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It's no secret that the level of medicine varies from country to country. For instance, while Israeli, Japanese, American, and German doctors successfully operate on patients with the most complex tumors, most third-world countries cannot boast of such efficiency. However, even if you do not live in a country with an underdeveloped economy, you will surely still want to find the best of the best hospitals for yourself or for your loved ones. That’s where medical tourism platforms development becomes a real game-changer.

This is precisely how the phenomenon of medical tourism comes into play - when a person, not being a citizen of a particular country, goes there with the goal of healing or treating a specific disease. Diving a bit deeper into the topic, let’s see how people with health issues can find the best doctors in the world using modern web technologies.

The Growth of Medical Tourism

Let’s kick things off with a general medical tourism industry analysis, as it has long become a whole separate niche.

Thus, according to the official data of Patients Beyond Borders, the global capitalization of medical tourism ranges from $65bn-$87.5bn. At the same time, the annual growth is a record 15-25%, which gives hope that this business industry will be relevant for many years to come (in particular, up until remotely controlled robotics appear in the seediest village).

Along with the medical measures for solving serious health problems, plastic surgery is gaining especial popularity. This is partly explained by the popularization of Instagram, partly by the equalization of working conditions for both sexes (if in the 50s of the last century it was difficult for a woman to earn herself not only plastic surgery but something less expensive, today, women around the world have the opportunity to independently earn their bread, although a small gap between the sexes in the level of salaries exists to this day).

Consequently, doctors have yet another niche (plastic surgery) that is in great demand these days, which can also be promoted internationally.

How to Attract Medical Tourists to Your Hospital?

There is no doubt that today, the most effective way to get new customers is to have a dedicated profile or a full website online and promote it.

Firstly, it helps to reach the widest possible target audience, even in view of the fact that the provision of medical services is a local matter. In really serious cases, if you already have significant authority in the medical community, people will be ready to get an appointment even if they live on the other side of the planet.

Secondly, since the Internet is a source of social proof, you can form the necessary opinion about yourself and make a kind of advertising, simply relying on the feedback of your patients.

Lastly, an online presence is the most budgetary way of self-promotion, since maintaining a social media profile, for instance, doesn’t require any investment (perhaps only in advertising).

As for the common online self-presentation formats, there are several methods:

• a social media profile (on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn);
• a corporate or personal blog;
• a dedicated website or landing;
• an online cabinet based on the optimized for medical tourism business platform.

It’s difficult to say which one is more effective. There are socially active doctors who, on their own or with the help of content managers, maintain profiles in social networks. But today, as a rule, having an account on Facebook is a kind of “default” requirement and serves more to receive live feedback from current and future patients.

Obviously, a blog also requires constant activity - though, mainly not in visual but in text format. You can post new content not so often, but its volume and information load should be at a fundamentally different level than in the case of social networks.

If we’re talking about a website, this is a good place to present yourself in the most favorable light. In fact, this will be your resume, in which you can accessibly, vividly illuminate all the facets of your expertise.

As for the more complex platform for international medical tourism, you go for a more serious approach that gets people more engaged and interested than any social media content.

In addition, such decisions always contain a certain system of evaluation and feedback. Thus, if you receive regular positive feedback from your patients, this will move you to the very top of the ranking of health workers in your profile. Note that in this case, you will not need to put regular efforts into keeping your profile at the top - your satisfied patients will do this instead of you.

So far, there are not so many platforms for medical tourism in the world, and they all have their own nuances that don’t allow them to become widely employed (which is a big drawback because in many cases, medical services are not required for those who are “deeply in the subject ” and to people who have not previously encountered serious health issues at all).

We offer authentic services for the development of a medical tourism online platform. We can deliver you not only the most powerful tool for promoting the services of your medical center but also a source of additional income (your new medical tourism platform will provide great monetization opportunities).

Developing basic functionality of a medical tourism platform

Decided to go for a win-win solution to attract patients and customers from all over the world and launch your own platform? Keep in mind that medical tourism platforms’ development is commonly based on several major components.

If we take a look at the top site in the Google search results - the medicaltourism.com platform, we will see the following:

• First off, there is a tab for patients where they can leave a request, choose a service provider, choose a treatment direction, and also compare prices;
• The second menu tab is dedicated to medical service providers. Here you can get a certification, as well as become a member of the Medical Tourism community and start to offer your services within the platform;
• The third tab contains information on conferences that are planned for or have already been held by the platform-hosting organization;
• The fourth tab is dedicated to insights - expert information that may be useful to medical institutions for professional development;
• The fifth tab collects a number of authentic magazine issues;
• Lastly, there is a contact form (with separate blanks for patients and for medical facilities).

Keep in mind also a homepage CTA with the “Get a Quote” button that motivates people to use your platform and a search field that makes the overall interface ultimately accessible.

Implementing all these functional elements, you get a basic medical tourism platform that can already bring profits. Surely, the functionality can be customized further and added up with a number of new features based on user feedback and developer recommendations.

Just leave a submission if you wish to discuss further details and get your platform done by experienced professionals.

Conclusion

As you can see, thanks to modern IT, people who need medical care can find highly qualified specialists anywhere in the world to solve their specific problems. In particular, with our help, you can implement a really cool global medical tourism marketplace that would bring together potential patients and doctors from different countries.

Contact us right now to discuss all the details of your medical tourism business plan and find out an approximate cost of a readymade project. 

What do you think, what are the foremost project success criteria to demonstrate that the project is or was truly successful? The volume of invested forces, amount of time, and money? Or the level of end-user satisfaction, the achievement/excess of a certain level of profit or maybe all these indicators combined?

One thing is for sure - you cannot simply guess with such business-crucial aspects. So let’s dive a bit deeper into the topic and consider five essential project success metrics as well as seven more metrics for the team performance assessment.

5 Project Success Metrics - Keeping Projects on Time & on Budget

The following project success criteria examples are well-tried-and-tested by numerous companies, proving to be truly worth the attention.

Scope

“Scope” is the anticipated set of tasks to be completed for the overall successful project implementation. All in all, the crucial question that you should ask yourself is: “What does the SUCCESSFUL completion of the project mean to our team as a whole?”

It so happens that some entrepreneurs don’t fully understand what their project should lead to in the long run. In particular, this applies to modern IT teams that work according to the Agile scheme and can change product requirements from stage to stage. In this case, task trackers like Zoho Projects will come in handy, which can be adapted to any workflow format.

If you are working on a simpler-scale product, some software implementation of the Gant chart, a calendar, and a task scheduler will be perfect.

Schedule

This here criterion determines the deadline of the project completion (which is, usually, the release of the finished product) as well as marks timelines that define intermediate tasks on the way to launch.

When you calculate the final date of project completion initially, it’s difficult to take into account overtime costs and other unexpected moments. That’s why many teams involve outsourcing specialists to keep the workflow running at a constant pace and keep up with the deadline.

Budget

It’s a total drag when the initially calculated budget exceeds the numbers you see eventually. In order to prevent this from happening, you must take into account all of the “cost channels” - employee salaries, outsourced specialists compensations, consumables, testing expenses, and possible forfeits.

We strongly discourage the use of spreadsheets to plan the project budget, because they are very inconvenient, especially when expenses are carried out simultaneously on several project sides.

Achievement of Business Goals

Formally, this metric can be compared to the implementation of your specific business case - did you get the right amount of profit, did you meet the specified time and budget, etc. As a rule, it becomes relevant when you have several projects in line at once, and you need to understand which one is worth completing first. For that, clarify the following questions:

• “How unique is the project to its Target Audience?”
• “How urgent is it to complete?”
• “What are the possible expenditures involved with it (financial, reputation, time, etc.)?”

Customer Satisfaction

“Customer Satisfaction” displays a group of such attributes as the level of service, the quality of the product itself, the coordination of interactions between intermediaries in the implementation of supply chains, etc.

In order to understand how much your target audience remains satisfied with your product, create small questionnaires on social networks or create focus groups to get a more detailed reaction from real users.

Improve Performance with These 7 Project Management Metrics

But what about those entrepreneurs whose project is still in development or preparation? Here are seven super-useful metrics, which, in essence, are also seven keys to success in project management, since they will help you optimize the performance of your team without much effort.

Productivity

This is the most trivial indicator that shows whether you are spending your resources rationally at all. For its actual calculation, the following formula will come in useful:

Gross Profit Margin

This margin shows how much net profit your company earned on every dollar of revenue. You can calculate it the following way:

RoI

The Return on Investment indicator will show you how much invested funds you managed to return in the course of the project. To calculate it, however, you will need to accurately track the budget throughout the project. All the aspects can be efficiently calculated based on the following formula:

Cost Variance

This metric will help you understand how your budget forecasts diverge from reality. It is pretty simple to calculate:

Schedule Variance

This is one is identical to the previous metric, but it determines the difference between the number of planned and implemented tasks. Its calculation is absolutely identical:

Actual Cost

With this metric in hand, you can find out how much money has already been spent on the project during a certain time period. It is calculated as follows:

Earned Value

This metric will help you understand the current financial situation of your business. That is, it displays the ratio of the made profit value to the materials and time spent up to the current date. Here’s a formula for this metric:

Conclusion

These IT project success metrics should help you figure out how successful your project as a whole as well as the performance of your team is in the long run. There is always a safer and easier option, however - to entrust the work on your project and assessment of all details to real professionals. 

Namely, to Axisbits - we will help you achieve the highest rates in all of the above project management success metrics!

Design is a topic of active discussion nowadays. Not a single properly implemented website, web application or software piece for public use can do without insightful design. Specialists in the field of UX/UI design form a huge buzzing community of like-minded thinkers. But at the same time, many do not know the difference between UX vs UI design, which often causes project work issues.

The Difference Between UX & UI Design

The terms UX and UI design are very often combined into one. At first glance, it may seem that these are co-dependent concepts. But they are not, actually. Despite the fact that these concepts have certain common features and certainly depend on each other to some extent, there is a number of defining differences.

What's UX design in a nutshell? An abbreviation for “user experience” translates the level of convenience during interaction and accessibility of implementing target actions in a certain piece of software. In essence, defines the “feel” a certain software solution gives off.  

UI, on the other hand, is a “user interface”, which describes a complex of visuals and navigation elements a user sees before their eyes when working with a solution. We are talking about the color scheme, interactive elements, text markup, and other visually represented components. 

Accordingly, UX design is all about the functionality of the product and the impressions users get from it. The simpler the software interface is, the easier it will be to convert users into customers and carry out the targeted impact. 

UI design, however, is focused on the visualization your target audience is to experience when accessing your solution. Illustrations, design of buttons, menus, fonts, and other visual aspects are encompassed by UI design.

Thus, the main difference between UX and UI is the difference in tasks these concepts perceive. Due to the fact that user experiences may vary, UX design should analyze the actions of users based on tests and special prototypes. But the main goal of the UI designer is to convey how to use the product to the user in the clearest manner possible.

UX Designer UI Designer Thought Process Critical Thinking Convergent Thinking Creative Thinking Creative Thinking Visual Strenghts Task Flows Colors Scenarios Typography Design Based on Users Client's Needs Needs Research Requirements Design Principles Human Centered Design Visual Design Expertise Wireframes Mockups Prototypes Graphics Research Layout Sometimes Fills Information Architect Graphic Designer Program Manager Brand Designer Content Strategist Web Designer Functional Analyst Frontend Developer

10 Major Ways to Achieve Optimal Mobile App UX

To achieve the popularity of your solution among the audience of users, it’s important to keep in mind the major UX design trends 2019 and 2020 brought us.

Error-Free Functionality

All users have the natural desire to get an application that would perform without any crashes and issues. Therefore, before going for the market, your solution must undergo the most thorough testing to eliminate all possible errors that can put future users off. By the way, we are a leading UX design company in our region with a whole staff of experienced testers working via advanced tools.

Efficient Onboarding

The proper adaptation of the application to public use realities depends on the systematic introduction of updates. It is important that they are introduced regularly and not delayed until “something becomes completely obsolete”. Constant updates, news posts, and photo reports show that the company is actively working and developing the product further.

Usability

The concept of "usability" describes how convenient a particular product is in use, as well as how easy it is for a new user to master it on their first try. The term is often applied to graphic components of an application where the quality of the animation, the size of buttons, the background color, and fonts are of prime importance. Indeed, even a thing as unobvious at first as the background can scare users away from using your solution.

Reduced Search Effort

There should be a possibility to easily find the application through search engines. Otherwise, the product may not reach users at all, getting lost among the analogs. That’s why there should always be something that distinguishes your solution from competitors and, at the same time, facilitates the search.

Limited User Input

Limiting user input is necessary in order to protect the system from accidental registrations, re-registrations or attempts to gain unauthorized access. Such measures reinforce the ultimate security of customer personal data.

Assured Security & Trustworthiness

Security online is fundamental and poses one of the most highlighted issues in the industry. That’s why website designers should never neglect any possible ways to efficiently protect all processed data. Start with an unobtrusive offer to choose a more complex password or pose certain requirements for the quality of the password. Captcha may also help before you get to adapt more complex web security measures.

Integrate Behavioral Gesturization

Given the fact that most people currently tend to go online via smartphones, modern designers should consider mobile capacities when developing, for instance, the Android-compatible app UX design. Enabling mobile hardware capabilities, such as tilting and screen rotation, would be great.

Offer Assistance

Developing any type of product, it is necessary to let users contact technical support or get help in any other way. After all, not everyone has the opportunity or time to figure out all the functional nuances on their own. And most users avoid paying attention to anything that doesn’t seem clear at the first look.

Personalize the UX

More and more aspects of personalization are handled by software designers nowadays. In terms of improved personalization, user geolocation tracking, product offerings based on previously viewed categories, segmentation of the target audience, and other techniques can be employed.

Tactical UI Design

In order for the final design to meet all requirements and to fulfill all functions, the designer must be properly integrated with the project team, interacting with other related specialists all along. This allows experts to see the bigger picture of what’s going on and focus on the primary aspects of the project.

More Ways to Reach Great User Experience

The user interface is tightly connected to the overall level of user experience in that it affects how a user sees the whole solution in a major way. You can make it much better and more attractive in a bunch of ways, including the following.

Maximize Screen Space

Maximizing screen space has recently been very popular with the iPhone app UX design. The menu bar and other excessive elements can be hidden automatically, activating a full-screen mode.

Make Your Phone Number a Link

The ability to launch the web resource or access ap by phone number can come in quite handy. Users get instant access to what you have to offer from a smartphone, which frees them from entering a login and password each time.

Prioritize the Button Position

You can conveniently lead users through your app by highlighting certain buttons over the others. Thanks to this, it becomes possible to individualize a specific product for personal use as well.

Deactivate Ads

No ads means essentially better user perception. There is a lot of advertising on the Internet, most of which is intrusive and annoying. Let people relax when using your app.

Lower Crash Rates

The less likely that some kind of failure will occur in the application, the more often it will be used. As a rule, a common user becomes seriously irritated with the app after the first or second error occurs.

Mind the Color Contrast

The app shouldn’t be too striking in color. Background colors such as bright red, bright yellow, bright orange, bright blue may quickly tire the user’s eyes. Colors are especially important when it comes to mobile, for instance, Android app UI/UX design.

Keep it Simple

The simpler the user interface is, the better. With a large selection of apps on the market, many will opt for one that’s easier to figure out. Focusing on a specific set of features that can be quickly accessed may be your best bet.

Make Your App Responsive

The app shouldn’t have empty areas. Each button, each tab must be tied to a specific command. Otherwise, users will feel the lack of functional freedom.

Make Room for OS Upgrade

All software must be regularly updated. And the smartphone tends to run out pretty fast. Let your users delete cached and obsolete files generated by your app so that there is space for timely updates.

Conduct User Tests

Users are unlikely to purchase a completely unfamiliar app. Demo version is always a great advertising tool and an efficient way to test a limited set of features for your future app in the field.

Conclusion

Both UX and UI design lie at the core of creating profitable mobile applications and sites. The ultimate difference between the two is that one lets users see and another feel what your software has to offer. 

Our UX design agency in San Francisco will gladly work on both of these crucial aspects for your future mobile or web app of any complexity. Let the true professional handle the project to bring you passive income in the future!

Innovation and new product development is the main driving force behind any type of business all over the world. Implementation of completely novel concepts and technologies helps companies efficiently gain and grow competitive advantages in the market. 

The timely introduction of innovative power products, however, depends not only on how fast you make business decisions. The ultimate success of your innovation is also bound to constant contact with today’s consumers. The main trick is to get to the bottom of their interests and concepts of global modern market tendencies and trends.

Nevertheless, many companies out there still won’t realize that the introduction of something “revolutionary” isn’t a toggle switch that can be easily flicked at any moment. It is a lengthy strategic process. 

According to reports by Forbes, almost half of the companies included in the current Fortune 500 rating are expected to lose their rates of introducing successful innovative products over the next ten years. Their perspectives will simply become obsolete due to their inability to keep a hand on the global consumer pulse.

The 10 Most Innovative Gadgets of the Past Decade

Revolutionary changes are not only a constant engine of progress and a great source of profit for far-sighted companies. Above all, some of the best new innovative products change people's lives for the better.

The success of many was rapid, while others took considerable time to implement their ideas. In any case, the following global innovative products have changed and enriched the lives of consumers all over the planet with new opportunities.

Tesla Roadster

The importance of this innovation is hard to overestimate - it made the entire automotive industry realize that the electric car is a mature and practical technology ready for mass production. Surely, it took a long process to build a roadster capable of making more than 200 miles on a single charge. 

But the resulting impact eventually reached the world's leading manufacturers (Nissan, Audi, BMW, Lexus, Honda, etc.) that launched the production of ecological versions of their cars. All in all, the world-renowned providers started focusing more on innovations and eco-friendly approaches, contributing to making the world a better place all-around.

HTC Dream

One of the pioneering innovative mobility products that challenged the ridiculously popular on the market Apple productions. The initial practical implementation of open-source Android OS clearly made iOS lose lots of numbers and positions. And the trend hasn’t really ceased - up to date, the vast majority of global mobile providers (e.g., Sony, Samsung, Nokia, etc.) prefer to use the novel open-source platform. 

Apple iPad

A striking example of truly innovative product design and development. According to Steve Jobs's plans, back in 1983, one of Apple’s main goals was to put a computer in a “book”, which ultimately succeeded. The original versions, of course, had a rather weak performance to match a full-blown computer. But since then, the iPad has become the most popular tablet device on the planet.

Parrot AR. Drone

Creativity and innovation in products and services is the best way to describe how Parrot approached the global consumer market. Their device line wasn’t something new - early versions of drones have been originally implemented back in the 80s. 

However, Parrot was the one company to propel these handy remote-controlled “flying bots” into the mainstream. Currently, drones have their own races, allow conducting complex simulations and record 4K video, etc. - and all that is enabled via a regular smartphone

Fitbit Flex

Smart fitness bracelets have become an extremely fashionable and popular gadget globally, replacing the usual watch for many people out there. And it was Fitbit that laid the foundation of such a mainstream tendency in 2013, allowing consumers to lead a healthier life with the help of smarter devices.

SHARP LC-70UD1U

This one explicitly fits the fields of innovative products for business and entertainment at once. SHARP implemented an early prototype of an Ultra HD display with 4K resolution, which was a limited run, overly expensive technology back in the day, but has since become available for the mass consumer to enjoy.

SAMSUNG Galaxy Round

Nowadays, curved screen displays are widely used in mobile devices, TV implementations and other home appliance industries. In 2013, SAMSUNG made a real breakthrough in the field of design, which was a quickly adopted tech trend in Western Europe and the United States, ushering in an era of curved glass devices.

Google Glass

This technology is too young and expensive to be massively accessible as of yet. But the examples of AR/VR Magic Leap and AR combined with a head-up display have already demonstrated that the perception of the surrounding world can be enhanced. 

One of the hugest innovative products of 2019 was the introduction of AR Hololens 2 technology by Microsoft. The device is no more difficult to use than a baseball cap. And perhaps, in a few years, we’ll get to afford this technology integrated into our ordinary glasses and contact lenses.

Amazon Echo

An innovative, popular product that allowed to introduce AI-powered virtual assistants in the everyday life of every family. Echo definitely earned a huge business-pushing sum by selling the rights for the technology. Since then, it has grown to be used for listening to music and audiobooks, making video calls, setting reminders, ordering products, and much, much more. We can safely say that it was a true breakthrough for 2014.

Oculus Rift

A prototype of the original VR technology was created by Palmer Lucky in his parents’ garage, proving once again that the idea is the main driver of a breakthrough. Originally a product designed for computer games, it is now widely used in medical and engineering training, giving students the opportunity to test their knowledge before going out in the real world.

10 Criteria That Make Product Innovation Successful

Between 60 and 80 percent of ideas fail in the implementation process. There are ten main criteria that will help answer the question: “How to market innovative products?”.

Client benefit

It is one thing to interest the consumer in your product. The main business goal should be maximizing their involvement in the whole innovation process. Often, the promotion of goods is aimed at the wrong target audience. 

For a broad instance, originally, a jacuzzi was considered a means of treatment for arthritis. Only repositioning it in the market as a luxury item allowed its creators to make considerable profits off it.

Competitive advantage

Each product, especially in niches with high competition, should have at least one distinguishing feature that makes it stand out among the others. This defining feature should be relevant in the long term and constantly improved and highlighted.

Promotion of an advantage

Sometimes, the consumer is not ready to change their usual way of life. This fate befell, for instance, the first supermarkets and ATMs. It is important to prepare your target audience before entering the market with a good infomercial campaign or promote your innovation on top of something familiar.

Trial

It‘s crucial that the customer gets to check out all the benefits of your product. Difficulty in use and inaccessibility of testing are one of the main stumbling blocks when entering the market (take Segway as an example).

Flexibility

Many concepts are overly difficult to implement: you may at first lack the required infrastructure, established target audience, development strategy, etc. So be ready to work on your solution long-term, adding new features when and where you can.

Legal background

Another crucial moment - there shouldn’t be any conflicts with moral standards, laws, patents adopted in society or the country. Many campaigns failed or suffered serious losses, having studied the legal aspects insufficiently (like Red Bull and, again, Segway).

Project profitability prospects

Keep in mind that it may take years for a new product to fully enter the market. In addition, it is important to correctly evaluate the development strategy so that the product is not superseded by other innovations over time.

Conflict of interests with existing product

“If you don’t sacrifice yourself, then someone else will do it” - Steve Jobs. It is important to correctly assess the benefits and losses of putting new things before the established goods in the company's portfolio.

Comparison

Does the new product correspond to the style, values of already manufactured products? If no, there is a significant risk of losing a considerable share of regular customers (like Harley Davidson did).

Practicality

It is important to correctly assess your strengths and capabilities (equipment, technologies, investments, sales). Perhaps, for entering the market it is necessary to attract new partners, which will give speedy growth, stability.

Conclusion

Novel concepts and technologies continue rapidly breaking into our daily lives. Every year, a huge number of products are introduced that can significantly expand human perception and offer completely new experiences.

At the same time, there are many factors you should consider when entering the market with a new idea. One thing is for sure, even after the project is launched and successfully deployed - forget about the rest. Very soon, competitors will put all their focus on stamping you out of the market.

The concept of PWA (Progressive Web Application) has been in the commercial spotlight for quite some time. Since 2018, these types of apps have been adapted for work in all major browsers. Basically, these are web applications that use a wider scope of technologies to achieve more functional and business goals. 

In essence, an ЕCommerce PWA is both a website and a mobile app at the same time. If you open the site in a desktop browser, you will see a regular webpage, but the mobile version of the solution opens up some extra capabilities that may involve hardware of one’s device.

All in all, the technology allows you to make your commercial website more convenient for potential customers and, therefore, increase its profitability.

What are the Advantages of PWAs?

Using PWA for business has a huge number of advantages, and their list is constantly updated as the technology improves.

Accessibility of creation & deployment

ECommerce app development and support are much simpler to handle than in the case of regular applications. Yes, like any other web resource, it requires regular maintenance and updating, but you won’t face any app market restrictions. The development here doesn’t involve complex technical stacks, but standard technologies that are familiar to most developers out there. 

And you can easily upgrade an existing web resource with efficient PWA features, which will cost significantly less than creating a new separate app that you will need to maintain separately as well. Here’s a step-by-step guide for implementing PWA.

SEO optimization

PWAs are indexed by search engines, boosting your regular SEO readings twice. In addition, all web applications of this type run on HTTPS protocol, which significantly increases their rating as well. 

In terms of SEO optimization, PWAs are considered by search engines as sites and are indexed end-to-end. This is something that a native app can never boast. And if you use an efficient backlinking strategy, you can promote your app through link sharing with EVEN MORE efficient results.

Cross-platform nature

The PWA technology is completely cross-platform, so you can develop one solution that would suitable for any device and any operating system. A browser alone is enough to use PWAs freely.

Offline performance

Apps built according to PWA standards perfectly work in conditions of a very weak network connection or even offline. Thus, they help make sure that you don’t lose ANY potential conversions. For instance, a user can put goods in a basket without a necessary Internet connection and finish up an order once the network access is gained.

Independence from app stores

You don’t need to upload your PWA to any of app stores, check them for compliance with the market policies, and, basically, provide an eCommerce app for iOS and Android separately to cover a wider user audience. All that a user has to do to start working with your solution is access the official website and create a respective shortcut.

Loading speed

Progressive web applications load several times faster on smartphones or tablets as compared with regular native solutions. All due to the internal use of pre-caching, which makes it unnecessary for the whole software to load from scratch every time it is launched. 

This is an important moment because many users get irritated by resources that take more than 5 seconds to load, so the speed of loading can be a decisive factor for business development. Faster loads also improve integration with search engines. See more ways PWAs beat native apps.

Push notifications

A PWA allows you to send out convenient, unobtrusive yet attention-grabbing push notifications about special offers, discounts, and new products. All existing and potential clients can get the freshest info as soon as it is sent even if their smartphone screen is blocked at the moment. This is a definite way to boost eCommerce.

No need to install anything at all

Progressive apps don’t need to be installed and, according to statistics, it is precisely at the installation stage that 30% of potential customers refuse to continue with the app. On top of that, you don’t occupy any hardware memory of users. Typically, the average user installs approximately 30 apps on their phone, and a niche product is unlikely to be among them.

Better conversion

For an online store, switching to a PWA eCommerce solution can mean a serious increase in conversion rates. After all, the technology offers a simplified interface for mass users and significantly speeds up the ordering process, hence, faster advancing a user through the sales funnel.

When to Best Develop a PWA for eCommerce?

PWAs are great for web marketing purposes, helping to boost sales in a lot of ways. They will be especially efficient to implement in the following cases:

• You are looking for a more accessible yet efficient way to manage a website where content should be constantly updated, in particular, an online store;
• Your company provides a service that conflicts with the app store policies;
• You have a strictly limited budget and you are looking for the most optimal eCommerce mobile app development cost without sacrificing the functionality;
• It’s important for you that potential users could find your website online fast while you realize that a separate app won’t be launched as frequently;

• You decided to update the user interface of your commercial website in an up-to-date manner;
• You are working on a startup or the launch of a small-scale business that needs affordable efficiency here and now;

• You need to urgently boost conversion rates and SEO of your resource;
• You wish to provide utterly convenient navigation;
• You are looking to expand eCommerce horizons in a relevant, progressive manner.

How Much Time & Money Do I Need to Get a PWA?

As for the average cost of implementing a PWA, it ranges from 40 to 80 thousand euros. But keep in mind that you may not need to implement the full version of a solution from scratch. You can upgrade your existing site with certain PWA capacities, which will save you both money and time.

Conclusion

PWAs are an excellent solution for common commercial purposes, efficient upgrade of the readymade eCommerce, and a great boost for low-budget projects. All in all, the technology is simple to handle, convenient to use, time-efficient in development, and inexpensive. We can safely conclude that a PWA-based eCommerce is a sure way to quickly increase conversion rates, hence, business sales.

We are now living in the heyday of web and mobile development. PCs, Laptops and then tablets along with smartphones have changed our life irreversibly. The travel sphere is the one which has gone through a fundamental shift. 

The way people travel and the experience they are getting are changing rapidly due to the mobile devices and tools at hand. 88% of activity on smartphones and tablets happens through applications. About 30% of travelers admit they use apps for flight booking and approximately the same number installs them for hotel reservations. People widely utilize smartphones to study reviews about hotels, attractions, cafés, and restaurants, etc. More than 80% of users find other tourists reviews helpful.

Thus travel app development has resulted in convenient and accessible touring, however, the charm of stepping into the unknown has been almost lost.

Let’s see how technology is changing the travel and tourism industry in more detail.

Features that make a travel app successful

As we can see mobile devices and the applications they have are great drivers of the present-day traveling domain. The change happens both for ordinary travelers and for tourism businesses. The latters bet big to provide their clients with innovative, user-friendly, responsive, and smart tourism apps.

They are quite variable, however, there are common features, able to bring a travel app success. They can be found below.

Smart booking system

One of the secrets of how to make a tourism app successful is to provide it with an intelligent booking system. It should allow comparing prices, getting notifications about discounts and special offers, making bookings, saving them and setting reminders.

Thus, immediately after choosing a destination, a tourist will be able to proceed with the travel arrangements, like itineraries checking, flights, and hotel booking, transfer ordering and other significant things. Booking a cab belongs to the latters as well. Letting the traveler to identify the exact location and cabs’ timetable facilitates his better time estimation and management during the journey. Besides,  the scope of information can be extended with such details as type and color of the vehicle, driver’s contact, and registration number. This benefits to the security aspect and makes the traveler feel safer.

Search engine optimization

SEO is that modern force, which drives users in the right direction. A proper SEO strategy is able to prompt the travel and tourism mobile app and the agency on the whole, which moves to make the next.

Among the other multiple benefits of tourism apps, local SEO optimization should be noted specifically. It allows the user to get the enhanced traveling experience through localized suggestions and prompts grounded on personal likings. To identify them the apps should have an intuitive design and social media integration. In such a way a tourist can easily find what he wants and the app remembers the choice.

Geolocation

Geolocation feature facilitates traveler’s comfort allowing him to investigate everything around. That's why tourism mobile app development can’t at present do without the geolocation integration. It comes in handy when the traveler searches for entertainments, cafés, restaurants, or other attractions somewhere nearby.

Providing a user with the opportunity to get all the necessary details in one app, you’ll likely gain his heart for long. It may be a good idea to create an augmented reality tourism app. A person can then get the impression of presence in the place of destination in advance.

Weather forecasting

The function of weather and climate forecasting comes in handy when a traveler packs for the trip. Being aware of the current, most recent and accurate state of things at the place of his destination, he is able to pick the right luggage and avoid taking unnecessary items. When going to another continent or region such features as sea temperature, humidity rate, and storm forecasts may be quite useful for a tourist.

Trip reviews

If you question yourself how to build a trustworthy travel app, the answer is simple – include actual trip reviews. As we mentioned in the beginning, more than 80% of travelers trust the feedback from real visitors more than to the official information or rating.  Besides, it stimulates the hotel owners and various service providers to improve their work. Nobody wants to spoil the reputation they have. Real-life reviews are a true driving force of people’s attraction in the modern world.

Streamlining of transactions, provisions, and checking

When you have a digital product it’s unreasonable to proceed with paperwork. Providing your clients with the possibility of online payments you can also implement online receipts and reports. It will not only allow cashless traveling to your clients but release you or your staff of lots of work, due to the possibility of dealing with digital docs right in the app.

Benefits of tourism app development for the travel business

The simplicity of the customers and visitors attraction

Mobile apps for the tourism industry are perfect marketing tools, they allow to demonstrate the services quickly and transparently, gaining new clients as well as retaining the returned ones. Social media integration makes this process even faster and totally hassle-free.

Availability of the destinations’ photos and videos

People are attracted to visual images,  so the photos and videos of the places they consider to visit often play a decisive role in the final choice of destination. Through the app, you can craft the images of various places to attract more visitors to this or that locale.

Total customization

The application allows users to depend less on touring agents since it can have all the necessary services onboard.  Thus, the tourist can manage all his itineraries, bookings, transactions and other arrangements himself, at the same time receiving the assistance on part of the agency whenever it’s necessary through the communication channel integrated.

Fulfilling the client’s requirements

When considering a travel app development any company should keep in mind the advantage of the direct and immediate reach of the clients with straightforward special offers, transparent loyal programs, and discounts available.

When you know your customer base and preferences of each client, it’s easier to tailor customized special offers to match the traveler tastes and requirements.  What is important the app can generate and send them automatically.

Offering additional services

The amazing stats claims that almost half of the tourists use their travel apps not only for flights and hotel booking but also for GPS navigation, one third to utilize the offers, a quarter to set constitutive reminders. Besides, 37 % of people utilize them for shopping, 62% to spot nearby restaurants, cafés, or resorts and about 15% to get to know public transport and routes. When you consider tourism app ideas, think of these options to integrate and enjoy the result later.

Conclusion

The market of travel services and applications is now highly competitive, but digital solutions of good quality are almost sure to earn its keep in this sphere. If you have been questioning yourself how to make a travel app and enter this fruitful ground, now you have some answers. If you need further consultancy, Axisbits may be of help, simply contact us for further discussion.

B2B Marketplace Development

Developing of the b2b sales market is constantly increasing its rates. More and more people consider it the perfect place for services and goods exchange. The number of offers is higher every new day.

Such popularity is not a coincidence, it is actually the result of massive sums of money rotating in this field. A well-thought strategy of using modern resources, including peering markets such as Etsy, Amazon, eBay, etc., is going to make the overall volume of 355 milliard dollars in the year 2025.

How To Create Online Marketplace Website

Following just a few simple but effective recommendations will allow you to start your very own project in no time!

Investigating the Basics of Business Building

But you can’t get and build a marketplace platform is you don’t do a meticulous market analysis with the following essential elements:

• Structural consistency of the proposition — first things first, you need to check if the software you are planning on manufacturing does have demand on the market at the moment;
• Concurrency — Look up the current players and leaders on the market you are interested in. The number of people selling the same programs you do, their strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps, you should first narrow down the range of services you want to provide your clients with (For example, Amazon started off from selling books) or release a trial version of the product to test it in the real environment and then do the adjustments in the process (Etsy was released in three months and then was developing for the following 13 years);
• Forming the target audience — You got to understand the type of end clients you want to attract, their interests, likes, and dislikes;
• Marketing plan — You need a plan if you want to get anywhere. Product development and moving further in the market, influence your clients by implementing targeting advertising and so on.

Affirming the Concept, Market Analysis, Creating a Marketplace Website

If you want to avoid any potential unnecessary mistakes and unneeded expenses during along the way, you just have to do the research. For maximizing the reliability of the results, to make it as unbiased as possible, you have to conduct it among random consumers. Exclude any relatives, friends, acquaintances, and business partners from the statistics. The following questions are absolute must-have on your list:

• Willing and frequency to use your product;
• The feedback you get from the clients, whether it is positive or negative;
• The experience your clients have in the software they are using;
• Dependancy on the outside factors;
• How large the market is.

Planning Out the Project, Arranging the Basic Requirements to Make It Happen

Online marketplace app development just has to have the planning stage where you lay down your idea and figure out the way to make it work. What will come out of it depends mostly on the company developing the potential product. It can have the following aspects:

• The list of requirements (functional and technical) to the project;
• Market analysis;
• Preview version of the program based on the technical task and specifications;
• Cost of creating an online marketplace in terms of time and finance (design, management, developing, etc).

Creating MVP, the List of Basic Functions

Any marketplace just has to have the two following essential elements:

1. Admin panel that is hidden from a regular user, that will allow you to analyze the functionality of the platform: registration process, regulating the balance, assortment, payments, commissions, etc.

2. User panel that is visible to the visitors. Its diversity should depend on the specifics of the business you are engaged in and the strategy of marketing development. The next point is absolutely required:

• Registration form;
• User profile adjustment;
• Signing in, assistance service;
• Navigation system;
• The convenient interface of ordering, payment, and delivery of a product;
• Reviews of the clients, product ratings;
• The ability to scale.

Choosing the Members for the Future Team if Planning the Project from Scratch

It should be easy enough to build marketplace app if you have the following specialists in your team:

• A project manager who can understand all the aspects of the market and manage the entire company;
• Developers, including the front-end and back-end ones in case of building the whole thing from scratch;
• UI/UX designers;
• QA engineers.

Calculating the Final Budget for the Marketplace Project

In the process of development marketplace, you should have the eventual cost of the project planned out as well. It can vary depending on the range of products, the number of functions the marketplace has, the expenses on the developers. The cost of the basic suite is about 80 thousand dollars on average. If you plan the project to get on a global scale, with a large number of additional functions and options, the ability to expand as much as you want in the future — the price will rise accordingly, it can get twice or more as expensive. But if you know what you are doing, that should not scare you.

The mobile app is a little bit easier to develop and it costs around 60 thousand dollars on average. But, of course, the price mostly depends on the functionality.

Developing a Marketing Strategy

Decent suppliers and providers mean more satisfied clients who will eventually attract even more clients to your business; this, in turn, will help you develop your partner base — this is how the idea cycle of the platform goes. But before you can make it work like a clock, you should choose the right channels and steps to growth, these must include:

• Brainstorming the team for any unique and unconventional ideas;
• Searching for the most perspective concepts;
• Choosing the optimal one;
• Analyzing the gathered results. Possible alteration of the tactics and strategy;
• Developing the platform with the help of your customers. Enhancements and adjustments based on the feedback from the clients.

Cost of Creating an Online Marketplace

The basic price of a decent online marketing platform is drawn out by comparing the two possible scenarios of the realization of the project.

The First One is Buying a Complete Platform

Despite being the simplest option with minimal investments on the start, it does have some pitfalls in the further process of development:

• The difficulty of use, and sometimes even inaccessibility of certain functions necessary for your particular business type;
• Expanding problems;
• The difficulty of processing the large numbers of requests from the clients;
• The high possibility to be left among the unsuccessful ones, to become one of the countless businesses that couldn’t make it.

The Second One is to Create the Whole Thing From Scratch

This method is much more difficult in terms of the amount of work you will have to put into developing such a project, the amount of money you will have to put into it. But the advantages of this method are apparent and attractive, they include — personalization of your project and the ability to get exactly the functions you need to get the business going. The financial side of the deal depends mostly on the following aspects:

• The time required for developing a website, which will, in turn, depend on the functionality and design requirements you have to it.

HOURS Functionality Back-end Front-end Design PM Sum Authentification, roles 40 30 20 10 100 Profile, account settings, payment methods 60 40 40 10 150 Notifications (emails, sms, desktop, mobile) 60 30 20 10 120 Posting a job 80 30 48 16 174 Finding suitable suppliers 60 30 40 16 146 Chat, apply, award a job 80 40 40 16 176 Feedback 30 20 20 8 78 Payments 32 30 20 8 90 Localization setup 20 8 20 8 56 Admin Part 40 10 10 8 68 Total 502 268 278 110 1158

• How much you pay the specialists working on your project. The eventual sum depends not only on the level of professional mastery of the workers but also on the region you are working in because the price can be higher in those places that have higher payment standards.

Web Marketplace MVP Approximate Cost Approximate price Ukraine ($30/hour) $34,740 Europe ($60/hour) $69,480 USA ($80/hour) $92,640

The final sum will be decided once you analyze the situation and calculate all the details and requirements for this specific project. Don’t be surprised if it will significantly differ from the initial investment you were planning on.

Conclusion

The idea of a fast-growing online marketplace with large volumes attracts more and more new players into the marketing business: the suppliers can operatively sell their products, and increase the production rates, while the clients can spend their money on the things they need with optimal prices.

At the same time, this particular marketing method is ruled by the global business basics, which means — it requires the right approach, deep analysis on each and every stage of the operation, searching for the unconventional ways of solving problems, calculating the risks and taking them, etc. The last one is especially important because while elaborating on a project, you should keep in mind not only the current state of things but also have some marketing development strategy for the future, which will also predestinate the size of initial investments. 

Many of you dear readers have probably heard about the modern tech concept called the Internet of Things (IoT). It interconnects many gadgets and indicators within a single network. The interconnected devices may include different interactive speakers, cameras, thermostats, sensors, etc.

Another related concept, however - the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) - may sound less familiar, though it is one of the leading industries among the major types of IoTs. It is a centralized infrastructure of smart devices, dedicated software, and a range of smart healthcare services. 

The IoMT is constantly improving the medical field, helping to develop remote monitoring capabilities and automate data collection processes. By 2022, the value of the global IoMT hardware/software market is expected to have reached $158 billion.

Note that advanced devices and smart systems in medicine are not designed with the ultimate goal to reduce the numbers of live medical personnel. Their main purpose is to facilitate their work and optimize routine processes.

Medtech & the Internet of Medical Things

How Connected Medical Devices are Transforming Healthcare

The IoMT interconnects special devices and tools that allow thoroughly tracking the basic human body indications. These are various medical devices that can provide useful remote patient interaction for preventive or curative purposes.

Thus, experts highlight 4 particular categories of application when it comes to such technologies:

• Body tech
• Home tech
• Public tech
• In-Hospital or clinic tech

Body IoMT devices

This category includes various devices that people wear on their bodies. These can be either personal manual tools (home tonometer, for example) or sensors for clinical data collection and analysis.

Home IoMT devices

These are individual emergency response systems, special software for medication notifications or devices for remote patient monitoring. The software for virtual visits to healthcare facilities are also often credited here, but this area still has a number of shortcomings to be polished.

Public use IoMT

This is one of the most highly and regularly developed categories of the IoMT. There are 5 directions in this aspect:

1. Specialized mobile services to help control the health state of passengers while traveling in transport.

2. Intelligent response devices are involved in the first aid process, accelerating many processes.

3. Health check kiosks are small paneled structures to which different touch screens are connected. They improve the initial screening of patients' health status and also reduce the time the medical staff needs to check initial indicators.

4. Medical care devices are medical gadgets that can be used both domestically and in clinical conditions.

5. Logistics devices include everything related to shipment and transportation of medical products and services. This includes pharmaceuticals, surgical supplies, and various related equipment.

In-hospital or clinic IoMT devices

Here, we have different advanced tools that can be commonly used in medical centers, hospitals, and clinics. These can be subdivided into 5 major groups:

1. Asset management. Hardware and software that monitors the condition of capital equipment and mobile assets. For example, infusion pumps and wheelchairs.

2. Staff management. These are various tools and applications for analyzing and optimizing staff productivity.

3. Patient stream management. These devices optimize the med institution performance by identifying bottlenecks or tracking patient movement periods from the operating room to the ward, for example. 

4. Supply management. Such devices simplify the process of inventorying hospital supplies, drugs, and medical devices.

5. Environmental monitoring. These include tools for measuring the temperature and humidity of the room, as well as devices for monitoring electricity. They adapt the premises for the convenience of patients and medical staff.

IoMT in Healthcare Delivery Organizations: Preparing & Launching an Effective Risk Management Strategy

Many unique and incredibly useful devices that simplify the work of medical staff. And with the advent of the IoMT or the Internet of Medical Things, managing them has become even easier and more affordable. 

Standard processes were accelerated, data became more accurate. However, most healthcare organizations argue that IoMT tools are only useful when properly managed by respectively skilled employees. When used incorrectly, these technologies can have quite unpleasant consequences.

One of the main specifics in employing IoMT capabilities is cybersecurity. The risks associated with this aspect can have the most unpleasant results.

Patient security risks

Unfortunately, any type of digital technology is exposed to cyber-attacks. That’s why IoMT security in smart hospitals is crucial. Unauthorized access to the centralized system may result in equipment failure, delays in operations, and other serious consequences. 

Scientists conducted a study that demonstrated that the patient's death would occur immediately, on the first day of the virus attack, which stops the work of elevators, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, as well as refrigerators and other necessary equipment. 

Of course, such an integral failure in the system suspends the entire treatment process and leads to an urgent evacuation

Going beyond compliance

The IoMT cybersecurity is quite an issue today. After all, it is still perceived as a major problem of patient care and risk management. Of course, most medical institutions try to treat this aspect with all seriousness, but still, it is a matter of ethics rather than compliance.

Although the issue of compliance is still raised by various medical and health authorities. For example, the Food and Drug Administration guidance for “Postmarket Management of Cybersecurity in Medical Devices”, released as a draft guidance document. 

There are other examples of setting out the IoMT compliance frameworks: the Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force report to Congress and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, which is a supplement to the requirements of the Health Insurance Mobility and Liability Act for connecting IoMT devices.

Understanding the tech-powered patient care

Care about the patient, their health and well-being are the main goals of any healthcare facility. And all the hardware, special devices, and software in this matter are designed for the same purpose.

What is a service delivery model in healthcare? How to ensure the proper functioning of the institution in case of unforeseen circumstances? Will patients be moved to the right place if the lift fails? Will medication remain safe in case of electronic lock breakage? 

Ensuring proper service in patient care is essential. And for this, you need to set up an algorithm of actions to be undertaken in case of failure of an IoMT device.

Overview as a crucial element of efficient IoMT risk management

We all use a lot of different devices every day. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets are constantly employed by both patients and healthcare professionals. And this is for personal purposes only. 

Hundreds of network devices can be used for medical purposes as well. And any of them can be exposed by hackers, so any medical institution simply has to introduce special identification measures. 

Also, be sure to monitor the performance of your interconnected devices and data system. A surefire step in security is the introduction of technology that provides real-time network overview.

Classification - IoMT risk management prioritization

If the medical institution wants to properly set up the IoMT security, then it should first set the priorities correctly. Everything should start with the main risk factors. These can be patient safety issues, poor or inappropriate software, unsecured configurations, ease of data leakage, and more. 

Knowledgeability

As in any field of expert activity, continuous education and training are a guarantee of success. In the case of working with the medical field, this guarantee may concern human health, and therefore has a high price.

The Internet of Things and medical devices require a special approach and constant expertise expansion. Personnel should be trained in the operation of the involved devices and be aware of all potential malfunctions. 

So any healthcare organization should provide regular training in equipment behavior and must identify a responsible coach. This may be an employee of the organization, someone from the IT department or a representative of the medical equipment provider. It already depends on the specialization and size of the medical institution. 

The main thing is that the medical staff is able to use the devices properly so that working with them will bring benefits rather than additional expenses.

Risks reduction & control

A structured approach to cybersecurity certainly has its benefits. Good awareness and overview, correct patient care are all important. But there are basic measures that can significantly reduce the risks.

Complete isolation of the custom Internet of Things and medical devices or segmentation from other devices, quality settings for ports and protocols, installation of updates, monitoring of current models and activity levels - all have a significant impact on the level of security controls. 

There is nothing complicated about such a simple process as limiting access of improperly working devices to the IoMT network.

IoMT Emerges as the Advanced Patient Care

Despite a number of weak points and peculiarities of use, the IoMT has already firmly invaded our everyday life. With interconnected devices, patient care has taken on new forms. Many complicated processes have become easier. And there are great advantages to this.

For instance, IoMT devices have become easily accessible to people with disabilities as well as to the elderly who have special needs. Many processes can now be controlled with voice commands: calling a nurse to the ward, switching the volume, reminding patients to take medication can all now be done in an interactive manner.

The capabilities of the smart home assisting features is another prominent side of the IoMT coin. After all, patients often stay alone at home and without outside help, it can be difficult to cope with certain household tasks. 

Virtualized assistants help to interact with smart home objects through a regular touch screen. 

All in all, smart devices provide great help in working with older patients. They can, for example, carry special devices on the wrist that monitor their location. Or track frequently performed activities such as bathing, walking, sleeping, and exercising. 

The device responds to any changes in the patient's physical condition and may indicate the need for urgent medical intervention.

Usual approaches to patient care are gaining more and more new prominent features. Thus, it becomes much easier and accessible to care for loved ones at a distance using remote monitoring tools. 

For example, you can control the operation of the air conditioner, heating system, hot water supply, and the amount of their use while away from home. There are also a number of convenient remote access devices, such as an emergency call button, fitness trackers, notification systems, etc.

Conclusion

Medicine is constantly evolving. Pharmaceutical companies are growing, a lot of research is being done to combat the disease, new technologies are being introduced. All these efforts are only to improve the quality of the patient’s life. 

And smart devices interconnected by the so-called Internet of Medical Things network are constantly being developed for the same purpose. Of course, like any solution connected to the Internet, they have a number of potential loopholes for cyber attacks. 

But still, the benefits they bring to society, the time they save to save lives are far more valuable. And, perhaps, we are on the threshold of a completely new approach to the regular patient care process.