Business needs drive increased demand for custom software development and mobile apps

Vog Toronto App Developers is a creative development company that creates custom software applications for iOS, Android and Web. – Photo courtesy of Vog Toronto app developers

Toronto’s tech sector is booming, so when Vog App Developers asked me to help the company expand into this market, I jumped at the chance.

Already the largest market in Canada, Toronto and the GTA is also one of the world’s best startup ecosystems and the city’s tech sector is booming with regular announcements of influential tech companies moving to the city (👋 Stripe).

Beyond the tech and startup ecosystem, the GTA is also home to a range of industries where technology and custom software development can play an important role.

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of software and apps to facilitate remote working, but this is just one example of how digital transformation is changing where and how work is done. As more internal processes and customer interactions move online, software and mobile apps will become increasingly important tools for businesses of all sizes looking to become more efficient and solve problems in new ways.

The real fun will come when all these innovations start to interact with each other to create new markets and increase opportunities. Toronto’s diverse population, array of industries, universities and tech ecosystem are a perfect incubator for new and exciting opportunities.

What drives the development of custom software and mobile applications?

When customers who need a mobile app contact us, about half of them can identify their problem.

There’s usually a constant issue that’s bothering them and they’ve tried a few internal fixes but realize they need a more comprehensive mobile solution.

The remaining 50% may not be able to identify their specific technical problem, but have an unmet business need, which is fleshed out during discovery sessions. It is ultimately the value that an application provides. He solves a business problem.

Increasingly, mobile apps are the answer to business needs that range from customer engagement and retention to sales, business development and even internal operations/management, because mobile is where people spend their time online.

A 2020 study by eMarketer reveals that 88% of adult mobile internet usage in the US is spent on apps. It goes far beyond online access through web browsers. Additionally, Statista reports that in 2020, users worldwide downloaded 218 billion apps to their phones, up from 204 billion the previous year.

While consumer demand is one of the main drivers motivating organizations to invest in mobile apps, the influence of other evolving digital technologies is also significant.

From 5G internet connectivity accelerating online experiences and increased use of mobile wallets, to artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented or virtual reality providing exciting new ways to engage with brands – there are a multitude of use cases that are driving demand for new apps, he says.

Consumer products are not the only players in this field either. According to a Forbes Insight & VMware report, enterprise mobile apps – which are meant to help employees better interact with and manage an organization – can dramatically increase productivity and revenue if designed well and used well. And 81% of companies surveyed expect the importance of business applications to employees to increase.

The app industry is in perpetual motion rather than in a state of current revolution.

Skilled application developers are constantly developing to keep pace with the latest technology updates – including functional updates from cloud providers like AWS and Azure or mobile platforms like Apple and Google – while simultaneously helping clients to make growth-oriented business decisions specific to their industry.

Let’s dive into some of the key needs and trends driving application and software development in industries like energy, financial services, and healthcare.

To adopt new technologies, energy companies must be cloud-enabled

A technological priority for energy companies? Many are focusing on a digital transformation strategy to move from on-premises internal servers to the cloud. If organizations want to implement new digital technology features or applications in their business, they often have to migrate their data to cloud-based solutions, which can be a significant undertaking.

Another new technology that is particularly transforming the energy sector is AI. As the World Economic Forum reports, “AI can help energy system stakeholders identify patterns and insights in data, learn from experience, and improve system performance over time. , and to predict and model the possible outcomes of complex and multivariate situations”.

by Gartner Top 10 Trends Driving the Oil and Gas Industry in 2021 report, reveals that industry adoption of AI or machine learning more than doubled from 13% to 32% between 2018 and 2020, and 50% of companies are expected to increase their investment this year.

In the oil and gas sector, the technology is enabled through commercial systems and applications for a variety of workflow uses, such as “geoscience interpretation, drilling, asset performance management, and optimization production,” says Gartner.

The report notes that not all companies have invested in cloud-based data integration that enables the deployment of AI, but will find that capabilities to operate and optimize assets grow , as is the use of AI for business decision-making.

Financial services apps focus on easier user access

When it comes to the development of mobile applications for financial services companies, the main objective is to facilitate access to liquidity. Consumers want fast, convenient links to financial support, options, and the ability to transfer money quickly.

the State of Mobile 2020 A report by App Annie notes that “Globally, consumers accessed financial apps more than 1 trillion times in 2019, up 100% from 2017. From inventory management to banking mobile phones to payment applications, it shows the central role of mobile in the management of our daily finances”.

The impact of COVID-19 has of course accelerated demand and therefore investment in mobile financial services applications, and the resulting changes in the industry are here to stay.

For example, according to a global consumer study conducted by Mastercard in 2020, 74% of consumers will continue to use contactless payment after the pandemic.

The key to creating a successful fintech mobile app is to strategically meet consumer expectations. Organizations can do things like streamline the user journey using facial or fingerprint recognition, or gamify the money transfer experience.

COVID-19 continues to be a catalyst for healthcare app development

Compared to many other industries, healthcare has a longer journey to technological advancement and investment in mobile. But the pandemic has certainly accelerated things.

The biggest trend we know in the development of healthcare apps and software is moving away from outdated systems that were once considered secure – such as fax and spreadsheets – towards digital data management , achieving a simplified user experience and eliminating the need to repeat input. of information.

Additionally, many healthcare professionals are asking for solutions that streamline health records and allow patients to easily access and update them on their own.

From a consumer perspective, telemedicine has been a dominant trend, with some apps reporting an extraordinary 8,270% increase in downloads, according to a report by GlobalData. Previous barriers to telemedicine adoption – such as awareness, reimbursement and resistance to change – have been swept away by the changing needs/priorities that have emerged due to COVID-19, the report says.

As organizations hire developers to build these new apps, privacy can be a concern, as a lot of sensitive consumer health data is involved. Customer data protection is an integral part of application development and is likely more advanced than analog healthcare data systems.

We are constantly evolving, bringing new concepts and ideas to ensure data security, as well as solving larger business or organizational issues that require new software or application in the first place.

This article originally appeared on Vog Toronto App Developers. To discuss custom apps and mobile apps, contact Vog Toronto app developers.