creating and launching a mobile application while integrating the recent technologies into the development process, agile methodology approach keeps you covered.

3. Swift Return on Investment

Backed by iterative nature, app features are developed and deployed speedily in an agile development process, leading to rapid application development. Contrary to the earlier used waterfall development methodology where you had to sit till the completion of an app project to even look at return on investment value, agile methodology allows you to drive ROIs in advance. In agile app development process, the stakeholder plays a very crucial role and stays in direct conversation with the project’s scrum master to help prioritize the main features and then show an aligned development process.

4. Reduced Risks

The previously used waterfall app development system came with high chances of failures, which varied from budget shortage, timeline extensions, scope creep, not being able to have the priority features, even by the time of project completion.

While Agile, on the other side, employs parallel test model to allow you to line up the different mobile application development problems while developing other features, simultaneously. The transparency that the process comes with the scrum process of agile app development process enables you to view and remove the issues of even the later-stages from their roots, in the beginning stages itself.

5. Helps to Move with Business Agility

Rapid variations in the smartphone user movements hints towards the need of brands to promote superior level of business agility by using agile process method. Agile method enables you to adjust to the varying business needs or user trends in spite of what stage of app development you are in, without any further amount of investment. Agile method gives you the freedom to not be confined to work around a pre set feature list as a part of mobile app solution. This enhanced business dexterity gives the application any shape you are seeking, thus giving you an unprecedented edge over the competitors.

6. Enhanced productivity

The sprint-based workflow of agile methodology lowers the scope of daily detailed discussions and concentrates on the delivery of list of the high-valued app features in every sprint. Using collaboration, mobile app developers’ team works on goals with accountability, which helps in meeting all the commitments in fixed time. The distinct set of work, which are decided for specific time frames allow scrum master to measure the real-time work status and can handle the teams, likewise.

7. Develop superior quality mobile app development solutions

Quality undoubtedly continues to be the main concerns in an app world. Because of the collateral testing model used in the agile mobile app development process, it gets easier for mobile app developers to inspect an app project in the real-time and then undergo the necessary quality based improvements hand-by-hand. With respect to this, when there are variations in both – the mobile application needs or in the quality standards which have to be maintained, the project managers can get them incorporated and solved, instantly.

8. Placing Responsiveness in the Technology

By combining agile sprints with the app’s software update method, the enhancements along with the needed new features, based on customer feedback, can be made instantly, lowering the development timeline.

Agile mobile development process introduces a data backed consistent app updation process that makes sure that even with the app updates, the data is spatially harmonious with old data.

Now, as promised earlier, we will now get into the basics of how we employ Agile Development in the apps that we develop.

Agile development process in itself comes in different types. While we focus on Scrum to a large extent, there are around five other types of Agile App Development methodologies, which we use in combination, which varies from app to app.

Let us look at each of them, to give you a better understanding of the types there are and what you should expect to achieve from each.

Types of Agile App Development Methods

1. Adaptive Software Development

This method is used in software projects, which have shifting requirements and strictly fall in the category of short span app projects. The methodology takes help of processes like collaboration, speculation, and learning to achieve this.

2. Crystal Methods

These are the methodologies that are used to help develop app by concentrating on app properties such as reflective improvement, frequent delivery, focus, close communication, easy access to expert users, and personal safety, taking help of configuration management, automated tests, and recurrent integrations. The process works best when developing apps that are related to people, community, interaction, talents, skills, and communication.

3. Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)

It is an iterative agile development method which ensures that every step is completed just enough to be able to move on to the next stage. It helps in delivering working systems in short span of time. This process aids in aiding regularly changing scenario since the next level of process can be easily put to work by not affecting the process of delivery in whatever way.

DSDM makes use of tools, knowledge, and techniques and helps with the delivery of new systems in the expected period of time.

4. Feature Driven Development

This is the agile methodology for the app development process, which is also model-driven. At the start of the app project, the developers design a model, which specifies various app features and their iterations.

5. Lean Development

It is one of the most used agile methodologies, in fact the one we swear upon, which is implemented for the development of mobile apps. This principle aims at managing the risks and turn them into opportunities. This, then offers a competitive advantage to a business over its counterparts.

6. Scrum

Scrum is another agile software development process that implements the flexible process control for complex software projects. It likewise makes use of iterative and growing practices. In light of the theory that we can’t characterize the last prerequisites of the project, initially, the information is acquired over the due process from the mistakes made over the long run. It solely focuses around checking the progress of the project and resolving the challenges when it is encountered in the frequent gatherings. It gives the benefits of agile methodology that it assists to take action as and when the requirement changes.

7. Extreme Programming

Here, the focus is entirely on the app project instead of the documentation, since it follows principles of design and simple code. Which, in turn, makes it easy for the developers who join late, to understand the process.

The method is based on twelve practices and four groups. The four groups include – feedback,collaboration, respect, and revision. This requires the direct participation of all the involved parties including our customers.

The twelve practices are collective code ownership, coding standards, system metaphor, simple design, pair programming, test driven development, planning game, refactoring, the whole team, continuous integration, short releases, and a sustainable pace.

Now that you know the types of Agile Development Process, let me take you through the Approach we follow while developing and deploying Mobile Apps on the basis of the methodology.

Anteelo Approach to Developing Apps Using Agile Development Process

When we start an app development project here at Anteelo, we segregate the functional requirements in user stories, which becomes the basis of our app development process.

We mostly work in the structure of two-weeks sprint set, and restate continuously till we gain milestones in the app. This includes apps that come with a very high number of brand requirements

The method has helped us work on projects with as much as 3,500 different development needs, by breaking down the requirement in small, manageable processes.

We divide our Approach into processes that include –

– Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD)

Connecting you with the developers, designers, and the testers, which helps you communicate the specific requirements even before the actual implementation.

– Agile Modeling

We document the principles and values for applying in mobile app development work, which ease the implementation of agile development methods like the extreme programming, Scrum, and the Rational Unified Process.

– Agile Testing

Making mobile app testing a crucial part of mobile app development process, we ensure that the bugs and errors are next to nothing. Lead by our team of testers, Agile method help keeps every involved party from the UX-UI designers to the app developers in the circle.

– Backlogs

Every one of our POCs know their to-do lists and the what’s left lists. This helps in achieving client’s expectations through the incremental and iterative mobile app development process.

– Behavior-Driven Development

Every app functionality is validated in planned way to not miss test cases or criterias defining them. It also includes the prime causes and their relevant fixes.

Need help with streamlining your app development process? Contact our team of Mobile App Developers, today.

Are Micro Apps the Future of Mobile Applications?

Posted on 18/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

The purpose of the mobile app, since its advent, has been to offer quick solutions to users, which they won’t have to browse websites for. But, the pressure to remain above the competition of thousands of similar apps, have taken brands away from offering to the point solutions to providing them with a wholesome feature rich mobile app. While, there is no way to judge which approach is better, but over time, we have been observing that offering quick solutions has become the new mantra to app success. And if there is one concept that we have been focusing on for just this, is – Micro Apps Development.

In this article, we will be looking into the concept in detail, focusing on elements that brought in its need and what makes them the future of Mobile Apps.

What are Micro Mobile Apps?

Micro Apps are HTML based, customized applications that are built to solve a specific purpose. They may or may not be a part of a bigger mobile app. For example, while Facebook Messenger app is a part of Facebook, Google Weather app acts as a standalone micro app in form of a card in the device’s Google Page.

Now that you know what Micro Apps mean, you must be wondering, why people are resorting to these apps, when they have the option to work around a bigger, all inclusive application? The question is the exact reason why users are making the shift.

Let’s delve into this a little further.

Why the Sudden Rise in Demand for Micro Applications Development?

1. Mobile Apps have become Irksome

In the race to offer more value than the competitors, brands continue to add in more features in their mobile apps, making them large in size, slow to load, and more storage space consuming. All of this pulls the consumers into a large, complex structure, which more often than not takes them away from the simple task that they intended to do when they launched the app.

2. Lack of an in and out experience

In continuation of Mobile Apps becoming irksome, the other thing that has happened is that the in and out experience is lacking.

One of the main reasons why users install mobile apps in the first place, is to save time browsing ahttps://anteelo.com/ website or working around its functionalities. But, by offering a mobile application as the miniature version of the websites, brands take away the purpose users first came to them.

3. Soaring Mobile App Development Cost

While it is easier for the bigger brands, small and mid-size brands usually end up staying and then opting out at the development phase itself. The lack of budget for developing an app that is at par with the top rating ones in the category, is the number one reason why most app idea never see the morning sun.

These three are the reasons why the world is now seeing a gradual shift from the heavy, all functions inclusive mobile applications towards a new found demand for Micro Apps Development.

But, where does Micro Apps fit in these issues? Let’s find out.

All of the above mentioned issues can be easily solved by the advent of micro-apps. Short in app size and device resource usage, micro-apps allow users to be in control of doing what they intend to, without any distraction.

Micro Mobile Apps come in the picture of struggling mobile app development market, with their USPs specifically focusing on providing –

– Simplest Form of User Experience

Designed to address a specific issue faced by the users, Micro Apps come with a no-nonsense, direct user flow.

– Development with Limited Resources

Being focused on a specific task, Micro Apps Development do not call for complex technological processes. It helps cut down the app development cost to a great extent.

With features such as these, Micro Apps have emerged as the rightful solution to the dwindling user retention issue. By offering to the point features to the users, they serve the purpose of what the Mobile Application industry is based on.

It’s time to add a Micro App as a part and parcel of your high value embedding application. Talk to our Mobile App Experts and know where to start.

Mobile Apps Trends that will Dominate 2018

Posted on 18/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

2017 was a phenomenal year for Mobile Application Development.

The industry saw a new programming language, Kotlin, becoming Google’s Official Language. We saw Apple making partnerships to rule the AI industry. AR/VR strengthened its position in the industry.

Among this all, we saw the application of one of the most disruptive technologies of our time, come into existence –

1. Mobile Payment

This year, more users will turn to their mobile phones to make daily payments as people are less likely to carry cash. If you haven’t considered offering mobile payments to your customers, it’d be a good move for 2018 to discuss this with your mobile app development company.

By 2020, the world will see Mobile Payments reaching out to become a $503 Billion industry – amounting to 80% annual growth percent from 2015 to 2020.

While there are already a number of mobile payment applications operating across the globe, the number is only going to increase: especially since the value of Annual Transaction made through mPayment apps is on a high in the US and globally.

Even if the app you are planning is not a Payment App, in itself, incorporating mPayments feature in your mobile app will bring yours in the list of convenient apps.

2. Blockchain

9 in 10 government firms are planning to invest in blockchain for financial transaction management, asset management, contract management and regulatory compliance purposes. One-third of banks are expected to adopt commercial blockchain in 2018.

While Bitcoin, an important element of Blockchain has already held its position in the technology world, 2018 will push Blockchain further from digital payment. With the technology getting more and more investments every passing day, industries would now be using it for so many other uses than just Cryptocurrency transactions.

There are already brands that have started offering the technology to serve their smart contracts feature for real estate industry and then there are others that have made Blockchain Mobile Apps to add on security feature in supply chain management system.

3. PWA

PWA is not something that you have to install from the app stores. It comes with a diverse range of innovative features like quick updates, faster navigation, offline working mode, push notifications, and so on.

Factors like reliability, speed, engagement, reachability, and cost effectiveness, among many others, have bringing Progressive Web Apps in line with their Native Apps counterparts. Although Native Apps still had the upper hand in 2017, the changes that are planned for PWAs in 2018, will make more brands adopt it.

4. IoT and Wearable

Analysts predict that IoT will grow from $157.05 billion in 2016 to $661.74 billion by 2021 and we’re just at the beginning stages of this growth.

Users’ demand for wearables that go beyond satisfying their medical needs is on a surge. The need of the hour is to add innovation in what one can do at the click of their watch button or by adjusting their glasses. And, this is exactly what they will be getting in 2018.

Every IoT and Wearable related discussion that happens in 2018 will be incomplete without the mention of Smart Homes. The year will see greater adaptation of technologies like Alexa, which help users control their smart home devices like door locks, camera, lighting, entertainment system, and thermostats, etc. The technology, which is already a billion dollar market, will continue to rise with time.

This year, you will be able to connect your life much more with the minimal devices that you work around with, every day.

5. AR/VR

The next-generation apps especially the gaming apps are all about AR and VR. The tech experts have predicted to generate revenue of $150 billion by the year 2020.

While the technology was restricted to mostly gaming and retail industry in 2017, 2018 will see its adaptation in a number of otherwise deemed traditional industries as well. Such as – Real Estate, Healthcare, and Education etc. The foundation that AR/VR had set for itself in 2017 will grow its roots to a much deeper level in 2018.

The elements that are making the revenue chart of AR/VR are not just restricted to AR Voice or AR Games and VR Games and VR Theme Parks, the $120 Billion market of AR and $30 Billion market of VR can be divided into a number of other elements, with each of them holding their piece of share in defining the future of AR/VR in the world.

Introducing AR/VR in your mobile app this year will not just solve your app engagement problem but also will help increase your conversion rate, if yours is an eCommerce app.

6. Enterprise Apps

An Adobe study says that 77% business owners found enterprise apps advantageous and 66% are increasing their investment further. Also, 430 billion enterprise app markets are expected by 2021.

The reasons that enterprise Apps have found a place in this list is because in today’s corporate scenario, the need of fixing a seat for people to sit and work in has become a thing of the past. In the time of virtual employees, companies’ needs to have all their employee working in one place has become negligible.

The scenario in 2017 was that nwere employing the enterprise apps that adhered to the standards set by their industries. But with greater focus on being different from competition, in 2018, companies will be looking for platforms specific to their business, which only have the elements that their team works around.

7. On Demand

In 2017, users spent 98% more on on-demand entertainment apps compared to 2016. It also expands to users wanting other on-demand services such as haircuts, food, laundry, and so on. The number that is only to increase by manifold in 2018.

The average annual spending for different on demand industry services is also going to see a jump this year when compared to what they were in 2017.

The need to be satisfied instantly for every need is what has brought in an increase in the demand for the technology. While, on demand services has already seeped itself into a number of industries, many more brands will see its inception in the coming time – B2B setup will soon start using the on demand economy to verify their new employees’ background information or getting their hand man jobs done. Even the current industries will have to find new innovative needs of on-demand facilities to stay on top of their competition.

8. Instant Apps

Instant apps are very convenient and that works majorly in attracting more users. The need of app installation is eradicated here which eliminates the barrier between apps and web. The easiness that Android Instant Apps will lead to its greater adaptation in 2018.

Instant Apps is that feature of Google Play Store, which allows you to use an app without having to completely download it on your phone. All one needs to do is find them in the Store and then click on ‘Open App’. The apps even allow you to perform a specific activity inside an app that is not installed in your device, with only a click on a URL.

By allowing users to use the apps without putting an effort and losing even an MB of their precious phone storage space, is what has made Instant Apps a hit in the mobile app world. While only introduced to a limited few apps of Play Store, 2018 will see the “Try it Now” option in more number of apps, increasing your chances at brand visibility.

9. mHealth Apps

With over 100,000 health apps in the market and with a forecast of 1.7 billion downloads of mhealth app on iOS and Android by 2017, there is plenty of room for more apps with better and personalized outcomes.

Gone are those days when the mHealth apps were only related to showing the number of steps a person has taken or to book an appointment with their doctor. This was all a thing of 2017. The mHealth industry has now evolved, entirely.

This year is about Electronic Medical records (EMR) Apps that helps in keeping records of your medical history, handle your medical bills, and keep a check on serious health issues like Asthma, Diabetes, and Cancer on phone.

While, this is for the patients, doctors will also move one step ahead from their usual application related to accepting appointment and viewing patient history, to practicing serious operations using the Virtual Reality based apps.

10. Cross Platform Apps

Wide user reach, improved marketing, cost-effectiveness, and increased revenue are just some of the factors that have been pushing the app development world towards Cross-Platform Apps.

With the audiences on both Android and iOS rising neck by a neck in 2017, brands will tweak their strategy and get inclined towards creating an app that works on both platforms. There are a number of issues that will be solved by investing in Cross Platforms apps, such as – High costs associated with developing apps individually for Android and iOS, having different-looking products on different platforms, and limited reach amongst others.

Now when we talk about Cross-Platform Apps, there are a number of issues that can come up, with the main ones being bad UI and speed.

To remove the glitches that Cross-Platform Apps come with, React Native App Development is the framework we swear upon.

While there are other frameworks like NativeScript and Xamarin, React Native single-handedly holds the wagon to be the best cross-platform tool the mobile app world has the offer. Here are the issues that React Native solves –

The knowledge of JavaScript is enough to develop a whole Cross-Platform App.
React Native Apps are fluid and are highly responsive.
Relies completely on Native Controls.
It allows the developers to reuse their codes.

11. Chatbots and AI

Users are searching for more effortless interactions with brands and are now expecting channels of communications to be open 24/7. 52% of consumers prefer to interact with businesses via a messaging app rather than over the phone or in person.

While Chatbots will continue to do their function of answering users’ queries as a bot in 2018 as well, but with AI, they will now answer questions that are not even asked yet. Or even better, they will give alternate solutions to the mobile users, removing the chance of knowing who is behind the screen, a bot or a living, breathing human.

Chatbots have already found their place in a number of industries, globally.

Chatbots will take customer service to a whole different level in 2018, by not just being available to them 24*7, but also by solving issues that were kept on hold till a representative was available, in 2017. This combination of AI and Chatbots will also start making its remarkable presence felt in the apps dealing with mental health.

Are you prepared to see your device get cooler, more useful, and thousand times more active this year?

Test Android App: Role of Android Espresso & AWS Device Farm

Posted on 18/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

AWS Device Farm is a service that allows you to test your Android and iOS-based apps on real devices and not by using any simulators and using AWS Cloud.

A fierce competition exists in the mobile app development market as the competitor companies are trying hard to get recognized by showcasing their products in the App Stores. After developing an app, one key factor that is remembered is that you should never be in a hurry to upload an app in the App Store. This is where lies the importance of the reviews from the various customers. If by any chance, you upload an app that is unstable, there is every chance that the app will be outright rejected by the users. So, the success of an app depends mostly on this review.

There are many reasons on account of which the apps simply crash and these are network problems, bloatware on the device, inadequate error and exception handling as well as memory issues. Herein lies the need for testing the apps, on multiple platforms and devices as well as on different networks.

Testing an Android App: Role Played by Android Espresso and AWS Device Farm This service enables you to provide the solution that you are seeking to test the app in the right way. You can upload your apps in the Cloud and run Fuzz tests for the purpose of simulating random activity or utilizing the built-in app explorer.

AWS Device Farm will crawl your app and helps to capture screenshots as well as performance metrics and logs. The advantage that it offers is easy to use and quick. You can track the issues that will be faced by your Android app if you use Espresso in AWS Device Farm, much before the app is displayed on the App Store.

What is AWS Device Farm?

There is no need to get distracted by the issues that are faced while testing your Android app like constructing automation infrastructure, building expensive device labs, or even gathering different types of devices and above all ensuring that the devices are available in stable conditions, whenever they are required. The importance of AWS Device Farm lies in the fact that it handles everything most efficiently. In a matter of few minutes, you can test the app on a wide range of devices. Moreover, not only does it allow you to choose the devices, but you can also choose the make and model of the chosen Operating System. It is capable of testing various carrier connections as it can simulate the connection type and conditions.

What is Android Espresso?

Android Espresso is the most popular test automation framework for testing Android apps. Testing is often done with the help of running testing scripts by the developers, Google has now come with Espresso Test Recorder, a tool that helps to create Android apps tests, easily and quickly. So, the advantage lies for those people who do not have any background in coding or building test scripts, generating automated user interface tests for their apps to run on AWS Device Farm. So, the efficiency of the app developers is enhanced, and also the quality of the apps.

How are the Developers Utilizing the AWS Device Farms?

Android Espresso actually helps the developers testing the apps locally as well as the Cloud Setup like AWS Device Farm. AWS Device Farm is used by the developers for the purpose of testing iterative changes through the development process. The functionalities are also tested so that they work well on the various targeted devices. That the applications are running well with the backend system is done with automated canaries running periodic tests using API. It also generates test reports that are of immense help to the developers. It offers the best place to produce issues related to mobile analytics.

Finally, Android Espresso and AWS Device Farms help to ward of app issues, so that only the high-quality apps get displayed on the App Store, not the unstable ones which will fetch the best of reviews from the users, a crucial requirement for building a highly successful app.

Cyber reference architecture: An Enterprise Security Backbone

Posted on 17/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

At the heart of digital transformation is data. The importance of protecting this critical business asset is bringing cyber security into sharp focus in the boardroom as well as the data center.

In the past, an enterprise’s cyber security team focused on IT security risks and threats, with little reference to business risks, objectives and strategy. The team would deploy controls within a defined corporate network boundary, driving a very technology-focused approach to cyber security. The team generally spoke its own language of cyber security terms and acronyms, little understood by the business.

Digital transformation, however, means that cybersecurity can no longer be handled as an after-the-fact bolt-on, separate from the rest of the business. Organizations must consider security as part of their strategic approach, viewing cybersecurity and resilience as business enablers that help enterprises safely embrace the benefits of digital transformation.

Even the World Economic Forum recognizes the importance of high-level responsibility for the strategic governance of cyber risk and cyber resilience. In a report for boards of directors, “Advancing Cyber Resilience: Principles and Tools for Boards,”[i] the forum concluded that “cyber strategy must be determined at the oversight board level.”

Aligning cyber security strategy with business objectives — and obtaining board-level sponsorship — is key to attaining and maintaining a strong security posture.

Most organizations are struggling to reduce the growing gap between their security posture and the threat landscape, with its ever-increasing cyber attack sophistication — and at the same time, they are trying to stay on top of changing security-related regulatory and legislative obligations that differ across geographies.

Spending more money isn’t necessarily the answer. Security budgets are increasing, but the security posture gap is getting wider.

Here are some reasons why:

Lack of integration, with little or no understanding of the cyber security risk posture throughout the business, makes it difficult to reduce business risk.
Lack of prioritization means security investments are often allocated to implement the latest security trend or technology, without first addressing security foundations.
Bottom-up technical siloes cause a lack of alignment between the security solutions deployed and business objectives.
Lack of optimization results in overlap of security controls and failure to take advantage of virtualization or new functionality in existing security tools.
Reinventing the wheel increases time, cost, and risk.

Closing the gap requires upper management to set a clear cybersecurity strategy and requires the cybersecurity team to focus on managing cyber risk appropriately and proportionate to the business’s goals and risk appetite.

If they want to be truly cyber resilient, enterprises must also be prepared for the worst to happen. It’s no longer a question of whether they may be breached, but when, and what the likely consequences are. The legislative and regulatory implications of data breaches continue to increase, and the reputational damage they can cause to a business can be extremely damaging. A Juniper Research report estimates the cost of cybercrime to businesses will total $8 trillion by 2022.

A key strategy for addressing these challenges is the adoption of a cyber reference architecture (CRA), which is a framework of strategies, tactics, and capabilities that provides a common language, a consistent approach, and a long-term vision to help organizations align security strategies with the business and accelerate their digital transformation.

The CRA helps organizations to develop business-aligned security strategies and accelerate their digital transformation, including:

Understanding which objectives matter most to the business
Defining security requirements to achieve those objectives
Mapping out the best approach for deploying targeted security capabilities to support the plan

This approach helps organizations in all industries move from a reactive mode to higher levels of cyber maturity. Organizations are become better equipped to visualize their future state and develop a roadmap of short- and long-term timeline for getting there.

As a result, organizations can develop a resilient and agile security architecture that supports a risk-based approach to business strategy. This crucial planning helps organizations:

Define how to protect what matters and enable digital business initiatives
Optimize security budget and operational cost
Avoid financial loss by managing existing and emerging risks
Ensure compliance with laws and regulations

Security organizations are constantly faced with decisions about upgrading tools and adding services to improve processes. Before the work begins, it’s imperative to understand all risks and the state of the organization’s security posture with a strong cyber reference architecture.

Why Organizations should conduct cybersecurity assessments

Posted on 16/10/202011/06/2021 by Tushar

The past year was filled with news about cybersecurity, including phishing scams, ransomware, and new attack methods. And this year, security experts again predict even bigger attacks and smarter hacks that will be met with heavy fines slapped on regulated organizations for not preventing or minimizing a breach on their watch.

Adhering to compliance standards and finding gaps in data security is a multi-faceted process that requires a holistic approach, expertise, and vigilance. If your organization hasn’t done a self-assessment of your cybersecurity and compliance processes, or done so recently, now is the time.

Research shows that more than 56 percent of organizations reported moderate or severe impact of security challenges on their cloud computing use. Even more, reported compliance and regulation challenges. For organizations that must meet regulatory standards—like HIPAA, PCI, SOC, ITAR, FIPS or CJIS—the disruption and consequences in the event of a breach can cost more than they are worth in fines, a tarnished reputation and remediation efforts.

After working with hundreds of organizations on their compliance and data security processes, I’d like to share five key benefits of a cybersecurity self-assessment.

A cybersecurity self-assessment can help your organization:

1. Measure security risks objectively across teams and roles

Even the most brilliant and passionate IT teams, partners and vendors can sometimes become myopic or defensive about their technology infrastructure and practices. And because most organizations have a variety of clouds, platforms and IT infrastructure, security exposures may not be discovered without an assessment, or worse, a traumatic event. A self-assessment tool can offer an objective lens from which to have critical conversations across teams and roles.

2. Flag risks and exposures

From intrusion detection software to cybersecurity insurance, cybersecurity is a multi-faceted and ever-changing effort. Cybersecurity experts are in high demand, and many organizations face exposures for which they aren’t equipped to assess or internally manage. A self-assessment can be the starting point of identifying new and old areas of risk and can help you ask the right questions regarding protecting your organization.

3. Document and track security efforts

In the world of cybersecurity, there are no guarantees that “digital trauma” won’t strike. That’s not the reality of today’s world. However, multiple layers of security processes can isolate issues in their tracks and prevent worst-case scenarios. In addition, a well-prepared organization should be able to quickly respond to multiple severity levels of security situations. Assessing your risk is the first step in developing cybersecurity and compliance efforts, documenting and training your organization around a security plan, as well as tracking progress toward remediation efforts.

4. Quickly adapt to regulatory changes

Regulations change, technology platforms evolve and teams adopt new devices, subscriptions and solutions. Your organization’s IT environment must continuously evolve to keep up with the reality of everyday business. What was a best practice a year ago may not be so today. Routine security risk assessments can help your organization stay proactive. And with the right cloud tools and controls, your organization can quickly adapt to changes in the marketplace.

5. Empower your users

Multiple experts cite the number one threat to cybersecurity is your colleague down the hall. The people in your organization have the most opportunity to expose your data, second to vendors with access to your systems. From proper management of user access and authentication to education around recognizing phishing emails, your users can make or break your security. Organization-wide education and preparedness are key to preventing, as well as responding, to a security event.