Top 5 trends in business app development

If you're developing a business app, it's imperative that it can tick these five considerations off the list to encourage market penetration in a highly competitive industry.

For those looking to enter the business app development industry, it is a competitive nut to crack. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for new apps to disrupt the market. Far from it. There are no limits to the heights that business apps can reach. Business and technology are evolving on a daily basis, so business app developers need to keep pace. There will always be gaps in the market that need to be filled. You just need to know where to look. Here are five factors to consider when looking to build a business app that will make the cut.

Above all, your business app requires the capability to seamlessly integrate with other key, successful business apps currently on the market. Business owners want fluidity in all that they do. If your app can assist their current app usage in a positive and seamless way, you are halfway there. 

Which apps do this well? Xero does this extremely well by seamlessly integrating with a number of systems, helping business owners be more efficient and productive. The Xero marketplace holds over 700 time-saving apps that integrate with Xero. Whether a business owner is running a small coffee shop or a multinational global enterprise, Xero has the app integration for any business function. Xero makes business transactions a breeze so business owners can spend less time on their bookkeeping and more time running their business.

Your business app needs to be so user-friendly that even the children of the business owner can operate it. The users of a business app will vary, from the director right down through to front-line staff. So essentially, it needs to be user-friendly, simple and easy to navigate for young and old, regardless of their tech knowledge and experience. 

Which apps do this well? Canva has to be one of the most innovative and successful apps for its ability to open graphic design to anyone and everyone. It has mastered the user-friendly platform to a tee, making the difficult designer tools you’d find in the Adobe Suite of programs as easy to use as Word. It gives users hundreds of templates to work with, along with access to millions of images, fonts and design elements, all in the one place. Never before has a platform created such a user-friendly experience for people of all ages and abilities, with or without a graphic design degree.

The whole purpose of creating apps is to save time. Time saved on menial administrative tasks means more time spent on the core focus of a business. There are a bunch of productivity and time-tracking apps out there that help businesses evaluate the time they spend on each and every facet of their business. When creating a business app, you should ensure it will save time for the user, not create extra work. It must be incorporated at the click of a button, in real time with accessible, easy to comprehend reporting. 

Which apps do this well? Harvest is an online time-tracking app that creates invaluable insights for managers on how their staff spend their time. It tracks projects and hours worked, percentages of budgets allocated and spent per project, and even creates timesheets for approval. It allows managers to see the true cost of projects, which will allow them to better project manage jobs and priorities. Harvest means no more stabbing in the dark when it comes to quoting. It gives real-time insights into the true cost of each and every job within a business, all with the click of a button.

Integrating a chatbot is an essential component when developing a business app in 2019. Chatbots are now becoming a staple in any new app design due to simpler integration without the need for complex coding. They are the new virtual assistants of the app world, looking to increase productivity by being the first online port of call for new customers. Chatbots are no longer frowned upon but are an accepted first mode of communication with a company. There are multiple AI chatbot apps that can integrate with your system, and the number is growing steadily. 

Which apps do this well? For the best AI chatbots on the market, check out ManyChat, Pandorabots and ChatBot.

Business operations are becoming more and more global. The standard work office is changing where remote workers are encouraged and mobile offices are the norm. Creating a business app that allows for global and remote workers to connect is essential. It must aid effective communication between staff and departments, no matter where in the world they are located. To help things, the cloud is becoming less of a source of angst than it once was. Business owners are realising the benefit of cloud integration for their business, including reduced costs, better storage and loading capacity. So, if looking into business app development, be sure to integrate with cloud-based technology. 

Which apps do this well? Communication and collaboration apps such as Slack and Skype help to save the time spent on emails back and forth between staff members and departments. They offer both private and group chats, instant messaging and voice and video calls. It doesn’t matter where in the world your team are — all they require is an internet connection.

Building an innovative business app that fills a vacant need in the business arena is indeed a tough ask. But all you need is an innovative idea that ticks all the boxes for successful market penetration and you are on your way. Follow our tips on key considerations to keep in mind when in development stage and then let the technology do the talking.