October 2019 - Mobile App Development Company UK

How to Revamp your mobile apps using Machine Learning

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Redbytes UK SEO

Have you ever used masks on Snapchat, found a perfect match for you on Tinder or perhaps watched a movie recommended by Netflix? If you have done any of these before, then you’ve already had a taste of what machine learning can do to mobile apps, knowingly or unknowingly.

A report by Allied Research revealed that machine learning as a service market is predicted to reach a staggering USD 5,537 million in 2023 with an estimated CAGR of 39% between 2017 and 2023.

This is happening at breakneck speed as the number of businesses to adopt machine learning is expected to double at 64% in the next three years.

In the last few years, machine learning has been transforming our lives in multiples ways. Be it through automated surveillance systems, smart assistants like Alexa and Siri, humanoids like Sophia and self-driving cars by 2020, it is pretty much everywhere.

Making gadgets, devices and mobile apps as intelligent as humans, machine learning is a leading component of the digitization efforts being followed by businesses globally.

Read Also: Role of Blockchain in Mobile App Development

With over 90% of CIO’s in agreement with the fact that this level of automation is bound to improve the speed and accuracy of decision making processes, investing in machine learning is this current business landscape is way forward.

Machine Learning Has Infiltrated Various Sectors

Every field including health care, e-commerce, and, of course, mobile apps have found ways to implement machine learning technology in some way or the other. A report by Statista mentioned that machine learning apps attracted USD 29 billion during March 2019.

Using Machine Learning to Revamp Mobile Apps

With cognitive technology on the rise, experts are getting superior at executing jobs via being exposed to relevant data and a bunch of energy-guzzling, cloud-based computer servers that are fitted with specialised processors.

This, on the other hand, has allowed machines to gain senses. Now they are able to perceive, learn and respond as per the requirements of their present environment.

That is a tremendous transformation, indeed.

A lot can be achieved by mobile app developers with the integration of machine learning offerings across sectors. This has been made possible because of the technical competences that mobile apps bring with machine learning.

With such capabilities in place, designing smooth interfaces, improved user experiences and empowering businesses with key features, for example, exact location based suggestions or detecting chronic diseases instantly is a much more seamless process.

Personalisation is the same as the game. It is not just about creating a quality mobile app anymore. You have to do a lot more to ensure that your audience remains loyal to it. And that is exactly where machine learning can assist with some innovative renovations.

1) Personalized Experience

You can benefit from a continuous learning process with the help of machine learning as algorithms are developed to assess data collected via multiple sources such as social media activity, credit ratings that enable pop notifications directly on to the customer’s smartphones.

Users can be categorized depending on their interests. Moreover, by collecting user information, you can also determine the look of your app with the assistance of machine learning by being able to answer the following key questions:

Who your customers are?
What do they want?
What they can afford?
What hobbies, preferences, and pain points they have?
What words they’re using to talk about your products?

By structuring your users in this manner, you can identify a more custom designed approach for each customer group and adapt the tone of your communication accordingly.

Here, machine learning allows you to offer your customers with content that is more relevant and inviting that expresses the thought that the mobile apps are actually speaking to them.

Take a look at how these mobile apps are using machine learning to personalise customer communication.

2) Advanced Search

If your goal is to optimise the search functionality in your app in order to deliver enhanced, contextual results, then Machine Learning is undoubtedly the way to go. With the right interventions, it makes the app search more intuitive.

With the application of Machine Learning algorithms, businesses are able to access customer queries and only prioritize results which have relevance to the query generated.

To group articles, FAQs, documents, scripts, DIY videos, etc. into a knowledge graph, cognitive technology plays a vital role that allows users to browse through immediate answers via smart, self-service tools.

The data collected from modern apps includes customer search histories and related action which can later be used to identify patterns of user behaviour, help rank products and services and show only the best matching results to their queries.

Additionally, voice search technology is also a bonus app integration that streamlines the search processes further.

Take the example of Reddit that is using machine learning algorithms to allow their community users to perform advanced search operations.

3) Predicted User Behaviour

By examining a variety of user information such as age, gender, location, search requests, frequency of using the app, etc., ML technology can help businesses and marketers to grasp customer preferences.

But why is this data so important?

The data can enhance your app’s effectiveness and guide your marketing efforts in the right direction to keep your user base engaged and interested in your application.

For instance, your data shows that your app is being used more by females under 35 years in comparison to men. On the basis of this information, you can design your communication to get more male customers interested through targeted marketing campaigns.

ML technologies further assist in crafting recommendations that cater to a more individualised taste of the customer. The idea is to increase user engagement and get them to spend more time on the app.

Here are a few more examples of Machine Learning applications:

4) Relevant Ads

Machine Learning has made display advertising more targeted with messaging more personalised and accurate. The Relevancy Group released a report which states that 38% of executives are using ML as part of their overall strategy for Data Management Platform (DMP) for advertising.

Machine learning enables businesses to stop pushing products and services that have been recently bought by their customers. Drawing on individual customer’s unique purchase patterns and interests, businesses are able to generate targeted ads with the help of Machine Learning.

Being able to predict customer behaviour is a tremendous advantage that can direct promotions through a series of specific communication where the likelihood of a sale conversion is at its highest.

Coca-Cola has incorporated Machine Learning in their user image recognition technology. This helps them to recognise pictures of those products, their own or from the competition of social channels and check the conversations happening around it.

Having this information handy, it was a simple process for Coca-Cola to understand and gauge situations where their target audience is driven to converse about the brand.

This, unquestionably, is one of the best approaches to assess the conversation and serve targeted promotion. This will have an increased probability of being clicked.

Read Also: Why Should Mobile App Developers Consider Flutter in 2020

5) Improved Security

App authentication via video, audio, and voice recognition is a key functionality offered by machine learning. This enables users to authenticate app access through biometric data like fingerprint and face recognition technologies.

Along with that, machine learning also streamlines the user flow through simple log-in processes which are secure.

Malware attacks for online retailers in Asia, Europe and North America last year increased 45% resulting in a whopping USD 3.3 billion loss.

Machine Learning bans suspicious activities via prompt detection. Hence, there is no need to constantly monitor or control the app against such unidentified malware attacks.

Major banks and financial institutions across the globe are also leveraging Machine Learning technologies to analyse transactions, borrowing patterns and social media interactions to arrive at credit ratings.

6) Deep User Engagement

In comparison to all apps available in the store, mobile apps that have been enhanced using Machine Learning are found to generate more user engagement as it is able to offer a broad range of functionalities including real-time customer support. This drives more people to use this app on an everyday basis.

By assessing information, businesses are able to offer adequate support and service enabling them to make more decisions in real-time.

AI chatbots, voice assistants are intelligent digital assistants that are features which can be integrated to offer friendly and prompt support to customers. Build-in translators also provide real-time support, thus improving your overall mobile application workflow.

Snapchat is a great example of an app that has masterfully exploited machine learning and augmented reality that enables its members to transform and redesign images using filters.

Top Mobile Apps That Use Machine Learning

Take a look at some of the top apps that have used Machine Learning to their advantage:

1.Netflix

Netflix has used Machine Learning, specifically linear regression and logistic regression algorithms to create customised content lists for its users. Tracking user behaviour and monitoring the shows that are being watched by Netflix users are some of the data that goes into Machine Learning algorithms.

Hence, when users open the app, they are able to browse through recommended content lists that have been specially curated keeping their individual user preferences in mind.

2.Tinder

This is a dating application that helps you to find like-minded partners. Machine Learning technologies helps in finding the ideal match by using data like images posted and the frequency in which they are swiped. This allows the algorithm to understand and puts forward only those photos which have been observed the most.

3.Google Maps

If you are looking to find a parking slot, Machine Learning capabilities built into Google maps will help you to find a spot.

Read Also: New Technologies Trends Driving Mobile App Sector

Key Takeaways

When it comes to strengthening your business, these are some of the ways by which Machine Learning applications can make it more efficient and user friendly.

With its state of the art search functionalities and authentication that is quick and secure, using Machine Learning to revamp your mobile apps is a definite differentiator that sets your app apart from the rest of the pack.

15 Must Have Features in Auto Insurance App

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Redbytes UK SEO

Huge amount of funds are being spent in the automobile sector in advancing the concepts of self-driven cars and complementary safety systems that will make driving a more secure experience.

According to the Annual Global Road Crash Statistics released by the World Health Organization, road crashes cost a whopping USD 518 billion per year and are predicted to become the 5^th leading overall cause of death across the globe by 2030.

Continuous researches and development have been able to reduce the number of car crashes. The introduction of six airbag systems and security tools has been able to minimise the extent of potential injury to the driver. Having said that vehicle still remains largely prone to damage in the event of an accident.

Read Also: How To Build A Personal Finance App

The Need for Auto Insurance Mobile App

The insurance industry is undoubtedly thriving with the number of vehicle accidents rising every year. And repairing these damages to the vehicles is an expensive affair which is why the majority of vehicle owners opt for insurance services.

Having an appropriate motor insurance can save vehicle owners from hefty expenditures of repairing and servicing. Between 2015 and 2016, the auto insurance sector saw a wave of innovating and digitization.

In order to scale these insurance related services to improve customer accessibility and reach, insurance companies were keen to develop auto insurance app with suitable features, as their way forward into the digital future.

With an auto insurance app, insurance companies can be open to more prospective leads by being able to significantly expand their reach. Communicating services and prices through the app to the prospect’s fingertips additionally gives them competitive edge.

With nearly 1.25 million people killed in road accidents each year and another 20 to 50 million individuals being injured and disabled has led to a massive rise in insurance claims too.

Therefore, it makes absolute sense to have a mobile insurance app that streamlines the process. It allows customers the opportunity to leverage the potential of technology to raise their claims online.

The communication with the insurance company is basically hassle-free in this instance.

Creating an Auto Insurance App

Creating a mobile application for the insurance segment can be slightly tricky. One has to understand the basics of the industry first. The three primary factors involved are:

The insurance company or the insurer
The policyholder or the insured
The providers of services covered by the insurance, for example, car repairs in case of an auto insurance

The insurance application should ideally cover all three of these segments in one application or separate applications. In the case of a combination app, the user, upon registering should be able to navigate and access information for the section that is most relevant to him or her.

However, that may have its disadvantages.

The user is compelled to choose a role which is an added step to the registration process. The global revolution is focussing more on acceleration and simplification of processes which is introducing fewer steps to make the customer experience more enhanced.

The application will require 3 times more space as it combines 3 segments of the insurance company making it quite heavy. It also translates into more processing power, resources and space on the mobile device.

Having three interconnected apps will help you to add more features when your application becomes too heavy. If three apps are sounding a bit too much, you can consider building two applications – one that caters to your clients and the other for your employees.

Overall, you will find that the effort will be worth the effort of having two applications in place.

Top Features to Include in an Auto Insurance App

The benefits of developing an auto insurance app for your insurance business far outweigh any negatives.

However, you need to ensure that the auto insurance app does have some of the necessary basic features that will enable you to improve levels of service, building customer loyalty for your brand and expand your reach to a wider audience base.

Here is a list of the must-have features in auto insurance app:

1) User Profile

The primary feature of any mobile app is to ensure that the user experiences a simple process of integration. The users should be able to create a profile in a short span of time.

This is possibly one of the most important features that your developers will create for an auto insurance app.

2) Quick Registration Form

The majority of apps will require its user to register on it. With the help of a quick registration form, clients can simply register on the application by inserting their insurance policy number.

Read Also: 11 Best Personal Finance Apps

3) Information about Vehicles

Once the user has registered on the app, he or she will have to provide details of the vehicle such as the model, manufacturer and year of purchase.

5) Push Notifications

This is an extremely vital feature of the application as you need to constantly communicate with your user base.

Through push notifications, you can notify users on any changes in the claim process, share reminders on policy renewals, and any relevant information concerning the auto insurance industry.

6) Documentation

To file an insurance claim, the policy holder must upload pictures of all relevant documents in the app.

Therefore, having functionality where your app allows users to scan their documents and submit them is a must-have. This makes the entire process more real-time.

7) Prompt Pricing

With a pricing functionality, your users can explore pricing quotes depending on their requirements. They can insert the parameters in the application that customers can fill in and gain access to a variety of different quotes that is most relevant as per requirements shared.

8) Claim Filing

This app is an absolute must. The idea is to make raising claims easier and more accessible for your client. Integrating a chatbot here further minimises paperwork.

Users can file the claims themselves without having to physically go the insurance company’s office or reach out to an agent to help them. This greatly optimises resources and enhances the service quality at the same time.

9) Geolocation

This feature will assist your clients to find your workspace conveniently. Additionally, it can also enable the insurance provider to track customer movements.

10) Telematics

This is one among the innovative features that is a fantastic functionality to have on the auto insurance app. Using GPS on the smartphone in combination with artificial intelligence, gyroscopes data and accelerometers, data collected can be analysed to measure customer’s driving expertise.

The driver will have to test this out for over a two week period. The app, during this time, is able to identify patterns in the customer’s driving behaviour.

Aspects that are measurable through this app include locations frequented by the driver, smartphone utilization during driving, the duration of time that the vehicle is in use, if traffic rules are being followed by the driver and any change of roads.

Once the insurance company has access to this information, they can use it to determine the auto insurance premium for the policyholder.

If the driver is low risk because he or she has been able to clear all safety parameters, then the premium amount will be reasonably low.

On the other hand, if the safety risk is considered to be high, the same will be reflected in the premium amount quoted by the insurance company.

11) Policy Review

The ID screen is the personalised space on the app for the user to access his insurance related details. This can be added as the Policy Review screen where your customers will be able to take a look at the policy number, type of policy, premium payments, renewal dates and vehicle specifications.

12) Filters

The majority of drivers will opt to go with a low premium paying auto insurance policy. In fact, some drivers may have separate requirements.

Depending on these needs, the app developers can insert filters to draw more suitable policy options for these niche users.

13) Customer Support

The support service for any business is vital. These key interactions determine whether your customers stay loyal to your insurance brand in the long run.

Having a dedicated customer support service screen is a definite feature that you should have on the auto insurance app.

Some of the possibilities of customer support functionality that you can choose from are:

Integrating chatbots that allows users to get their basic queries and questions answered promptly
Live chat support plug-ins can give users access to experts to get solutions to more complex issues
The customer support screen can also double up as a claim processing platform with users having access to updated insurance details.

This leads to better resource utilization and minimised operational expenditures for the insurance company too. With a more compact team, you can offer better service to your customers.

14) Multi-lingual Assistance

With globalisation, it is imperative for apps to offer the multi-lingual assistance to their customers. This opens up a wider audience base for the insurance company too.

15) Payment Gateway

The most important feature to include in your mobile app is the payment gateway. In order to process purchase of services, policies, etc. the payment option needs to be enabled on the app.

Think of using multiple gateways such as debit cards, credit cards, net banking and even wallets like G Pay.

Read Also: 10 Best Mobile Banking Apps

Future of Auto Insurance Apps

The concept of ‘one size fits all’ is no longer valid in the world of auto insurance. Innovative products such as ‘Try before you Buy’, ‘Pay as you Drive’, etc. are enticing more a more millennial.

There is a distinct shift in user behaviour which insurance companies should adapt for a rapid pace. The future of the insurance app has a lot to do with customisation and personalisation according to client requirements, hence the features may vary accordingly.

Therefore, whenever you choose to build your auto insurance app, ensure that you have done your research and peg user satisfaction as your criteria for the application is success.

Impact Of Mobile Apps On Oil And Gas Industry In UK

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Redbytes UK SEO

The Oil and Gas industry has been playing a significant role in balancing the global economy and environment. The entire human civilization will collapse if oil and gas production suddenly stops due to any natural or technological mishap.

We all are aware of the term “Oil flows, the nation grows” – The growing demand for gas and oil in today’s world for domestic and business purposes justifies the phrase’s reality.

The industry produces energy and provides with fiscal fluidity that keeps the wheels of the economy moving. The tremendous growth of mobile apps in recent times has had an enormous impact on each industry, especially on Oil and Gas.

Starting from banking and finance, education, hospitality to retail, healthcare and more, has experienced changes. Every industry has felt the importance of digitalization with time and embraced mobile technology to safeguard their business.

According to the Mobile Statistics Report 2019-2023 published by the market research team of The Radicati Group, by the end of 2023 the total number of business and consumer mobile users all around the world will cross 7.3 billion. Oil and Gas industry is not an exception to this rule. And the sector in the UK is no different.

Read Also: Features And Benefits Of Fleet Management App

Why Do Business Industries Need The Mobile Application?

For the business industries that work across several regions, on multiple projects in multiple locations usually encounter several challenges that affect the productivity and profitability of the business.

Adopting mobile technology not only benefits the industries to maintain smooth production but also helps in overall enterprise management. Also, in this age of mobility, mobile phones and applications are changing the usual concept of performing and maintaining business.

The growing demand and sales of smartphones have influenced business organizations to develop their apps irrespective of industries. After all, mobile applications have the power to shrink the entire world into a tiny device.

Mobile application developers use several app developing technologies which include JAVA, PHP, HTML 5 and many more to build up highly efficient apps for companies on demand. A recent report forecasts the increased number of app downloads in 2022 might cross nearly 258.2 billion.

Below are the reasons why the Oil and Gas industry need to embrace mobile apps more than before:

1) Data Access at Your Fingertips

Mobile technology has made it easier for you to record every data using specific software on that tiny device. Arrange smartphones equipped with useful mobile software that will allow your business team to get access to the real-time data at any time anywhere.

2) Keeping a Track of Business Insight

With the help of business mobile applications companies can observe and analyse their business insights using the recorded data. Business process optimization like exchanging important files, studying statistics, monitoring the process and others also become easier.

3) Improved Communication among Colleagues

Not only the devices but the work culture and atmosphere has also evolved over the past years. With smart mobile applications, companies can build better networking and connectivity among the employees.

Starting from video conference, meeting, group discussion to working in collaboration from multiple locations – communication among the colleagues improves more than before.

4) Increasing Transparency

Better communication builds transparency. Mobile apps keep the employees updated regarding the projects, services and products which are beneficial while communicating with the clients or customers.

Clear and informative communication replaces ambiguous or incomplete communication and enhances company transparency among both colleagues and clients.

5) Expand Business with Better Marketing Strategies

Lastly, mobile applications help in modelling unique and efficient marketing strategies as per the ongoing market trends which increases business growth.

You can expand the business and reach out to a potential audience and clients all around the world. Thus mobile application becomes the secret weapon for the company marketers.

Growth of Oil and Gas Industry in the UK

From ancient times, people have been using ancient or fossil fuels as one of the primary sources of energy. It was thousands of years ago when Herodotus had observed natural asphalts in walls and tower constructions in Babylon. History says petroleum was first used by China that too during 600 B.C.

However, with the continuous evolution of science and technology, people have learned the secret of processing and refining natural oil. And as an eventual consequence, the oil and gas industry started to sprout all around the world. And now the industry has expanded enough to influence the world economy and as well as the environment.

The above insight shows how the consumption of natural fuels or energy has increased over the past years. The total consumption of oil is approximately 30% where the total consumption of natural gas stands near 22%.

As per research reports, during 2016 the daily oil consumption in the UK had reached nearly 1.6 million barrels. The same report also reveals that approximately 75% of the total energy that the UK consumed in the same year was produced from oil and gas industries.

Impacts of Mobile Apps on the Oil and Gas Industry

Now the question might arise, what has mobile applications to do with the oil and gas industry? As mentioned above mobile apps are the new-age innovations that have evolved and revolutionized the age-old methodologies.

The oil and gas industry has also incorporated mobile technologies and mobile apps for better performance and growth. Research says that digitalization can earn the Oil and Gas industry nearly $1.6trillion value. The industry has, however, started to invest more in mobile app development to increase more efficiency.

Read Also: Reasons Why Enterprises Need Mobile Apps

Multiple types of mobile applications can be developed for the Oil and Gas industry which include:

1) Disaster Management Apps

In case of emergency disastrous situations, mobile apps can help to save important business data and other crucial information that can be retrieved at any time.

Also, these apps can help to aware the team about the urgent condition and get immediate response from them.

2) Health and Safety Apps

Oil and Gas industries are not only limited to indoor cubicles. Multiple employees are working directly on the field in some remote locations to explore and unearth raw materials for further processing.

Sometimes it becomes difficult to locate and contact them. Mobile apps help to keep them connected with the company allowing them to update their safety or health issues, share field images and videos with the other team members in the office.

3) Communication Apps

Communication mobile apps will keep all the employees of a relevant team interconnected. They can share report files, arrange quick video conferences and group discussions using the app to communicate immediately.

4) Project Management Apps

Project management apps can help in effectively executing long and complicated projects. These apps make business operations easier for the employees as they can track the process, costs, and update field information and activities.

5) Reporting Apps

A reporting app is required for updating regular data and forming daily reports. These apps can reduce the manual effort of recording each data and report daily for the management.

However, all these types of mobile apps for the Oil and Gas industry bring some significant impacts which are as follows:

1) Improved Safety

Working in the Oil and Gas industry as a field executive can sometimes be life-threatening. Dealing with health and safety issues, environmental challenges are a part of their daily life.

Mobile apps can bring the mobility solution to keep the relevant team updated regarding their safety issues from the field. Also, the technicians and the inspecting team can easily follow up with their condition and prevent fatal accidents before it happens.

Thus mobile apps can improve the work atmosphere and make it safe for the employees.

2) Capturing Accurate Data

To improve business efficiency, one needs to collect accurate data. Oil and Gas industry works with multiple professionals like field executives, geologists, environmental specialists, managers and others.

Instead of carrying paper and pen everywhere, using a mobile app is more convenient to collect accurate data.

3) Better Trouble-Shooting

Machines breakdown is another common challenge that the industry faces. Sometimes it consumes a lot of time to report and troubleshoot the problems. A mobile app for such troubleshooting and immediate reporting can reduce time consumption.

4) Real-Time Data Tracking

Apart from data-capturing, dedicated mobile apps can help tracking and analyzing in data or business insights. These apps can also allow making decisions and adjustments to ensure smooth business productivity.

5) Enhanced Communication between Field & Office

As we all know, communication is the key. Improved communication will lead to successful business growth and performance. In the oil and gas industry, people work in multiple locations for the same projects sometimes.

A better mobility solution can enhance the communication between the field executives and other professionals at the office to improve business operations.

6) Better Inspection and Situation Monitoring

Oil and Gas industry requires regular and constant inspection of the pipeline, environmental assets to increase efficiency. Deploying mobile apps for such monitoring and situation inspection jobs can cut down the cost and will also help the relevant technicians to keep a note of the data for further action.

7) Reduced Network Failure

Network failure is one of the most common challenges in the Oil and Gas industry. Networks fail to capture and share data once the professionals move out the specific network range.

Mobile apps with offline capability can reduce the probabilities of network failure and increase connectivity. These mobile apps are efficient enough to capture and sync data automatically even if they are out of the range.

Read Also: Logistics Mobile Apps To Replace Traditional Process In UK

Let’s Wrap Up

With the magical wave of digitalization, Oil and Gas industry has evolved over the past years by implementing multiple digital facilities for the employees and business.

The powerful impacts of mobile apps on the Oil and Gas industry has reduced the struggle of the professionals in massive data capturing, location tracking and others.

However, there is no doubt that with the right tools and guidance you can identify the right solution. Mobile applications in today’s world can guide your business through the right path.

How To Shape Your Smart Homes With Mobile Apps

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Redbytes UK SEO

Time has brought us into an era where life without internet is slowly turning into a myth. It is not only difficult but impossible to imagine modern lifestyles without the least aid of technologies these days.

The rapid advancement of mobile technology and smart devices has replaced human involvement in almost every aspect of life. The emergence of multiple smart devices and a tendency for easy lifestyles has given birth to the idea called “smart home”.

Although this new-age concept of smart homes sounds a little confusing and complicated to the people who are not much used to internet, efficient mobile apps have made this home automation technology easier for everyone.

Read Also: How IoT Applications Are Transforming Industries In UK

What is a Smart Home?

A smart home is another name for home automation technology. Home automation technology is a modern age wonder that allows the homeowners to remotely monitor their homes and control appliances like lights, heaters and others.

Being a smart homeowner, you can connect all your smart devices with the appliances and systems of your home so that you can manage everything even if you are not at home.

“Did I switch off the kitchen lights?”, “Did I turned off the heater?” – These kinds of thoughts are enough to distract you from an important office meeting or any other important work.

But with a smart homes, you can keep all these thoughts aside and focus on your work. All you need to do is to peek into mobile apps and check the current status of your home, sitting at your office.

With several interconnected smart devices and home appliances like smart lights, smart locks, smart power outlets and others you can easily set up a smart home and save time, money and total energy consumption.

Apart from that, you can get smart entertainment appliances (audio and visual), air conditioner, washing machines, and refrigerators to smarten up your home.

It is worth mentioning that 22% of the UK households already own smart home assistant devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home in 2019. According to reports, 87% of US consumers who use smart home devices have confirmed that their life has become so much easier than before.

Research says the high demand smart devices for setting up smart homes has made the United Kingdom one of the rapidly growing and the second largest smart home market on the natural ground. According to a research report by Statista, the smart home market in the United Kingdom has reached US$3,934m this year.

And another surprising fact the same report reveals is that the UK smart home market has generated most revenue as compared on a global ratio. The global Smart home market is expected to amount to nearly 27% growth in this year.

Why Do You Need to Turn Your Home into a Smart Home?

According to market research focusing on the global forecast of 2024, the global smart home market is predicted to reach $151.4 billion by 2024. In 2018 the net worth of the overall smart home market was $76.6 billion.

The primary factor that influences the smart home market is the continuous growth of internet users. According to recent research conducted by the Office for National Statistics reveals, 91% of all UK adults use the internet regularly.

All 99% of adults aged between 16-44 years and nearly 47% of adults aged over 75 years use internet connectivity. However, making your home smart has several benefits. We have enlisted below the multiple reasons why you should think about turning your home in a smarter one.

1) Control Your Home Remotely

The primary benefits one can get from a smart home are smart controlling and management. Once you connect your home with all other smart devices you can control everything from outside.

In case you want to check what’s pet is doing you can simply log in to your laptop or mobile app and take a glance.

2) Time is precious

Today, time is something that you always need to save. Smart home understands your value of time and helps you in performing daily chores like drawing the curtains, turning off the lights and so on. You command and your home will follow.

3) Reduced Expenses on Bills

Managing monthly expenses is another biggest challenge that every household face. A smart home helps you in saving money by reducing monthly electricity bills. Often we forget to turn off the lights and heaters or any other electronic devices and it remains on until we come back.

Home automation technology will help you in turning off such electric systems if you don’t feel like stepping out of your cosy blanket at night or if you have already left for work.

4) Customizing Facilities

Home automation technology comes with multiple customizing options. You can personalize all the electronic appliances as per your wish.

For example, adjusting the brightness of the lighting, turning on backdoor light at a certain time or drawing the shades automatically and others.

5) Ultimate Security

The most important benefit of having a smart home is security. Now home is such a place that everyone tries to keep secure and safe from the outside chaos.

Smart homes will allow you to monitor everything even remotely and keep your home safe from small local crimes and thefts.

6) Enable Home Alarms

You can also enable the home alarm to save a life in case of fire, terrorism or theft. Your smart home can send a notification to your dear ones if you seem to be in such trouble or alarm your neighbours for immediate help.

7) Relaxing Mind

With a smart home you can get back your peace of mind. Using home automation techniques you can check whether the doors and windows are properly shut before dozing off for the day.

Nearly 72% of US consumers who use smart home products have ensured their peace of mind due to ultimate security assurance of these devices.

8) Comfortable Home

Smart homes can also make your life more comfortable than before. You can sit in a corner of your couch and still perform all the necessary daily tasks. You do not need to move from one corner to the other inside your home to manage everything.

Read Also: Must-Have Features In Real Estate App Development

These above reasons are enough to tell you why you should consider smartening your home into a more comfortable, energy-efficient, secured and fully connected one.

Contribution of Mobile Apps in Shaping Your Smart Homes

Smart home technology is a new-age concept of reshaping your homes in collaboration with high-end technology and mobile apps.

Home automation technology has simplified our lives by connecting homes with smart home mobile apps. Using a mobile app for every task is no more a trend rather it has become a necessity nowadays.

Studies reveal that nearly 1 94 billion apps were downloaded last year and within the time block between 2016 – 2018 the total time spent on mobile apps increased by 50% while downloading rate increased by 35%.

With this expanding growth, mobile apps are also evolving every day and they are no longer limited to paying bills, controlling finances, booking hall tickets or chatting with a friend.

Mobile apps have developed enough to supervise and control your home – smart home. Many smart homes mobile apps help you in putting everything together and make your life hassle-free.

The ways how mobile apps benefit your urban smart homes are as follows:

1) Optimized Lifestyle

In simple words, smart homes mean more simple life with high automated maintenance. Smart home mobile apps simplify and optimize your life by enhancing energy efficiency and reducing the time and cost consumption.

With smart home apps, you can even keep track of how much time you are spending on the device.

2) Reduced Household Maintenance Stress

Life is uncertain and unpredictable. You might face some urgency at work or you might fall sick suddenly. With smart devices and smart home apps, you do not need to take the stress of maintaining and cleaning your home.

There are varieties of smart home cleaning appliances available in the market that can work automatically on your command and get the work done with full efficiency.

3) Remote Access Using a Smart Home App

Smart home mobile apps will also help to get into your house remotely. Maybe you are on a long vacation with your family, you can still be connected and operate all the smart devices of your home that are connected with the mobile apps.

Anytime you can get remote access and turn on outdoor and indoor light to aware the sneakers around that you are keeping an eye on them. A smart home will take full care of the security of your home.

4) Receiving Push Notification

Smart home mobile apps can send push notifications from time to time updating the recent activities inside and around your home. In unfortunate cases like fire break out or robbery, you can get the notification on the phone if you are not around to take immediate action.

Apart from emergencies, the trivial matters like if your television is on, if your speaker is still active, if your bedroom lights are still on – you will be updated through push notification.

5) Enhanced Centralization

With the help of smart home mobile apps you can gather everything in one place. In other words, you centralize your home. These apps give you easy control to check everything even when you are travelling to another country.

Read Also: 10 Best Real Estate Apps 2019

Final Words

The concept of a smart home has now become a trend these days. The collaboration of mobile apps and smart homes devices are together dominating the consumer market not only in the UK but in every corner of the world.

With every passing year, more and more global consumers are upgrading their homes to a smart and brainy one. As a result, the overall market for smart home is vastly expanding. As per Forbes reports, by the end of 2021 there will be more than 73 million smart homes within North America.

So in the coming years as technology reigns, we can expect to witness significant growth and mass adoption of smart homes with relevant mobile apps all over the world.

How Much Does It Cost To Develop An App Like Mint

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Redbytes UK SEO

There are over 2.7 billion smartphone users across the globe. The mobile application market is naturally growing at a very fast and at a steady rate. With the continuous development of technology, the users are available to facilitate this rapid adoption of technology with ease making the industry thrive with loyal customers.

It is also estimated that by 2023 that this market will have a revenue worth $189 billion. Thus, building an application for your business can get you the perks of staying ahead in your league and at par with the leading competitors of your niche.

Technology today has taken over all aspects of every individual’s life and finance is also under its umbrella. For a generation that loves to have everything on their fingertips, wouldn’t it be great to have a singular solution to all of their financial problems?

We are talking about apps that have changed the way people view finance. Award-winning apps like Mint provides financial tools not only to individuals looking for better budget trackers but also provides solutions to businesses.

A financial application of your own can be a great advantage for your business idea and put you ahead in the market competition. If you are looking towards to develop an app like Mint, its very important to know about the cost of development and features to be included.

Read Also: 11 Best Personal Finance Apps 2023

What Does Mint Do?

Mint is the brainchild of innovator Aaron Patzer which was initially introduced to focus solely on the US and the Canadian markets. With time, it grew to provide a solution beyond budget tracking.

It has systems like TurboTax and Quicken to look after the accounts and taxes of its clients. It is a rather compatible application and is available on almost all operating systems including Android, iOS and Windows.

The financial solution they provide to the customers are well-suited according to their habits and can help them prepare for a more secure financial future. It has more than 15 million active users and is reliable amongst its audience.

The users can keep a track of their expenditures, loans, credit cards, mortgages, bill payments and do their financial planning accordingly.

The users can provide the information related to their accounts and expenditures while the structured database of the app will provide budget tracking solutions. The users can track their transactions and get structured details of it on the app.

The ease of using the app is what makes it so popular among people. The budgeting tools and solutions are flexible, well-integrated and customized according to the users. The users also receive regular updates or reminders through various communication channels.

The app is well categorised and the customers have the option of evaluating their assets and liabilities. Not only this, but it is a platform that will track the spending and suggest options to save money.

The cost to develop an app like Mint will depend on a lot of factors. Thus, before getting into the details of the cost structure it is important to look at certain aspects of its developmental processes.

Things to Keep in While Developing an App Like Mint

1) Data Security:

This should be the most important concern for your app development team as your target audience will prioritise on this aspect the most.

A finance management app requires its customers to insert their bank details. Any breach of security will lead you to face legal issues and will downgrade your business’ reputation in the market.

For a long term goal, it is better to develop a system that assures its users of multi-level security. The information databases must be secure and the data must be effectively used.

This aspect must also be checked regularly and ways to improve data security must be introduced and updated regularly.

2) Data Collection and Recovery:

Your users will be having multiple accounts on various platforms. Thus your app must be compatible enough to the level so that it is able to support all the information and utilise all the information effectively.

The users must also have the liberty to choose and erase the data from the database and recover it on another device. Data stealing is one of the primary concerns and must be looked after by your app development team.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop an App Like Mint?

Keeping in mind all the factors to perform well in the market, your app must have an attractive design. Most importantly, it must be user-friendly and with a smooth interface.

Charging an additional cost from your users might turn into being a disadvantage as your competitors are already doing it for free. The algorithms must be updated regularly to provide improved and efficient strategies to your customers.

The cost to develop an app like Mint will depend on the features you want in there. Here are some factors that can affect your expenses on developing a financial application.

Basic Features of Your Application

What features do you exactly need? How do you want your application to function? What will the basic structure be like? Discuss these aspects with your team and prepare a basic structure or an outline for your application.

If you are low on budget, keep the features simple and customized rather than hopping on the bandwagon of blindly following trends. More feature will cost you more.

Prioritise your needs and plan the features accordingly. Extensive market research will help you manage your app development costs.

To cut down on your expenses, you can proceed with your developmental process with the ready made templates already available. A wide range of pre-built features is available at a much lower rate as opposed to custom-designed ones.

1) Advanced Features

You might be thinking of getting a customised UI/UX design for your application or maybe that one attractive feature. A better UI might improve and provide a better user experience, but customizations will increase your expenses to some extent.

Remember, you can always add more features even after the launch of the app.

2) Application Development Team

Whether you hire freelance developers or get yourself a team working for you full-time is going to be the factor determining your overall costs. While choosing freelance developers or outsourcing can be effective money wise but it will be a problem in the long-term.

A finance app needs to be updated and bugs need to be fixed quite regularly too. In such a scenario, choosing a team can be a better option as the team of the developers can fix the problems in a short and effective period.

3) Compatibility of The App

Mobile applications are mostly divided into two categories based on their compatibility- Native and hybrid. A native app is good to work on only a specific operating system whereas a hybrid app is more compatible and works on all operating systems effectively.

While choosing the native way, it will require your team to code separately for different platforms. A hybrid app will save up on both your time, money and effort.

Differentiation between the two categories must be done while keeping in the business needs in mind.

Read Also: How To Build A Personal Finance App

4) Costs After the Launch

The cost to develop an app like Mint might also vary significantly after the launch of the product. Constant updates on improving the features and functioning, resolving customer issues and providing them maintenance support, all of this might add up to the costs.

You might also need to get legal licensing or certifications for your applications which will also cost you something from your capital.

What Features Should Your App Have?

1) Ability to Link to Various Accounts:

Owning several accounts is a common thing nowadays. Your application must be user-friendly and have the feature that lets them connect various accounts to your finance app.

The algorithm of your app must be designed to assess the data efficiently and provide better and personalised money tips. The tips must be easy to implement in the lives of the users. This will keep them engaged to increase the reputation of your app.

2) Monitoring Transactions:

The application must allow the users to monitor their expenses wisely- be it credit or debit cards or any online monetary portal. The user must be able to avail all the useful information under the same screen.

All the online payments, loans, card transaction and due payments must be easily accessible to the user.

3) High-End Security:

The application must be secured with different levels of security aspects. This will bring credibility to your brand’s name.

4) Financial Targets:

The app must have a feature that lets users set financial targets for themselves. This can be anything from buying a car to planning a vacation.

The algorithm must be suitable to fit the varied needs of the users and provide them with ways they can achieve it. The track down of records, short-term goal setting can help them reach their target more efficiently.

5) Regular Updates:

To keep your audience engaged you can also send them regular updates through communication channels like email and text messages.

These updates can be about some unusual activity on their account, target achievements or updates on their expenditure.

Read Also: 10 Best Mobile Banking Apps 2023

Conclusion

While an application like Mint comes with a series of solutions and are undoubtedly the best in their league. They have strategies that have proven to work among their target audience.

It thus becomes primarily important to know your target audience first. Market research and advice from experts can help you with that.

It is also crucial to understand that features can always be added afterwards and cost to develop an app like Mint. If you are low on budget, then maybe you can start with a cheaper process and then move on the expensive features according to the revenue generated.

Innovation is something that can get you going in the business for a long time. Even the existing financial solutions have certain problems to fix. If you can identify them and have a unique solution for these problems, then your app can be the next big thing.

11 Best Ecommerce Platforms For UK Business

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Redbytes UK SEO

An ecommerce platform is a software application that lets online businesses to launch, host and manage their online store. All ecommerce platforms provides businesses with standard functionality such as the ability to showcase products in an online catalogue, take payments online, manage customers and provide with after-sales.

Ecommerce platforms help to save your time and allows you to focus more on the marketing and selling side of the businesses. With e-commerce platform, you can create, customise, and launch online stores and start selling.

This eliminates the need to spend a huge amount of time on coding, designing websites as well as online stores and maintaining the web hosting and server. It is very secure and you may experience little to no downtime.

It enables you to provide great customer service to your customers with seamless payment and shipping integration. There are a lot of e-commerce platforms available.

Read Also: 10 Best Shopping App 2019

Choosing the right ecommerce platform for your business is really a daunting task. This article will help you choose the right ecommerce platforms for your business.

1) Shopify

This ecommerce platform allows you to start, grow and manage a business. It helps you every step of the way from first sale to full scale.

To start your business, all you have to do is to create a business name and logo, get a custom web address, personalize your website with high resolution images and increase awareness and run ad campaigns on social media.

Then, start selling using shopify’s powerful features. Shopify allows you to sell online, in-person at retail locations, pop-ups and on social media, online market places etc. With shopify, you can transform any existing website or blog into an online store.

It helps you to find and sell your products to the right shoppers, wherever they are. It allows you to fulfil one or multiple orders in one click.

It manages customer’s contact info and order histories. It saves time with a unified inventory that stays accurate across all the places you sell.

It securely accepts credit cards on your online store from the first day itself. It allows you to see real-time and recent activity, gain insight into your visitors and analyse your business performance.

It lets you get detailed information about your business, including sales, customers and marketing. Shopify dashboard, which is available on desktop or mobile, allows you to run your business from anywhere.

2) EKM

This cloud based ecommerce platform offers everything that you need to sell online, from your own domain name to the ability to take payments.

EKM have over 150 themes, which helps your shop to look unique. Its features come standard with all plans, thereby eliminating the need to pay for expensive add-on apps.

3) Big Cartel

This is one of the cloud-based ecommerce platforms, designed for artists and makers. It is very affordable and has a free forever plan. It is easy to set up and use.

It allows you to connect directly to your Facebook account, allowing you to sell from your Facebook page. It offers high-level data encryption that keeps your customer’s information safe.

By using Big Cartel ecommerce platform, you can improve the look of your store with a range of pre-made themes or give your store a completely custom look by tweaking the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript directly. It also allows you to manage your shop from any phone or tablet.

4) Magento

This ecommerce platform is built on open source technology which offers online merchants with a flexible shopping cart system as well as control over the look, content and functionality of their online store.

It provides powerful marketing, search engine optimization and catalogue-management tools. It is a very robust system and easy to install.

It has the ability to scale that allows shops with only a few products and simple needs to easily expand to tens of thousands of products and complex custom behaviour without changing platforms. It offers a variety of plug-ins and themes to help you improve the customer experience easily.

5) WooCommerce

This flexible, open-source ecommerce plugin is designed for small to large-sized online merchants using Word Press. It is easy to install, free to use and full of customization options, this makes it easy to design your own e-Commerce store.

It allows you to sell both physical and digital goods in all shapes and sizes. It offers product variations, complex configurations and instant downloads to shoppers. It even sells affiliate goods from online marketplaces.

There are hundreds of free and paid WooCommerce Storefront themes available, you can click on any theme and download the theme of your choice.

You can personalize your store’s design even more with WooCommerce Blocks and use them to add selections of or single products to any page, for a seamless blending of commerce into content.

It gives you complete control from taxes to stock levels to customer accounts. It also allows you to add and remove extensions, change your store’s design and switch themes or hosts or payment service providers.

It is built with a REST API and integrates with virtually any service. It allows you to access store data from anywhere, at any time, 100% securely.

Read Also: How To Create A Successful Retail App Like Walmart

With Woo Commerce, developers can easily create, modify, and scale a store that meets client’s specifications and make enhancements either with extensions or with customs solution. It has a robust framework that supports stores from basic to enterprise.

6) PrestaShop

This immensely feature-rich, free, open-source ecommerce solution can be used to run stores in the cloud or via self-hosting. It has a variety of tools that will help you to build a successful online shop.

It works well on PHP and helps the business merchants to build comprehensive eCommerce websites coupled with amazing functionality. It is one of the strongest eCommerce website builder platforms and has an intuitive interface to manage your online store.

PrestaShop comes with features such as advanced backup schemes, high reliability and easy accessibility, allowing users to scale their business and increase the credibility of the site.

It uses a web template system that allows you to customize the store theme and make use of add-on modules.

To create PrestaShop theme, you need a robust PrestaShop theme maker that will help you built your own theme according to your specifications.

7) Lightspeed

This cloud-based ecommerce solution comes with features such as automated tax calculation, support for multiple currencies and languages, and integrated shipping options. It allows you to add up to 10 different images for every product in your store.

It has a search feature that makes it very easy for customers to find exactly what they’re looking for. It lets you do things like edit your metadata, titles, tags, descriptions and Meta descriptions.

It optimizes all the themes using SEO best-practices. It offers a built-in blogging tool, thereby allowing you to create SEO optimized content easily.

It offers an array of marketing tools to help your store grow. It also offers an optimized back end, which will help your site to load fast. It allows you to create product categories, process returns, add and update product descriptions, add photos etc.

With Lightspeed, you can use optimized website templates to create a beautiful e-commerce store easily. It does not require any coding skills.

Omnichannel allows you to integrate your online and in stores into one platform. It has centralized inventory, the ability to track customers both online and in-store and the ability to generate a report covering both online and in-store metrics.

8) Ecwid

This cloud based ecommerce platform helps you create an easy to use online store and start selling anywhere online or in-person.

It is a perfect solution for small as well as medium sized businesses. It can be integrated with your existing website, business page on a social network, your blog, marketplaces or mobile app.

With Ecwid, you can sync and manage all the storefronts from one control panel. It does not require any installation. It can be added to any website through their widget or a plugin for WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Wix websites.

9) X-Cart

This is one of the open source PHP shopping cart ecommerce software platforms that enables online merchants to process orders, track inventory and manage every aspect of an online store.

It is easy to use, maintain and modify. It is the only PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant software that you can run on your own server.

It comes with features including awesome design templates, real time smart search and bulk product editing. It provides effective SEO tools as well as offers auctions, coupons and discounts.

10) Squarespace

This website builder helps you to create a stunning and professional-looking portfolio website. All you have to do is create an account, choose a template and then edit it.

It is ideal for photographers, artists and designers and also for anyone who loves design and wants their website to look as good as the content they are showing off online.

Its templates are crisp, clean and full of white-space, which gives your portfolio a very high-end feel and can really elevate you above your peers. In addition, templates are mobile-responsive to ensure that your work looks great whenever and wherever it is viewed.

11) PinnacleCart

This hosted ecommerce software platform provides a robust all-inclusive online store builder that allows you to custom design an online store, manage product catalogues, create marketing campaigns, collect web analytics etc.

It integrates with a host of add-ons such as AVALARA, MAILCHIMP, ENDICIA and ADDSHOPPPERS. It comes with SSL certificates. It can make the payment page or your entire checkout process secure.

It is PA-DSS (Payment Application Data Security Standard) and PCI certified. PinnacleCart storefront allows you to set up recurring billing accounts for customers or provide multiple languages and currency selections.

It lets you create beautiful storefronts with features such as photo galleries, image magnify, zoom and lightbox. It has a content management system (CMS) for creating information pages and managing SEO attributes. It offers various marketing tools that enable you to promote your ecommerce store.

Read Also: Top 10 Ecommerce Trends To Implement In Your Business

Conclusion

When choosing the best platform, you need to consider your business’s needs, sales volume and potential future growth.

These ecommerce platforms offer different features. All of them give business owners the opportunity to build a branded online storefront to sell their products.