Mobile apps have impacted many aspects of our lives from ordering food, buying groceries, and checking account balances to communicating with others through social media. It seems like there is an app for nearly everything we do.
Technology streamlines our daily activities by making products and services quickly and easily accessible, when and where we want them. The ease and accessibility of mobile apps has, for most of us, become second nature in our lives. It is something we expect and something we count on.
Unlocking the power of mobile apps
Mobile Apps are software programs downloaded and accessed directly through a user’s phone or other mobile device, like a tablet or music player. Mobile Apps are not only for games and social media. There are many custom-built, easy-to-use mobile apps that help businesses interact with their customers to better serve and support their needs. Because users carry their phones with them, it is easy for businesses to reach current and potential customers. This has driven the expansion of mobile apps exponentially.
Customers have come to expect the availability of apps to:
- Conduct a quick search for apps they need and download and install them quickly and easily.
- Access the Internet of Things (IoT) networks in their smart homes to manage their home’s infrastructure such as lighting, temperature, and electrical consumption from anywhere with a cell phone signal.
- Pair their phone and car to remote start, locate, or even park it.
- Engage with coworkers in real time to increase productivity, improve operations, and improve management effectiveness.
The impact of mobile apps and social media
Social media apps have fundamentally influenced how we interact with each other. Through social media, we can easily engage with people from all over the world. In the recent past, ham radio could have been considered a type of social media, where people could meet and hold real-time conversations over shortwave radios. Today, when we think of social media, we think of Facebook, Microsoft Teams, and LinkedIn, which each allow real-time video and audio communications among people virtually anywhere in the world.
According to the World Economic Forum, Facebook sends 30 million messages every minute. And social media is still growing at a rapid pace.
Benefits and challenges of mobile apps
Whether you build your own app or hire an app developer, getting the app to work with all necessary business systems is the primary challenge. The backend integration and associated data processing is what results in great value to the business, increases engagement, and builds customer loyalty.
Apps usually come with their own backend systems, which can make them isolated from other necessary business functions. For example, an app that needs to span across business segments, must include a solution that allows for consistency on the app side, connecting to relevant systems and data stores that are often unique in each segment. Backend engineering of the right integration systems is essential, and that is where the right expertise and experience can speed the process and ensure effective and rapid integration and long-term integrity.
At TwoConnect, our team of app developers delivers end-to-end products that serve the needs of the business and their customers. We make connecting mobile apps customers to your business a smooth process designed to enlighten while building a strong partnership that complements what you already do. We focus on making the back end of your app as effective as the front end.
The value of good backend integration
Backend apps need to be robust and secure while also collecting and managing data that enables and supports better business intelligence. Good backend integration ensures that no business or customer information is ever put at risk.
What does an app integration solution look like?
In today’s rapidly shifting world, the need to stay connected to customers, employees, and other stakeholders can mean the difference between earning the business or not.
Modern enterprises need a wide reach, extending both revenue and innovation sources through new channels across the web and mobile space. This is achieved through a well-designed digital and API strategy that builds applications once, and then organizes them anywhere when it makes good business sense — on premises, on iPaaS, or in the cloud.
TwoConnect helps you get there by:
- Building an integration layer between the app and the rest of the business.
- Understanding the data and designing appropriate data flows that enable the system to function optimally.
- Creating the API to call, which remains the same no matter which business the app is connected to, thus lowering your app maintenance costs.
Successful backend integration of the app results in an app that delivers more value to the business, end user, and the customer.
The future of mobile apps
Mobile apps continue to change how we connect and make decisions both socially and in business when conducting our everyday lives. Mobile apps impact our lives in many ways, such as:
- Interacting with medical professionals – Medical apps are already in use; however, they are not yet widely used. Mobile apps such as Bon Secours 24/7 and My Chart allow patients to schedule non-life-threatening appointments with a doctor on call or their primary care doctor and check on appointments or medication refills without leaving the comfort of home.
- Accessing mobile enterprise apps – B2B apps are expected to surge, with an emphasis on removing pain points and friction from common business processes. They are not as widely used as apps from retailers, but small to medium-sized businesses are finding that B2B apps can give a significant boost to client engagement and retention.
Summary
There is no doubt that the variety, availability, and use of mobile apps will continue to grow. Technologies may change, and the way apps are built will evolve; however, the functionality of apps will still be needed to connect people with each other, to shop, pay bills, make appointments, do research, and more. Until fundamental internet technologies are faster and more secure, mobile web apps will continue to lag native mobile apps in popularity and use. For consumers, there will continue to be an overwhelming array of apps to choose from, while for developers, there will be plenty of opportunities to create and publish new apps to support customer needs and demand.
