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<p><strong>BIM</strong>, or&nbsp;<strong>building information modeling</strong>, is the latest trend in construction and the next step towards digitalizing reality, which will optimize design, construction, and operation of built assets. The information provided within BIM objects serves as the foundation for the overall model. BIM differs from systems like CAD in that it allows for more precise definition of data parameters and more intelligent object behavior at the design stage.</p>
<p><strong>The major benefits of BIM implementation</strong></p>
<p>Many advantages come with a BIMStreamer platform, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>centralizing data in a variety of formats from several sources,</li>
<li>sharing products with a full set of features with designers,</li>
<li>full control over data and the ability to manage it easily,</li>
<li>model parameters or product features are automatically updated for all locations where your model is,</li>
<li>streamlined marketing activities (more sales and customer statistics),</li>
<li>the flexibility to use BIM on the cloud from anywhere and at any time.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>A solution of this nature appears even more vital in light of the escalating market dynamics. First-time BIM users may be intimidated by the technology as it seems complex. The reality is far from that. After a brief introduction to the fundamentals, everything becomes fairly simple. Let's get started!</p>
<p>What is the overall structure of the BIM library management system? First and foremost, it is impossible to speak of BIM without mentioning the&nbsp;<strong>Single source of Truth</strong>.&nbsp;Basically, it's a digital location where all kinds of product information is kept. From here, data can be freely modified and then automatically updated in specified channels spread throughout the network. How?</p>
<p>All of this is possible because of the&nbsp;<strong>auto update</strong>&nbsp;feature, which updates the geometry of existing BIM drawings immediately upon loading the latest versions of attached projects, ensuring that all files remain fully compatible while the current BIM model is being edited. With a dedicated connection to internal databases based on referential models, information about referential products can be embedded into BIM models and shared with designers on external channels.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The&nbsp;<strong>omnichannel feature</strong>&nbsp;allows you to submit BIM models to any marketing channel, including mobile apps, e-commerce platforms, product catalogs, online libraries, and external BIM portals. The&nbsp;<strong>multilanguage</strong>&nbsp;feature, on the other hand, allows for the automated generation of objects in multiple languages.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>BIM objects may be centrally controlled, automatically updated, and published to several channels at the same time thanks to BIMStreamer&rsquo;s technologically advanced solutions. BIM has numerous additional applications, like:</p>
<ul>
<li>support for any data format capable of describing geometry and storing product data&nbsp;<strong>(geometry update)</strong>,</li>
<li>calculating the number of technical attributes for BIM files, which may vary depending on the region to which they will be sent&nbsp;<strong>(level of information)</strong>,</li>
<li>generating BIM objects intended for tenders&nbsp;<strong>(anonymization)</strong>,</li>
<li>handling inquiries.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The simplest way to manage BIM libraries</strong></p>
<p>BIM is based on professional 3D models with parametric features for individual elements. This helps to accelerate the editing process and makes it simpler to edit the project. However, BIM is not enough.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In most cases, basic information such as dimensions, weight, and color is all that is included in the BIM model, and it is not updated on a regular basis. Manually entering product data and constantly checking for updates is time consuming and unproductive at best. Consider the following situation: A company has 1,000 product families, each with ten products. That&rsquo;s a total of 10,000 files containing only product information. What if this company is planning to expand into Europe? Now we have to create 30 language versions for 46 countries, needing new BIM files for each version! Even if someone were brave enough to take on the task of manually entering all this data (and we really doubt that), the entire team would be kept busy for months, if not years.</p>
<p>This is where BIMStreamer, the newest solution for the automated generation of BIM models, comes to the rescue. With integrated product documentation, 3D BIM models facilitate selection, design, evaluation, construction, and even project management.</p>
<p>Introducing your business to the BIMStreamer environment has numerous benefits. Until now, only a handful of people had knowledge of how to create BIM libraries. With BIMStreamer, object management is now simpler and more intuitive. Here, anyone can become an expert!</p>

English

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Attention! Incoming Project Catastrophe... - 3 IT Project Risks to Watch Out For

<p>The key element of achieving your business goals via mobile devices is defining the technology in which the applications will be designed. Both expectations- in terms of results and chosen directions of development should determine its selection. Nowadays, the existing possibilities allow us to create an application in native or hybrid technology. Both these solutions have their advantages and disadvantages, so you should familiarize with them before making a decision. What are native applications?</p>
<p>Native applications are created individually for each operating system. Practically, it means that they are created for each individual mobile platform, such as Android, iOS, in different programming language. The necessity of using different type of programming according to each distinct platform requires that the native application project must be made by separate teams of suitably specialized developers.</p>
<p>The advantages of such programs are: high performance and effective handling of the build-in functions of mobile devices, e.g. cameras or sensors. Native applications are based on the standards of the said platforms; therefore they have a well-adapted User Experience. The architecture of the project is transparent and solid, which makes its management and expansion easy. The immediate availability of all technical innovations, and thus the ability to easily adapting your application to the latest trends is also of great importance. In this case, the error detection is as well easier due to the access to multiple analytic tools.</p>
<p>The disadvantage of native applications is quite a high cost and long development time due to the fact that the individual versions are created simultaneously by independent development teams.</p>
<p><strong>Can you do differently?</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>A way to eliminate the problem linked to hiring different development teams to create different versions of the application can be the use of pre-made app engine, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://zitrona.io/en/">Zitrona</a>. On its basis, the IT specialists are easily capable of creating and integrating the application with any platform, thus reduce programming works and, as you can guess, effectively reduce the costs. This solution doesn&rsquo;t require creating the app from scratch, due to the use of ready-made components and functionality. Therefore, it should be noted, that Zitrona is the modern way of reducing costs without decreasing the quality of the product.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>What are hybrid applications?</strong></p>
<p>Hybrid applications can be created for several platforms- one part of them is shared, the other is created individually for chosen platforms. This means you can save a lot of time and money, because it limits the quantity of IT people engaged. Usually, native applications require hiring at least two specialists, while in hybrids frequently one person is enough.</p>
<p>The said applications are created based on two methods. In first case the technologies used by webpages extended by additional framework and extensions oriented on mobile apps are used. The other way of making hybrid apps is the use of systems oriented specifically for native components. In this case the shared view layer is used, and the components are made accordingly to their target system. The cons of this developing form are lower development potential and less suited User Experience. The frequent changes in programming ecosystems, troublesome service of in-built devices&rsquo; functions (e.g. AR, Bluetooth), lower application&rsquo;s performance and large number of unstable libraries (lack of general supplier, as in Apple or Google) can be as well troublesome.</p>
<p><strong>Which solution you should go for?</strong></p>
<p>While choosing the particular technology, it is worth considering several issues: most importantly specify your expectations towards the functionality of the application and to determine its future development potential. The hybrid technology is recommended mainly in cases of simple and uncomplicated projects, as well as those with low budget. If the program uses specific smartphone functions and corrupts its functionality, it is better to choose native technology.</p>
<p>You can also go a step ahead and significantly facilitate the process of creating a mobile application by focusing on&nbsp;<a href="https://zitrona.io/en/features/">the functionality of the Zitron engine&nbsp;</a>the functionality of the Zitron engine. Regardless of whether the entire business is going to be transferred to the application or your goal is to create an e-commerce application, it is worth using the potential of the available tools.</p>
<p>If you have a specific idea but you are not sure if it&rsquo;s achievable, be sure to&nbsp;<a href="https://zitrona.io/en/contact/">contact us</a>.</p>

Aplikacje Mobilne

Blog Post 2 Title EN

Types of Applications – Do You Know What’s Perfect for Your Business?

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BIMStreamer-keep Up With the Change

<p>The dynamic development of technology and the opportunities it offers make the interest in mobile applications constantly growing. Very often customers who are looking for a software house have an initial outline of the project and an idea about it. However, it usually takes a lot of time, resources and money to create this idea. An alternative to building applications from scratch are ready-made components. Why is it worth deciding on such a solution?&nbsp;</p>
<p>People who know how to make a mobile app are aware of how long it takes to put it right from the start. The following weeks pass on the development, corrections, testing and upgrades. All this affects the final cost of the project. How to avoid burning the budget? One of the best solutions is an application based on ready-made modules. This will definitely speed up the work process and save 30-50%, or even 80%!! If you know how much it takes to make an app, the difference is really significant. Ready-made components allow for flexible modifications, allowing to adjust the application to the needs and requirements of the client. However, these changes will be made much faster and less expensive than creating an app from scratch.</p>
<p><strong>How to make an app &ndash; why is it worth using a ready-made application components template?</strong></p>
<p><strong>1. Facilitating application development</strong></p>
<p>The application template is built from universal components that will work well in most applications. Thanks to that, all you have to do is select the right components, and the service provider will adjust them to your needs. The box solution, consisting in the use of ready-made components substantially facilitates the process of creating the whole application, greatly reducing and sometimes even eliminating the customer's involvement.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>2. More efficient cooperation with your software service provider</strong></p>
<p>Cooperation between you and the software house is very important on every stage of the project. For ready-made modules there is no need to go over consultations from scratch. Everything is already in place so you can see what the service provider is talking about and understand the process better. Thanks to this, communication between you and the programmer is more efficient because you talk about products which already exist. Building an application from scratch requires a lot of consultations and corrections. In case of a ready-made template, this stage will be significantly reduced in favor of using generic tactics.</p>
<p><strong>3. Faster final version of the application</strong></p>
<p>Building the application from ready-made components is much faster and more efficient. Starting work from scratch is a process that usually takes several or a dozen months. Ready-made pieces of software allow us to avoid such timelines and deliver a solution faster, which means quicker time to market and potential monetization.</p>
<p><strong>4. Fewer errors and more efficient operation</strong></p>
<p>The of-the-shelf components guarantee a better performance of the application, as the individual modules are tested on a multi-sectional basis, which makes it possible to catch and correct errors in real-time. Every software needs to be launched on the market and tested. But in the case of ready-made components, a large part of the tests has already been done, and the component, due to the fact that it has already been used in other applications, minimizes the risk of unexpected errors in production.</p>
<p>If you are wondering how to find a software house, look for the one that offers creating applications based on ready-made components. It is worth trusting specialists and choosing a proven solution. At Sagiton we focus on universal modules, which entirely create functional and user-friendly software. Check our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/semi-products/">semi products</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://zitrona.io/en/">https://zitrona.io</a>&nbsp;e-commerce engine to take a sample of what you can have out of the box.</p>

1500x745 Blog (1)

Do Not Reinvent the Wheel – Why Should You Not Pay for Creating the Apps From Scratch?

<p>Who asks does not err, as the Polish proverb says. Whoever asks knows more and can use the obtained information to improve, develop or create new solutions. For this purpose, research companies commissioned by specific entities ask questions, the answers to which constitute valuable knowledge. That is why the STATSO project was created as a result of cooperation between the Sagiton software house and the experienced Openfileld research team.</p>
<p><strong>Survey creator for research companies</strong></p>
<p>Research using an&nbsp;<strong>online survey</strong>&nbsp;can be carried out among customers, employees or the community. The entire process should be carried out with a comprehensive tool that will be easy to use and will allow you to quickly obtain relevant information. That is why the software house&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/">Sagiton</a>&nbsp;has created the&nbsp;<a href="https://statso.pl/en">STATSO survey creator</a>&nbsp;- a tool for conducting CAPI/CAWI research for professional research companies offering surveys. STATSO was created with the idea of conducting online (CAWI) and offline (CAPI) surveys.</p>
<p><strong>What functionalities does the STATSO survey creator have?</strong></p>
<p>After creating an account in the service, the user can create surveys consisting of 11 different types of questions, including: single and multiple-choice questions, questions on a scale, matrix questions and many others. It is possible to add conditional questions and combine logical conditions. Thanks to this, it is possible to prepare any complex and profiled study. The&nbsp;<a href="https://statso.pl/en">STATSO survey creator</a>&nbsp;allows you to conduct both CAWI (<strong>online survey</strong>) and CAPI (offline survey) surveys. The combination of both types of surveys in one tool is a unique solution on the Polish market. The implementation of CAPI field research is possible thanks to the mobile application. In order to perform an offline survey (CAPI), the company can invite interviewers to the service and assign them a certain number of surveys to be completed using the mobile application. The progress of both the entire survey and the achievement of the objectives of individual interviewers are updated on a regular basis, and you can generate a survey report in the form of a csv file at any time. Importantly, all obtained and processed data are multi-layered, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/cybersecurity/">guarantees security</a>&nbsp;to both parties.</p>
<p><strong>STATSO survey creator &ndash; advantages</strong></p>
<p>The tool allows you to conduct offline and&nbsp;<strong>online surveys</strong>&nbsp;comprehensively, thanks to which the entire process is quick and convenient. What makes the&nbsp;<a href="https://statso.pl/en">STATSO survey creator</a>&nbsp;stand out include:</p>
<ul>
<li>A clear panel for managing a research project,</li>
<li>Convenient and intuitive survey questionnaire creator,</li>
<li>A simple mobile application for field interviewers,</li>
<li>Assigning interviewers a certain number of questionnaires to complete,</li>
<li>Possibility to complete the survey on a tablet offline,</li>
<li>Constant control over the course of the study,</li>
<li>CAWI research module,</li>
<li>Two language versions: Polish and English.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Convenient packages and trial period</strong></p>
<p>Thinking about the individual needs of users, the STASTO&nbsp;<strong>survey creator</strong>&nbsp;is available in three packages: S, M and L. They differ in the number of surveys that can be carried out within a given offer. A special valuation is also possible, tailored to the specific requirements of a given project. You can use a 30-day trial period to get to know the service. As part of the free test, the user can design his or her questionnaire and test all the functionalities of the CAWI or CAPI tool and research techniques with 200 questionnaires. More information about what the&nbsp;<a href="https://statso.pl/en">STATSO survey creator</a>&nbsp;is and how it works is available at www.statso.pl.</p>

Austin Distel Dfj Jm Vhw H 8 Unsplash

STATSO – Survey Creator

<p>Information is one of the largest currencies today. Own opinion and preferences gathered in one database allow you to change the world. This is why public opinion polls are so important. In order to efficiently and safely analyze various social phenomena and areas of life, the research agency Openfield and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/">Sagiton</a>&nbsp;have created the MANULO research panel, where online surveys are available.</p>
<p><strong>A modern research panel</strong></p>
<p>The MANULO research platform is a place to obtain information on attitudes, preferences, opinions and social behavior. The&nbsp;<strong>online survey</strong>&nbsp;panel was created for respondents who want to voluntarily provide answers and share their opinion on various phenomena, situations or events. The platform participant has the opportunity to have a real impact on shaping the reality, the creation of products and services, advertisements or adapting company offers to the needs of consumers.</p>
<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://manulo.pl/">MANULO</a><strong>&nbsp;research panel</strong>&nbsp;allows anyone to take part in online research on products, services and advertising and thus influence the development of individual industries. Participation in the panel is also a material remuneration for the respondents. The professional research company Openfield is the organizer of the research platform, aimed at polling the public opinion. The panel's creator is the experienced software house&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/bespoke-application-development/">Sagiton</a>.</p>
<p><strong>How to register for the MANULO research panel?</strong></p>
<p>The registration process on the research platform is very simple. You must complete the registration form and read the regulations. After creating an account and completing personal data, the user will receive personalized&nbsp;<strong>online surveys</strong>&nbsp;to the e-mail address provided. For each&nbsp;<strong>opinion poll</strong>, a certain number of points will be added to the user's account. After collecting a certain limit of points, you can exchange them for prizes or cash. The more data a respondent provides in his profile, the more surveys he will receive and the more points he will collect. Additionally, each activity in the panel supports those in need. MANULO allocates part of the income from each completed research to charity.</p>
<p><strong>Is the research panel safe?</strong></p>
<p>Registration in the panel is free, and participation is free. Users do not incur any costs for participating in the research. All survey responses are completely anonymous. The indicated responses and opinions expressed will not be assigned to the user, and the results of the&nbsp;<strong>online survey</strong>&nbsp;will be presented in the form of a collective summary. The profile data of each respondent is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/cybersecurity/">safe and processed in accordance with the principles of the GDPR</a>. More details on how the MANULO research panel works are available on the website&nbsp;<a href="https://www.manulo.pl/">www.manulo.pl</a></p>

Chris Ried 3 F T0 Oap Bo Kw Unsplash (1)

Manulo Research Panel - Another Product of Sagiton Goes Live

<p>For novice programmers, creating administration panels is a great opportunity to learn and gain experience. Over time, however, professionals start looking for solutions that will speed up their work and make the web application development cheaper. One of the tools that is perfect for this is Laravel Nova. How does it facilitate the programmer's daily work?</p>
<h2 class="western">What is Laravel Nova?</h2>
<p class="western" align="justify">Laravel Nova is an automatically generated administration panel that is an addition to the Laravel framework. It allows you to create a graphic interface without need to develop all functions from scratches. The add-on can be installed to any Laravel-based application. Vue.js and Tailwind.css were used on the front. The whole thing looks nice and transparent, and above all, it allows you to freely expand with new possibilities.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="western" align="justify">Laravel Nova allows you to automatically generate typical CRUD functionalities like creating, editing, adding and removing resources. After initial configuration of model files to be managed from Laravel Nova, the panel is immediately ready for use. This significantly reduces time needed for&nbsp;<span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/rapid-application-delivery/">&nbsp;creating a web application</a></u></span>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="western"><strong>How does Laravel Nova improve work?</strong></h2>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="western"><strong>Model management</strong></h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="western" align="justify">First of all, administration panel Laravel Nova is a product that facilitates the generation of UI for model management in CRUD: create, read, update and delete records in the database. Creating an interface with all the basic functions is fast and does not require additional actions. If it is necessary to handle unusual actions on models, it is possible to program them yourself and connect to action buttons in Laravel Nova.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="western"><strong>Actions</strong></h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="western" align="justify">In the Laravel Nova panel it is possible to perform any actions on one or more records at the same time. If an operation is asynchronous, such as sending a newsletter, then support for the Laravel queue mechanism is available.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="western"><strong>Filters and lenses</strong></h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="western" align="justify">The big advantage of the Laravel Nova panel is the ability to create any custom filters for tables. Filters allow you to display only records that match your search. In the form, you can enter not only basic values, but also a checkbox, dropdown or date from the calendar.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="western" align="justify">And if filters are not enough, administration panel Laravel Nova offers lenses options, allowing you to create any table view with your own columns and sorting.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="western"><strong>Search engine</strong></h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="western" align="justify">One of the advantages of the Laravel Nova panel is an efficient search engine that is available for any resource. By default, Nova uses SQL queries for search, but it can also use Laravel Scout and the Algolia engine. In addition to the global search engine, you can also search through the search boxes above each resource's record lists and in the record details view.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="western"><strong>Metrics and authorization</strong></h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="western" align="justify">Metrics allow you to instantly display indicators such as the number of registered users, order trends or other values of interest to us on our website, store or mobile application. It is worth mentioning the issues of authentication and authorization that the panel supports out-of-the-box. It uses built-in Laravel mechanisms for this. This allows you to control who can perform actions on resources, i.e. view, create, update or delete records.</p>

Pexels Negative Space 34600 (1)

How Fast Can You Create Your Admin Panel With Laravel Nova?

<p>How many times has it happened that the final product does not meet your expectations because you forgot about some requirements or took them as so obvious? What should you pay attention to before starting cooperation with a software house? Check in our new blog post!</p>
<p><strong>Requirements of the IT project that you must remember before you sign a contract with the software house</strong></p>
<p>When establishing cooperation with software house it is worthwhile to carefully analyze the agreement and its arrangements. It may happen that the components of the final product do not completely match your requirements or expectations. This is usually due to the omission of issues that seem obvious or that have not been specifically specified. How to avoid pitfalls and differences in expectations? What to pay attention to? What elements should be asked to avoid misunderstandings and unnecessary stress at the end of the project?</p>
<p><strong>Who will write the micro-copy?</strong></p>
<p>When submitting a request for a project, we expect to receive a ready to use version. However, it is not always on the designer's side to fill a website or mobile application with content. It happens that the programmer will write a sample copy or popular in this case "lorem ipsum" in the places of text. If we don't take this into account, it may turn out that these real copy plugs will be caught by the final user. It is worth asking whether the copy service is included in the project price or on your side. It's best to work with a professional copywriter who knows the language of benefits, SEO optimization and has experience in creating content for websites or applications.</p>
<p><strong>Do you have a hosting and domain name for your project?</strong></p>
<p>Not every software house offers a domain and hosting as part of project preparation. Usually it is up to the client, so it is worthwhile to talk to the provider about what server resources the project will require. The provider should recommend the optimal solution, tailored to the specifics and requirements of the project.</p>
<p><strong>Who is responsible for the production release?</strong></p>
<p>This is not always obvious and does not always appear as a valuation element. It can lead to misunderstanding, so it is worth asking for details and the cost of releasing the finished product. Production release is additional work and is usually not included in the contract. If there is no record, it is best to ask at once whether the process is in the cost of the project, or whether you will receive an additional valuation. The responsibility of the software house ends with the release of the product. However, remember that the product requires care, monitoring and checking its proper functioning, catching possible errors and fixing them. Of course, you can make a complaint, but with its consideration and removal of defects there is a time when your product can be taken out of use. It is best to determine immediately whether you receive support from the supplier, e.g. in the form of an additional contract.</p>
<p><strong>What about this SEO?</strong></p>
<p>It's worth to be aware that the new product needs time to appear in high search engine results. To achieve such an effect it takes time and implement appropriate procedures, including SEO optimization. This is a complex process and usually outside the scope of creating the product itself. Working on SEO of a website belongs to marketing activities, implemented after the creation of a website. Software house can provide basic optimizations, e.g. by adding appropriate titles, headers and text structure. It is best to ask the provider what he can provide: basic support or content, keywords and internal linking. If software house does not have such a service in the package, it is worth to provide SEO of the website on your own or to have an external company and at the same time arm yourself with patience, because the effects require long-term and multi-stage work.</p>
<p><strong>Do I need to send mass emails?</strong></p>
<p>Many products send different types of notifications, invitations, verification emails, etc., which are very important and sometimes even critical for the whole project. If you don't think about the proper delivery of such emails early on, it can be disastrous for the success of your project. If the project is going to use mass-mailing you have to think about solutions that guarantee that the messages will reach your recipient. This is especially important when it comes to sending newsletters with downloads or verification links. It is worth talking to the developer, ask about the best solutions and together find an idea for optimal email deliverability.</p>
<p><strong>Do you have data backup?</strong></p>
<p>This is a question you do not want to hear when something unforeseen in your project happened. Then it may be too late to save the situation. One of the worst things that can happen to you is loss of data. Especially the customer data that is necessary for running a business or project.&nbsp; Make sure that the question about backup does not surprise you. Talk to the developer before starting the project and ask how you can protect your data, how to prepare, run and monitor such backup. Remember that this is one of the costs that always pays off. The provider can prepare and present you with different options.</p>
<p><strong>Does software house provide a guarantee?</strong></p>
<p>A software product like any other is subject to the right to warranty. Sometimes this information is not readable and then the final acceptance of the product is dragged out for fear of lack of support when the product is released. It is worth asking about the warranty conditions, but also about the possibility of signing a dedicated contract, tailored to the specifics of the industry and specific situation. A good solution is also the SLA maintenance agreement, which will provide a quick response time in case of unexpected problems. You must know that the lack of a guarantee agreement does not mean a lack of guarantees. Then the product is subject to general Polish law, which provides a guarantee for all products. However, it is always worth having a written agreement with good terms and conditions, and an SLA agreement that provides immediate assistance.</p>
<p><strong>Do you need data analytics?</strong></p>
<p>The information you can collect from the website may come in handy at the most unexpected time. That is why it is worth taking care of the analysis of the website from the very beginning. It may seem to you that there is no data on the new website, not enough people visiting it, you do not want to incur additional costs. Choose an analytics in even the most basic form, to have minimal, raw data and how you will have to prepare a report in the future, have a basis for analysis. The basic implementation of e.g. Google Analytics is a small cost and the collected data may prove invaluable.</p>
<p><strong>What about GDPR?</strong></p>
<p>It is difficult to find an IT project in which personal data is not processed. Currently, we provide them on most websites and applications. In 2019, the new regulations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)&nbsp; came into force, i.e. the regulation on personal data protection, containing provisions on the protection of natural persons in connection with the processing of personal data and provisions on the free movement of personal data. You must remember that the restrictions related to this are very severe and the penalties are high. Incorrect handling of data may result not only in the control of the relevant authority, but also, for example, in the rejection of the mobile application during a review in the Store. Any data leakage is always your legal responsibility. It is also worth knowing that it is illegal to collect data that is not needed and that you will not use. It is best to consult a specialist in order to be best prepared for data storage and processing.</p>

Og Requirements of The It

Requirements of the IT Project You Have to Remember About

<p>Organization security is essential, especially if many processes take place online. Find out what are the mechanisms of Identity and Access Management. Check how to give employees access to resources and give them insight into tools without violating cyber security standards.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what are the challenges related to security in the organization,</li>
<li>what are the current measures for authenticating people,</li>
<li>what Gluu is and why you should include their support in your cyber security strategy,</li>
<li>what being a Technology Partner in cyber security means.</li>
</ul>
<p>As you know, people with many competencies and responsibilities are often employed in the organization. To enable employees to carry out operations or comfortably carry out everyday tasks, you must give them access to mandatory programs or applications.</p>
<p>The most popular tools (whether they are used to handle B2B or B2C processes) are largely available via the Internet. Therefore, their effective use is based on constant admission to the network.</p>
<p>Now imagine that an employee logs on to many devices at different times and often from different locations (e.g. in the case of remote work). The user must authenticate and perform the necessary authorization during each work session. What's more, the tools s/he uses are not integrated in any way and are not based on the same architecture. It is not surprising that, therefore, the tools provide different levels of security, and this creates a potential threat to users and the entire organization.&nbsp;<strong>Access to your information and resources is scattered, you gradually lose control&hellip;</strong></p>
<p>How to enable employees to access resources and provide them with the necessary tools without violating cyber security standards, reducing the risk of information breach?</p>
<p>All of these actions can be performed with a high level of protection thanks to the following&nbsp;<strong>Identity and Access Management solutions</strong>:&nbsp;<em>Single Sign-on</em>,&nbsp;<em>Strong Authentication</em>,&nbsp;<em>Access Management</em>,&nbsp;<em>Identity Management</em>,&nbsp;<em>Directory Integration</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Multi-factor authentication</em>. Find out what they are and how quickly you can implement them.</p>
<h2>Ways to authenticate users and secure resources in the company</h2>
<p>Awareness of cyber threats is increasing every year. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/">CIO</a>&nbsp;study for directors and managers showed that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cio.com/article/3335497/winter-2019-state-of-the-cio.html">companies spend an average of 15% of their budget on cyber security</a>. What's more, 40% of respondents indicated the need to increase protection measures! The cyber security specialist at Lemlock, Mateusz Kierdyk, always says that "you can spend huge sums on cyber security measures, and you still can't talk about total security if your IT architecture is particularly complex and protected resources are the foundation of your organization's operation."</p>
<p>As you can see,&nbsp;<strong>companies are constantly investing in maintaining a high level of security</strong>. And one of the areas of cyber security is authentication. This should be taken seriously because good implementation allows effective security of the organization's network, and the transfer of access to resources (including computer systems, network services, databases, websites, applications) only to authenticated users.</p>
<p>When you implement any security measures, it's a good idea to get information from a trusted source. As a Gluu Technology Partner, we encourage you to check their&nbsp;<a href="https://discovery.hgdata.com/product/gluu">IAM solutions, tried and tested by numerous organizations around the world</a>, e.g. CenturyLink, BlueWave, American Water, Red Hat and many others. Learn about the most important&nbsp;<strong>Identity and Access Management concepts</strong>&nbsp;for your users from Gluu:</p>
<h3>1. Single Sign-on</h3>
<p><em>Single Sign-on</em>&nbsp;gives you the ability to log in to a given network service only once, and thus gain access to all authorized resources under this service.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/Process_of_Single_sign_on_EN.png" alt="Single Sign-on mechanism - how it works" /></p>
<p>SSO combines two processes: Identity Management (authentication) and Access Management (authorization). The Single Sign-on mechanism eliminates the need to log in separately to each application used.</p>
<p>Each application supports different passwords, which means that if one of them leaks, the rest of the passwords can be considered safe. After such a data breach, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemlock.com/en/offer/incident-handling-and-post-breach-analysis">post-breach analysis</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemlock.com/en/offer/application-security-audits-penetration-tests">security audit</a>&nbsp;should always be performed.</p>
<p>SSO supports logging in to local applications and applications belonging to external suppliers. There is a chance for additional security enhancement through multi-level authentication, tokens or biometric readers (collecting information such as fingerprint reading, handprint, facial features scan, retina reading, etc.).</p>
<h3>2. Strong Authentication</h3>
<p><strong>Both users and devices are subject to strong authentication</strong>, and these must be rigorous enough to prevent a possible hacker attack. It is for this reason that multi-level authentication is introduced. It reduces the obtaining of the user ID and the authentication password by unauthorized persons.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/Multi_factor_authentication_scheme_EN.png" alt="Multi-factor authentication scheme" /></p>
<p><strong>Two-factor or multi-level authentication is available</strong>. They differ in the number of stages and the security features used to verify identity. They are based on combinations of selected elements: biometric scan (i.e. something that we are), password (i.e. something that we know about), location (i.e. somewehere where we are) or token (i.e. something that we have).</p>
<p>There are currently many verification methods in the field of&nbsp;<em>Multi-factor authentication</em>, that can be applied to your systems. If you choose any method, you need to consider the level of security that needs to be ensured and the technology used by users (who want to have access to specific resources).</p>
<p>We can distinguish, among others, such forms of authentication:</p>
<ul>
<li>e-mail token,</li>
<li>SMS token (usually as an SMS message containing the appropriate code or PIN),</li>
<li>automatic telephone conversation during which a one-time password (OTP) is provided,</li>
<li>biometric verification carried out via fingerprint identifier or face recognition mechanism in a smart device,</li>
<li>virtual token, otherwise known as software token, in the form of an authentication application installed on the device,</li>
<li>hardware token (e.g. USB key, credit card with built-in display).</li>
</ul>
<p>However, it should be remembered that the implementation of too many of them contributes to the deterioration of the User Experience and to an increase in costs. Multi-level authentication increases user security, reduces operating costs due to architecture violations, improves conversion thanks to a smooth login process, and increases trust due to the presence of security controls.</p>
<h3>3. Access Management</h3>
<p>It is a&nbsp;<strong>process centered around users and involves identifying, tracking, controlling and managing access to IT systems</strong>. There is also a transparent division of user roles in the system, and the risk of Segregation of Duties (SoD) is checked.</p>
<p>Often, Access Management mechanisms are associated with solutions in the field of Identity Management. This connection is very logical, because Identity Management creates, provides and controls users, permissions, roles and policies, while Access Management guards compliance with assigned roles and functioning policies.</p>
<h3>4. Identity Management</h3>
<p><strong>Identity Management is focused on managing attributes that are created, updated, deleted by users</strong>&nbsp;(with whom these attributes are associated). Some identity attributes allow you to carry out activities that are significant to your business.</p>
<p>For example, the role attribute is most often associated with the position held in the company and the scope of duties. Other options will have a manager, network or database administrator, tester, HR or marketing employee. That is why it is so crucial that attributes are managed and maintained in a careful manner.</p>
<h3>5. Directory Integration</h3>
<p>This is a directory service that uses the existing&nbsp;<em>Microsoft Active Directory</em>&nbsp;infrastructure to provide a modern, standards-based Identity and Access Management service.</p>
<p>The entire service stores data in the form of objects. Each object is a single element and it can be presented in the form of, e.g. devices (e.g. computer, printer, tablet), user or application. Objects are classified as resources or entities that are subject to security. Importantly,&nbsp;<em>Active Directory</em>&nbsp;categorizes objects according to their name and attributes.Thanks to&nbsp;<em>Active Directory</em>, the administrator gains a valuable tool that&nbsp;<strong>allows him or her to bring order, as well as a specific, hierarchical structure in the network</strong>.</p>
<h2>What is the security mechanism from Gluu?</h2>
<p>Gluu is a proven provider of services in the field of Single-Sign On, Two Factor Authentication and Access Management for web and mobile solutions, as well as the creator of products such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>Gluu Server,</li>
<li>Gluu Gateway,</li>
<li>Gluu Casa,</li>
<li>Super Gluu,</li>
<li>Cluster Manager,</li>
<li>oxd.</li>
</ul>
<p>See the full description of these&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gluu.org/products/">products that is used to create your IAM infrastructure</a>.</p>
<p>Gluu was founded in 2009 by Mike Schwartz. The main goal of Gluu is to provide organizations around the world with an open source platform that allows you to control access to valuable online resources.&nbsp;<strong>The creators want the Internet to be a friendly place for its users</strong>, who have various knowledge about the threats lurking there.</p>
<p>The mechanisms provided by Gluu are used by industries, including telephony and wireless communications, retail, advertising, marketing and public relations, pharmacy, logistics and transport.</p>
<h2>What does being a Gluu partner mean to Sagiton?</h2>
<p>Sagiton was choosen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gluu.org/partners-technology/">Gluu Technology Partner</a>. We have the great honor of supporting Gluu in the mission of promoting online security.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/testimonial_gluu.png" alt="Gluu recommends Sagiton as a Technology Partner" /></p>
<p>Sagiton specialists have practical experience in the field of Gluu architecture and functionalities offered. It allows for individual approach to each client and adjustment of functions to business.&nbsp;<strong>Within 48 hours we start the project and plan to implement selected security mechanisms</strong>.</p>
<p>After implementing selected Gluu functions, you can rely on us - thanks to&nbsp;<strong>SLA</strong>&nbsp;we are able to look after your project and immediately take over all disturbing events.</p>
<p>We believe in our skills, which is why the&nbsp;<strong>Sagiton team gives a 6-month warranty period for every implementation of functionality from Gluu in the Fixed-Price model</strong>. This means that if any inaccuracies are found within six months of providing the service, we will restore good condition free of charge. See details on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/gluu/">implementing Gluu features from Sagiton</a>.</p>
<p>In summary, companies use authentication mechanisms to validate users who are dealing with the resources of the organization or the network and to control the actions taken.</p>
<p>Without proper security measures and the support of IT security companies, all data (users, organizations) is exposed and can become the target of a hacker attack. Cyber security is not a one-time action, but a long-distance strategy, including constant observation and always being one step ahead of cybercriminals.</p>

Gluu Sagiton Technology Partner

Increase Enterprise Cyber Security. What Are the Available Identity and Access Management Solutions?

<p>The rational use of new technologies contributes to growth and long-distance planning. Check 8 frequently chosen logistic functionalities of the mobile application. Meet the challenges of managing logistics processes online way right away!</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what effectively affects the development of digitization in logistics,</li>
<li>about the next valuable functionalities of the logistics apps,</li>
<li>why investing in new technologies is a good direction.</li>
</ul>
<p>The use of a mobile application for logistics effectively affects the transparency of the entire organization. Mobile technologies increase agility, introduce predictability, and enable decision making based on real, structured data.</p>
<p>This article is the second entry in the series on functionalities for mobile app for the logistics industry.&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/best-functionalities-for-your-mobile-logistics-app/">Go to the first part</a>&nbsp;to keep up to date.</p>
<h2>What drives the digitization process in logistics?</h2>
<p>Before moving on to the&nbsp;<strong>logistics mobile app features</strong>, it is worth to know what is the main factor in the development of logistics and transport. There are many factors, but you can close them in 3 areas:</p>
<h3>1) Customers</h3>
<p>You must remember that your clients are already familiar with the online space. They move freely in it, share their data and understand the functioning of the Internet. That's why there are some expectations for companies. They are mainly related to:</p>
<ul>
<li>"keeping pace". Regularly examining client needs,</li>
<li>staying in constant contact with the customer,</li>
<li>as well as customizing services. Updating them and making necessary Customer Experience corrections.</li>
</ul>
<h3>2) Technology</h3>
<p>Digital technologies are constantly evolving and every company should be up to date with news. The results of the survey as part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://resources.frontapp.com/logistics-tech-trends-report?hs_preview=XCQHxIxA-13544249349">2019 Logistics Tech Trends report</a>&nbsp;say that most logistics and transport companies use technology. They do this to transform their business and digitize the supply chain.</p>
<p>What's more, the report indicates that 56% of companies spend over 100,000 USD on software and improvements per year. And they don't intend to stop at that! 81% of respondents say they expect an increase in spending on software over the next two years.</p>
<p>Modern technologies and the Internet affect:</p>
<ul>
<li>operating costs,</li>
<li>data processing and protection,</li>
<li>internal and external communication,</li>
<li>employee productivity,</li>
<li>establishing cooperation and building customer relationships.</li>
</ul>
<p>The dynamics of changes in the field of technology can be both a great motivation and stress factor. An&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/">experienced Technology Partner</a>&nbsp;is a good support in choosing the right technological solutions. The tasks of the Technology Partner include selection and assistance in making the final selection, of course - beneficial for your company.</p>
<h3>3) Economy</h3>
<p>The logistics industry is nothing but a network of interrelated services that aim to transport goods within and outside the country. Intensive operations mean that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.logisticsmiddleeast.com/business/33022-comment-why-logistics-is-essential-to-economic-growth">the entire logistics industry is valued at $4.3 trillion globally</a>. The effective flow of goods from pickup to destination are key factors for commercial and economic growth.</p>
<p>The market is dynamic and rewards those who support innovation. The benefits of adapting to market expectations are real, and investments related to digitization take place every day.</p>
<p>According to a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ijodls.in/uploads/3/6/0/3/3603729/vol-5,_issue-2.138-149.pdf">study by Aligarh Muslim University</a>, the economy and society are demanding digitization. This is because digitization can:</p>
<ul>
<li>increase access to knowledge and information,</li>
<li>improve the quality of services,</li>
<li>give services a whole new form.</li>
</ul>
<p>Services that until recently required manual work are transformed into automated operations; error-making and time-consuming tasks are reduced. All this has a real impact on the economic situation and economic indicators.</p>
<h2>What functionalities should the mobile application for logistics have</h2>
<p>If you run a logistics company, you certainly know that digital transformation and the purchase of software are necessary in order to stay on the market and improve your competitiveness. You are probably thinking about how to develop a logistics app that suits my company. Well, let&rsquo;s dive in!</p>
<p>The&nbsp;<strong>logistics app development process should definitely be user-focused</strong>. It can have several types of end-users, depending on your business models, such as customers, drivers, office workers, warehouse workers or application administrators. Each person will have different needs and will handle the solution in a different way.</p>
<p>Customer and driver panels are extremely important. Therefore, you should carry out appropriate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/bespoke-application-development/#ux-ui-design">UX audit</a>&nbsp;or empirical tests to get a personalized list of your mobile application's features.</p>
<p>So, if you are planning to create a software for your logistics company, be inspired and check out the next top logistics app features.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN1.png" alt="Goods flow and product management in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Goods flow and product management</h3>
<p>Did you know that you can track your goods to one meter per second? This is made possible by a mobile application with a&nbsp;<strong>delivery and product management panel</strong>. The mobile logistics software allows you to track your goods in the warehouse, loading area, vehicles or pickup point. This smooth transfer of goods between points is possible by using QR codes scanning.</p>
<p>The packaging and product protection elements may contain QR codes, which, after scanning, send the relevant data to your app. Scanning is done through your mobile device's camera, QR-code application or mobile scanner&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/slp/qr-scanners/n2eynjep748o9kx">like that</a>. In this way,&nbsp;<strong>automatic notifications</strong>&nbsp;are sent out, which immediately show whether the whole process is going according to the established plan.</p>
<p>Here you can also use one of the recommended alternatives in the form of RFID (<em>Radio Frequency Identification</em>) or NFC (<em>Near Field Communication</em>) technology.</p>
<p>RFID uses frequency or radio waves to scan and identify goods. RFID tags can be active and passive and, depending on the type, allow data transfer over a distance of 25 meters (passive) to 100 meters (active).</p>
<p>This ensures that the recipient's details (e.g. recipient's name, contact details, destination, copy of the invoice), as well as the shipment itself (e.g. content of the shipment, method of transport, product properties, weight), are always in one place.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN2.png" alt="Offline and online support in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Offline and online support</h3>
<p>The logistics industry must be prepared for all conditions, especially when it comes to network access. Many of the processes are based on the use of the Internet. However, what if free access to the network is disrupted or hindered.</p>
<p>Imagine a driver who is in a place where the Internet fails. His work continues, the order must be completed on time, so the&nbsp;<strong>system used - indicated as the technological support - must not fail him/her</strong>. The application for logistics should be tailored to the expectations of end-users and provide the same experience both online and offline. Otherwise, it becomes useless and constitutes an ineffective, even compulsory, addition to work.</p>
<p>A properly constructed&nbsp;<strong>logistic mobile application</strong>&nbsp;is supported offline. It will certainly make it easier for the user, e.g. to enter necessary data, regardless of the location or network access.</p>
<p>Transport and logistics activities involve the processing of huge amounts of data. Their storage may be difficult due to the type of data or the storage space. Here, in turn, an application based on cloud solutions is useful.</p>
<p>You can add cloud services to your mobile application.&nbsp;<strong>Data is processed and stored in real-time in the cloud</strong>. Access to information about users, drivers or resources is quick and easy (of course - only for authorized persons). It is true that running cloud functions in business will increase the cost of creating apps for logistics. However, there is no denying that in the long term this will generate the desired revenue and increase control over resources.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN3.png" alt="Automation of operations and reduction in errors in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Automation of operations and reduction in errors</h3>
<p>Manual work is associated with mistakes - employees are people and anyone can make an unfortunate mistake. By using the mobile application for everyday logistical tasks, you will&nbsp;<strong>minimize inaccuracies and block errors resulting from manual work</strong>.</p>
<p>Thanks to the mobile application for logistics and the provided creation function (e.g. of the forms, queries, tasks), your employees can perform a number of activities, e.g:</p>
<ul>
<li>add and edit current/new orders for products and services,</li>
<li>measure business performance indicators (e.g. KPIs, ROI),</li>
<li>go to historical data and compare it with any period,</li>
<li>plan actions and verify their effectiveness,</li>
<li>estimate the time and cost of running processes,</li>
<li>create reports and documents for managers.</li>
</ul>
<p>All information is stored in the company's database as well as in the application itself. The data is easily accessible and, above all, secure thanks to additional&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemlock.com/en/offer/application-gdpr-compliant-audits">cybersecurity measures</a>.</p>
<p>Paper orders for both services and products can be lost, damaged and overlooked. The solution to this are e-forms, in which all data necessary to execute the transaction are included. Once the information has been entered in the appropriate fields, it will always remain in the correct and legible form and for as long as your company needs it.</p>
<p>Thanks to automation, there will never again be a scenario in which a customer complains about a lack of response to the inquiry from you or about delays in the order information flow.&nbsp;<strong>Introducing automation into the company</strong>&nbsp;and into existing processes improves productivity of team members, saves their time for manual preparation of documents and allows for immediate generation of mobile documents.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN4.png" alt="Update of information in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Update of information</h3>
<p>One of the most important aspects of conducting logistic activity is keeping information up-to-date. The mobile application should be equipped with a dashboard (something like the main panel), from which key information is available.</p>
<p>The information contained in the dashboard should be&nbsp;<strong>personalised and adapted to the specific type of user</strong>, e.g. other messages will be displayed to managers, customer service staff, warehousemen, and other to drivers.</p>
<p>A mobile solution for logistics should support the driver's journal and daily activities. Through the logbook, the driver is able to record every movement and declare the duties performed. Moreover, the journal allows you to keep track of such data as:</p>
<ul>
<li>mileage and number of kilometers travelled,</li>
<li>hours spent on work,</li>
<li>the charges paid, e.g. for fuel, for a toll road,</li>
<li>the number of routes made,</li>
<li>the number of shipments received and delivered during a given period.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are just a few examples. You can actually observe any data. All you need to do is to specify what you are interested in and then add it to your application as part of the functionality.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN5.png" alt="Ensuring security in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Ensuring security</h3>
<p>Security in the company is paramount and takes place on many levels. For example, personal data, sensitive data, the software used, know-how, tender information or recipes must be protected.</p>
<p><strong>A mobile application should be developed in compliance with security standards</strong>&nbsp;(e.g. OWASP, ASVS) and meet global digital security requirements (e.g. ISO 2700x, GDPR). Ideally, an application should pass penetration tests,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemlock.com/en/offer/application-security-audits-penetration-tests">application security audits</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemlock.com/en/offer/application-gdpr-compliant-audits">GDPR compliance audits</a>&nbsp;before it reaches end-users.</p>
<p>The logistic application should also include safety aspects for employees, especially drivers. With dedicated mobile software, you can&nbsp;<strong>monitor your driver to ensure 100% protection</strong>. The application tracks the driver's behaviour while driving, e.g. braking, speed, phone use, lane driving. On this basis, a scorecard can be generated, which assists in the training of drivers and their selection for subsequent orders.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN6.png" alt="Active communication in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Active communication</h3>
<p>Information flow has never been so convenient with an application that provides a conversation function. The&nbsp;<strong>mechanism of communication</strong>&nbsp;can take the form of a chat, internal forum or popular chatbot.</p>
<p>Each member of the team is able to quickly establish contact with a selected person, send him/her not only a message in the form of text, but also an image or files of any format. Thanks to this, communication between all the people involved does not go beyond the application and beyond the company.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN7.png" alt="Making a payment in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Making a payment</h3>
<p>As mentioned in the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/best-functionalities-for-your-mobile-logistics-app/">previous part of the article</a>, the logistic mobile application gives the possibility to monitor data about products, their condition, orders placed or delivery. And all this in real-time!</p>
<p>The driver using the application can perform&nbsp;<strong>broadly defined payment activities</strong>. The application and the data included in it are proof of payment made by the recipient. Here the e-account plays a great role, which records each payment with related information.</p>
<p>In addition, the employee may keep travel bills as part of the software. Employees responsible for finance have access to the administrative panel where these data are aggregated, invoiced, analysed and then paid out on this basis.</p>
<p>In such a system of work, where the driver is included in the payment process, it is worth taking care of mental comfort. With the mobile application, the probability of making a mistake after a demanding journey is reduced.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/marchEN8.png" alt="Availability in many languages in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Availability in many languages</h3>
<p>Modern technologies remove language barriers. It is worth keeping in mind that among the drivers there may be people from many regions who speak different languages. In order to respect them, the&nbsp;<strong>logistic mobile app should give you a choice of language</strong>.</p>
<p>Moreover, a change of language should not cause a different User Experience. The app must be prepared for multilingual service with the same UX, level of information and user satisfaction.</p>
<p>Application support for multiple languages translates into scalability of the business, its free growth and can become an element increasing the chances for success.</p>
<h2>Futuristic solutions are already in use</h2>
<p>It is safe to say that&nbsp;<strong>mobile solutions are an essential tool for the logistics and transport industry</strong>. It is already known that thoughtful app features can help to manage processes, reduce the occurrence of errors and information chaos, or make it easier to track resources.</p>
<p>However, what is equally important is that the logistics application allows you to shape your brand online and build customer trust. Provide valuable solutions and meet customers' expectations. That truly will contribute to improving the results and to the appearance of a friendly attitude towards your business.</p>

White Dump Truck near Pine Tress during Daytime

Mobile Application With Superpowers! 8 Popular Functionalities for the Logistics App

<p>If you are a specialist in the logistics or transport industry and plan to improve the company, get inspired and be sure to take a moment to read this entry. Check out popular functionalities that can be developed in a dedicated mobile logistics app. Gain control over processes and learn to solve problems in one place - in your application.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn about:</h3>
<ul>
<li>the challenges of the logistics and transport industry,</li>
<li>the benefits of digitization in logistics,</li>
<li>the best functionalities of mobile applications for logistics.</li>
</ul>
<p>Fast delivery, precision in tracking goods, process security and delivery insurance, efficiency in the transfer of goods between departments, transparency, and timeliness of the information. You probably hear about them constantly, from competing companies, from partners or clients.</p>
<p>These are not only expectations but above all obligations that must be fulfilled as a logistics and transport company. Do you know how efficiently you can gain control over processes and how to solve many problems at the same time? Check the best functionalities that can be developed within the mobile application.</p>
<h2>The benefits of digitization in the logistics industry</h2>
<p>Planning and management of logistics or transport processes often cause a fast heartbeat. It happens that delivering goods to end-users as soon as possible evokes chaos, misinformation, and ill-considered spontaneity. This, unfortunately, contributes to making unfortunate business decisions...</p>
<p>However, all your fears can be skilfully dispelled if you choose to perform the digital transformation. By&nbsp;<strong>introducing new technologies into your logistics business</strong>, you will:</p>
<ul>
<li>organize your processes,</li>
<li>effectively accelerate them,</li>
<li>increase control over them,</li>
<li>influence the security and stability of the supply chain.</li>
</ul>
<p>According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pwc.pl/pl/pdf/publikacje/2018/transport-logistics-trendbook-2019-en.pdf">PWC report</a>, 68% of managers from the transport and logistics industry believe that too dynamic changes in technologies related to the service provision disrupt their activities.</p>
<p>Therefore, do not be discouraged. Remember about flexibility and be optimistic about innovation. Look for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/">technological support</a>&nbsp;so that your solution would be tailored to your needs and capabilities.</p>
<p>There is no denying that publicly available logistics apps have changed the industry once and for all. The supply chain apps not only streamlined the processes, but make implementation of tasks by managers or lower-level employees easier. Digitization has benefits such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>simplifying internal processes</strong>&nbsp;through the use of digital solutions - both ready and dedicated. Company members use the same software in their work, and this reduces information and communication chaos,</li>
<li><strong>streamlining and management of talent supply chain</strong>. Digitization means that the development of the talent supply chain is conducted as needed. This results in reducing the gaps in talent supply, cost savings and more agile control of the Input/Output system,</li>
<li><strong>increasing revenues</strong>&nbsp;through the emergence of new communication channels. Expanding reach to potential customers,</li>
<li><strong>reducing business risk and affecting transparency</strong>&nbsp;after introducing online payments,</li>
<li><strong>reducing the cost of customer service</strong>&nbsp;by moving services to online space,</li>
<li><strong>opportunity to meet customer needs</strong>&nbsp;through new categories of services,</li>
<li><strong>emergence of new online marketing opportunities</strong>&nbsp;and new business relationships.</li>
</ul>
<p>By choosing ready-made solutions or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/bespoke-application-development/">dedicated logistics applications</a>, including mobile ones, you contribute to building your competitive advantage. By obtaining a high level of technological sophistication, you can try to compete not only with small players on the market, but also with large and influential ones.</p>
<h2>The functionalities of the mobile logistics app that are worth having</h2>
<p>The&nbsp;<strong>logistics software should always be adapted to the specifics of your business</strong>. It is to be an intuitive, useful and aesthetic tool (yes! Nothing is more pleasing than a beautiful interface and well thought out visual elements). Learn about the most important functionalities that you can implement in your application:</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/1en.png" alt="Easy user identification in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Easy user identification</h3>
<p>As part of the mobile application, each user has their own profile. The profile can be created via e.g. an email address or a social media account. Mechanisms such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/cybersecurity/#federated-identity-single-sign-on">federated identity</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/cybersecurity/#federated-identity-single-sign-on">Single Sign-On</a>&nbsp;are used. As part of the profile, data such as may be compact:</p>
<ul>
<li>personal data: name, surname, age, place of residence, personal identification number, ID or driving license scan, criminal record,</li>
<li>position in the company and entrusted duties,</li>
<li>scope of responsibility as part of logistics and transport services,</li>
<li>currently performed task and its status,</li>
<li>availability, working time and shifts.</li>
</ul>
<p>You can decide on the quality and amount of data collected as part of profiles, after all, you know best which data is worth processing and which can be useful.</p>
<p>Each profile is equipped with permissions adequate to the position held. You can flexibly increase and decrease the possibilities within each user account (e.g. at the time of vertical/horizontal promotion). In addition, employees can report their daily activities, report the start of the task and its status. Thanks to this, you are aware of the challenges your employees face.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/2en.png" alt="Planning and process management in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Planning and process management</h3>
<p>One of the biggest challenges in the logistics and transport industry is planning activities, implementing them and exercising control. Thanks to the logistics management software, you can&nbsp;<strong>manage many processes at once</strong>, e.g. control the warehouse, create and iterate the delivery route, exchange messages with the place of delivery, check the condition of the vehicle, etc.</p>
<p>Within&nbsp;<strong>transportation and logistics management</strong>, the basis is routing. This involves defining the most cost-effective route (including stops) while minimizing distance and travel time. Properly planned routing is crucial given the existing competition.</p>
<p>Thanks to extensive management options, the mobile logistics app ensures timely execution of operations. What might a sample logistics process look like using a dedicated application?</p>
<ul>
<li>setting a route with the driver to&nbsp;<strong>calculate the resources needed to complete the course</strong>&nbsp;and deliver the goods. The entire route is included in the application and becomes available to all interested parties,</li>
<li>based on the selected route - its length and specificity - you can&nbsp;<strong>estimate the cost of transport</strong>&nbsp;(e.g. use of fuel, driver&rsquo;s working time), stopping place and even the date of delivery. This contributes to the transparency of the process, to the effective management of company resources and to the fulfillment of business promises,</li>
<li>the driver via the mobile application may, in justified cases, can&nbsp;<strong>request a change of route</strong>. The terms of such a change can be negotiated within the application. This gives flexibility and fluency of emergency communication. The consent appears in the system and is visible in the form, e.g. a message in news feed. The vehicle movement is shown in real time on the map,</li>
<li>the administrator has&nbsp;<strong>constant access to details related to the vehicle and its expenditure</strong>. In one place it has access to information, e.g. regarding service performed, fuel consumption, combustion and air pollution control, mileage, reported defects.</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/3en.png" alt="Trackers for vehicles and drivers in logistics app" /></p>
<h3>Trackers for vehicles and drivers</h3>
<p>The vehicle tracking and driver status function is introduced in the mobile application for logistics. The driver can keep a travel journal thanks to the app. In the journal, the driver indicates the time of start and end of work, distance traveled or comments about the route. Aggregated information can be successfully used in future cases.</p>
<p><strong>Tracking travel or progress made in the delivery</strong>&nbsp;of goods is possible thanks to the use of GPS and real-time notifications. In a split second you can find out about the location of the driver. So you can easily determine if s/he will be on time or if there is a delay. GPS is an irreplaceable support in understanding the details of the driver&rsquo;s journey - it is the basis for calculating time and costs.</p>
<p>Once the driver finalizes the transaction, you can engage him/her to collect the next goods for transport. Just&nbsp;<strong>send a request with a new task via the administration panel</strong>. The driver receives a notification (e.g. push) to mobile device. The notification contains instructions and information related to the next order. Also here your smart logistics app will do its work. In this way, you can plan your activities, rationally use resources in your company and react quickly when there is a favorable opportunity.</p>
<h2>Great functionality flexibility</h2>
<p>This is the first part about the functionality of mobile applications for logistics. Go to the second part to learn even more.</p>
<p>The presented functionalities are only examples that can be considered popular and often chosen. In the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/portfolio/#transport">Sagiton portfolio</a>&nbsp;you can see projects in the logistics industry that we had the chance to implement.</p>
<p>Remember that thanks to technological support, application development can be tailored to the specifics of your company and identified needs. If you want to know how to develop logistics app just for you,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/contact/">contact our specialists</a>. You can get information on how new technologies can serve your business and goals.</p>

White Volvo Semi Truck on Side of Road

Best Functionalities for Your Mobile Logistics App

<p>Google Play stores and the App Store are packed with games. There are so many ways to spend your free time that it&rsquo;s difficult to make a choice. Recently, however, there is an application available that will conquer your hearts and exhaust your fingers. Meet TapTapWinWin and enter the world of mini-games in the mega dimension.</p>
<h3>From the article you will find out:</h3>
<ul>
<li>why the TapTapWinWin application was created,</li>
<li>how the application works,</li>
<li>who the target group is and who would fall in love with the game,</li>
<li>who participated in the creation of TTWW.</li>
</ul>
<p>Have you ever had the situation that you were angry at the whole world and wanted to challenge it right here, right now to a duel? Probably the only thing that came to your mind at that time was getting back and quickly find a way to defuse the emotions... Been there, felt that and that is why we started the TapTapWinWin project so eagerly. Because the best way to show THEM ALL that you are better, faster and smarter is - as it turns out - not only taking part in a 100-meter race or participation in the Scientific Olympics but also undertaking a joint online game!</p>
<h2>Click hard for a win</h2>
<p>The design challenge of TapTapWinWin was simple - undertake&nbsp;<strong>mobile development of application</strong>&nbsp;that allows two people to start the battle online. For fun, for laughter, for entertainment, simply! TTWW is a set of arcade games that can overload your fingers. That&rsquo;s why we warn you - you play at your own risk.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/TapTapWinWin-1.png" alt="A series of mini games in the TapTapWinWin mobileapplication." /></p>
<p>In the TapTapWinWin application, you will find a lot of twists and turns, non-standard entertainment, and above all, you will join a crazy community that loves to click and compete.&nbsp;<a href="https://taptapwinwin.com/">Visit the application landing page</a>&nbsp;and test your smartness!</p>
<p>According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.business2community.com/infographics/mobile-game-market-trends-2020-infographic-02223323" rel="nofollow">infographic</a>&nbsp;posted by Business2Community, the value of the global mobile gaming market in 2019 was $151.9 Billion, and in 2020 it is expected to reach as much as $165.9 Billion. Whats more, there is a trend that indicates that one of the most anticipated games are the so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.quora.com/What-are-hyper-casual-games" rel="nofollow">hyper-casual games</a>. Users of mobile applications willingly reach for games from categories such as Puzzle, Arcade, Adventure, and Action. Most players can be found in the USA, China, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.</p>
<h2>How does the Tap Tap WinWin application work?</h2>
<p>The application from this Case Study within&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/portfolio/">Sagiton Portfolio</a>&nbsp;was created thanks to close cooperation with&nbsp;<a href="https://appswithlove.com/">Apps with love</a>, Full Service Digital Agency from Switzerland, specifically from Bern. The application can certainly be classified as intuitive and pleasant to use. What does an example battle look like as part of the TapTapWinWin? In a nutshell: two players play 5 fast and random arcade mini games among themselves. However, this would not be surprising if it wasnt for one small detail. You should take a photo of your reaction after each second game, so we can have three photos in one session. By reaction is meant a facial expression that accompanies winning or losing. As you know, everyone reacts differently in situations of failure or victory, so you can expect e.g. smile from ear to ear or an extremely strange grimace. Here, the creativity and spontaneity of players will be appreciated. At the very end of the battle, a list of winnings and losers is given (e.g. 3:2), and points are awarded to advance to the next level.</p>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/TapTapWinWin-2.png" alt="Examples of mini games that can be played as part of theTapTapWinWin mobile application." /></p>
<p>It was decided that the&nbsp;<strong>application development</strong>&nbsp;of the TTWW will be based on the following functionalities:</p>
<ul>
<li>playing with another application user,</li>
<li>ranking with TOP 10 players,</li>
<li>playing with a bot, if there are currently no players available (here, however, no points are awarded at the end of the game and no pictures are taken after each mini game).</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/images/TapTapWinWin-3.png" alt="Examples of mini games that are available as part of theTapTapWinWin mobile application." /></p>
<p>Each board with a mini game is distinguished by vivid colors and may remind some users of joyful moments spent playing on portable video consoles. At first glance, TTWW games may seem light or fast to master but dont let this fool you. The challenges are extremely dynamic, and with the new game board, there is a new chance to &ldquo;click on&rdquo; your advantage.</p>
<h3>Who can use the application?</h3>
<p>There are no age restrictions within the application. So, if you want to compare with other players, and at the same time test your dexterity and reaction speed, this is the perfect opportunity for you. See&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=picOJ8bBm-c">how the TapTapWinWin mobile application works</a>&nbsp;and start playing.</p>
<h3>In what technology was the application created?</h3>
<p>The application was written in C # using .NET Core and Unity. Software framework in the form of .NET Core allows you to run the server part in many environments, such as Linux or Windows Server, while Unity is the recommended tool for creating mobile games for Android and IOS. We did not have to think for a long time whether to undertake such support and involve our&nbsp;<strong>IOS and Android app developers</strong>&nbsp;in that project. It is because as a team we feel so good and freely about such projects. Check the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/portfolio/">industries that Sagiton gave IT support</a>.</p>
<h3>What were the first reactions of users to the application?</h3>
<p>TapTapWinWin has so far been presented at various events in Switzerland, e.g. during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgOzz9NRbK4" rel="nofollow">DesignFestival</a>. The first end-users of the application perceived it very positively. Each game board and the rules associated with it were fully understood by the players. The aesthetics of the games were distinguished by their freshness, one could say that they even electrified the audience. Undoubtedly, users were attracted by the fact that they can compete with others in real-time and that both players face the same challenge. They truly admit that TTWW is considered as&nbsp;<strong>best entertainment app</strong>, and that information greatly amazed us. It is worth remembering that every application development on Android or IOS should take into account the pragmatic and emotional needs of players.</p>
<h2>What was the role of Sagiton in creating the application?</h2>
<p>Creating the first application based on minigames was a real adventure. Our team has several avid players who were just waiting for such an&nbsp;<strong>application development service</strong>&nbsp;mission. Software House Sagiton in the TapTapWinWin project was responsible for:</p>
<ul>
<li>creating a scoring system and a system to move to the next levels in the game,</li>
<li>making corrections to the application architecture,</li>
<li>making visual adjustments,</li>
<li>adding functionality in the form of the aforementioned gamers ranking.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The work that has been done so far is only part of the plans for the entire application.</strong>&nbsp;The Apps with love team is constantly thinking about the possible directions of its sustainable and, above all, interesting development. What will definitely be included in the next stages of application development is expanding the interaction between players and adding the possibility of adding to friends, creating a ranking among friends, and inviting to play together. We are looking forward to these news! Meanwhile, were finishing writing this Case Study to play the next round in TapTapWinWin.</p>

Main Ttw Wblog

Click to Win! Case Study: TapTapWinWin Mobile Application

<p>Do you have an idea for a new application, platform or service? You can deliver it quickly and in agile way to the market, while maintaining a high level of quality and full functionality of the solution. Check the Rapid Application Development tools and ready-made components that will help you improve the creation of your IT product and reduce business risk.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn about:</h3>
<ul>
<li>the validity of the Rapid Application Development methodology,</li>
<li>the reasons why companies use RAD tools,</li>
<li>examples of the most interesting and ready-to-use components,</li>
<li>the idea of iterations, semi-products and Scrum,</li>
<li>the benefits of using Rapid Application Development in business.</li>
</ul>
<p>It is worth doing your best and undertaking your own ideas or ventures. Through the existence of so many inspiring people or events, it is more and more common that we begin to think about new solutions, in our minds, interesting and sometimes innovative ideas for new business applications, platforms or services appear in a spontaneous way. What counts the most then? Fast and responsible reaction! Why fast? Because every second counts when it comes to using the potential in the niche and entering the market. And why responsible? Customers expect only refined and fully functional solutions that can be considered attractive and trustworthy. So what should you do to start working actively on developing your idea, but be careful and reduce the risk of cost and time overheads or possible business failures? Certainly you should consider implementing Rapid Application Development as part of IT project management.</p>
<h2>Prototyping and ready-made components in RAD</h2>
<p>There is a belief that there is little chance of dynamically obtaining an IT product in the form of a mobile, web or any other type of application that will be exceptionally competitive and which will meet all users' requirements&hellip; Thanks to the&nbsp;<strong>Rapid Application Development methodology</strong>&nbsp;and thanks to numerous practices and tools within it, you can easily do this by using all the business potential hidden in the idea. The methodology and numerous tools used in RAD were created due to the strong need to quickly deliver software to the consumers. First of all, the main role in Rapid Development of Application is played by: dynamic and repeatable prototyping and application testing; introducing further, necessary modifications in order to develop an innovative solution in line with the expectations of the users.</p>
<p>As part of the rapid product development, the project team can use not only the&nbsp;<strong>application prototyping</strong>, but also a set of ready-made components. Ready components or microservices are, as the name says, ready-made elements that can be implemented in the IT solution being created. Each of these elements can be seen as a small, single-function application, having its own architecture, and even a database that is developed independently to the others. Thanks to this structure, microservices are much easier to understand, develop and, at a later stage, maintain. They are an attractive counter to extensive monolithic applications, in which every change is a huge challenge, leaving a technical debt that slows down the work within project. Microservices are able to effectively reduce the above mentioned debt, which can take a variety of forms, starting from illegible or duplicate code, lack of test environment, lack of automated tests and ending with the use of ineffective tools by the project or software development team. Ready-to-use components ensure good scalability of the created application, because they can be freely combined, and recombined. What's more, they guarantee the occurrence of the&nbsp;<strong>Continuous Deployment</strong>&nbsp;process, in this case automatic download of a given version of the application and its implementation to the created test environments, where tests and quality controls take place. Ready components can easily be adapted to the specifics of business and to the project requirements provided. They are all about faster development of the application and obtaining visible effects already in the early stages of the software development life cycle.</p>
<h2>Popular microservices to be used in a new IT project</h2>
<p>Developers are eager to reach&nbsp;<strong>microservices</strong>&nbsp;to speed up their work and to use the quality-verified elements. They do not have to write code from scratch, they only need to know places on the Internet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/semi-products/">where they can find microservices</a>. Here are 12 recommended microservices that can be implemented to the project just like that:</p>
<p>1) Authentication and Authorization Service.</p>
<p>Microservice, which enables the&nbsp;<strong>management of users</strong>, e.g. the process of registering them, assigning roles or giving tasks that can be performed by them. This component can be integrated with external users' identity providers (including Open ID, Google, LinkedIn, Facebook).</p>
<p>2) Asset Service.</p>
<p>Component that allows you to&nbsp;<strong>manage digital resources</strong>. Resources can be in the form of images, business documents or PDF files and other. The whole process within the component consists in performing transformational operations on the previously mentioned digital resources, such as: changing the image resolution, modifying the applied color palette or converting the file format. In addition, microservice can extract metadata from resources and for example isolate text from images, files or office documents.</p>
<p>3) Search Service.</p>
<p>Microservice, which provides a&nbsp;<strong>quick search function</strong>. It allows you to track specific information in many data sources (ie in directories, Asset Service, CMS, blogs, etc.) at the same time.</p>
<p>4) Snapshot Service.</p>
<p>Mikroserwis based on&nbsp;<strong>versioning process to literally all data</strong>. It can be used regardless of whether you want to save historical data about transactions made, changes made to product information or downloads done.</p>
<p>5) Catalogue Service.</p>
<p>This service with good effect&nbsp;<strong>simplifies the work within the data</strong>&nbsp;contained in catalogs. It is thanks to the mechanisms in the form of multichannel hierarchies, attribute inheritance and hierarchy tree traversing.</p>
<p>6) Content Service.</p>
<p>An interesting component acting as a simple&nbsp;<strong>content management system</strong>. It is considered to be a mechanism for quickly creating templates that supports engines such as Groovy, Freemarker or JasperReports.</p>
<p>7) Consent Service.</p>
<p>As the name suggests, it is a component that supports the&nbsp;<strong>process of managing user consents</strong>. This is a very important aspect for all businesses that process personal data of residents of the European Union, considering General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR. Activities should be in line with the guidelines of the Regulation, and Consent Service reduces the risk of information chaos, incorrect collection or processing of entrusted data.</p>
<p>8) Web/Mobile Content Service.</p>
<p>As part of this ready-made component, the process of&nbsp;<strong>dynamic adaptation of the web or mobile application</strong>&nbsp;takes place, based on the information taken directly from the content management system. Thanks to this, all modifications made in the application are run with success and - what is important - the necessity to update the application in the AppStore/Google Play or re-deploy it to the server disappears.</p>
<p>9) Broadcasting-Service.</p>
<p>The component focuses on&nbsp;<strong>sending push notifications to the dynamic list of users</strong>&nbsp;in the form of text messages, e.g. e-mails, posts shared via social media. The dynamic list is supplemented with data of people who, for example: became interested in a specific, promoted service or product; who eagerly downloaded the e-book or whitepaper; who are located close to the location of the company offering its range of products and services.</p>
<p>10) Personally Identifiable Information Service.</p>
<p>Central management system, necessary in the era of privacy of users, GDPR and other regulations. This service is based on such mechanisms as multi-storage separation, tokenization, pseudonymisation, anonymisation or encryption. The component increases the&nbsp;<strong>security of stored personal data of users</strong>&nbsp;and prevents data from being dispersed.</p>
<p>11) Profiling-Service.</p>
<p>Microservice allowing&nbsp;<strong>mass customization of web or mobile application</strong>. What's more, this component provides the function of communication with users thanks to integration with the Broadcasting-Service. When you have a company and clients, it is worth knowing who is a direct and permanent consumer of services/products and what are consumer preferences (explicit and implicit preferences that have been identified thanks to Data Science mechanisms).</p>
<p>12) ELK web/mobile clients.</p>
<p>Activities under this component include the&nbsp;<strong>integration of the application (web, mobile or server) with the ELK technology stack</strong>&nbsp;that aggregates logs, and also allows you to dynamically change the level of login to the application. This can be extremely useful especially when analyzing production incidents.</p>
<h3>Is it worth using iterations, ready-made components, Scrum strategy?</h3>
<p>For "fast application delivery", iterations are applied. In a nutshell,&nbsp;<strong>iterations in programming</strong>&nbsp;rely on software development in short cycles, in which it is subject to continuous improvement. This ensures a high level of control over the workflow and high flexibility, as changes can be made at any time. In addition, thanks to actions in the field of Behavior Driven Delivery, e.g. market research, group interviews/individual interviews, surveys, consumer tests conducted on the target group (so-called early adopters), you can get valuable feedback (e.g. about design, available functionalities, level of usability or intuitiveness) and on their basis make further decisions regarding the direction of application development.</p>
<p>Another measure within the&nbsp;<strong>rapid product development</strong>&nbsp;is - as has already been described - the use of semi-products and other RAD tools. These are mainly elements that can be given the status: "repeatedly tested and verified". Undoubtedly they deserve this status, because these semi-products have been tested in various conditions in the past and used willingly in IT projects. Such ready-made components include, for example, a login/registration module, account management service, user consent management, digital resource management or product data management system. Thanks to the use of semi-finished products, the entire work can run smoothly, and the risk of incurring unnecessary investment or cost-time overheads is reduced.</p>
<p>Very popular is the&nbsp;<strong>agile management in project</strong>, especially individual projects within company. We're talking here about using the Scrum methodology. Each concept needs time to clarify its basic assumptions and to be able to fully develop. However, wondering forever about the rightness of a given IT project in the current, violent market is extremely ineffective and even slightly detrimental to the project owner. By moving away from activities based on extensive strategies, you can quickly shape any idea. The project will surely respond to the expectations of users thanks to the introduction of Customer Development activity and examining the opinion of the target group. In addition, the gradual acquisition of knowledge about the project and continuous control over sustainable development is extremely simple since A/B testing is used. A/B tests consist in comparing two versions of a given solution in order to choose a version that better meets the set of requirements or performs tasks in a better way. If there are any doubts as to the choice of the IT product version, we can always test the prototype again, add further modifications, until you are fully satisfied with the results.</p>
<h2>What are the benefits of Rapid Application Development?</h2>
<p>It is not worth creating complex and monolithic systems that require sacrificing long months or years before they go public. The Rapid Application Development methodology has thus become a global project standard, thanks to which IT teams are able to deliver refined parts of the application in a few days or weeks. The most frequent advantages in running RAD processes are:</p>
<ul>
<li>reduction of the risk of incurring unnecessary costs. The correctness of planned solutions can be checked by creating their prototypes in the form of Minimum Viable Product, MVP. Thanks to them, there is a chance to verify the functionality of the application at an early stage of its existence. In this way, at a low cost, you can improve the system so that it responds best to user and market needs (Product-Market Fit, PMF),</li>
<li>efficient implementation of improvements to the project. RAD gives the possibility of making flexible changes throughout the whole development process of the application,</li>
<li>reduced number of errors due to the use of tested components. Microservices were repeatedly used in other projects in the past, therefore their defects or imperfections could be noticed and then eliminated,</li>
<li>lower development and application maintenance costs. The use of components effectively reduces the costs of the project, and in the case of willingness to implement improvements to the system, the process may occur at the level of microservices with the possibility of a smooth moving to the overall level,</li>
<li>quicker Time To Market (TTM). By using the previously mentioned RAD tools, the application can get to the first users much faster,</li>
<li>high quality of the developed application. As a result of performed tests, surveys or completed iterations, an IT product in an adequate manner can respond to identified market needs. In the case of application development, there is a significant improvement in its quality and in the range of available functionalities,</li>
<li>the application development process is characterized by full involvement of the client and the end user. System development can be based on workshops with the client and the user, within which the expectations and needs of both parties are defined. Thanks to this, the end product can be satisfying, useful, intuitive, aesthetic and business compatible.</li>
</ul>
<p>The RAD methodology is nothing new and more and more companies decide to create products according to its guidelines. Companies are more willing to use methods include the latest trends in software development just like the one that was discussed in the article. The Rapid Application Development methodology is the resignation from extensive plans, resulting in an uncertain effect and the first step to agile management. If you want to introduce RAD into your business,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/contact/">contact the IT company</a>&nbsp;or the Technology Partner to get dedicated support.</p>

12 Microservices

Advantages of 12 Microservices for Developing Your Application

<p>Do you want to make an app? Do you want to make an app quickly and with low risk? Find out about alternative solutions and stop thinking about hiring developers!</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>whether the process of launching applications on the market can be accelerated;</li>
<li>whether all application functionalities must be provided immediately;</li>
<li>what to do when the team&rsquo;s performance decreases;</li>
<li>what to do to reduce the chance of errors in the application;</li>
<li>how important the application quality assurance process is;</li>
<li>what are the consequences of the lack of a Project Manager in the team.</li>
</ul>
<p>It&rsquo;s not that I believe that software development services are not relevant. Quite contrary especially since I&rsquo;m running software development agency for over 7 years. However there are moments where you naturally may think that the solution to all your problems is to hire extra software developers while this is not necessary the case.</p>
<p>In this article you will find out when you should not think about hiring software developers and use alternative solutions that will not only help you save time and money but also allow you to end up with a better application. Because new product development starts with a well-thought-out business strategy supported by technical and technological skills of owned or hired team.</p>
<p>The text describes real examples that I experienced during my career. I tried to cover 5, in my opinion, most common topics which address different stages of&nbsp;<strong>development life cycle</strong>&nbsp;of digital project where you may think that you need extra developers. So, you don&rsquo;t need more developers when...</p>
<h2>1. You want to speed up the time to market</h2>
<p>Sometimes you see that your dev team is not delivering solution fast enough. Of course the easiest way would be to add extra capacity into your project to speed up. However this may help you address current situation but not necessary the root cause, not mentioning how it will affect your budget. There are several reasons why the dev team is not moving fast enough which I will describe later on. Before you start an expensive recruitment process, talk to your team and find out what may be the main cause.</p>
<h2>2. You have a lot of functionalities to deliver</h2>
<p>Yes, obviously if you need to provide specific functionalities there is always a need to have someone who will make them. However believe me or not, some of the functionalities that you will have in your software are not unique. Lots of applications need to handle user management, registration, login, profiling, payment functionalities or shipment. This is nothing really specific to your case so check if there are some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/rapid-application-delivery/#out-of-the-box-modules">ready made solutions</a>&nbsp;available on the market which can do that for you and you can use.</p>
<p>Moreover some software agencies, at least the mature ones, switched to something which is called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/semi-products/">microservices</a>. The solution was first introduced by Netflix and now is more commonly adopted by the IT sector. This is a new way of designing software architecture as a set of many small&nbsp;<strong>micro applications</strong>&nbsp;which can be used in several large applications also in yours. If software agency has such microservices they usually provide them to theirs customers free of charge, so check if the one you are working with has some microservices that you can actually use in your product.</p>
<p>This could&nbsp;<strong>reduce necessity of your software development capacity</strong>&nbsp;even up to 15% and you can use this budget for adding new features or to invest in sales and marketing of your product.</p>
<h2>3. Developers performance is going down</h2>
<p>Sometimes you may wonder why at the beginning of the project developers delivered functionalities faster and now it&rsquo;s slowing down. Are they tired with the project? Maybe they don&rsquo;t care about it anymore or maybe new functionalities are more complex than the previous ones and you really need more developers.</p>
<p>Very often when you kick off the project you just want your developers to go straight to implementing functionalities and hence they don&rsquo;t focus on preparing proper foundation for your project. At the beginning it allows you to speed up, however once the project evolves, the application is getting bigger and your technological debt is getting more frustrating. Not only for you but also for you dev team.</p>
<p>Since the dev team doesn&rsquo;t provide functionality on time you want to increase the capacity of the team to speed up. This solves your problem only temporary because after some time your project starts getting bigger and so is your technical debt. Soon you will realize that the dev team is slowing down again.</p>
<h3>The Continuous Delivery Process</h3>
<p>If you want your team to be efficient, invest not only in developers but also in devops (development and operations). Devops will help your team to become more efficient by setting up&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/rapid-application-delivery/#continuous-delivery">Continuous Delivery</a>&nbsp;process which involves elements like Continuous Integration servers, project containerization and automatic deployments of your tests, staging and production environments. This will allow your dev team to focus on your&nbsp;<strong>IT product development</strong>&nbsp;rather than struggling with setting up environments, servers or production deployments. This will also help your test team, if you have one, to quickly detect bugs thanks to automated deployment of new version of your product into test environment.</p>
<h2>4. There are too many bugs which can take too much time</h2>
<p>We have lots of bugs so we need more developers to fix them. But the right question is, why do we have some many bugs? Is it because our developers are messy or maybe because we are lacking of real&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/bespoke-application-development/#qa-testing">Quality Assurance process</a>.</p>
<p>While talking to customers, I am often being asked, why there is so much time needed for testing, or why developers can&rsquo;t check the code on their own? Sometimes I&rsquo;ve been told that testers aren&rsquo;t needed because client will test the product on his own.</p>
<p>Approaches described above have several consequences. First of all programmers are not testers. They are usually trying to check if the system works according to specification - so called&nbsp;<strong>acceptance testing</strong>. What they don&rsquo;t check is abnormal behaviour of the system like corner cases, improper usage of the system - so called&nbsp;<strong>exploratory testing</strong>. And actually the exploratory tests are the ones which usually discover numerous bugs.</p>
<p>If client wants to test the system on her/his own, s/he usually focus on newly delivered functionalities. What she doesn&rsquo;t check, is whether old functionalities were impacted by the new ones. The reason to do so, is that a new code can break previously working functions or introduce errors, or create bugs. Testers would perform&nbsp;<strong>regression testing</strong>&nbsp;which, by the way, if not automated, may be very time consuming.</p>
<h3>The effects of the lack of a quality control process</h3>
<p>In the end, lack of real Quality Assurance process might become inefficient. Lots of bugs might get through into live system and stay undetected even several months after. If the bug is detected in the later stage of our project, the cost of fixing it might be drastically higher. Just imagine a software developer who programmed the functionality several months ago and now s/he needs to fix the bug which was discovered. Trying to remember what this was about will consume lots of time. Moreover if the code changes were introduced some time ago the developer might no longer be with your company. Apart from fixing the code you might also need to involve Data Base administrator to fix your production database which was already corrupted by the bug.</p>
<p>The bug may also cause additional financial loses. One of the banks, I used to work for, had an issue which placed wrong price on the insurance contract. They lost a huge amount of money thanks to that. Besides finances you can also suffer reputational loss which are hard to express in numbers.</p>
<p>That is why instead of increasing capacity of your dev team, it is better to invest in good Quality Assurance process in software development life cycle. It is necessary to ensure an appropriate&nbsp;<strong>standard of software development</strong>. Testers should not only be able to perform manual tests but also to run test automations. Thanks to that you will be able to run regression tests every time when you need to publish new updates of your product. This will help to detect more bugs in your product right after they were introduced and reduce the risk of publishing the bugs in production. As a result your dev team will be able to fix them quickly and focus on new functionalities.</p>
<h2>5. You don&rsquo;t hire a Project Manager</h2>
<p>Fish always rots from the head - this also refers to&nbsp;<strong>custom software development projects</strong>. It is important that your dev team is managed by experienced Project Manager. Someone who understands both business and technical world. You might not understand technical world and developers might not necessary understand the business one.</p>
<p>Good Project Manager should verify if developers fully understand what needs to be delivered and whether the team is on track with the functionalities or not. PM role is also to challenge your requirements to find out if they are relevant to the project. If you would ask developer to implement some changes he would probably agree ad hoc. PM on the other side, will ask about the reasons why you want to make those changes and what do you want to achieve.</p>
<p>Thanks to that PM can filter out functionalities which are irrelevant in order not to flood your dev team with features which, in the end, occur to be needles and don&rsquo;t impact your products success. Moreover, during such discussion, PM basing on your intention can actually find another solution. Which usually will be more suitable for your case.</p>
<h2>You usually don&rsquo;t need extra developers, you need to review your processes</h2>
<p>Of course, software developers are indispensable element of development life cycle. But it&rsquo;s worth to emphasize that they are only one element of the whole bigger thing. Programing skills need to be surrounded by at least few others, like testers, devops, PM, UX/UI team and microservices. All of that will help you in achieving your goal. Trying to cut expenses or only focusing on developers may cause more problems than you think. Only thanks to the synergy of people with different competences, it will be easier for you to do the&nbsp;<strong>product development cost estimation</strong>&nbsp;and control the entire process. As a last resort you can always decide for&nbsp;<strong>outsourced product development</strong>&nbsp;and hand over your IT product to the Technology Partner, who will deal with the process of creating it in a holistic way. In the end it&rsquo;s your time and money so invest them wisely.</p>

5 Reasons Why You Really Do Not Need More Developers

<p>An unadapted application or mobile site results in a loss of customer interest. Users avoid long, uncomfortable forms, suspicious payment windows or disappearing and appearing bookmarks. How do mobile applications work and why are they so important in today&rsquo;s world?</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn about:</h3>
<ul>
<li>the negative aspects of the application from the user&rsquo;s point of view;</li>
<li>the possible applications of mobile solutions;</li>
<li>the benefits of mobile solutions.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Bad customer experience situations</h2>
<p>Consumers are more and more demanding and aware of their needs. Customers want to get involved in co-creating and promoting brand products/services and thus feel part of the brand&rsquo;s world. Currently, small, medium and large companies decide to&nbsp;<strong>create own mobile application</strong>&nbsp;to stay in touch with their customers and build their involvement in the online world. However, there are situations that even the most patient users of the application can not stand. This is about e.g.:</p>
<ul>
<li>inadequate infrastructure or information architecture of the sales platform;</li>
<li>the lack or incorrect functioning of a mobile application, lite sites.</li>
</ul>
<p>An unadapted application/mobile site, i.e. one that is unintuitive, unresponsive, opens incorrectly on a given device, does not have the necessary functions from the point of view of the users, etc., results in losing customer interest. Users avoid long, uncomfortable forms, suspicious payment windows or disappearing and appearing bookmarks. Therefore, consumers are rightly afraid of finalizing transactions or other activities via a mobile device and quickly convert them to, for example, a reliable computer. Such a transition from a smartphone to a laptop should be perceived as a kind of business failure, and above all as a very important signal. The user does not feel confident when using the software and therefore it is worth asking about the doubts or impressions that appear (unfortunately negative in this case). An&nbsp;<strong>business application</strong>&nbsp;is part of the strategy and you must never underestimate its malfunctioning. It is necessary to identify problematic fragments, then to plan the necessary changes, implement them and... so over and over until a satisfactory form of application is achieved - satisfying both for the user and for the company itself. In addition, companies should take into account the special needs of users who, due to reduced mobility or disability, are unable to use the solution and take full advantage of its potential. Applications should therefore be created taking into account the aspect of usability, i.e. mobile accessibility. It is a real challenge, but it is worth investing time and energy to include people with disabilities at the time of designing the application.</p>
<h2>What is the use of mobile solutions?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/bespoke-application-development/">Creating a functional and intuitive mobile application</a>&nbsp;is extremely important for current consumers. It represents the brand&rsquo;s response to the needs they have reported. However, it is much more important that the application connects to many systems, creating with them one marketing and sales ecosystem. It is, among others, about integrating the&nbsp;<strong>business software</strong>&nbsp;with systems that send or collect data, e.g. PIM (Product Information Management), order service systems, pricing policy systems or warehouse states. As a result, the information contained in the application is always up-to-date and in line with reality, which reduces the risk of misleading the customer. This is the so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/martech/#omnichannel">omnichannel strategy</a>, very popular and guaranteeing the consistency of information.</p>
<p>Application of&nbsp;<strong>m-commerce strategy</strong>&nbsp;means not only designing responsive websites or mobile applications. It is also an ingenious use of available technology to increase the level of transactions online, e.g.by mobile accessibility. The company&rsquo;s original activities in this area include, for example, the use of&nbsp;<strong>NFC tags</strong>, QR codes or the introduction of the BLIK service. They allow you to collect points as part of loyalty programs, get discounts on selected products/services, quickly redirect to the brand&rsquo;s sales platform, or streamline the payment process (by bringing it to the absolute minimum). Through the mobile applications, the company can observe users, make&nbsp;<strong>user needs to be registered</strong>, collect information about users&rsquo; needs (<em>Machine Learning</em>), personalize messages and send them to consumers in the form of notifications about discounts, current sales. In addition, by using the application, you can forward messages about modifications in sales policies or changes in the brand&rsquo;s situation (e.g. change of headquarters, appearance of a new branch or update of opening hours). Thanks to m-commerce, the company is able to always be close to its customers, guarantee them freedom and effectively influence on&nbsp;<em>brand attachment</em>.</p>
<h2>What are the benefits of mobile solutions?</h2>
<p>The most common benefits of&nbsp;<strong>mobile business application</strong>&nbsp;are:</p>
<h3>Support for traditional purchases.</h3>
<p>Introducing the maximum simplification and shortening the process of purchasing goods/services through the introduction of applications/mobile websites.</p>
<h3>Getting information about users.</h3>
<p>The brand can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/service/data-science/">obtain information about consumer choices of users</a>; about locations where commercial transactions occur or customer needs or requirements identified by the software. Thanks to the acquisition and use of this knowledge (<em>Big Data</em>,&nbsp;<em>Business Intelligence</em>), there is a chance for iterative and continuous adaptation of the application/mobile site to market expectations.</p>
<h3>Increasing the availability of the offer.</h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Regardless of where the client is located and what mobile device is used, client has constant access to information and the offer provided by the company.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Increase in the company&rsquo;s recognition.</h3>
<p>The universality of the brand goes hand in hand with the growing interest in its package of goods and services by consumers, the improvement of the image and the building of&nbsp;<em>brand loyalty</em>.</p>
<h3>Support for business and work of employees.</h3>
<p>The mobile application can systematize the work of both new and old employees; present the most important issues regarding the proper functioning of the company, or remind about upcoming events or tasks to be carried out.</p>
<h2>How much does the mobile app cost?</h2>
<p>Many companies, when they decide to create a mobile application for their business, wonder&nbsp;<strong>how much it costs to create an app</strong>&nbsp;and how quickly they get their dream solution. There is no unambiguous answer to both the question about the price and time. A lot depends on whether we already have an idea for the application; we know in what technology we want to develop the application; we have an idea how much it should be extended (what will be its infrastructure or architecture), whether it should be maintained and supported after development. The app pricing can be compared to buying a car - the more needs we have, the more innovative solutions we want or the better quality we expect, the price will change.</p>
<p>Mobile solutions allow you to always be close to your consumers. Users always appreciate when they can in the same way &ldquo;experience the brand&rdquo; through a mobile device. They can keep their flexibility, jump between the phone and the laptop and not limit themselves in any way.</p>

What Are Mobile Business Applications

What Are Mobile Business Applications?

<p>Despite the large number of companies developing software for mobile devices, as well as the easy access to development tools, there are still challenges that can stop the development of a project. Learn about effective ways of dealing with obstacles arising during the development of mobile applications.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>how to manage IT projects;</li>
<li>what is a MVP;</li>
<li>about the benefits of multi-platform software;</li>
<li>if testing the applications is important;</li>
<li>what are the advantages of outsourcing.</li>
</ul>
<p>Mobile strategies of technological giants, access to the Internet from anywhere at any time, and the affordable price of smartphones have made mobile applications to appear more often &ndash; they quickly gain popularity and are eagerly utilised by users all over the world. Stores with Google and Apple applications are densely packed with millions of&nbsp;<strong>mobile applications</strong>&nbsp;that do everything &ndash; from increasing productivity and managing time, to helping with mobile commerce, and controlling daily physical activity. The truth is, mobile applications have become an enormous power in the modern digital world.</p>
<p>Despite the easy access to developer tools and the large number of organisations involved in the development of software for mobile devices, there are still challenges that can have a negative impact on the project and its course. The basic problem is often the&nbsp;<strong>cost of designing the application</strong>, its development and implementation. If this is a big challenge for the company, there are several proven ways to reduce the cost of creating mobile projects, including: Outsourcing, cross-platform development, continuous testing, agile project management and MVP releases. These elements can be included among the most popular strategies used by companies to reduce the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/estimate-project/">cost of mobile projects</a>. By following at least one of these&nbsp;<strong>IT trends</strong>, you can easily make the implementation of a mobile application a relatively inexpensive matter.</p>
<h2>Trends reducing the costs of creating a mobile application</h2>
<p>Every company strives for savings; looks for ways to achieve goals in the most beneficial way. Organizations should always remember to plan any strategies or investments, taking into account the capabilities and resources. Learn about activities that will help you reduce costs as part of creating an IT solution:</p>
<h3>1. Agile project management</h3>
<p>Employing agile methodology in developing mobile applications brings many benefits, such as rapid development, budget control and compliance with design specifications. In accordance to it, a relatively large mobile application development project is divided into smaller programming cycles consisting of modules, tasks and subtasks. Such smaller parts of the work are much easier to manage and control. During&nbsp;<strong>agile project management</strong>&nbsp;developers and testers cooperate at all stages, and regularly inform the interested parties about the progress made, what positively affects the quality of the product release, and also accelerates the delivery to the market.</p>
<h3>2. MVP releases</h3>
<p>MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a properly functioning&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/wireframing-and-clickable-prototypes/">mobile application prototype</a>&nbsp;with all the most important functions. MVP is used as a test field for seeing the capabilities of a product before it is made available for full commercial or internal use.&nbsp;<strong>MVP</strong>&nbsp;brings specific financial benefits to mobile development. MVP is not only cheaper to develop but also helps to identify improvements and isolate errors long before a full-scale implementation process, which reduces the further time and cost input. In addition, MVP can help the company to impress the potential investor and receive support for the actual development of the application.</p>
<h3>3. Multi-platform software development</h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Developing an application with versions for Android, iOS and Windows may turn out to be expensive. In order not to exceed the project&rsquo;s set cost limit and reduce the number of man-hours, you can instead consider developing multi-platform applications. The most striking benefit of developing for multiple platforms is working with a reusable code: the application&rsquo;s business logic can be written once and then used on different platforms.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>4. Continuous testing</h3>
<p>Quality assurance and subsequent fixing of errors in order to close the project is a facilitation for all interested parties - the orderer and the client. Such a procedure can compensate for the estimated costs of a mobile solution and, above all, ensure&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/software-development-with-quality-warranty/">high quality of application</a>. Continuous mobile tests can contribute to the improvement of the project at all stages of its development and to create a solution of adequate quality.</p>
<h3>5. Outsourcing</h3>
<p>The minimum cost of creating a mobile application can be reduced by up to a half, if you decide to outsource the development project. The final price depends on the features, platform and country to which the project is outsourced.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/hire-a-team/">Employing dedicated teams of developers</a>, engineers, designers and leaving the outsourcing to them is the main cost-reduction strategy of both large and medium-sized enterprises. Its main advantages are saving time and internal resources, as well as comprehensive service provision.</p>
<h2>Rational reduction of application development costs</h2>
<p>Software development, including mobile applications, is now a huge branch of the entire business &ndash; not just the IT. For there are many companies that have nothing to do with the IT or technology industry, that want to have their own&nbsp;<strong>business application</strong>. Such companies will most often use the last of the five cost-reduction methods mentioned above, and choose the outsourcing model, i.e. they will outsource the application development to an external company. This is due to a number of factors, and the lack of qualified specialists within your own enterprise is very often the key one.</p>
<p>You should remember that the above-mentioned methods to reduce the costs of developing mobile applications are not the only solutions, and that nothing keeps you from combining several methods in your own software development strategy.</p>

Obnizanie Kosztow

Five Effective Ways to Reduce the Costs of Developing a Mobile Application

<p>Is Blockchain the answer to the current MarTech industry problems? Find out what opportunities arise for marketers using the Blockchain technology,and what are the benefits of implementing it in Marketing Technology projects.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>about combining marketing and innovative technology;</li>
<li>how the Blockchain technology affects marketing;</li>
<li>what are the ways of promoting a brand;</li>
<li>about the benefits resulting from the use of this technology.</li>
</ul>
<p>The technologies we use today were almost unknown and misunderstood on the mass market a dozen years ago. Today it is difficult for us to imagine a day without social media or smartphones. One of the technologies currently experiencing a boom &ndash; very much like its great predecessors &ndash; is the Blockchain technology.</p>
<p>The first major contact with this technology was the launch of Bitcoin in 2008. Although initially understood as part of the world of cryptocurrencies, with time more industries became interested in it. The marketing industry is one of those areas where you can see the combination of&nbsp;<strong>Blockchain technology and business</strong>, and advanced adaptation to existing needs.&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/blockchain-technology-as-a-revolution-in-marketing/">Blockchain in marketing</a>&nbsp;solves some of the basic problems of the industry, like: the presence of &rdquo;intermediaries&rdquo; and lack of process transparency.</p>
<h2>Specifics of the Blockchain technology</h2>
<p>Many people wonder if it is worth to invest in modern IT resources and&nbsp;<strong>what are the benefits offered by Blockchain</strong>, that could be treated as sufficient arguments for its implementation in organisational structures. The technology is mainly used for distributed data storage, and in comparison to other solutions it is characterised by:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>unchangeability</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; the data encrypted in blocks cannot be changed in any way (even by the administrator). This is the main reason why this&nbsp;<strong>technology is very secure</strong>&nbsp;and effectively validate the information authenticity. These properties have made this solution a symbol of trust and security &ndash; according to forecasts, its&nbsp;<a href="https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/26/1627765/0/en/Blockchain-Technology-Market-to-reach-US-20-billion-by-2024-TMR.html">value is to increase by 58.7 percent between 2016-2024;</a></li>
<li><strong>uniformity</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; no single person is solely responsible for a block, unless they are a private person (a similar solution is used, e.g. by financial institutions). Global Blockchain has developed a consensus in which every block participant is aware of the transactions carried out within it, and bears the responsibility;</li>
<li><strong>decentralisation</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; there is no central node for storing data in a Blockchain. Every block checks the correctness of the previous block and thus creates a strong network without a central point of failure. This property protects it against malicious attacks carried out by hackers.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Blockchain's impact on marketing</h2>
<p>The above-mentioned characteristics allow for effective application of&nbsp;<strong>Blockchain in marketing</strong>&nbsp;and in projects requiring such a combination. Listed below are some ideas for using this technology:</p>
<h3>Advertising frauds prevention</h3>
<p>Advertising frauds are a serious problem for advertisers. Paying for false clicks and views is a constantly growing and disturbing phenomenon. Advertising frauds not only affect the budget of a campaign, but also distort the analytical data, which ultimately affects their strategic decisions. Using the technology allows you to view all clicks in real time.</p>
<h3>Influencers' marketing disruption</h3>
<p>In marketing, it has been noticed some time ago that the recipients of advertising are more likely to believe what people say about their brand than what the brand says about itself. In order to increase the amount of information about the brand, a cooperation with so-called influencers is engaged, and Blockchain allows you to face the most common problems of influencer marketing. By employing&nbsp;<strong>transparency and uncheangeability of the technology</strong>, the platforms for collaborating with well-known web users help marketers solve problems such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/gluu/">authenticating the identity of the person</a>&nbsp;promoting the brand, checking the number and &rdquo;quality&rdquo; of their followers.</p>
<h3>Data collection disruption and crowdsourcing</h3>
<p>Each marketer should use hard data. It is the basis of work on a given campaign. Despite so many tools available today, marketers are still not able to obtain a full package of valuable client information. As we know, the most accurate data can be provided by the client themselves. The question is: what will persuade the client to share their valuable information? The Blockchain technology, along with crowdsourcing, allowed for encouraging clients to share their data in exchange for compensation, e.g. in the form of a certain payment in cryptocurrencies.</p>
<h3>E-commerce decentralisation</h3>
<p>The&nbsp;<strong>Blockchain technology</strong>&nbsp;allows for circumventing the existing platforms for selling products, with which sellers have to share a portion of the profit in return for using their infrastructure. An additional benefit of such a solution is the increasingly popular embedded Bitcoin wallet, that helps you to pay and earn in cryptocurrency.</p>
<h3>Impact on loyalty systems</h3>
<p>Loyalty programmes are a form of rewarding the client for their attachment to the brand.&nbsp;<strong>How can the marketing industry use Blockchain</strong>&nbsp;to increase the clients' engagement in the brand's products? One of the solutions is to create a platform for loyalty cards within this technology, where it will be possible to safely issue and maintain gift cards and loyalty programmes. These cards can also be converted into digital coins/wallets, allowing the clients to exchange or combine them as part of a single transaction.</p>
<h3>Engaging the community and targeting the right advertising recipients</h3>
<p>A very large group of advertisements is struggling with a low percentage of effectiveness in reaching the target group and its involvement in the next step. One of the solutions derives from the Blockchain technology &ndash; these are the search engines not connected with the main search channels. They work in a similar way the Google advertisements do, but they are more data-accurate. The&nbsp;<strong>Blockchain-based Search Engine</strong>&nbsp;(BBSE) uses consumer data and their preferences to display better and more personalized search results, without the need to control the consumer data transferred or to collect them. In addition, as mentioned earlier, the recipients of the ads gain a certain amount of cryptocurrencies in exchange for familiarizing themselves with the advertising material, thus eliminating the currently dominant interdependence between the recipient and the advertiser.</p>
<h2>Blockchain and MarTech-based business</h2>
<p>Because customer experience is still at the centre of attention, marketers will look for innovative ways to improve their strategies. The combination of&nbsp;<strong>Blockchain and Marketing Technology</strong>&nbsp;(MarTech) gains unique results in terms of engagement, accuracy and consumers' satisfaction with the content reaching them.</p>
<p>Versatility of the discussed technology allows for its effective use in marketing activities. However, it is worth to devote the right amount of time for trying it and for possible consultations with specialists. Blockchain has different applications depending on the industry, so it is good to verify&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/blockchain-and-app-development/">how Blockchain can help your company</a>. Perhaps it is the element that will cause the desired market success and help to create the competitive advantage.</p>

Blockcian Unsplash

Blockchain Application in Marketing Technology Projects

<p>Do you plan to create a new solution and need IT support? Learn about the specifics of IT industry projects, how to develop them to meet the expectations of recipients, and how can you benefit from establishing a cooperation with a Technology Partner.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what is the agile approach to creating solutions;</li>
<li>what is better &ndash; employing specialists or outsourcing them;</li>
<li>what are the components of a project;</li>
<li>what are the key aspects to consider in an IT project.</li>
</ul>
<p>In just one day, millions of ideas are being born in people's heads, and thousands of them are then implemented and presented to others. IT projects are a somewhat specific category that requires many well-thought-out decisions from originators or investors. One mistake can cost a lot of time and money. In order to reduce the chances of loss or failure, it is worth to have experienced companies or Technology Partners by your side, that show professionalism and high quality of activities with their attitude and hitherto successes (supported, among others, by an extensive portfolio). What to look out for when developing an IT project?</p>
<h2>Agile approach to projects</h2>
<p>In every&nbsp;<strong>IT project</strong>&nbsp;you can distinguish several important roles, such as Project Manager, Functional and Operational Manager, Process and Business Analyst, Quality Specialist, System Architect, Database Administrator, Developer or Tester. Due to the fact that each person has a different scope of duties, tasks or priorities, it might happen that they forget the main goal &ndash; that is, providing a valuable product for the Client and their end users. Divergent processes and emerging communication gaps become burdensome over time, and cause time and cost overheads for the entire organisation. In order to ensure high quality of delivered services/products, and to reduce the possibility of communication noise, companies implement&nbsp;<strong>agile methods</strong>&nbsp;into their structures. Thanks to this, individual departments gain a chance to conduct activities that are coherent and create a comprehensive system. Such an approach plays an important role in managing applications, software or product versions.</p>
<p>Thanks to agile methods such as Extreme Programming, Lean Management, Scrum, Kanban, you can observe in the companies carrying out IT implementations:</p>
<ul>
<li>reduction of number of drastic changes introduced to a project &ndash; new versions appear more often and do not cause a decision-paralysis;</li>
<li>increased coordination within the released product editions &ndash; the project team and the company are informed and fully aware of the changes being introduced, their nature, quality/quantity; in addition, it allows for closer cooperation between sub-teams;</li>
<li>ability to implement automation for selected processes and/or activities &ndash; this means both: tasks repetition and reducing the risk of errors.</li>
</ul>
<p>These were only some of the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/what-is-the-lean-methodology/">advantages arising from employing agile methods</a>. Depending on the organisation, they are able to provide much more attractive benefits, streamline the work, introduce flexibility into the organisational structure, strengthen the internal and external control over the project.</p>
<h2>Specialists in the company or outsourcing within the project</h2>
<p>Whether the company should create a team as a result of isolating individuals from the current human resources or&nbsp;<strong>employing new specialists</strong>, or rather choose&nbsp;<strong>IT outsourcing</strong>&nbsp;depends on many factors &ndash; first of all, before making a decision it is worth to specify:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>project objective</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; determining the reason for the creation of a given solution and formulating the needs. It is best if the goal is be defined in accordance with the SMART principle, i.e. the goal must be specific, measurable, ambitious, real and timely;</li>
<li><strong>project type</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; outline the industry; target market; list of competitive solutions; end users; as well as specify the technical/technology, economic, legal, planned and operational feasibility;</li>
<li><strong>project scope</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; define the scope in a way that best describes the size of the upcoming works, including presenting the number of people involved in the project, difficulty and time-consuming level of the tasks, quality and quantity of possible changes. It is only logical that the broader the objective, the greater the scope of project activities;</li>
<li><strong>project risk</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; assess if there is a chance of occurrence of an event with a specific effect, and decide on the need for people in the project who are able to remedy the given crisis situation;</li>
<li><strong>project duration</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; determine if the project is a one-off execution of a sequence of activities, or maybe a continuous observation, updates and implementation of improvements;</li>
<li><strong>project schedule and framework</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; create a set of tasks or other activities that need to be done at a given time in order to achieve the intended project goal. In addition, make sure if the set is rigidly determined or remains flexible;</li>
<li><strong>project budget</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; specify the amount that is allocated by the company for the development of the solution, and estimate the potential cost;</li>
<li><strong>project team</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; define the type of messages and the frequency of their exchange. Communication should be carried out both within and outside of the team. The information activities include: reporting on the progress of works, notifying about the actions having a positive/negative impact on the functioning of other departments/subteams.</li>
</ul>
<p>What counts in every project is the responsiveness to situations and the rapidity of introducing changes. In the case of companies characterised by a smaller infrastructure, the Investor can usually count on a possibly faster response to the questions asked and expressing the position regarding new implementations. In larger projects, the dynamics of reactions to emerging changes and the speed with which the final version of the solution will be delivered will play a significant role. The key challenges the project team has to face today are also the development of mobile/cloud technologies, as well as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/app-compatible-with-gdpr/">software security</a>&nbsp;(in particular &ndash; compliance with the GDPR guidelines and taking into account the activities in line with the Regulation in your strategies; determining the type of reaction at the time of a hacker attack or other crisis situations).</p>
<p>The decision which path to choose &ndash; whether to focus on the actual presence of specialists in the company, or maybe consider outsourcing them &ndash; should be based primarily on the needs of the investor and the design specification. It is worth to spend some time and energy on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/where-to-start/">consulting your doubts with an expert</a>, e.g. a&nbsp;<strong>Technology Partner</strong>, that will help to profile the product, and also ensure its sustainable development. An expert's recommendation may turn out to be crucial for the further success of the project. The investor has an important task to do here &ndash; they must determine what is more important when creating their product: focusing on the process or on the final business value.</p>
<h2>Project's elements it is worth to pay attention to</h2>
<p>Apart from a proper team, the&nbsp;<strong>IT infrastructure</strong>&nbsp;plays a key role. Technology Partners' recommendations should contain information including: the amount of memory and computing power needed; possible solutions in the event of a physical failure of the allocated IT infrastructure; optimal software and the extent to which the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.lemlock.com/en/data-breach-organization-IT-security/">processed information is to be secured</a>&nbsp;as part of the project. The basic questions that should be asked in relation to information security will concern the type and amount of the organisational data processed; the degree of their confidentiality; their dependence on the provisions for personal and sensitive data processing (see the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.lemlock.com/en/an-overview-of-the-regulation-and-its-most-frequently-discussed-issues/">GDPR</a>).</p>
<p>During the interview and presenting the offer, it is worth to pay attention to:</p>
<ul>
<li>security &ndash; the way the software is created and tested; in what environment it will be developed; whether it will be verified in terms of the provisions of law and the principles of data processing; what the access security will look like; will the solution be developed in accordance with the Privacy by Default and Privacy by Design rules;</li>
<li>scalability &ndash; checking how flexible are the solutions delivered; whether there is a possibility for changes in the computing power, data storage locations, encryption method, user impact on the final version of the project, and other;</li>
<li>resources conservation and code cleanliness &ndash; verifying the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/software-developer-in-the-world-of-the-gdpr/">developers' work standards</a>&nbsp;introduced by the them to the project.</li>
</ul>
<p>During talks with an outsourcing company or a software contractor, it is worth to talk about the trends that significantly affect the modern face of software development, e.g. the key role of security (e.g. introduction of Zero Trust Security), specialisation within one service specific to a given industry (e.g. creating BIM objects; developing&nbsp;<a href="https://bimstreamer.com/">tools supporting BIM distribution</a>&nbsp;within the sales channels owned); the power of process automation; the importance of activities and high-quality UX/UI artefacts in projects, or the emergence of solutions that are part of the convergence of technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things).</p>
<p>There are many aspects to consider when making a decision to&nbsp;<strong>implement a new IT solution</strong>&nbsp;or improve an existing one, and there is usually not much time. In such moments, it is worth to look around and get support of a Technology Partner that &ndash; with their experience and resources &ndash; is able to speed up the processes and reduce the chance of a project chaos occurring.</p>

Jakosciowa Wspolpraca

Qualitative and Agile Cooperation Within IT Projects

<p>Properly defining the scope of a project is crucial for the project flow, because developers should understand what they need to create and come with a clear plan on how to do it. Learn more on how to properly plan a software development cycle.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>about the necessary stages of a software development project;</li>
<li>about the benefits of using the stage model.</li>
</ul>
<p>The software development cycle describes the stages of software development and the order in which these stages should be implemented. The consequences of the actions taken at each stage are visible in the next steps. We can distinguish several permanent stages for practically every project.</p>
<h2>Stages of software development cycle</h2>
<p>IT projects always have variable and permanent elements, that are taken into account when developing a solution. It is worth to know the basic ones, to be aware of the type and scale of the upcoming work:</p>
<h4>1. Defining the scope of a project</h4>
<p>After the project is launched by the client and their contractor, the project manager on the contractor's side designates a project team consisting of specialists possessing the necessary competences. Together with the client, they define the scope of the project by gathering the requirements and performing analyses.</p>
<h4>2. Development</h4>
<p>At this stage, developers prepare the system's project and define its general architecture. The manager makes decisions on the approach to software development and the pricing model. Next, the project team carries out the implementation and integration of the required functions.</p>
<h4>3. Stabilisation</h4>
<p>Testers check the software to make sure that its quality is acceptable and the product serves its intended purpose. In the next stage, developers fix the reported errors.</p>
<h4>4. Delivering the product to the client</h4>
<p>After the testing and fixing the errors, the final version of the software is delivered to the client.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>5. Maintenance and support</h4>
<p>The project team can deal with the implemented application even after its release, improving it at the client's request and constantly solving the problems appearing within it. It is possible thanks to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/warranty/">SLA agreements within the application</a>&nbsp;and signed warranties.</p>
<p>Examples illustrating a software life cycle show that the client can get a high quality product that meets their expectations, provided that the project team will follow the good practices &ndash; stage by stage. Properly defining the scope of an&nbsp;<strong>IT project</strong>&nbsp;is crucial for the project flow, because developers should understand what they need to create and come with a clear plan on how to do it. Neglecting the needs of clients, stakeholders or users can cause a project failure. At the beginning of the development stage, the project team chooses a programming approach and a pricing model. After implementing and integrating all the required functions, test engineers ensure the software quality. After delivering the software to the client, developers actively support the delivered product and maintain the solution, usually within two&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/warranty/">types of SLA support models</a>&nbsp;- 8/5 and 24/7.</p>
<h2>Software development cycle &ndash; a case study</h2>
<p>The project was initiated at the request of a company that specialises in providing&nbsp;<strong>IT solutions</strong>&nbsp;in the field of web content management. While discussing the project, the contractor receives the information that the client has to improve the current Content Management System (CMS) in order to create a completely new product with an advanced user interface. The purpose of this change is to provide a highly intuitive and efficient CMS for creating websites, intranets and mobile solutions for companies. The manager decides to develop the platform using the Agile software development methodology, which allows for a gradual evolution of the system.</p>
<p>The team starts working with open source tools, introducing fixes that allow for making own definitions, implementing own pieces of code and technological solutions independent of the open source technologies being used. Next, in short iterations, the team expands the CMS with a responsive administrator interface and a visual editor that provides many options for designing layout templates, and thus gives the ability to adapt to needs. Additional improvements are real-time updates and providing a secure access to content.</p>
<p>At the stage of stabilising the project, the test automation specialist ensures that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/software-development-with-quality-warranty/">high quality of the system</a>&nbsp;is maintained and it works as intended. The non-standard framework created with this project in mind facilitated a continuous and efficient testing. Next, the product is finally being delivered to the client, and the main feature of the obtained software is its flexible architecture. The last stage is support and maintenance of the platform. Cooperation between the client and the&nbsp;<strong>software outsourcing</strong>&nbsp;team tightens during the months following the product implementation, and in time changes into a strategic and friendly relationship.</p>
<h2>Remember: the software is for the client and its end customers!</h2>
<p>The key issue to keep in mind when creating software is the fact that the product is created for the client. On behalf of the client and to meet the client's needs. Therefore, the goal of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/hire-a-team/">team of developers dedicated to the project</a>&nbsp;is not only to create the software, but above all &ndash; to meet the client's expectations. Thanks to obeying the implementation of the&nbsp;<strong>software development cycle</strong>&nbsp;stages (described above), it is possible to meet both these objectives &ndash; that is, developing the software in accordance with the specifications received from the client, as well as establishing friendly business relations that promise further cooperation.</p>

Przyklad Cyklu

Example of a Software Development Life Cycle

<p>An uncomplicated initial project allows you to see how Big Data can solve business problems with relatively low risk. Learn what steps should be taken when implementing solutions based on large data sets and how to avoid questionable moves.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>how to prepare a company to implement Big Data solutions;</li>
<li>how to make first steps in Big Data projects;</li>
<li>about the application of data sets in practice;</li>
<li>about the possibility of data problems.</li>
</ul>
<p>After reviewing numerous examples of the use of large data sets on the Internet, you can be impressed by their size and the potential gathered in one place. What is more, you can even employ&nbsp;<strong>Big Data solutions</strong>&nbsp;to create a competitive advantage. However, it is not so easy... Before the practical application of data sets and starting a&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/what-is-big-data-data-usage-in-business/">project using Big Data</a>&nbsp;in an organisation, you need to know the awaiting traps an loopholes. Below you can find a small guide on how to use the method of transferring large amounts of data in the industry.</p>
<h2>Getting a company ready for using Big Data</h2>
<p>To start using large data sets in production, it is worth taking into consideration actions such as:</p>
<ol>
<li>Finding the right perspective for the&nbsp;<strong>use of Big Data&nbsp;</strong>. It is very important to carefully analyse the needs of an organization, identify the ways to fulfil them with big data, and give up the chase after the existing trends for purposes that do not offer a real business advantage.</li>
<li>Careful planning for the adoption of large data sets. At the very beginning it is worth to consider a small-scale project activities, and then test the first Big Data implementation within it. The correct and well-proven sequence of activities is: data collection, simple algorithms testing, and then trying more bold solutions.</li>
<li>Considering the time needed for the challenges related to information management. You should try to obtain a deep and multi-level understanding of the data and employ the necessary number of engineers or technologists for the project.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Beginnings of using Big Data</h2>
<p>To prepare for a Big Data project, you should take the right approach. First and foremost, do not become obsessed with the Big Data idea, hurrying to get the necessary budget, which results in not unlocking the full potential of your data sets. It is worth to create a solid foundation for new processes related to the generation and analysis of information. The steps presented below are characteristic of activities focused on matching the business with the IT requirements, and of activities aimed at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/software-development-with-quality-warranty/">improving the quality of digital products in a company</a>. The first steps with Big Data are contained in the following points:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Big data research</strong>&nbsp;and determining what strategic goals a company can achieve thanks to huge data sets;</li>
<li><strong>Consulting with the engineering management department</strong>&nbsp;and performing actions focused on understanding the production processes based on the use of dynamic information;</li>
<li><strong>Obtaining a confirmation</strong>&nbsp;from the engineers that the implementation of tasks under Big Data is needed;</li>
<li><strong>Convincing the management board</strong>&nbsp;to run a test project.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Simple Big Data projects for the start</h2>
<p>You cannot test the abilities of large data sets on complex tasks from the very beginning. Software companies should start with a simple project &ndash; trying, for example, to achieve a stable quality when implementing a new application or system. A simple initial project allows you to see how big data can solve the emerging problems with potential business risk and further investments. This, in turn, may positively influence the opinion of the management on Big Data and encourage them to continue to spend time and financial resources for large data sets, but within the framework of more important analytical projects. Given the fact that an excessively complex and risky initial project, for example in the form of a reorganisation of the entire&nbsp;<strong>software development</strong>&nbsp;process can have a lasting effect on its further proper operation.</p>
<p>If we are talking about data within a more globally-operating project, you should always divide the information sets into smaller stages of their &rdquo;absorption&rdquo; and approach them on an individual basis. The following phases for the challenge related to big data are promoted here:</p>
<ul>
<li>Data aggregation;</li>
<li>Use of simple analytical algorithms;</li>
<li>Moving to more sophisticated analytical methods;</li>
<li>Gradual automation of production management.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Possible dangers and problems</h2>
<p>Immediately after the start of an actual project involving the adoption of large amounts of data, some difficulties may occur (say, from the project management side). That is why it is worth to remember about the management challenges that may arise when developing software using large sets of information, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Lack of internal technical skills;</li>
<li>Lack technologists with analytical skills (Big Data) in the team;</li>
<li>Not taking into account new technologies in the processes.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Safe implementation of Big Data solutions</h2>
<p>Big Data can prove to be a very helpful tool in the company's long-term strategy. You should remember, however, about possible difficulties, and above all &ndash; about gradual implementation of the steps described above. Only a gradual implementation of&nbsp;<strong>Big Data in the company</strong>&nbsp;and its structures can end successfully. Otherwise it is easy to put it at risk at the initial stage of the project. This is especially the case when your Big Data adventure begins with a key project with a huge reach. After choosing the right concept for the use of large data sets in the organisation, and consistent implementation of the &rdquo;small steps&rdquo; plan, the benefits of implementing Big Data solutions will probably prove to be a great benefit for the company.</p>

Big Data

Big Data in a Company – How to Start

<p>Can your company use the Blockchain technology? Learn about the industries that benefit from the advantages of this solution &ndash; such as transparency and decentralisation &ndash; and find numerous business applications for it.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what is the Blockchain technology;</li>
<li>what algorithms and methods does Blockchain use;</li>
<li>which industries use the technology based on chains of blocks;</li>
<li>which companies should implement Blockchain-based solutions.</li>
</ul>
<p>In 2009, the world went crazy for Bitcoin, that is the first decentralised digital currency. Since then, it solves the problem of transferring money between different public accounts, without the need for additional bodies or a central server. All transactions are public and stored in a distributed database. This project has inspired other industries; companies are more and more willing to use the Blockchain technology, and chains of blocks are widely used by them.</p>
<h2>Information storing and data up-to-dateness</h2>
<p>Blockchain is a solution with minimal risk. This technology is distributed and decentralised. Blockchain ensures&nbsp;<strong>privacy and data safety</strong>; it is a faster and cheaper solution than the average centralised system. The data is not stored in any location &ndash; it is copied and updated on many different devices connected to each other, forming a kind of network. The processed data is public and verifiable at any time.</p>
<h2>Digital resources security and digital identity</h2>
<p>In order to make sure that the transaction is legal and comes from a trusted source, Blockchain uses cryptographic methods and algorithms. The identity of every person who uses solutions based on the Blockchain technology is hidden behind random characters. Through cryptography, you can quickly prove that the given resources belong to a specific person. Each user automatically becomes the owner of a private key, thanks to which only they can create digital signatures.</p>
<h2>Industries using the Blockchain technology</h2>
<p>These several technological advantages mentioned above make more and more companies from various economy sectors interested in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/blockchain-and-app-development/">implementing Blockchain-based solutions</a>&nbsp;into their structures.</p>
<h3>Blockchain and law</h3>
<p>Contracts are ideally suited for legal tasks, as they can replace the existing instruments of proxy creation.&nbsp;<strong>Smart contracts</strong>&nbsp;are based on creating a code that contains principles and other information necessary for its implementation. Automatic execution of this code in a Blockchain-based network is guaranteed only when the defined conditions are met. The code is executed independently of the interested parties, so it can replace the intermediary (e.g. a lawyer) in a legal process. In addition, the majority of the procedures associated, for example, with valuation of real estate, can also be automated and become more objective. At the current development stage of the Blockchain technology it is possible to&nbsp;<strong>create advanced and multi-stage contracts</strong>&nbsp;covering the entire process, from submitting the application to closing the transaction.</p>
<h3>Blockchain and banking</h3>
<p>As has already been mentioned before, Blockchain is a transparent, distributed and decentralised technology, what currently causes the largest banks to use this technology to reduce the costs and time of international transactions. Blockchain creates a new digital reality in the world of payments, and banking institutions already benefit from the&nbsp;<strong>advantages of the Blockchain</strong>&nbsp;and its infrastructure, among others &ndash; to make transactions, optimise the costs related to trading in securities, international transfers and auditing.</p>
<p>The technology reduces the possibility of making an error by an individual user, and in addition &ndash; when such an error occurs, it can be located much faster. Financial institutions or banks no longer have to worry about creating backup copies of their documents &ndash; Blockchain allows you to&nbsp;<strong>save information in blocks that are not edited or deleted</strong>. In addition, when any interference with the structure of the blocks occurs, it is easy to identify the perpetrator. All transactions carried out using this technology are made in real time, without any intermediaries, while maintaining a greater process integrity. Interestingly, some financial institutions take into account the creation of their own asset-backed digital currencies (cryptocurrencies). The designed tokens will allow for faster and more convenient execution of transactions, and ensure users' security.</p>
<h3>Blockchain and power industry</h3>
<p>The majority of Blockchain's research or pilot projects in the field of power industry concentrate on creating a peer-to-peer market for providing electricity, as well as settling transactions and micropayments. The electricity market is trying to reduce the total costs of purchasing electricity by removing external agents or additional partners. The blockchain technology offers such possibilities; it allows you to conclude energy sales transactions in a short time and in a direct way, without the need for a central representative. Moreover, Blockchain enables clients to&nbsp;<strong>purchase electricity directly, using a &rdquo;peer to peer&rdquo; approach</strong>. This approach bypasses central servers and other institutions that oversee the purchase, while ensuring that all hosts in the network have the same rights. Micropayment services also help to minimise or eliminate the need for third parties, increase clients' versatility, and improve security.</p>
<h2>Is Blockchain right for your company?</h2>
<p>Many company representatives wonder whether it is worth to implement the&nbsp;<strong>Blockchain into business</strong>&nbsp;that they run. The answer is: it depends. First and foremost, you should take into account the business needs, and then link them to the advantages of the technology in a thoughtful and objective manner. Blockchain is not a perfect solution; it is worth to be aware of its weaknesses, and the need to incur adequate financial and executive expenses. A properly chosen Software House or Technology Partner can help you create a&nbsp;<strong>Blockchain-based system</strong>, that will be tailor-made to your needs, business challenges and opportunities. Contact a specialist to get an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sagiton.pl/en/estimate-project/">expert opinion about your business</a>&nbsp;and get answers to questions regarding the solutions adjusted to the character of your organisation.</p>

Przyklady Branz

Examples of Industries Successfully Using the Blockchain Technology

<p>BIM technology is still gaining popularity in the construction industry, but awareness about the dangers is not improving. Learn how to secure information related to the infrastructure project and find out about the security requirements of BIM technology.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what is BIM technology;</li>
<li>what is the point of creating the Common Data Environment;</li>
<li>how should a safe cooperation within the project look like;</li>
<li>what are the consequences of attacks on investments created in the BIM technology;</li>
<li>what was the purpose of the PAS 1192-5: 2015 standard.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The growing popularity of the BIM technology in the construction industry does not go hand in hand with an increase in awareness of the possible dangers. BIM allows you to create&nbsp;<strong>digital 3D models</strong>&nbsp;of real objects that can be used at any stage of the investment process and efficient management in the future. What happens if an inadequately secured information about the project gets into the wrong hands?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Information as the basis for the existence of a BIM object</h2>
<p><a href="https://bimstreamer.com/offer/en/preparation-of-models">3D objects</a>&nbsp;used in investment projects enable digital representation of the building preserving its physical and functional features. Objects and information contained in them allow for managing the whole&nbsp;<strong>life cycle of the investment</strong>&nbsp;(starting from conception, design, construction, delivery, servicing, maintenance, and ending with a demolition). To keep the information contained in the models useful, they have to be updated and always factually correct. Therefore, the&nbsp;<strong>Common Data Environment</strong>&nbsp;(CDE) is used, which allows for adding new data to 3D BIM objects at the time of any changes in the efficiency/use/maintenance of resources.</p>
<p>The Common Data Environment is created to facilitate the management of a project made in the BIM technology. CDE is a central repository that allows you to:</p>
<ul>
<li>check the 3D models included in the project and their information;</li>
<li>facilitate communication and combine project teams;</li>
<li>read the documentation and confidential data about the project.</li>
</ul>
<p>A properly secured Environment reduces the risk of errors and helps organisations to comply with the&nbsp;<strong>BIM standards</strong>. The transparency of the process seems to be an advantage &ndash; team members can easily access information at any time and place (thanks to the cloud); copy and store them on information systems or devices in many formats in various forms (from paper to digital). However, in fact, these features may cause delays in the delivery of the building, time-financial overheads, reputation losses and even closure or liquidation of investments.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Violation and theft of investment data</h2>
<p>The cooperation within the&nbsp;<strong>BIM technology</strong>&nbsp;is very important, therefore ensuring a proper cybersecurity in the implementation of its processes and information flow systems becomes essential. As far as the security goes, all activities are focused on counteracting the attacks of cybercriminals directed at prepared and implemented&nbsp;<strong>IT tools</strong>&nbsp;that are used at various stages of the building&rsquo;s life cycle. &rdquo;People are the weakest link in the security chain&rdquo; &ndash; this is what Kevin Mitnick, the most renowned hacker, once regarded as the most dangerous in the world, thinks.</p>
<p>For this reason, employees should participate in training courses on&nbsp;<strong>information protection</strong>&nbsp;(personal/non-personal, patents, know-how) and organisation resources, to easily identify suspicious situations (e.g. in the form of e-mails, telephone calls). What&rsquo;s important here is a quick response and sending an emergency report to the IT department or to an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemlock.com/en">external security partner</a>, and after that &ndash; following the security strategy.</p>
<h2>Hacker attacks on the Common Data Environment</h2>
<p>The majority of infrastructure projects in&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/what-is-bim-technology/">developed countries are being planned using the BIM technology</a>&nbsp;and other digital systems, therefore a cyber-attack may lead to their total paralysis. Attacks by cybercriminals on CDE:</p>
<ul>
<li>hinder accessing key data by the investment team;</li>
<li>make hackers gain insight into confidential information about the building;</li>
<li>give hackers access to data on the persons involved in the investment process (e.g. identity cards, contract content, ID numbers).</li>
</ul>
<p>It is worth noting that loss of personal data due to failure to comply with obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be punishable, starting May 25, 2018. In the study conducted by the University of Bolton,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bimplus.co.uk/analysis/bim-security-threat-built-environment/">66% of respondents disagreed with the statement that &rdquo;the BIM models will not be useful for criminal organisations&rdquo;</a>. Currently, buildings and even whole cities are created in digital technology, embracing the concept of&nbsp;<strong>Internet of Things (IoT)</strong>. Therefore, cybercriminals &ndash; after acquiring detailed plans of intelligent enterprises &ndash; can identify gaps and then use them to carry out an attack, causing material and non-material losses.</p>
<h2>BIM technology security requirements</h2>
<p>Representatives of the British government and experts from the AEC industry have created a number of proposals and regulations aimed at counteracting the threats to the&nbsp;<strong>BIM technology</strong>&nbsp;and using cloud computing to store project documentation. To help the construction sector adopt BIM level 2, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/PAS_1192-5:2015">PAS 1192-5: 2015</a>&nbsp;standard was created &ndash; it&rsquo;s a specification for security-minded&nbsp;<strong>building information modelling</strong>&nbsp;(BIM), digital built environments and smart asset management, which is also being successfully implemented in other countries around the world. This standard takes into account the steps that should be taken to create the &rdquo;safety culture&rdquo; and assumes that all investment activities will be undertaken using appropriate security measures, regardless of its current stage.</p>
<p>Thanks to this, all&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.lemlock.com/en/data-breach-organization-IT-security/">sensitive data and other project assets will be properly secured</a>, and the requests for access will be verified. Each person involved in the investment should remember to exercise special caution, starting from the client, to the project manager, designer, investor, contractor or construction team. They must be aware of the potential attack (its type and scale) and avoid mistakes caused by the human factor. It is worth to familiarise the members of the investment process with IT resilience standards and design a strategy related to the&nbsp;<strong>project documentation management</strong>&nbsp;(e.g. refraining from using file names that clearly indicate their content), as well as the procedures to be followed in the case of threats to digital investments.</p>
<h2>An investment in security is an investment in the future</h2>
<p>When planning a CDE, you should find all appropriate protective mechanisms and safeguards preventing an unauthorized access first. It is advisable to maintain order, consistency of information and clarity of the Environment, because at the time of data loss/theft it takes less time to identify the violation and then report it. In addition, it is worth using a&nbsp;<strong>multi-level authentication</strong>&nbsp;and creating an&nbsp;<strong>Identity and Access Management system</strong>, which allows you to monitor the movement of the project members in CDE on an ongoing basis and define their authorities.</p>
<p>Becoming aware of the existing dangers is important, and it is even more important to take rational actions to reduce the risk of interference, theft and destruction of resources. Planning and then implementing a security strategy, and conducting security audits, monitoring anomalies, can protect you against an attack on the investment and its critical elements.</p>

Bim Bezpieczenstwo

BIM Technology and Maintenance of Cybersecurity

<p>The basis of BIM technology is the effective use of available data and making further business decisions based on them. Find out how Big Data affects the building process and how it affects the effective management of a building after commissioning.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what do we call an innovation based on data;</li>
<li>what data is being created during BIM designing;</li>
<li>what data is necessary in the investment process;</li>
<li>what are the benefits of using data on a construction site.</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>With the growing popularity of BIM, in the industry more and more is being talked about using the&nbsp;<strong>Big Data in BIM Technology</strong>&nbsp;and its incredible impact on the liquidity of investments. In fact, however, the division between&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/what-is-bim-technology/">BIM</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.sagiton.pl/en/what-is-big-data-data-usage-in-business/">Big Data</a>&nbsp;is artificial, completely forced &ndash; probably due to the existing trend of &rdquo;discovering&rdquo; innovations and being a trendsetter in the industry. That&rsquo;s because the basis for the proper operation of BIM technology BIM is the effective use of data and making business decisions based on them.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Choosing the path of innovation</h2>
<p>As it was mentioned, organisations compete to become pioneers of new trends and they try to create strategies and plans based on innovation. As a consequence, the phenomenon of&nbsp;<strong>Data-Driven Innovation</strong>&nbsp;(DDI), or innovations based on data that are the only one created&nbsp;<a href="https://datascientistinsights.com/2013/01/29/six-types-of-analyses-every-data-scientist-should-know/">on the basis of collected information</a>&nbsp;(e.g. descriptive, exploratory, inferential, predictive, causal, mechanistic) was created. DDI appears in many industries and now it becomes popular in the construction industry. All innovations in the Architecture Engineering Construction (AEC) industry, created on the basis of data, increase the productivity, resource efficiency, competitiveness of business entities, as well as improve the well-being of the members of society and meet their expectations.</p>
<p>The BIM technology and the&nbsp;<strong>BIM object</strong>&nbsp;created using it, allow for creating a digital &rdquo;clone&rdquo; of the planned project and its efficient management after making it available for use. It is not possible to correctly&nbsp;<strong>implement BIM technology</strong>&nbsp;for an investment without analysing and using data. It is thanks to data that you can control a specific construction project at every stage of the life cycle. Big, variable and diverse data sets create the so-called&nbsp;<strong>Big Data</strong>&nbsp;concept, which offers many opportunities for the AEC industry.</p>
<h2>Constructing buildings with Big Data</h2>
<p>Using Big Data makes it possible to create various types of buildings, from residential buildings, schools, to large skyscrapers, resources and other materials for which are selected, so that they are:</p>
<ol>
<li>in line with needs/expectations determined on the basis of market, user groups analyses;</li>
<li>adapted to the prevailing conditions (e.g. hygiene and health-related; environmental protection; protection against noise, vibrations, energy savings; adequate thermal insulation of partitions);</li>
<li>compliant with the requirements (e.g. design/fire/everyday use/use safety).</li>
</ol>
<p>The basis for the existence of models developed by designers is their integration with information provided by representatives of various industries. Hence, the models contain time/price-related parameters; construction schedules; cost estimates, as well as direct information from the suppliers of construction materials/products. Taking care of the&nbsp;<a href="https://bimstreamer.com/offer/en/preparation-of-models">up-to-dateness and consistency of this information in BIM objects</a>&nbsp;may cause them to become a tool to improve the&nbsp;<strong>investment management</strong>. An orderly and correct product information in the models and the use of cloud creates the opportunity for cooperation of specialists from every corner of the world (they gain access to the same BIM objects and data at any time).</p>
<h2>What data is being created during BIM designing?</h2>
<p>A huge amount of data is being created every day (<a href="https://www.northeastern.edu/levelblog/2016/05/13/how-much-data-produced-every-day/">2.5 exabytes a day!</a>). Especially in the construction industry, data is generated from many sources &ndash; both by the members of the investment process and the machines, devices, sensors and electronic equipment used, that are implemented at various stages of the&nbsp;<strong>investment life cycle</strong>. The data regarding the project already appear at the moment the first outlines of the idea are being created, when the idea appears in the mind of the investor or designer. It is a time of the first arrangements concerning:</p>
<ul>
<li>the appearance of the building (designing and modelling its interior/exterior);</li>
<li>the place of its construction within the set space and its influence on it;</li>
<li>the role it will play for the society and the economy.</li>
</ul>
<p>By using historical data (e.g. related to construction risks noticed in the past during the execution similar projects), it is possible to avoid problematic/crisis situations that may slow down the construction process or cause the closure of the entire construction. The first discussions and opinions of the stakeholders or other members of the society, from which you can also draw conclusions for choosing the right direction of the investment development, occur at the design stage already.</p>
<h2>Information used in facility management</h2>
<p>During the actual construction, additional information may appear, e.g. regarding the working time of people and machines on the construction site; the technical wear of used equipment and its impact on the closest environment; the method of using the logistics infrastructure (it is worth mentioning here that keeping the records of use of the logistics infrastructure reduces the risk of requests delays or overlapping). Thanks to the optimised sensors used within the structure being created, you can obtain data that &ndash; after transferring to the&nbsp;<strong>Building Information Management</strong>&nbsp;(BIM) systems &ndash; affect the quality and quantity of activities regarding the facility management (FM), e.g. maintenance, modernisation, demolition. All planned changes are introduced into the system, and in the next step are subject to analysis and calculations concerning, among others:</p>
<ul>
<li>security and risks;</li>
<li>profitability with regard to potential costs/implementation time;</li>
<li>ergonomics of the proposed solutions;</li>
<li>public utility and meaningfulness for end users.</li>
</ul>
<p>The whole documentation or information on the structure and its space is being updated and is located in one place &ndash; in the BIM models.</p>
<h2>Data necessary in the investment process</h2>
<p>The process of creating a building is a complicated endeavour, requiring various types of resources and data in the form of e.g. preliminary 2D models, applied 3D elements and detailed information about them; project documentation (schedules, balance sheets, budget), predictions and analyses. To avoid project inaccuracies, all drawn up&nbsp;<strong>data should be connected</strong>&nbsp;in a logical and controlled manner. A lot of attention is being paid to the BIM models of physical objects that &ndash; in addition to preserving their real appearance &ndash; also contain detailed information on costs, deadlines or technical requirements. Thanks to the fact that all members of the investment process have access to the same BIM models, the problem of outdatedness, ambiguity or information uncertainty disappears.</p>
<p>In addition to the&nbsp;<strong>data contained in the BIM models</strong>, that can be subject to human checking, as well as machine reading, there is also unstructured information. This is all the information that can not be sorted and catalogued using an algorithm, and the analysis of which can have a positive impact on the investment process. Found among them can be text documents, multifaceted reports, spreadsheets, PDF files, images, photos, videos, messages. Such data is being generated during the creation of an investment, but sometimes it is being wrongly omitted. It allows you to better understand the idea and processes taking place during the creation of an investment (anticipate events, take advantage of opportunities, react to risky situations) and &ndash; above all &ndash; optimise the schedule and budget of the entire project.</p>
<h2>The benefits of using data on the construction site</h2>
<p>Analysing and drawing conclusions from the BIM models and data closely related to the processes within the construction gives many benefits. To a large extent, it is the right interpretation of information that contributes to keeping deadlines and completing projects in accordance with the guidelines. Thanks to data you can, among other things:</p>
<ul>
<li>use your construction materials and plan further orders more effectively;</li>
<li>adapt employees schedules to the project needs. This involves setting the time of their work and breaks, so that there are always appropriate specialists on construction site;</li>
<li>optimise resource efficiency at the construction site, avoiding wastefulness;</li>
<li>determine the most advantageous route for vehicles in terms of, among others, route length, fuel consumption, drive time;</li>
<li>estimate the maintenance time of machines/devices or the moment of their replacement with new ones.</li>
</ul>
<p>By controlling and optimising the investment works based on up-to-date data, it is much easier to make decisions that affect the further development of the enterprise. In addition to the ability to make well-considered decisions, the information gives a chance to&nbsp;<strong>reduce the project risks, avoid penalties or delays</strong>. All members of the investment process have permanent access to project information and it is the project manager's task to ensure that they are up-to-date and accurate. It is mainly the manager that should make the team aware of the possibility (and even necessity) of asking questions in order to dispel any doubts. Only this way there is a chance to reduce the errors caused by the human factor.</p>
<p>The construction industry is one of the fastest growing and generating huge amounts of data. It is here where risky and expensive decisions are being made, and even one mistake can cause heavy losses. In order to avoid material losses and financial errors, it is worth relying on information at every stage of the investment life cycle.</p>

Bim Data Czyli Dane Jako Podstawa Tworzenia Inwestycji W Technologii Bim

BIM Data, or Data as the Basis for Creating Investments in BIM Technology

<p>Is virtual reality the better suited one for presenting products and services? See how brands use technologies of virtual reality and augmented reality in their marketing strategies.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what is virtual reality and what is augmented reality;</li>
<li>how can you use virtual reality in marketing activities;</li>
<li>what are the benefits of using virtual reality;</li>
<li>if virtual reality is the better suited one for presenting products and services.</li>
</ul>
<p>It is expected that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/networked-society/consumerlab/reports/tv-media-2017-consumer-and-industry-insight-report.pdf">by 2020, ⅓ of global consumers will use the opportunities offered by virtual and augmented reality</a>. There will be an increasing number of more and more cheaper devices on the market, which means that the content available in this form will also be accessible to a mass audience. Some companies are already aware that it is worth taking into account this technology when creating a marketing strategy. See the possibilities of marketing activities employing virtual reality.</p>
<h2>Virtual reality and augmented reality</h2>
<p>Virtual reality means the technologies that generate a fully artificial environment. It consists of image, sound, and sometimes &ndash; even touch or smell. The displayed image is seen in a manner similar to the behaviour of our eyes, thanks to which the recipient can fully immerse themselves in the created world.</p>
<p>Augmented reality, on the other hand, combines the real world with the virtual world, and the created image is superimposed on the real one. While in this case the elements are static, the so-called mixed reality (combining virtual reality and augmented reality) is characterised by high interactivity with the user.</p>
<h2>Examples of using virtual reality in marketing activities</h2>
<p>Virtual reality was initially associated mainly with the computer games industry. Thanks to the fact that the player can fully immerse themselves in a virtual reality, it is possible to provide players with more intense experience. With time, it began to gain popularity in other industries, such as medicine or automotive.</p>
<p>Currently, regardless of the industry, virtual reality is more and more frequently used by brands in marketing activities. There is nothing strange about it, considering the fact that artificial reality can affect practically every sense, and reach the recipient more intensively.</p>
<p>Below you will find examples of how you can take advantage of the opportunities offered by integrating virtual reality technology in marketing activities.</p>
<h3>See the product from all sides</h3>
<p>Although the undoubted advantage of online stores is the ability to do shopping without leaving your home, sometimes the lack of the possibility to thoroughly check the goods before purchase turns out to be an obstacle. With the implementation of 360-degree films, it is possible to present the full appearance of an item, accurately define visual characteristics and parameters, and check the functionality by the consumer in person. Such a solution is used, among others, by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=122&amp;v=yAuiXhJPnr8">eBay platform</a>, that wants the virtual shopping to be simple and &ndash; first and foremost &ndash; convenient for their clients.</p>
<h3>See your future home</h3>
<p>During a presentation of an apartment, developers can use the fact that virtual reality allows the clients to take a virtual walk around the real estate that is still under construction and arrange it in their own way. This was also used by IKEA, which provides its clients with the opportunity to &rdquo;try&rdquo; furniture in their apartment before buying it. Thanks to the use of artificial reality, you can check whether the new armchair will go well with your current sofa, and whether there is enough space for a cabinet between the table and the window.</p>
<h3>Experience the pleasure of travelling</h3>
<p>Artificial reality also allows you to see a real place that is actually thousands of kilometres away from you. It was used by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6yMqXLnpN4">Marriott hotel chain in their campaign addressed to newlyweds,</a>&nbsp;who &ndash; after putting on the glasses &ndash; were taken to perfect places for spending a honeymoon, scattered all over the world. Apart from exotic landscapes, the participants could also visit the interior of the chain's hotel located there.</p>
<h3>Try a new car model</h3>
<p>By employing the virtual reality technology, you can experience a test drive, or feel what it is like to be a driver of the fastest car in the world.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wuln2bJkp1k">Volvo used this to promote the new model of</a>&nbsp;Volvo XC90 &ndash; after downloading the application, everyone could take part in a test drive of the new model.</p>
<h3>Learn the history of a product</h3>
<p>Through virtual reality, you can get to better know the process of creating a given product, or the course of the service being provided. Customers attach increasing importance to openness in the activities of companies, and the inspired trust makes it easier for them to make a purchase decision.</p>
<p>The Toms Shoes company is known for the fact that with each sold pair of shoes, they give away one pair for people in need. As part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz5vQs9iXCs">&lsquo;A walk in their shoes&rsquo;</a>&nbsp;campaign they wanted to share the feelings experienced during these activities with their clients. With the help of artificial reality, customers of a stationary store could experience a trip to a small Peruvian village and experience the emotions that accompany helping those in need.</p>
<h3>Swing by an Irish pub</h3>
<p>Virtual reality goggles can be a link between the ordinary world and the one created by a brand. This approach can be perfectly seen in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R5J8Je2j_4">Old Irish Beer brand campaign,</a>&nbsp;in which the participants were taken to Ireland, being able to see its nooks and crannies using VR goggles. At that time, the staff was putting together around them parts of a special installation, which looked like a typical Irish pub. After taking the glasses off, the participants of the campaign found themselves to be in the same place in the real world, in which they were just a moment ago in the virtual world. This campaign is a good example of how technology can connect the virtual world with the real world.</p>
<h2>Benefits of using virtual reality</h2>
<p>Virtual reality brings many benefits for both &ndash; the brand and its recipients, for example:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>it gives a possibility to present an absent product</strong>&nbsp;- even in the case of lacking a physical product, it can be presented in an innovative and non-standard way, showing its visual characteristics and parameters to the client. It also gives the opportunity to present the product before the date of its actual creation;</li>
<li><strong>it ensures maximum immersion</strong>&nbsp;- with the help of artificial reality, clients can completely immerse themselves in the virtual world, experiencing positive sensations. This allows you to create positive emotions related to the product before its purchase;</li>
<li><strong>it enables marketing without barriers</strong>&nbsp;- distance is not important when establishing contact with a potential client, because the entire process of presenting the product or service takes place in a digitally generated world. Thanks to this, there are no geographical or time restrictions, as the consumer can learn about the product or service even without having to leave the house;</li>
<li><strong>it gives a possibility to gain valuable suggestions from the recipients</strong>&nbsp;- obtaining feedback from consumers is possible even before the actual product or service is introduced to the market. The information can be used to correct possible errors or improve the offered product or service;</li>
<li><strong>it increases the range of the customer segment</strong>&nbsp;- the use of artificial reality still arouse the interest of consumers who are always open to new experiences. It is also easier to introduce innovative activities that attract attention and have a widespread effect.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Is virtual reality the better suited one for presenting products and services?</h2>
<p>Conducting activities in virtual reality gives marketers more opportunities. It not only makes it easier to reach more consumers, but also allows for a greater variety of activities that can have a stronger impact on the emotions and reception of a product or service.</p>
<p>Marketing activities in artificial reality are not intended to replace the existing ones. Instead of pushing out the traditional marketing activities, they should rather be treated as an additional platform for the implementation of creative ideas. Virtual reality technologies are a perfect addition to the brand's marketing strategy.</p>

Break the Barriers of the Real World – Virtual Reality in Marketing Strategy

<p>Are players an important target group of the brand? Check what opportunities for marketers does gamification create. Learn about the benefits that AdverGaming brings, and keep it in mind when planning your marketing strategy.</p>
<h3>From the article you will learn:</h3>
<ul>
<li>what is gamification in marketing;</li>
<li>what is AdverGaming;</li>
<li>what are the advantages of using gamification and advergaming in marketing strategy;</li>
<li>what are the ways of promoting a brand;</li>
<li>if players can be an important target group of a brand.</li>
</ul>
<p>The feeling of being unable to make a purchase is not known to contemporary consumers. They have no problem with finding a similar product or service offered by another company. That is why marketers are constantly facing challenges and are looking for new methods to effectively distinguish the brand and increase its awareness among potential customers. Gamification and AdverGaming are another chance to break through with a marketing message.</p>
<h2>Gamification &ndash; what is that</h2>
<p>The importance of entertainment and games in human life and development is significant from the first years of life. Motivating children to perform simple duties is much easier when they are fun. It changes a bit with age, but does not go away entirely.</p>
<p><strong>Gamification</strong>&nbsp;is based on the observed human behaviours. Rivalry and competition is part of our nature. We like to compete to prove our skills to ourselves or to others. The process of gamification also exploits the fact that most people are susceptible to the idea of earning points and collecting things. This technique is based on the pleasure that comes from achieving new challenges.</p>
<p>The use of gamification in marketing generally consists of adding a competitive (gaming) element in advertising activities. It involves using mechanisms from role-playing or computer games to influence human behaviour, in order to increase their involvement.</p>
<h2>AdverGaming - what is that</h2>
<p>AdverGaming, or the so-called Advertising Games, is &ndash; to put it simply &ndash; a combination of an advertisement and a game. It is a more and more popular marketing tool involving the use of games as an advertising medium. These can be both computer or console games, but also the games for mobile devices or social media platforms.</p>
<p>The essence of AdverGaming is to reach a wide audience with the advertising message of a brand, product or service, by providing the recipient with entertainment and the enjoyment that comes with playing. AdverGaming is about involving the consumer in the adventure with a brand.</p>
<h2>Advantages of using gamification and AdverGaming in marketing strategy</h2>
<p>An increasing number of companies see the potential of using gamification in marketing, and treats Advergaming as part of their marketing strategy. This is not surprising, because it is a tool that has many advantages and brings new possibilities.</p>
<h3>Unconventional activities</h3>
<p>In a situation where it is increasingly difficult to influence the consumer, especially using the traditional advertising tools, AdverGaming is a way to reach them in a different, less conventional way. The use of gamification in marketing strategy gives an opportunity to creative marketers.</p>
<h3>Gentle communication</h3>
<p>In times when consumers are constantly being bombarded by advertising messages and sales information, a non-intrusive form of communication gains their recognition. An invitation to play is perceived by them as a gentle and natural message, and at the same time &ndash; unobtrusive. For marketers, on the other hand, it is another medium for disseminating marketing information.</p>
<h3>Measurable effects</h3>
<p>By employing the so-called playability analysis, the company can easily obtain information on the number of players, played turns, or time spent playing the game. Based on the data available, it is easy to assess the effects of a given campaign and to summarise the sales results.</p>
<h3>Vast sales market</h3>
<p>The larger the target group, the greater the chance to finalise the sale. In the case of players, the sales market is becoming widespread and very vast.&nbsp;<a href="https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoo-2017-report-insights-into-the-108-9-billion-global-games-market/">In 2018, the number of players around the world was estimated at 2.2 billion, and according to forecasts, it is expected to increase to 2.6 billion by the end of 2020.</a></p>
<h3>No barriers</h3>
<p>In the case of such a large market as the players market, barriers like age, nationality or language are not an obstacle. The game-based mechanisms are intuitive, making it possible to reach different groups. In addition, in the case of using mobile games, time restrictions are eliminated. That is because the consumer can play during a bus ride, or in a queue to the doctor's office, making the time pass more pleasantly.</p>
<h3>Ease of data collection</h3>
<p>By offering a game, companies can more easily obtain data about users of the brand. Consumers are more likely to provide their personal data, seeing an obvious benefit for themselves, for example &ndash; in the form of entertainment.</p>
<h3>Increasing loyalty</h3>
<p>You can see an increase in emotional interest in relation to the brand in a person engaged in the game. A player will be more willing to think about the brand and its offer, than a standard consumer. This way, it is easier to build a community around the brand, which in time can act as a kind of brand ambassadors.</p>
<h3>Increased brand recognition</h3>
<p>Through non-standard marketing activities, the brand recognition and awareness among consumers increases. By offering a well-developed game, the positive image of the brand is strengthened among players.</p>
<h3>Wide range of applications</h3>
<p>AdverGaming can be used by marketers for various purposes. Apart from the obvious use, that is &ndash; increasing sales, it can also be utilised for PR activities, consumer or loyalty programmes, and even for recruiting employees.</p>
<h2>Ways of promoting a brand using AdverGaming</h2>
<p>The greatest opportunities for creative marketing activities arise, of course, from&nbsp;<strong>creating a new game</strong>&nbsp;for the purposes of the brand and its promotion. This type of solution allows you to design the game to meet specific marketing needs of the brand. It is an ideal solution in the case of competitions in which, based on clearly defined rules, winners can be awarded on the basis of point rankings.</p>
<p>You can also&nbsp;<strong>purchase an advertising space</strong>&nbsp;in an already existing game. This type of solution takes the form of outdoor advertisements that appear during the game, that is billboards along the road, fences at the stadium, or posters at stops. In this case, the brand can change the message depending on the needs.</p>
<p>Another way to use games as a tool for advertising is&nbsp;<strong>product placement</strong>. It involves placing the product of the brand as a fitting element of the game. For example, the player can ride a specific car model, eat a popular brand's burger, or use a battery of a specific brand to charge energy. In this case, marketers need to plan their activities early, already at the stage of creating the game.</p>
<p>The least creative, but not ineffective way to advertise in the game are&nbsp;<strong>display formats</strong>. These are banner ads appearing in the interface or while loading the game. In the case of popular games, they can reach a really large group of recipients. The fundamental downside is the fact that many players may find them annoying, which is definitely not the goal of marketers.</p>
<h2>Can players be an important target group of a brand</h2>
<p>To answer this question you must first consider who is a player. An straightforward answer is not easy, because currently it is a very diverse group in many respects. The player's image differs more and more from a young, slightly withdrawn boy spending most of his free time in front of a computer.</p>
<p>In fact, everyone &ndash; both men and women &ndash; play. The same goes for young and older persons. Residents of large cities, as well as small towns and villages. Players are not only hard users, but also people who play less often and do not treat games as their passion, but only one of the possible forms of entertainment. This is great information for brands whose target group is non-uniform.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some of the players considered to be stereotypical, could be a separate group, a kind of niche. Marketing communication using AdverGaming is a chance to reach the people who are more and more resistant to marketing activities of brands.</p>
<p>Another aspect that speaks for the inclusion of players as a target group of the brand is the fact that it is a large group in terms of quantity. And most importantly, the forecasts predict that it will continue to grow. The most popular games can generate traffic counted in hundreds of thousands, and skilful marketing activities give a chance for a viral effect.</p>
<p>Treating players as an important target group is also supported by the fact that the player is maximally focused during the play, which is why an advertisement appearing in the game becomes more memorable. In addition, the duration of advertising impact on a potential consumer is relatively long, but not intrusive. AdverGaming provides a unique value, which is the consumer's engagement in the advertising message.</p>
<p>This form of advertising and marketing activities is certainly prospective and developmental. The broadly defined target group consisting of players offers great opportunities, and it depends only on marketers whether they will properly choose their message and tools to reach it.</p>

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