How SharePoint Consulting Services Assist Companies in Leveraging SharePoint

 Technologies associated with mobile application development continue to change, and it can be challenging for companies to keep up. That is why it is recommended for them to be aware of those technologies, as well as the trends that drive the industry. Businesses can learn a lot from those aspects, and determine the impact of the future of mobile app development on the way they work. Many of those trends are likely to change and improve as time goes by. Here are some of the trends that a company should be aware of:

Artificial intelligence

Mobile devices are frequently used for gaming, entertainment, and work, too. Features like natural language processing, speech recognition, and navigation are extremely important for those purposes, and with AI, they can be enhanced with machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics. That way, developers may be able to provide highly personalized experiences in their apps. Applications may also become capable of analyzing human or user behavior.

Cloud and IoT integration

 The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the important and constantly growing technologies today. It can be implemented with cloud technology to enhance mobile application development. According to a report from market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), global spending for IoT is currently projected at $1.1 trillion by 2023 as the market spreads to many aspects like smart cars, wearables, and home appliances. In the coming years, IoT and cloud-enabled apps may be able to connect multiple devices and take care of redundant data in real-time.

Use of better programming languages

Swift is one of the programming languages that is projected to be more significant in mobile application development in the coming years. It is known for reducing app development costs and enhancing creation speed, and for features like automated memory management and inferred types. Interoperability with Objective-C is allowed, eliminating rewriting for Apple devices.

 VR and AR

 The virtual reality and augmented reality market is seen to top $209 billion in 2022, as per Statista. These technologies are likely to become more advanced and valued in entertainment and gaming apps.

Enterprise Mobility Solutions to Empower Business with Scalability and Security

 

In this day and age, a business that does not have a bespoke mobile strategy is likely to lag behind its competition and fail down the line. Its customers are likely to be equipped with smartphones and tablets, which could mean that the business can miss out on opportunities to engage those people effectively and promptly. To avoid those pitfalls, it makes sense for businesses to seek enterprise mobility solutions to work more efficiently and securely.

 

Not just to enhance the customer experience

 

Mobility is not merely to improve customer service. As mobile technology continues to evolve, it is in the best interest of a business to focus on enterprise mobility solutions to enhance productivity. The solutions encompass a range of areas that matter to a company, such as cross-team collaboration, application management, and content management, and all of these should be enabled without risking security. With the right enterprise mobility solution, app development is more feasible across any mobile operating system, and it may also introduce BYOD and cloud-based storage to enhance productivity and enable employees to work flexibly.

 

Why mobility solutions

 

Mobile devices have proven themselves convenient because of the fact that they easily became a part of most people’s daily lives. They are used to make payments, book tickets, stream movies, shopping, and much more. Businesses adopting enterprise mobility solutions may be able to implement flexible and secure working conditions, while improving the quality of their document management and data storage. With proper development and implementation, enterprise mobility could deliver these benefits to the business:

 

• Cloud and system integration – Legacy systems and the database can be integrated by applying different points with a cloud management service to provide independence and more value to the business model.
• Security – Unauthorized access can be prevented and the integrity of data and systems can be enhanced when there is sufficient protection against malware, viruses, and attacks.
• Content sharing – Enterprise mobility solutions may be able to enhance collaboration, so users can share content seamlessly and securely.
• Reduced costs – Businesses can save time when they can easily access vital information. They could also save money when the solution includes cost-effective data storage solutions.

Digital Transformation Solutions Can Help Businesses Drive Better Customer Experience

 

As technology continues to evolve and advance, it can significantly affect an organization and how the business operates and works with customers. The challenge is for organizations to keep up with those changes, as failure to do that could compromise their progress and their ability to deliver better customer experiences every time. Digital transformation solutions can help, and the right provider can introduce new, proven, and practical innovations and technologies to improve the way they operate and bring customer satisfaction.

 Digital transformation pertains to the way an organization changes to adapt to the latest technologies and the preferences of their customers. Essentially, it is an umbrella term that encompasses many different changes a business may have to consider and apply to keep up with technological advancements. 

 Given that technology continues to evolve, digital transformation is inevitable. However, organizations transform in different ways, typically according to their industry. Most of the time, they cannot do that by themselves, so they turn to providers of digital transformation solutions to adopt the best technologies for their business or industry.

 Digital transformation is not only for the good of organizations. It is also essential to continue providing a positive customer experience. New communication channels, personalization, online shopping, mobile wallets, mobile banking, and other digital solutions are for their benefit, too. So, organizations need to choose digital transformation solutions that focus not only on themselves and their products or services. They should also consider the customer experience and prioritize it as much as they can. After all, the experience a consumer has with an organization can directly impact their perception of that business.

 Organizations should seek digital transformation solutions from established and reputable providers with significant experience in their industry. For instance, those in the banking industry can take advantage of the provider’s product offerings in SMS and mobile banking, mobile wallets, and much more.

Create Effective Marketing Strategies Using Push Notifications

 

Push notifications are enabled by default on mobile devices, and 52 percent of users prefer to keep them enabled, especially if they favor the app or the brand that gives them those alerts. To the business, these notifications help boost customer engagement and drive growth. However, that is subjective to the marketing strategy being used. Understanding the nature of push notifications and how consumers perceive them could help marketers develop creative marketing strategies to make them effective every time.

 Not your regular marketing messages

 Mobile marketing strategies used to involve sending direct messages to the user via SMS. Now, organizations can use push notifications from their app. They are delivered directly to the device to show on the alerts or notifications bar and possibly appear on the lock screen. This marketing technique does not require the user’s personal contact information, except for the app installed on their device. Users, however, still have the option to turn off those notifications.

 

An advantage of push notifications is that they can provide short personalized messages that users can read without opening the app. If they’re interested to learn more, they can tap on the notification, and the app should load. This keeps users engaged with the brand, whether they’ve been active or inactively using the app. 

 Some best practices businesses should know.

 Push notifications can annoy the user, especially if they seem too frequent, pushy, and disruptive to the user’s activities. That said, here are some of the best practices to know when creating effective marketing strategies with them:

 

• Personalize and provide targeted messages so they seem relevant to the user every time. 
• Instead of sending default requests to permit sending notifications, time them to ensure that the user will permit them. For instance, in an ecommerce app, it may want to ask the user following a purchase. This way, the marketer could show the value of push notifications, such as notifying the user about shipment status and delivery status. 
• Deliver actionable alerts by including a call to action, which should convince the user to take a desirable action. 
• Use sparingly. Otherwise, the notifications will seem intrusive and annoying, and users will disable them or, worse – uninstall the app. 
• Use the user’s geolocation for location-based push notifications. This may help direct a user to a particular store nearby.

5 Benefits of FinTech (Financial Technology)

 Financial technology may be a fairly new industry, but it shows a lot of promise in helping financial services, like insurance and banking, to be more accessible to the public. Also known as FinTech, it pertains to any technological innovation relevant to financial services. Organizations and individuals in that industry aim to develop and deliver new technologies to help both consumers and businesses manage and improve their financial-related functions. 

FinTech has a lot of applications in the financial services industry. It is practical for retail banking, borrowing, lending, mobile payments, investments, management, fundraising, money transfers, and much more. Here are more known benefits that are associated with it:

1. Convenience – Many financial technology companies offer all-in-one payment platforms, which can be used by many businesses around the world. These include mobile wallet payment apps, which are very convenient to use because they can process payments securely and quickly in real-time while enabling contactless payments using the customer’s smartphone. 

2. Enhanced payment systems – FinTech provides state-of-the-art software and app solutions that can help financial institutions collect payments accurately and securely. It could also help those institutions establish good relationships with their customers, thereby enhancing customer loyalty and increasing the chances of getting more clients down the line. 

3. Better rate of approval – Small businesses may consider financial technology lenders for their accessibility and faster loan approvals. Insurance providers may also use FinTech solutions to speed up their approval process for new clients. 

4. Cutting-edge security – Security protocols and standards of FinTech companies are designed to offer reliable security to secure customer data at all costs effectively. Financial institutions looking to enhance security for every digital transaction could find solutions like cutting-edge data encryption and biometrics to be a great investment. 

5. Flexible – FinTech is versatile and economical for financial companies looking for digital transformation solutions tailored to suit their unique requirements. Reputable service providers have platforms that are easy to integrate within existing systems through cloud deployment.

Take Business to The Next Level with Field Service Software

A business must satisfy the demands and needs of its customers. Failure to do so could mean losing ROI and developing a bad reputation in the industry. To ensure the delivery of high-quality services, it needs to be able to monitor and oversee its field technicians while ensuring that the back-end office team can keep up. This is where field service software can be useful. It will help field technicians keep track of their respective assignments and schedules, even while away from the office, and enable management to know the exact status, performance, and real-time location of all field service personnel.

 

The field service software can help cut costs, reduce customer churn, and maintain transparency. For business owners, it’s a digital platform that can boost efficiency by simplifying the way they manage everything that matters. It can improve the delivery of services and the performance of in-house processes. It can automate certain tasks and deliver mobile access to field operations, such as tracking the job status and current location of a technician, dispatching, and service order scheduling. Technicians typically won’t be able to update their status manually when they are busy working for the customer. Yet, they are often the only contact between the business and the customer. Thus, their communication is considered important to accomplishing activities within the business.

 

A business will surpass the expectations of customers in terms of satisfaction, timeliness, efficiency, and cost with the right field service software that can provide solutions to enhance customer service and the way business is done. It should provide solutions like work order management, intelligent scheduling and dispatching, mobile field service, real-time tracking, preventive maintenance, multi-vendor management, and inventory management. Some of the best software solutions also cover fleets, technicians, and customers' management and provide business intelligence and analytics.

Mobile Wallet – A Wallet for The New Generation

 The smartphone is one of the most important devices of the century. Today, most young adults have one, and they rely on it for many different things, like staying in touch, music, streaming videos, work, banking, and payments. So, for a financial institution looking to appeal to the new generation, it makes sense to introduce a mobile wallet solution that is flexible, secure, and capable of letting users perform a wide range of transactions, from making payments to sending money and paying bills. The more banks should consider mobile wallets as the new generation prefers to use contactless payments to minimize the need to bring cash or their debit and credit cards.

 

Since the smartphone is an indispensable gadget that is brought anywhere and everywhere, it makes sense for some users to use it for payments. With a mobile wallet, they need to cash-in or link their cards to it. Banks and financial institutions that can provide that solution can keep their services competitive and dynamic while ensuring profitability in the long run. Mobile wallets allow them to expand their range of services to encourage further customer engagement, loyalty and increased revenue in the long run.

 

The new generation of customers is more open to use and embrace new technologies that can bring convenience to their daily lives. Banks and financial institutions should meet their demand for convenience and more personalized service, and they can do that by implementing a mobile wallet solution to Millennials and Gen Zs. With mobile wallets, users may be more inclined to spend more, and businesses may be able to provide faster services when they accept cashless or contactless payments.

 

Financial institutions can get started with their mobile wallets by investing in a flexible out-of-box mobile solution that can let them harness mobile technology’s power within a short time. They need to ensure that it’s a reliable and secure payment app that can integrate seamlessly with their legacy core systems.

7 Best Practices for Microsoft Dynamics Implementation

Microsoft Dynamics is among the widely used CRM platforms. It requires careful planning and implementation to make sure that it can fit the exact needs of a business. A lot of effort and time can go into making a sustainable plan for user adoption and ensuring a successful deployment. It’s in the best interest of every business to consider the seven best practices for successful Microsoft Dynamics implementation to succeed. Here’s what every company should know:

1. Get professional help - Digital transformation solutions providers can get a business started on the right track. They can help save time, minimize costs, and avoid the guesswork involved in planning and implementing Microsoft Dynamics correctly. They can analyze the needs of a company and provide recommendations for the best solutions that can work best for the organization. 
2. Implement a collaborative environment – The Microsoft Dynamics implementation must cover several areas in the business. Organizations need to be aware of their resources from every department and use these to plan ahead and in determining the best solutions with help from digital transformation solutions providers. 
3. Identifying the master data – When planning Microsoft Dynamics implementation, businesses need to identify the system that can serve as a record system. Dynamics for Finance and Operations is typically preferred, but Sales can serve the same purpose, too. That will depend on the data that needs to be stored. 
4. Finalize customization – Ideally, migrations and customizations must be fulfilled with a seamless Operations system before integrating Microsoft Dynamics for Sales with that for Finance and Operations. While this may not be feasible for most cases, the consistent creation of data scripts and data mapping could help ensure a smoother integration process. 
5. Keep business and implementation timelines in sync – A business should determine when to implement Microsoft Dynamics when planning the project timeline. The deployment plan must be attainable and ensure that the system can go live without delays. 
6. Involve the IT team – Businesses with their own IT department must involve the team with their decisions. IT specialists can work together with the Microsoft Dynamics implementation partner to efficiently understand how the new system works and how it should be maintained in the long run. 
7. Other stakeholders in the business should be involved – Cross-functional teams consisting of the Microsoft Dynamics partner and the enterprise architect must work together to ensure success.

Business Intelligence and Analytics Software to Liven Up Your Data

Your business acquires a lot of data on a daily basis. It’s important to ensure that they are organized and used well. Otherwise, opportunities to understand and engage customers are missed—and so are opportunities to provide better services/products down the line. Business intelligence and analytics software can unlock the value of a company’s data and transform it into actionable intelligence for an organization’s crucial and strategic business decisions.

As a business owner, you want a solution that can support and speed up decision-making processes, regardless of the infrastructure environment and the combination of platforms and applications used. Scalable, standards-based, and modular business intelligence and analytics software architecture may be the best option. They can be deployed easily regardless of the size and type of business environment.

Business intelligence and analytics software provides tools for accessing and evaluating data sets, delivering analytical findings in easy to digest forms such as reports, charts, maps, graphs, and dashboards. The result is a detailed intelligence report on the status of your business—one that you can use that to make more informed decisions. The best software solutions can be deployed in any environment; they are customizable and flexible platforms that truly get the most from any given data.

A good business intelligence and analytics software solution is an all-in-one platform developed with significant backgrounds in analytics services, people skill assessment, assurance services, risk monitoring, change management, strategic planning, and business process expertise. This ensures an approach that can effectively meet the demands of IT and businesses, as it combines all business intelligence, people, and data in a single interface. It is also capable of delivering and controlling analytics for larger business networks.

What is Cloud Computing? – Facts Every Small Sized Business Should Know

It takes great flexibility in order to run and sustain a growing business. Thanks to new developments in technology, e-commerce solutions, and more advanced software options, business owners have a way to control all aspects of their organization and operations. Just the same, vigilance must be practiced as the needs of the market change and as more challenges arise in running the business.

Greater growth often entails greater operational demands for a business. This is why it is important to invest in technologies that can help you organize and manage each aspect of the business efficiently. Cloud-based technology is the way of the future as cloud computing platforms provide business owners and managers unparalleled control over different aspects and components of business, enabling different business functions to intermingle with each other in one cohesive system and interface that allows access anytime and from anywhere. Here are the key facts that business owners should know about cloud computing and cloud adoption:

1. Cloud software systems are easier to set-up and install (as well as deploy) than many on-premise alternatives.
2. At least three quarters of cloud services are enterprise-based or are built for enterprise.
3. Cloud adoption has steadily been increasing since 2015, and a mass transition can be expected in the years to come.
4. One of the key motivators for cloud adoption is cost reduction.
5. Innovation is another key factor for businesses that decide to switch to cloud systems.
6. More and more small businesses now turn to cloud computing for file back-up, risk reduction, and disaster recovery.
7. More end users approve of cloud computing and are getting more accustomed to cloud services.
8. Cloud computing facilitates efficient and reliable real-time collaboration.
9. Software updates that improve functionality and security are possible with minimal cost through cloud computing.
10. Cloud computing helps simplify ERP and CRM customization.

Making yourself aware of these facts and benefits will help you better understand why cloud computing is a worthwhile investment for your business and why cloud adoption could very well be the best decision you will make for your own company.

What to Expect from Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a family of business applications designed to help businesses turn their operational processes into the very business edge that they need to stay ahead of their rivals. It includes over a dozen applications and add-ons that address ERP or enterprise resource planning, CRM or customer relationship management needs among many other business process requirements that many companies face.

Dynamics 365 include licensed apps that work together to provide businesses the flexibility, stability, and extensibility that they need to sustain business growth. The same flexibility combined with rapid development and innovation makes it possible for Microsoft Dynamics 365 to adapt and fit the needs of most any business.

The best way to understand Dynamics 365 is to separate its ERP components with its CRM solutions. Dynamics 365 ERP focuses on the core accounting, distribution, and manufacturing needs of a business, while providing even more extensive functionalities to help manage other business-critical processes. All in all, the value of these apps can be measured in the way that they help increase business efficiency, automation, control, and scalability.  The Dynamics 365 ERP solution can be subdivided into 2 main categories—Business Central and Finance & Operations, the first of which is ideal for small to medium sized businesses, while the latter is designed to meet the needs of much larger operations.

Dynamics 365 CRM on the other hand, consist of 5 different apps that are designed to fulfill an organization’s customer relationship management needs. These are apps that work to help business teams make a sale, dispatch support, ensure customer retention, and keep track of all these processes. The five Dynamics 365 CRM apps include D365 Sales, D365 Marketing, D365 Customer Service, D365 Project Service Automation, and D365 Field Service. Leveraging any combination of these systems and integrating them with Dynamics 365 ERP and furthermore with Office 365 can help ensure a robust business strategy for your most critical business processes.

Points to Consider Before Buying an ERP Software

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) can improve the way your organization works and fulfill its most critical tasks. The set of software applications will empower your business to connect and manage information from every corner of the organization to enhance decision-making processes. Some of the most critical features of an ERP software are its ability to integrate financials and customer order fulfillment with other relevant functions, speed up and standardize core processes, and minimize inventory. However, not every ERP solution is the same, so you should consider the following points before investing in one:

·         Your needs – Determining the right ERP software starts with your organization’s unique needs. Figure out what you want it to do and make sure it is suitable for your industry and your kind of business. Moreover, make sure it is always up-to-date and easy to upgrade or scale to your needs, and that it can easily be integrated with your existing technologies.

·         Data quality – Organizations would typically have to consider consolidating different solutions and replacing their legacy data as they implement a new ERP software. You need to determine the type of data to be collected for business and operational processes, and eliminate any duplicate or inaccurate data from your old system. A digital transformation expert should help you through that process and ensure that your data is balanced with your new ERP system.

·         Technical issues – Look for an ERP software that suits all your technical requirements and pick an appropriate delivery model that can make them work together. This means deciding whether it should be implemented in the cloud or on-premise, or both (hybrid). That said, you may need to create a project plan to cover every stage of implementation where there should be a timeline for all factors, such as resource controls, hardware requirements, data entry, and data conversions. This way, you have an effective roadmap to cover the process of designing a unique ERP system that suits your organization.

Boost Your Business Activity with Push Notifications

The challenge for every business is to communicate a message clearly with potential and current customers. Push notifications can help with that by sending segmented and personalized real-time notifications to your web and mobile applications. This way, they empower you to manage and send informative web and mobile messages from an intuitive platform. Anyone who has access to these notifications will easily receive and see your business communications from your app.

Push notifications are like the alerts you get on your browser or smartphone when you get a new email. However, they represent a brief message or an alert sent through your app on your customer’s phone. As long as they are enabled, your customer should be able to receive those short and informative messages, no matter what brand or operating system of smartphone they are using.

The use of push notifications can vary mostly on your type of business. Automated bank alerts, gaming updates, event reminders, weather alerts, breaking news, marketing offers, order updates, travel plan updates, and location-based messages are just some examples. The notifications can be tailored to suit the needs of your company, too.

What makes them relevant?

Before push notifications, businesses would send promotional and marketing messages or alerts to customers via email or text, which can feel intrusive especially if there are too many. A lot of customers do not want any business to directly contact them because it feels like an invasion of their privacy. Moreover, there is a chance that the message can be marked as spam and never be read at all. Receiving a push notification can feel different, making it more useful in delivering crucial information using a format that is easier to read. Customers will have to tap or click on it if they want to learn more.

Do mobile marketing right

More people have smartphones, which they carry everywhere they go. As long as those are connected to the internet, their phones can receive your push notifications. Customers who have your app are likely to support your brand and enjoy your business offerings, so they are more likely to appreciate receiving those notifications.

Everything You Should Know About Mobile Wallet App Before Using It

Safety and security are among the top concerns when it comes to using a mobile wallet app. Despite the convenience it may offer, if the app is not secure and can easily compromise your information, you might as well give up your password and account names freely. That’s why you should get to know about the app before you use it. Here’s what you should know to determine if a mobile wallet is safe and secure:

• Verified – Make sure that the mobile wallet app is verified by the app store, and avoid downloading from suspicious third-party websites. Consider an app that takes the time to verify your identity too.

• Reviews – When in doubt, read the feedback from other users. They could reveal certain bugs and their experience with using the app. Just remember to take their opinions with a grain of salt.
  
  
• Check if it can be linked to your other accounts – A closed mobile wallet app is not linked to any bank account or credit and debit cards. Open ones can be linked to banks and offer a cash-out facility.
  
  
• Get to know affiliations – Is the mobile wallet tied up with any financial services provider, like banks and lending institutions? Make sure that they are reputable and trustworthy.
  
  
• Security of the login process – A good mobile wallet app may come with a one-time password (OTP) feature, which will send a unique password as a text message so you can input that instead. It changes every time you log in to avoid unauthorized usage of your account.
  
  
• Transaction limit – Are there restrictions to the number of transactions you can perform in a few hours or for the whole day? If there are, make sure they will not get in the way of reliability, especially if you will need the mobile wallet app for many transactions.
  
  
• Can my phone run it? - Make sure that the app is compatible with the current operating system version of your smart device.

Implementing Fleet Management Software for a Better Managed Cargo Transmission

How well do you take care of your fleet? If you are having difficulty in keeping track of your drivers, trucks, and the cargo you are responsible for, you could risk losing business and develop a poor reputation in your industry. You can resolve those challenges with a good fleet management software that can simplify the most critical tasks. It will deliver detailed tracking information to you no matter where you are, regardless of the time, whether on desktop or a mobile device. This way, it is easier to gain visibility into your entire fleet data with detailed, organized reporting tools, which you can access whenever and wherever.

The fleet management software lets you create dashboards and reports according to your particular preference, so you can find and view critical information immediately. As the software can be customized to suit the way you work, it offers a better way for you and your managers to oversee fleets of trucks and their respective drivers for seamless cargo transmission. It lets you monitor the movements and location of your vehicle with a GSM and GPS-based fleet monitoring and vehicle tracking system installed into every truck. It should communicate with the web-based software and your managers.

With the fleet management software, you can identify when a truck is stopped or started. It also lets you know of its speed, location, total hours spent driving each day, idling status, and how all these factors impact fuel consumption. This way, you and your fleet managers will only have to refer to a centralized dashboard to know the full actual status of the activities of each vehicle or driver. When you have that information, you could make informed decisions when implementing ways to make your fleet more efficient, while lowering operating costs.

The fleet management software can provide the key metrics about your fleet at a glance, so you can easily analyze productivity, performance, and compliance. Custom reports can also be created in case you need to manage other important trends pertaining to your fleet.

Advantages of Implementing an Omnichannel Banking Software for Happier Customers

Mobile banking used to be optional, but as smartphones continue to be prevalent, it easily became a must, especially for people who are constantly on-the-go. It allows anyone to access their bank account and perform an array of banking transactions anytime, anywhere. At the same time, your bank or financial institution could use it let customers know of special or time-limited offers. However, it is not enough that you have a mobile app that is isolated from your other channels. That said, look into an omnichannel banking software, which will help you save a lot of time and minimize any hassles on your customers’ end.

Disruptions to your banking services could cost you a lot. Frustrated customers could even leave and do their banking with your competitor. An out-of-box omnichannel banking software can help prevent that, as it immediately rolls out all critical mobile banking capabilities without any delays or disrupting your business. Cloud-based deployments, wearables banking, location-based services, distributed ledgers, and others are considered customer-centric instead of product-centric when it comes to banking. By implementing a multi-channel banking software, you could shift the focus from transactions to customers.

A high-quality omnichannel banking software will easily improve the way your customers can do business with you. When you make your service more convenient to them, the more they are likely to be happy and loyal customers. Consider a mobile banking solution that is used by many well-known banks in the world, and make sure it can easily be integrated seamlessly with your legacy core systems. Through seamless integration over multiple touchpoints using a dependable mobile banking middleware, the software supports deployment on the cloud and on-premise.

The omnichannel banking software will let your bank serve its customers more efficiently through their choice of channel throughout their banking life cycle, while minimizing your operating costs and boosting customer satisfaction. If you are not sure how it will work for you, get in touch with a seasoned developer for a demo.