Modernization is a desire to stay relevant and grow. App modernization does just that for businesses. It enables them to stay relevant and grow. In line with that, organizations worldwide are scrambling toward digital transformation. How does that benefit businesses?

App modernization or updating older software for newer computing approaches extends the lifespan of an organization’s applications while allowing it to take advantage of technical innovations. It is like renovating an old house to improve efficiency, safety, structural integrity, and more.

However, there have been occasions when the app modernization project has failed. This has been a concern to most business owners considering digital transformation. Are you one of them? If so, through this blog, you can learn why and how to avoid app modernization failure.

First things first. Does your company need app modernization? If so, why?

Why Your Company Needs App Modernization

Apart from what we discussed earlier in this blog, app modernization integrates new features to keep up with the latest business requirements. Even so, many business leaders wonder if their business needs app modernization. Here is a list of specific reasons for you to consider:

  • It allows you to create new features and services that align with your current business needs and goals. In addition, you can personalize these features to ensure long-term value creation.
  • Educating new and older employees becomes easier as app modernization can automate tedious and repetitive processes.
  • App modernization helps you leverage the benefits of the cloud environment, allowing you to provide fast and efficient customer service.
  • Cloud-native applications offer top-notch security features as compared to legacy applications.
  • App modernization allows you to add newer features, services, and functions. These, in turn, increase customer satisfaction leading to increased revenue.

Why, then, does app modernization backfire at times? And how can you ensure the success of the project?

Read more: Why modernize your legacy systems? What’s the best approach to legacy systems modernization?

Legacy system modernization

Why Some App Modernization Projects Fail

When an app modernization project fails, it may pose serious problems for your business, including wasted resources and time. Failed app modernization may hinder agility and keep your business from capitalizing on modern technology. It was noted that an alarming 79% of app modernization projects still fail. Why? Surprisingly, the failure is not due to the new system or methodology, nor caused by the modernization vendor. The reasons are much deeper. Here are the top 5 reasons why app modernization projects fail:

1. Ignoring the business process

Modernization efforts fail when the business process (accounting, inventory, finance) is poor, and a business tries to correct it with new systems. That will never work. Businesses must first understand what is slowing them down. Determining the problem is the right foundation for successful app modernization.

2. Implementing new systems without considering drastic business changes

When entirely new systems are implemented without considering the drastic business changes, the employees are forced to adapt quickly. In addition, such practice forces the business to evolve to fit the new software. Instead, the software must adapt to fit the current business process and requirements.

3. Businesses mistakenly assume that they are ready for a complete revamp

Most businesses believe that they are ready to replace the old system with new systems, and the business will run better. Now that is a huge mistake. Completely replacing all systems can send your business and your employees into shock. It may even change how customers interact with the business. A better approach is to modernize in calculated steps.

4. Failing to adopt an agile software

The pandemic helped us see that agility is king. Adopting inflexible applications can have disastrous consequences on your business. If you want to be future-ready, replace rigid applications with agile applications.

5. Failing to consult the end user

Modernization projects that do not involve the IT department and the end user fail as they do not consider how the new solution fits business needs.

Read more: Advancing Business Software Development With Cloud Native

The Secret to A Successful App Modernization Project Journey

Every business that embarks on a modernization project journey faces many challenges. The success of your app modernization efforts comes down to two key components: your IT team and your employees. As teams go through this journey, use these secrets to avoid failure and ensure success.

Secret 1.  Build a cross-functional team

When choosing a team or developing an innovation group, build a cross-functional team that can focus on developing the culture, process, and tools needed to improve the modernization process.

Secret 2.  Toss it, sort it, and commit to it

An effective business principle is to welcome all ideas and sort them, but when a decision is reached, you must commit to it and execute that above all else. Doing so will ensure the progress of the project.

Secret 3. Map out the development workflow

Mapping out a development workflow can help you when you encounter complexities in the project. It helps you look at every tool being used and identify dependencies.  

Secret 4.  Set milestones 

Projects may change. Setting small modernization goals will help you adjust your long-term plans and reduce engineering risk. Focus on many small steps when planning for a major milestone. Doing so will ensure smooth progress from one step to another.

Secret 5.  Prioritize data into categories

If you prioritize data into high, moderate, or low categories, you can decide what safeguards to have for each category.

Secret 6.  Do not sew a new cloth on an old cloak

Take a hard look at your development workflow and identify habits that could derail your app modernization process. Don’t just patch up old problems with a new tool. Remember, these problems can derail new tools, so don’t patch, fix.

Secret 7.  Keep your team in the loop

Your team may find it challenging to develop the knowledge they need to work on the new tools. Keeping them informed about the new tools and training them to navigate new workflows can ensure the success of application modernization.

Several aspects may factor into a successful modernization. That is why modernization endeavors are so challenging. However, implementing the above secrets can help the success of app modernization efforts.

Speaking to an expert can help you understand how to proceed with your app modernization needs. Why not reach out to us at Fingent and discuss your project with our software development experts?

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    About the Author

    ...
    Tony Joseph

    Tony believes in building technology around processes, rather than building processes around technology. He specializes in custom software development, especially in analyzing processes, refining it and then building technology around it.He works with clients on a daily basis to understand and analyze their operational structure, discover (and not invent) key improvement areas and come up with technology solutions to deliver an efficient process.

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      Digital presence is no longer confined to a static website. The advent of backend frameworks has helped raise the standards of web development. The backend frameworks are an important aspect of web development. These frameworks help in creating necessary online platforms and applications. Finding a suitable framework that ensures utmost scalability and performance is the key to a successful business.

      However, with many choices available in backend frameworks, finding one that suits a specific business goal can be challenging. This is why we want to help you dive deeper into the popular backend frameworks so you can make the right choice. Here is an unbiased comparison of two popular and trusted backend frameworks: Node.js and Ruby on Rails (ROR).

      An Overview Comparison of Node.js and Ruby on Rails

      Node.js

      Node.js is a server-side open-source tool. It attributes its success to the single-threaded process used for web loads and async programming. Businesses can also use Node.js-based frameworks to enhance the backend capability of a project. This technology can build single-page applications, websites, and backend API services.

      Market Stats Of Node.Js

      • 66.8% expressed interest in continuing to develop with Node.js frameworks.
      • A survey revealed that 85% of Node.js developers use it for web app development.
      • There also has been 3.5% of stack overflow questions addressed regarding Node.js a month.

      Node.js Use Cases

      • Nasa: By creating a single database for any query, Nasa could reduce access time by 300%.
      • Netflix: When they migrated from Java to Node.js, they decreased their startup time from 40 minutes to 60 seconds.

      Read more: Learn why Fingent is recognized as a Top Node.js Company by TopDevelopers.co!

      Ruby on Rails 

      Ruby on Rails is an open-source web application framework written by Ruby. It is the best option for beginners to help them build and deploy web applications and websites.

      Market Stats of Ruby on Rails

      • Ruby on Rails powers 394,000 websites

      Ruby on Rails Use cases 

      • GitHub: GitHub has over 61 million repositories for its 22 million users worldwide. Using Ruby on Rails, they improved performance, documentation, and features.
      • Airbnb: Airbnb boasts over 7 million listings in over 220 countries and regions. Ruby on Rails enabled them to reduce the TTM.

      Pros and Cons of Node.js and Ruby on Rails

      Now that we understand the pro and cons, let us look at a few other comparisons.

      Performance and Speed 

      Performance is important when building complex and large projects.

      Node.js creates the perfect environment for small tasks that do not affect the main application thread. Plus, the JavaScript engine can make multitasking more efficient.

      Ruby on Rails can create efficient web applications with satisfactory performance. RoR applications may slow down in rare cases, like when the traffic scales significantly.

      Application Architecture

      It is important to choose flexibility when choosing a framework. A framework should be a guide, not a standard.

      Node.js enables developers to handle multiple concurrent requests with high performance. in addition, it supports asynchronous communication between various components providing high performance. It ensures faster, flexible development modules and reduces time to market.

      Ruby on Rails, on the other hand, follows MVC architecture. This architecture easier testing and decoupling because of the convenient separation of concerns. Also, since it follows the conventions of the configuration principle, it reduces developers’ legwork.

      Learn more: Case Study – How Fingent helped Be Strong create an application using Node.js framework to prevent bullying, violence, and other mental crises amongst youth.

      Scalability and Ease of Testing 

      Backend frameworks significantly influence web application scalability and ease of testing.

      Node.js builds highly-scalable applications, and the event loop mechanism enables the server to process maximum requests. It is highly compatible with microservices. Hence, development teams can build applications more quickly as they scale. Node.js offers competent testing and debugging capabilities.

      It is possible to scale with ROR if you invest more resources than other leading backend frameworks. However, Inadequate memory management and poor concurrency can create issues when trying to scale quickly on the ROR platform. Testing is simple and effective in ROR, considerably reducing intricacies during the testing phase.

      Microservices Compatibility

      Node.js builds smaller parts of services and code modules to efficiently handle multiple concurrent requests. Hence, Node.js and Microservices are an absolute combination for building enterprise-grade complex applications with higher scalability.

      Though Ruby on Rails leans on monolithic architecture, it can be used in a microservices architecture. Hence, it is compatible with microservices’ needs and deployments.

      Database Support 

      Node.js supports all kinds of databases. However, it is better to use a NoSQL database as it stores data in JSON objects because it offers more accessibility to Node.js.

      Ruby on Rails comes configured for SQLite. However, it allows the use of multiple databases.

      Hiring The Best Developers 

      The large community of Node.js and Ruby on Rails makes it easy to hire developers. If you are considering a backend tool for your project, Fingent top custom software development company can help define your project priorities to help you choose the stack that fits your needs.

      Read more: How we optimized a MEAN Stack project for better performance

      Fingent provides you with top performing talent pool for all your development needs for both these frameworks.  If you struggle to choose, our elite consultants will help you find the right framework that suits your business goals.

      Reach out to us, and let’s talk about what that is.

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        About the Author

        ...
        Sreejith

        I have been programming since 2000, and professionally since 2007. I currently lead the Open Source team at Fingent as we work on different technology stacks, ranging from the "boring"(read tried and trusted) to the bleeding edge. I like building, tinkering with and breaking things, not necessarily in that order.

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          Web Application Development:
          A Detailed Guide for 2022

          Web Application is the first line of contact between your customers and business.

          What is a Web Application?

          A decade ago, web pages were mostly static, with a few images and videos scattered around. In 2005, thanks to Ajax, it made it possible to create better, faster, and more interactive web applications.

          A web application, also known as a web app, is nothing but a computer program that uses a web browser to perform a specific function. A web application is a client-server program that comprises a client-side and a server-side. The user enters data through the client-side (front-end), while the server-side (back-end) of the application stores and processes the information. For example, shopping carts, content management systems, and online forms are typical web applications.

          Both enterprises and individuals develop web applications to fulfill different purposes. Web apps help integrate the tailored experience of native apps with easy access on a website browser from any device. For example, LinkedIn, Basecamp, MailChimp, or even Facebook, have web apps that provide immersive and tailored experiences like the native apps directly from the browser. Hence, web application development is gaining a lot of popularity in almost all industries, including banking, eCommerce, education, healthcare, and more.

          How does a Web Application Work?

          Web applications are accessed over a network and need not be downloaded. Instead, users can access web applications through browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Safari.
          A web application is built around three components- a Web Server, an Application Server, and a Database. The web server manages requests from the client, the application server processes requests, and the database stores the information.

          A typical web application workflow looks like this:

          Web apps are generally coded using JavaScript, HTML5, or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for the client-side programming (front-end). ASP.NET, PHP, Java, and Ruby are commonly used for server-side programming.

          What is Web Application Development?

          Web application development refers to the process of using client-side and server-side programming to develop an application that is accessible over the web browser.
          The web application development process begins by; first, the developer trying to find a solution to a specific problem, then designing the web app by choosing the appropriate development framework. Next, the developer tests the solution and finally deploys the web app.

          Types of Web Applications

          Now that we’ve covered the various aspects of web applications let’s deep dive into the different categories of web applications. Web apps are classified based on their functionalities, tools, and technologies.

          Web App vs. Websites

          Web applications are indeed websites. Users can access both via web browsers, and both require access to the internet. It may seem that there’s no difference between them. However, the lines between a website and a web app are blurred. Web application development differs substantially from website development. Here’s a simplified rundown on the differences between a website and a web application.

          Web Application

          • A web application is dynamic and is designed for user engagement.
          • A web application is interactive and responds to user input.
          • Web applications mostly require authentication.
          • The functions in a web application are quite higher and more complex.
          • The web application needs precompilation before deployment.
          • Integration with other software for web applications is complex.

          Website

          • A website basically contains static content.
          • A website is a one-way informational feed and does not allow user interaction.
          • Authentication is not obligatory for informational websites.
          • The functions of a website are relatively simple.
          • A website does not need not be pre-compiled.
          • Integration is hassle-free for websites.

          Web Apps vs. Mobile Apps

          While web apps and mobile apps are similar in many ways, both are different in many ways. Mobile apps are made exclusively for mobile gadgets and are suitable for Android, iOS, and cross-platform operating systems. Usually, mobile apps are mobile-first, meaning they work effectively on smartphones, tablets, or other handheld mobile devices. Most mobile apps work offline too. Examples include Google Maps, Amazon Kindle, Uber, etc.
          On the other hand, web apps function only with internet connectivity. A web app functions in real-time in a web browser with CPU resources. With adequate internal storage, mobile apps can be downloaded from the app store or play store.

          Benefits of Web Application Development

          Web application comes along with an array of benefits for businesses and users.

          Speed and cost

          Web application development is faster and more economical than building native apps. Therefore, if the primary goal is to accelerate time-to-market, web application development is the best choice for businesses.

          Cross-platform capabilities

          Web applications are programmed to run on any operating system. Due to their cross-platform capabilities, web applications can adapt well to Android, iOS, Mac OS, and Windows phones. In addition, the device responsiveness of web applications helps to get rid of OS dependencies.

          Browser compatibility

          A web application runs on the device’s browser using an accessible URL. Modern web applications are compatible with all browsers, such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Bing. Hence, software compatibility challenges are never roadblocks.

          Reduced operating costs

          Web application development is a great way to cut down operating costs. It drives to eliminate unnecessary expenses such as hardware purchases, frequent device updates, and maintenance of numerous systems.

          Easy to update

          Updating web applications is easy, as only the server(s) would require upgrades.

          Customization

          Custom web application development offers several benefits, such as tailored features for the users. These applications are easily accessible via browsers with a stable internet connection. Custom web apps help cut unnecessary expenses and save time as only required features need to be developed. A custom web app can significantly improve your business traction brand awareness, communicate your brand ideology and help you gain a competitive edge in the chosen target market.

          Expanded Security

          Web applications are typically deployed on dedicated servers, constantly monitored, and managed by experienced server administrators. This is more effective than monitoring hundreds or even thousands of client computers, as with desktop applications. In addition, it ensures tighter security and identifies any potential breaches that could slip off.

          Zero downloads

          Web apps don’t need to be downloaded from app stores such as Apple’s App Store or Google Play. This helps save money since having a direct link through a web app is free.

          Technology Stack for Web Application Development

          The following web development technologies enable the creation of high-performing, fast, and advanced web applications.

          Web Application Development Process

          Whether you decide to develop your web application in-house team or outsource to a company like Fingent, your project will be more successful if you understand the process involved in web application development in advance.

          The number of steps in the web application development process can vary.

          Conceptualize

          The first step is to define the problem you want to solve with a web application and collect all the relevant information needed for app development. A well-defined problem will give an excellent head-start to the project and help you identify the best solution. Next, clarify the purpose and the end goals of the application.

          During the planning phase, the developers will take a run to answer the following questions.

          • What app do you want to build?
          • What features and functions should it include?
          • What is the audience of your product?
          Prototype & Development

          The development phase involves creating a wireframe or prototype to communicate the solution to target users.

          First, the developers will lay out the design elements to provide a delightful user experience to the target audience. The wireframe is then presented to potential users, considers their feedback, and iterates until they're satisfied.

          Post-design, the next step is to build the application. The following steps will happen in this phase.

          • To create a database for storage, the developers need to determine what data and data types are required for the application to perform well.
          • Based on the elements approved by the users during the wireframing process, developers will create the front-end application. The developers need to identify the best frameworks for front-end development.
          • Developers will create interaction between the user and the server.
          • Developers either code from scratch or use front-end and back-end frameworks to develop the web app.
          • Based on the application type, that is, client-side/ server-side/ single-page, programming is done.
          Test and Implement

          Whether an automated or manual web application, testing for the web application is an ongoing process throughout the software development lifecycle. Testing is an inevitable part of the software development process.

          The Testing (QA) team will test the app for usability, compatibility, functionality, security, and performance to eliminate bugs and ensure that the application works without any glitches.Testing also helps identify any possible improvements and upgrades to make in the future.Once the testing is complete, you can finally implement the application in your company or your customer's side.

          When using it for your company, you will have to train your employees to use the app productively (if the app requires training). In addition, you will have to create a communication strategy for customers and decide on the appropriate timing to launch the application in the market.

          At Fingent, we help you perform all the mandatory software and usability testing to ensure that your web app functions seamlessly. We also provide training and support to use the apps effectively.

          Hosting and Maintenance

          You must buy a domain and choose a hosting provider to create a server location for the app. We help you choose shared hosting, dedicated hosting, or cloud hosting based on your requirements. Be it a simple website or complex web application, and every digital product needs routine checks and enhancements. Maintenance of the application or website includes:

          • Ongoing QA testing
          • Bug fixes and improvements
          • Addressing changes and adding features based on user feedback
          • Providing regular updates and technical support

          Web Application Development Validation And Deployment

          Once your web app is developed and ready to be launched, it is critical to perform testing to ensure that the application functions correctly before its deployment. Bug fixing alone is not sufficient. Therefore, testing is vital to web application development.
          A standard web application undergoes the following testing,
          After completing the quality assurance process, your web app is ready for launch. You can use GitHub, Beanstalk App, and Bitbucket App to deploy the web app to your servers. Any new features, changes, and improvements to the deployed application are implemented according to the user’s feedback.

          Web Development Trends for 2022

          Web development has progressed over the years and is progressing with the emergence of newer technologies. A website is the face of a business rather than mere codes. More than one-third of visitors prefer to hold on to websites with attractive content and a clean layout. In 2022, companies are more than ready to apply the latest web development trends to improve conversions and develop engaging websites without having to code. If you want to stay ahead, it is vital to focus on the latest trends, updates, techniques, and web development approaches. Why developers should bring out more innovative web development approaches- the fact is it boosts business growth rather exponentially and globally.

          Apps For Multiple Domains With .NET Core

          .NET Core gives you consistency across all architectures by running your code with the same behavior. Be it gaming, IoT, mobile, or AI – we can help you develop high-performing, secure, cost-effective, and flexible applications in any domain with .NET Core. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Building Exceptional Apps With C#

          C# is a highly versatile programming language commonly used for developing websites, Windows applications, and games. With its foundation deep-rooted in the Microsoft platform, C# is one of the most-cherished and reliable languages to build robust applications. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Enterprise Web Applications With ASP.NET

          ASP.NET is a framework for building web apps and services with .NET and C#. ASP.NET allows you to build large and complex applications by reducing the amount of code required. This, in turn, reduces the application development time and costs involved. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Microsoft Azure Cloud Services

          Take advantage of the cloud through hybrid cloud-based solutions with Microsoft Azure. We can help you migrate your solution to the cloud, enabling you with on-demand and secure resources of Azure. Scale according to your needs and improve your business agility. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Enhance Collaboration With SharePoint Development

          Fingent’s Microsoft team can help you develop robust SharePoint solutions that empower your organization with efficient collaboration and communication. We can help you build intuitive interfaces and simple navigation features for effective document management. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Streamline Processes With PowerApps

          Microsoft Power Apps enables you to build low-code, professional-grade apps that can modernize your business processes and drive innovation across your organization. Infuse your enterprise apps with AI and automation, powered by PowerApps. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Business Analytics Service Using Power BI

          Leveraging Microsoft Power BI, we enable businesses to develop interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities through simple and intuitive interfaces. Enrich your business as well as end-users with custom reports and dashboards powered by insightful data. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

          By leveraging UWP API, we help you create universal apps that run on Windows 10 compatible devices without the need to be re-written for each. As the name suggests, the Universal Windows Platform allows you to create apps that run on multiple types of devices. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

          Using WPF, we incorporate visually stunning user experiences into your Windows desktop applications that include features like rich user interface, media, complex business models, animation, effects, styles, templates, controls, data binding, and so on. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Business Intelligence With SQL Server

          Our expertise with Microsoft data platforms can empower you with real-time data for improved decision-making. Our Microsoft capabilities can help in uniting several disparate information sources and create reports from across varied systems and databases. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          Highly Responsive Applications With Cosmos DB

          We help you develop highly responsive and highly available applications on Cosmos DB using the popular open source software APIs. Experience low latency, high throughput, real-time responses, and tunable consistency with this multi-model, NoSQL database service. Let’s Discuss Your Project

          The Future of Web Application Development

          The web development industry is in flux and is constantly evolving. Therefore, it is paramount for us always to look ahead and learn about what's coming up or any risk being left in the web development dust. Web development is defined through the upcoming trends and changes in the digital world. Businesses around the globe are in a quest to build outstanding websites to up their online presence with all-new frameworks, tools, and advancements. If you want your business to stay ahead of the race, the smartest thing u can do is to try out innovative and experimental things like Augmented Reality (AR) or Artificial Intelligence. Here's a quick glance at some of the exciting developments likely to happen in the near future.

          Smarter Apps with Data Science

          Data Science is impacting web development positively. Data science helps extract significant user information on a large scale using statistics, analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Using the extraction of meaningful information, web development is now guided into a more fruitful system to impact the business's bottom line. With data science and machine learning, you can target the right customers with personalized content at the right time within your application.

          Augmented Reality

          Product visualization is the most sought-after requirement among today's customers. Augmented reality has the potential to change the shopping game. Most online shoppers prefer shopping sites to integrate some form of augmented reality for a personalized experience. AR experiences in different ways are the key for customers to become more engaged in various platforms and the digital world overall. The future is not too far, where AR experiences will move into the mainstream and cease to be viewed as a niche technology.

          Pageless Websites

          Pageless website is a new-age concept that takes an alternative choice on web design. The entire contents of a website are displayed on a single page with an endless scroll instead of having multiple pages. With responsive elements, guided narrative, and intuitive scrolling, users can surf the entire contents of the website with ease.

          Metaverse

          The Metaverse is the new kid on the block that seeks to bring together many different technologies to offer users a new web experience. Today, users view content on the web. But on the Metaverse, users will be immersed in the content. Thanks to technologies like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Machine Learning, and other forms of Artificial Intelligence. Metaverse is the next iteration of the internet where users can navigate through a virtual space instead of the current two-dimensional screen.

          Cost of Web Application Development

          The cost of a complicated and custom web application development process would again differ from pre-defined, packaged, and general-purpose applications. For example, suppose the app requires developing APIs and plugins or complex technical stacks, separate UX/UI elements, brand identity development, etc. In that case, the pricing will go up as the advantages are humongous.

          Numerous factors influences the cost of web application development. As no two apps are the same, the price will vary, based on:
          • Features and functionality of the web application
          • Complexity of the application
          • Phase-wise development plan
          • Development team size
          • Platforms selected to develop the app
          • Technology stacks selected
          • Estimated project timelines
          Features
          Functionality
          Team Size
          Technology
          Level of complexity
          Time

          Top 5 Web Apps that Revolutionized the World

          A polished web app is almost a mandate for successful digital businesses today. Many apps have changed the public's perception of what they can expect and what is possible. It includes everything a typical user might look for in an app regarding design, usability, reliability, and security. Here's a rundown on five apps that has made a difference to the world.

          Facebook

          Facebook is a free social networking website that allows people to connect with others online. It lets users share photographs, post comments, post links to interesting content on the web, live chat, and watch videos. Facebook's success is attributed to its ability to appeal to both people and businesses and its ability to interact with websites around the web by providing a single login that works across multiple sites.

          Whatsapp

          WhatsApp is a free, multi-platform messaging app that lets users make video and voice calls, send text messages, share their status, and make payments, all with just an internet connection. The most appealing feature of this app is that it works on various phones and computer operating systems, which bestows uninterrupted conversations anytime, anywhere. WhatsApp serves more than 2 billion people in over 180 countries, with over a billion daily active users.

          Uber

          Uber is a transportation company that has developed an app to allow passengers to hail a ride, and drivers get paid. The app integrates with Google maps for tracking locations, routes and directing people to their destination. Uber uses smartphone app technology to connect passengers and drivers via a car-for-hire method. Most people love the simplicity of opening the app, telling where they want to go, and then seeing an Uber driver show up in a matter of minutes.

          Instagram

          Instagram is a free, popular photo-sharing app that Facebook acquired in 2012. It allows users to edit and upload photos and short videos through a mobile app. Like other social networking platforms, Instagram users can like, comment, share and bookmark others' posts. It also includes a feature of private chats and video conferencing with friends.

          Tiktok

          TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos. A young crowd commonly uses the app as an outlet to express themselves through singing, dancing, comics, and lip-syncing, making fun videos and sharing them across a community. In addition, users can follow other users, like, and comment on other users' videos. TikTok app quickly soared to popularity and amassed over 500 million monthly active users, the US being the most popular country where it is downloaded over 80 million times.

          What Can A Web Application Do for Your Business?

          With the internet being commonplace for most modern-day businesses, web applications are a quintessential tool for better growth in their market share. If you need to bring your company or business before the right users, the secret is to be found online with a creative and engaging web application. Web applications are of paramount importance than official websites when it comes to winning business goals and generating profits. Let’s explain the different areas a web application can help your business.
          First Point of Engagement

          A web application is the first point of access to your business and brand for your customers. Your app is the place that reflects what you do, your services, products, and your reputation. You can stand out from your competitors by having a web application that looks interesting and clearly communicates quality information to your customers. Therefore, hiring a professional web application development company is judicious to understand your vision and shape the application accordingly.

          A company or business without a web app or website may question the legitimacy of the business. So, having an app is an opportunity to build a great first impression and give people assurance that you’re a genuine business.

          Boost Online Brand Visibility

          Web applications play a crucial role in the branding process of a business. Showcasing your brand to your prospective customers is the key to positioning your business in the market. A web application is an underlying framework for branding your products or services because branding acts as the bridge to maintain a proper communication channel between potential customers and your business.

          Clearly conveying to the customers who you are, what you provide, and what your brand represents raises your business popularity coupled with building a customer base. A web application is your brand's voice that reaches out to the world through multiple social media platforms.

          Improve Customer Loyalty

          Your app is one of the most powerful assets for helping business owners improve customer relationships and increase efficiency. In addition to showcasing your offering or describing who you are, your application is one of the key tools for connecting with your existing customers and keeping them engaged. In order to create customer loyalty, you need to give your customers a reason to return.

          Web applications come in handy with a lot of scopes to build customer loyalty programs to win customers’ hearts. Even simple changes to your app can go a long way toward building your brand and encouraging more customers to use your app frequently. Your application can be the key to increasing customer loyalty, a critical piece of the puzzle.

          Easily Customizable and Scalable

          As your business expands, your web applications need upgrades. Off-the-shelf applications are neither flexible nor scalable, limiting their capabilities. Custom web applications are developed specifically to suit your business requirements. It is completely scalable and flexible, harmonizing with your business growth and demands. Custom applications grow with your business without any hassles of switching to new applications or extra license purchases. Moreover, the advent of cloud-native apps further enhances the flexibility and scalability of applications by adding more value to the business.

          Enhanced Customer Support

          The prompt and user-friendly customer support offered by web applications becomes more approachable and less intimidating for customers. So, the users of the app feel more comfortable with the company and are likely to stick on for a long time.

          Web apps help to create an engaging space for customers to interact with brands and provide a dedicated space to track and manage all the customer support queries. The beauty of web applications is that they can be accessed at any time from any location. Hence, providing any customer assistance is never an obstacle.

          Why develop your Web Application with Fingent?

          Web application development is a mandate for your organization to lead the digital space and reach out to more customers in the future. Fingent provides a wide array of software development services from software customization to building Web, Mobile, Enterprise, and Cloud applications across various industries.

          Fingent is a high-end custom software development company that has been helping businesses -small and large- across the globe with innovative solutions. We help build your brand, increase your brand identity, promote your products and services to help you gain a competitive advantage.

          Explore our range of services.

          Our web application development services are specifically designed to help you meet your goals, considering your business infrastructure and key facets of your industry.

          18+

          Years of Experience

          8

          Centers of Excellence (CoE)

          800+

          Completed Projects

          Transparent Project Management

          500+

          Qualified Professionals

          Dedicated QA Practices

          Most Common Q&As on Web Development

          What is better: Multi-page Website or Single-page Website?

          While both are good at their place, most people prefer the single-page website. This is because a single-page website offers ease of interaction and access compared to a Multi-page website.

          If your business has a lot to do with queries and solutions or customer interactions, it is recommended you get a chat window.

          For quality web application development, you should include both to help you avail more benefits. A combination of frameworks and pure codes will work as it will take less time and ensure quality development.

          Some of the renowned web app development technologies are:

          • Models:
              HTML, XSL, XML
          • Animation:   AJAX, Flash, jQuery UI, ActionScript, JavaScript
          • Databases:   MS SQL, MySQL, Microsoft Access, SQLite, Oracle, PostgreSQL
          • CMS:   WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Kentico, Sitecore, Sitefinity, Sanity
          • Programming:   C#, PHP, ASP, ASP.NET, ASP.NET+MVC, Python, Ruby, Django, Go
          • Payment Systems:   PayPal, Assist, MoneyBookers, SMS, OSMP

          The choice to outsource or hire in-house solely depends on your specific business situation.

          Hiring an in-house developer will ensure that you have complete control over the entire development process, which is definitely great for some businesses. But it also calls for long preparation time and extra expenses. On the contrary, outsourcing cuts down costs and avoids hiring new employees altogether – which can be very useful if you are short of time or money.

          If your outsourcing partner is a reputable and experienced agency, you can rest assured that they will care for all your web development needs without sacrificing quality.

          Get Latest Insights on Web Application Development



          Top Technologies Used to Develop Mobile App



          Progressive Web App Development: 10 Benefits – Fingent



          How Mobile and Web Apps Increase Customer Engagement

          Stay up to date on what's new

            About the Author

            ...
            Vedavyas Shenoy

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              A comprehensive guide to web application development in 2021

               

               

              Introduction

              A decade ago, web pages were mostly static, with a few images and videos thrown in here and there. In 2005, however, thanks to Ajax, it made it possible to create better, faster, and more interactive web applications.

              In 2021, though web application development has reached its peak of fame, web apps have become so common that they often go unnoticed. With a reputed web application development partner like Fingent, you can develop intuitive and custom web applications that simplify your day-to-day operations.

              Read more: Fingent Ranked as India’s Top Software Developer for 2021  

              top software developer

              Web apps help integrate the tailored experience of native apps with easy access on a website browser from any device. LinkedIn, Basecamp, MailChimp, or even Facebook, all have web apps that provide immersive and tailored experiences like the native apps directly from the browser. That is why web application development is gaining a lot of popularity in almost all industries, including banking, eCommerce, education, healthcare, and more.

              What is a Web Application?

              Also known as a web app, a web application is nothing but a computer program that uses a web browser to perform a specific function. Contact forms, for example, are web apps present on many websites.

              As a web application is a client-server program, it has a client-side and a server-side. Here, the client refers to the program the individual uses to run the application. It is a part of the client-server environment where many computers share data. A typical example of a web application is the database. Here, the user enters data through the client-side (front-end), while the server-side (back-end) of the application stores and processes the information.

              Both enterprises and individuals develop web applications to fulfill different purposes.

               

              Case Study: How we built Ambit AI, a light-touch AI-powered web application for processing workers’ compensation claims. Download Now!

               

              What is Web Application Development?

              Web application development refers to the process of using client-side and server-side programming to develop an application that is made accessible over the web browser.

              In the initial phase of the web application development process, the developer tries to find a solution to a specific problem and then designs the web app by choosing the appropriate development framework. Later, the developer tests and deploys the web app.

              Read more: The 101 Guide to Web Application Development 

              Web Apps vs. Mobile Apps

              While web apps and mobile apps are similar in many ways, both are different in many ways.

              Mobile apps are made exclusively for mobile gadgets and are suitable for Android, iOS, and Cross-platform operating systems. Usually, mobile apps are mobile-first, meaning they work effectively on smartphones, tablets, or other handheld mobile devices. Most mobile apps work offline too. Examples include Google Maps, Amazon Kindle, Uber, etc. On the other hand, web apps function only when you have internet connectivity. A web app functions in real-time in a web browser with CPU resources. As long as you have adequate internal storage, you can download a mobile app from an app store or play store.

              Read more: How are Mobile Apps Different from Websites  

              web app Blog cover

              Types of Web Applications

              Typically, web applications are classified into three categories based on the tools and technologies it uses.

              1. Client-side web application

              Client-side refers to everything the user sees at the end-user side, such as text, images, videos, forms, and the other UI. Client-side web applications are written using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and they work in a web browser. Angular js, Vue js, Ember js, Backbone js, Node js, etc., are some of the popular JavaScript libraries used for front-end development.

              You can consider client-side web app building when you don’t need to preserve the user information for more than one session. It is perfect for easy games or image editors. Google Earth is a leading example of a client-side web application.

              2. Server-side web application

              These are web apps that can be coded in several programming languages such as Python, C+, Ruby, PHP, etc. If you develop an app with just the server-side, then the outcome of any changes in the form submission, sections, and data updates will create a new HTML file and cause the web page to reload.

              Server-side programming is beneficial if you want your web application to deliver information tailored for individual users. For instance, e-commerce applications like Amazon use server-side programming to create product search results, offer product suggestions based on past buying habits, enhance user experience, and simplify the purchasing process.

              3. Single-page web application

              Single-page applications are designed to work in a browser and do not require reloading while in use. Most of our daily apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Drive, Gmail, etc., are single-page apps. Single-page web applications offer an unmatched user experience as the user doesn’t have to wait for page reloads. Single-page applications are highly responsive to user queries as they do not depend heavily on client-server communication.

              Read more: A Detailed Guide to Types of Software Applications  

              types of software

              Technology Stacks for Web Application Development

              The following web development technologies enable you to create a high-performing, fast, and advanced web application.

              1. Database technologies

              Due to its simplicity and multifunctionality, MySQL is one of the most preferred databases utilized for web application development. Other popular database technologies include Oracle Database, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, MongoDB, and RavenDB.

              2. Front-end technologies

              To develop the client-side of an app that the users interact with, you can choose highly efficient front-end JavaScript frameworks such as:

              • React JS: This is a robust and most widely used JS framework for developing large-scale and complex dynamic web apps.
              • Angular JS: A popular front-end framework by Google, Angular JS is suitable for building dynamic web apps, using HTML for static web pages.
              • Vue JS: Fairly new, this JS framework does wonders for applications. Vue JS provides an ecosystem of assisting libraries and an accessible primary library for applying huge complex page apps.
              • Backbone JS: This lightweight JS library has a RESTful JSON interface that follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) application design standard. Backbone JS helps develop and structure the client-side applications that run in a web browser.
              • Node JS: It is a cross-platform, open-source JS runtime that runs on the V8 engine and is designed to build scalable network applications.
              • Ember JS: It is an open-source JS framework ideal for developing single-page applications.

              The above list features only some of the leading JavaScript frameworks used for client-side programming.

              3. Backend Technology

              Frameworks such as Go, Ruby, Java, Django & Python are some of the most powerful back-end development technologies.

              • Ruby: Ruby is an open-source, general-purpose, object-oriented programming language used to build highly secure and fast web applications.
              • Java: A multi-purpose programming language, Java is leveraged for Android app development, desktop apps, and web app development. Java offers excellent security and stability.
              • Django & Python – Python is flexible, advanced, and has a low learning curve. This programming language covers back-end web development. Python, along with its framework Django, can meet back-end development tasks efficiently.
              • Go: Designed by Google’s developers, Go is an open-source programming language that is fast and statistically compiled. It helps build simple, reliable, and concurrent web applications.

              Read more: Top 6 Stacks That Reign Software Development in 2020  

              Benefits of Web Application Development

              • Speed and cost: Web application development is faster and more economical than building native apps. If your primary goal is to accelerate time-to-market, then web application development is the best choice.
              • Cross-platform capabilities: Web applications can be programmed to run on any operating system. Due to their cross-platform capabilities, web applications can adapt well to Android, iOS, Mac OS, and Windows phones. Device responsiveness of web applications helps you get rid of OS dependencies.
              • Browser compatibility: A web application runs on the device’s browser using an accessible URL. Modern web applications are compatible with all browsers, such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Bing. So, you don’t have to face software compatibility challenges.
              • No downloads needed: Web apps don’t need to be downloaded from app stores such as Apple’s App Store or Google Play. This helps save money since having a direct link through a web app is free.
              • Easy to update: Updating web applications is easy, as only the server(s) would require upgrades.
              • Cut operating costs: Web application development is a great way to cut operating costs. You can eliminate unnecessary expenses such as hardware purchases, frequent device updates, and maintenance of numerous systems.
              • Custom web applications: Custom web application development offers several benefits as you can tailor the features for the users. These applications are easily accessible via browsers with a stable internet connection. Custom web apps help cut unnecessary expenses and save time as you only need to develop the required features.

              Read more: Custom Software Development is The Ideal Way to Build Business Apps in 2021  

              Custom software

              A custom web app can significantly improve your business traction, brand awareness, communicate your brand ideology and help you gain a competitive edge in the chosen target market.

              Web Application Development Process

              Here is an overview of the steps we follow at Fingent for developing web applications.

              1. Conceptualize

              The first step is to define the problem you want to solve with a web application and collect all the relevant information needed for app development. A well-defined problem will give an excellent head-start to the project and help you identify the best solution. Next, clarify the purpose as well as the end goals of the application.

              Ask these questions during the planning phase:

              • What app do you want to build?
              • What features and functions should it include?
              • What is the audience of your product?

              2. Design and build

              The designing phase involves creating a wireframe for communicating the solution to target users. Then, the developers can consider designing elements that will provide an enjoyable user experience to the target audience.

              Post-design, the next step is to build (develop) the application. The following steps will happen in this phase.

              • To create a database for storage, the developers need to determine what data and data types are required for the application to perform well.
              • Based on the elements approved by the users during the wireframing process, developers will create the front-end application. For this, the developers need to identify the best frameworks for front-end development.
              • Developers will create interaction between the user and the server.
              • Developers can either code from scratch or use front-end and back-end frameworks to develop the web app.
              • Based on the application type, that is, client-side/ server-side/ single-page, programming is done.

              3. Test and implement

              Whether it is an automated or manual web application, testing for the web application is an ongoing process throughout the software development lifecycle.

              • The Testing (QA) team will have to test the app for usability, compatibility, functionality, security, and performance to eliminate bugs and ensure that the application works without any glitches.
              • Testing also helps identify any possible improvements and upgrades to make in the future.
              • Once the testing is completed, you can finally implement the application in your company or customers.
              • When using it for your company, you will have to train your employees to use the app productively (if the app requires training).
              • For customers, you will have to create a communication strategy and decide on the appropriate timing to launch the application in the market.

              At Fingent, we help you perform all the mandatory software and usability testing to ensure that your web app functions seamlessly. We also provide training and support to use the apps effectively.

              4. Hosting and Maintenance

              You must buy a domain and choose a hosting provider to create a server location for the app. We help you choose shared hosting, dedicated hosting, or cloud hosting based on your requirements.

              We also help you maintain the web application. Some of our application maintenance services include:

              • Ongoing QA testing
              • Bug fixes and improvements
              • Addressing changes and adding features based on user feedback
              • Providing regular updates and technical support

              Read more: Cloud Service Models SaaS, PaaS, IaaS: Choose the Right One for Your Business  

              Web Application Development Validation & Deployment

              Once your web app is developed and ready to be launched, remember it must be tested to ensure that the app functions correctly before its deployment. Bug fixing alone is not sufficient. Testing is vital to web application development.

              We perform standard web application testing, such as:

              • Usability Testing
              • Performance Testing
              • Application Security Testing
              • Quality Assurance Testing and Bug Fixing
              • Browser Compatibility Testing
              • Responsiveness Testing (Responsive Web Design)

              After completing the quality assurance process, your web app is ready for launch. You can use GitHub, Beanstalk App, and Bitbucket App to deploy the web app to your servers. Any new features, changes, and improvements to the deployed application are implemented according to the user’s feedback.

              With over a decade of experience in web application development, Fingent helps you cover all these processes.

              Read more: Offshoring Software Development: Here’s All You Need to Know  

              Offshoring software development

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                About the Author

                ...
                Vinod Saratchandran

                Vinod has conceptualized and delivered niche mobility products that cater to various domains including logistics, media & non-profits. He leads, mentors & coaches a team of Project Coordinators & Analysts at Fingent.

                Talk To Our Experts

                  How e-commerce adoption benefits B2B healthcare providers and device makers 

                  The healthcare and life sciences industry is expanding at an exponential rate. The complexity and regulatory nature of the industry have made it imperative that technology catches up with its pace and offers solutions to meet this expansion. This need is being felt more acutely at the moment with the COVID-19 pandemic on the loose. As the pandemic spreads its poison and puts the B2B healthcare and life sciences e-commerce market into a state of flux, it forces large and small organizations to cope with a range of problems that include difficult purchase decisions, supply chain disruptions, and fulfillment and delivery issues. This calls for a technological solution tailored to suit the B2B healthcare and life sciences industry. 

                  With over 17 years of experience in delivering customized technological solutions including developing e-commerce platforms for B2B clients, we provide B2B e-commerce web application development services for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and so on. Also, our mobile app development services specialize in the designing and development of custom B2B e-commerce apps. 

                  Case Study: Fingent’s solution for our client Bonanza – Streamlining Online Listing and Inventory Management

                  In this article, we will explore five specific ways in which B2B e-commerce is that solution and how it will transform healthcare and life sciences.

                  Immediate and lasting impact on the B2B e-commerce market

                  In the present scenario, especially from a healthcare and life sciences manufacturing and supply perspective, the impact is immediate throughout the entire supply chain. Manufacturing companies are unable to keep up with the demand, and distributors are rushing to create workflows in an attempt to mitigate customer complaints. Distributors are being forced to claw their way to the front of the line to obtain supplies from manufacturers, stock up on products, and take care of their customers.  

                  Healthcare and life sciences organizations typically have disaster preparedness plans, but dealing with such an unprecedented disaster is another ball game altogether. The question has shifted from purchasing to inventory, from buying to stocking.  It makes it challenging to find the space to hold extra products that these industries may need and that causes anxiety to all parties within the supply chain. 

                  B2B e-commerce offers irresistible opportunities for purchasers and medical suppliers

                  B2B e-commerce works largely on a distribution-based model where customers get their supplies from local distributors or dealers. Thus far, e-commerce has been disrupting the offline system of the B2B industry at a slow pace. However, with the spread of coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown, various industries including healthcare and life sciences are switching to online buying options to prevent human contact. This has resulted in B2B e-commerce experiencing an unprecedented boost in traffic and sales in just a matter of a few weeks. 

                  Read More: Contactless Retail Delivery Software –  How Retailers Can Revive Sales While Adhering To Social Distancing Norms

                  While buyers turn to an online purchase, many suppliers have adapted their strategy to foster online sales, dedicating a certain amount of their budget to digital marketing and communications. The current pandemic is imposing digitization of all B2B businesses that would help to communicate with the buyers and generate sales. Digitization of the supply chain is a crucial aspect of e-commerce because it encourages transparency and shows real-time availability of goods right from the manufacturers to the buyers. This makes it extremely important for suppliers to implement digitization in their supply chain. 

                  The present COVID situation has forced most suppliers to work from home. Those who have already been using digital media are able to manage work remotely. However, others need to think over and plan to reform their business model to adapt to the new era of e-commerce. The pandemic might be temporary, but this trend is not going to be! This is a breakthrough that will continue far into the future. Now is the best time to be innovative, leverage the benefits of the latest digital technology, data analytics, and AI and unlock the potential of digitalization and e-commerce in B2B business. An advanced e-commerce solution built on the latest technology facilitates seamless interactions online across marketing, product discovery, sales, and post-sale service in the B2B sellers’ space. 

                  Read More: E-commerce ERP Software

                  Five ways B2B e-commerce can be transformative

                  As B2B e-commerce forges ahead, the healthcare and life sciences industries will prove to be faster adopters than others. They can fully leverage real-time data tracking inventory and logistics between buyers and sellers. For manufacturers and distributors who sell to hospitals and nursing homes, the level of information presented to buyers in the B2B space can depend on the size of the organization or the customer that is doing the transaction. Depending on the frequency of the order, the level of sophistication of information may vary.  Shifting to B2B e-commerce will prove to be a much-needed transformation. 

                  Here are five ways that this transformation will be seen: 

                  1. Online Shopping Drives Online Presence

                  E-commerce is changing the way people and end-users (such as doctors) shop for healthcare products and the way those products reach the hands of customers. Instead of visiting a pharmacy, most customers are turning to the internet to perform the functions of a regular pharmacy. Healthcare and life sciences companies use a business model that features quick delivery to a patient’s door or to hospitals and healthcare centers. Investors see promise in this revolutionary approach to medication fulfillment, demonstrating that the market has confidence in this model despite the shifting healthcare and life sciences landscape. 

                  With more and more people turning to the internet to access products and medical care, the healthcare and life sciences industries have been increasingly concerned with the quality of their online presence. According to an online medical marketplace, 50% of their customers are referred by their primary provider or by hospital staff, and 20% are referred by family or friends. This highlights the need for the healthcare and life sciences industries to increase their online presence and maintain it. 

                  2. Helps explore new possibilities while cutting costs and time 

                  Shifting to an online B2B e-commerce process can help businesses recover 25-30 percent of their investment. Some of the more mature players might even see higher returns of their business through online orders. 

                  Migrating more orders online frees up time for sales reps. They can concentrate on introducing new products and capitalize on opportunities for new business. This allows industry leaders to use their time and ability to explore new channels of business and revenue streams. This can also help expand their client base and move into new markets. 

                  B2B e-commerce enables the healthcare and life sciences companies to see where the business is coming from, where the segments are online and where they are offline. It also gives them the ability to offer variable discounts with certain customers, on certain products, or even just one customer. It will make drug prices more transparent and market-oriented. 

                  Read more: Odoo E-commerce5 Reasons to Integrate Your E-commerce Application with Odoo ERP

                  3. Transforms Logistics Operations

                  Synchronization of logistic operations is critical for the success of any business. Enterprise customers generally look for reliability, speed, traceability, and convenience in delivery along with effective product returns, and exchange policy of damaged products. 

                  Technology solutions for B2B e-commerce provide orchestration with an application that is to be hosted on an e-commerce website. The open standard in these applications facilitates information exchange that allows real-time visibility for seamless integration across supply chain stakeholders. E-commerce offerings can provide credibility and trust for transactions between companies involved in the supply chain. 

                  4. Enables Customer Personalization

                  B2B e-commerce enables customer personalization. Enterprise customers want personalized solutions. B2B e-commerce provides a customer portal with content organized around the parameters of their past purchase history and price optimization algorithms that are adjusted on the basis of the relationship. E-commerce offerings are simple, flexible, and convenient. B2B players can use a comprehensive suite of tools that are available to help their customers navigate the site. Certain platforms incorporate live online support to assist with any queries or issues which can improve conversion levels and facilitate buying decisions.

                  5. Sheer Momentum 

                  Many medical device companies are already selling products online to enterprise customers. The healthcare and life sciences market is ripe for disruption. Medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies will continue to deliver to wholesalers and distributors, but e-commerce allows them to embark on direct-to-patient delivery. Logistics is ready to respond with tailored services for various products. B2B e-commerce is set to propel healthcare and life sciences forward in the extremely near future.

                  Take Action

                  Ultimately, healthcare and life sciences e-commerce will facilitate the redistribution of stakeholders’ offline enterprise transformation and reconstruct all the links of the value chain. Realizing the benefits of B2B e-commerce, many healthcare and life sciences companies are becoming believers. 

                  Read more: Top 5 Open-source ERP Systems for Medical Equipment Suppliers

                  E-commerce can effectively optimize operating processes, reduce costs, manage resource allocations, and address the increasingly diversified consumer healthcare demands. The healthcare and life sciences companies must understand that due to the conditions of accelerated technology change, it has become critical for enterprises to become more skilled in deciding their future course and be firm in taking action. If you need help with this, we at Fingent are here to help you take that next step. Get in touch with us and just let us know what you need. 

                   

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                    About the Author

                    ...
                    Girish R

                    Girish R, Programmer for 17 yrs, Blogger at Techathlon.com, LifeHacker, DIYer. He loves to write about technology, Open source & gadgets. He currently leads the mobile app development team at Fingent.

                    Talk To Our Experts

                      Custom Software Development: What To Do and Not To Do

                      The “build versus buys” debate in software development seems to have tipped in favor of custom software development as more and more businesses recognize the implications of customization on their growth. With rising competition, it has become imperative for each business to differentiate itself from its competitors in every way and custom software development rests at the core of this differentiation. 

                      That being said, software development has seen its fair share of fails even when it is labeled custom. This makes it extremely important that your project is carefully planned out and well-executed. With many years of experience as custom software developers, we have put together a list of do’s and don’ts to help make your custom software development project a success. This blog will discuss 5 of them. Before that, let’s drive home the reasons why custom software is imperative for businesses. 

                      Related Reading: Check out the top reasons why custom software development is important to your business.

                      Custom Software: The Backbone of Business

                       Custom software fulfills specific business requirements, which are unique to specific businesses. This helps businesses gain a competitive advantage and leverage the software to build processes that define an effective USP. While this in itself is an uppercut to reckon with, let’s have a look at a few more points that will help deliver the knockout punch in favor of custom software development.

                      • Solution Matches Need: Since custom applications are developed with your specifications in mind, the final solution will effectively address your needs. Therefore, it simplifies the entire business process saving time and effort.  
                      • Minimal training: Tailored features make it very easy to use and require minimal training to get started on the software. When the software is optimized for each department, the interface requirements will be customized to match the needs and skill level of your employees.
                      • Works with your Business Model: As the custom solution is built around your business model, it will have the user roles and interoperability functions that your departments need to function effectively. 
                      • Unique Code and Enhanced Protection: By developing a unique code that is specific to your software, custom software minimizes external threats and unauthorized access. 
                      • Long Term Cost Benefits: Custom software helps automate several manual processes and thus saves on manpower. It also eliminates the licensing costs that accrue with off-the-shelf solutions.
                      • Increased Scalability: Custom software developers work on a long-term basis and can easily scale the software according to the growth of the business.

                      https://www.fingent.com/insights/portfolio/choosing-custom-software-over-commercial-off-the-shelf-solutions/

                      The Dos and Don’ts

                      There are several key steps involved in creating custom software. It involves a combination of foresight and creativity. Here are a few time-tested Do’s and Don’ts to help avoid the usual pitfalls that have been known to crop up in this process.

                      1. Pre-Planning

                      Don’t: Do not Ignore Preparation

                      Clients who are looking for a quick solution for their app requirements generally hire developers who agree to unreasonable deadlines. Under such circumstances, the planning and research step is often ignored and that has a ripple effect on the following stages. Not acquiring the necessary materials from the beginning can leave the company unprepared. This can lead to additional changes and the timeline for your project will have to be pushed back, not to mention escalating the costs involved.

                      Do: Prepare, Prepare!

                      The planning stage is crucial because it allows the developer to do a thorough SWOT of the idea. At this stage, some have found it helpful to include sketches or outlines and functionality options of the application. It works best to gather all the necessary information at the earliest stage to ensure your project stays on budget. This allows the project to stay on schedule.

                      2. Ensure its Customization

                      Don’t: Create for Yourself

                      You must have heard of the False Consensus Effect, where one thinks that others also think the same way he/she thinks. This can happen while designing the app. It is easy to put our ideas into a design and expect others to like it just because we liked it. That works contrary to the thought of customization. 

                      Do: Keep it User-Centered

                      Consider carefully what the general user would appreciate. Developers must stick to the requirements drawn up at the planning stage while continuing to give their inputs on the initial ideas. Take pride in creating a user-centered app.

                      3. Technical Feasibility and Prototype

                      Don’t: Allow Misunderstandings

                      Misunderstanding the business’ requirements, miscommunication about the platform and the format can lead to major issues in creating the app.

                      Do: Keep Lines of Communication Open

                      Actively communicate with the team about the technical requirements and provide a timeline for building the prototype. It is difficult to visualize what an app would look like and how it will function unless there is a prototype. Ensure that you communicate frequently with management and obtain feedback at every stage of the development. 

                      4. Design and Development

                      Don’t: Ignore Key Requirements

                      Design and development are the stages that take the most amount of time. Ignoring key requirements might lead developers to spend valuable time coding for a bad end-product. Functionality demands might be misread which leads to a loss of time and missed deadlines.

                      Do: Understand the Needs

                      It is vital to understand the UI/UX needs of the business to gain clarity and minimize work. The app will go through a lot of different changes. When changes are required, ensure that the development team and management are on the same page. Once decisions are made, stick to them.

                      5. QA Testing

                      Don’t: Be Negligent

                      The testing team should not be negligent towards post-development issues such as bugs, form functionalities, and security licenses. This could negatively impact the launch of the application. It could either be delayed or the app might face a post-launch backlash. Ensure that the app is not launched until all aspects have been tested and are up to the standards required.

                      Do: A thorough QA Test

                      App testing is a tedious job, but it is an important final stage. Compatibility, interface, security, and performance are some of the factors that should go through a rigorous check. Remember, after this whatever happens with the app will be in full public view.

                      Achieve Efficiency and Growth with Custom Software Development

                      Leading companies save time and costs in the long run when they customize their software according to their business model. Whether it’s creating accounting software or an HR solution or a customer-facing application, custom software allows you to choose the features you need for your business and employees. If you want to find business flexibility and growth, custom software is the right answer. It meets the needs of the company while allowing the business to grow without being limited by on-the-shelf software. To find how custom software development can do wonders to your business, call our experts today!

                       

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                        About the Author

                        ...
                        Tony Joseph

                        Tony believes in building technology around processes, rather than building processes around technology. He specializes in custom software development, especially in analyzing processes, refining it and then building technology around it.He works with clients on a daily basis to understand and analyze their operational structure, discover (and not invent) key improvement areas and come up with technology solutions to deliver an efficient process.

                        Talk To Our Experts

                          As the business environment becomes hyper-competitive, more businesses are finding value in mobile and web apps to boost customer engagement. Apps enable the marketer to deliver a solid mobile presence, with customized interfaces geared specifically to provide customers with the best possible experience. Apps streamline the customer’s buying process, automate many routine tasks, and enable new possibilities, to drive engagement better.

                          Catering to the Growing Customer Preferences

                          More and more marketers now roll out customer facing apps, to remain engaged with their customers always, enabling customers to buy from anywhere, and at any time.

                          Any debate on whether today’s businesses require customer facing apps is settled by the fact 2.6 billion people across the globe now have high-powered mobile devices within their arm’s reach, at all times. Black Friday sales through mobile devices crossed the One billion dollar mark in 2016, indicating the preference of online shoppers to use their mobile devices for the buying process.

                           

                          A good success story exemplifying the growing customer preference is Domino’s Pizza. The pizza giant’s new mobile app for customers to order delivery or in-store pickup of their food in the UK resulted in increase of e-commerce sales by 24.4%, and 52% of online coming in through mobile devices. The app has been downloaded more than 10 million times. Many customers prefer using the app rather than go through the painstaking process of calling up the store.

                          Leveraging the Power of Push and Pull Notification

                          As the adage goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” When a customer downloads an app, it remains on the phone, strengthening brand recognition. Regular visibility and interactions between the brand and the customer boost trust, so essential for transactions to take place.

                          A big advantage of the app is the ability to send push and in-app notifications to users. Such notifications, served virtually on a captive audience, influence the customer and deliver high success rates, as long as the notifications result in relevant and valuable content. The more the audience listens to the brand, the more they are likely to respond to marketing offers and chose the brand offerings when in need.

                          Push and in-app notifications are invaluable to inform users, especially younger demographics, of new products and offers. Most marketers use these options to reach out to customers proactively, with personalized offers. The best practice is to serve personalized recommendations based on factors such as most recent purchase, or the location of the user, offering direct value to users and warming them to the app experience. Generic push notifications are widely regarded as the junk mail of the mobile world, and may just push the user to uninstall the app.

                          Push notifications are also a great tool to counter cart abandonment. Sending instant push and in-app messaging, when the customer abandons the cart, enticing them with added offers, may be instrumental in changing their mind, and increase the likelihood of immediate conversion.

                          In-app messaging is proven to increase engagement by 26%. About 65% of users return to the app within a month, if push notifications are enabled.

                          Leverage Location-based Content


                          Beacon-based location marketing is now increasingly becoming attractive as a great way to boost customer engagement on mobile devices.

                          Smart marketers leverage beacon and geofencing technology to send location specific, contextual, and timely data-driven content to customers. They use beacons to push location-based offers and promotions, promote loyalty programs, and facilitate mobile-based proximity payments. Customers prefer such engagement, as evident from a survey by Aimia and Columbia Business School, where 69% of them agreed to share location data to receive location-based discounts.


                          The 2016 Coachella music and arts festival was path-breaking in the sense it sends out location-based notifications about artists and vendors to attendees. It also introduced a “Surprise and Delight” rewards program, rewarding attendees who synced their American Express Cards to the event’s iOS app. The event also provided beacon enabled mobile payments to attendees, doing away with the need for a physical wallet.

                           

                          Pew Research Center estimates nine out of ten users in the United States enabling location services on their mobile phones.

                          Gamifying and Incentivizing the Experience

                          Promoting mobile-based loyalty programs increase customer engagement and bridge the gap between a brand’s online and physical presence. People love incentives, and rewards offer a good reason for them to come back to the app.

                          Apps make it easier to administer loyalty programs and deliver the associated rewards. The core of any loyalty program is customers getting reward points for every interaction with the brand. When customers see, their points adding up, they come to shop again. When such rewards are combined with gamification or points for any action done through the app, engagement is sure to increase manifold.

                          Starbucks is probably the most well-known brand having perfected the art of offering big rewards exclusively to app customers. The ‘My Starbucks’ rewards program allows customers to use the app to make pre-orders, custom orders, receive free upgrades and special discounts, based on their loyalty status. Enabling in-app payment speeds up the transaction, and increase convenience.

                          Leveraging the Power of Analytics

                          The spin off benefit of customers using apps is gaining valuable data for analytics. Structuring the app engagement, the right way delivers a ton of analytics on how users interact with the app.

                          App based engagement and transactions emit data, which subject to analytics, shed invaluable light on understanding the customer better. Such data can also be the basis for business and strategic decisions, as in how to position the product, adopt marketing pitches with greater success rate, and more.

                          However, analytics is still underestimated and underutilized to enrich the customer experience. Smart brands now leverage real time analytics to enrich the customer’s buying experience. One possibility in this front is helping customers get additional live information about the products they browse or short list for purchase. An associated possibility is gathering interesting and offbeat information associated with the project, such as a list of celebrities using the same product, showing some fun facts associated with the project, and more. Mobile and web apps make it considerably easier to deliver such information to the customer, in a seamless and non-intrusive way.

                          Another underestimated potential is leveraging the big data generated by apps to collaborate with other popular platforms. A good trendsetter in this front is Shazam, the leading music discovery app. Shazam for Brands’ leverages accumulated user data and brand advertisements to identify the best artist and musical genres for brands and create specific and customized ad units to drive customer engagement.

                          Deep Linking to In-App Content

                          The ever-prevalent social networks allow marketers to share their content and gain an even larger audience. Apps offer an additional and more robust option in this direction. Allowing users share their experiences inside the app increases the popularity of the app, and lead to more users downloading it, delivering multiplier effects.

                          Deep linking, to content within an app, makes it possible to share in-app content easily. The spin off benefit is keeping existing customers engaged within the app, improving retention rates and enhancing the user experience.

                          A good benchmark to emulate is the Nike+ Run Club app, which allows sharing the in-app content to social media platforms.

                          With marketing now a high-stakes game, intuitively designed mobile and web apps become a valuable source of competitive advantage. Marketers who identify their customer’s path to engagement and purchasing, and use the app to optimize the journey comes out on top.

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                            About the Author

                            ...
                            Nashiya Salim

                            ‘Google’ gave up to the challenge of finding the meaning of my name, like most other sources I conferred with. And here I’m left with a keen hope that it gets discovered someday, to mean something as creative as my notions of it… The green land to the tail of India- Kerala, "The God's own Country”, is where I live. I blew off my engineering degree to become a writer and have not regretted it a bit. Am no builder or a designer, but I do believe that I can create my world with my imaginations, pen, paper and of course, Microsoft Word and that is why I am here …’coz, I write…!

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                              Can you imagine a day in your life without using any software applications? Yes, that would mean the apps in your phone too, like the calling, messaging, gaming or calendar apps! It will be tough, particularly in this era of technological advancement, when we talk of securely using devices in the Internet of Things, right?! Does it end there? Definitely no, because apart from individual needs, a lot of business-to-business interaction today happens via software applications. A few minutes of downtime in these web applications would bring the global businesses to a halt.
                              Those myriad overseas businesses, companies outsourcing projects, business partners around the globe, everyone use software applications to communicate, interact, exchange data and accomplish tasks. From simple transferring of funds into bank accounts to deploying global websites updating live pricing information (like e-commerce sites), the adoption of web applications in businesses is very huge. The advent of faster internet, new technologies, connected devices and powerful browsers, have made people depend on web applications and software more than ever.
                              Ever wondered what are the processes behind developing such smart web applications, which make our day-to-day tasks simply a piece of cake? What ‘behind the screen’ efforts make a perfect Application? Let’s go through these essential phases in the lifecycle of web application development.

                              The Web Application Architecture
                              This is the skeleton/ blueprint of your application, giving the overview of what it does, how it does it, who it is for, and the relation between its entities. The most widely used application architecture is three-tier architecture and has 3 tiers, viz., Presentation (User Services), Domain Logic (Business Services) and Data Storage (Data Services).

                              • Presentation tier: the gateway through which customers interact with the application.
                              • Domain Logic tier: The tier ranges from web scripting to server side programming, allowing users to do complex actions via a web interface.
                              • Data Storage tier: Stores, retrieves and updates information at a high level. Few data storage and retrieval devices are file systems, databases and writeable media.

                              Keeping these tiers in mind, following are the guidelines developers should follow to create a website application:

                              The feasible project: Choose the right project with respect to the resources, skill-set, publishing capabilities, and budget available.
                              Planning: Make a wireframe to plan the design of the application you are going to create. The key to a good application is, 50% planning and 50% coding. A properly planned wireframe helps you to envision the app before it’s being built and helps to avoid potential roadblocks. That said, wireframes are just a general structure and layout, and not detailed masterpiece works of art. Use the wireframes to further plan your page layouts and core components in it. But don’t waste time redrawing the components; after all it’s just a depiction of what you are going to create.
                              Draw out the planned design: Using the good old pen and paper, as opposed to software tools to draw out the ideas in your head actually help put in your raw creative input. It enables you to arrive at better designs in much less time. And you can perfectly translate it into designs.
                              Forecasting the goals, nature and the direction in which the app development should progress: This is the phase where teams associated with the project, developers, testers, BAs and management get together to discuss the goals that must be achieved through the application. There shall be a clear documentation of what the Application will achieve.
                              Devising the Plan: How will the application be built? What scripting language should be used, what all features to be included and how long should the development of decided features take? The focus here will be on the Project plan, wherein the timeframe for different tasks and the functional specification which depicts the functionality and flow of the app in detail will be decided.
                              Development: Once the foundation (project plan and functional specs) are set, the developers can then start coding, testing and publishing. There shall be proper documentation of how the development will progress, and what entities, data variables, and coding procedures will be used throughout the project.
                              Testing for stability: The phase will test the application for bugs, errors, stability, quality and purpose. There are different approaches for testing, for instance, testing side-by-side with the development is called Test-driven Development.
                              Staging: is the phase where the release candidate is assembled, tested and reviewed in a website environment similar to the production environment (actual hardware and software in which the application will be used), before moving it to production. This is where the final testing will be performed, adding no new features.
                              Production: This is the final version of the application presented to the end users. This version of the website application won’t change until its next update is ready after proving to be stable in the staging environment.
                              Security: Know, design, develop and deploy software with secure features. Many software security vulnerabilities are not coding issues, but are design issues- “Lessons Learned from Five Years of Building More Secure Software”. Security is as crucial as the usability, performance, reliability, or scalability of the application.
                              Support scheme: Providing support for your application is equally important. Give your clients the ability to contact you, for instance, define procedure call in case of emergencies like application failures, mishaps, or downtime. Ticket tracking system, where requests are identified by unique codes, is a good example of support scheme.

                              A plenty of smart tools available today help by automating several aspects of website application development mentioned above, making the job much easier than it was before. So, there you have the tools and the wireframe to plan, design and develop your next web application. If you need further help in planning or developing your next software application, be it a website or mobile app, our software experts can help!

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                                About the Author

                                ...
                                Ashmitha Chatterjee

                                Ashmitha works with Fingent as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.

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