What Is Mobile App Localization?

The process of software localization is no longer limited to merely text translation, as it was common decades ago. Instead, modern-day localization is a complex set of measures aimed at adapting a software product to different markets and cultures. Usually, the localization plan is detailed long before the product release, and the software development process takes this plan into account.

The core of the localization process is still the translation of text throughout an application. This includes the app’s interface, text on images and videos, and on any external resources, for example, PDF files or web pages that have links leading to them from within the app. This is the case, for example, when various documents, such as a user agreement or license, are presented as external files. This way, it is easier to amend them when necessary without extracting the required text from the application.

Cultural peculiarities are very important for localization. For example, this involves the support of different types of script, such as Latin, Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, and Japanese characters, and so on. Even the same language may still have large and small differences in various countries. They include spelling, the meaning of words, and other linguistic features created throughout the history of a particular language variant. Developers must also take these differences into account. That’s why, for example, Google Play supports seven variants of the English language, three variants of Chinese and Spanish, etc.

Another important element of localization is the choice of measurement units. Nowadays, the Metric system is generally adopted worldwide. However, three countries, including the USA, still officially use the Imperial system. Several states, such as Canada and India, occasionally use the Imperial system in certain contexts. For example, even though such countries adopted the metric system, inches are used there to measure the diameter of pizza, wheel rims, pipes and tubings, etc. This cultural feature may be important if a software product is targeted at those markets, especially in the case of online shopping or other retail apps.

If an app has audio speech resources, they may be localized as well. For most purposes, modern text-to-speech engines provide sufficient quality at a relatively low cost. Real voice recording is expensive, especially when it is performed by professional actors in specialized studios. Usually, only large development companies that release AAA-class mobile games, such as Activision Blizzard or miHoYo, have budgets for several voice-over language options. Their strategy is to offer users the best possible experience in their preferred language and maximize customers’ satisfaction that can lead to higher profits.

Localization also involves adapting software to those methods of payment and delivery services that are popular in the target region. For example, Mastercard, Visa, or Paypal may not be available in some countries, so an application must substitute them with local equivalents. The format of postal addresses also differs in many countries, which is important for retail applications.

And last but not least, in the case of mobile software, localization must include adapting software to the relevant requirements of Google Play and Apple Store. This process includes a translation of in-store titles, descriptions, and text on screenshots, adding keywords, and so on. If done properly, this will increase the ranking of the localized application, which will lead to more downloads.

Why It’s Important to Localize Your App for Different Markets

Localization is essential to make a software product available in its target markets. If a mobile application supports many languages, it can cover larger audiences, earning more money. Moreover, it offers a better user experience and makes it much more comfortable to use the application. And a handy application is likely to become preferred among users and gain a competitive advantage over rivals.

Additionally, a well-performed localization shows users that the owner of an app decided to adapt it specifically for them. This means the owner increased the app’s budget to improve the experience of potential users as a sign of respect, to acknowledge the importance of that audience. This way, potential customers feel that this particular software is targeted at them and its owner is interested in their appreciation and support.

Benefits of Mobile Application Localization for Businesses

Software localization is a reasonable investment that greatly improves the final product and offers valuable advantages. They can be presented as three main benefits:

• Ability to reach a wider audience.
• More market coverage.
• Better user experience.

Together, these perks lead to more downloads and higher user count. Better user involvement leads to more profits from sales, advertising, or other monetization strategies utilized by an app. If it is an enterprise-oriented application, localization may improve productivity and interactions between offices and branches of a multinational corporation.

Technical Aspects

Localization (often shortened to “L10n”) is more effective if it is planned in advance together with internationalization (i18n). Here, internationalization refers to designing a future application in such a way that allows easy adaptation to different languages. That is, i18n is the development approach that promotes the L10n of an application without engineering difficulties.

Software developers have to foresee the necessity of editing the localized resources after the release. So, they have to find a way to extract only the required part of those resources, such as one string of text or one image. Additionally, specialists need to implement the possibility of integrating new localized resources into the existing application in a fast and seamless manner.

Extracting the text is just a part of the process. To make localization easier and more effective, it is necessary to maintain the original structure in the extracted text. This way, the localizing specialists will be aware of the context throughout the translation process. This is especially true when the interface has a lot of options, dialogue windows, or separate text elements, such as labeled buttons.

If software has a lot of text, especially in the case of mobile games or educational apps, developers need to ensure the consistency of terminology. This means the same specialized term or a proper noun must have the same translation throughout the whole text. Otherwise, users will be confused, for example, if they notice that the same interface menu is referred to as “Options,” “Settings,” and “Preferences.” One of the most effective ways of working with terminology is the use of translation memories and termbases that are stored in the cloud.

Tips and Best Practices of Localization for Mobile Applications

Here are a few tips to consider before planning localization for your mobile application.

1. Research and select your target markets carefully. Extending the market coverage of a mobile application is tempting, but it is also costly and time-consuming. As a potential owner of a future mobile application, you need to devise its strategy. So, first of all, you have to decide whether you want to focus on one local market, several markets, or go global.
2. Choose languages for your software. Usually, those are the languages of your initial and potential target markets. If you intend to launch your mobile app globally, you should consider covering at least five or six most spoken languages: English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, French, and Arabic.
3. Prepare your software for localization. The ability to add localized resources must be provided by the design of an application. If this feature is implemented properly and in advance, it allows extending the market coverage of your mobile software even after its release.
4. Choose a mobile app localization service provider depending on the budget. The process of software localization has changed a lot over the past years. Nowadays, it involves far less manual labor and more automation of routine and time-consuming tasks. This includes analyzing the software design and determining the resources that must be localized. Then, specialists need to extract those resources carefully to preserve their structure. The localization may be performed by the development company that builds your software if it has a relevant team. Otherwise, it may be done by a separate company that specializes in localization services. Crowdin, Onesky, Trados, and POEditor are among the most popular translation providers these days.
5. Ensure the quality of localization. Quality assurance also applies to localization and should not be neglected. Translations should be approved by skilled editors and native speakers. The user experience of localized versions should be on the same level as in the original application.

Conclusion

Adapting software to different markets involves a lot of steps, so this brief article described just the tip of the iceberg. The process of localization is rather complex, even with the help of modern automated tools. It requires dedication and knowledge. It involves the hard work of translators, copywriters, editors, and other localization specialists.

To fully enjoy the benefits of mobile application localization, you need a competent team. Intellectsoft specializes in mobile development services and has experience in delivering software solutions for worldwide or local audiences. If you need a top-notch mobile application with the potential to go global or focus on a particular market, contact us.

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First of all, cross-platform approaches are different in software development for desktop and mobile devices. The core principle in cross-platform mobile app development is the concept of single, reusable code for all potential platforms. This is not always the case in cross-platform software for desktops and consoles, where versions for different platforms may have different codebases.

Also, some specialists tend to use terms “cross-platform” and “hybrid” as interchangeable synonyms. This is not entirely justified in the case of software development for mobile platforms, so this article distinguishes these two types of applications.

Progressive web applications can be also considered “cross-platform” in a sense that they are accessible across various platforms and operating systems with the help of web browsers. They can run on mobile devices but are not built exclusively for mobile platforms, so they will not be described in this article.

What Is Cross-Platform App Development for Mobile Devices

The term “cross-platform mobile app development” refers to one of the approaches to building a software program for mobile devices. Overall, there are three approaches to mobile software development, and all of them have their pros and cons. They are:

• Cross-platform. This type of software application is designed for use on different mobile platforms. The distinguishing feature here is that a cross-platform app usually has a single codebase. This means that the whole code, or at least its significant percentage is shared or reused on versions for different mobile operating systems. This is possible thanks to a variety of specialized frameworks. They help developers to minimize the limitations of this approach while attempting to deliver a “native-like” user experience.
• Native. This type of application is written exclusively for one particular platform. It is designed to utilize all relevant software and hardware features available on that platform. Because developers focus on one mobile platform, the same code cannot be reused on other platforms.
• Hybrid. This approach to mobile app development combines native and web technologies.  The code is written in programming languages for web development, such as CSS or HTML, and then is wrapped in a “native” shell. In many aspects, hybrid applications are similar to cross-platform apps, and their differences are often rather subtle. That’s why many specialists choose not to distinguish these two types for the sake of simplicity.

There are only two operating systems that dominate the industry of mobile devices: Android and iOS. Combined, they cover over 99% of the market, while the share of all other operating systems is negligible. That’s why, these days, a “cross-platform mobile application” generally means a software product designed to work on Android and iOS devices.

Main Advantages of Cross-platform Mobile App Development

1. One code for all platforms. The main concept of cross-platform mobile apps is the single codebase that can be fully or partially used on all target platforms. The realization of “reusable code” has its limitations but also leads to several further benefits.
2. Lower costs to cover platforms. “One code fits all” is a cost-effective approach that makes the most out of a limited budget. For example, there is no need for two dedicated teams to cover separate Android and iOS versions of software. Besides, native app developers charge more and are not easy to find. Cross-platform development reduces costs by using a single team with a single stack of technologies to deliver a software product on both mobile platforms.
3. Less time to deliver a final software product. Using one codebase and one team simplifies the process of software development compared with managing two teams at the same time. For example, managers do not need to synchronize the progress of two teams to release the software product at the same time on iOS and Android. Two native versions of an app would mean double coding, double testing, etc.
4. Larger user coverage. Thanks to cross-platform development, an application can reach more users. This approach offers a sufficient level of compatibility for different operating systems. It also maintains some level of “native” experience, so users feel more comfortable with their interaction with an app. That’s why cross-platform development is preferred if a project’s budget is not large enough to build two separate native applications.

Popular Cross-platform Mobile App Development Tools and Technologies

Over the years, developers have created many tools for building cross-platform applications. Here are the top 5 most popular frameworks that are currently used for this purpose:

1. Flutter. Created by Google in 2017, Flutter uses the Dart language to create software compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and other platforms. Thanks to its versatility and performance, this is the most popular framework with a high potential for further improvement. Google Pay and eBay applications are examples of using Flutter for cross-platform software development.
2. React Native. This framework was created by Meta in 2015 and allows building apps for mobile and desktop platforms. It also supports operating systems for smart TV, such as tvOS and Android TV, as well as virtual reality devices. For example, Facebook, Skype, Shopify, and Microsoft Office mobile apps are created using this framework.
3. Apache Cordova. This framework is almost exclusively focused on mobile platforms: Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. Its predecessor, PhoneGap, supported a much larger variety of phones and operating systems, such as Blackberry, Nokia Symbian OS, Tizen, etc. Apache Cordova uses the combination of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript and the capabilities provided by native WebView.
4. Ionic. Though Ionic focuses on building hybrid apps, it is considered the fourth most popular cross-platform framework these days. It supports Android, iOS, and the Universal Windows Platform. Ionic allows developers to combine web code written in such languages as Sass, CSS, and HTML with native code.
5. Xamarin. Microsoft bought this framework in 2016 and maintains it as a tool for building applications for various types of smart devices. It allows developers to use Microsoft .NET and Visual Studio to create software for Android, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Xamarin enables reusing and sharing code written in C# across different platforms. It also supports the Universal Windows Platform and macOS.

Tips For Developing Mobile Cross-platform Software

There are several factors you need to consider before deciding to make a cross-platform mobile application.

• Your target audience. Should you cover both Android and iOS? Is it better to narrow down your audience?
• Your budget. Will it be enough for two teams or only one?
• Your potential development team. Does it have enough specialists? What tech stacks do they use?
• Your time to market. When would be the optimal time to release your software? Can a team meet this deadline?

Do marketing research. Analyze your plans. Find answers to these questions before moving to development.

To sum up, you should consider cross-platform development instead of a native approach when:

• You lack budget for two native apps;
• You need to release your software as fast as possible;
• You need to cover both Android and iOS at the same time.

However, the benefits of cross-platform app development come at a certain price. There are certain drawbacks you need to consider if you decide to make a cross-platform mobile app.

• Lower performance compared to native apps.
• More testing is required to ensure compatibility with several versions of different mobile operating systems.
• Inability to use the full extent of hardware and software features provided natively.
• Higher maintenance requirements to adapt to system updates on all target platforms.

All those drawbacks can be mitigated to a certain degree by a proper choice of cross-platform mobile app development technologies. A skilled team will be able to make the most out of the selected framework and other tools to ensure good quality.

Conclusion

As you can see, cross-platform development can be confusing at first glance. But once you learn more about it, you become impressed by its numerous advantages. Modern frameworks for cross-platform development are supported by such IT giants as Google, Microsoft, Meta, and many others. Thanks to the efforts of the loyal community, these tools have become very effective in delivering native-like experience across various platforms.

At Intellectsoft, we have skilled specialists in various cross-platform technologies. We offer a wide range of mobile app development services to create software for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. Whether you want to release your application on all these platforms or just one, we can deliver the solution. Contact us and tell our solution advisor what kind of native or cross-platform mobile application you want.

The post A Brief Guide to Cross-platform Mobile App Development in 2023 appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Definition of AI and Its Various Applications in Software Development

Artificial Intelligence is one of the oldest concepts, originating from ancient times and myths. However, it was not until the 20th century when old ideas and crude prototypes got practical realization. Many prominent mathematicians, logicians, and computer scientists joined their efforts to define the concepts of “reasoning” and “learning” in the context of computers. The works of Alan Turing, Arthur Samuel, Tom M. Mitchell, and many others created the base for the progress of AI and ML technologies and computer algorithms and programming languages in general.

The generally recognized features that define AI are the ability to solve complex problems and the ability to generate information based on the source parameters. This way, researchers focus on the similarities between “human” thinking and “machine” thinking. Artificial Intelligence also should have the ability to learn, with human supervision or without it.

Thanks to the rapid progress of AI and ML technologies, they have been successfully integrated into many key areas of modern life. For example, the bond between AI and software development turned into two-way beneficial cooperation. This means that Artificial Intelligence has two major layers of interaction with software engineering.

1. It is an immensely useful tool that helps developers with numerous tasks. An AI paired with great computational power and data storage capabilities easily outperforms human abilities.
2. It is an object of software developers’ labor. Software engineers are often tasked to create an AI for specific purposes or to integrate an existing AI into a solution that is being developed.

Let’s take a look at both of these areas of interaction.

The Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Software Engineering

Software developers have mastered the art of training and customizing AI for various purposes. In general, state-of-the-art AI has unparalleled abilities for data mining, analysis, and classification. Those abilities also make Artificial Intelligence a great assistant capable of understanding requests and finding solutions. Here are a few examples of using AI technologies in software development:

Code Generation

Modern AI can write code based on given parameters. The results, on average, are quite satisfactory but not enough to replace a skilled programmer. However, specialized AIs and learning models are getting progressively better. It is just a matter of time until they become on par with junior-level specialists. This pace of progress should be a clear signal for software engineers to keep improving their skills.

The machine-written code still requires comprehensive checking from experienced specialists, especially regarding its security. In the near future, this tendency may change the role of software developers. It is possible that AI will perform the “writing”, and developers will switch to “editing” the code. This way, Artificial Intelligence will do the bulk of hard and mundane work, and software engineers will oversee this process.

Requirements Gathering

Developers often use Artificial Intelligence to compile a set of requirements for a future software product. It optimizes workflow and reduces the flow of documents associated with this task. AI proves to be extremely useful in demanding projects with complex requirements.

For example, Watson AI, developed by IBM, is especially useful for requirements management. In addition, it effectively assists in other stages of the software development life cycle. The use of AI eliminates or at least reduces the need for going through lots of paper and digital documentation manually.

Planning, Estimating, and Designing

Based on the gathered requirements, AI can take over the rest of the software development process. It is more efficient in tasks that require calculations, such as estimating costs and scheduling deadlines. It also can determine the development team setup and the number of required specialists to meet the deadlines within the set budget.

Of course, this process is closely supervised by managers. So, the role of AI here is to make rough drafts rather than final plans. It can also make suggestions regarding workflow optimization. However, humans still have the final word regarding AI advice.

Quality Control and Feedback Management

Artificial Intelligence can also assist developers by running error scans and looking for vulnerabilities in code. Software engineers can train AI using the existing guidelines and checklists for ensuring software security. Then, any particular development company can customize and enhance obtained machine learning models individually. The specialists can turn those models into intellectual property by training them on every software product created by that company.

AI is also invaluable for gathering feedback from users and testers in a convenient automated form. It can analyze reports and divide them into categories depending on the nature of feedback (positive/negative), the severity of a reported error (critical/major/minor), and other parameters. The resulting structured data will be much more useful for the purposes of QA than the bulk of assorted reports.

Areas and Industries That Use AI-powered Solutions

As was described above with reference to software development, specialists use AI for two general purposes. One purpose involves Artificial Intelligence performing tasks automatically with or without human supervision. The other purpose is to improve the productivity of human workers by assisting them and enhancing their abilities. Below are a few illustrative implementations of AI in different areas outside software development.

• Data mining. One of the main purposes of AI nowadays is to gather enormous amounts of raw data on the Internet. It is the task of web crawlers that are used in search engines, including Google, Bing, Baidu, and others. However, those and other interested companies, such as Meta, Twitter, Amazon, etc., are also collecting information about their users. Every user’s activity on the Internet is usually tracked by several companies simultaneously. The resulting data flow would be impossible without the help of Artificial Intelligence.
• Data analysis, classification, and statistics. AI is also responsible for analyzing user data mainly for the benefit of Internet corporations. It defines behavior patterns, habits, and preferences for every user account. The resulting data is used for targeted advertising and other types of personalized content. The latter is especially true in the case of social networks and streaming services.
• AI assistants in smart devices. Artificial Intelligence is often integrated into gadgets to make them more convenient and resourceful. The most common types are, of course, smartphones, tablets, and speakers. This is because they have the necessary hardware to listen to users and respond, preferably using AI-generated voice.
• Autonomous driving. Artificial Intelligence enables AI-assisted driving in the form of an autopilot that can be toggled on and off.  It also allows fully autonomous driverless operation of vehicles in certain environments.
• Gaming. One of the earliest showcases of AI was in the form of chess computers. Specialized versions of AI are also used for such table games as go, backgammon, and poker. Artificial Intelligence is widely used in the video game industry, both in single-player and multiplayer games. It controls enemies, NPCs, and bots in order to react to players’ actions.
• Writing and maintaining a dialogue. ChatGPT and its analogs are the hottest topics in all the tech news these days. They can hold written conversations with users and are often tasked to write letters, articles, and even scientific papers.
• Creating visual art. The combination of AI and ML gave several amazing tools for visual artists and designers. Midjourney, DALL-E 2, and Neural filters in Adobe Photoshop are the most popular examples of such instruments.

The Benefits of Artificial Intelligence for Developers

From the description above, it is clear that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning offer many advantages. Most of them can be effectively applied to benefit software development. Here are a few ways how AI improves the work of software engineers:

• Precise planning
• Predictable workflow
• Informed decision-making
• Accurate estimates
• Better security and QA
• Reduced workload

Overall, the main benefits of AI and ML in software development come down to higher efficiency and lower costs. Artificial Intelligence helps to automate many time-consuming processes. This allows managers to switch specialists from boring routine tasks to more creative and responsible assignments.

Additionally, these benefits offered by AI allow engineers to tackle more complex tasks that would otherwise be unfeasible or extremely costly. Ultimately, Artificial Intelligence enables the creation of more enhanced versions of itself. And those better versions will be able to solve even more difficult tasks, thus increasing the benefits.

Challenges of Using AI in Software Development

1. Higher demands for specialists’ skills. AI is a sophisticated tool capable of performing many tasks. However, to fully utilize its potential, it must be operated by a specialist with sufficient skills and experience. The main requirement is the ability to formulate all the input parameters with maximum precision. In other words, users must say exactly what they want to achieve and describe it in full detail.
2. Advanced tools require large computational power, storage space, and energy supply. A software development company that heavily relies on AI technologies has to invest in top-tier hardware. Better equipment usually means that AI would perform its tasks faster. In its turn, this would speed up the work of the development team and reduce the time to release the final product.
3. Extra licensing costs. Professional tools are not cheap, especially in the software development business. Most state-of-the-art AI and ML solutions involve a hefty price for their commercial use. However, the costs are reasonable and more than justified. AI-enhanced tools quickly pay for themselves, especially when they are used by skilled software engineers.

The Future of AI in Software Development

It is safe to admit that AI technologies are the present and future of mankind. They have been successfully integrated into both personal and professional aspects of our lives. This means more work for software developers who create and implement custom AIs.

The combination of Artificial Intelligence, software engineering and Machine Learning is growing more powerful as the technologies improve every day. Moreover, software developers can now use specialized AIs to create other AIs. The circle has come to a close. But it also created the foundation of the constant evolution of Artificial Intelligence, allowing engineers to create better versions of AI with improved abilities.

Though the use of AI simplifies the work of software developers, it also demands high levels of skill and knowledge. This is especially true when engineers need to integrate Artificial Intelligence into custom software solutions. Our team in Intellectsoft has enough know-how and experience to handle complex and challenging AI-related cases. We offer a range of AI development services for various industries. Contact us to bring the advantages of Artificial Intelligence to your software.

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What Is Mobile App Security?

In the context of mobile applications, security refers to a specific set of measures, standards, and practices. Some of those are generic and apply to all types of devices and applications. Others are designed specifically for mobile devices and focus on their unique features, such as the presence of cameras, various sensors, GPS, etc. Mobile security features are designed to protect both hardware and software from unauthorized access, data theft, and various other threats.

Common Types of Mobile Security Threats

Considering the importance and highly personal nature of data on mobile devices, it has become the priority target of various criminals. Nowadays, smartphones are often less valuable than information that can be accessed via them. Mobile platforms usually keep users logged into their accounts even when mobile devices are turned off or put aside. This applies to most mobile applications installed on smartphones or tablets, such as email and social network clients, messengers, streaming or shopping apps, and so on.

If a thief manages to crack a password on a stolen device, such sensitive data may be used to steal the owner’s identity or simply to blackmail them, harm their reputation or try to drain their bank accounts. The same problem exists when a person loses their mobile device and a finder decides to keep it. Moreover, the information may be stolen even when the mobile device is not: a malicious software program may secretly transfer private data to a hacker.

Engineers define several categories of threats depending on their origin or targets. For example, one of the basic classifications involves passive threats and active threats.

Passive threats are vulnerabilities left in the code of a mobile application or operating system. They are potential entry points for a hacker to perform malicious actions. For example, if an application sends data without encryption or uses an outdated security protocol, it presents a potential risk.

Active threats are tools in a hacker’s arsenal. Malware, spyware, viruses, phishing web pages, and scripts are among many instruments to actively breach mobile security and steal information. They can mask themselves as harmless software or websites or may remain hidden on devices and leak personal data for months.

The Importance of Security in Mobile Applications

Considering the importance of personal data, mobile app developers put great effort into maximizing the security of their software. The adherence to mobile app security standards enhances the safety of user data. In its turn, this offers numerous benefits, some of which are listed below as examples.

5 Main Advantages of Mobile App Security

1. Better protection against identity theft. To steal someone’s digital identity means to get digital copies of identification documents, a social security number, passwords to essential accounts, and other means of authentication. All this data may be obtained from a person’s mobile device, for example, by checking the internal and cloud storages or by bypassing a two-step verification using the victim’s phone number. Mobile applications designed and tested according to the newest standards have specific means to prevent this from happening.
2. Higher safety of banking information. Many mobile apps that provide access to goods and services store payment information, such as credit card numbers, delivery addresses, order lists, and so on. So, a software client of your favorite taxi service, fast food chain, or online shop may potentially leak this confidential information if an app has security flaws. Proper approaches to Quality Assurance minimize such risks.
3. Enhanced privacy of personal media and messages. Users usually keep many personal photos and videos directly on their mobile devices or in cloud storage accessible from said devices. If such visual media falls into the wrong hands, it can be used for blackmail or to embarrass people just out of spite. The same is true for messages that in modern mobile applications can also be in the form of photos, videos, or text. Mobile app security ensures that personal communication is encrypted and media files are hidden from intruders.
4. Improved resistance to massive infrastructure breaches. Over the last decade, there have been several large-scale online breaches in global corporations where millions and even billions of data records were stolen. Usually, such enormous databases are sold in the Darknet and lead to smaller, personalized attacks, most likely scamming, phishing, and so on. As a rule, corporations are very reluctant to admit that such breaches take place, so for a while, users do not even know that their data is compromised and their privacy is in danger. Again, software built and updated according to security standards has a much higher chance to avoid data leakage during such massive events.
5. Increased protection against hardware hijacking. As mobile devices become more and more advanced, they get better sensors and chips combined with powerful AI features. This makes them incredible spying tools if someone controls them remotely. They can record and transmit audio and video data, current geolocation, and other information about the device’s surroundings. Moreover, mobile devices infected with malware may become a part of a botnet that can be used for various malicious purposes, from spamming to DDoS attacks. During the cryptocurrency frenzy, smartphones and tablets were used for mining, though this tendency has declined but never disappeared completely. Mobile app security ensures that software can successfully fend off attacks and recognize infected files or malicious links to inform users in advance.

Ultimately, security in mobile app development aims to prevent all types of threats and keep users’ data and devices as safe as possible. If a mobile application is created according to modern security protocols, its users would prefer it over other similar solutions that are outdated or have known safety flaws. A secure mobile app is much more appealing because it satisfies one of the basic needs: people want to feel safe not only physically but also in terms of their privacy and finances.

Ways to Improve Security in Mobile Application Development

Mobile app security is an ongoing race. Hackers’ methods and tools have become more sophisticated, and security measures have to evolve to match those. Such measures are adopted by the software development community and include specified standards and methods to organize the development process. So, the best way to ensure the safety of a mobile app is to follow the existing guidelines and satisfy the standard requirements.

By far, the dominant security standard in the field of mobile app development is provided by the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) foundation. It is continuously amended and improved by a worldwide community of professionals. The OWASP Mobile Application Security initiative includes three components.

The Mobile Application Security Verification Standard (MASVS) lists numerous requirements for mobile software. The testing guide (MASTG) describes the proper procedures, methods, and tools for mobile applications security testing. Conveniently, this guide comes with several illustrative test cases as references. The mobile app security checklist is a handy tool that is available in the form of PDF files in various languages. It lists all 80+ requirements of the MASVS and matches them with the appropriate test cases of MASTG.

Such an impressive amount of criteria means that the standard is very strict. Developers have to put a lot of time and effort to satisfy all the requirements and maximize the security of their mobile applications. Generally, it is better to start with a few basic improvements that have a great positive effect on security, such as the following:

1. Enforce software updates. Nowadays, the majority of mobile app updates improve security rather than add new functionality. An outdated application is potentially more vulnerable. It is the developers’ duty to maintain the security of an app with updates or patches and deliver them to user devices as soon as possible.
2. Make sure that an application complies with local laws and industry regulations regarding security. For example, it is a widespread policy that users’ data must be kept on servers in their respective states. This means that no country should store the personal information of other countries’ citizens.
3. Ensure that an application handles sensitive data with the utmost care. First and foremost, it means using encryption and secure protocols while transmitting such information. A user interface of an app should conceal private information, such as passwords or PIN codes, by default. Sharing such data with third parties must be strictly forbidden unless it is required by an app architecture. No logging of personal information must be allowed. Sensitive data must be stored in an encrypted form preferably remotely or in a “sandbox” within the app.
4. Enable two-factor authentication. A combination of two different means of authentication has become a de-facto security standard for a good reason. A password and an SMS code, or a biometric scan, such as a fingerprint or face scan, and a PIN code are among the most popular combinations that are widely used in mobile devices.
5. Make sure that an application recognizes tampering and end-of-session events. After a predetermined number of failed authentications, an app must lock and prevent any further attempts of breaking in. An application also must “log out” a user after a predetermined idle period.

Ensuring top-notch security in mobile applications is possible with the help of effective QA practices and comprehensive security testing. The process is exhausting, but the established standard and checklist make it somewhat easier.

Why You Should Hire Intellectsoft to Ensure Mobile App Security

Ensuring mobile app security is a highly important task. That’s why it should be assigned to skilled engineers who have the required experience and testing tools. Intellectsoft has such experts who work in well-coordinated teams and offer a wide range of mobile app development services. We perform careful, comprehensive testing and ensure the highest standards of quality and security throughout the whole development life cycle. Contact us to get a mobile software product built according to the leading quality and security standards of the industry, including OWASP, ISO, GDPR, HIPAA, and others.

The post Mobile Application Security: Definition, Practices, Benefits appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

What is Quality Assurance in Software Development?

Quality assurance, or simply QA, is a complex process that covers several stages of ensuring the required standards of quality. In software development, this process involves a wide range of measures and starts long before writing the first lines of code. It includes proper planning of the development process, as well as evaluating, controlling, and testing the quality of a product throughout its creation. QA also covers optimization and reporting routines which will be described later in this article, along with other components of quality assurance.

The Role of Quality Assurance in Software Development

One can safely say that quality assurance is of vital importance in software development. It is true not only because of financial reasons. Though business priorities always revolve around money, QA also protects reputation. A software product with subpar quality can lead not only to financial losses but also to the loss of trust of customers and business partners. This could be a fatal blow to the startup or a company.

As a result, entrepreneurs highly appreciate the importance of QA, particularly in the field of IT. They understand that time and money spent on ensuring the quality of a software product are fully justified. It is highly important to find and correct errors in software as early as possible. The longer those flaws remain undetected and unresolved, the bigger risk they represent and the more difficult it is to fix them.

The role of QA in software development is much larger than just testing and finding bugs. It goes beyond quality control to the field of methodology. In particular, quality assurance deals with means and standards to organize the development process in such a way that prevents the appearance of errors. In other words, QA specialists research how to satisfy the client’s requirements while eliminating potential vulnerabilities and defects. This analysis at an early stage of development prevents a lot of trouble that may arise at subsequent stages.

The Quality Assurance Process in Software Development

Considering its major importance, quality assurance is not performed chaotically but as a strictly specified process. Some people, who are familiar with various models of the software development life cycle, believe that QA is just a step generally called “testing” in this process. However, this common misconception is far from the truth.

Difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Quality assurance extends throughout the whole software development process. Let’s take, for example, a conventional “waterfall” model of the software development life cycle. It has five phases or stages: analysis, design, coding, testing, and operations. The purpose of QA is to make sure that all the processes in those phases are performed according to the respective quality standards.

Product testing is the task of Quality Control (QC), which in its turn is a component of an extensive Quality Assurance (QA) routine. It is a crucial stage before the deployment or release of a software product. However, it is necessary to distinguish QA and QC.

Quality Control focuses on ensuring the quality of a product by performing tests, finding flaws, and correcting them. QC also determines if the product meets the client’s requirements. Testing, bug fixing, optimization, and other aspects of Quality Control must be completed before the product or feature moves to the deployment stage of the development process.

Quality Assurance oversees the processes during software development to prevent errors by abiding standards, implementing efficiency metrics, performing verifications, etc. So, the main difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control is that QA is more extensive and process-oriented, while QC is more focused and product-oriented.

QA Standards for Software Development

To make quality requirements more uniform, engineers have designed specific strict rules and practices to be applied in various industries. The International Standards Organization has a family of standards for quality management labeled ISO 9000. Within this family, the document ISO/IEC/IEEE 90003:2018 sets specific guidelines for implementing the standard ISO 9001 for a quality management system in the field of software engineering.

Most Common Techniques in QA

Quality Assurance specialists have several methods and established processes at their disposal. As an example, five of the most widely used techniques in the context of software development are briefly described below.

1. Standardization. This technique is used to determine whether the product, feature, or process satisfies the applied standard. In this context, the standard in question is usually ISO 9001.
2. Code review. This activity represents the “classic testing” aimed at finding bugs in the code and is most commonly associated with QA. This is one of the crucial steps to prevent flaws from becoming bigger problems at subsequent stages of the software development life cycle.
3. Simulation. This technique allows developers to observe how the simulated program would behave under normal working conditions. This is done when the software build is not ready physically, so a virtual model is created.
4. Functional testing. Specialists use this technique to see what the current build of the software can do in the context of its intended functions.
5. Stress testing. As the name implies, stress testing is intended to show how the software can handle situations that exceed normal working parameters. For example, one of the most common scenarios is the performance of an app when too many users are trying to access it at the same time.

It should be noted that this list is merely illustrative and not exhaustive. Many other techniques can be used for QA purposes, including auditing, static testing, design analysis, etc.

PDCA Cycle in Software Development

One of the quality assurance methods in software development is the PDCA cycle. It is used as a repetitive process of making changes for the improvement and optimization of features and products. The cycle consists of four steps that are repeated until all flaws are corrected. The names of the steps make up the abbreviation “PDCA”:

• Plan. In this step, the specialists pinpoint the problem that must be corrected. If several problems are discovered, then priorities must be established. Each problem or flaw is considered an opportunity to make an improvement. Then specialists set the objectives and design the optimal course of action. They define the schedule with deadlines and assign executives to carry out every set task.
• Do. The plan is set to action. The assigned specialists with the required skills perform every objective according to the plan. This process is monitored, and data is gathered to be analyzed later.
• Check. Now, the actions performed in the second step are analyzed, and conclusions regarding the results are made. If those actions were not enough to achieve improvement, further adjustments are planned.
• Act. The final step is taking an action based on the analysis conducted in the third step and all the data collected during the previous three steps. If the problem is solved, the measures that were taken to fix it are recorded as a solution for further reference. This way, if a similar problem occurs in the future, there will be a proven detailed way to fix it. If the problem still persists, the initial plan and objectives are adjusted based on obtained data, and the cycle repeats until a proper solution is found.

In software development, the PDCA cycle not only leads to the improvement of the product but also enhances the existing methods of Quality Assurance and Control. The documentation of problems and processes helps in finding new solutions and preserving effective ways of finding and preventing flaws. It also helps in teaching specialists about newly invented tools and practices of QA.

Benefits of Quality Assurance in Software Development

Since QA is focused on improving the quality of a software product, it has an immense potential of providing various advantages both for product owners as well as for users. Let’s review the benefits that arise from better quality.

1. Higher efficiency. A top-quality software product runs much better than one with subpar quality. This means that the software performs its intended functions faster, which saves users’ time and improves productivity.
2. Better reliability. QA ensures that the final product is safe to use and can handle prolonged sessions of uninterrupted use as well as stress conditions. For example, a software product will not crash under heavy loads, which prevents data loss or other harmful aftermaths.
3. Improved security. Quality Assurance is essential for providing the best possible protection of confidential data, which is one of the main requirements across all industries. This is especially true for such areas as healthcare, retail, and other businesses that deal with personal information, payments, etc. For example, Quality Assurance is responsible for making a healthcare software application HIPAA-compliant. QA ensures that storages that contain sensitive data are protected from break-ins and the related infrastructure is secure against malicious attacks.
4. Enhanced functionality. As a result of QA processes, the final software product should have all the intended functions as set in the specifications. Quality Assurance oversees the proper implementation of the functions and the correct integration of the software into its working environment, infrastructure, networks, etc.
5. Easier maintenance. QA makes sure that the software product can be easily maintained and adjusted according to changed conditions, if necessary. Even when a client requires a limited set of software features, Quality Assurance specialists should enable the possibility of adding more features in the future. According to QA practices, a software product must be allowed to evolve and improve.

All the listed advantages ultimately lead to one: benefit your business. A quality software product will earn more money for its owners. It will be more effective and easier to use, which will draw more loyal clients. Moreover, a software product created according to quality standards will promote its owners’ business, earning respect and building a good reputation.

Conclusion

As you can see, Quality Assurance is a crucial part of the software development process. Due to its extreme importance, QA must be performed and managed by highly skilled specialists. Moreover, they should be organized into established teams with effective communication, reporting, and feedback, as well as specialized equipment.

If you want to ensure the flawless quality of your product, contact us. Intellectsoft has 15+ years of experience to provide you with a wide range of QA and testing services. Our Quality Assurance engineers will oversee the whole software development life cycle and perform comprehensive testing and optimization. They will make sure that your product is built according to your requirements and in  line with quality standards. Our company is ISO 9001-certified, so the quality of your software will be the responsibility of approved top-tier professionals.

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What Is a Dedicated Development Team?

When a business needs to build and maintain a software application, it generally chooses one of two ways. The first one is creating and running a specialized software development department. The second way is hiring a dedicated development team. Both choices are viable under certain circumstances, which will be described in detail a little later in this article. But first, let’s define what a dedicated development team is.

The term “dedicated development team” is rather self-explanatory. It means a group of software engineers, including developers, testers, designers, and other types of specialists. This team works under a contract and dedicates its resources to perform the specified tasks within the set time period. However, the team does not become a part of your company’s staff, which offers several potential benefits that will be discussed below.

Technical specialists that make up the team are employed by a software development company. This company temporarily “leases” them to your business but remains in control of all administrative affairs. The number and types of developers in a team are chosen according to the complexity of your task, deadline, and other factors. Usually, they are set strictly, but sometimes the contract may permit their change over time. This way, the team ensures that your software meets the quality and security criteria and is delivered on time.

Why Do You Need a Dedicated Development Team?

If you want to get a high-quality software product within a reasonable time and budget, consider hiring a dedicated development team. It is a more rational and efficient alternative to managing your software development department. Here are some of the most important advantages of a dedicated development team in terms of business values.

• More cost-effective work;
• Less time to get the result;
• Reduced need for management.

More Cost-effective Work

Hiring a dedicated team saves you money for several reasons. First of all, you get the exact number of specialists needed to complete the job within the deadline. If you had your own department of programmers, you would have to pay all of them, whether they currently have a task or not. You also do not have to deal with paid vacations, bonuses, and other incentives for the team members.

Additionally, you do not have to buy expensive equipment for software development if you hire a team. A dedicated team has the required set of devices for building and testing software. Moreover, this equipment has been properly set up and combined together into a working infrastructure. Its operability and performance are controlled by system administrators from the contracted company. This way, you do not have to hire additional staff to check and maintain the work computers.

Note that a dedicated development team cost can be high, but you get much more in return for your initial investments.

Less Time to Get the Result

As a rule, the dedicated team is highly skilled and has experience of working as a single unit. This means that the internal processes and communication within the team are well-established and tuned to maximize efficiency. Moreover, because of the contract, the team itself is interested in delivering the product as fast as it could without compromising the quality.

Additionally, you save time by getting a premade team of specialists ready to work whenever you sign the deal. You personally or your recruiters do not have to assemble the team by contacting each developer separately and holding interviews.

As an extra benefit, your contract may allow you to alter the time needed to complete your project. If you want to get your software product sooner and you are willing to spend extra money, you may ask to allocate additional specialists to the team. Then the managers will look into the possibility of fulfilling your request if it is physically possible to speed up the working process. And vice versa, if your budget is limited, but you have some extra time to spare, you may negotiate to reduce the number of developers to a minimum. This way, you can ensure that your software product is released at the most favorable time for business.

Reduced Need for Management

The dedicated team comes with their management, who oversees the work progress and reports to you. It is up to you how closely you want to monitor the teamwork. Usually, the optimal variant is letting the professionals work without your interference.

A good team understands that you, as a customer, want results, not excuses. So, when they know what you want, they will deliver the result as set in the contract.

An experienced team is self-governed, meaning it has the means and people to handle the working process. Its supervisors prevent any unexpected situations or deal with them, should they occur. Usually, the team manager provides you with regular updates on the progress and shows preliminary results after each stage of the development process. This way, you still remain in control and check that your requirements are fulfilled.

To sum up, the main benefits of contracting a dedicated team come down to three points: less money, less time, and less fuss. You describe to managers precisely what you want, and they make sure the team delivers it on time.

Advice on Hiring a Dedicated Development Team

A dedicated development team is responsible for delivering you the product built according to your demands. However, it is your responsibility to carefully choose a capable and trustworthy team. Here are a few factors that will help you to decide whether you should hire a dedicated team from a particular software development company.

1. Experience and reputation
2. Range of available specialists and provided services
3. Communication ability

First and foremost, check how long the development company has been around. Do some research, visit its website, and read about its previous cases. Check the mentions, comments, and other references about your potential contractors. Become acquainted with the company even before you contact it.

A good company maintains a bustling online activity. It adds new cases to show on its website, makes posts on its social network accounts, and publishes articles in its blog. You should get the feeling that the company is a live community with real people working in it. Generally, it is a positive sign that the development company can offer a dedicated team of motivated specialists who love their work and are worth your money.

Last but not least, contact the representatives of a development company. Ask all the questions you have regarding the available specialists, their experience, the task you are offering, etc. Note if it is easy for you to communicate with them because it would have a major impact in the future.

Though there are many nuances in hiring a dedicated development team, using a thoughtful approach and common sense will help you immensely. The three factors described above are merely the essentials, and it’s up to you whether to add other choice criteria.

Overall, choosing an active company that has been around for several years and has a good portfolio is a good start. Contact the managers to ensure they have an available dedicated team with the necessary specialists and skills. Then, make sure that you have no misunderstandings by making a detailed list of requirements for your desired software.

Reasons to Choose Intellectsoft

As you can see, selecting a dedicated development team is vital for your business. The future of your software product depends on the team skills and, incidentally, on your careful choice. Keeping that in mind, consider Intellectsoft when you decide to hire a dedicated development team. Here are some reasons in our favor:

• We have been constantly proving our skills in the IT field for over 16 years.
• World-leading brands from various industries trust our expertise and are satisfied with the results.
• We assemble scalable dedicated teams to fit the scope of your task.
• Our specialists are highly skilled and motivated to deliver the best performance.
• You will always keep in touch with the dedicated team thanks to daily, weekly, and monthly reports.
• Our company offers teams for a wide range of projects, from startup software development to a full-scale digital transformation of an enterprise.
• We have experts in most of the modern technologies for software development: languages, frameworks, etc.

Both our dedication to digital technologies and our passion for software development help us to deliver amazing products to our customers. We continue working hard even after we have built our reputation and expertise in the market of software development services. Our dedicated teams fully understand their responsibility to deliver top-quality solutions and maintain the company’s good name. Contact us and see for yourself.

The post 3 Reasons Why a Dedicated Development Team is a Good Investment appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

This is why understanding custom software advantages and disadvantages is necessary. By doing this, you can weigh the advantages and disadvantages to determine whether or not customized solutions are appropriate for your overall business needs.

You can choose the best option for your brand using certain prerequisites. This includes the size of your organization, the difficulty of your work, the types of customers you serve, your plans for scaling up, and the profitability of the solution.

In this article, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of bespoke software. But first, let’s examine what custom software entails and why business leaders should give careful consideration to this choice.

What Does Custom Software Mean?

The process of developing custom-built solutions involves creating, designing, launching, and maintaining applications specifically for a set of end-users, functionalities, or brands. Comparatively, commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) is a tailored solution with features adapted to generic market needs.

Businesses occasionally require specialized solutions to handle challenges peculiar to their processes or sector. While it may be easier to deploy, COTS just doesn’t solve those problems.

This is why bespoke software has become popular for small-scale businesses and enterprises. However, there are many more custom software benefits beyond customization.

Advantages of Custom Software 

Are you planning to solve a problem in your market? Building a custom-made solution might be your best chance. Below are some benefits of custom software development:

Personalized Solution for Your Brand Only

This is one of the notable advantages of custom-made software over off-the-shelf software. Bespoke solutions allow you to build exactly what your business wants or needs.

This means you can solve a specific problem rather than respond to a generic market. As such, you will differentiate your business and have a competitive edge. You will also have full control over the software, meaning you can make changes at any time, add key features, and implement customer feedback.

More Customer Personalization 

The modern user wants a personalized experience, not a generic-looking service. In fact, 80% of customers are more likely to patronize a business that provides a tailored experience. This is because customers want to feel like they’re being treated as a person.

With customized software development, you can provide more personalized solutions and add value to the business-customer relationship. This is bound to increase customer loyalty, retention, and satisfaction.

Better Return on Investment

Although high cost is one of the disadvantages of custom-made software, there is a better ROI in the long run. You won’t have to pay for unnecessary hardware or pointless features you don’t need. If your software is worth the value, it’s a smart investment regardless of cost.

Scalability and Flexibility

Every business wants to grow. However, using off-the-shelf solutions is as good as setting yourself up to remain stagnant for a long time.

Scaling ready-made solutions to meet company growth or new market demands is almost impossible. They can’t be manipulated at will, and you may infringe licensing contracts if you do.

However, custom software development grows with your business to meet future needs and requirements. You can make changes at any time based on customer feedback, upgrade based on emerging technologies, and conduct regular maintenance.

Seamless Integration

If your business has existing tools or technologies, building custom software facilitates seamless integration. You might want all business systems to communicate with one another or need to create interfaces that make data exchange smoother.

These functionalities are often challenging to find in a ready-built tool, especially due to arbitrary APIs. However, this compatibility can be included in a custom-made application. Although there may be some alternatives for off-the-shelf software to merge with other programs, this integration may not be as seamless as you might prefer.

Enhanced Security 

Since you’re building from scratch, you have control over software security by creating it in. Off-the-shelf software is notoriously easy to hack because they use open-source code and are available to everyone. This means attackers already know the vulnerabilities of such software.

On the other hand, custom-made software is a closed-source project. In addition, your developers can observe secure DevOps even before writing the first line of code.

Improved Software Support

Custom software has the assurance of a reliable technical support team involved during the development life cycle. They can deal with any problem because they are familiar with your software.

You’ll get a swifter response and resolution time as long as you include Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in your contracts.

Note that support is usually out of your hands with ready-made solutions.

Disadvantages of Custom-Made Software

Bespoke software solutions aren’t all roses. There are a few drawbacks to note before you begin development.

Let’s look at the disadvantages of custom software:

High Upfront Cost

Perhaps the biggest flip side to bespoke software is the initial investment. Developing customized software can be expensive because you’re starting from scratch.

While this upfront cost may yield better ROI in the long run, it can be challenging for certain organizations without sufficient finance.

However, the increased productivity your employees will experience, the competitive edge for your business, and the personalization for your customers will rapidly compensate for the expenditure.

Longer Time-to-Market

Custom software can take time to develop and deploy into the market. This can be a problem for businesses that want to get a solution into the market quickly. Depending on your needs and project specifications, it takes around 4-9 months while off-the-shelf software is ready to use.

Bespoke software requires organizations to invest time into providing specific requirements to the outsourcing vendor or in-house development team.

Time will also be dedicated to developing and testing software from a user’s perspective. This may include multiple iterations and bug fixes before getting the desired results.

Risk of Choosing the Wrong Vendor

There is the risk of choosing a wrong outsourcing company to develop your custom software. Unfortunately, picking an unprofessional vendor might cost you even more. This is because you would have invested time and money into a project that won’t be completed or won’t be built to satisfaction.

Choosing a reliable software development partner to outsource your project is essential for the best outcomes.

Why Choose Intellectsoft for Custom Software Development

Intellectsoft is a best-in-class software development company with over 16 years of experience in custom software development across different industries. We have a track record of the world’s leading enterprises and Fortune 500 companies.

At Intellectsoft, our professional services cover software engineering, consulting, and outsourcing. We understand that pricing can be a concern in bespoke software development. As such, we provide a competitive and reasonable pricing model that fits your budget and business needs.

We consider time-to-market, so we provide a dedicated team for your project. Our team of skilled developers is happy to get to work immediately after signing a contract.

You can also check out our client success stories involving small-scale businesses to enterprises. We have provided custom-made solutions to companies in oil & gas, transportation, entertainment, fintech, construction, tourism, and healthcare, among many others.

Final Words

Each organization has unique requirements. Most of them are aware that commercial software won’t live up to their expectations or solve the problems their customers face.

You know your customers’ pain points more than anyone because they are the center of your business. Once you understand the problems your customers face, you’ll be able to develop custom software solutions that address those issues.

As a rule of thumb, you should have software that can accommodate your company’s requirements, which is not always the case with off-the-shelf solutions. This is why businesses hire a development team to build unique applications that satisfy their needs and requirements.

In addition, bespoke software provides customers with more personalization. This is likely to generate higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

Ultimately, the pros of customized software outweigh the cons. Building bespoke software is your best chance to succeed if you want a competitive advantage and make a real difference in the market.

Do you have a big idea in mind? Then you should get the best hands for the job. Our team of experts at Intellectsoft is more than happy to discuss your project.

Regardless of industry or company size, you can trust us to successfully implement your business requirements. Contact us today, and our managers will answer any questions you may have.

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14 Reasons Why Businesses Need Mobile Apps

Let’s face it: people have become addicted to smartphones. There is no other type of portable device that has achieved similar popularity. That’s why many companies use the opportunity to reach potential and existing customers by creating mobile applications. The advantages described below will help you realize the immense importance of a mobile app for business and possibly persuade you to invest in developing an application for your enterprise.

Since the list of positive effects is rather big, it has to be divided for better understanding. While all the listed features will ultimately benefit a company, they are aimed at two groups: business managers and customers.

Mobile App Benefits for Business Management

Companies that have invested in their custom mobile applications may fully employ a number of highly useful perks. These benefits help in gaining a competitive advantage in the market by making the business more productive and flexible. In competitive markets, your company needs to seize every opportunity to be ahead of your rivals. A high-quality mobile app will provide a range of such opportunities.

• Reaching out to larger audiences. This benefit comes from the fact that people spend most of their days with smartphones in their hands. It means that people would have access to your services or goods virtually anywhere. More importantly, customers would easily make an order using a mobile app whenever they are in the mood or feel the right impulse. If your business has a mobile app, in some cases you don’t even have to open “offline” offices to cover new areas. Generally, it is easier and more cost-effective to reach a partnership with a trustworthy delivery company to expand your business to new territories. Larger coverage leads to increased sales and bigger profits.
• Optimized sales. The use of a mobile app makes it easier for your sales managers or consultants to reach customers and confirm their orders, set delivery dates, or provide useful information. For example, we have developed app for Harley-Davidson that helps turn exhibition visitors into customers. It is also an efficient way to deliver information about new goods in stock, new features of the app added in the latest update, and so on. Generally, such mobile applications also provide search functionality that allows customers to find required items without communicating with shop consultants.
• Better statistics gathering. Mobile operating systems offer a lot of ways to collect information related to the interaction between the user and your software. Personal data is useful to learn customers’ preferences, predict their future needs and suggest an optimal way of delivery. For example, if a person buys a baby crib, your app may suggest other wares for toddlers during the same or the next interaction with this client. Depersonalized data is invaluable for business analysis in order to build and alter management plans, marketing strategies, and so on.
• Easier promotion. Your company can announce new merchandise, services, discounts, and other offers much more effectively using the potential provided in every smartphone. Your software can use push notifications to inform users in a less intrusive way than, for example, pop-ups on a website. We have implemented similar functionality in our custom solution for a major clothing retail chain. Another mobile app business opportunity is the ability to promote your services or engage customers via in-app suggestions powered by analytics algorithms.
• 24/7 availability. Unlike offline shops or offices with specified working hours, mobile apps can be accessed at any time. This means that your company’s services or goods are available for browsing and ordering. This way, you will not lose clients when your offline outlets are closed. Even when your staff is not at work, the application can use a specially trained chatbot to communicate with customers and relay information to respective departments.
• Better image. A company-branded mobile app is a certain milestone in business development. If a startup releases a mobile software product, it declares that it has both funds and tenacity to expand its presence on the market. Building and maintaining a mobile application requires a well-planned budget and a thorough business strategy. That’s why it strengthens your reputation and makes your position among rivals more formidable.
• Enhanced security. Websites are notoriously vulnerable to hacking or DDoS attacks. Mobile applications are additionally verified by Google and Apple before appearing in their respective app stores. This way, your business operations and interactions with customers are better protected from malicious activities of botnets, viruses, or other digital threats. Additionally, smartphones have built-in means of security, such as face recognition, fingerprint authentication, etc. Those features will make customers feel more secure when using your mobile application, so they will potentially spend more time in it and make more orders.

Benefits of Mobile Apps for Customers

Mobile software will also help your company by offering numerous positive perks to your clients. This will lead to better customer satisfaction and increase their loyalty and trust in your brand. Your clients will love a convenient application that works fast and has a user-friendly interface. Their positive impression of the app will transfer to your brand’s image in general. Simply put, a good mobile application will make users like your company more.

• Time saving. A mobile app will ensure easy and fast access to goods, services, and customer support from a smartphone or a tablet. For instance, instead of spending hours browsing shelves in warehouses, users can go through your entire assortment in mere minutes. Similarly, if you are in a car rental business, clients can easily use an application to check the whole selection of vehicles available to them.
• Convenience and new experience. Mobile applications are designed to use smartphone hardware to provide a unique customer experience. For example, with the help of a camera and augmented reality technologies users may be able to try on clothes virtually. Regardless of the industry, it is hard to overestimate the potential perks of digital technologies provided by the combination of modern hardware and mobile apps in business.
• Delivery monitoring. Using their smartphones, customers can check the status of their orders as they are being processed and delivered. This gives users the feeling of control and assurance that they would get what they want and when they expect. An application can schedule a push notification to appear on the device screen on the delivery day.
• Easy access to loyalty programs. After logging in to a mobile app, eligible customers can see and utilize the perks for regular clients. Those perks include rewards, bonuses, discounts, and other tactics to build long-term clientele. For example, your app may recalculate the prices automatically and apply the discount earned by a particular client who uses the mobile device.
• Personalization. To increase customer engagement by providing personalized deals and offers, the application may utilize data analysis and targeting algorithms. This will make users believe that your company cares about their needs and may even predict them to a certain degree. The research conducted by Google showed that 58% of mobile users prefer when a company’s app “remembers” them. The software can also have several color schemes to appeal to the personal preferences of each particular user.
• Offline interaction minimization. Many people dislike offline shopping because they associate it with long queues, crowded and noisy environments, as well as tedious waiting for their spouses. A mobile application can become a blessing to introverts or anyone who is not overly fond of human interactions. This advantage turned out to be extremely important during the COVID pandemic. The use of mobile apps allowed many businesses to continue their work while minimizing personal contact.
• Ability to give and receive feedback. Users of a business mobile app may view comments and responses from other clients. The software may automatically mark the reactions from verified clients and hide messages from unconfirmed users. This way, both positive and negative feedback can only be provided by real customers. This measure will prevent spam attacks where fake users attempt to leave numerous negative comments regarding your services or goods.

Conclusion

As you can see, mobile app benefits for business are numerous and indisputable. They can create an appealing user experience, increase brand loyalty, and make your company more recognizable and trustworthy, in addition to many other advantages. With the help of a mobile application, your business will be able to reach more customers and answer their needs with greater accuracy and care.

However, those positive effects involve certain expenditures and provisions. To make an informed decision, you also need to know how mobile applications can affect the business process in a negative way. Poor-quality mobile apps may discourage your customers from using them. For instance, customers won’t be able to buy from you if your mobile app doesn’t allow them to add items to their cart. And it is only one example from many when something may go wrong.

That is why you need a highly qualified team to develop, test, release, and support your mobile software. Intellectsoft has 15+ years of experience in this field and provides custom solutions for businesses in many industries, like eCommerce, Fintech, Real Estate, Healthcare, and others. Our company offers a wide range of mobile app development services: from initial consulting and prototyping to maintenance and support.

If you want to fully enjoy the business benefits of a custom-made mobile application, contact us. Intellectsoft will deliver you an optimal software solution tailored specifically to your needs.

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In this article, we are going to show how to choose a software development company that matches your needs. Here, you will find all the main steps that will help you start a fruitful collaboration and get the required software. Let’s get started.

Reasons You Should Partner With an Outsourcing Software Development Company 

Before we are going to explore the main steps to choosing the software development partner that matches your requirements, let’s find out how you can find candidates. As you probably know, hiring an in-house team is very costly and time-consuming. Nowadays, more and more companies are opting for outsourcing companies to entrust them with custom software development. The benefits of partnering with outsourcing companies are immense.

First of all, it’s a proven way to reduce costs. In fact, it’s worth noting that 70% of companies decide to outsource with the main goal of minimizing their expenses and, at the same time, receiving top-notch services from a vendor.

There are plenty of destinations to outsource, however, the most popular countries that deliver software development services of the highest quality are Eastern European countries like Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. They offer the most reasonable prices for projects of different complexity.

Another advantage of outsourcing is the unique access to a wide talent pool of specialists. Unlike choosing from a limited number of local developers, you can access specialists with different expertise from all over the world. You can choose a team that matches your budget and tech requirements to start working on your project.

Moreover, if you outsource your software development, most likely all you have to do is to track the team’s progress. Usually, outsourcing vendors are responsible for the full development lifecycle and your only job is to make sure everything goes smoothly and according to your plan. Therefore, outsourcing is the best solution for many businesses to get all things done effectively.

Enquire about the most suitable and cost-effective outsourcing model for your project here. 

11 Steps to Understanding You Start the Collaboration With the Right Partner

What are tips for choosing a software development company? Now, let’s dive into the effective strategies that will help you select a trusted and reliable partner and ensure your collaboration will be successful.

1. Define your business needs

Before you start looking for a partner, it’s crucial to clearly define your business goals and vision for the future. This is the first step to building a successful collaboration. Once you do this, you will understand what things matter for your company and what you need to pay attention to while contacting potential software vendors.

If you require some extra help in defining your business goals and vision feel free to reach out to Intellectsoft’s managers and they will assist with all your questions as well as how to find a great software development company.  

2. Establish selection criteria

Now, having your business objectives in mind and having an understanding of what software or application you need, you can establish software vendor selection criteria that critical for you while searching. It’s important to know what exactly you are looking for. Think of the details that will be decisive for your final choice like budget, location, number of employees, market expertise, industry focus, track record with similar companies, etc.

3. Create a list of matching partners

With the partner criteria established, you can do some research online and create a long list of companies that meet your basic to advanced requirements. The longer list you will make, the more options you will have to consider when you trim down to the essential candidates to pick the best one.

4. Make sure they specialize in what you need

Be extra careful when reviewing the websites and services of the potential vendors from your list. Sometimes while choosing the right software development company it can be a perfect match but a company doesn’t have the relevant experience in your specific industry or never worked with the technologies you want to implement. Usually, all the core info is posted on a website so make sure they have all the expertise needed.

5. Shortlist the companies

Once you are through all the previous steps, it’s high time to narrow down your potential partners and shortlist companies you have. Pick around 5 outsourcing software development companies and contact them to discuss your project. Afterward, it will be possible to compare their offer and decide what’s the best option.

6. Analyze portfolio and case studies

In order to see the tech scope, and project complexity a company has worked with it’s paramount to take a close look at its portfolio. Therefore, you will be able to evaluate what projects the company completed, how they dealt with the challenges presented, as well as what solutions they delivered.

View all client success stories at Intellectsoft here and see how our specialists solved business challenges through effective software implementation.  

7. Read reviews and testimonials

Everything you see on a website like a portfolio is great but you should also pay extra attention to the honest feedback directly from their clients. Usually, they share their transparent opinion regarding the overall partnership and end results. You don’t have to limit yourself to one resource as there are a lot of platforms where you can find reviews about a certain outsourcing company.

We encourage you to get familiar with reviews that our clients left on Clutch. 

8. Check their awards

Another pretty important aspect you should pay attention to is  awards. A qualified and trusted company usually has not just a track record of clients and projects but also rewards. Some of the main platforms that assess software development providers are Inc.500, The Manifest, Good Firms, Clutch, IT firms, and others.

9. Request their security practices

While collaborating with an outsourcing company, you will share a lot of sensitive information. And your main priority is to see what safety and security measures a potential partner puts in place to protect your ideas and product.

In addition, don’t forget to sign a non-disclosure agreement even before you start all the processes. It will enable you to ensure all the information you share will be safe and protected.

10. Assess their cultural fit

The cultural fit of a team also matters. If you decide to outsource your project it means you will have to collaborate with people from a different culture which means dealing with a different mentality, potential language barrier, cultural differences, etc. Take into consideration the way a company you consider communicates and research their values. If this information is not available on the website, you can think of the set of questions you want to ask and conduct a small interview before hiring them.

11. Make a final choice

You are one step away from starting your partnership with the right company. Take into account all the details on how to choose the right software development company and don’t rush with the choice. It’s better to take your time and thoroughly analyze all the data and make a well-informed decision that will define the future of your business.

Why Intellectsoft? 

If you want to outsource your next project and build quality software that will help your business grow then Intellectsoft can be a matching partner you should certainly consider.

Our team has operated in the software development market for over 15 years already and has an impeccable reputation among our clients. Intellectsoft has delivered dozens of successful projects to international businesses and renowned Fortune 500 companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Eurostar, E&Y, Guinness, Harley Davidson, AF Gruppen, and so many more.

We have experience in building custom software development projects of different complexity levels. Intellectsoft offers a wide range of professional services in the field of software development, consulting, and outstaffing. The level of expertise of our team is outstanding and you can entrust us with your ideas so we can help your company grow exponentially and fully benefit from digitalization.

To learn more about the projects we delivered — check out the list of client success stories. Find out what business challenges Intellectsoft solved through high-end software development.

Don’t hesitate to contact us and our managers will reach out to discuss your project in detail and offer you an effective implementation plan as well as budget estimates.

Conclusion

Choosing the best software development company ain’t easy at all. However, in order to build long-lasting relationships and develop a software project that will enable your business to grow, it is crucial to pay extra attention to searching for one. We have presented the most effective tips for choosing a software development company to select the most suitable outsourcing vendors as well as to choose the one you will start a collaboration with. Now, you are one step closer to starting your successful and promising digitization journey.

The post 11 Steps to Collaborate with the Right Software Development Partner  appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.