Mobile Apps Development – Interfacing Platforms and Devices

Today's  evolutionary world makes it vital for the enterprises to keep their environment in tune with the changing technology landscape. With technology becoming   more  open from the interoperability perspective, enterprises use  technology as a critical business enabler. Mobile phones which were initially developed for easy communication when on the move  have today evolved into devices that offer communications in various forms from text messaging, email, Internet access, Blue-tooth communications to business applications, gaming and photography and other  general computing capabilities.

With the development of  smartphones  the days of monolithic applications left behind. Technology has surged ahead today with  software applications as modular components. The  spectrum of new devices made available in the market paves way  for  customers to look forward to new applications that can be loaded on these devices to meet their ever-changing demands. The new technology landscape being a vibrant space full of opportunities, creating simple and effective applications while maintaining the need for safe and secure data access, mobile apps  development has  now become  a challenge for the mobile application developer.

Wikipedia defines mobile application development as - “the process by which application software is developed for low-power handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants, enterprise digital assistants or mobile phones". These applications which can either  be pre-installed on phones during manufacture or  can be downloaded by customers from various mobile software distribution platforms, or delivered as web applications  to provide an "application-like" experience within a Web browser.  However,with the exponential growth of the mobile market, and the availability of next-generation technology based platforms, the end-users today look for mobile applications with more processing power,  flexibility, reliability, security and ability to integrate  with other applications.

The leading service providers and IT giants have developed software tools and process to help the application development teams to  develop cost-effective applications  that can enhance e-commerce solutions. However, being focused on mobile apps development, the developers with an in-depth domain understanding work on areas such as Location-Based Services (LBS),  Mobile Media Streaming, social networking, messaging & syncing, mobile ad engines, Mobile VoIP  and Gaming.

The mobile applications developed by the leaders in the sector enhances the mobile ecosystem functioning by effectively performing the tasks such as

·         Developing mobile applications for various platforms along with quality analysis testing

·         Conceptualizing mobile applications and eliciting requirements of user interface design, prototype etc.

·         Interfacing mobile applications between platforms and devices

·       Developing server-side and infrastructure, including for location & mapping services

·       Integrating third-party components and carrier for SMS, MMS, billing systems

·       Coordinating with carriers and device manufacturers for  testing and certification

·       Launching and distributing mobile applications

·       providing carrier catalogs

Besides these tasks, the  mobile application development teams while working through with various layers of the mobile device, either directly or in collaboration with third-party providers also ensure  maintenance and product support services leading to  enhanced customer satisfaction.

Related Links: advisory services, product engineering

Benefits of Innovative eCommerce Solutions

Online shopping and the eCommerce industry has boomed over the past few years with majority of consumers shopping online from books to bags. Previously, online shopping took time to thrive owing to the fact of authenticity. However, today consumers are no longer inhibited about this aspect as most shopping sites have been able to prove their product authenticity in the recent years. Therefore, what most consumers are looking forward today is an unique online shopping experience from the eCommerce and online sites that is simple, intuitive and user friendly. eCommerce companies hence are looking forward to innovative ways and solutions to enhance their service guaranteeing maximum customer satisfaction.

Today eCommerce means much more than the B2C and the B2B shopping websites. Owing to the prominence of social networking sites the conventional online shopping model has undergone a transformation and integrates active participation from the customers in selling and marketing of products. Furthermore, with the advent of mobile application development and advanced technologies a new channel has been introduced to the retail vertical that enables customers to directly shop from their mobile phones. The main objective of the eCommerce brands here is to gain a competitive advantage over other market players and ensure a satisfying consumer experience. This comprises of secure data management, sharp user interface, quick performance and the scope manage huge amounts of traffic.

Today leading product engineering companies have introduced advanced eCommerce solutions by working with various BPM workflow modeling (Appian, JBPM, OS Workflow) and reporting tools(Jasper, BIRT, Appian, Kettle, Microstrategy). This helps in offering eCommere software product development services that are cost-efficient in nature, consistent and fast. Other features of this solution include the following:

·         Offers online storefronts, catalogs and shopping carts
·         Enables a web-based administration products for efficiently managing inventory, coupon codes and gift certificates
·         Provides point of sales (POS) and payment processing solutions
·         There are web portals for travel, ticketing and event management
·         Provides online auction engines that are based on open source libraries
·         The websites are optimized for the user content generation
·         There is location-based shopping services for mobile phones
·         Provides a reliable, scalable platforms for digital content delivery
·         Offers advanced and next-generation ad servers

Leading solution providers of eCommerce solutions today have been working with leading industry players and developed innovative retail productions. The main focus areas comprise on online, social and mobile commerce, interactive advertising and websites for specialized services.

Related Links: product lifecycle management, retail store solutions

Benefits of Android Software Development

In the recent past various kinds of Android software development technologies have emerged in the industry. Several good reasons can be associated with this. Android is an open source platform and the develop can attain an edge over other market players. The developer community today is working constantly on multiple applications and are feeding in some of the updated technical achievements. This makes sure that the android platform has a lesser vulnerability to failure. However, there are certain benefits that are associated with the Android software development.

Relevant profits within a low budget

It is very reasonable to invest in a system that is based on Android technology. Furthermore, if one is an experience Android application developer you can efficiently recover rates. At the same time, Android comes without any license and hence you can set up sophisticated applications with lesser expenditure. Numerous new age applications have recently been developed on Android are being used by millions globally.

Reasonably Priced

The Android application developers are able to utilize multiple applications without having to incur any licensing expense. Furthermore, there are other resources that required for a sample SDK construction. You can provide your consumers certain changes. Programs can also be arranged and altered freely thereby minimizing the development expenses. Organizations can attain numerous benefits from such programs based on Android, namely the WiFi workers and mobile phone providers in particular.

Today eminent companies specializing in application development services offer innovative solutions with their deep understanding of the ever changing mobile iPhone and Android application development environment. The expertise of these companies span across all leading mobile devices, OS and platforms. Furthermore, they have the know-how to design, develop, test, assist and implement enterprise and consumer mobile application for the following technologies:

Mobile Devices

·         IPad

·         IPhone

·         Motorola

·         LG

·         Samsung

·         Motorola

·         Microsoft

·         Nokia

·         BlackBerry

·         Sony Ericsson

Mobile Operating Systems and Platforms

·         Android

·         iOS J2ME

·         BREW

·         Windows Mobile

·         Palm

·         Symbian

·         BlackBerry

Android software development is appropriate for all kinds of inter-application integration. If there is a situation where there is a host of programs and you are wanting to merge or cross promote it, then Android application is the best platform. The technology is appropriate for any kind of snugly made the connection between various software applications and numerous developers are using it to innovate in this vertical.

Related Links:  Embedded software developer, Agile software development

Offshore Development Services – A Necessity for Smart Businesses

An increasingly large number of companies are turning to offshore development and partnerships, predominantly to lower delivery costs and gain access to diverse IT skill sets. Offshore software development service has emerged as a complete turnaround for business processes around the world. A recent report also indicates that most offshore outsourcing efforts save 15 percent to 20 percent when all costs are considered, with best-practices firms achieving 25 percent to 30 percent savings.

Many companies have started outsourcing a number of business processes like client handling, back-end process, human resource management etc. With offshore software development, businesses can focus on their core business areas without worrying about other areas of the consorted business operation. It is evident from various resources that offshore software development is not a single-handed process. Both, the client and the vendor, work together to achieve the business goals set at onset of each project. Outsourcing Software Development Services includes a lineup of inputs, commencing from definition to designing, ensuing development that effectuate in its successful deployment in relevant field.

Cost Saving – A major advantage
Outsourcing is a win-win situation and smart decisions like these can help your business
in many ways, as it is rightly said "money saved is money earned". The primary benefit of offshore is the substantial cost savings based on low offshore labor rates, access to specialized technology skills, and continuous development process. By outsourcing your requirements, there is no need to set-up an infrastructure in your company. There are no additional costs to be incurred except for the fees charged by the offshore company.

With companies striving to have technological approach and minimum cost input for their products and services, offshore software product development has surfaced as the best choice. Offshore development services have become a competitive necessity in the era of e-business.

Some of the other benefits include
Meeting Deadlines - While outsourced company will be committed towards carrying out your work within deadlines, you can concentrate on other significant business activities. Offshore development services providers are specialized in deploying project on time with satisfactory results.

Quality - The quality assurance team ensures stringent quality measures to reduce the risk of software bugs in the solution. The affordability factor doesn’t affect the quality of the solution as every feature is thoroughly tested before going live.

Expertise - The developers with different background and skills helps in developing a robust solution that can outperform existing solutions in the industry.

Choose a company that offer offshore development services with an innovative approach to technology solutions as businesses can enjoy the maximum benefits from powers of managed services. A company with better industry expertise will be able to provide better solutions that can meet the present and future needs of your company.

Also read on - Mobile application development, Application lifecycle management

Delivering Predictable Quality through Independent Testing

Maintenance and delivery of quality products or services is the core ingredient that builds and upholds the reputation of your business. The quality assurance tests are critical processes that have to be dealt with precision and proficiency to ensure that the final product is foolproof. The engagement of inexperienced evaluators and engineers for quality testing is a risk that can jeopardize your business fatally. Standardized industry processes have to be followed and maintenance of high levels of integration and security is mandatory to qualify a product and consider it fit for use.

You will not be able to achieve your goals if you do not have professionals with industry expertise on board who use the latest technologies to perform the quality and testing process as per the market trends and give you a competitive edge. As the requirements and specifications of each industry is different these experts exhibit skills and knowledge that are approved by the industry for product development. They have the capability to provide comprehensive advisory services and constant support for the development of automated solutions.

They provide you with fully equipped labs for quality and testing activities. They have a vital responsibility of analyzing the requirements of your business and developing strategies, selecting the testing techniques and making adaptations, deciding the time frames and providing an estimate of the outcome of the process. They provide platforms for certification purposes. They determine the coverage and statistics metrics, set up the test environments, analyze use cases and create test cases, execute the test cases and analyze the results.

They are skilled in detecting defects, providing reports and solutions to fix the defects effectively. They analyze the test cycle results and collect the statistics. They prepare the test cycle status reports. These industry approved testing advisors impart valuable inputs in the areas of unit, multi-unit and system testing, user acceptance testing, functional testing, performance testing, user interface and usability testing, installation and configuration testing, security testing, localization and internationalization testing, products integration testing, regression testing and  technical documentation testing. They recommend innovative and improvised product development services with highly collaborative capabilities for an encouraging result.

The specialized advisory services are a strong support in your endeavor to achieve your business goals as they help identify opportunities that can render valuable effects. Their contributions towards the development of a competitive and quality product without any cost escalations help in leveraging the potentials of your business and ensuring productive returns.


Click here to read more on - ecommerce solutions, Mobile application development

Unshakable Attainment with Emphatic Mobile Application Development Strategies

The world is moving rapidly towards a mobile-driven realm with the popularity of social networking platforms, mobile media streaming facilities, messaging and gaming capabilities, mobile advertising campaigns and mobile VoIP. There is no doubt that the pace has picked up as everybody needs instant resolutions and information. The internet has helped in accelerating the processes and with advanced technologies the hunger for instant answers is increasing. Thus you have to ensure that your business is in tandem with the current market requirements to provide your customers with explicit and rich experiences.

The pursuit for higher goals in business has transcended the normal requirements threshold. If you want to achieve greater success you must provide facilities that can incorporate mobile applications and help the customers to download files, movies and other stuff easily on their mobile devices from remote locations. You can garner the patronage of the youth with mobile gaming facilities. You can leverage your marketing campaigns and enhance the visibility of your business by providing web based facilities for collecting feedbacks, survey polls etc. Thus you need flexible, robust, scalable and secure applications that can deliver powerful performances promptly without affecting the costs.

It is very important to adopt an open source software development platform as it can be configured and used as per the business requirements. It provides you the ability to develop products without any conditions and helps in integrating with other applications too. An open source software development platform provides you the flexibility to incorporate any changes in the mobile application development process without any issue so that you can deliver the desired product to your customers without wasting time.

The gaming market experiences new trends frequently and there are several contenders in the race who are ready to provide the customers with the elements that they want. You also need tools and resources that can help you grab the opportunity and make the best out of it. You need the support of a talented and skilled team in developing mobile applications as per the market’s demand. These experts provide intelligent solutions for designing, developing and testing applications. They deploy integration processes that assist in the launching and distribution of mobile applications.

Technologies with powerful capabilities for transforming and leveraging the mobile application development process can produce inspiring results without delays and in a cost-effective manner. Adopting these technologies can render exponential returns for your business.

Also read on - Independent verification, Product support services

Understanding the Significance of Business Intelligence Tools

Decisions drive organizations, and making a good decision at a critical moment leads to a more efficient operation, a more profitable enterprise. Business intelligence tools are instrumental to business success because it will aid a company in releasing the power of learning from the past, based on the data and information it provides. With business intelligence you can leverage your organization’s operating data, to gain a competitive advantage and to improve efficiency. It is a flexible resource that can work at various organizational levels and various times. Historical data when converted to information can in fact serve many valuable purposes to your business. In order to build a successful business you thus have to think of such data and information as an asset to your company. In recent times, the concept of business intelligence has gained huge significance in every organization.

Business Intelligence are absolutely key if you have even the slightest understanding of the potential that unlocking the value that is in your historical information can bring to your company or organization. Thinking of your information and data as one of your greatest assets is a start.  Business intelligence tools or bi reporting tools help you release the power of hindsight from your information, and turn it into cutting edge foresight. Business intelligence tools enable you to quickly see which products you ought to be promoting, in which markets and through what channels.

Business intelligence tools, when combined with your operational data, enable you to:

• Build profits by targeting profitable activities.
• Increase customer loyalty and retain customers for life.
• Increase proportion of high-value customers in your customer mix.
• Deploy higher-yield promotions and advertising.
• Predict future behavior of prospects and customers.

Key to developing high-performance business Intelligence solutions is the selection of the right tools and technologies. Adapting, learning and changing can come in the form of making changes to your products and services based on the market intelligence derived from the data and information. On the other hand, managing and controlling could come in the form of assessing the results of previous plans based on the new data and information. All of these are made possible with the effective use of business intelligence tools.

The right solution provider combines proprietary, open source software development and stand-alone technologies and advisory services and helps in developing and supporting robust, cost-effective business intelligence solutions. In order to get the most from business intelligence tools, you should be using them to adapt, learn, and change as well as to manage and control your organization.

Also read on  - distributed software development

Developments in Mobile Application Development Industry

The mobile phone has become more than a necessity today. It has multiple utilities than just simple calling and texting. The internet boom and the growth of mobile technologies have added to the development of mobile application development. This means, today mobile workers are able to work from their mobile phones or smart phones when they are moving from one place to the other. Not only that, the online gaming industry depends on innovative mobile application technologies and makes business on the maximum download percentage.

Most consumers look out for high –end mobiles than just a basic model. They want a phone that would help them in computing when they are not in front of their desktops or laptops. This has resulted in several MNC’s to foray into mobile application development solutions. The scope to create better solutions and applications is increasing each day, as any software that is discovered today needs to be updated after a span of time.  As you venture into the market, you will come across several mobile operating platforms for instance Java, Symbian, Android, Windows, Blackberry and the like. The process of mobile application development works toward increasing the productivity level of a mobile.

Top software product development brands nowadays are equipped with the methodologies, tools and the required experience and knowledge that enabled them to establish mobile applications faster and in a cost-effective way. The focus areas are listed below-

• Location-Based Services (LBS)
• Mobile Media Streaming
• Presence & Social Networking
• Messaging & Syncing
• Mobile Advertisement & Ad Engines
• Mobile VoIP
• Gaming

Apart from these, the service providers also have the skill and experience of working with Level A companies and assist them with effective product lifecycle management solutions. Some of the selected mobile application support and development facilities provided by them are listed below-

• Developing mobile applications in J2ME, BREW, Android, iPhone, Symbian, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry
• Conceptualizing mobile applications and eliciting requirements, for instance UI design, prototype, wireframes, user stories
• Designing, developing and testing applications
• Porting mobile applications between platforms and devices
• Developing server-side and infrastructure, including for location & mapping services
• Integrating third-party components on the server side, for instance SMS/MMS, billing, feeds, ads, content and many others
• Integrating carrier, SMSC and billing systems, for instance LBS platform for location determination
• Coordinating with carriers and device manufacturers for mobile application testing and certification, for instance NSTL, Java Verified
• Launching and distributing mobile applications
• Carrier Catalogs and Storefronts
• Providing maintenance and support services

Today the mobile application development industry is a million dollar industry and is only expected to flourish and expand in the coming days, which will serve as a platform fort other companies to make profits.

Also read on - ecommerce solutions, Customer research

The Benefits of Open Source Software

Typically, the most reliable, secure and efficient software is usually under an open license and not owned by a company. Open source software was developed with the source code freely available to the public. It may be a unique way of developing software, but it is surprisingly common and effective. It can be downloaded by anyone, and the necessary changes can be made with the hope that any improvements made by individuals will be committed back to the main source tree, thereby benefitting everyone by the modifications.

The commercial replacement cost of free software is high and to deploy a commercial solution it would be necessary to trim back for a significant buy. Not all of the benefits of open source software deployment are in the form of cost savings. Most of the benefits are is in terms of capabilities gained. Some of the other benefits are

Security
Open source allows anyone to examine software for security flaws. The incessant and broad peer-review enabled by publicly available source code enhances security through the identification and elimination of flaws that can be missed. Gartner, recommends the open source Apache Web server as a more secure alternative to closed source Internet Information servers. The availability of source code also facilitates in-depth security reviews and audits by government customers.  

Fast deployment
With open source software consumers needn't wait years to deploy a solution. Open source software is predominantly apposite for inter-agency collaboration, rapid prototyping and experimentation and can be “test driven” prior to procurement. Both known and unanticipated users can be swiftly provisioned.

Reliability
As open source is peer reviewed software, it is more reliable. The infrastructure of the Internet is largely composed of open-source programs such as DNS, send mail, Apache and languages such as HTML and Perl. They have proven to be both reliable and robust under the most strenuous conditions, like the fast growth of the Internet.

Low-cost
Open source software is often developed through community forums and collaborative. Developers volunteer their time and expertise, and are coordinated by fewer paid programmers. The lower overhead costs translates into substantial savings, as does the fact that open source software typically does not have a per-seat licensing cost. According to Gartner, open source is even more attractive to businesses during tough economic times.

Lower virus vulnerability
Traditionally, an open source OS's have fared better than other operating systems. A virus infection on a network server can be devastating in terms of data loss, down time, and staff time required for reconstruction. Open source servers that are less vulnerable to virus infections provide cost savings in terms of diminished liability in these areas.

Open Source Software may not provide a solution for every computing requirement, but it is a well established part of the computing ecosystem that plays a critical role in Internet and business infrastructure that enables companies to access expert resources and components that accelerate software product development  and release processes.

Also Read on:  Ecommerce solutions, Mobile application development

The Benefits of Open Source Software

Typically, the most reliable, secure and efficient software is usually under an open license and not owned by a company. Open source software was developed with the source code freely available to the public. It may be a unique way of developing software, but it is surprisingly common and effective. It can be downloaded by anyone, and the necessary changes can be made with the hope that any improvements made by individuals will be committed back to the main source tree, thereby benefitting everyone by the modifications.
The commercial replacement cost of free software is high and to deploy a commercial solution it would be necessary to trim back for a significant buy. Not all of the benefits of open source software deployment are in the form of cost savings. Most of the benefits are is in terms of capabilities gained. Some of the other benefits are

Security
Open source allows anyone to examine software for security flaws. The incessant and broad peer-review enabled by publicly available source code enhances security through the identification and elimination of flaws that can be missed. Gartner, recommends the open source Apache Web server as a more secure alternative to closed source Internet Information servers. The availability of source code also facilitates in-depth security reviews and audits by government customers.  

Fast deployment
With open source software consumers needn't wait years to deploy a solution. Open source software is predominantly apposite for inter-agency collaboration, rapid prototyping and experimentation and can be “test driven” prior to procurement. Both known and unanticipated users can be swiftly provisioned.

Reliability
As open source is peer reviewed software, it is more reliable. The infrastructure of the Internet is largely composed of open-source programs such as DNS, send mail, Apache and languages such as HTML and Perl. They have proven to be both reliable and robust under the most strenuous conditions, like the fast growth of the Internet.

Low-cost
Open source software is often developed through community forums and collaborative. Developers volunteer their time and expertise, and are coordinated by fewer paid programmers. The lower overhead costs translates into substantial savings, as does the fact that open source software typically does not have a per-seat licensing cost. According to Gartner, open source is even more attractive to businesses during tough economic times.

Lower virus vulnerability
Traditionally, an open source OS's have fared better than other operating systems. A virus infection on a network server can be devastating in terms of data loss, down time, and staff time required for reconstruction. Open source servers that are less vulnerable to virus infections provide cost savings in terms of diminished liability in these areas.

Open Source Software may not provide a solution for every computing requirement, but it is a well established part of the computing ecosystem that plays a critical role in Internet and business infrastructure that enables companies to access expert resources and components that accelerate software product development  and release processes.

Also Read on:  Ecommerce solutions, Mobile application development