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For developers, setting up and managing a cloud-based backend for their mobile app can be time consuming. Enterprise apps may require a great deal of features, including synchronization, support for push notifications, expert file handling and other features before the front end of the app itself can work. On top of this, there is potentially cross-platform testing and management, plus web-based applications to wrangle, creating the need for a multitude of systems and structures in place before app development can be completed.
MBaaS – Mobile Backend as a Service – aims to change all that. Without MBaas, there are a variety of steps app developers must go through in order to properly configure everything from the database to user security to ensuring the finished infrastructure is compatible with both Android and iOS flavors. Much in the same way bootstrapping has changed the way websites are developed, MBaas is a sort of light switch for enterprise app development – putting into place the key structures that shortcut the time necessary to incorporate all of these necessary pieces.
For example, with MBaaS, the server is already configured, the database is already built and in some cases. The service is ready, user account access and security are in place, push notifications are enabled and other native services are ready to go. For enterprise apps, this dramatically enhances development speed and provides a reliable solution for a variety of mobile configurations right out of the box.
One of the biggest benefits to using MBaaS is the availability of built-in cross platform support. Even if an app is not currently cross-platform, building this functionality in at a later time would be like building a basement after your house was already constructed. Most enterprise level MBaaS products include shared tenant cloud hosting but if you need dedicated servers, that option is available. You can leverage existing managed services like Amazon Web Services to provide always-on access with the added plus of dedicated servers that only the core app team can access and use.
Enterprise-level MBaaS solutions allow the use of importing external data sources as well as crucial authentication and authorization features. If you’re looking for a way to integrate MBaaS into your existing app development infrastructure, these are two key features you don’t want to be without.
As part of its built-in feature set, enterprise-grade MBaaS products leverage vital business systems including user authentication and management (social logins, password reset, email verification) and secure synchronized data. This allows users to take advantage of your app on any device while still keeping their data intact and recent. MBaaS also allows for built-in push notifications. Basic integration can be further customized by the app developer, but no matter which solution you choose, push notifications need to be received by users on both Android and iOS.
At this point, you may be asking yourself, “can one ‘in a box’ solution give us the flexibility we need?” And on the surface, the answer is “no“. There is no one size fits all MBaaS. Based on your needs, we can analyze the enterprise level providers and determine which one’s feature setmost closely aligns with your current and future app goals. In some cases, a custom back end truly is the best solution. However, for most common app features, an MBaaS can save weeks, perhaps even months of development while negating the need to constantly monitor and update servers.
Less time spent on developmental housecleaning means faster time to market – and faster time to market means a greater competitive edge, which can make or break any app’s launch.
Do you use enterprise-grade MBaaS solutions in your own business? What has your experience been with them?Contact us to learn more or share your thoughts.
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A pay-by-phone app can be a great way for a business to simplify the payment process for its customers, to make shopping quicker and more convenient, and to reward its most loyal clientele with discounts and other incentives. Done correctly, a quality app can increase your sales and improve customer satisfaction, leading to higher profits and increased loyalty. There are several features that many of the best pay-by-phone apps have in common, and they should all be considered necessary to make sure your app thrives and sets your business apart in today’s crowded marketplace.
Great Usability
If it can’t get done in a few swipes or taps, your app is likely to fail. Complicated user interfaces can frustrate customers and make them abandon your app before they can learn to appreciate its benefits. By making sure your app is intuitive and easy to use, you can keep your customers interested and using the app, increasing sales. For day to day use, keep the interface as simple as possible to use, limiting choices such as payment options to only what is necessary, and put the more complicated or less frequently used options in a secondary “Settings” area.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
To be useful, your app must be available to the widest variety of customers. At a minimum, this means your app should be compatible with iPhones and Android devices, but you should also consider making it available for users of other platforms, such as Widows Phone or BlackBerry, as well. To make cross-platform use consistent, you should try to keep the user interface and options as similar as possible between platforms and avoid using system-specific features that are not replicated on other platforms.
Usage of Embedded Hardware
Phones with near-field communication ability or quality cameras can be used to enhance the payment and shopping experience. When available, your pay-by-phone app should take advantage of NFC to process payments, allowing the transaction to be completed with a simple tap of the phone. This makes the process easier for both your business and your customer, and ensures a secure transaction. Your app can also enhance the shopping experience by using the device’s camera to process bar orders or QR codes, allowing more information about a product to be displayed, or adding a product to a digital cart to be purchased. With better product information and an easier check-out process, customers will likely frequent a business more often and spend more money.
Plenty of Payment Options
Customers prefer a wide range of options when it comes to payment options. A good pay-by-phone app should have several payment options, such as multiple credit cards, at least one bank account, PayPal or another Internet payment system and a prepaid account option. This makes it easy for your customers to supply payment and reduces the chances of declined payments and the hassles that go along with them. The app should also make it simple to switch between payment options at will, and to add or remove options when necessary.
Rewards Program
By adding a rewards program to your app, you can make your customers feel more appreciated, which will encourage repeat visits and increase sales. Programs like percentage discounts, loyalty bonuses and free products are easy to incorporate into your app and will further increase its adoption and usage amongst your customers, since they will receive something tangible in return.
Extra Information
In addition to improving the shopping and payment experiences, your pay-by-phone app should also offer a wide variety of helpful information to your customers. This can include location information and directions, which can be tied to the device’s GPS unit, store hours, contact information and full information about all of your products. This data can be extremely valuable to your customers and make the shopping experience much more convenient.
With these important features, your pay-by-phone app will have the basics to make it a convenient and popular payment option for your customers. As usage of your app increases, and more features are added, you should see improvements in both your sales figures and your profits.
Keeping private data secure on today’s Internet is an ongoing challenge, and with the release of iOS9, Apple is taking even more steps to protect user data. The most important change for developers in iOS9 is the addition of App Transport Security, which attempts to use secure HTTPS communications by default for all Internet connections, instead of standard HTTP. Ideally, all your apps and services should be upgraded to use HTTPS, but, for many iOS9 apps, that is simply not possible. Certain services, such as ad networks, still rely on unsecured HTTP and without modification, if your app tries to connect to an insecure address, it will result in an error. Not only is this possibly inconvenient for your users, it also looks unprofessional for error messages to be displayed inside your apps.
If standard HTTP connections are absolutely necessary for your app to function, you can avoid problems by adding a few lines to the app’s Info.plist file to whitelist the affected domains, or you can deactivate App Transport Security completely using the NSAllowsArbitraryLoads key.
As the finite supply of IPv4 addresses dwindles, it is becoming increasingly important to add support for the IPv6 protocol to all your iOS9 apps. Beginning in 2016, it will be mandatory for all new apps in the App Store to support IPv6, and those that do not support the protocol will be rejected. To make sure your apps are ready for IPv6, be sure that you use the correct OS networking frameworks, such as NSURLSession, avoid APIs that use IPv4 exclusively, and do not hard-code any IPv4 addresses into any of the URLs in your apps.
With iOS9, you now have the ability to reduce the installed footprint of your iOS9 apps by using to deliver a customized version of your app for a particular device, without including all the extra resources that are required for other devices. Using Xcode and slicing you can export a different version of the app bundle for each type of device, and using bitcode, you can export an intermediate version of your app that can be compiled for a specific device when it is downloaded. With on-demand resources, items like images and sounds can be downloaded as needed, and deleted when they are no longer required or when storage space needs to be freed for more important items.
With iOS9, Apple introduced several new multitasking options for iPads, including Slide Over, Split View and Picture in Picture. Slide Over allows a second app to be briefly opened over the top of another. Split View allows two apps to be opened side by side and used simultaneously, and Picture in Picture overlays a video window onto your current app.
For your apps to work properly in iOS9, they must be targeted to the OS specifically and they must support the new window sizes, using the appropriate Auto Layout and size classes. They must also respond to trait collection and size changes correctly. It is a good idea to test your iOS9 apps in each state and make sure all the elements are displayed correctly. Applications developed in Xcode 7 should already be optimized for the new multitasking modes.
These are just a few of the things you can do to prepare your apps for iOS9. There are many other options available, depending on they type of application. Games can take advantage of the GameplayKit, MetalKit and other optional frameworks to improve game performance, and other apps can use improvements like 3D Touch to enhance app interactions. Implemented properly, the new additions to iOS9 can translate into improved performance and new features that will add significant value to all of your iOS9 apps.
Link: St. Louis Blues
Audio shortcode:
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Link: St. Louis Blues
Audio shortcode:
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.”
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