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What is Clubhouse? 

Developed by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth of Alpha Exploration Co., Clubhouse is a space for casual, drop-in audio conversations – with friends and other interesting people around the world. An invitation-only social media app, this app hosts live discussions where members can take part as well. Participants are mostly on mute and can unmute whenever they want. These digital rooms are a host to an array of topics – right from how to use Clubhouse, various aspects of technology, self-help groups, interviews, wellness, places, panel discussions, group experience, etc.
Let’s say, Clubhouse is a mix of the podcast and live conferences. Hosts can create an event and participants can join them to explore what they can offer. These are real-time events only. As per the Clubhouse guidelines, conversations are prohibited from being recorded, transcribed, reproduced, or shared without explicit permission. 

What makes Clubhouse unique? 

Currently, valued at $1 billion, Clubhouse which had around 600,000 users in December, now has 10 million weekly actives users. Let us figure out why this app has become the 16th most popular app in the social media network category of the App Store. 

• User-friendly and attractive features.
• Intimate and live conversation. 
• Invitation-only app making it more secure and authentic.
• Has star-studded user base.
• Impeccable search and explore options. 
• Newsfeed catered to the needs of the user. 
• Is a host to conversations and debates over varied and informative topics.
• Created rooms offer various levels of privacy. 
• Offers Clubhouse Creator First, which is an accelerator program, that aims to help the creators with content creation. This program provides resources wherein the creator can thrive and build their audience. 
• Has rolled out monetization schemes. 
• Consumers can take up different roles such as listener, moderate, and speaker.
• It does not yet have an official logo. The app has a black and white portrait of a person as an icon. Figures on the icon are usually the ones who have made an impact on humankind. Currently, Drue Kataoka, an artist-activist, appears on the latest icon.
• A calendar option that sends the user a personalized list of their upcoming task.

Well, this is what got Clubhouse millions of downloads over time. However, to create an app like Clubhouse upping the game and giving out-of-the-box options, apart from these, will attract the users. 

How to develop an app like Clubhouse? 

Clubhouse is doing something right which is why over 180 organizations and venture capitalists have invested in this app. Having a great idea for an app is a good start but the true journey begins after that. And what possibly got people hooked up to Clubhouse is because of what it offers its audience. It must have taken then them a great deal of planning and developing before the app went live. Understanding the market and audience and encashing on the opportunity is what made Clubhouse what it is today. Here’s are a few development processes and a guide to design an app like Clubhouse.
 

• Understand the ‘why’?

Before jumping into developing the app understand why the app is being created. Have a crystal clear idea of the motive behind making the app public. When the intentions are clear overcoming uncertainties becomes a tad bit easy.  

• Overall analysis 

Developing an app without market search is like driving with your eyes closed. Without having an idea of the market or the audience launching the app will lead to its downfall. Understand the market, industry, competitors, and audience. Research and collect all the valuable data which will help you move forward. This will help you determine your goal. With that, take some time out to see what your competitors’ work looks like. 

Coming with the same app with exactly similar features will do no good to your app. Your app should provide the audience with something that they have never seen but something that they always wanted. Always have an edge over others. How well do you know your audience? Now is the time to wear your creative hat and get into the shoes of the target audience. Have one-on-one interviews, target focus groups, and usability tests. Surveys play an important role in understanding the user. Creating a user journey map provides tangible results. 

• Android or iOS?

The app can be either released on iOS or Android. However, Android and iOS generate more than 70 percent of the online traffic. And together they account for 98 percent of the total mobile OS market share. With such sharp figures going with cross-platform or hybrid applications makes sense.  

• A team that matters

Great things in business are never done single-handedly. They are done by a team of people. Taking into consideration their talent and likes, put forth a great team that can lead your app to success. Having a team with the same mindset will take the project a long way. 

• Designing and much more

This phase gives the knowledge of user flow, site maps, mockups, and other things. Generating a wireframe helps in laying out the skeleton of the app. It gives an idea of how the user will interact with the app. This process might take a lot of time. It is difficult to land on the final look with just one wireframe. In the end, the final wireframe gives an overall idea of the user interface.  

• Monetization Model 

There are several models to increase the profitability of the app. Having a sense of what the audience is looking for will give you an idea of which monetization model. Some of the models are:

1. Premium or paid apps.
2. Free with in-app advertising.
3. Selling data. 
4. Free with in-app purchases. 

 

• MVP

For initial testing having a minimum viable product (MVP) is a must. It is the basic version that has most of the essential features and components. MVP lends a helping hand to software engineers. This determines the app’s potential.

• Get, set, go! 

After all the hard work behind the scene, it’s now go time. Now is when you hand over all the information to the development team. They are the ones who create a high-fidelity version of the UI. Then begins the testing phase. After the user, beta, and internal testing, taking the feedback from the development becomes a must.

• Maintain and analyze

Once your app goes live, with your fingers crossed hope that it becomes a hit. The work isn’t yet done. Now begins the process of analyzing and keeping the app live in the hearts of your audience. You ought to get answers for.
​

1. Did the app meet the purpose?
2. What are the pain points and how to address them? 
3. Views of the users about the app?
4. How to maintain the app?
5. How can the app functionality improve?

Tech stack 

To build a high-end and audio-chat app like Clubhouse, stacking the best possible technology infrastructure, or the best data ecosystem guarantees easy and flawless communication. Two major programming languages used for iOS platforms are Objective-C and Swift. And for Android, Java and Koltin works like a charm. React Native, Xamarin, and Flutter can be used for cross-platform apps.
Apart from using these stacks of technologies, these days what works in the favour of the app are the influencers and promoting it on various social media platforms. ​

Cost and time required to develop an app like Clubhouse
The basic formula used by most app developers to calculate the cost of an app is:
Cost = time spent on the specific feature * hourly rate.

Further, the cost may also vary as per the platform, complexity, UI, back end services, animations, icon creation, integration, app design, location of the agency, features, and more. Typically to build a high-end app such as Clubhouse may cost around $14,500 to $300,100. And the time required to see the completion of the app depends on the level of the complexity. To build a feature-rich app like Clubhouse, may take around 5-7 months.

Takeaways

The only thing constant is change. As times change, we ought to adhere to it. In all this, the user should always be the top priority. There is a lot that can be done in the audio-chat app segment. What users adore are quirky apps that not only satisfy their basic app needs but offer them something more as well. At App Scoop, we consider all these attributes. To talk to our experts, kindly contact: https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

References:
​

• https://www.spaceo.ca/create-app-like-clubhouse-audio-based-social-app/
• https://www.mindinventory.com/blog/how-to-develop-voice-chat-app-like-clubhouse/
• https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/6-stages-ux-process/​
• https://light-it.net/blog/how-to-make-a-voice-chat-app-like-clubhouse/

Research conducted by McKinsey in collaboration with the University of Oxford exudes that more than 45 percent of the large IT projects exceed their original estimate. Almost 17 percent of the project are so bad, that they can easily crumble the organization. And about 7 percent of the projects are handed over time while delivering 56 percent less value than predicted. This means skipping the initial phase of software development leads to great hazards. 

All these can give a hard time to the CEO of the company. While these problems may seem inevitable, there exists a solution. If you commence your project in the right way, the end will be the start of something beautiful. In essence, the success rate can escalate if you begin your project with the discovery phase. This article will throw light on the importance of the discovery phase, activities included in this phase, its deliverables and more. 

What is a discovery phase? 
​
Clarity improves connection and engagement, further strengthening the trust as it provides transparency. The discovery phase does just the same. It provides a foundation for the software development process. And the blueprint it lays down makes the establishment of the project stronger than ever. 

• Questions that should be discussed during this phase.
  ​

1. Motive behind developing the software.
2. Possible target audience.
3. Expectation and impact of the software. 
4. Interface features. 
5. Which technology should be used? 
6. Start and end time of the project. 
7. Platforms that this software will be released on. 
8. Client’s definition of success for this project.

Discovery phase can last somewhere four to eight weeks. Upon the analysis of the gathered information, the team gets an idea of the market, target audience, scope, goal, intention, risk mitigation, rough budget, architecture, and functionality. In this team effort, a lot of brainstorming takes place. Meetings can last up to 2-3 hours. The expert team consists of a business analyst, solution architect, web developer, designer, account manager and team lead.

Why is the discovery phase beneficial for software development? 

The key benefits of going through a discovery phase are immense. This mandatory and crucial step will attract several advantages.

• Provides a clear picture 

What this stage provides is clarity of the scope to the selected team members. When you understand the company’s values you will get a clear idea of why they wish to develop this software. With this identifying the market and target audience, adds to your expertise. This whole process strengthens your vision, provides a roadmap, lays a foundation, and helps you evolve in industry standards and practices.

• Cost optimization 

An in-depth analysis helps you curate a perfect plan and design. In doing so, you will get an idea of an approximate budget that this software needs from ideation to fruition. If the budget falls in your budget slab, then well and good. If not, you can come up with ways to make this project fit your expectation. 

• Risk mitigation 

Taking risks is commendable. But coming up with a plan to avoid risks that will hamper your software’s success is a dream. The discovery phase ultimately helps in reducing the risks as it provides a clear understanding of the goal. The phase reduces the risk of missed deadlines by a whopping 75 percent. This, in turn, will help in cost savings by almost 50 percent.

• Improves your industry expertise

Market research and analysis prepares you for the best. This adds to your advantage by giving you the edge to perform better. As research involves understanding the industry, it strengthens your foundation by bridging the gaps. This phase keeps you on your toes.

Other benefits of the discovery phase are:

• Helps you use time and other resources efficiently.
• Gives you an idea of the launch date.
• All the groundwork pushes you to come up with a striking plan. 
• Gives an idea of how the product will look.
• Gives transparency.
• Builds trust and relationship. 

What if this phase is skipped? 

We have already mentioned the perks of undergoing the discovery phase. However, some wish to skip this phase and directly get to business. Little do they know about what lies on another side of not taking up this phase. Abandoning this phase during software development has the following consequence:

• The project will instantly crumble.
• Time and other resources will be wasted. 
• The project will run in an endless loop. 
• It will fail in meeting the deadline. 
• The stakeholders’ expectations will never be met. 
• The budget will go for a toss.

Actions to be completed during the discovery phase

Working meticulously in this phase makes the rest a cakewalk. Come with a solid process to ace this phase. Not a lot of people say this but begin by understanding your company’s objective. Once you are sure of what you can offer, it becomes a tad bit easy to understand what the stakeholder is looking for. The activities that should be included in this phase are:

• Communicate and comprehend

Communication is key at every step in this phase. To get a hang of the project, having a one-on-one conversation with the CEO or other senior staff will give a clear idea of what is to be done. It is recommended to have a clear set of questions that the stakeholders should answer. Have a friendly approach. It will not only lighten the situation and allows the stakeholder to open up about what’s at stake.  

• Use industry standards

User behaviour may vary. However, some set industry standards can be used as a benchmark to attain the goal. It will help you gauge your performance and give you a chance to up your game. Study and analyze your competitors. Take up case studies and come up with a full-proof plan. 

• Wear the customer’s shoes

To master the art of making flawless software one must know exactly what the users are looking for. This increases the technical efficiency and helps to put up a great marketing campaign. 

• In-depth analysis 

By this time, having clear documentation of your progress so far in the discovery phase should be ready. It should contain the vision, stakeholders’ expectations, marketing strategy and a legacy code. Take time to analyze this so that stepping forward becomes effortless.

• It’s go time

After enough contemplation and research, develop a prototype with the available data. By now, the team will have a blueprint of the architecture and SRS. With the trial and error method, the result will be spectacular.
With all the steps followed to the tee, it is now time to showcase your hard work to the stakeholder. If things go well, the software developers are free to go ahead with the next and final step. 

Tips to make the most of the discovery phase

• Communication is the key.
• Interact with everyone.
• Setup a great team
• Everyone in the team is important. Value their suggestions. 
• Commit to your goal.
• Research to the fullest. 
• Map your journey.
• Be open to new ideas.
• Be grounded.

Concluding remarks

By now, it is clear the discovery phase is the most crucial phase that lays the foundation of the project. The discovery phase gives a chance for the software to become a hit.  Everything depends on how you begin with the project. The discovery phase has a lot to offer, so make the most of it. Have a software idea? Let our team do the rest. 

You can contact the App Scoop mobile app development team on: 
https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

References 

• https://unicsoft.com/blog/discovery-phase-in-software-product-development-for-startups/#:~:text=The%20discovery%20phase%20is%20the,costs%20and%20plan%20project%20development.
• https://www.digiteum.com/discovery-phase-software-development/
• https://freshcodeit.com/freshcode-post/why-project-discovery-phase-matter
• https://www.alphalogicinc.com/blog/how-discovery-will-make-your-software-development-project-a-success/#:~:text=The%20discovery%20phase%20is%20a,1.
• https://agilie.com/en/blog/why-you-need-to-start-your-project-with-the-discovery-phase

One of the most interesting features of technology is its power to persuade people and change their perception. We, humans, are traders by birth, and with technology at our feet, the face of the world has significantly changed. And more so, it has changed the way we value things. Take for instance this tweet by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsery. His tweet was put up on sale on Valuables by Cent, a portal that enables Twitter users to bid and buy tweets in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). ​

This article will enlighten you about all this and more.

What are NFTs

Non Fungible Tokens are digital assets that are unique and cannot be directly interchanged with other assets. Every NFT, which is sort of like an autographed item, is made of metadata, which gives them their individuality. Its digital content is linked to the blockchain. NFTs are a form of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, where instead of money, they host assets like tweet, text, image, MP3, artwork, domain names, trading cards, game items, etc. It all began in 2017, when CryptoPunks, developed by Larva Labs, released one of the first NFTs. It consisted of around 10,000 collectables which were unique and based on the Ethereum blockchain.

NFT tokens can be transferred between various decentralized applications. Creating the tokens depends on the ERC-721, ERC-1155 and a few other standards. ERC-721 is a standard that represents the ownership of a unique NFT. It is a smart contract standard where developers follow the same template or format, which makes the code more universal. The ERC-1155 allows the creation of fungible, semi-fungible and non-fungible tokens in one single token standard. This changes the face of trade and recolonizes the financial segment by giving people a great sense of digital item ownership. 

Why NFTs are so popular?

Although this concept is just in its nascent stages, in 2018 the market cap for global transactions of NFTs was $40.96, and in 2020 it grew manifold from $141.56 million (2019) to $338.04 million in 2020. Token-based sales have reached a new height of success in the recent past. And the launch of the NFT marketplace is making dreams come true for many. The number of active buyers in 2020, has increased by 57 percent, from 51,861 in 2018. The year 2021, is a year where almost everyone is talking about NFTs. OpenSea, a peer-to-peer marketplace for rare digital items and crypto collectables, recorded a monthly sale of over $95 million. And the trading volume on Ethereum amounted to more than $400 million. The icing on the cake is, for the consequent trades, the creator gets a royalty payment. So, what makes NFT special?

• Unique and authentic 

As information about the NFT and the owner can be easily verified, it makes them unique. This is by far the most crucial feature of NFT where information is secure and legitimate.

• Unified

Most tokens cannot be divided into smaller units. It is like a mark on the stone. However, if you can buy the complete cost of the item from the owner, maybe then.

• Easy to work with

Marketplaces are a hub where you can buy and sell NFTs. Within a matter of minutes, you can create a profile. Buying and biding operations are pretty simple. Not just that, due to their versatile nature, NFTs can be traded on different crypto markets. The trading opportunities are truly beneficial.

• Open to all

Owing to this instant tradability nature, it can act as a host to a variety of audience, enhancing its liquidity.

• Transparency

All the records pertaining to the trade – transfer, token issuance, and other activities can be authenticated before getting into it.

NFT Marketplace, now what is that?

In literal terms, a market is a place, area, composition of systems, institutions, social relations, etc., where people can sell and purchase good or where parties engage in exchange. Taking inspiration from this concept are NFT Marketplaces. It is a platform for one all – creators, artists, and buyers. This software allows people to trade in NFTs and crypto collectables. The crypto assets here come with digital ownership. Some of the top NFT Marketplaces are OpenSea, Rarible, KnownOrigin, SuperRare and AtomicMarket.

Attributes that make for a great marketplace 

• Less traffic congestion and a high level of security. 
• Provide secure transactions.
• User-friendly.
• Seamless wallet integration.
• An authentic and long list of digital items and sections to explore. 
• Nominal transaction fees.
• Elegant and aesthetic graphics.
• Quick transaction.

How does an NFT Marketplace work?

Technically, most marketplaces function in the same way. However, their uniqueness is what gives them an edge over others. Here is how the client-side of the NFT Marketplace works:

• The user creates an account on their favoured NFT platform.
• Before stepping forward, the user needs to create a digital wallet to store the NFTs.
• After deciding their niche, the user then uploads their assets and showcase their work. On the other hand, the buyers put a pin on their preferred item.  
• Once the item is listed for sale, they can be bought it at a fixed price or opt for an auction. 
• As soon as the item clears moderation, people can bid or buy the item. And the owner can accept bids. 
• The transaction is closed when the owner and seller come to terms. 
• The platform will screen the deal and transfer the digital assets to the buyer and funds to the owner.

How to create a marketplace?

The foundation of the marketplace strengthens once you have decided on the domains that will feature on your storefront. One should also understand why they are developing the platform, who are its potential buyers and seller, what problems will the platform solve and the desired outcome.

• Smart contracts 

A marketplace is known for its smart contracts, which is a self-executing contract. As each token is unique, subsequent metadata is recorded in its smart contract. So, if you wish to create a marketplace, you ought to create a valid smart contract that admins the deals between buyers and sellers.

• Storefront

In simple terms, a storefront is like a shopfront or entrance to your store. It essentially displays your USP, something that will give an overview to your customers. The storefront should offer everything that the user is looking for.

• Explore and trade

These options are the gateway to any transaction. This panel should contain information on all the domain-wise collectables. Allowing the user to sort these items at their convenience  is a great feature. Bid, sell and auction are the basic features at the offing. Users should also know the bids’ current status.

• Ranking, stats and activities 

Give an overview of how the collectables are functioning. Analyze their smart contracts and read the data on the blockchain as to how much worth of sales is being made. It will give an idea to the user of how the projects are working and which collectable to invest in. In essence, provide the volume, average price, and other crucial stats.

• The NFT Bible

OpenSea, one of the top-ranking NFT marketplace, is known for its NFT bible. Devin Finzer, their CEO and Co-founder has given an in-depth overview of the NFT ecosystem. On the similar lines, if you could provide your research material on NFTs and its aspects, users will find it appealing.

• Wallet

It is an essential feature that allows the user to store, send and receive NFTs. Allowing the user to integrate their preferred wallet, seems to be an easy task. MetaMask is one of the favoured wallets and the oldest in this game. It is flexible has a peerless power browser extension.

• Filters 

To make it easy for the user and profitable for the seller, provide filters. It will help users navigate and select the items. These filters are just like the feature which are available on any other retail app. Filters like highest and lowest price, recently listed and popular items enhance the purchase significantly.

• Create listings

The process of uploading a collectable should be smooth. Include information such as name, description, and tag.

• Help center 

Right from creating an NFT to buying and auctioning it, all the details should be provided to the user. In case of any hindrance, they should be able to contact your effortlessly. Providing in-house articles will make the journey of the user worthwhile.

Technology required to create the marketplace

Storage Platform

• IPFS:  As per their website, they are a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol designed to make the web faster, safer, and more open. IPFS provide a great file sharing and storing system. It depends on the hashes which can easily be stored on the blockchain. 
• ​Filecon: It is designed to store critical information. It is a decentralized storage network.

NFT Standards:

Apart from the essential ERC 721 and 1155, you will also need:

• ERC-998: It provides a template by which NFTs can own both fungible and non-fungible assets.
• TRC 721: It is completely compatible with ERC 721 and is a set of standard interfaces for using NFT on TRON, which is a blockchain-based decentralized operating system based on a cryptocurrency native to the system network.

Blockchain platforms

Ethereum is the most popular platform for NFT marketplaces. Second is, Tezos. As per their website, they are an open-source blockchain network that can execute peer-to-peer transactions and serve as a platform for deploying smart contracts. Lastly, Flow is also widely used to create a marketplace using Cadence programming language.

Summing up

Love it or hate it, but you can’t ignore NFTs. It is said the current version of NFTs will continue to evolve, and for it, even the sky is not the limit. Although NFTs are now mainstream, it is claimed that they have been around 2012. And since they have grown leaps and bounds. They have gained importance owing to their nature of the options they provide. 

Hope this article has cleared all your doubts. Has it left you curious and wondering ‘how can you set up a marketplace’? Well, don’t worry our team has got you covered. 

You can contact the App Scoop mobile app development team on: 
https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

References 

• https://www.leewayhertz.com/develop-nft-marketplace-platform/

• https://opensea.io/blog/guides/non-fungible-tokens/

• https://www.alwin.io/blog/how-to-create-nft-marketplace

• https://www.codica.com/blog/how-to-create-nft-marketplace/

• https://art.art/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NFT-YEARLY-REPORT-2020.pdf

Well, the outbreak of COVID-19 has devastated a lot more than just shattering our travel dreams. Disruption of businesses, economic impact, mental health issues, and more, you name it, and the virus has affected us in many possible ways than this. However, people are enduring this ire with the hope that they will see the sunshine at the end of the tunnel, and that their life will return to normalcy. But as and when it happens possessing a vaccine passport or immunity passport will be a must! This article will inform you about what a vaccine passport is, why is it necessary, how will blockchain assists this process, and more.

What is a vaccine passport?
 A vaccine passport or an e-pass is a document of proof that an individual has been vaccinated against CVOID-19. However, one might be allowed to travel even if they have tested negative. All these norms are in the initial phase. This proof can be digital or on a piece of official paper. So basically, it is your hall pass to enter a party, school, pub, office, socialize or travel worldwide. This vaccine certificate can typically be in the form of a barcode which ensures the authorities that you have tested negative for COVID or taken a jab. 

A concrete list of norms, rules, and regulations for a vaccine passport will be listed soon, in order, to make travel easier. Several airlines, industry giants like IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, NGOs, and technology companies are already working on this. At the recently concluded online G20 Summit, several countries agreed to the concept of the vaccine passport. The vaccine passport will contain a lot of crucial data which will help us suppress such the virus in the near future. Or this data will come in handy if we are hit with another pandemic of this sort. However, a lot of them are sceptical about this passport as it withholds are some personal details as well. 

Blockchain and vaccine passports

When it comes to sharing data or information privacy, confidentiality, data security and integrity is an important aspect. For people to embrace this concept, they should be assured that their data is secure and well-guarded. Data infringement or breaches is a menace that haunts everyone, especially the healthcare sector. In 2019, this concern has affected over 40 million people in the US. This rate has considerably increased since 2018, where 14 million people were affected by healthcare data breaches.
Along with restoring citizen trust, government officials or parties should also be assured that the vaccine passport contains authentic data. The vaccine passport answers:

• Which authority has provided the individual with the vaccine certificate?
• Credentials of the person who issues it.
• Are the data and credentials authentic? 
• Vaccine and batch name.
• Place of vaccination.

 
One false record can create a catastrophic impact. For instance, suppose if a COVID positive person is carrying a vaccine passport where the records forged. If it goes unnoticed, and the person is allowed to cross the border, this ripple effect can result in several positive cases. Trustworthy ledgers will assure both citizens and authorities! When the risk is high, incorporating blockchain and digital ledger technologies will assure both citizen and government authorities regarding data privacy, transparency, decentralization, and authentication. Nonetheless, this technology comes with a few concerns.

How will it work?
Courtesy of blockchain, the way the patient’s data is shared across the entities in the value chain has changed. It eliminates the third party and middleman, further reducing the risk of data theft and other frauds. These days most of us use a smartphone. Only registered and verified vaccination centres should be authorized to feed the data. Information such as vaccine data, delivery data, vaccination date, and location are critical. 

This information should be stored against the person’s passport ID or other security ID. Against which a QR code should be generated. Securing the data on a QR code ensures safety and privacy. This data should be accessed through a cryptography mechanism, that is through, encryption and decryption, digital signature, and verification. Overall, through blockchain this process becomes secure. So, essentially, these steps should be followed while creating a new record.

1. The transaction of feeding the information against the person’s ID is established.
2. Now, this transaction is coded into a block and is then added to the network. 
3. The distributed member, say for instance any government or verified officials, present in the network will compare the fed record for integrity and validation. 
4. Only when all the distributed members are sure of the data, the block will be accepted.
5. The block is added to the blockchain. 
6. The authentic transaction is approved and can be further used by officials to verify the person’s vaccine record while traveling overseas or entering the office, college, or schools, or while entering the café or restaurants.

Let us understand this through an individual’s perceptive:

1. The individual visits a vaccine centre for the vaccine. 
2. The healthcare official stores the information on the e-pass. A chain of authentic information is added to block against the person’s name. 
3. This information is synced with the person’s passport ID or any other official ID. 
4. Only after the person has taken the jab or tested negative for COVID can use this e-pass to travel or socialize. 
5. Officials scan the pass to trace the data for authentication. 

Benefits of using blockchain for creating a vaccine passport

There are several positives of using this concept. To access data of such intensity, using blockchain to facilitate communication for APIs ensures secure transaction, legitimacy, and the ability to prove that previous transaction did happen. More than anything, accessing the digital vaccine passport requires permission from several network members, which makes it legitimate and secure. Citizen’s data is shared upon their consent which ensures faith and trust.

• Increases efficiency
  

Compared to this system, any traditional process that includes paperwork is prone to human error. By eliminating the third party, this process will be fast. The record-keeping process is less tedious and without clutter, as it is performed using a single digital ledger. 

• Improves traceability 
  

Vaccine passports can use blockchain to trace and contact the people who are at risk of getting infected due to contact with an infected person. This tracing system is highly confidential and can be taken into action without revealing much of the patient’s information. Further, using blockchain can also help in a complex supply chain system. In essence, it helps in reducing the number of potential cases and smoothens the process. 

• Provides transparency

As blockchain is a type of a distributed ledger, the record can be accessed by all the network participants. Only through mutual agreement, the record is added to the chain. This means, all the records of the citizen are added upon verification implying that only authentic data is available. And if someone wishes to change the record, for instance, to add a false vaccine report, is highly impossible as it requires the consent of all the participants.

There is hope! 

The application of blockchain comes as a relief and with some usual concerns as well. But considering the current situation, the positives are way higher, giving up us the hope that things will be back to normal. Ideally, for this to work, globally there should be identical norms. When the government and citizens join hands with technology, everything seems achievable.

Want to know more about how blockchain will ensure the smooth working of vaccine passports? 

You can contact the App Scoop mobile app development team on: 
https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html 

Blockchain-related articles: 
​
https://www.app-scoop.com/blog/category/blockchain

References: 

• https://www.tcs.com/blogs/blockchain-technology-digital-vaccine-passport
• https://www.ibm.com/in-en/blockchain/industries/healthcare
• https://www.govtech.com/opinion/is-blockchain-the-answer-for-covid-vaccine-passports.html
• https://www.ibm.com/blockchain/solutions/vaccine-distribution

Of course, to come with an idea for an app, execute it, and see the final product being created is a task. And to say the least, the actual journey of an app begins once the user hits the download button. So, now, how can an app evolve once it goes live or how can an app be immortal, is the real question. Humans sure must be complex creatures. But to understand them or to predict their behaviour becomes fairly easy courtesy of technology. Mobile app analytics helps us understand and track the user behaviour, leads us to derive their intent, and drives us to take action. And if these actions create measurable impact, then the lifespan of the app increases exponentially. 

Data is the new factor of production – which makes data the new gold. When this data is used wisely, it opens new doors to success and opportunities. So, what is Mobile App Analytics? By its very nature, Mobile App Analytics is the analysis of the app data. Understanding the user’s interaction with the app is the key. And when this data is converted into meaningful insights, things fall into perspective. In totality, it will give a chance for your app to grow by optimizing engagement and conversations and increasing the download rate. 

Mobile App Analytics: Crucial than ever! 

There are a whopping 3.2 billion smartphone users worldwide, which surely is a piece of great news for app developers. With this, there is a reason why mobile is more important than desktop. According to a study, a user spends 71 percent of screen time on their mobile and more than 90 percent of that mobile time is spent on using the apps. That is when Mobile App Analytics comes into the picture. Companies should use it to not only narrow the competitive gap but also to stand out from the crowd. Now, there are more than 7 million apps on the store making survival in this cut-throat competition is a mammoth task; giving you more than enough reasons to encash on Mobile App Analytics. 
Technically, Mobile App Analytics gives companies an over-the-surface sneak-peak of the users’ life. Without which companies are left clueless. And not knowing what is working in the favour of the app or why the user is leaving is great pain. 

Mobile App Analytics to the rescue  

On average a smartphone user uses 10 apps per day and around 30 apps per month. These days, millennials are the driving force behind the success of any app. As per a study, 24% of millennials open an app 50+ time per day. With roughly over 7 percent increase from the years before, 2020 saw more than 200 billion apps being downloaded. All this is generating a tremendous amount of revenue and mobile apps are expected to generate over $935 billion in revenue by 2023. When so much is going on in this industry, let us understand how Mobile App Analytics will come to your rescue.  

• The first and foremost things that it tracks is the user’s interaction with the app and user journey. 
• Secondly, it provides a pattern with customizable analysis to understand the user. 
• Further, it derives the churn rate by tracking the uninstalls. Moreover, it hands over some cost-effective campaigns to win the users back. 
• Visualizes navigation path. This will give you an idea of which feature or product is doing well. 
• It defines users’ characteristics – gender, demographics, app installs, taps, screens, user retention, app launches, funnel analysis and more.
• Narrows down reports beneficial for your business. 
• Identifies common problem areas. giving you a chance to rectify and grow. 
• It helps you understand the growth of KPIs.
• Defines retention rate and provides the number of active users.

Types of mobile analytics 

Analyzing the data, is without a doubt, a must! All the data that is collected has a purpose and classifying it will make the work easy. To derive meaningful patterns and curb the haziness, understanding these types of mobile analytics will help you leverage the data.

Advertising or Marketing Analytics

Last year saw a 20 percent hike in the average daily time spent on a mobile, which reached four hours and ten minutes. In 2019, 4bn shopping apps were downloaded and in the second quarter of 2020, over 1bn mobile games were downloaded per week and 24bn downloads of the finance apps. The success of an app depends basically on marketing channels, how you attract the user, the number of installs, and how the engaged audience contributes to the financial component of the app. 

For this, one can collaborate with different ad networks. Here marketing analytics will play a big role to understand channel was responsible for the spike in the app’s success. The data acquired, upon analysis, will exude which ad network or publisher are helping us get the right users. In a recent survey done by a leading company, 51 percent of users said they discovered a new company or product when searching on their smartphones. And in 2020, mobile ad placements grew by 95 percent in the United States. Encashing on this data, we find ways to attain the highest return on investment (ROI) and lifetime value (LTV) of acquired users. Quality data collected via marketing analytics are installs, purchases, opens, clicks, registrations, shares, invites, and others.

• In-App Analytics
  

A normal trail of a user while using an app essentially is – opening the app, scrolling through different products (pages),reading reviews, adding the product to the cart, contemplating buying it, and ,in the end, purchasing it. The purchase rate depending on various factors. Here ,what can be done is to understand their trial that leads to purchase, what they do in the app, and the way they interact with the app. By analyzing that, we get a chance to optimize the features and conversation funnels. In-app analytics provides data such types of devices, OS, location, language, gender, age, new or old user, screens viewed, ads clicked, purchased made, etc. Working on this data will surely enhance the user experience. For instance, if a majority of users are making a trailing and going to the third session (page) of the app, making it one of the most clicked or viewed pages. To make it easier for them, we can shift that session or product on the home page itself – it not will not only save their time but will also guarantee user satisfaction further leading to the rise of the purchase rate. 

• Performance Analytics
  

We get it, it is seriously annoying when you are doing something important on the app and just when you are about to complete the task, the app crashes. At times, there is a point of no return, and crashing of the app can get 71 percent of users to uninstall the app. One of the things, that might help here is when the user reports the bug and the issue is solved instantly. It is said that 67 percent of bugs are reported on iOS devices. And if the user does not find the value in it, 29 percent will immediately abandon the app. According to a survey, a poor mobile experience negatively impacts the brand as per 65 percent of the users. Long story short, your app’s health is of utmost importance to give the user the best experience. 
Performance analytics collects data such as crashes, errors, data transactions, API latency, carrier latency, and more. This data will help you prioritize the problem, optimizes your improvement time, further leading to the success of the app. 

Here are some of the fundamental measures for mobile app analytics  

• Define your purpose 

Before getting into you anything else, the developer should focus on what the app is going to provide. Pen down the clear values and purpose that the app will provide the users. Laying down a foundation will provide a crystal picture. The best way is to get in the shoes of the customers and decode what they would want from your app. 

• Don’t wait! 

Waiting to implement mobile analytics means you are just wasting your time. Don’t wait to implement it in the later stages. For optimized results, executing it during the design stage will provide you with a better picture. You don’t want to find that there is something wrong with your app once it is launched. App health is critical and applying the analytics at an earlier stage will help you lay a great foundation. Be proactive in resolving issues. 

• Everything is not gold

Prioritization is the key. Don’t get carried with the quantity of data that is at your disposal. Define what data matters and work on it. If you don’t focus on the key points, you will be left with little or less time to work on the crucial data. This step becomes a cakewalk once you have defined your purpose. Set your KPIs on the out track. Work on data that will give back actionable output.

• Breathe in, breathe out!

Data achieved overnight won’t change the fate of your app. Don’t run behind quantity, quality data will change your life. Mindful data is achieved over time. And analyzing that data will provide you with certain useful trends. Be patient with the data! Don’t forget patience always bears sweet fruits of success.

• Track user journey 

A happy customer increases the life span of the app. And to make the customer happy, the app developer must understand the mindset of the user. Which feature makes them happy, what aspects get them frustrated and what makes them hit the purchase or the download button. Understanding and mapping user journey will optimize your funnel and bring in great returns. You might have built the app taking into consideration the user journey and the step they to conversion. But not always the user will follow the same trend. This is exactly why understanding user journey or footsteps is gold. 

• Be flexible 

These days trends, data, tools, and parameters change in a jiffy. That said and done, the business model does not change. Begin by designing the analytics but be flexible enough to alter it when the trends change. Suppose, for instance, you have designed an app using certain tools but at the last moment, the client asks you the chance the platform, so instead of changing the model all you have to do is change the tool.

• Twice as nice 

When will you get effective results? So, basically when you offer two versions of the same app and get it tested before launching. As per an assured source, 49 percent of apps need more time for testing. A/B testing provides you with the best outcomes. Investigate the data see what will make for the best app. 

• Set higher standards 

They say comparison isn’t good. But in this case, it will work in your favour. There are a few benchmark standards set by the industry. If you evaluate that, you will get a clear idea of how to up your game. Check the industry benchmark sifted by vertical and demographic. 

We are at your service

In essence, what makes an app eternal is – understanding user footsteps, measuring the insights, and changing as per trends for optimum results. Using specialized analytical apps can change your life. An ideal tool can cater to a mammoth of an audience.

As per a study, the year 2023, will see an astounding number of app downloads amounting to 300 billion. When the race gets so tough, we are there at your service to make things a tad be easy. Curious about how mobile app analytics function? Are you ready to give your audience the best user experience? Our smart and diligent team will do the rest for you! 

You can contact the App Scoop mobile app development team on: 
https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html 
 
For quick reference of the best analytic tools to track your apps:
https://www.app-scoop.com/blog/category/mobile-app-analytics

References: 
https://www.tune.com/blog/3-major-types-of-mobile-analytics/
https://clearbridgemobile.com/stats-for-mobile-app-growth-and-success/
https://blog.hurree.co/blog/mobile-app-analytics-best-practices
https://www.tune.com/blog/3-major-types-of-mobile-analytics/
https://www.adjust.com/blog/mobile-app-analytics-best-practices-for-optimal-results/
https://1nwu8i3sj55rdbw4k4fm55i1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/White-Paper-Mobile-App-Analytics.pdf
https://7t.co/blog/mobile-app-analytics-best-practices-how-to-improve-ui-ux-and-performance/
https://mixpanel.com/topics/what-is-mobile-analytics/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPWVUAyWsdg&t=1903s

The outbreak of coronavirus was tough on all. And last year when the virus hit us, the lockdown broke the mental walls of several people. Therapy app makers rushed to meet the rise of new customers. 
According to an American app market intelligence, last year, there was a 29 per cent rise in the consumers of first-time downloads of top 20 mental wellness app. Studies suggest that app stores are a host to 20,000 mental health apps. Now, if the app makers wish to survive this cut-throat competition, they not only ought to cater to the demands of the consumer but also create an ecosystem that is favourable for all. 

Experts claim that in the coming days, the mobile health industry is expected to reach a market size of $60 billion.

In this article, we will discuss how to convert your idea into an app, crucial features that make a mental health app get millions of downloads, regulatory guidelines for mobile mental health providers, cost development and a lot more. 

How to build the foundation of an app?

From the moment the idea of an app pops up in your head till it is uploaded on the app store, there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into it. While research and collaborating with therapist plays a great role in making the foundation of your mental app strong, we have pointed out a few more points that one should consider.

• Define your target audience 

According to World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent study, around 264 million adults around the globe have anxiety. Out of which, 179 million are female (63 per cent) and approximately 37 per cent are male. Owing to our fast-paced life, the prevalence of mental disorders has increased by a whopping 55 per cent. The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus is surely taking a toll on people’s mental health. Now, the first question that should pop into the app designer’s mind is ‘who am I making this app for?’. In addition to this, the app maker also must cater to a broad range of genders. And for the app to grow, addressing the demographic is truly vital. 

​According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), 25.1% of children between 13 and 18 years old are affected by the disorder. And as you grow older this per cent grows on increasing. So, age, gender and location form the basis of finding your target audience.

• Find your niche

There are several mental health disorders. Depending on your purpose and functionality you should decide on the categories that you wish to focus on. A generic app won’t fetch a large audience, however, if you are clear of the type that you want to focus on, it will be easy to attract a certain set of audience. Your app’s foundation depends on the recce you do. So, usually, a combination of abnormal thoughts, perceptions, emotions, behaviour, and relationships with others can fairly describe a mental disorder. 

Do your homework by following several mental health associations, understand the stats and research the various types of mental illness thoroughly before deciding your niche. Collaborating with a therapist or professional doctors will be a boon as they will guide you in the right direction. Before starting your work on the app, we recommend you visit the sites American Psychiatric Association App Evaluation Model and WHO. These portals will help you access things on several key criteria. The three major categories that one should consider is Mental disorder apps, Mental self-improvement apps, and General mental health apps. 
 

• Mental disorder apps
  

These are one of the most reliable types of apps. They focus on a few of the most common mental disorder such as depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Further, these apps provide help by connecting the patient to a professional doctor or therapist. Moreover, it gives them a chance to connect with other individuals who are going through the same issue which increases connectivity.

• Mental self-improvement apps
  

As the name suggests, these apps attend to people who have a clean prescription of not having any sort of a mental disorder. However, not suffering from any mental health issues does mean you don’t have any problems. These people are the ones who are experiencing debilitating mental issues. 
​

• General mental health apps
  

These apps are for the general public whether or not they suffer from a mental illness. The connectivity is immense. The guidance provided by the on-call therapists or doctor is life-changing.  

• Value proposition 
  

What you offer and deliver is what you get in return. A genuine app will survive any storm and the consumers ashore will rely on the value proposition offered by the founders. Define your approach and offer an end-to-end solution. Your value proposition must provide: 

• Transparency 
• Affordable rate
• Quality process and flexibility
• 24-hour support and guidance 
• CTB-based tips 

 Add these features to fetch millions of downloads 

So, you are in this for the long run. Once you have selected your audience, done with your research and spent enough time with the therapist understanding the mental illness segment – now you must figure out how to make the app more appealing. Once the consumer trusts your app, you are sure to go places. What tops the list though is the safety and security option. Assure your clients that their data is secure with the app. In addition to the trust factor, there are a plethora of facets that will make your app worthwhile. 

• The appearance 
  

While you are hoping to keep the look of the app creative, do not forget to keep it simple at the same time. Mind the colours that form the palette of the app. Bright colours are a complete no-no. Currently, nude, and pastel colour will make for a great pleasant look. Do not cluster the app, as people are viewing it on their phone. Make space as much as possible. Plot a grid and stick to it. Also, consider the different mobile sizes and operating systems. 

• Follow a UX approach
  

Keeping in mind your target audience, stick to a user-friendly approach. Meet the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) needs and expectations.

• Self-monitoring 
  

To manage their stress, people usually like to self-monitor their daily checks. The app should contain tabs that monitor – mood, sleep cycle, food habits, thoughts, feelings, and symptoms.  

• We care about you
  

Do you know that being empathic is one of the most appreciated values? And considering the times that we are living in; users will appreciate notification and reminders that will motivate them. It is difficult to keep a track of all the things and that is when the reminders will come in handy. Notification of a motivational quote every morning will get them going for the rest of the day. 

• Tiggers and self-care
  

Consumers should be given a tab to monitor their triggers. Once the triggers are analyzed, appropriate self-care tips should be provided. 

• Music to your ears 
  

Incorporating a tab of soulful music will do wonders for the app. It will be a one-stop mental health app. It is clinically proven that music therapy can reduce anxiety and depression. It increases their self-esteem and verbalization, motivates them while keeping them emotionally safe. 

• Success stories and community 
  

Knowing that someone who has gone through the same ordeal and has overcome it will motivate the patients to hold their fort even stronger. People seek positive communication, support, and acceptance. Being a part of a community makes them feel included.

• Meditation for all
  

Meditating daily reduces the stress that causes most mental illness. Provide videos of simple, easy, and guided meditation. 

• Trackers
  

This seems like a far-fetched idea but provided the services of a GPS tracker will surely help the patient’s family. For instance, suppose a patient who is suffering from a severe mental illness has gone out for a walk or anything, and unfortunately due to the triggers, they are unable to find their way home. In such cases, the family can easily track them and get them home safely. 

• Matching clients with the therapist 
  

When the client enters the apps for the first time, make sure to ask them all the necessary questions. After analyzing them efficiently, prepare an algorithm that matches clients with righteous therapists.

• Feedback 
  

Any sort of feedback will help your app grow. Include a feedback section wherein the clients can pen their suggestions. 

Guidelines and Regulations

Client data is of utmost importance. It must be stored as per the guidelines provided by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy standards. Also, to avoid criminal law and civil penalties, make sure that the mental health services are provided by a professional and licensed therapist. Encrypting app data is crucial. Provide verified passcodes and usernames. Biometric authentication will add to the security of the app. Here are a few other regulations to adhere to. 

• FDA and FTC guidelines: Before claiming on what your app is going to offer, go through all the rules and regulation set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Apps that target just the symptoms with taking into consideration the diagnose are exempt from FDA oversight. FTC takes strict action against consumer frauds. 

• HIPAA compliance: Healthcare app developers need to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) depending on the data that they are procuring from the clients. To figure if your app falls under HIPAA, answers the following questions: 

• What is the magnitude of the data collected?
• Who is using the app?
• Will the app be used by a covered entity (doctor, hospital, or health plan)?  

Costing of the app

The cost of building an app depends on pre-build, development, post-development, licensing, features you decide to add, marketing, and the number of hours spent in making the app. If the coding and development are done in-house, then the organization will take care of the rest. However, if you are looking to hire someone to develop the app, the location of the hired developer will largely determine their hourly rates. As per a survey done by a leading web development and digital marketing company, here are the country wise hourly cost for building an app. 

Country                                   Chargers (per hour)

US and Canada                            $50 to $250

India                                              $10 to $80

Australia                                       $50 to $150

Eastern Europe                           $20 To $150

Western Europe And The UK    $35 To $170

Let’s work together! 

One needs to understand the sector that they are venturing into. As mentioned, mental health is one of the most burning topics these days. Hence, measurable, and careful steps should be taken to design the app that will change the lives of many. Factors like trust, information backed by clinical research, privacy and resulted-oriented solutions are what your target audience is looking for in the app. The look of the app will depend on the perspective audience and classes of mental health apps that you wish to focus on. And most importantly, the features that will form the look of the app will be decided by the problems that your target audience face. 

We are sure that your vision to create a mental health app is a million-dollar idea. With this, you have achieved one of the most aspects of starting a business. We suggest you partner with us and we will take care of the rest. Now take a seat back and relax while we build an app that will touch the lives of many and get you the highest number of download hits!

You can contact the App Scoop mobile app development team on: 
https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

References:

• https://www.letsnurture.com/blog/aspects-to-consider-when-developing-a-mental-health-application.html
• https://mindsea.com/cost-to-build-mhealth-app/
• https://www.rankontechnologies.com/mobile-app-development-cost/
• https://blog.focal-point.com/when-does-hipaa-apply-to-health-apps

With little or no difference, you are in a pickle to choose the right product. Well, this is just a minuscule aspect of counterfeit products. Fake products, first, second and third copy products, phoney products have plagued the world of e-commerce. According to a recent report, about one-third of online sellers are facing this menace. In 2020, the amount of global counterfeiting had reached $1.80 Trillion, and the losses incurred by luxury brands was about $30 Bn. Some reports even suggest that an organization loses five per cent of their revenue to such frauds. 

Consumers and authentic sellers are both on the receiving end. While the genuine purveyors are losing the brand value, consumers on the other hand are losing their hard-earned money and the feeling of being cheated eats them up. Well, when a problem arises, there must be a solution to overcome it. Facts are emerging that Shopify Plugins integrate blockchain to determine the legitimacy of items and sellers. In fact, an American company is testing this concept. According, to the reports, this plugin is an amalgamation of blockchain technology and a cloud-based application called “TAM” that enables brands to generate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are pegged to physical assets. In NFT, a unit of data is stored on a blockchain. Upon analysis, the authenticity of the token is measured and included in the chain only if it unique.

Is Blockchain the solution for this?

To get to the solution we need to first understand what blockchain is. So, as the name suggests blockchain is a chain of blocks that contains information. It is a distributed ledger and once the data has been recorded in it, it is practically impossible to tamper with it. The distributed ledger technology (DLT) comes a boon for all as it provides excellent security for all online platforms. Blockchain when used with other technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), can restrict online frauds of counterfeit products to a great extent. 

How can businesses flourish under blockchain? 

In today’s world, a lot of e-commerce portals are willing to turn towards blockchain for various reasons. This concept applies to a wide range of industries and it is evolving every day. It is fast, easy to handle, needs no mediator, and its pros are endless. Shopify Plugin can use blockchain for authentication which might put an end to counterfeit products and to a large extent online fraud as well. Blockchain enables businesses to flourish by improving their efficiency in the following ways.

 1. Transparency, customer satisfaction and growth 

Instead of using a central entity to manage the chain, blockchain uses a P2P network. In this, the network participants have access holdings and transactions of public addresses. When the participants join the network, they get a whole copy of the blockchain. In the case of a malfunction where someone tries to create a block, it won’t be added to the chain unless all the participants have verified it. This ensures that there is no tampering. Further providing the seller and the customer with full transparency. This applies to the retailer, consumer, and manufacturer. 

The best part is the consumer will have access to all the important information such as how were the goods made, who is the actual manufacturer, where is the product coming from, did the manufacturer temper with any laws with making the products, just to name a few. And when the consumer is sure of all these aspects, it restores their faith in the manufacturer. One of the main aspects of any business is customer satisfaction. If transparency is something that assures them, the company-consumer relationship is bound to grow which indirectly beneficial for the business.  

 2. Fast, accurate and authentic 

​Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags when used with blockchain solutions can provide increased security and traceability becomes easy. Be it a broken product, defective apparel, or a fake item, once they fall in the blockchain pattern, tracing it back to the source will put an end to lot issues. 

In today’s world, most of our consumers are health conscious. They are quite particular about what is included in their diet. In such cases, if brands provide them with access to traceability, the consumers can heave a sigh of relief knowing that their food is of the A1 quality. This ensures customer satisfaction, eliminates damaged goods, helps to curb counterfeiting while restoring the brand value.  

 3. Flawless cross-border payments and international reach 

When you start a business, you aim to flourish it and hope that it grows beyond boundaries. With the advent of technology and social media, your product can easily catch the consumer’s eye. Shipping can be taken care of, but the payment is something that might worry you. Blockchain enables business-to-business and person-to-person payments across borders. According to a study by this global and leading company, this trait will reduce the cost of the transaction by 40-80 per cent. Moreover, these transactions take place in real-time. With this, it is secure as it incurs public-private cryptography and multi-party authorization. Now, if your product is reaching the consumer across the border, your business is bound to reach new heights of success. 

See how we have helped companies develop their blockchain solutions. 

 Let us be a part of your journey 

While consumers today want nothing but the best, the menace of counterfeit products and other frauds haunt them. Blockchain is the present and future. We not only observe all the industries, but we are up to date with all the technology trends. And we believe that the inclusion of this technology will surely keep a check on such swindles. While e-commerce sites are trying the best to tackle this problem, we would like to offer our helping hand to all those who wish to transform their business and supply chain. Here’s why you should partner with us. 

• We believe in innovation, and we are open to new ideas.
• Our work of expertise in app development is impeccable.
• We are in constant pursuit of excellence. 
• Our value for money apps guarantees sure-shot business growth. 
• Our fast tech support and our free-flowing customer relationship define our work ethics.

You can contact the App-Scoop mobile app development team on: 
​https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

References: 

• https://realitems.shop/blogs/news/why-shopify-stores-need-the-blockchain?_pos=1&_sid=0694f5a59&_ss=r
• ​https://www.techtelegraph.co.uk/shopify-plugin-uses-blockchain-for-authentication/
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/blockchain-tech-can-reduce-transaction-costs-ficci-pwc/articleshow/63004126.cms?from=mdr

Technology has impacted different sectors of society globally, including the healthcare industry.  
Different technologies are used in different activities in medical institutions for patient care and better infrastructure.

Information technology, in particular, includes a series of systems including computers and telecommunications that are utilized to retrieve, store, and send data.
​
In terms of its implementation in the healthcare industry, this technology is used to handle the medical data of patients, procedures, and contact details. The advent of technology in the healthcare sector has been instrumental in discarding a lot of outdated tools. ​

For example, professionals like medical coding specialists, medical assistants, and registered nurses are using Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in place of paper records.

Technicians and nurses input the data about the patient into the integrated digitized system and update test records of the patients through cloud computing. Also, doctors, patients, insurers, and other professionals can receive the procedure records and medical records efficiently.

Besides, the information-centric tasks, technology in the medical field has brought improvement in different clinical departments. Physicians can interact with patients in different locations remotely via telemedicine as well.

All in all, it is expected that medical technology growth worldwide would occur at a rate of 5% by 2022.
The following are some of the most notable benefits of technology in the medical sector.

  1. Real-time information accessible to multiple users

Previously, medical professionals had to keep a note of all the patient data in paper records. To check the current or previous records, professionals had to search through the ‘chart’ room or records room.
This was time-consuming, and the misplacement of particular papers was a common issue.

With information technology, such data is available in cloud computing systems. Many medical facilities utilize a secure shared network for information storage, and different hospital personnel can access this information. And connectivity is available through multiple types of digital devices.

Such information in the EHRs are available in real-time, which benefits critical patient care cases.

Features like reporting capabilities, easier communication, remote accessibility, and safety alerts allow doctors to handle patient care even when they are physically absent from the hospital premises.

  2. Abundant data availability

One of the benefits of MedTech is that users get access to a vast amount of data. In terms of treatment and diagnosis management, this proves highly effective.

For example, wearable health-monitoring technology collects statistical data about a user’s daily sleep pattern, heart rate, steps taken, and exercise output. Later, it transfers the data to mobile apps. Stents and pacemakers send the automatic update codes directly via the internet.

Plus, patients use particular devices for blood glucose level, weight, and blood pressure calculation records. Overall, with MedTech apps, physicians get this information quickly and they can plan the treatment schedule.

Big Data technology syncs the aforementioned data and EHR-enabled data to create analysis records. Using this information, it is easier for medical administration personnel to spot any gaps in care management and the current population trends.  

Medical professionals can view this data as a reference to optimize high-quality economical and health-related outcomes. As a result, they can utilize the best possible practices to provide individualized medical care to patients.

  3. Better public health

Clinical researchers and public health care professionals use EHRs to receive maximum medical knowledge. Using these, they can create better treatment medications for common health problems and viral outbreaks.

With a centralized health IT system, healthcare officials can understand the extent of the outbreak quickly. Thereafter, they can start making preventive plans like increasing the production of medicine shots and enable their transport to the affected regions quickly.

  4. Safer medical care

Medical care officials can utilize healthcare technology tools to provide optimized and accurate medical attention to their patients. Such tools contain usable features like digital balances and checks.

They also provide automatic alerts to healthcare professionals about critical patient information like their allergy history and other applied medications. This way, physicians can avoid providing wrong diagnoses and drug prescriptions.

EHRs contain a similar alert notification system that updates patient records regarding previous medical history and current medical plans. The CPOE (computerized physician order entry) system is another technological solution that assists with careful medical data collection.

  5. Healthcare cost reduction

With the help of Telehealth apps and medical systems like the EHRs, the healthcare cost has reduced a lot. Plus, patients don’t have to visit doctors one-on-one necessarily. They can use the apps and take up counselling.

There has been a rapid surge in healthcare apps after the covid-19 breakout because patients were restricted to visit doctors until the case was of absolute necessity.

One study showed that using EHRs for patient care had decreased the outpatient care funding cost by 3%. 

  6. Medication reconciliation

Another benefit of the EHRs is that it operates as an automated digital medicine catalog. The reconciliation tool within it allows medical professionals to develop a proper medication list and maintain it easily.

While this tool is useful for assessing patients’ medical history, it only includes medications available within the network or system. Maintaining absolute accuracy in the list management is dependent on the memory of the patient about their medical history.

However, this is not the easiest tool to handle during an emergency case as physicians would not get the complete list of medications the patient is using.

But new software versions are available now, which are more comprehensive. These include pharmacy apps that collect data about medication pick-ups and dosage changes. Moreover, the app compiles all the real-time information and creates a visual list.

Most of the data is derived from the fulfillment needs of pharmacies. These types of data include missed refills, pickup dates, and changes in dosage. With proper reconciliation tools, it is easier to create transparent reports of the medication regimens of users, improve usage continuity, and reduce incorrect medication usage.

  7. Better connectivity

With the use of technology, health care providers can communicate better with patients, quickly and effectively. Patient visits can occur over the digital platforms in case the patient is incapable of visiting as well.

After returning from a doctor’s appointment, patients often have extra doubts regarding the treatment care they are following. Many individuals have questions about their health condition and a diagnosis for certain small-scale problems. Visiting the hospital is not necessary for these.

A medical app, in this case, works as a medium of communication between the doctor and patient for clearing simple queries.

Moreover, after hospitalization and discharge, medical professionals require steady contact with patients to guide them with their recovery process. These apps are useful here as they include features like an integrated algorithm that identifies at-risk patients for remission.

The apps send alerts regarding such information to the physicians. Also, they transfer automated reminders to patients for following after-surgery recovery steps.

Another feature that enhances communication in this field is the patient portal. Patients can open their hospital records and medication history, online scheduling of appointments, registration, bill payment, and other details.

Using these platforms, physicians can conduct medication adherence discourse with clients after discharge and handle post-op visits.

With the Telehealth app, connectivity is possible between patients and doctors even at far-apart distances. Individuals with mobility issues or residency in a rural area can receive effective and regular medical checkups with such apps.

  8. Safety and Legal Concerns Regarding Healthcare Information Technology

As mentioned above, the use of information technology has benefited the healthcare industry highly. It is instrumental in enhancing patient care during and after hospitalization; however, there are privacy-related concerns available.

Data breaches are a common threat to the medical industry. A statistic highlights that stolen health-related credentials, in particular, are worth $10 or more in the global black market. Thus, the loss of sensitive information to hackers is a serious safety concern.

To deal with this, regulations are present in local governments worldwide for regulating a safe, legally-protected, and confidential data storage as well as transfer digitally.

For example, the HIPAA privacy rule of 2003 upheld the policies concerning the disclosure of information. Other policies have been put in place since then in regards to software-based information safekeeping in the healthcare industry.

That said, developing a healthcare mobile app for your business can prove its efficacy.

How?

Let’s find out!

  Reasons to develop a healthcare mobile application for your business

There are many reasons why you should develop a healthcare mobile app if you have a career in the medical field.
The following are some of the most notable benefits of healthcare apps:

  ● Efficient medical care: Through a medical app, doctors can access the centralized database to quickly collect the medical records of their patients, create new records, and review test results. It increases the efficiency of medical procedures and consumes lesser time.

  ● Easier patient-doctor communication: Through the Telehealth apps, patients can get in touch with doctors quickly to evaluate simple symptoms and perform diagnosis. Such apps may contain automated medical instructions as well.

  ● Customized patient care: Doctors can provide personalized treatment plans to their patients, using the data available.

  ● Hospital management: Internal hospital management is easier to coordinate with the help of apps. The administration staff can use the hospital app to evaluate each department’s condition, log patient and medication details, operation schedules, and set focused targets.
Since everything is better organized on the app, the staff can effectively monitor the execution of all tasks as well.

 Conclusion
The application of modern technology in the healthcare sector is increasing as we speak.  Be it bid data, AI, ML, or application development; each of them empower your business so you can provide unmatched services and care to your patients.

And mobile health apps are useful for various sectors in the medical field; like, medical management, fitness, personal health record-keeping, medication management, and diagnostics.

They also help improve communication, empower medical institutions, increase convenience and health awareness while decreasing medical costs, and countless other benefits.

Contact the App-Scoop Vancouver Mobile App Developers for further details.

In the current digital world, technological advancements and high-end software are grasping the consumer interest.

Smartphone users are utilizing mobile apps for a variety of tasks, such as communication, purchase, and entertainment apart from just making phone calls.
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In fact, most smartphone users spend 88% of their entire mobile usage period on mobile apps. Owing to this, businesses are focusing on app development to reach more smartphone users, intending to gain more clients and expand their revenue. ​

Businesses utilize different marketing strategies, design elements, and upgrades to catch user interest. However, these do not guarantee loyalty in such visitors; at least 24% of all apps get deleted directly after downloading.
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This is why you need to provide a good incentive to consumers so they are compelled to download your app.
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Here are the three effective strategies you can adopt to gain customer loyalty and retention:

  1. Reward incentives
Businesses offer incentives in an effort to keep customers engaged with their brand.
In the global competitive market, every brand is continuously developing new apps and cheaper product alternatives to attract customers. Thus, you need to offer your regular customers attractive app rewards that would hold their interest in your brand only.
A lot of businesses utilize tactics like providing store credit on purchases and cashback offers to retain existing clients. Businesses also provide free service with purchased items as rewards to their customers. These bring the customers back to the brand and boost engagement and sales.

 Case study
The following is a notable example of a successful rewards program:

 Sephora
The cosmetic brand Sephora offers its loyalty program named the Beauty Insider Program.
As per one company representative of the brand, this program makes up for 80% of their total transactions.
The loyalty program contains many user-friendly features for the customers and is structured in a tier-based reward system. The app analytics check the total expenses of the customers and offer specific tier rewards based on their expenditure ranking.
For customers, this strategy works as a motivation to continue their association with the brand. Another customer-oriented feature of this loyalty program is personalized product recommendations.
Birthday promotions in the tier system include offers like free product shipping and makeovers to top-tier customers. Lower-tier members continue purchasing from the store to ensure their rise in ranking.

 Types of reward systems:
Businesses utilize three categories of reward systems for customer loyalty growth. They include the following.

• Tiers: This tactic is a gamification technique that many brands apply to increase customer engagement. Businesses set the reward system on a hierarchical ranking basis; the highest tier holders receive the most exclusive rewards.
  Different types of awards apply to particular tier groups besides the top-tier holders. After crossing a pre-set milestone, like a particular number of purchases or a percentage of total expenditure, customers can ascend to the next tier.
• Points: This type of loyalty program is highly common among businesses globally. Customers get store credit for their continuous patronage and that increases their points. Later, these customers can exchange their points for free services or products.
• Paid loyalty program: In this particular type of rewards system, the customers can use the loyalty program benefits after paying a fee. For businesses, this is an additional source of profit as well.
  The customers who paid for their loyalty membership would continue using the program since they invested in it. Plus, businesses focus on these members on a priority basis. One common benefit brands provide in a paid loyalty program is priority sale access.
  Here, a brand allows early access to its premium customers over other visitors during a sale. One example of this is the Prime Day sale for Amazon Prime members.Other than choosing the type of reward system for your business app, it is important to decide when you must reward your users.. Here’s how you can do it:
• Reaching a spending target: You can offer rewards to your customers when they spend a certain percentage of money on your products. Offer discounts or free product additions to them.
• Providing feedback for new product launches: Before your new product is live, you can offer a free trial of it to customers in exchange for feedback.
  It would retain these customers as they would feel a sense of loyalty to the product they reviewed and your brand.
• Recommendations: Particular brands offer extra gifts or discounts to their customers through in-app notifications when they recommend the app to another potential customer.
• Miscellaneous options: You can provide rewards to your consumers in exchange for viewing videos, subscribing to your company blog, or sharing brand-related ads online.
  For example, some gaming app developers offer one extra life-line for every ad video the player watches.

  2. App Personalization
Customers like a service that knows them well and can provide them with what they need quickly. This quick and effective service would enhance their loyalty to your brand.
In one survey, 40% of the marketing leaders who participated admitted that adding personalization in apps has increased their overall sales.
Some personalization tools you can add to your business app include discounts, push notifications and tips.

 Case study
One example of an app that uses this strategy is Flo, a women’s health app. It monitors the user’s menstrual cycle and uses AI-based technology to chart their next ovulation cycle. Besides, the app provides personalized tips as well.
To utilize this technique accurately, you need to understand two things:
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• Customer journey: View all the data regarding a customer’s journey through the app. The interactions you should focus on include clicks, visits, and the overall behaviour of the website visitor. Thereafter, you can create a data-driven representation or user persona.
• Sales funnel: Here, review the sales models and understand which one is bringing the most prospects and generating leads. Then, you can target related notifications to the specific persona.

  3. Technological applications
Businesses are utilizing advanced software in their business apps to boost customer experience.
Some technologies that companies are investing in include augmented reality (AR), cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and real-time video chatting features. These modern technologies enhance the user experience on such apps.
From a customer value standpoint, Millennials and Generation-Z consumers use mobile apps frequently. A report says that 21% of Millennials access an app 50 times each day on average.
This generation is more interested in novel technologies. So, adding advanced software in your business mobile app would increase your brand popularity with these audiences.
Some of the technologies you can implement in your mobile app to improve customer experience are as follows:

• Artificial Intelligence: The combination of AI technology and robotic automation increases the productivity of agents and reduces the costs of production and maintenance. The software in these applications handles repetitive tasks automatically and securely.
  For example, during transactions, the AI securely keeps the data stored within the app. Consequently, when the customer repeats this task for different purchases, the process occurs automatically.
  One important point to note in this concern is keeping the AI functionality transparent would gain customer loyalty.
• Chatbots: Mostly powered by AI, chatbots are instrumental in improving customers’ app usage experience. Automated chatbots quickly gain data from effective databases of company-wide systems.
  These automated communications improve the app usability experience of users, who get the support responses to their queries quickly.
  Customer service organizations promote the usability of these services; almost 23% of such organizations in 2019 adopted AI-powered chatbots for easier service.
• Video chat: Video chat feature for customer and support staff communication enhances the customer service experience in apps. Instead of relying on an automated voice or reading automated instructions, users can interact face-to-face with the support managers.
  Plus, the staff can visually showcase product/service-related solutions. Moreover, a face-to-face conversation creates a personalized connection between the brand. This develops brand loyalty among these consumers.
• Voice recognition software: Business apps currently use this technology in their apps; the users can communicate easily with the in-app bots using this.
  The software includes features like multi-language and regional speech tone recognition. This would increase brand loyalty to your brand for global customers.
• Location-tracking: Many apps for businesses currently utilize beacon technology with the help of Bluetooth and GPS. There is a debate in the global market about this technique in regards to privacy concerns.
  Therefore, if you employ this in your mobile application, do so carefully. Now, look at some tips to keep in mind when using this strategy:
• Understand the USP of the brand: If you know what the USP of your brand is, you can utilize the technology that would best suit your goal.
  For example, the AR technology of Sephora assists customers in buying suitable product types at the best possible price. This highlights the characters of loyalty and honesty; two important values of the brand.
• Check the options: Learn more about the types of technology available and choose one that works best for your branded app.
• Hire a development team: After you have decided on advanced technology, hire a team that would handle the app development process. Research your options and then select a reliable app development company that would follow your brand vision accurately.

  Conclusion
To retain customers and win new ones, businesses need to opt for techniques that the customers can utilize in the long term.
So, understand customer behaviour and needs, and then choose the best strategy among all these three or customize to make the right combination that your users can benefit from and become your brand advocates.
This, in-turn, would help you get more app downloads from your direct and indirect customers with high chances of conversion.
Contact the App-Scoop Vancouver Mobile App Developers for further details.

Creating an application is a long journey from establishing a great idea to finally giving it a shape and presenting it to the end-users.
You need to have a basic structure of the entire process to save yourself from getting cheated or deviated by unprofessional experts. Multiple parameters will help you define the idea’s feasibility and specify different ways to bring your dream application into reality.
The following article will work as a basic guideline when you have an app idea, so you can prepare for it before entering the market for further development. ​

​ 1. Shape your idea

Having an idea is great, but you must structure your thoughts into concrete facts. You should be well aware of every aspect of your application.
We know that every idea is directly associated with revenue creation. Therefore, it is necessary to sit down and list your goals and aim attached to your app.
Here are some of the questions that you can ask yourself before going further:

    ● What will my app do?

Your application needs to have a niche that will help the users get an idea about the features they can find in it. These functionalities need to be direct and must not attract ten different application ideas.
For instance, Instagram can be easily categorized as a social media app to post photos and videos that your followers view in their feed.
If it was primarily launched with features like flight booking or inclusive gaming functionality, this might have deviated the users’ focus from the core idea of sharing photos.
People wouldn’t be able to categorize the application and eventually jump to other simple photo posting apps.

    ● What will be the face of my application?  

We understand you are not a developer or might not have any prior knowledge about UX/UI.
However, you must know what your application must look like. This will help you communicate your thoughts to the developers, and the end-result would constitute your dream’s app interface.

 2. Understand your target audience

After formulating a well-structured idea, you must jump on the rigorous research part. Your target audience is people who will use the application or whose problem you are planning to solve through your app idea.
These users can be bifurcated into various categories like locations, ages, gender, or behavioural reaction. You need to be as specific as possible to avoid any extra competition.
Most of the market has top leaders, which captures a vast audience, so you must be up-to-date on their ideologies and USP (Unique Selling points).
While researching, you should be able to determine your application’s goal and narrow down the niche to identify your target audience.
Another major thing to keep in mind is to know the future of your targeted users. You will never want to invest your money into an idea that might become inconsistent or obsolete with new technology advancements.
Try coming up with a unique USP that is different from your competitors and offer much-advanced functionality.

 3. Set a timeline

All these points might look easy, but they aren’t. The steps that we are about to discuss will give you a long list of tasks from meeting the developer to eventually launching the product.
You must acknowledge an estimated time for all these activities; this will help your mind establish time boundaries and stop you from lazing around.
The market research can take up to 10-15 days according to how vast or small your target audience and competitors are. After which, you must determine the exact timeline of your application.
Making a timetable will also give the developers or marketers an idea about how slow or fast you want to build your application.

 4. Connect to your developers to create a prototype

Now comes the exciting part, where you will give your app idea a screen. Creating a prototype means establishing a sample model of your final application.
A prototype can be majorly segmented into three unique categories:

     ● Conceptual: It is the future representation of your app that stimulates user and app interaction.
A conceptual prototype is created to establish the application’s essential infrastructure to ensure that you are happy with its beta interface.

   ● Interactive: After successfully passing the conceptual prototype, your next step would be to create an interactive display constituting designs to make the app look elegant.
It will replace the textual framework with a user-friendly interface that people will thoroughly enjoy.

    ● Animated: This is the most fascinating but challenging part where UI/UX experts add animation to the interactive protocol design. Most successful apps in the market add creative animation to make it more engaging.

 5. Create a market strategy

We cannot emphasize enough what a successful marketing channel can do to your application. Cumulatively, the Android and Apple app stores have over 5 Million apps.
However, there is a majority of applications that have never been installed. This is mainly because people haven’t heard about them and fear if the apps are risk-free.
We have a list of marketing tools that can be adapted to support your idea.

    ● Social media marketing or SMM: It is the trendiest marketing system used to attract traffic using paid ads.
According to stats, 82% of your prospects can be gathered through social media. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter allow businesses to post ads on their targeted audience’s feed.
You can make a list of all the behavioural rules that a user must take on their account that will make them a part of your ad campaign.  

    ● Google paid ads: The search engine allows you to post ads on specific keywords to attract your target audience.
For instance, if you have a food delivery app, the target word would be online food or making (the food item); these visitors are hungry and looking for a way to eat a good meal.
Ranking on these keywords will boost your sales, and eventually bring more loyal customers.

    ● Influencer marketing: Another way of informing your audience about your application could be through people they follow and seek influence from.
Influencers have unique opinions and ideas that they share with their followers who listen to them.
For instance, a comment published by Elon Musk asking his audience to join signal boosted its download by 12,000%. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your targeted audience.

 6. Fix your budget or find investment

Marketing and finance are the two most important pillars of any business. Building a successful application will require an inclusive combination of both these parameters.
We have already discussed all the significant investments needed while making the app. You are now in a better place to determine a budget for every aspect that has been mentioned above.
Furthermore, there are chances that you lack the required fund but still want to build your dream application.
These are some of the ways you can expand your earning potential:

    ● Ask from family or friends: This is an initial step that you can do to fill in the cash requirement. Your well-wishers might give you cash at a minimum or low-interest rate than the market standards.

   ● Engage with investors: Many organizations and wealthy individuals look for projects to invest their money to get a higher return.
Your first step would be to look for those high-class people and communicate your app idea to them.

   ● Business partnerships: If you cannot find a suitable investor, then the other option could be bringing in some partners.
These people will help you in the building steps of your application through their active participation and sharing relevant knowledge.

 7. Develop a basic version of the application

After you have successfully found your investor, it is vital that you now rigorously work towards building a beta version of the application to test its essential features.
You can choose Android or Apple as your base platform, keeping in mind your targeted audience. This is called constructing an MVP or Minimal Vital Program.
The application is made to closely identify its response from the public and other new features that could be added to ensure a smooth user experience.

 8. Analyze your success through mobile app metrics

Reflecting on your application’s performance is crucial to understand customer feedback and other additional features that you can implement in the future.
The primary parameters include
    ● How many downloaded the app?
    ● If they did, what is their activity status?
    ● And if they enjoyed using the app, have they subscribed to its paid version?
These three parameters are your guideposts that need to be taken care of while depicting your mobile app metrics.
The new users can be studied by estimating their user retention rate, which means how many times they visited the application in a day or week, or month.
If someone is continuously active on your app, they are among the very few percentages of people who can subscribe to your paid programs.
These are the loyal customers you need to nurture and provide them with the utmost value.

Conclusion
We hope this post guides you through the right track to convert your dream app idea into reality. Thus, keep in mind these above-mentioned points that are important to build your application.
Contact the App-Scoop Vancouver Mobile App Developers for further details.