Author: Abhishek Nag

  • Five reasons to use React Native for your next mobile app

    Five reasons to use React Native for your next mobile app

    Five reasons to use React Native for your next mobile app

    For any business to thrive, developing a mobile app is a crucial strategic move. Developing any mobile app is a complicated procedure. The developers need to invest a lot of effort and time before the app is ready to launch. However, in this era of technological advancement, the innovations in the framework of app development, this process has become a lot easier. Without any doubt, one name among those technological advancements in the development of frameworks is React Native.

    So, if you are wondering how React Native can offer improvements in the development of the mobile app, then here are the answers.

    What is React Native?

    Facebook has created this open-source framework known as React Native. As it uses Java Sricpt as the core programming language, this particular framework can reduce time and also improve the performance of cross-platform apps. While working with Android, you need to program your mobile app with the help of Java, and in the case of iOS, you need to use Swift/Objective C. 

    React Native can help you to avoid these needs and enables you to develop apps that are fully functional on both iOS and Android platforms within very little time while using just a single code base.

    Nowadays, many companies choose to create their apps with the help of this strategy of using one code helps them to deploy their apps on both iOS and Android platforms. Thus, they can easily avoid the need to hire two different teams of developers to maintain two separate code bases.

    The reasons for using React Native for your mobile app

    React Native can help you by offering various solutions which you may not get from other frameworks, such as:

    You can work in your familiar programming language

    While developing your mobile apps with the help of React Native, your developers do not need to learn a different programming language and coding syntaxes. They just need to know JavaScript. React Native is very easy to learn if your developers are already familiar with or have knowledge about React or JavaScript. The vital thing is that they need to know which component of the mobile can correspond with which web components. After this task is performed, your developers can work with React Native to become successful in mobile app development.

    You can enjoy cross-platform compatibility

    Another notable advantage of this React Native framework is using a single codebase. With this unique feature, cross-platforms can also show the same level of performance as native apps. This React Native framework uses React JS with native APIs and a native UI library to write the base code for one application that is able to run on both Android and iOS platforms.

    So, with the help of React JS, you can re-use component logic, state management, and even React hooks to enjoy a better mobile application that has all the native functionalities. Hence, it can reduce the development time to a great extent and helps you in keeping the total cost of app development really low. As you can develop faster, this means you can create and launch your mobile apps really fast. Moreover, there is no need to hire separate developers to build apps for two different platforms.

    React Native is trustworthy

    Before the creation of React Native, Facebook created a mobile app to check the viability of the platform. This helped their developers to create a fantastic mobile app for the social media platform. Nowadays, everyone loves to use the Facebook mobile app, as it offers the feeling of using a mobile app that is native. As React Native is open-source, more organizations trust React Native to develop their mobile apps, some examples can be Walmart, Skype, Instagram, etc.

    You can work with pre-built components and reusable codes

    The benefit of working with a cross-platform mobile app is that you can use the same code for both Android and iOS apps. React Native also works like this. It enables you to write once and launch everywhere. Thus, developers can work in a convenient way because they don’t have to create different designs for different platforms.

    You can support third-party plugins

    React Native provides third-party plugin support. There are two types of applicable plugins, which are JavaScript Modules and Native Modules. Hence, for example, if you need to add Google Maps or Google Calendar to your basic app, then with the help of React Native, you can link to any third-party or Native module.

    Therefore, React Native can be your perfect companion when you think about creating a versatile, trustworthy, and easy-to-use mobile app. If you are looking to build your own software product, you can get in touch with us now!

  • Tips to build a great offshore product engineering team

    Tips to build a great offshore product engineering team

    In today’s age, competition is becoming a global factor due to the rapid development of technology. Consumers have an emphasis on reliability, quality and as well value when they are looking for any service or product. Speed to market is the pattern of cutting-edge technology. With the rapid technological development, companies need a more extensive product engineering team than just a couple of people working on the product. 

    A product engineering team does more than write codes. The product engineering team is more like a feature factory looking into the complete picture while measuring and analyzing the performances of all features in order to unearth all possible opportunities and improvements. From remaining involved with the design and project making and taking decisions to encourage new ideas, there are a lot many things that take place when a company sets up an offshore product engineering team.

    How to build an amazing offshore product engineering team?

    A quality offshore product engineering team makes every possible attempt to influence decision-making by keeping away from function-separated dynamics. Their motto is to build strong relationships with all their colleagues. The team is also accountable for product goals and product metrics. 

    The five helpful tips that will guide you to building a great offshore development team are as follows:

    Recruit a skilled and experienced Project Manager

    It is important to have a skilled project manager who will keep others motivated with his years of experience and also skillfully unite the vision, brand, user interface, design, and feedback of the user in order to create the best product in the market which will give awesome results. A project manager looks after several perspectives in order to become the decision maker. Having a skilled project manager will let you understand the users much better than you as an owner will do.

    A good project manager assures that there are design scenarios, features and experiences that will, in real-time, solve the entire problem. Also, they have the capability to make the team transform the present features into a great interface. All of the above merges into an exclusive brand that can communicate very well with the product people love.

    Build the right team with the right people

    When the effort of the product development is started, the teams need to be divided for planning the product, followed by proper coordination and also providing critical business logic. The efforts, development and monitoring of the entire project performance are important. If the project is a small one, then it is important the project manager plays the role of a functional manager as well, who will simultaneously do the research and development with the entire team. The project manager should be responsible for having a full-time involvement with the team. The project should be grouped into modules, followed by technical coordination.

    Communicate more

    Irrespective of what product is being developed, it is essential t ensure that the team has a clear vision to understand the big picture. The team should be aware of the strategy and also the rationale behind the necessary decisions. Also, each team member must have access to how, why and what and also relate the project accordingly. The spirit gets reflected by the team dynamics, and it is the primary key to project execution.

    Manage the Time Zone Difference

    There might be instances that the team has to overlap with working hours for virtual face time with online meetings, conference calls, IMs and others. But having a 10 to 12-hour difference is a big challenge for effective communication. In order to overcome such situations, daily scrums are important so that the entire team remains on the same page.

    Optimize Meeting Times

    It is also important to ensure the time that the team is spending after the project is being used effectively. Also, make sure that the meetings that are being conducted are meaningful. Also, see that only those who are required are a part of the meeting, and the decision is finished with clear ownership and actionable tasks. Don’t forget to give feedback later.

    To Conclude

    In brief, to build a great offshore development team, only picking a team with good professionals will suffice. It is also necessary that all the professionals match each other wavelength but also collaborate with each other just like pieces of a puzzle. Also, it is necessary to appreciate teamwork, appreciate the efforts involved by each team member, track project progress and celebrate all big and small accomplishments. Building a great offshore development team will result in being successful in all the hurdles that come in the way of the development. If you are looking for the right offshore partner to team with, please feel free to contact us now!

  • How are super apps helping the banking sector?

    How are super apps helping the banking sector?

    How are super apps helping the banking sector

    In recent days, super apps have brought revolutionary changes in the banking sector. This practice of using super apps has been very popular in Southeast Asia like Grab and Gojek, which enable you to manage everything, including housekeeping and insurance. In India, too, this trend is starting to accelerate after the surge of the pandemic. 

    Several financial services and banks are trying their utmost to develop a one-stop technology that can meet all the financial and banking requirements of their clients. According to experts, the traditional banking apps will not be in use anymore as customers are searching for a faster, better, and easier experience of financial management, including some other important services.

    Those super apps can help users to streamline their regular financial functions like booking cabs, paying phone bills, booking movie tickets, buying groceries, etc., onto a single platform that they can access anytime, anywhere, while bearing very low operating costs.

    How can these super-apps help the banking and finance sector?

    Super-apps can integrate financial services into their platforms and offer a seamless experience for their customers. Thus, many users bypass those banking apps and just choose to use those super-apps, which are more integrated. Thus, customers can reduce their dependence on credit cards and cash. In this way, those super apps can help users to streamline their everyday functions from anywhere and at anytime.

    Super apps can enable the banking sector to enhance and improve their analytics and data management capabilities and even share them across different service areas of the business to build a better view of their target audience.

    Super apps allow a rich flow of information between entities with the help of APIs for third-party integrations, open data architecture, and CX-based offerings that are enhanced. Those apps even support the procedure of digital onboarding by unified authentication, real-time KYC, facial recognition and biometrics, and some other AI-powered features that enable self-service for their customers.

    With the help of these super apps, banks can shift their focus on building long-term relationships with their customers that can lead to higher rates of customer satisfaction and acquisition and eventually strengthen brand loyalty.

    Thus, with the growing popularity of these super apps, they could become the most reliable and powerful source of competition for banks than either Fintechs or neobanks. Thus, convincing customers to leave those super apps and use the standalone digital banking app has become nearly impossible.

    How can open banking help super apps?

    The rise of Open Banking worldwide is powering those super apps to use data from various sources as per the needs of the customers and deliver the right financial products. This will offer the platforms a greater scope to offer a wide range of banking and financial services and even target the right kind of service to each user.

    Ways through which Open Banking can help super-apps

    • Access to everything on one platform

    Once the super-app can use Open Banking data, users can check their account balances, make payments, and monitor their transactions from the digital wallet of the app. Thus, it can reduce the need to access the own app of a bank.

    • Enhanced personalization

    The Open Banking system can develop an environment that can help platforms to leverage the data of the users and create some enhanced and personalized experiences for them.

    • Advanced technology

    Machine learning, artificial intelligence, and analytics can leverage data related to Open Banking that can build products that are customer-relevant and empower a culture of data-driven decision-making across the ecosystem of the super apps.

    Well-known super apps

    Kotak Bank-KayMall

    KeyMall is a one-stop online mall of Kotak Mahindra Bank that can meet all the shopping and travel needs of the customers. This app enables customers to book bus and flight tickets and book hotel rooms. Customers can even shop online from Amazon and Flipkart with this super app.

    SBI-YONO

    The YONO app of SBI can offer all kinds of banking and financial services offered by SBI within just a single app and offer convenience to its users. The customers of SBI can integrate all of their services and products like SBI Card, SBI Mutual Fund, SBI Securities and Life Insurance with the help of the bank’s website and this app.

    Conclusion

    Therefore, in this era of technology, these super apps are enabling the banking and financial sectors to perform their tasks and satisfying their customers in a hassle-free way. If you need help with any of your software needs in Fintech segment or across other verticals, please feel free to contact us right away!

  • How does Data Warehouse Help in Travel Management

    How does Data Warehouse Help in Travel Management

    How does Data Warehouse Help in Travel Management

    A data warehouse or DWH helps in decision making. In this blog, we will see how it applies in the business travel sector. It is based on the collection and consolidation of data and obtaining relevant information for practical applications.

    Data Warehouse Role in Travel Management

    By data warehouse, we refer to the collection point where various data gather from different sources. It basically forms the foundation for decision making, a point where negotiations are made and successes are measured. DWH is also the point of optimization of processes. With this, businesses are successful in achieving efficiency and making substantial savings. 

    Let us now talk about the travel field. If we look at it from a technical angle, a travel manager has nothing to do with the data warehouse. Then, why are we discussing it here? Well, with the help of a data warehouse, the manager can get crucial information; and this will help him profitably to improve the company’s results. With this information, he will also be able to provide the best possible support for his company’s travellers. However, it is imperative to ensure that all relevant data pools are connected to the data warehouse.

    What data should the Data Warehouse keep?

    The answer to this question depends on what insights you are looking to gain from your warehouse. Usually in the field of travel management, the following data are mostly needed.

    1. Booking data from multiple reservation channels – including both bookings made through travel agencies and also through the company directly.
    2. All personal and organizational data from the HR system
    3. All accounting data of the payment providers
    4. All data from the travel expense accounting systems
    5. Other data like exchange rate, geographic data for international travellers.

    What to watch out for while setting up your travel data warehouse? 

    There are a few important things that you must keep in your mind when you are planning to set up a data warehouse for your travel needs. One, you must select relevant data pots. This is because you can gain the right insights only if you have the right data. Next, you need to have automated processes. This will bring down manual efforts and errors too. 

    One crucial thing to keep in mind is data security. Since personal and business – both types of data will be involved here, you need to ensure that the ware house is absolutely secure. You should also give importance to data anonymization. Besides this, you need to make sure that whatever tools you are choosing for reports, monitoring and analysis- they should all be easily operable by all the users. 

    It is a huge benefit if he data warehouse is provided by an independent service provider. The advantage it gives you is the flexibility to react to changes. 

    What all information can you obtain from your data warehouse? 

    Speaking in more general terms, a data warehouse is one of the most basic steps when it comes to company’s strategy for business intelligence. It helps to make well-founded business decisions. And, it is a great option to gain results for performance management. In addition to this, a data warehouse also provides  important data for negotiating with the relevant service providers. In the travel needs, it is mainly used for

    1. Real time analyses such as location analysis, benchmarks etc.
    2. Recurring expenses reporting such as expenses per region or supplier etc.
    3. Reporting of number of travelers or number of bookings for region.
    4. Monitoring and controlling specifications such as KPI target achievement, travel policy compliance, total budget exceeding warning and so on.
    5. Providing data to other service providers like companies that look at travel risk management
    6. Forecasts and other analysis to improve the overall system

    As we see, the information that you can get from the data of the data warehouse can help in internal reporting to management and in overall optimization of current processes. It also assists in behavioral changes (e.g. with a view to sustainability or savings) and serves as a basis for negotiations with service providers. The data from the warehouse can also act as a data pool for further services, and as a decision-guidance for further improving the overall processes and systems.

    Conclusion

    Having a data warehouse greatly helps in travel management systems. The benefits of a good data warehouse are unending, as we discussed above. At EOV, we have been actively engaged in making the travel industry more tech-savvy and with our innovative products, our travel partners are soaring high! If you would also like to benefit from technology in travel industry, get in touch with us now!

  • How digital transformation helps data analytics in finance?

    How digital transformation helps data analytics in finance?

    Today, digital transformation plays a major role in revolutionizing industries. The finance sector is no exception. With the right digital transformation strategy, companies are able to stay ahead of their competition and win markets. Talking of the finance sector, digital transformation aids benefits like risk assessment, personalization, and forecasting.

    In this blog, we will cover how digital transformation facilitates data analytics in finance. We’ll also discuss how implementation of analytics tools impacts organizations’ entire business from their processes to the decision-making and eventually, their customer experience.

    Finance sector and digital transformation

    As of this day, companies emphasize more on customer experience than customer service. By customer experience, we mean enabling real-time notifications, getting queries answered instantly by a chatbot, or accessing accounts, etc. With greater customer satisfaction, firms can expect higher returns on revenue and profitability. This is how digital transformation helps, in a nutshell. 

    So, how do finance companies benefit? With the right digital tools and technologies, finance firms will be able to automate all processes that saves time and gives better customer satisfaction. Few examples include KYC verification, procurement orders, reporting, invoice generation etc.

    How digital transformation helps data analytics in finance?

    With data analytics tools in place, you can process huge quantities of data by using already accessible algorithms and analytics methods. This will help you in better understanding of the collected data. With this knowledge, you can curate more effective digital strategies and gain better success.

    Application areas of data analytics in finance include competitive analysis, forecasting, consumer analytics, etc. Each of these areas can be further optimized by the right digitization strategy,

    Benefits of data analytics in the finance sector

    As the finance industry embraces digital transformation, data analytics is becoming indispensable. In this section of the blog, we will have a look at a few of the most promising benefits of data analytics in financial services companies. 

    Get real-time analytics

    With data analysis, companies can gain access to and be able to analyze real-time data. And, real-time analytics are highly crucial in the finance industry. In the finance sector, data analytics helps in enhancing profitability and reducing customer churn. With real time data, financial firms can act on data like market prices and trading information without disrupting the user’s experience. 

    Data security and preventing frauds

    Another great benefit of data analytics in finance is fraud prevention. With the use of digital technologies, companies can predict fraudulent behaviors in real-time. This will help in detecting, mitigating them and adapting to new threats. In recent times, there has been a rise in the total online financial services that customers use. As such, it is imperative that financial institutions use Data Analytics and fraud management to protect clients’ data and finances.

    Personalization

    By applying data analytics in finance, organizations get a chance to know their clients in greater detail. This includes a fair idea of the customers’ spending habits, savings, investment opportunities, etc. Having this information can help the financial services firms to offer the best and most profitable plan of action to their customers.

    Financial forecasting

    Financial forecasting refers to the process of predicting financial trends based on real-time data. With financial forecasting, companies can make well-informed decisions on how to use that knowledge and stay ahead of their competition. It makes way for financial companies to create the right strategy for products, services, investments, etc. Apart from this, companies can guide their customers about making the right financial decisions, thanks to the implemented financial forecasting tools.

    Automating the tasks

    With task automation, it becomes much easier and quicker to handle and analyze data. This ensure much higher productivity and in turn, enhances customer satisfaction. Task automation will enable clients to perform a wide range of activities online and getting fields filled in automatically. Such practices help them save time and have greater satisfaction with using your products. With modernization and automation, you can speed up reports generation and get broader access to the information.

    Conclusion

    In the past few years, data analytics in finance has become an imperative necessity. More and more companies are opting for digital transformation to use data analytics. This further helps to create predictions, follow trends, analyze performance, and assess risk. You can contact us today, to know more of how we have helped finance companies in their digital transformation journey! We are just a call away! 

  • Best cross-platform app development frameworks

    Best cross-platform app development frameworks

    Mobile applications are becoming crucial for many businesses across several sectors. Such programs must function flawlessly across several platforms, including iOS, Android, and Windows. You may rapidly and cheaply construct such solutions by utilizing the cross-platform mobile development methodology.

    Cross-Platform App Development: What Is It?

    Cross-platform mobile app development, also known as hybrid mobile app development, is a methodology that enables developers to create mobile solutions that are concurrently compatible with a number of platforms and operating systems (Windows, Android, iOS). 

    Because they blend native code with autonomous code that is appropriate for several platforms, hybrid apps have a native appearance and feel. By reusing previously written code, programmers enable the launching of new products.

    Cross-Platform vs. Native Apps

    For constructing mobile solutions, there are two methods: native and hybrid/cross-platform. Depending on your goals and usage case, they might both be suitable for your project and have pros and cons. Tools and computer languages created particularly for one platform are used in native development. They are innovative in both the hardware and the software.

    Specific OS requirements serve as guidance for developers when producing native applications. A native app may utilize all of the features and functionalities offered by a target computing device after it has been installed. A native program cannot be utilized on other platforms, which is a drawback. 

    Top Four Frameworks for Developing cross-platform Mobile Apps

    The software development process and deliverables might change based on the tool you choose. The correct framework must be chosen in order to construct applications that resemble native ones. The top five platforms for cross-platform mobile development, which are more often used, have been assembled.

    React Native

    One of the best cross-platform mobile development platforms is React Native. It is designed for mobile devices and is built on React, one of the greatest JavaScript libraries for building user interfaces. With React Native, you can create cross-platform applications using a universal JavaScript language and also native platform-specific languages like Java, Swift, or C.

    Xamarin

    A popular open-source, free platform for creating hybrid mobile apps is Xamarin. Any mobile platform may employ Xamarin-based applications, which offer the same speed and user interface as native ones. This well-known Microsoft cross-platform mobile application framework is included with Visual Studio and is accessible under the MIT license. 

    It depends on the C# programming language and the.NET framework. These elements are part of its development toolkit:

    • A Xamarin SDK
    • Visual Studio/Xamarin Studio 
    • Xamarin
    • Creating native Mac applications on a Mac
    • Cloud Xamarin Test

    Sencha 

    Because of the tool’s foundation in contemporary web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS, programmers may create cross-platform web as well as mobile applications that are data-intensive. 

    The service, which was formerly known as Sencha Touch, is no longer offered and has been combined with Ext JS to become Sencha Ext JS. It provides a selection of tools and themes that boost output and make optimization, deployment, design, theme creation, and debugging easier.

    Ionic

    Ionic is unquestionably one of the greatest hybrid app frameworks because it combines the desired qualities: it is open-source, simple to maintain, extensible, and easy to read. Ionic offers a collection of HTML, CSS, and JS components that are mobile-optimized and aid in the creation of interactive apps. 

    Ionic includes a wide range of capabilities and tools, such as native-style mobile UI components and layouts, out-of-the-box compatibility for material design, and more.

    Cross-Platform Mobile Development: Pros and Cons

    Due to new technology, cross-platform mobile application development is always changing, becoming more active and alluring to developers.

    Challenges

    • Performance may be impacted by the hybrid solutions’ more complex code, which blends native and non-native components.
    • All native-only capabilities of portable devices, such as sophisticated character animation or 3D effects, cannot be supported by cross-platform apps. Limited functionality and a worsening app design are the effects of this.
    • Native solutions may begin utilizing new capabilities as soon as Google and Apple update the Android and iOS operating systems. Hybrid apps, however, must wait until these upgrades have been modified to operate with the selected cross-platform framework. Consequently, there will always be a delay in updating.

    Benefits

    • A hybrid application employs a single shareable code that helps you stay within your budget as opposed to developing separate native applications for each platform, which is expensive.
    • Since just one programming team is needed to create and maintain an app, costs are decreased. Furthermore, understanding the fundamentals of major languages is sufficient; the rest will be handled by development tools.
    • Cross-platform apps’ native design and feel significantly enhance the user experience.
    • For businesses looking to draw in consumers of different mobile devices and get their products to market more quickly and affordably, hybrid development is unquestionably the way to go.

    In order to stay competitive, the majority of businesses now develop mobile editions of their websites. The best option for organizations is cross-platform development since it enables them to quickly produce dependable programs that are accessible with all client devices. Knowing more about hybrid application development frameworks can help you create the ideal app.

    Confused which is the right framework for you? Ask us for a free consultation today! And, know how we can help you build the right apps. Contact us now!