Swift as Open Source Language

“Have you ever heard about the evolution of language Have you ever wondered how does the language get adopted world wide.”

Let us confront that we at AppsWise love the open source community, After staying confined for long time with objective C, iOS & OS X development, apple’s decision about making the latest programming language swift as open source filled us with the joy and excitement. This is first time ever that apple has made any of its proprietary language open source. It is needless to say that swift has been widely accepted and loved by many of the programmer’s since the day it was introduced, we think it was mainly because the Objective C was not that easy to get adapted by new developer’s, hence Objective C scored last on the comparison list of most popular technology whereas Swift stands out at #1 with flying color in Most Loved Dreaded and wanted programming language. Let us see what makes swift #1 in most loved, dreaded and wanted programming language and how the business owners and SMEs can benefit from swift.

1 – Swift is easy to adapt

Swift language and its java script like syntax is easier then most of the programming language and since the swift complier is open source now swift program can run on windows and Linux platform as well , which means more and more developer’s would tend to learn it and the learning curve is smoother then the objective C, which means there won’t be shortage of skilled developer’s and the application developed in swift. There is high probability of finding an iOS developer or pre – build application for your business at less cost and better ROI.

2 – It is backward compatible

For the businesses which already have applications or API’s developed with earlier version of apple framework it is much easier to migrate to swift for the reason that it is fully backward compatible. The old Objective C code and even api’s can be easily used within the swift code. The code written in Objective C are compatible with Swift and vice versa. Which means you need not to re-invent the wheel to keep it rolling. It is much simple and easy to accelerate the business growth with the application built in swift.

3 – It is future proof –

Swift is future proof and we can say that confidently since apple has made the swift language open source, which in turn means there would be developer’s from across the globe who will keep innovating and improving the swift language for the reason it is most wanted dreaded language, and the developer community including us love it most.

It is highly unlikely that it will get out dated and left alone. So if your application are developed in swift or you are planning to migrate to swift your future is secure and safe.

4 – It has better ROI –

Swift has better Return Of Investment (R.O.I) among most of the programming languages because it is a language of apple which is open source now which means you might find the swift language running on server as well or in client side web applications which also means you can reach out to your every potential customer’s pocket (iPhone) wrist (apple watch) home (apple TV) and even the car (car kit) along with windows and Linux devices as well. More customers mean more revenue and more profit which means better return of investment with every application.

5 – Highly maintainable and Robust-

With wide customer base and lot of skilled developers Swift is highly maintainable and robust means if your iOS developer leaves even without any knowledge transfer it is easy to find another developer who can understand and take over the job to maintain the application. Which was not so easy and smooth with the old Objective C language.

With our expertise in device specific development we can help you to chose right mix of technology and tools for the trade. We would be glad to assist with any queries you should have on the subject.

 

Design your web presence Its Now or Never !!

Internet era has opened many channels for customers to connect with businesses signaling opportunities to engage large customer base. With the advent of new technologies, the list of platforms and devices supporting the online business channels is growing and expected to grow in future. An interesting yet useful survey conducted by The Economics Times (India’s leading business news paper) uncovers online presence of small businesses and the factors that contribute to the reluctance of small and medium startup to come online and be a part of larger e-commerce marketplace. With this article we are trying to focus on the problems that small startups face, in order to get into the e-commerce domain and potentials that it can unleash if done effectively.

Most of the startup feel that they are too small to be on online platform. This is myth, rather a mistake to be precise. Many things like marketing, social connection and communication are very important and crucial to the success of any small business. One thing that every business owner would agree with is – No small business is started with the aim of being small. With right strategy in place all small businesses are aimed towards becoming big, so it is safe to say that it is a transition phase, a change in progress, only question is how fast is this progress.

It is the faith, vision and mission of owners to expand their business. So, transition is the key. With that point of view, it becomes clear that no matter whether you are a small or big business, you need to have an online presence. It is not a supporting function nor a fad, rather it’s an integral part of your business and perhaps will become the most preferred channel for your customers. If your website is not part of the foundation, the whole fort that you build is incomplete.

It is extremely important to pay attention to how technology works in general and what you need to make it work for your business. Small businesses are usually not armed with tools, technologies and skill set to produce and support such online infrastructure. As a matter of fact, more often than not, technical capacity is the dragging factor. The science of website development simply seems out of scope for them. Due to this problem many of them keep themselves out of the online domain boundary or have poor presence with some workaround.

A fair argument presented by business owners is that their customers are not tech savvy and generally don’t use computers and mobiles to connect with them. It is true at certain extent and no one can deny, however without shifting the focus from the other business drivers, small businesses have to place a serious thought process for online tech savvy customer’s inclusion, as they are the future. Real estate available in the physical world cannot house all your offerings but the real estate in the web can certainly host all of them resulting in a self-service mechanism where customers comes, analyses and makes an informed decision. This kind of customer experience if rendered will become a favorite online spot where customer tend to frequent. One can argue that strong online business presence might not guarantee high speed progress but non-availability does guarantee slow progress for sure.

When it comes to healthy competitive Eco system, Business is all about being ahead, just keeping a forward thinking approach can take your business to the next level. Website and your online portal gives you that extra edge over your competitors and helps you to stay ahead in competition and also in business.

50% of the consumers use Google search to buy commodity or to utilize the services they go and do google search. This number is more in the developed nations such as American and European countries and fast growing developing nation. When your information is not available on the web it clearly corners you from the large pool of potential customers. Even if you have a website and it doesn’t appear in the search result serves no purpose, it is another issue that we will address. Basic information of the business and contacts helps customers to locate your business and connects you with them. Online order processing is not the only reason of coming online it is equally important to help your customers to locate and connect with you.

Your website facilitates the collaboration among your customers and business where they can talk about the quality of product and services. Rapid feedback cycle emerges out of this collaboration. This gives you a predictable measure with fair amount of certainty that you should make radical improvements about how you sell your product and deliver your services. This is possible only if you are open for the feedback 24*7 around the clock.

That being said poor online presence is as good as no presence. We have subscribed to the view that website is the gateway and front door of your online shop, it is imperative to build elegant design and pump valuable content for the portal. It reinforces your brand and identity. Content quality, visual aspects and how frequently it appears in the result of various search engines is the crucial factor. While many of the things can be covered by the amateur web designer quite a lot of hidden parts which governs the Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O) and visual appeal can only be enabled by professionals who can share your vision and your passion.

Hence, if you are not engaged with professional who can give you an outstanding online portal design and consulting experience you are missing something. Operational cost for website maintenance is nominal and negligible if you compare it with the benefits it brings to the table.

Your website is your space in the web. It is a marketing tool, sign of your business availability and much more. Make it your style statement!

Wise and otherwise way of getting better ratings for apps

Better app ratings can do miracle for your apps, here are few things to consider before launching apps, for better ratings.

Why app rating are important –

  • Number of ratings makes your application more discoverable in app store or play store.
  • Positive rating puts your app at higher position in ranking Page/List in other words gives the app better PR.
  • Improves trustability of your app and makes user more confident to try install and use your app.

Provided the above fact it is important to ask for user’s feedback, rating and ranking. There are basically two approaches to ask user for it, however both have there advantages and disadvantages. where using each approach effectively gives you above mentioned profits, improper use of it may bring your application to doom.

  1. Ask user for feedback with consistent reminder. This approach works well when its free app, user’s usually don’t mind getting annoyed a bit for providing feedback, however don’t beg for it, Ask your self these questions before deciding to go for this approach.
  • Is it a free app?
  • How likely user will provide feedback ?
  • Are you interrupting users experience in any way ? If yes can it be continued after getting feedback?
  • Is the language you use to ask for rating or feedback offensive in any way?
  • Is the experience worth providing feed back?
  • Are you getting any useful information or user’s behaviour out of the provided feedback?

If any of the answer of above mentioned questions are negative you shouldn’t go for this approach or at least make that answer positive before choosing this approach.

  1. Create a page or view where users can share there experience with the app. Most of the user’s mind are already conditioned for not to be annoyed if they paid for application. Below mentioned approach fits mostly for this purpose. Same as before ask these question to yourself –
  • Is it a paid app?
  • Is it interactive easy to use feedback form?
  • Is there any freebie if user provide feedback or ranking?
  • Is the provided feedback worth?

If any of the answer is no, you should think again about going for this approach.  If you can think of better way to handle user’s reaction about the apps share with us as comment to this post. We are going to write the how to guide as follow-up for this post. Till than stay tuned.

Wearable Technologies

How exciting it is that we can wear technology and use it on the move, there are a wide range of wearable devices now a days lets see what is possible and which type of Apps can benefit from it.

Navigation Apps :

In developing countries security is major concerns where people are moving towards nuclear family and have less support for elderly members and children. It is important to facilitate safety without compromising the data integrity and privacy. We think this is how the Apps can come in help –

  • Apps that allows to locate the family members on the map.
  • Apps that allow to make and receive calls, sense the surroundings and send sos alerts to individual or group on need basis.
  • Apps that analyse and conclude real time data interactively and send visual reports on regular time interval in connected devices.
  • Apps which can define a virtual secure zone where any event of defined type can raise alerts and notify the individual or group. This can make foundation of wise connected homes.

Remote Health tracking Apps :

In developing countries where it is difficult to get medical attention easily the apps which tracks the health and basic health records and makes it available remotely would be really appreciated, We think this is how the Apps can come in help –

  • Apps that can track the Blood Pressure level, heartbeat and blood sugar level of dear one. Send the visual reports and alert to individual or group.
  • Apps that transfer the medical records in hospital information systems in emergencies, so that patient or the attenders don’t need to spend precious doing paper work or formalities.
  • Apps which can keep you connected with your doctor and remind you the medicines doses and send the health reports on daily or need basis to your doctor.

So these were our thoughts on how the wearable technology can help you with your day today life. Let us know what you think about and expect from the wearable technologies Apps Wise..