ben brown

February 24, 2023

Business

6 Fundamentals When Developing an App in Finance

ben brown

February 24, 2023

Business

In most businesses, executive teams will look at the big picture for their company and make decisions/implement procedures that they believe are in its long-term best interest. These decisions are often reactive, influenced by the actions of others such as competitors and leaders in their industry.

The financial sector is no different in this aspect; businesses are in an incredibly competitive industry that focuses solely on the big picture of financial services. With influence from so many outside sources, including newly emerging FinTechs, it can certainly make financial institutions feel anxious to get their vision for digital solutions out to market as fast as possible.

It’s completely acceptable to think like this, however, there are certain nonnegotiables when it comes to strategizing. For example, finding a solution to any problem in an organization first requires leaders to put their egos aside and admit there’s a problem.

Barriers to Success in an Organization

Let's say that a company is seeing a decline in revenue, and the organization's leaders are struggling to identify the root cause of the problem. Even after multiple meetings and brainstorming sessions, they are unable to reach a consensus on what needs to be done.

We see here that it may be necessary for the executive team to set aside their egos and admit they don't have all the answers. It may also involve bringing in outside consultants so they can get an unbiased perspective and help them identify areas for improvement.

This is in contrast to finding something to pin the blame on for revenue loss and going with a reactive solution without totally understanding the underlying issues. Often, technology can get caught in the middle of these situations and “quick solutions” are implemented without adequate reason.

App development is notorious for running into this kind of trouble because organizations tend to overthink (and underthink, in some cases) the kind of experience and features their users want. Developing an app starts with a grand vision and then leads into logistics in terms of how it will function, what features it will have, and how it will be marketed. This is where the executive team needs to be open to feedback and willing to pivot their strategy based on user feedback and market trends.

What Needs to Happen

When it comes to developing an app in the financial industry, the first step is to recognize who will be using the platform and how they will be using it. For example, in the United States, around two-thirds of the population use digital banking regularly because of its simplicity and accessibility. In that case, US-based institutions should base their solutions around an easy-to-navigate platform that can be accessed on mobile and desktop devices seamlessly.

Recognizing that this example is very general, let’s get more in-depth with some of the fundamentals for financial app development:

Security:

We need to cover this first because ultimately security is non-negotiable for financial platforms.

Typically, two-factor authentication is recommended any time personal information is stored on a platform as well as encryption and additional measures that ensure the safety and privacy of user information.

User Centricity:

As we’ve mentioned, focusing on the user who is managing their finances using your application will give you the upper hand in identifying the features needed to make the app successful. Research has shown that taking a User-Centered Design (UCD) approach often leads to an increase in ROI as well as overall competitiveness in the industry.

Core Banking System Integration:

A core banking system helps banks keep track of their money and transactions. Whenever someone deposits or withdraws money from a bank account, the system notes it and keeps track of the account balance. Taking this into consideration, when an app is developed for a financial institution, they need to ensure the database can sync up with the system.

Scalability:

When a company builds an app, it’s never because they solely want their current number of customers to just have another outlet; they want to expand their reach. Growing the platform is a major focus for financial institutions and it’s why they strategize using digital app development.

For this reason, the application needs to consistently go through innovation as the expansion occurs to accommodate new users and ensure quality performance.

Choosing The Right Tech Stack:

Choosing the right tech stack is crucial for financial app development as it not only affects functionality and scalability, but also the overall security of the application. Your tech stack includes all the programming languages, frameworks, and tools used to build the app.

It's important then to choose a stack that aligns with the goals and requirements of the app, as well as the skills and expertise of the development team. Some popular tech stacks for financial app development include Java, Python, Ruby on Rails, and Node.js.

Simple UX Design:

An app that's easy to use and navigate is crucial for financial app development to ensure a positive user experience. Specifically, it's important to have a clear layout and a consistent design throughout the application.

Simplicity is key here and having too many features or too complex of a design can overwhelm users and deter them from using the app. A user-friendly design will not only help with customer retention but ultimately attract new users to the platform.

The Takeaway

Producing the best possible product when it comes to app development requires that teams take a “never done” approach. This means constantly analyzing, finding room for improvement, and making those improvements. Of course, it must also be noted that with a successful application comes the need for a more complex IT infrastructure that can accommodate all functions as well the user base. When developing systems gets overwhelming, team augmentation is an excellent solution.

Written By Ben Brown

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ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.

Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.

ben brown

February 21, 2023

Business

The 5 Biggest Trends in Software Development for 2023

ben brown

February 21, 2023

Business

Custom software development is the infrastructure that supports businesses all over the world in a wide variety of industries. In Canada alone, a 2019 survey found that well over 80% of businesses heavily relied on information technology as well as communication technology (pre-pandemic). When the time came that everyone was forced to continue their operations remotely, the reliance built to a point of dependency.

Now, here we are 4 years later and the growing demand for IT services has resulted in Software Architects, Cloud Engineers, and Full-Stack Developers being among the highest in-demand workers for 2023.

Why Do Businesses Need to Know This?

The types of software projects and teams needed to complete them will look very different from one business to the next. For example, a company could need a dedicated team, or simply a project taken over, someone may want to develop an app, and others may even need an entire process automation system built from the ground up.

Software development is still a broad topic that’s at the beginning of the road in terms of the impact it’s meant to have. With that in mind, it’s critical to be aware of what’s at the center for discussion when it comes to software development in 2023, so here are 5 key points to be aware of:

1) Low-Code No-Code (LC/NC):

Software development is a highly complex process that encounters challenges and can take a lot of time depending on the scope of the project. LC/NC adoption has become popular in recent years as a means of adjusting to the new-age demands of software development and mitigating the complications.

What this does is enable the creation of applications using templates, pre-built modules, and drag-and-drop features. For these applications to perform without LC/NC, the process would be very long and daunting. A few examples of LC/NC applications include Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, Shopify, and Mailchimp.

As of last year, around 50% of programmers were using LC/NC to some capacity and reports have shown that everyone who has implemented it has seen ROI.

2) The Prevalence of Cloud Computing:

With the pandemic making remote work the norm for most businesses, cloud computing became the saving grace for many shifting IT demands. It offers a centralized hub for data storage as well as accessibility.

Beyond simply storing information, cloud computing enables important functions like instant messaging, hosting, as well as disaster recovery (to name a few). A good reason to pay attention to cloud computing in 2023 is the fact that the technology is becoming more mainstream, especially for top talent and remote work which is the norm for around 70% of full-time workers.

Before last year closed out, the total service spending for cloud computing topped $217 billion. This begs the question: what will this spending look like in the next 5 years? With how digitized the corporate world is becoming, this market could surge dramatically— more so than it already is.

3) The Reign of Artificial Intelligence

Likely among the biggest buzzwords of 2023 is “Artificial Intelligence” due largely to the introduction of platforms like Chat-GPT and now rivalry application Google Bard.

AI is pushing the parameters of what people thought was possible with technology and it’s really just becoming accepted by the public. This trend is going to be a significant player in everyone's lives this year.

When it comes to software development, AI offers solutions and methodologies that can enhance the performance of IT systems immeasurably. It reduces errors and boosts process efficiency in addition to its ability to completely personalize an experience for users.

There is also AI-assisted coding which is a topic for discussion that requires far more detail than we could cover here. But what’s important to note is that investing in the AI market isn’t just for tech companies, even the vast majority of hospitals have plans to use AI.

You get the picture when it comes to AI at this point. A lot is changing and everyone needs to be prepared for it. The AI market is set to break half a trillion dollars by next year which likely isn’t even a third of what it will be worth in the next decade.

4) Cyber Security

Cyberattacks are a daunting topic in the IT world, especially when it comes to small to mid-size companies, as they are the most commonly targeted. As more businesses recognize the risk, research predicts that around 65% of the global population will have their data protected by modern privacy regulations this year.

Is this necessary? Absolutely. There’s a vast amount of personal, nevermind confidential business data that could be subject to interference by black hat hackers which is incredibly dangerous. The reliance on systems, like that of cloud computing, demands that any and all vulnerabilities be covered.

5) IoT Devices

The internet of things (IoT) has been a key area of technology for people to focus on for over a decade now. In 2023, with the advanced capabilities of software development and breakthrough discoveries in technology, these devices are about to become more common and powerful than ever.

Smartphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, computerized bikes and scooters are just some of the popular IoT technology trends. Within the next 2 years, it is estimated that we could see more than 26 billion interconnected IoT devices.

IoT devices rely on professional software engineering to provide the experience they’re meant to for users. The reason an apple watch can sync up with an iPhone is a result of the seamless performance of IoT software systems.

The Takeaway

What’s popular when it comes to software development is always important to be aware of because not everyone may realize how much of a role it plays in everyday life. Everyone wants to get into the digital marketplace, but too often, businesses let impatience get in the way of optimal performance. You can go for the plan that yields results in 6 weeks or you can go all in for the plan that’s going to allow you to boost your ROI dramatically at the end of the year.

Written By Ben Brown

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ben brown

February 17, 2023

Business

6 Reasons Why API Testing is Crucial

ben brown

February 17, 2023

Business

Think about the last time you used your smartphone to check the weather, booked a flight somewhere, used your device for directions, or made a payment using PayPal. While you were doing each of these activities, the only way you were able to complete the task was through the help of an API.

Maybe your business uses APIs, maybe you have users that rely on APIs to access your services. Regardless of why you use it, this technology is an extremely important aspect that not only determines how we interact with technology but allows us to do so. As you may have guessed then, developing an API is certainly not an overnight or one-and-done process.

It starts with visualizing how the API will perform and benefit those who use it, every software project begins with this kind of vision. Now, yes, you could take this vision, go through the planning process, implement the API, and hope to see some ROI relatively quickly. However, without any planning for proper maintenance measures, you can expect to see issues down the line.

Consequences of Not Testing

Testing your API is just as important as implementing it. As a business, you must have clear standards for how you want your system to perform, and testing to ensure that your API consistently meets these standards is critical.

We can keep emphasizing the importance of API testing but without providing any logic as to why, what good will that do? Here are 3 issues you can expect with a lack of API testing:

Unexpected Bugs: These usually come with their own set of several issues including failed tasks, incorrect data, and overall slow performance. As a user, this is highly frustrating and can detract users from your platform.
Costs Down The Line: The sooner you can detect and mitigate issues with your API, the better off your system will be. When issues that arise reach a later stage, they often become far more costly and difficult to resolve.
Losing User's Trust: As we’ve said before, your users may rely on APIs to access your services. If they are suddenly unable to access those services, or if the system isn’t providing accurate information, this will hurt your company's image.

An example we could say is similar to this is the recent Rogers outage, where over 12 million users were impacted. Of course, the cause was an anomaly but nonetheless, it goes to show how important your IT systems performance is for your customers.

Why Isn’t Everyone API Testing?

Clearly, there’s plenty that can go wrong which would make anyone question why API testing isn’t standard practice. Let’s make this clear, testing an API is not as simple as clicking a button; it’s one of the most difficult parts of quality testing in addition to software in general.

It requires knowledgeable developers who can allocate the necessary time and resources to provide accurate results. This is why some may not prioritize testing or do it at all, and in those cases, these are some of the benefits they’d be missing out on:

Quality Experience: The standards you’ve set out should not be compromised. Testing to make sure your API is consistently meeting your standards will benefit the user experience. Also, it shows consistency which will benefit the company's trust in the eyes of its users.
Platform Access Without UI: Whoever’s running QA testing on the platform will be able to access it without needing to use the application. As a result, this allows programmers to go in and detect bugs early as well as any other defects and fix them before users run into them.
Security Benefits: API testing can identify vulnerabilities in your security system and take the appropriate measures to solve them. In an age where IT systems are highly targeted, it’s critical to make sure your system is protected as much as possible.

Deciding to prioritize API testing is sure to give you an advantage when it comes to long-term success. However, acting in the best interest of your business will look different for everyone depending on the priorities.

The Takeaway

You’ll never see higher levels of success without consistently raising the bar for the way your business performs. Custom software development is a critical aspect of this journey as it allows businesses to outline, target, and meet their unique requirements.

Written By Ben Brown

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