Are you a foodpreneur, or owner of a restaurant looking to add an additional service channel, or simply wanting to re-platform from your existing portal?

If yes, then expert opinion from within the industry will contribute immensely towards important business decisions. Setting up an online business in the food industry today is probably one of the most satisfying from a market demand point of view, and yet among the most challenging, considering the difficult scenarios related to health and safety. Thoroughly planned business models can however prove to be financially rewarding and high on customer satisfaction at the same time.

Through this whitepaper, we will address some of the most prevalent of the challenges that business owners setting up their online food delivery are confronted with. We try to collate solutions for those venturing in this domain, to help them sustain an efficient and gainful online food delivery business.

The topics covered in the whitepaper are as follows:

1. Who should read this Whitepaper?
2. Background
3. Food Business Trends
4. Online Food Delivery Business – Focussing on the Demand
5. Major Challenges and Ways to Fill the Gaps
6. A Business Perspective
7. Conclusion

Last Updated: 3rd January, 2024

The most common touchpoint today that connects almost everybody, including businesses and consumers seamlessly is the 24-7 connectivity being offered by mobile internet service providers. eCommerce is fast transcending into mobile commerce or mcommerce.

As the usage of mobile phones and devices including tablets and laptops skyrocketed, the business value added with the development of operating system-friendly applications also rose exponentially.

With the most prominent of questions being as to what is the best approach towards developing a robust ecommerce app, this blog will help you with basic considerations that must be kept in mind while deciding to supplement an ecommerce business and website with an app.

Table of Contents

• Rationale Behind App Development for eCommerce Businesses
• eCommerce App Types
• eCommerce App developmental Components
• Essential Features for eCommerce App Development
• mCommerce Trends In 2024
• Simplified Process for eCommerce App Development
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Rationale Behind App Development for eCommerce Businesses

Developing an ecommerce app that can be accessed and operated from about anywhere at any time, is more of an asset necessary for the efficient performance of any business today. With retail mostly happening through mobile and online channels, an application can add immense value to the chain of events that control business transactions.

A look into the statistics also indicate a favorable reasoning for ecommerce app development with nearly 80% of smartphone users making some or the other purchase online. As more and more people are shopping over the internet, it becomes all the more imperative to have a mobile-friendly channel for the sales of commodities.

An analysis into the benefits of ecommerce apps, can further help in the decision making process. Listed below are the advantages of ecommerce apps to businesses:

1. Online shopping is the new trend
2. Benefits for small and new businesses
   • Helps attract customers easily
   • It is a competitive advantage
   • Helps increase sales
3. Everything mobile is the millennial choice
4. Enables better customer service
5. Allows customization of offerings – easy to build a customer centric business
6. Easy analytical analysis of all activities
7. Enables contactless payments
8. More and improved marketing 
9. Brand building and propagation is easier
10. Customer loyalty is enhanced

Creating an environment where customers are able to get a more personalized and responsive shopping experience is bound to retain them. They will want to re-visit and even recommend the shopping platform or app ahead for perks like loyalty and recommender benefits. 

Achieving different business objectives through different types of applications is a significant benefit usually overlooked by business owners. When launching an app can help meet business goals like better UX-UI, leading to better user engagement and increased conversion, understanding what type of an application is needed can be a positive step towards meeting the aim.

In the section ahead, before we address the approach to be taken for an ecommerce app development, we discuss briefly the different types of apps that can be developed, for different business objectives and models.

eCommerce App Types

Smartphones for shopping have driven mobile commerce (mcommerce) to a platform which is proving to be a constant propeller for businesses. The success mantra has brought a new dimension for businesses to draw revenue. Mobile applications have added timeless connectivity for customers. They are now able to access their favorite stores at any time to place their orders.

Based on various models that exist within the businesses, the applications that will support the operations are also different. Developed to fulfill certain business goals and meet objectives, the applications are differentiated based on their features as well as functionalities.

If you are to launch an ecommerce business, there are high chances that you fall in one of these four broad categories:

• Business-to-Business (B2B)
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
• Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

There are however other types of models that operate, and there are companies that run on a blend of 2 or even more models.

Depending on the type of transactions expected as part of the business model, wisely choose an app type that allows convenient exchange of commodities and assets over the channel. The application will intend to serve as an important mode of communication between the two parties. Both the seller (offering party) and the buyer (receiving party) must be able to complete their role through the app.

Different types of ecommerce apps, developed to facilitate different activities that will be happening over them, are described here:

1. B2B (Business-to-Business) eCommerce App

Applications capable of enabling business deals over their interface fall into this category. Goods, as well as services, can be exchanged via a mobile channel, catering to big transactions for large quantities of exchange.

Alibaba, Amazon Business, and Quill are examples where industries sell to retailers, who further sell to consumers. So the products sold here can become raw material or items of sale for other industries ahead.

2. B2C (Business-to-Consumer) eCommerce App

The applications developed to supplement a B2C model will consume the company at one end and the end user of the product at the other. Sales happen directly through the application channel. Amazon and Dominos are examples of such ecommerce apps.

Such applications provide the consumer with direct access to all the products being offered by a company, where retailers might limit the stocks and variety when dealing with multiple brands.

3. C2B (Consumer-to-Business) eCommerce App

Businesses are also buyers for niche domain specific offerings like content, design, and technical assets. C2B applications like Clutch and GitHub are a platform for subject matter experts to display their talent and build such business relationships.

Businesses build unique merits on such buys and recommend enhancing the practice of sharing precious talent through such channels.

4. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) eCommerce App

When consumers exchange their products, offerings, or services amongst themselves, without the role of any business or company, a C2C type of model functions through a mobile app.

Applications like OLX and eBay, which allow consumers to sell their products to other people like themselves, endorse such sale and purchase, enabling connectivity between a wider user base like the community.

5. Other application types

Ticketing Booking eCommerce App

These ecommerce apps are to make bookings for cabs, hotels, live shows, games, travel, professional or social events, and parties. The organizers utilize the application to share details of their activity, and interested people avail the facility to buy tickets or passes by paying through the application interface.

Goibibo and Momondo are popular examples of ticket booking applications. Other such ecommerce apps allow an exchange of such commodities between the organizers, event managers, and the end users directly.

eCommerce aggregator App

The mobile applications that build a connection between the end customer and the service providers like Walmart Inc. and Etsy Inc. are aggregator ecommerce apps. They tend to offer a platform to service providers for listing their offerings, items, or products, and buyers can buy or avail them off the application interface.

The application owners themselves do not provide any of the listed services, nor do they need any infrastructural setup, but propagate the services of sellers who join the app for their business.

When developing an ecommerce app, certain components are common across the different types discussed above. These components contribute to the smooth functioning of the application.

eCommerce App developmental Components

eCommerce app Development is a guided process. The objective or business goal to be met decides what all to be included and in what format. But certain elements are common in all ecommerce apps.

Discussed below are those essential components that help build an application for full-circle functions to be performed efficiently.

1. Multimedia Content

Different types of content running within an ecommerce app, text, images, videos, graphics, and even audio, that drive the user journeys on the application comprise the multimedia content. They are the main reason a user remains hooked to the app and conducts transactions over it. 

Drafted with an effort to imitate interactions between two humans, the content is responsible for generating customer loyalty and conversions on the app.

2. Content Storage Servers

Servers powerful enough to support diverse content in large quantities need to be installed. The digital content is distributed to users and received with important information regarding their details. The servers must be robust, secure, and reliable to cater to the user-base on the app.

a. Multimedia Server Processors

The servers that convert raw data from various media sources into readable information require processors that are reliable and robust. Dealing with data and information that is critical from the user’s perspective, the processor works on it and stores it for all ecommerce apps.

Since these processors handle an excessive amount of data from thousands of users simultaneously using the application, they must be backed with symmetric multiprocessors with parallel processing capabilities. Different forms of data are processed for information exchange through the app interface.

b. Client Server Architecture

The basic architecture of majority of ecommerce apps is centered around message passing between the client/consumer and the server. The format is of a ‘request-response’ type, in the sequence of events taking place.

A user interface is mostly a device that takes the query which is taken care of at the server end. Storage, security, execution, as well as progress, are all happening at the server end of the ecommerce app.

c. Servers for Videos and eCommerce

While developing an application for any ecommerce purpose, it must be kept in mind that various forms of video data will be fed into it, and received from it for various activities. Video servers must be an integral component while planning the development of an ecommerce app.

These servers manage videos for telecommunicating, shopping, advertisements, video chats, and corporate multimedia. They must harbor the capability to deal with planktonic quantities coming in from several thousand users simultaneously.

3. Information Exchange for eCommerce Apps

Information exchange happening over an ecommerce app is majorly utilizing 3 services in coordination with each other:

• Wireless services – managing the cellular, paging, and radio applications
• Telecommunication services – telephonic connectivity, both local and international
• Cable services – handle internet and related services with coaxial, satellite lines, optic fibers, and computer services

These together control the communication channels running over any ecommerce app.

4. Access Devices – Consumer End

The usage of any ecommerce app at the consumer or buyer end is dependent on the execution or end device. Different users use different devices as per their comfort and tasks at hand. Devices can vary from a static personal computer to a television, mobile or smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, voice assistants, and many more.

Their experience also varies as per the device used. The development must be robust enough to give a uniform UX across the different devices.

The basic inclusions when in place, finalizing the features an ecommerce app must have is the next task at hand. Here is a segment that describes the features that must be developed from the MVP stage itself.

Essential Features for eCommerce App Development

Mapping the most important features while developing an ecommerce app is one of the most crucial factors that play a part in the success of the business running over the app. Knowing that people are using mobiles for almost everything they do, the development must take care of integrating maximum convenience while a transaction happens through an ecommerce app.

The chosen feature list will help define the final structure of the ecommerce app development , its design, and the cost of development.

Many features can be added or left out from this list based on the different goals of the ecommerce app being developed. Custom mobile app development is thus always the best approach when deciding to develop an ecommerce app.

mCommerce Trends In 2024

Chatbots

Customer interaction is key for brands to build engagement with their customers. Communication opens up a channel for interactions 一 making customers feel connected with the brand. Moreover, getting queries answered in a quick time will also help in conversions on the mobile app.

Chatbots foster customer engagement, providing a channel for solving their queries, marketing activities, cross-selling, receiving feedback, and more. Furthermore, customer communication also fosters brand relationships, amplifying brand loyalty.

Additionally, the data received from chatbots also opens up opportunities for businesses to set analysis-driven objectives.

Voice Assistants

In the modern age, the faster your services are the better customer experience you can offer. Voice assistants achieve just that. A faster, intuitive way for the customer to browse and search the website, making them integral to mobile apps of 2024, and beyond.

Big Data

Big Data has started to reshape modern-day business operations. It is a real-time analysis of user interaction across channels, bringing a connected and holistic experience to the customer. The role of Big-Data is maturing as businesses are increasing efforts to get customer attention.

Analysis of how the target audience across demographics and age, engages across channels for a business 一 provides insights into mobile app development for a company. Leveraging Big Data, the UI/UX of the app can be tailored to better meet end-user needs.

Moreover, Big Data can also lead the way for the marketing strategies of a company. With data-driven insights, results can be better achieved.

AR and VR

Augmented reality and Virtual reality aim to enhance user engagement by providing an immersive experience. AR can let users experience virtual objects in real-world scenarios. With the technology, a computer-generated image is superimposed on a real-life live image on devices.

What began with video games like Pokemon Go, has transcended to amplify user experiences in online retail and ecommerce.

eCommerce companies like Amazon, Ikea, and others have leveraged the use of AR technology to let customers experience how products will look in the space they aim to use.

Virtual Reality or VR, on the other hand, leverages the use of technology that simulates a real-world environment in the virtual world. The computer-generated three-dimensional environment gives users the experience of being present there. Some industries that have benefited immensely from VR are fashion, real estate.

VR is best experienced by devices and wearables that support the technology.

Integration of Apps with Wearables

The sale of wearables has been gaining steam for some time now. More companies are rolling out reliable and rich-featured products by the day, giving customers a good range of options to choose from.

According to Market Watch, the sale of wearables increased by at least 25 million units in 2021. The sale of hardware is driving the need for software integration. The importance of integrating mobile apps with wearables is increasing, emphasizing their significance as a key consideration in 2024. It can provide businesses with a competitive advantage in the market.

Geofencing

Geofencing is an integral personalization feature that can let businesses tailor their marketing services based on the location of the customers. Leveraging the technology, they can send notifications on the customers’ app whenever they are near a physical store.

This capability can be used in multiple ways by businesses to gain traction on their products and services. For instance, items in stock, high-demand products, lucrative discount schemes, and other marketing strategies can be used to gain customer attention.

Enhanced Security Measures

The global rise of ecommerce has also led to the evolution of malicious activities. The last decade has witnessed the disruption of payment processes across the ecommerce ecosystems.

Security concerns will keep on increasing as the threat of malicious attacks continues to be on the rise. Data protection also remains a key concern. Vulnerable data is the invitation to catastrophic outcomes.

Moreover, there is still a segment of customers that is reluctant to shop on smaller devices and prefer desktops to mobiles for their transactions.

Enhanced security measures is a not just a trend for 2024, but in all likelihood, a necessity that will be prioritized in the time to come as well.

eCommerce App Development: The Process Simplified

Mobile app development requires inputs from experts from different areas, including a member with subject matter expertise in the area of the ecommerce business for which an app is being developed. Entrepreneurs and new businesses often find themselves at crossroads with questions like:

• What to consider before beginning?
• What type of technology partner to tie up with?
• How much responsibility sharing can be there?
• What all features to develop that are necessary to begin with?

All these questions need to be answered well in time before moving ahead with the app development. Here we share below, in sequence, steps that will help you across the process without any hassle.

Identify App Goals

The success of any ecommerce app is dependent on how efficiently it can meet the business objectives. If what objectives need to be met through the app are unclear, its development will always falter and fail the purpose.

Be specific in laying down set objectives, so as to plan for integrating specific functionalities that need to be developed. The idea should be to collect relevant data through the app, so as to refine the business, with better services and products.

Identify the Audience

Those who will use the ecommerce app will ultimately decide the fate of the business it is supplementing. So, it is imperative to clearly map the user-base and their likes, dislikes, demography, interests, and feedback on the app.

Understanding the nature of the app user will help develop user journeys and stories that leave a lasting impact, and keeps the customer coming back to the app. In the process of identifying the audience for the app and their interests, the niche for the app is also identified. This in a way helps shape the process of ecommerce app development.

Select the Right Technology

As we now understand the users of the app being developed, and the functions it will perform, the next step is to decide what type of an app is needed. For ecommerce, two formats: PWAs and Native apps form the best choices.

• PWAs or Progressive Web Apps are, as the name implies, progressive websites that operate with the agility and performance of a mobile application. The only difference being that they need not be downloaded from play stores, instead need internet connectivity to be accessed through browsers.
  PWAs can be the choice in case there is a limitation with regard to the budget, and the traffic on your ecommerce platform is already good.
• Native Apps are regular applications that need to be downloaded from play stores, and need to be developed specifically for operating systems like Android and iOS. The scope to play with the UI-UX in case of Native apps is large, and allows users to experience premium features offered by mobile phones, like access to photos, camera, an interactive interface, and the ability to use the app when offline.
  They add to the appeal of the ecommerce store along with allowing immense data on the customer’s behavior and choices to be saved as reference for refining services and products.

Choosing what path to take will depend on the end offering that is made to the customers who choose to visit the eCommerce store. Opting for app development presents opportunities for customization and scalability. Here, you can consider Yo!Kart, a software product by FATbit Technologies that provides readymade, feature-rich mobile apps. Plus, you can also get mobile apps customized to align with your unique concepts, ensuring the delivery of the mobile app of your vision.

Identify Requirements & Features

Moving ahead after deciding what to develop, for whom to develop, and how to develop, it is now time to brainstorm on the features to be included in the ecommerce app. We did identify some must-have features that should be a part of almost every ecommerce app.

The team must give their inputs and suggestions to the development team as to what all should be included as part of the offering to the customers or app users. A business specific feature list prepared after thorough planning needs to be identified.

Clarity on the features to be integrated and developed before the actual development of the app begins will help make the app development an efficient exercise.

Process and Budget Planning

Identifying or wanting to include features and functionalities into the ecommerce app is a process that involves much thought, but relating the requirements to the budget is a concern that must not be ignored.

Planning for the integrations and development must take into consideration:

• Whether the app is a bespoke app or a generic app
• Whether a SAAS solution or one-time offering is being developed 
• Various pros and cons of each kind of addition to the app

All these points when discussed will help narrowing down to a budget that will be justified towards the type of ecommerce app being developed.

The owners must make sure that even while choosing an agile software development company for the app development, none of the requests must go beyond the budget estimates at any time, to maintain a comfortable business ROI.

Quality Testing and App Release

No matter how robust the development process, and how experienced the brains behind the planning, there are bound to be loopholes. A thorough testing process for load, regression, device, performance, responsiveness, and usability must be a part of standard app development procedures.

After rigorous testing the app is packaged for release onto the play stores. The app must be ideally developed for both iOS and Android play store launch. Make sure there are qualified testers on the team to generate proper quality documents after the testing.

These documents help in building the credibility of the app while releasing it on the play Store.

Marketing the App

Now that the app is released and out for downloading and use, marketing the ecommerce business and the app will help generate business leads.

Use SEO tools and a combination of marketing strategies like content, social media, and loyalty programs to popularize the name of the ecommerce brand. The marketing tools are best utilized if integrated while the app is being developed. 

This helps the app or the business owner initialize marketing activities at the launch, growing the business to a scale where a separate marketing team can be built.

These steps will definitely add to the quality and efficiency of the app development process. From here the further objective should be to improvise and develop an app that meets current market standards for quality and technological maturity.

Concluding Remarks

eCommerce businesses today are innovating their customer centricity to a level where they are becoming a part of everyday lives of people. Integrating intelligent features so as to build responsiveness and engagement with buyers has augmented the entire online shopping experience.

The development of an ecommerce app has hence geared up exponentially to keep pace with the consumer demands and expectations. The possibility of receiving an in-store experience with the convenience of being at home has driven the customer to define standards for the ecommerce app developers.

A new businessman in the ecommerce industry will often find himself at the crossroads of figuring out what all to add, build, exclude, and launch for meeting the new consumer in their journey of technological maturity. This blog will help them define a basic flowchart of steps to be taken while developing an ecommerce app for their business.

Most ideally, partnering with technology service providers offering custom mobile app development will serve the best purpose in developing an ecommerce app. More so, connect with software companies where agile development forms their core strength. They will most likely translate the ecommerce business vision into a perfect ecommerce mobile app.

Without a doubt, a good technology partner will help an ecommerce business scale to new heights by developing an engaging mobile application to escalate customer experience. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or an ecommerce business owner, take a call, and connect with one today.

FAQs

What is an ecommerce app?

An ecommerce app refers to a mobile app with online shopping capabilities. It can be of several types. For example:

1. A mobile app that connects users to the online store or marketplace of a business, for example, Amazon and eBay.
2. An app to run a standalone mcommerce business where customers can get products or services only via the app and no website exists. Uber is a very popular example of such apps.

As the ecommerce industry is huge, an ecommerce app can be developed for several business niches such as online tutoring, on-demand home services, car rental, furniture rental, food delivery, grocery delivery and more. 

How do I develop an ecommerce app?

There are two ways to develop an ecommerce app. The first one is to go for bespoke development where the business owner will need to find a technology partner (such as a software development firm) and state the partner all his/her requirements. The partner will work on the mobile app. This approach is time consuming and often expensive as it includes hourly development prices.

The second approach is to go for a ready-made software. This approach will require none to minimum customization and can be deployed quickly. 

What are the basic requirements of an ecommerce app?

The requirements of an ecommerce app vary from business to business. A food delivery app requires a different set of features than a taxi booking app. However, there are still very few features that overlap on the interfaces of many types of ecommerce apps. For example, a search bar, chatbot, and payment gateway.

All ecommerce app development requirements are noted down in an SRS (Software Requirement Specification) sheet and the software development team uses this sheet to develop and test the functionality of the app as per the stated requirements. 

What is the cost of developing an ecommerce app?

The cost of developing an ecommerce app varies from company to company and country to country. Below are the average hourly estimates in renowned software development countries:

USA: $50 – $200
Canada: $50 – $150
Mexico: $40 – $120
UK: $50 – $125
Australia: $50 – $125
India: $25 – $100
Philippines:  $25 – $75

How long does it take to develop an ecommerce app?

Via custom development, ecommerce apps can take anywhere from 3 months to 12 months to develop. Via a ready-made software (if available for your business type), the same can be done within 1 week to 3 months. 

How is an ecommerce mobile app useful for businesses?

Following are some benefits of using an ecommerce mobile app:

1. Increased Presence: Via a mobile app, businesses are always remaining within the reach of their customers who don’t even need to open a web browser to shop from your business. They can easily find your app in the menu of their smartphones.
2. On the Go Shopping: Mobile phones also enable on the go shopping whereas desktops don’t. If a person is traveling by foot or is far from home, he/she can still browse the ecommerce app and place orders.
3. Advanced Marketing: With the help of ecommerce mobile apps, businesses can send push notifications to their customers. Thus, instantly informing them of any offers and discounts.

Brand Recognition: Having an ecommerce app also gives a brand boost and makes the brand stand out. Customers often start recognizing brands after seeing their apps on Android or iOS marketplaces.

Through this eLearning white paper, we discuss in detail the need and components of a proficient instructional design that must be a part of the development of any online or e-learning interface, so as to provide a learning experience that meets significant criteria for all-round enhancement of an individual.

Highly robust platforms and applications backed with a high bandwidth infrastructure provide capabilities that can allow teachers or experts to create the right equilibrium of all aids, so as to transfer knowledge in the best possible ways. When the learner is receiving balanced inputs, the memory plays well, and recalling such topics happen effectively. 

Through this elearning white paper, we expect prospective enthusiasts looking to launch cogent platforms or formats, for different end goals, to gain clarity over the way their service needs to provide the right interface for a long retaining outcome.

Download the eLearning Whitepaper now!

Last Updated: 27th February , 2023

The restaurant value chain has seen a steep rise in the recent past. With digitalization reigning across industries, the restaurants have been among quick responders to the transformation. The restaurants tried their best to keep services running throughout the pandemic.

When everything shut down and everybody was forced to stay confined, restaurants continued food delivery to those who needed it most. Students and youngsters staying alone without any kitchens of their own relied on online food delivery and the industry suddenly rose to the occasion.

How imperative a mobile application would be to match market demands is crystal clear. Not restricting ordering food to devices, but extending its expanse to portable and mobile gadgets will provide seamless expansion of the scope with which restaurants are able to cater to consumers online.

Understanding the dilemma a business enthusiast faces, of having to take decisions on multiple fronts, we help through this blog to systematically discuss the steps that will help guide in restaurant app development process.

Table of Contents

• Trends in Restaurant App Development
  
• Benefits of Creating a Restaurant App
• Types of Restaurant Apps with Their Features
• Steps to follow in restaurant app development process
• Factors to Consider During the Restaurant App Development
• Possible Challenges
• Technology Stack
• Conclusion

Trends in Restaurant App Development

With the advent of the digital within the restaurant industry, every restaurant has picked up the pace to match the changing scenarios. Be it augmenting the interface for consumers, relationship with facilitators for delivery and procurement, or better interacting software with third party APIs, every step taken added convenience and embraced technology.

If we look at the patterns and statistics we observe:

• The market for online food delivery is about to reach $29,000 million. 
• The most significant segment involving delivery of food from restaurants alone is about to reach $17,000 million within 2021.
• With almost 85% of independent adults now using smartphones to find restaurants, close to 36% preferring to make table reservations via restaurant apps, and more than 25% now wanting to order as well as pay from the table through an app itself, the need for a restaurant mobile application is increasing.
• More than 80% of the restaurant owners feel that reaching consumers through channels that appeal better to them helps improve brand recognition and sales, so an app will help achieve all.

When entering a business in the online food delivery category, the best way forward is to understand the trends that mobilize the industry. Awareness into how an app adds to the popularity convinces owners to develop a mobile app for their restaurants.

Some noteworthy facts that add to the argument are:

• Adding digital channels for ordering and subsequently upgrading to delivery, the share prices of Dominos have risen by 40% since 2012. Today, it is reportedly getting 60% of all its orders through these channels. It also claims to have seen a significant rise in same-store sales within a quarter, due to addition of channels like online ordering and introducing a dedicated app.
• Starbucks has been able to add specific personalization features for its customers through the mobile app. Extending exclusive loyalty programs, deals and offers, it has exemplified user experience, and has been able to capitalize on the investments made on technical feature enhancements.

The transformation within the food value-chain has gained momentum with technologies like big data and artificial intelligence coming into main sight. A customized food or restaurant app development will exploit technology even more exhaustively.

Cloud, blockchain, AI, big data, and 5G services will all contribute to better customer understanding, experience, service, and safety in the online food delivery.

Benefits of Creating a Restaurant App

Every business mind understands the language of RoI, the return on investment made. Developing a restaurant app that helps fulfill a major purpose of seamless access demands a decent investment, and the benefits drawn from this development can contribute to growth of the restaurant business.

Creating a restaurant app can prove beneficial to both, a new restaurant business owner who is yet to launch into the market, as well as those who are already running their restaurant(s) and are looking to add to their marketing and expansion efforts.

Here we discuss for you some most prominent benefits that promote the idea of developing an adept app for your restaurant.

1. Brand Value Addition

A mobile application that allows consumers to access and locate nearby restaurants from any place, order their favorite food without being restricted to a device is a definite value addition to the brand. 

Convenient connectivity goes a long way in creating impressions in the consumer minds. 

2. Better Customer Experience

A well designed application that transitions smoothly from locating restaurants, making food item selections, ordering dishes, quick payments, to tracking orders till they are delivered, adds appeal and builds a refined experience for the end user. 

All features integrated via well written APIs that help the application run uninterrupted for all operations enhances the UX.

3. Improved Payment Processing

The most critical of the steps for a business owner, while a user orders food online is the payment being made through the interface. An application with integrated third party payment modules allows this process from anywhere. 

A minimum internet bandwidth by the mobile service providers makes the entire online food ordering more complete than ever.

4. Better Response to Bookings

When there is a feasibility to book a table for a suitable slot, the consumer feels free to finish other chores before they settle for their meal at their favorite restaurant. A restaurant mobile application providing this convenience invites more users to use the facility at hand.

The application can facilitate the user or restaurant owner to assign seatings visible to all, and the practice can add to ease of serving.

5. Loyalty Benefits

Loyalty programs over specific restaurant apps not only allow retaining old customers but attracting new ones too. A new consumer will choose to download a particular restaurant app if it is offering more deals compared to other restaurants.

Push notifications on latest deals keep the customer hooked to the app for making more transactions on the app.

6. Transparent Feedback

A restaurant app mostly always displays the feedback received on their dishes or service. This creates a reliable environment for customers as they know the positives as well as the negatives. 

Also, feedback serves like a guidance to the restaurant owners to modify or improve what their customers desire.

Both new as well as existing business owners can derive benefits by choosing to develop or add a restaurant app. It is just considering what all functionalities to include through specific API integrations that can add real value to the online food ordering and delivering experience. 

With an app, reaching a larger audience in the same vicinity becomes possible without having to spend time reaching people outbound, or attending phone calls limiting your capacity.

Types of Restaurant Apps

Once decided to add an app to your online food business platform, the next step is to understand what type of an app needs to be developed. Although, as users we feel all apps do the same thing, but each application is discreetly designed according to the online food business model.

Here are the most popular running apps supporting majority of the online food businesses:

Find Your Restaurant App

If the offering of an online business is to merely locate nearby restaurants within certain geo parameters, then a restaurant locator app is what is to be developed. The app allows users to find restaurants according to their choice of cuisines, food item, area of dining or ordering, and popularity. 

This kind of an app development will need a comprehensive database of all the restaurants, cafes, and diners in different localities and neighborhoods. The database can be compiled using the Google Places API, and then geo location can be integrated to help users locate eating joints within their radius.

Important Features

• User profile
• Restaurant search or filters 
• Restaurant listing & map views
• Restaurant information/menu customization screens
• Ingredients selection
• Photo gallery
• Photo/video upload
• Review & ratings
• Push notifications
• Activity stream
• Restaurant button/link
• In-app messaging/calling

On-table Order and Pay App

The on-table order and pay app facilitates an automated system for ordering and payment functionalities from the restaurant table without any personal interaction with the restaurant staff. In times when human-to-human interaction is reduced to a minimum in actuality, technology pledges to bring them closer.

The app includes a feature to place an order from the menu available, which creates a check for an order which is picked up by a kitchen display system (KDS). This order can then be completed through a payment and tip POS created, which can be closed on fulfillment of the function by the customer.

Important Features

• Menu
• Order form & details
• Reordering
• Order Ahead
• Loyalty programs
• Bill split
• Paying at the table/counter
• Mobile wallet integration
• Automatic tipping & tip addition
• Email/ print receipts

Online Ordering and Delivery App

For meeting requests pertaining to online food ordering and delivering, this kind of an app developed with end-to-end operational features provides complete business support. The app allows users to find restaurants in their vicinity, access menus, place orders, pay for the items selected, and track order delivery.

These can further be of two types:

• Full service application – These applications are developed without any support or feature added from the outside. Here the developers code for all features and the entire operation is independent of any third-party API.

• Delivery aggregator or delivery service apps – These apps offer flexibility to restaurant owners to connect to a dedicated delivery service provider to deliver orders from their favorite restaurants to the customer’s locations. The Zomato app is a classic example.

Various third party integrations like order tracking, push notifications, feedback or reviews, help improve the restaurant’s services in coordination with the delivery team, towards a more efficient food delivery.

Important Features

• User profile
• Restaurant search & listings
• Menu
• Card registration
• Automatic payment
• Order details/history
• Order booking
• Delivery status
• Notifications
• Ratings
• Real-time chat

Loyalty Program App

An application that is developed primarily for the purpose of sharing details of ongoing and upcoming restaurant or food deals, is a loyalty program app. The restaurants develop this app independently for timely push notifications, alerts, and reminders to customers.

The app helps restaurants track how many old and how many new customers come on-board due to the offers or campaigns run from the restaurant. They can further plan their activities based on the user response.

Important Features

• Offering rewards such as discounts, gifts & complimentary beverages
• Incentivized last minute bookings on the app
• Offer updations on a periodic basis
• Setting conditions for user rewards on the backend
• Free Stuff appetite such as free drink & other goodies
• Rewards scheme on user birthday
• Free-in-store refills through notifications
• In-app menu
• Mobile order & payment in advance
• In-app survey messages for star awards
• Music playing at any outlet to their own playlist within the app

The main decision is to decipher the need and type of application to develop. As the owner decides to move ahead with a particular type of app development, they are often caught in a circle of thoughts, as to where and how to begin and proceed with the vision.

To help you move past such thoughts, this section ahead will help with the basic approach and act as a guide for the restaurant app development.

Steps to Follow in Restaurant App Development Process

When determined to launch an app for any food business, the first challenge is to develop with the desired features and functionalities. Proceeding with a development partner is a wise option, but keeping note of a few criteria before beginning the process might just help save time as well as energy.

• Note that the developed restaurant app is solving a crucial challenge being faced by the restaurant ecosystem or industry.
• The development must be efficient in terms of time and money invested.
• The application must be simple to run as well as use so as to serve the purpose of adding convenience.
• Being an interface between different stakeholders, the restaurant app must be able to provide uninterrupted connectivity to fulfill the online food ordering activities.
• Try following a good design reference while creating a restaurant app. Although new ideas can change many things, taking a reference in the beginning might help clarify thoughts as the business progresses.

There are numerous ways to reach a destination, but it is always wise to follow a well-guided path as it might help prevent major pitfalls. The following points have been summarized in order to provide an overview of the process for the development of a strong application for any of the restaurant businesses.

What and How Much to Develop

The business owner or enthusiast must be clear on the business model for which the app needs to be developed. Majority of design and development will vary depending on the purpose the app needs to serve.

As, the loyalty program app will not need any integrations pertaining to tracking orders or delivery, and similarly the online ordering and delivery app will need additional third party integrations for online payments, GPS integration for order tracking, including APIs for accounts and finances.

Having identified the features desired, the investment must be made accordingly so as to get an efficient and justified outcome.

Market & Business Research

Now that the scope of the application to be developed is finalized, the next step should be to start with gaining a thorough understanding of the market. A sound food business is a result of an in-depth understanding of the market demands.

The app must be directed towards meeting the demand and supply. Information regarding:

• Knowledge of competitor offerings through the restaurant apps. Number of expected app users from day one.
• The amount of user data that needs to be recorded, managed and stored for retrieval time and again, so as to understand the database and server support.
• About what kind of network support different applications need so as to design the architecture and infrastructure accordingly.
• Options of different APIs that can possibly help reduce development time and speed up the go-to-market

These pointers could contribute to developing restaurant apps that supplement the business with better performance and user experience.

The Objectives to be Achieved – Functionalities of the App

Next in line should be to define descriptively the functions that the particular restaurant app needs to perform. Knowing these will help decide:

• How much to code – what is original and what can be bought. Can a ready-made platform be a quick go-to-market step.
• How many third party dependencies – API integrations for geo tracking, payments, push notifications, online menus, ordering, bookings, and more.
• Server specifications – depending on the size of user-base being targeted.
• Database type and size – to store different data points like addresses, contact numbers, locations, order and restaurant information, including some statistical analysis.
• Sources of connectivity to be built – restaurant names, location-wise.

The restaurant app development can begin at this point, with an adept team of developers creating an interface for the restaurant business to operate on.

Speed up The Development Process Using APIs

Depending on the type of restaurant app to be developed, the developers can choose from a number of available APIs so as to speed up the development for a quick launch.

The options that can be considered include:

• Regarding Information on Restaurants: Foursquare or Zomato APIs allow drawing all restaurant related data.
• For Location Services: To add functionality for route navigation and recommendations, Google Maps and Places can be integrated. Selecting a particular area will also vary according to the operating system. For Android, Google’s Location API does the job, whereas for iOS, Core Location Framework will be needed.
• Regarding Reservations and POS System: Rest APIs enable adding the functionality where users can select the exact table for dining. Several APIs are available for integrating the POS, like, Deliveroo API, Omnivore, and Simplicity.
• Including Suggestions/Recommendations: APIs facilitating AI generated tips for recommendations can be integrated. An example is the Qloo API.
• Payment Gateway: A number of options are available depending on the operating systems and areas in which the application is to be used. Some examples include Android and Apple Pay APIs, or those by Braintree, Stripe, and PayPal.
• Track Delivery: the Shippo API allows an orderly delivery process along with their tracking
• APIs to Get Reviews and Feedback: These are integrated to allow users to be able to leave reviews and feedback on the restaurant app.
• To Launch a New Feature: LaunchDarkly enables app owners to integrate new features into their application without any additional tech support.

UI-UX of the App

As the back-end decisions are being made, the front-end has to be parallelly designed. When the entire success of any online restaurant business depends on the kind of user experience they transcend, UI-UX becomes imperative to be invested upon.

An easy and quick registration is the first step to an attractive UX. Ensuring data safety through either integrating secure sign-in APIs from AWS or creating a basic sign-in with data locked inside secure servers. Smart catalogs, a streamlined ordering and POS, swift delivery track, and push notifications integrated will all be done to build the UI-UX and uplift a restaurant apps appeal.

Test, Deploy & Launch the App

The back-end and front-end when coded and combined with the desired third party feature APIs now need to be tested before the actual user gets on it to order their food. The application is to be tested rigorously for the load it is expected to bear, usability, regression, devices on which it is expected to be downloaded, and various status reports must be ready for any improvements required.

With all testing done, status reports ready, the application is ready for deployment on the servers of choice. It can then be launched on all the play stores for downloading.

Begin Marketing the App – Choose Campaigns That Make it a Brand

As the developed restaurant app is available live on different play stores, the app owner must begin marketing the app. Since various apps need to attract an audience who ultimately chooses food through an online service, the marketing campaigns need to be designed to meet the user as per their expectations.

Endorsing restaurants and offering opening discounts with loyalty benefits could serve great benefits for the business in the long run. It is this time at launch when customers would look for reasons to download the app. Once downloaded, very few jump to different apps for their food ordering. Providing them constant perks will have them market the app ahead through word-of-mouth, contributing to branding of the restaurant app.

Feedback Analysis From the Restaurant App

An application used for ordering food will definitely invite critiques and feedback from those happy as well as upset. So an analysis of the feedback gathered will play a big role in improving the live application.

There are multiple tools that can be integrated to gather feedback specifically in order to understand the audience better. These tools are designed to engage the user in different ways so that they share their feedback. Tools like mopinion, feedbackify, and HubSpot that facilitate gathering customer reviews on the service being offered through the application.

App Support & Enhancements

A functional restaurant app can be made better as and how the audience preferences are better understood. There are in-app enhancements as well as guidance tools that provide support to the users while they are using the app.

A new user on-boarded is given initial directions on the flow through the app, along with some interactive bots that allow communication between the support personnel and the user in case there is a problem. Salesforce offers such tools that build an in-app support system within the restaurant app.

Completion of development of a restaurant app might take much longer than it seems. It is ideally supposed to continue as inputs should be made whenever upgradation is needed in terms of services, technology, as well as customer satisfaction. An application that will improvise to serve better will always attract a much larger user-base.

Further on, the features are the striking elements that end up serving the ultimate goal of a restaurant app. In the section below we list down the most specific features for different types of restaurant apps discussed in the sections above.

Factors to Consider During the Restaurant App Development

A guide to a restaurant app development would not be complete without mentioning the most critical factors that influence the successful development, deployment, and operations that the app performs.

Now it is important to understand that development of a restaurant app involves a significant amount of back-end efforts according to the user variants for the app. The development strategy, involving steps around the discovery phase and other modules of the restaurant app happen in accordance with the different users and stakeholders.

The architecture of the restaurant app being developed will thus vary depending on the complexity of the app, which will define how robust it will be.

These factors help the app or restaurant owner decide how extensive the app must be so as to meet the goals of developing the application. The following are to name the few of the influential ones.

Bandwidth and Load Testing

While developing the app, it is a must to acknowledge the fact that despite a huge user base that uses the application simultaneously, the IT of the app must be robust and all possible risks leading to an app crash must be kept in mind. The idea is to ensure that under all circumstances the app remains operational as well as the data for the app owner, restaurant owner, as well as the user is not lost.

To address these factors, the probable scalability, response time, and resource usage must be considered.

Budget & Future Planning

It is a common observation that when an owner starts developing a restaurant app, the initial requirements casually overshoot. Especially when the development team uses agile practices for the app development, they use the luxury and the requirements keep pouring in. But then the pocket is what is most affected.

A wise suggestion would be to stick to your basic designs and user stories. Even though some new input comes to mind, decide a plan to balance the existing and the new components so as to fit it within the budget decided. Draw an estimate on the ROI of each new addition or add request so as to develop an efficient application.

Competitor Profiling

This forms the core around which the app will be developed. A successfully running application will offer the best case study for consideration of what to include and what not to go about while your app is being built.

A thorough competitor profiling would provide an insight into the popular features and the feedback or reviews will help shed light on how to develop a better application.

These factors will definitely help the development team on board to quickly decide the quality they need to deliver and deploy.

Possible Challenges

With every software development come upfront challenges that might pose hindrances in the process. These generic roadblocks if presumed well in time can help glide through easily, giving a restaurant app that will make ordering food online a much fun experience.

Competitor Landscape

The market is saturated with food delivery apps. The restaurants are using diversified ways to attract customers. The apps are giving their users a more and more personalized experience. The challenge to provide an edge above the existing is one of the most intense one the entrepreneurs can expect at the moment.

The way through would probably be to research and create user journeys with attractive offerings that compel customers to download the restaurant app.

Technology Upgrades

The pace at which online food ordering transcended from telephonic ordering to mobile apps, it is very hard to say what trend will control the industry in the future. It is upgrading the existing infrastructure according to the new.

While developing a restaurant app, the development team must design the code so as to easily facilitate owners to integrate the latest API updates as well as code upgrades.

Monetary Considerations

Another challenge that restaurant owners and the restaurant app development team will most probably face is keeping the monetary investment under the planned limits. As the development process proceeds with an agile methodology, the team might overshoot the budget with inclusions that were initially unplanned.

The idea is to understand as to what feature or addition will matter the most initially. Only those requests must be included that promise a high ROI from the very beginning, or else the inclusion of those can be postponed for later.

Bypassing the challenges and developing a robust and reliable restaurant app demands a strong technology stack backing it. No development is thorough without well strategized use of technological inputs. Let us review some of the necessary areas of development that will play a role in defining the quality and performance of the restaurant app.

Technology Stack

When discussing the technology stack that goes behind developing a strong application, we foray from the basic language for coding to the servers needed for deployment of the application. A sound knowledge of the requirements help define what to use for what purpose.

The tech stack needs to be chosen based on each development phase, as depicted here:

The first level should be to decide on what kind of application to develop, Native or Hybrid. This will help choose the SDK or the software development kit, which will be different for iOS and for Android deployment. 

The toolkits and the languages will also vary for both iOS and Android. An overview of the technology stack needed to develop a basic functioning restaurant app is here under:

Language and Programming

Understanding whether your app will be a Native one or a hybrid one, the developers will code using Swift or Kotlin, that will help build powerful and proficient applications. The choice will also depend on the user base as well as the device on which the app is expected to be used majorly. 

iOS as well as Android specific programming languages will reduce time to develop and the bugs that will come surface during testing or deployment. To develop an application that can run anywhere with enterprise-level performance, Java is a language of choice. The ease of development as well as higher business value can be derived through choosing the right language itself.

Cloud and Server Requirements

Selecting the server type for the developed restaurant application will depend on the expected user load. A cloud server like AWS, Google, Azure, or Digital Queen will provide continuous connectivity. If a local user-base is intended to be targeted, a local server will also suffice. 

The development team needs to gather the app use requirements thoroughly to establish an appropriate server backup.

Databases & Utilities

Databases offer storage of all the data gathered over the application. Databases that allow easy storage, management, retrieval, migration, and access to data points contribute to good usage of the gathered data.

MySQL or SQLite databases offer ready APIs for easy integration and application with your developed software. Facilitating better managed data at the restaurant’s end will allow the owner to draw meaningful insights whenever desirable.

Analytics

A good analytics API integrated into the application will extract data from the database and give back meaningful insights. Google Firebase offer easily applicable APIs that provide quick and easy analytical outputs from the data at hand.

An analytical tool integrated with the developed restaurant application will help the owner take key business decisions. The analytics will help build good dashboards for the different users of the application, giving a clearer picture of the activity going over the interface.

Customer Connections

Building connections with the customers who come to order food over the application requires much thought. Many ways through which good connections can be built include:

• Multiple payment methods – Using Braintree, Stripe or PayPal integrations
• Location tracking – Using Google Places API
• Direction information – Using Mapkit and Google Maps
• In-app chat
• In-app guidance
• User-registration – Using Facebook and Gmail SDKs
• Feedback and reviews

When the customers are able to communicate through the application, they gain confidence over the system on which they order and pay. Third party integrations allow easy inclusion of these features, that will influence the convenience provided to the customer.

Development and Deployment

While all the inclusions and specifications are defined during the design phase, the development approach should be kept agile. This will add to the flexibility as well as satisfaction of the app owner.

An agile approach will allow an interactive process of value addition to the application being developed. A cross-functional team working towards building an application that delivers exceptional user experience adds to the competitive advantage. Facilitating a quick go-to-market favors business strategy and hence delivers an application that can be improved at every step.

Conclusion

A restaurant app development involves understanding the audience as well as the stakeholders who will directly interact and benefit from the app. Making ordering food online an experience worth enjoying is almost totally dependent on the kind of experience the application interface offers.

A thoughtful deciphering of the requirements between the development team and the restaurant owner can bring out an exceptional application which gains popularity due to its appeal and convenience.

A team proficient in custom mobile app development, which has delivered professional applications with all features desirable for a good and fully functional restaurant application is a must for a successful development objective to be achieved.

A restaurant app must be worth registering and revisiting, offering satisfaction just like the food it helps deliver.

The role of technology in legacy processes has changed the way services are designed. Education is one of the prominent areas where the scope was immense and the outputs have been quite rewarding.

Online and eLearning have emerged as the most significant focus for both those seeking means to learn and the development service providers as well. Every aspect of eLearning today is developed with the thought of keeping the essence of knowledge sharing and teaching alive. The available options and choice of modules have contributed to taking knowledge seeking to a new level.

Educational apps seem to be the future that will set the stage for what dimensions to expand on. Through this blog post, we give you information on steps you can follow as a guide if you are one of those seeking to enter the ed-tech space and contribute to the growth of this sector.

Table of Contents

• Latest Trends in Mobile Learning and Education App Development
• Benefits of eLearning App Development
• Different Types of Education Apps
  ―Learning Solutions for Students
  ―Learning Platforms for Teachers
  ―Self-Learning Solutions for Professionals
• Essential Features to Include While Developing an Education App
• Create an Education App – The Guide
  ―Questions to be Answered Before Proceeding for Educational App Development
  ―Step-wise Process
• Factors & Considerations: Education App Development Services
• Factors that Might Cause Roadblocks
• Conclusion

Latest Trends in Mobile Learning and Education App Development

As learning transitions from classrooms to homes, developing learning formats that are easily accessible over multiple devices has become an imperative. Allowing learners to enhance their horizon of the way they pick up their courses or tutorials, mobile devices like tablets and mobile phones are increasingly becoming the popular mediums.

With the expected rise in mobile assisted services like grocery, food, and general e-commerce, the app development companies have solved education through the means of mobile too. Apps like Duolingo, Coursera, Google Classroom, and many more for different kinds of learning have gained much traction, especially during the unfortunate pandemic lockdown.

Trends and Stats

Current trends bring clarity about the choice and convenience of the learners as well as the teachers or experts involved.

• With eLearning apps being the most downloaded with an 8.5% rate, the highest on mobile devices.
• With the growing market for online learning tools, the demand for new ed-tech tools amongst investors is increasing.
• Advanced technology-backed tools are attracting all the investments.
• With the whole of eLearning occupying close to 20% of the investment structure, almost 16% directed only to mobile learning tools.
• Along with smartphones and tablets, the cloud coming into the picture has made PCs almost obsolete. Smart cloud storage has enabled accessing data on mobile devices from anywhere at any time.
• Improvising the learning processes lead to the introduction of microlearning, allowing professionals at work to catch up on topics quickly as ready reckoners. Corporates today are opting for applications providing crisp pointers on various matters of expertise.

Looking at the current scenario as well as the predictions for the future, mobile apps seem to remain as the choice for developing most learning options.

The figure below depicts the rise of educational apps in 2020, dominating the industry as the pandemic wave hit the world.

Source: Statista

eLearning Market Tendencies and Favorable Geographies

If we consider where the mobile app development industry is headed to, the geographies actively engaging in development of the mobile formats of eLearning are probably going to change as well as dominate the market tendencies.

Migration of learning patterns to online or eLearning depends on certain market factors like stability, economic growth, adoption rate of technological developments, and penetration of smartphones and their usage by large. As projected, the USA and Canada seem to fit these criteria of becoming the largest educational app markets by 2025.

Considering the most prominent of the factors, the students, and the rate at which their base is foreseen to increase, the Asia Pacific region will presumably dominate. Also, rate of implementation of technology in these regions as well as in Singapore and Australia is highest, so lucrative geographies for the ed-tech app development markets lie in these areas.

Benefits of eLearning App Development

While we consider discussing the benefits of eLearning app development, it is important to understand the benefits in both, business as well as academic learning. Although there are specific advantages to both segments.

For Businesses:

– Track employee progress easily
– Provides ready access to solutions
– Improve productivity and efficiency

For Academic:

– Bridge gap and connect experts to learners across boundaries
– Allow a flexible learning format for all types of requirement

We enlist here for you the most prominent benefits that strike a chord as to why eLearning app development is going to be the most widely accepted formats.

Mobile or Ubiquitous Learning

An eLearning application enables users to access their knowledge banks from absolutely any place being fed with an internet connectivity. Mobile devices like tablets and smartphones have become common household gadgets, and if these were to become platforms of gaining education in any form, their purpose would be served.

Educational applications downloadable on iOS and Android systems will facilitate a ubiquitous form of eLearning. Students or learners can connect for their learning program both via audio as well as video over the application itself. Offering connectivity and harboring large quantities of content at any point of time are just a few of the benefits that add to the weight of going for an ed-tech app development.

Progressive Form of Learning

Learning is a prominent area being conceptualized on a whole different platform enabled by technological advancement. eLearning applications available readily over mobiles, tablets, and desktops have taken skill enhancement and education to a new level. 

Providing robust server support with enormous storage capacity, the eLearning applications are exploiting the cloud technology to the best of its capabilities and in the best interests of the industry segment.

When the learning formats and modules become so advanced, the basic nature of the process becomes a progressive one. eLearning app development has connected the software world so intricately into the everyday lives that it has now become impossible to stay away from the impact of progress across domains.

Systematic and Self-learning Focussed

References have depicted that when the learning process is intermediated with intermittent testing, it enhances memory and results in better retention of concepts. eLearning applications supplemented with pop up quizzes, quick multiple choice tests, and assignments bring an element of self-assessment in between the learning process.

The process in which learning proceeds with components of learning content and evaluation at regular intervals promotes a streamlined learning with better retention in the working memory.

The scores prompt the learners to do more and achieve more moving ahead in the course of the program enrolled. The app design allows integration of this element, enhancing the learning process holistically.

Better Outcomes

Improved learning elements, options to merge interactive learning with self-study, and self-assessments with eLearning applications will automatically give better outcomes with respect to performance and progress.

Learners will be motivated to cover more and will always be enthusiastic about what will come ahead, giving an edge to the eLearning apps as a medium for learning.

Economical

The economical significance of developing educational apps is convincingly demonstrated by the fact that where only 1-2% students are registering for on-campus courses, the growth in the percentage of students choosing online methods is nearly 5%.

Costs related to travelling, on-site campus fees, as well as other facilities are anyways more compared to what the eLearning apps charge. The method of learning through education apps proves economical as well as more in control of the learner, and hence ends up being the choice.

Different Types of Education Apps

Education app development is increasingly becoming the pathway ahead for major technology service providers and the module of choice for the eLearning audience. The development of these apps is however dependent on the audience it will invite or target. 

Based on the majority of user types of educational apps, they can be classified broadly into learning solutions for students, teachers, and adults who take up self-learning through online courses.

Learning Solutions for Students

Developing educational or learning apps for students is one of the most profitable steps to take from a business point of view. Catering to a user base that is the litmus test for the success of a technological development is a challenge in its own. Students by definition can vary with respect to age and type of knowledge being gathered.

The mobile learning solutions developed thus need to be diverse as well as specific, both at the same time to draw maximum benefits while reaching the widest user-base possible. We have tried to discuss the prominent types of learning apps being developed for students.

Apps for Classroom Curriculum

Educational apps developed with the purpose of facilitating students with their everyday classes are mostly supporting the school curriculum. The apps provide a medium for the students and teachers to connect for teaching the subjects as per regular school schedule. There is provision to share video, image, as well as written content during the ongoing video classes.

Also, the teachers and the students both can upload, access, moderate teaching material, assignments, and schedules over the app. The flow of information both ways allows a virtual classroom like environment. 

These apps came out as a massive contribution to the education industry during the global pandemic 2020. Schools, colleges, and students were able to survive their roles due to the popularity and reach of smartphones in every nook and corner.

Apps for Exam Preparation

While educational eLearning applications allow users access learning material at the ease of their availability with respect to time and location, they can be developed for more specific causes that augment the entire learning experience.

Developing specific applications that support various test formats like multiple choice and subjective, tutors can upload various question paper types for different subjects, just to acquaint the students with examination scenarios.

Users from all walks, school students, entrance exam aspirants, as well as advanced studies, download these apps to get an understanding of the kinds of questions that they can face in their exams. The instant evaluation of their attempt allows them an assessment that helps propel their learning process.

Apps for Language Learning

Learning an additional new language is more of a trend. Since the world is becoming a closer knit place, people want to learn a new language to explore opportunities in the geographies of their interest.

eLearning applications developed for language learning purposes provide a platform for language experts or tutors from various parts of the world to sign-up for tutoring lessons, either one-on-one or group sessions, and share their language proficiencies as per demand.

The learners can search for tutors and compare profiles as per their need, purpose, and expectation from the language course.

Suggested Read: How To Build An Online Language Learning Website Like Verbling– Business Model & Key Features

Apps Catering to Online Courses

Advanced and professional courses are no more limited to a college curriculum. Students prefer taking extra courses to strengthen their knowledge spectrum for a particular subject or even the entire field. These apps are specially designed with separate databanks for different course materials. 

Users can register and access material for the course purchased and personalize their account based on their choices. Meticulously designed courses to provide complete understanding of a topic in many interesting ways helps improve compliance to the subject matter as well as drive interest to learn more.

Learning Aids – Gamified Apps

The apps that offer smart or unique ways of learning different concepts are developed on gamified basics. They help engage students in different activities in order for them to learn a particular topic. With gamified programs supporting the learning process, the popularity of these apps is most among the school going students.

Reading concepts on the mobiles or devices could get tiring after some time. The gamified apps tend to break the routine and refresh minds by involving the students to actually participate in creating, developing, building, and applying the things they have studied.

Apps for Kids

Despite the debate of reducing screen time for kids, the COVID outbreak forced adoption of modern eLearning methods. It is this opportunity that the developing community grabbed and made the best out of, so as to make the kids feel channelized in the most efficient ways.

eLearning applications that make learning an entertaining and engaging experience for small kids changed the idea of introducing learning concepts to children. Parents today look for apps that take their kids through an innovative process of learning different things, those with which they can relate to in their everyday lives as they grow.

Learning Platforms for Teachers

While developing education apps the focus is almost always on the learners. But expert instructional designers understand that a dedicated app is needed for their teaching and assessment activities also. These apps provide them the tools and easy management of their student learning aids preparation and saving them for further references.

Suggested Read: How to Start an Online Tutoring Platform – In-Depth Study of Business Models & Key Features

To Store Teaching Material

Online or eLearning desires preparing teaching aids and content in formats that can be easily shared via app platforms. PDFs, powerpoint presentations, videos, as well as audio content requires quite a lot of space on the device memory.

Apps have made feasible storing endless amounts of such data or content on the cloud, and accessing it all easily at any time. Becoming a one spot storage location for all the teaching material, systematically organized into separate compartments for convenient access whenever needed is one of the primary benefits the educational app development has added to eLearning.

Planning and Scheduling Apps

Those managing students and preparing material for learners are doing a lot of planning as per the progress of each course or curriculum. Separate apps that provide calendars with options to set reminders and updates enhance the efficiency of those organizing various eLearning programs.

Planning and scheduling apps just make their lives easy by helping them store upcoming events and activities in a manner that they can easily be reminded of them well in advance.

To Evaluate Student Progress – Grading Apps

Educational apps making lives easy could not have been better demonstrated than by grading apps. Where an average teacher spends more than 95% of the time checking and analysing assignments, grading apps help automate the process, saving their time, giving them more to plan new tasks.

These apps not only evaluate the assignments, but provide a student-wise, class-wise, subject-wise, and various other types of analytical reports to the teachers to use during the online learning programs.

To Assess Performance – Testing Apps

Testing apps are developed specifically for teachers to easily prepare different formats of assessments for the students of different classes, curriculums, or courses. These apps allow teachers to easily generate tests and assignments along with their answer keys stored in a stepwise manner.

Students can register and access these as per their individual or class learning needs. The applications can be developed so as to assist students to analyse their growth subject-wise. The apps can also be supplemented with an LMS (learning management system) that allows specific tests or assignments to different students based on their grasp of the subject.

Self-Learning Solutions for Professionals

Experts interested in sharing their knowledge and contributing to the advancement of their fields need to have dedicated platforms for the same.

eLearning mobile applications that allow them easy ways to upload and share their teachings, via video lectures, learning aids, written content as presentations, and more, are increasingly gaining popularity among the teaching community.

Advanced Courses

These apps are supported by a strong cloud infrastructure that harbor data related to advanced professional courses. Those registering on these apps usually pay per course or lecture or a series of talks.

The apps enable accessing data on cloud infrastructure uploaded by individual experts or facilitators like Udacity, conveniently available even in offline mode if purchased and downloaded inside the application.

To Attend Live Talks

Certain eLearning apps are developed only to connect learners and experts for live talks and lectures. They provide a base where viewers can register for scheduled lectures from professors and seniors anywhere in the world.

They facilitate live access to these programs, and even some interaction or question-answer sessions post the talks. A direct server provides a platform for all users to connect simultaneously and visualize the talk along with audio connectivity for interactions.

Essential Features to Include While Developing an Education App

Some of the components of the education app architecture that help coordinate the development process are:

• Interface: Interaction between users – Synchronous or asynchronous
• Communication – One way or both ways flow of information
• Monetary Interactions – Purchases happening over the app
• Code Availability – Open source or on-pay basis
• Multiplicity – A single app or a community
• Location – Services as per user location
• Safety – Exchange allowed as per user identity

Source: ResearchGate

Create an Education App: The Guide

Development of an application for the purpose of learning via mobile devices like smartphones and tablets is a combination of creativity as well as understanding the eLearning processes. Prior to beginning the development, understanding who all will use the education app is an information of primary importance for the developer.

Questions to be Answered Before Proceeding for Educational App Development

Certain clarifications if at hand before any efforts are put into the development of an eLearning app, the outcome or product will probably suffice all requirements and meet all expectations. A few questions between the product admin and the tech team will speed up the process, enhancing the overall process of learning.

Clarity in Requirements – How much to build?

When we start developing any application, we must be aware that there are endless boundaries to explore across. But we must keep in mind that there are certain limitations to be honored. Considering the primary objective of the eLearning app development, the design and inclusions must be pre-decided. 

Whether the app will cater to students, young or senior, professionals, or teachers only, will help decide on the architecture and integrations at an early stage. The inclusions for server support as well as data storage can be based on the requirements shared by the admin. Developing to a point where the app could go live and start enrolling users must be the agenda initially.

What technologies to integrate?

The development team should be made clear whether the app being developed will serve as a platform for live classroom teaching, or will simply cater to textual content sharing between users. Integration of supporting technologies will depend on the primary purpose being met through the educational app development.

The tech team will appropriately decide to include HTML5, JavaScript, and cloud connectivity based on the sophistication of the knowledge and users who will register on the app.

What business model to follow?

Some education apps are only to provide a platform for learners and tutors to connect online and teach, whereas others will be facilitating a lot of activities simultaneously. Whether just exchanging video content, connecting for group seminars, viewing presentations, or discussing a topic, all of these when happening over a single app, demonstrate different business models.

If the business model, or kind of admin, tutor, learner engagement is definite from the beginning, the app designer and developer can together build an interface that will contribute to the efficiency of the entire process happening over the eLearning app. Appropriate software architecture will allow a smooth and uninterrupted learning to happen.

Step-wise Process

Now that we have reviewed various parameters and pointers to consider and when to create an education app, here is a run through the points that will help through the process.

Ideas for the App

The main point of consideration to begin with is the kind of app to be built. Be certain whether the app is primarily for the students/learners, the tutors/teachers, or corporate professionals. The user stories should be accordingly designed and the flow down the app should be able to help meet the ultimate goal of the education app development.

Business and Market Research

An in-depth knowledge of the eLearning market will help develop an application that caters to the users in the best possible way. A sound business research will provide insight into the competitor apps, and contribute in filling the existing lacunae. Information of the problems being faced by users by the way of a thorough study on the existing educational apps will help a great deal.

Team for Development

The team that goes behind creating the educational app must be complete from all aspects. A team that goes behind building a robust eLearning application should have the following expertise:

• A UI-UX professional – to build screen flow or user journeys.
• Developer or Coder proficient in app building languages like Swift, Kotlin, Java, React Native and in managing MySQL databases.
• App tester skilled in exploring the built architecture for all operations. 
• Release assistant trained in DevOps for efficient deployment of the application on play stores across operating systems.

Technology Stack

A senior business analyst engaged from the tech team will understand your requirements and the purpose of launching the educational app. A technology stack that helps meet the custom requirements is necessary rather than choosing to fix what tools to exploit for the development.

• Majority apps that support eLearning processes, across iOS and Android operating systems, with 3-D animations and gamification functionalities are Native applications. 
• If planning to opt for a simple and quick launch, the HTML5 web apps, or Hybrid cross platform apps will serve. 
• Other than limitations in allowing you to experiment with the eLearning processes over the app, these will allow some basic exchange of information, along with settling comfortably on the pocket.
• Expert advice will always however side the Native application due to the vast opportunities it will place at hand to develop attractive UI-UX.

App Testing

The developed educational app must be tested on all spheres, for the server performance as well as the user interface and features. The tester on the development team will usually be exhaustively exploring the built sections, as per different user profiles that will be expected to use the application.

Some ready-made app testing tools or manual testing can help accentuate the testing process, and bring out the areas where refinement is needed. The app must be tested extensively for the following:

• Regression testing
• Load testing
• Device testing
• Usability testing
• Status report

App Release

The release of the created eLearning application post the testing process will include detailed release notes along with the testing status report supporting the documentation. The DevOps expert on the team will be responsible for launching the application on play stores for both iOS and the Android operating systems.

The final operation sign off will allow streamlined downloading of the application on all devices.

Factors & Considerations: Educational App Development Services

As a business owner, deciding to build an education app is not a step to be taken without keeping in mind the factors surrounding the development scenario. The rationale behind the education app creation must be met from all aspects of its design and development.

Factors to Keep in Mind for UI-UX

The user journey across the application developed for eLearning must provide with ease, access to various modules. The flow of the app should allow the user to comfortably move from feature to feature and make transactions as required for the course material. An unhindered and streamlined application will add to the appeal, maintaining the user interest.

Content Authorization and Certification

Every eLearning application providing courses with study material and learning aids must add some checks to authorizing the content uploaded or available over it. The tutors, teachers, and experts must have verified profiles that authenticate the available matter, adding to the reliability of the application.

Also, the certifications provided on completing the course must be through an authoritative body, whose acknowledgement adds to the credibility of the user’s time spent on learning over the app.

Choosing an App Development Company

A very important parameter while developing an educational app is choosing the right technology partner. A team with adept members, skill sets, and knowledge on the eLearning domain are a must.

Opt for developers who have already delivered eLearning solutions and teams that have successfully helped launch eLearning portals and applications. Only those who have troubleshooted the challenges on the way to developing eLearning platforms will be able to guide you the best way forward.

Factors that Might Cause Roadblocks

Some areas that might crop up as roadblocks while developing the eLearning education app prominently revolve around the generic issues that are prevalent around any online service being offered via a mobile application.

The infrastructure must be chosen depending on the user volume, flow or journey of the user through the application, and the data sharing it supports. Some problems that might arise despite keeping all the checks:

• Data security on the server
• Speed of the internet connection utilized while running the app
• Outdated technology that fails to meet the current document or content requirements

The development team if proficient will have all these factors in mind and will design the application in accordance with the latest development tools and technology.

Conclusion

Since the world is now at an entirely new place in terms of accepting technology mediated processes in all spheres, online education and eLearning have come out as popular areas that demand an app interface.

With every educational organization and prospective entrepreneur wanting to enter the league of going mobile with their course or eLearning module, a custom mobile application seems to be the ultimate answer. 

But developing a competitive and convenient application that makes the learning process worth the time spent online and gives it an edge above the traditional methodologies is a piece of skill. This quick guide will act as a checklist to keep an eye on the important aspects that must not be missed while the development process of an eLearning application.

In times when brand names struggle to sustain, grocery and household essentials have become segments everyone wants to sell. The retail industry managed to emerge as one of the leading sectors, pertaining to improvisations to online sales and delivery. Businesses that provide leverage to offline grocers to set up online channels boomed.

Keeping in-line with trends and staying committed as we are to what we deliver, we have enhanced our online grocery software, Growcer, with features more refined and functionalities more robust.

Since we wouldn’t miss a chance to put across what we gathered from your feedback, the Growcer V 1.4.3 is ready to launch online marketplaces that make a difference.

The Growcer V 1.4.3 is prepped with:

• Visible alerts
• iOS secure login enabled 
• Robust data transport
• A more search enabled marketplace
• More UI focussed
• Enhanced language labels, buyer registration, & COD

Here’s what’s new in Growcer V 1.4.3

1. The Notification Bubble:

For better communication between the website and its customers, we have added <number> of new SMS & WhatsApp notifications. Users will now be able to visualize the number of unread updates and messages, allowing them better planning of their roles on the platform.

2. iOS Users Get a Secure Log-in Too:

Implementation of easy login for iOS & mac users, giving them a secure environment inside the app. Choices and monthly lists for apple users are now as safely placed inside a password-protected account as for android users.

3. Better Control of Data Transfer:

Import-export of data is now more robust across platforms. With the error logging functionality, users will now be able to fix the CSV sheet being uploaded to the exact cell. This helps maintain the accuracy of product information while it is transported from the seller’s database onto the new marketplace.

4. Quicker Search for Better UX:

Growcer V 1.4.3 comes with enhanced search algorithms for buyers to conveniently find the store and item of choice. Saving on the buyer’s precious time, this feature now augmented will help towards a better conversion ratio.

5. Seamless:

With multiple UI and language label related enhancements, the admin can accurately display his message in the native language on the platform. Appropriate language labels prevent alterations in the message which happened while translating. The stability rendered ensures a better connection between the users within a community.

6. More Convenience:

New enhancements in the COD functionality will make the cash payment option available without a fail.  With quicker and easier payments buyers will be empowered and convinced to spend more time shopping for their everyday needs on your marketplace.

7. Buyer Sign-up Refined:

Enhancements with the registration process for buyers will now bring them closer to their favorite vendors much quicker. An easy buyer’s sign-up will assist them in the purchasing process instantly.

Growcer V 1.4.3 – Better & How:

Every client feedback and testing renders significant improvements where the product is made better and closer to the very reason it was developed with. It is these inputs that render perfection into a product during its lifecycle.

Growcer V 1.4.3 has been made into a better and more polished product with direction drawn from different opinions. Not only have the existing features been enhanced and refined, but certain new attributes have also been included so as to augment the overall user experience.

From a top view, we have done major enhancements in the following web modules:

 1. Import/Export

• Special Character Handling
• Data linking 
• Fixed missing content

2. UI & UX

• Multiple fixes on responsive display 
• Fixed alignment issues 
• Fixed multiple UI hygiene bugs

3. Others

• Numerous issues have been fixed resulting in Growcer V 1.4.3 being the most stable and tested version.

Concluding Remarks:

Compared to the previous release, Growcer V 1.4.3 is a more sophisticated and mature version, better equipped to bring different types of users on-board, more stable in the overall user journey, and more versatile for a distinguished online shopping experience.

Addressing the needs of the new user, in the new normal, and in times when the transition has become the way ahead, we work towards making a product that connects businesses to their consumers in the best way possible. Our efforts constantly focus on building a much better solution for our clients.

We suggest you grab your version today and let us know if you desire a particular feature that must be a part of the Growcer version you want.

A business founder has rightfully said:

“The customer has always driven the business model.”

Once you are up to launch your very own grocery marketplace, your first thought is to deck it all up with attractive new offers, advertisements, and banners of neighborhood grocery shops. Instead, your main focus should- how to attract grocery retailers or sellers within the specific geography.

The idea is that you build an online grocery marketplace as per the demand in the area you want to do business in. Keeping in mind what the small and medium scale retailers want, while presenting their proposition to their consumer, and what the end consumer desires, the marketplace must be equipped accordingly.

eCommerce Marketplace Stats: Where the Trends are Headed to

When considering a shift from offline to online grocery retail, every shop owner gives thought to the factors and pre-requisites needed to begin an online store. The website, data migration, management of various stakeholders, deals, and delivery, all need to be sorted for the process to run smoothly.

As trends changed drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, where retail e-commerce sales already soared by 2.3 trillion US dollars in 2017, they are further projected to reach 4.88 trillion USD coming 2021. The increasing migration of offline retailers to virtual stores or additional online channels for business is contributing immensely to these numbers.

Marketplaces have joined in to ease the process of online grocery shopping. Technology companies have improvised their offerings to marketplaces that can bring on-board countless sellers on a single platform. The consumer just needs to install a single app or go to a single web address to shop for multiple products from multiple stores.

So the wave of trends and practices introduced by Amazon and eBay are the need-of-the-hour. Consumers are satisfied and choosing the new normal of staying safe at home and getting what they need with just a click.

There are some sets of practices, however, that attract small and medium scale sellers or retailers, to provide leverage to marketplace owners. These methods discussed here crisply will set the ball rolling, driving your marketplace towards becoming a hit amongst shop owners.

Setting the Pre-Requisites: Know What Grocery Vendors Want

There is a standard model of operation of any robust marketplace. A simple flow of information from the admin’s server, with data of each vendor systematically sorted into separate databases, is visible to customers or buyers store-wise, where they make their picks and collect them into carts. These are bought after payment made via chosen methods and delivered as per a selected mode of delivery.

Click to Enlarge

This entire process is intricately controlled by the marketplace owner or the admin. Each step monitored and managed, depending on the software on which the marketplace is set up.
So, as the admin, it becomes your prime responsibility to understand what the vendors want to present themselves as to their customers.

Do your Homework: Know the Online Grocery Market you Enter

Say you decide to set up an online grocery business like Instacart, FreshDirect, and Peapod. But, the locals are in a legacy buying relationship with the neighborhood shops. They feel the shop owners know their choices and keep the goods of their choices. Like when they order rice, the shopkeeper knows which rice quality to send to which household.

This is where the admin’s market research will play a role. Understand the choices and the bonds of the localities your marketplace is looking to target. Make your platform welcome small time grocery shop owners as much as the multi-national chains. Give them better opportunities to enhance their visibility to the consumers.

Make a difference with a consumer-centric approach. It always goes a long way.

Detail your Supply and Demand- Transparent Grocery Marketplace Policies

Always put your best foot forward when selling yourself. When out to get vendors to sell on your grocery website, highlight your USPs. Let them know that the only consideration is always their business and the relationships between their buyers and them.

List out your offerings, like, marketing assistance, delivery support, management scenarios, easy subscriptions, payment options, customer data, and connectivity. Along with this, make the demands clear, payment plans, commission, detailed catalogs, deals and offers to be advertised.

If the vendors are crystal clear on what kind of engagement they are entering into, the transition or addition to their business channel seems welcoming and comfortable. Try not to keep any hidden charges that might cause ruffles. Vendors seem to be attracted to clean and sorted agreements.

Create an Attractive Seller’s Profile on your Grocery Marketplace

Anybody who is choosing to start an online grocery business with their own website, or is looking to join your online grocery marketplace, will make a decision based on the profile they will have once they go online.

Build an enticing picture of the vendors for their consumers. Such that the buyers are drawn to try out purchases from them. Present them in a way that they are clearly visible and noticed by anyone who visits the marketplace to buy groceries.

List out the deals they offer in a unique way. Maybe grab a day each for different vendors, like ‘Save-on-Mondays’, ‘Happy Tuesdays’, ‘Lucky Wednesdays’, or introduce prepaid shopping cards for different items in the catalog or even store-wise.

Involve the consumer with the activities going on at the seller’s end and make grocery shopping with them fun for their customers. This will intrigue the vendors to join your league and reach their buyers in a different happy tone.

List the Existing Vendors/Sellers on your Grocery Marketplace

As you reach out to local grocery shop owners, knowing they are looking to make their shift or add to their portfolio an online channel, understand that they would definitely want to know their competition. They will always be interested in knowing who all are making the change or adding to their profile in what way.

Give them interesting online grocery business insights, with lists of grocery vendors making the transition. Share who’s gone live recently what’s changing around them. Statistics make decisions easier. Show some, collecting your information from different sources like vendor databases, trade fairs, and business listings.

Categorize Vendors for Your Grocery Marketplace

Another strikingly attractive way to entail your customers, the sellers on your marketplace is by creating a special niche grouping for them.

There can be grocers who have a great line of only pulses, then there can be those who have the best variety of cleaning products, those with maximum options in ready-to-cook items, or those who offer amazing deals in cosmetics. Categorize them, and put them in segments they can shine.

This will prepare their portfolio in the way they can serve best. When they see the way you thought and understood them, they will be assured of being in the right place with your online grocery store.

Bring them On-Board: Attract Sellers Onto Your Grocery Platform

Once you have a strategy to attract the trusted neighborhood grocery retailers as well as online grocery retail chains on your platform, it’s time to bring them on-board and do as you promised. Whatever you give them now is what will make them stay and bring on traffic to your online grocery shopping marketplace.

Commitments made earlier need realization. So be ready with a good plan of action to sustain your customers on your online grocery marketplace.

Build a Lucrative Online Grocery Marketplace Profile for Your Sellers

As discussed above, the profile you create for your sellers on your marketplace creates an impact and modulates their decision to join your online grocery marketplace. Keep their interests at the forefront and set up a profile that is exuberant and catchy for their customers.

Source: Growcer by FATbit Technologies

Engage in Online Social Platforms: Discussions Invite Attention

Add some zing to the everyday grocery sale and shopping. While everyone gets busy with their business, strategies and calculations, give your sellers that extra vibe with a social media platform that engages them in interesting discussions.

Link them to their community of online grocery retailers where everyone shares their experiences and brings on new ideas to keep customers happy and satisfied always. An element that excites the sellers will always pump up their enthusiasm and create a happy environment on your marketplace.

Create an Edge: Readymade Grocery Mobile Apps with the Software

The niche you build for all your grocery retailers is what will sell ultimately. Well managed catalogs, attractive offers or deals, easy ordering, convenient payments, scheduled deliveries allow consumers to plan their grocery shopping.

With these, striking add-ons like readymade grocery app, separately for the buyers and the delivery staff contribute to the edge. These not only improve business management but enhance customer experience, giving an overall edge that any vendor would desire.

Source: Growcer by FATbit Technologies

Competitive Insights: Do Comparisons for Deeper Insights

As we move into an era where every little thing is reachable and available at a single click of your mobile phone application, maintaining what you build the way you started, matters.

Even while your vendor’s and your business models are set and running, there could be so much more, people across the online grocery community might be thinking and planning. When you publish blogs with online grocery business insights on what’s trending, share happenings across the industry and geography, you add value to what you offer to your vendors.

When they can plan their inventory and resources as per some insights, the proposition a marketplace offers is unmatched. Give them a competitive view of where they stand, what they lack, and where they excel. This opportunity to envision and plan in advance is an attractive component vendors will site for while deciding whom to go online with.

Promote your Multi-Vendor Grocery Marketplace

Good marketing practices have always taken businesses to new heights. Setting up a sound and robust online grocery marketplace is half the job done. Propelling vendors and the online grocery platform’s sales is the latter part that needs attention too.

A good grocery marketplace software comes equipped with some marketing and SEO managing tools. There are still ways and practices that can improve brand value and build a unique position for the marketplace.

Work on optimizing the blogs on your marketplace, start emails to keep customers looped in with offers, create opportunities for offline grocery vendors, discuss existing success stories, advertise your clean practices with high-end management support, sell your logistic and technical strengths, plus so much more to endorse your value propositions.

Suggested read: Starting an Online Grocery Business – Business and Revenue Model

Conclusion

With every new journey and every new vision there come challenges that any businessman must embrace.

Online grocery retail is a competitive segment of a dynamic industry that has been and will always evolve. A wise approach would be to adapt and move ahead with an open mind. Setting up an online grocery marketplace is simply acknowledging such a movement in e-commerce and grocery retail.

Welcome vendors/sellers/retailers on your online grocery shopping marketplace with outstanding opportunities to build their online presence with a new direction. Let this channel of connection between their customers and them be an exciting new path that creates a whole new experience for everyone involved, improving the prospects of this choice made.

The power to make them understand the outcomes as they join your grocery shopping platform for the sale of their products is the key to attract potential vendors.

The role of power-packed miniaturized technology solutions in every field today has brought decisions at our finger-tips. With a few clicks and scrolls, one can access information boundlessly.

The same has been thoughtfully crafted to serve healthcare needs. Technologists have worked their way to help build dependable healthcare, accessible even in difficult areas and times. Bill Gates has put this rightly:

“By giving us comprehensive access to our personal health information, digital technology can make us all agents for change, capable of pushing for the one thing we all really care about: A medical system that focuses on our life long health and prioritizes prevention as much as it does treatment.”

Electronic health records or EHRs came into existence for similar reasons. A clear motive of creating a comprehensive health portfolio of the individual, accessible by both, the individual and the healthcare provider, EHRs contribute to a wholesome healthcare experience. All the more, they serve as rich data sources for those who plan healthcare accessibility, policies, development, and financial coverage.

The development of an EHR itself, a very technical domain, has outcomes that are even more gainful.

I plan to take you on a little expedition through the journey of the patient or member data to a sophisticated EHR. There can be multiple approaches to begin work towards software development for an EHR, a good one could however begin simply with a healthcare mobile app.

A very common practice is to create a software, custom-designed as per the needs of those who will utilize the EHR every day. But a dynamic and progressive thought would add to it, a mobile application to enhance the patient experience and enable easy quality data collection.

Why should healthcare mobile applications have a deeper motive?

Every application you carry on your phones/tablets or systems seems to capture some essence of your life. For example, the food industry analysts study data from food apps to understand what the community spends on, and the fashion industry grabs the feel of what is trending.

The same is the case with the plethora of applications that track fitness and health through various parameters. There is no doubt that their contribution to the improved behavior of their users across age-groups is significant.

The real impact of this data capture and behavior understanding will matter only when the members can use all this in the long run for their health management.

This is what forms the driving force behind community healthcare platforms. They serve the management of healthcare organizations as well as the government with rich and comprehensive electronic health records. This data source is used for advanced analytics and priceless insights that help them make informative and planned decisions towards improving healthcare.

So, every healthcare application must entail this motive and contribute to this data pool to fill in the gaps for a better healthcare management.

EMR & EHR – The sense and The Expanse – Differentiating the EMR & the EHR

The domain of healthcare is enriched with new terminologies every day. With so many integrations happening, creating a clear picture in your mind can help you understand what you want to build.

Developing an electronic record system for any hospital or clinic brings you to a case where the developer must be sorted on the purpose. You could be trying to solve a problem for the organization, and yet end up developing something incomplete.

An EMR (Electronic Medical Record) and EHR (Electronic Health Record) are very close in their rationales but quite different in their basic structure and connectivity.

While an EMR is simply an electronic record of a patient created by one doctor for one practice or indication, the EHR is the complete health record of the patient for all the indications with a lot many other aspects also.

The possibility of sharing information on a single patient between different HCPs (health care providers), enabling them to manage the patient from all health facets, is what makes an EHR worthy of development and integration within any healthcare system.

If each of us had an opportunity to view all our health details, analysis of past and present vitals with reminders and short term goals planned, in a single application on our phones, how easy would managing health seem to be? An obvious answer for an attractive path to walk on.

Multi-device integration

A thoughtfully developed EHR will enable access of all information to all authorized components of a healthcare ecosystem. But since not all conduct is possible over a mobile, a multi-device integration becomes imperative. Some features need action through a desktop and some through a self-service kiosk.

The EHRs need to be developed such that the nurses, doctors, accounts, board, and the management, can all play their parts efficiently on their assigned devices.

The multi-device integration feature also enables gathering data from different devices, applications, or fitness trackers used by the member. Many third-party integrations into the EHR application can enable collecting the data from multiple devices.

This helps understand the patient better in terms of their lifestyle. The benefits of access to such a comprehensive profile need no description.

Easy documentation

When everything is entered and stored inside a single file, it’s tracking, updating, analyzing, and sharing automatically becomes a trouble-free activity. Lengthy documentation and maintenance of records can now be done with much ease. Plus, everyone who is a part of the healthcare delivery can contribute to the data-pool, enriching the overall experience.

Standardized reporting

Every hospital/clinic has its own style of collecting information. Some prefer history to be explanatory and some just require brief answers to questions in order to understand the causal relationships.

The same information when traveling to different healthcare professionals undergoes evolution and ends up as a long record which seems difficult to comprehend.

The EHR promises to sort this with maximal information flow through a uniform format. Everyone in the chain accessing it is able to draw key information quickly, saving time, and improving efforts.

Secure health information exchange (HIE)

The purpose of an EHR is fulfilled only when different stakeholders within the cycle are able to play their parts of improving the system. Set standards while developing the EHR should be thus in-built.

CCR (Continuity of Care Record) and CCD (Continuity of Care Document) certifications allow EHRs to connect to the HIE in their regions creating a holistic view of every patient’s records. The HIE hence becomes a repository of patient data, pooled in from various centers in that area, accessible through secure and regulated channels.

The EHRs developed in accordance with these regulations are thus able to enrich the HIE with priceless data.

The Stakeholders – What does the EHR offer to the healthcare ecosystem?

A stakeholder is one who benefits out of any development and integration. An EHR serves many across domains. There are primary, secondary, and tertiary stakeholders that draw information relevant to their businesses for immense value addition. Beginning with the patient and the caregivers to the insurance agents, employers, public authorities, and the healthcare industry as a whole, the EHR and the HIE system upscales every player.

How would you suppose an EHR integration could help make millions of dollars?

When a software installed into any organization improves efficiency, enhances satisfaction amongst those paying for your services, the proportionality is not a wrong assumption.

If you top this with the priceless data-pool this software is able to generate for insights worth millions, there remains no doubt you have supplemented your system with an essential ingredient.

Healthcare today is going exponentially virtual. With the surge in telemedicine from 11% to a whopping 76% in 2019, the relevance of launching an EHR within a healthcare system was never more.

The analysts at McKinsey predict a $250 billion of healthcare spending to be directed towards the virtual segment of it. But how did they reach this analysis? From where do they gather data for such trendsetting insights?

When the McKinsey analysts report that 20% of all Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial expenditure divided across healthcare, work, and home fitness is going online, the insurance companies and the employers draft policies accordingly. They would pay anything to access this data for such analytical outcomes.

The hospital management and board are able to create environments favoring this trend, modernizing healthcare all-the-more.

As a result of an EHR software integration, the entire chain is augmented.

EHR – Discovery, System Design & Development

Discovery towards an iterative & patient-centric design for an in-built care continuum

Understanding the pain points and the demand in defining user stories that fulfill the sole purpose for the EHR development is the most crucial of steps. The main questions that need to be answered are:

• How will the EHR contribute to the operations of your organization or clinic?
• What are the best EHR practices that will help achieve these goals?

Answering these must lead to achieve what they call is the ‘quadruple aim’:

1. Improve patient experience.
2. Improve the health of the population.
3. Reduce overall health costs.
4. Improve professional satisfaction.

All in all, health must be embedded in the ‘core continuum’. This will allow better tracking of patients, inculcating value-based care. Once the gravity of the EHR is communicated and understood, the developer can begin working towards the user stories and wireframes.

System architecture – the developer’s role

There are fundamentally 3 steps that will always make the difference:

Discovery, Design and Development phases are critical for a sound development. The development teams usually have experts that will sit with you to understand what you are looking for.

Involving them from the very beginning of the design and discovery phase will contribute to an efficient and economical development. The operability cost and speed of development are dependent on the changes that are suggested on-the-way. Working along with the developers from the start to bring out a simple, informative and relevant software is the best way forward.

The developed EHR must be responsive to different screens. Smooth integrations across devices is also one of the primary expectations.

The software development team and the EHR owners must work in a concert to make the design iterative and the development agile to build quality through every stage.

The tailor-made EHR should ultimately be able to meet the strategic goals and needs of all the stakeholders.

The secure flow of information – HIE component

Although the first and foremost beneficiary of the EHR is and should always be the patient or the member, there are secondary and tertiary stakeholders also, who must be able to grab some fruits from this basket. The EHRs developed in-line with the certifications and federal compliances are the ones connected to the central repositories.

The secure access set-up ensured with best practices all through the development process allows for information exchange between different healthcare providers as well as the stake-holders. The healthcare, insurance and employee policies as a result plan for a better future for everybody.

The implications of secure data sharing thus go a long way into bringing improvisations within the system.

Compliances & Certifications

Strict laws and regulations govern which data and through which administrator is going to become a part of the central repository of data. Some standard codes of conduct are a part of the development process to ensure these connections.

Internationally certified Health IT Structure

The developer adds features into an EHR according to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. This leads to adopting the EHR as per standards in its true sense.

This helps the EHRs comply with international standards for uniformity among communities.

1. GDPR – General Data Protection Policy

This policy by the EU is directly applicable to the healthcare data collection and use. Ensuring data protection along with the capacity to correct and erase information within the secure line, reduces chances of error and malign incidents.

2. HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act

If the EHR is to function and support a US organization or healthcare body, its software designing and programming must be HIPAA compliant.

3. HL7 for interoperability – HL7 with Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (FHIR)

This guideline is specific for developing the EHR software, to be integrated with a number of devices for data sharing and transfer. A developer will get data formats, HTTP protocols, APIs and a lot more of technical support through the HL7 interoperability inclusion.

4. Code sets

The idea behind the development should be to keep the formats universal. As uniform and standard the approach is, better is the acceptability and experience of the EHR deployment. The entries of diseases and medications must be linked to international classifications like the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision or Tenth Revision (ICD-9 or ICD-10), Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED), National Drug Code (NDC), RxNorm and the pharmacopoeia.

Mapping to code-sets can be as per demand of the healthcare provider and area on EHR use.The entries automatically pick up information according to these code-sets and store them appropriately for logical analytical insights later. Including all these could help save the HCPs (health care providers) a load of documentation-time in the software.

EHR Development – Components & Flow

Planning behind the design and architecture form the core strength of this software development.

A standard and most common EHR can be taken analogous to a dish that requires some essential ingredients, without which it will be incomplete plus will leave a bad after-taste.

Similarly, a poorly planned EHR development will build weak-links inside the healthcare system. Every EHR thus, must endorse basic practices for every healthcare institute to follow and withhold.

Along with custom-built features, important elements that definitely need to be a part of the EHR development are:

1. A Patient or member page

This is supposed to be the landing page to register any member or patient into the system. All the significant details related to the bio and history will form a part of this segment. Like age, family history for diabetes, hypertension, ongoing chronic medications, procedures done, children, etcetera etcetera.

This feature enabled for real-time entries is the key value-add. A patient ID generated becomes the quick-link to refer any case. Definitely making lives easy.

2. Medical history

Medical history is that precious component of member/patient health data that contributes not only to holistic healthcare but augments the decision making for the stakeholders also. This segment is segregated from the other records so as to understand the causal relationship of one’s health condition.

3. E-prescriptions

With healthcare going online, prescriptions are the component that needs to be referred to every time one visits a doctor. A separate tab in the EHR that stores all the previous prescriptions in chronological order, or even indication-wise, if desired is a must-have feature.

4. Charting

How an EHR presents every data is a display of the artistic skills of a designer from the development team. User-experience and BI features play a crucial role as to how well the information is comprehended by the users.

5. Lab analytics

Looking for reports and results by scrolling to the end of a record might seem to tire patients and their healthcare providers. When all reports placed in one folder, arranged in some order, propose to increase acceptance of the software installed, it becomes a not-to-miss segment while developing a custom EHR.

6. Reminders

Gentle pop-ups never harmed anyone. Instead, in the case of healthcare applications, they have proven to improve compliance and behavior patterns of those registered on these applications. When these include a visit and dosage reminder, the significance is multiplied by bounds.

7. Patient portal

A place where the patient can log-in to access all their information, placed under folders arranged systematically in chronology, is an attractive feature for almost all healthcare bodies dealing with patient care. Creating a portal with safety features embedded while log-in for secure access is an important part of the EHR development process.

The mobile application serves as a patient portal for making new entries, scheduling, reminders as well as comparative health records.

Who opts for an EHR development?

The EHR needs to function as a ready-to-refer card for the patient and the health providers. The current health being updated in real-time provides a ready reference for different health care providers to manage the patient without overlooking any important detail.

Now that we have discussed the EHR development process and its components, an obvious question that strikes is, who goes for an EHR development? Out of the listed stakeholders and their benefits, not everyone can take onus of developing this critical software.

Hospital chains, clinics and individual healthcare providers are regularly looking to upgrade their practices. Software and mobile app development teams ready to invade the domain of healthcare technology can strengthen healthcare infrastructure by partnering with those healthcare companies and organizations looking to launch community health and fitness programs.

Collaboratively, they all can create the intended difference with an EHR application at hand.

The EHR market & options

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a global one. With governments and private sectors both equally affected, the trend towards comprehensive digital solutions seem most apt. As per the latest McKinsey analysis, some key requirements can only enable healthcare systems to get normalcy back.

They identify that creating virtual care-capabilities, incentives for clinicians, better quantifiable outcomes and benefits that favor the advocacy of these technologies could help drive the systems better.

Several components like its administrative and clinical applications, digital reporting system, finance in healthcare as well as the clinical research applications seem like lucrative must-haves for the tough times the world is facing today. With changing times, the demand and penetration of these components within the EHR has risen.

It seems that the healthcare bodies and systems that invest towards migrating to these with building capabilities for informed decision making are going to be the ones to survive. The healthcare community, all stakeholders as well as the technology development experts will need to work together towards renovating the healthcare delivery components that will drive market traction.

Setting the trend for virtual care delivery and accelerating value-based health outcomes, the EHR integration promises to satisfy all levels involved.

Why is custom-developed EHR a better option?

Another option could be to get the EHR software as well as its application built from the scratch, as per a user-centric design and favorable features. A custom-developed EHR will fulfill all purposes as well as satisfy all stakeholders to an EHR.

If the management and board are sorted with the certifications and regulations to adopt, the development team can begin with a design compliant to these requirements. Certain requirements should however remain mandatory like:

1. Regional regulatory body compliance – HIPAA or GDPR – As per the region and scale of integration of the EHR, at-least one of the compliances, HIPAA or GDPR, must be met for acceptance across centers and healthcare bodies.
2. Towards mobile-friendly design and development – both patients and doctors prefer mobility. An EHR mobile application, compatible with both iOS as well as android operating systems, increases the probability of more users coming on-board due to an enhanced experience.
3. Reporting standards – The EHR must be developed to generate standard reports with easily comprehended graphs and comparisons.
4. Secure data transfer – The development team must ensure secure access and transfer of all data between different ports.
5. Performance monitoring – The EHR must be monitored and upgraded regularly for performance, standards and ROI. This will always help in a more acceptable and useful application at the hands of the patients and the healthcare providers.

The teams developing the EHR software applications have all-round proficiency in  different tech-stacks. The team must work on agile development enabling scope of improvement all through the development process.

Usually for an EHR development, the front-end and back-end requirements for technology stack are defined during the design phase, depending on the scale of development and application desired.

With decisions on the language, database server, web server, frameworks and cloud servers made well in-advance, the front-end must comply with both iOS and android operating systems for a wider usability scenario.

Choose a vendor that can enrich the EHR with better logics, tasking and decision-supports.

Conclusion

Research and industrialization have amalgamated beautifully to nourish the medical field for a better world. Integration of the EHR and its applications in healthcare has led to raising the bar within these practices.

With high-end technology stacks and frameworks being used for the designing, development and implementation of the EHRs, the scope for the integration of technologies like AI-ML have opened up.

The key point is to prepare to shift to a mobile-friendly, easily-accessible and improved healthcare system. We can now be assured of efficient and secure consultation from about anywhere.

The best time to experience privilege, as a patient, a healthcare provider as well as a stakeholder is now.

Processes play an important role in defining the quality of work in any organization. Smartly designed and intelligently crafted processes render efficiency and productivity. Technology has however served this criterion quite satisfactorily and is not only making lives easy, but offering enough time for productive tasks as well.

While automation of processes has been creating a buzz, thriving to achieve maximum productivity with available resources is a dream of every organization’s leader. With educational institutes becoming a brand, their efforts to provide quality to both students as well as staff, propelling them to utilize technological advancements is inspiring.

This not only secures their image as a premier organization, but builds the future of those associated as well.

Automating an Educational Institute: Are Robots Necessary? 

With the evolution of automation and its increasing market demand, the notion that it is possible only via robotics or expensive integrations has been clearly debunked. Robust software models that facilitate automation of everyday processes to ease-off manual work-load are now available at affordable costs. Improved outcomes, reduced errors, enhanced efficiency, higher satisfaction levels and reduced throughput costs are just a few of the rewards process automation has to offer to the education system.

So robots are clearly not the only way. Industries across domains have migrated to automated work-flows, accelerating their performances significantly.

The sophistication level of automation may, however, vary depending on the scale of the task to be automated and the investment a university or college is looking to make. It could be a simple automated flow intended to speed up a process with information recorded digitally, or it could be a total robotic automation, handled end-to-end by a software backed by rules and intelligent decision-making programs. With different levels of complexity and expertise required to integrate, both contribute to improved operations.

The Education Sector: Need, Assessment & Motivation to Automate

Despite research invading newer boundaries everyday, administrative inefficiencies still limit the education institutions and universities. Embracing the aspects of digitization is still ‘in-progress’. Mundane processes like documentation, approvals, registrations, fee-payments, scheduling, purchases and IT support, even though digitized, still keep resources booked.

Let’s try to perceive as to what could motivate an educational institute’s leader or a VC to opt for automation? Streamlining legacy processes to create an environment rich and opportune for advanced learning is usually the primary objective. Departments, staff and students equipped with automated software build an iconic image of the organization offering a wholesome student experience.

Identifying the bottle-necks: What to Automate? 

Workflow or process automation seems a lucrative path, but it poses a challenge for organizations to standardize their legacy procedures. The education sector for one has been here since ages, evolving with times and housing a magnitude of such legacy processes.

The organizations need to pick workflows that qualify certain criteria for automation in the education sector. Like work-flows:

• Requiring lengthy documentation and paperwork
• Involving extended communication channels for approvals and permissions
• With repetitive tasks
• Involving too many people
• Most frequently used
• Requiring regular updates 
• With a plethora of data fields requiring confidentiality and data security

All such processes need rediscovery, with an insight towards better flow and involvement of select personnel to make them quick and simple. But, what these critical bottle-necks are that tend to impede any process must be diagnosed.

Long queues of students waiting to be entertained simply for buying/submitting admission forms/fees portrays nothing but a handicapped system. Understanding precisely the rate-limiting steps is important to create room for new technology to heal and fill the gaps.

Ready-to-integrate frameworks: Laravel as a Solution

Building affordable and adaptable functions is a task that needs a lot of exploration and expertise in the available software options. With a platter of tech-stacks available, leveraging the ones which offer maximum benefits and minimum complications becomes the unanimous choice of developers.

The modular aspect of Laravel application development allows developers to create complex and responsive applications needed in colleges or universities. Not only this, its Artisan command-line interface (CLI) can help achieve these complex tasks in minutes. The developers are able to create various database structures for data storage and migrate existing data to and fro seamlessly through Laravel. This further entails designing new tasks with an ever simplified development process.

Every development done today must be capable of upgrading with changing trends and advancements in the field of education. Laravel facilitates a future-proof application with the capability to upgrade and update frequently. All your university or institute data can be up and running on these applications in very less time. Another feature that attracts developers towards this framework while dwelling into the process automation is that it allows routing of data as per convenience and the modules help easy third-party integrations for additional features.

Also, user experience is enhanced with its ability to integrate different email services. Its clean and simple API and drivers available for all email service providers helps insert SMS as well as email services for the staff and students allowing a better connectivity within the campus.

Ease the Pain Points: Designate Process Flows

The first step to a trouble-free transition from a manual to an automated process is defining the flow, intricately and precisely. A step-by-step flow-chart of the process will help the developer feed them into the framework and give you an automated version of the flow. The pain points are usually common for the processes that seem to be happening every day. 

Once you lay down a flow-chart for these steps, you will be able to spot the areas where lags happen. It also aids in clearing traffic through these rate-limiting steps as well as helps the developer decide which model to use when automating it.

Let me help you understand what a designated or specific process flow looks like. I put some understanding behind what would make life easy for an institute/college/university head, students, staff and to mention the least the developer and identified eight areas/departments that most certainly needed to be automated. 

An effort towards building a flow for these will clarify what I meant by designating steps to the process.

• Admissions & Course Registrations

We all are well aware how admissions and registrations into a course involve an array of steps. Time-consuming photocopying, verifications, lengthy forms, payments and more draw a typical picture of long queues outside admin windows. With this procedure being similar across geographies, comes as the best fit to automate.
What if students could be admitted from anywhere, and the institute could just verify and process it with a click at their end? Not just that, the documents and forms end up safely inside databases.
Well, a world where efforts go towards making everyday lives easy, frameworks like Laravel and their off-the-shelf ready-to-use capacity offers scope.

• Attendance & Payroll – Admin & Finance

The education sector is one where the attendance and salary payments happen on the largest scale. With faculty, administration, students, and several staff, the number and the variety both demand automation in the education sector from every aspect.

Linking attendance, leaves and working hours to an automated payroll software has saved the accounts and finance staff of the much repetitive work. Compared to where files lay awaiting clearance for days together, delaying stipends and contract payments, an automated payroll is a solution as much needed in colleges as any other software solution.

• Scheduling

An automated system for all the infrastructural provisions in any institute can save significant time that goes into planning and allotment of these for various activities. An organization where the faculty, heads, students as well as staff can book programs and seminars themselves, will allow them the flexibility to plan their curriculums well-in-time.

• Documentation

Lengthy complicated documentation and then storing them safely still keeps resources in many vintage universities involved in sorting and retrieval tasks. Although much pressure has been eased through digitization, automating documentation and then directly saving them inside databases linked to a member ID has definitely improved the system by great bounds. Sorting and retrieval is now just a log-in and a click away..

• Travel & Purchase

Creating requests and applications for travel and purchase needs an entirely separate accounts and admin resource to facilitate. The file travels from department heads to admin to accounts, keeping uncertainty and distractions at large.
Developers have utilized applications of available frameworks and have been able to automate all of this for easy and early approvals/responses. Improving productivity along with clearing back-logs has allowed better planning and execution for these purposes

• The IT department and its role

Ticket raising for IT requests and complaints is no more a frustrating process. Tools have made automation possible through an automated help desk. A bulk of processes within colleges have smoothened as a result with more time to resolve complicated issues, manage databases along with upscaling the campus.

• Communication workflow

Communication is the key that unlocks opportunities. For those looking to join studies of interest and build combinations out of various courses, a lot in their minds that needs satisfactory explanation. Imagine they hop-on to a college/institute website and viola! They are met with a programmed chat-bot ready to clear all the doubts. 
Now that is what will hit the mind, that with such promptness available on the website, there must be plenty to offer on-campus. Developers have exploited Laravel to facilitate easy communications on the college or university web page.

• The HRMS

Another vital instrument for easy management inside any college or university equipped with an internal information exchange is an HRMS (Human Resource Management System). An automated management system equipped with features to allow different channels of communication and coordination within different departments could keep everybody connected easier.

Frameworks like Laravel offer such attributes for easy installation and communication. Management of staff and students is made much efficient through such integrations.

Possible Business Models – Upskill your Task-force

There could be different possibilities for a university or college to move ahead with process automation.

One where the university is already digitized with data and information saved in separate files and folders on local servers. They will mostly need to integrate automation into processes with the migration of all existing data onto new databases and the new entries directed to these newly created databases.

An option could also be to automate one process at a time. While you allow time for the staff, management and students to equip themselves, you can also assess what problems are being faced with the way you designated a process flow. The processes  in this manner, get to be refined.

Automating process flows could invite new traffic to the institute. The institute might want to prepare and be ready with infrastructural arrangements, both on-campus as well as online. The growth with automation in the education sector will be overall. Engaging staff towards newer and more productive activities like increasing the bandwidth on all parameters might become a regular for the college or university.

A simultaneous plan to equip and upskill all staff and students with the new automated processes should be in place.

For the new and upcoming universities, automation must be integrated from the very beginning. A sound development team or partner should be in-place and the institute should be ready with their process flows for them.

The website and servers both must be equipped to handle automated admissions, registrations, queries, requests and can even run online courses if the university wishes to have distance learning as a provision.

For those educational institutes, universities and colleges where a lot is still on paper and in-person, going from paper to portal will need to begin with digitizing previous documents and data. The automated versions will run in parallel. Everything can be placed on new servers and fed into databases.

Whatever zone or level an educational institute fits into, a good development team with expertise and prowess in latest technologies could get you automated and running in no time. Comprehensive frameworks like Laravel are a complete package and help achieve such goals with comfort and capacity.

Choose the Right Tech Provider 

The prime focus for any educational organization has and will always be to provide the best of education and opportunities to its students. If this sector fails to adopt and integrate advancements in technology into its core operations, teaching all this on an academic level seems futile.

It becomes the responsibility of the university or institute head to involve an efficient and dedicated team only for such developments. The development partner’s capabilities should clearly fall in-line with the vision and align with the progress parameters of the institute.

Development teams involved in creating online solutions for various organizations and businesses usually focus on creating simple web-based portals only. But a team backed with developers harbouring strong technical abilities will be able to give you more than what you ask for. Pick a dynamic and enthusiastic team that challenges traditional systems and opts for frameworks and tools that evolve everyday, like Laravel.

Conclusion – A Futuristic Approach

The educational institutes create the future workforce. Adopting promising new technology makes them role models, setting a trend ahead. Automated processes render the power and scope with more bandwidth to add value to your organizations, presenting as a better brand for the world to experience. As an owner or head of an institute, why would you compromise on the achievements and the value-adds when you can reap benefits with automated processes.