All posts by [x]cube LABS

[x]cube LABS is a leading digital strategy and solution provider specializing in enterprise mobility space. Over the years, we have delivered numerous digital innovations and mobile solutions, creating over $ 2 billion for startups and enterprises. Broad spectrum of services ranging from mobile app development to enterprise digital strategy makes us the partner of choice for leading brands.
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Webinar: Gamify your technology

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Games are not just for kids anymore. Companies across industries are using the principles and mechanics of games to boost innovation, drive customer engagement and take their brands to the massess.

By 2014, over 70% of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one “gamified” app, according to research firm Gartner, Inc.

And customers simply love it

As per a JW Intelligence survey among American and British adults, 63% agree that making everyday activities more like a game would make them more fun and rewarding.

However, gamifying an app is more than borrowing points and badges from games and using it to motivate your customers to engage with brands.

By 2014, 80% of currently gamified apps will fail to meet business objectives mainly due to poor design.

Balancing various game design elements is the secret to driving user engagement and helping you get more from your efforts. When you know the rules of the game, the tricks of the trade and the gamification best practices, you would be able to gamify your technology to your advantage and user’s delight.

Blog, Marketing

Brand marketing via apps: 3 ways to engage customers with your app

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Mobile apps are different than other customer channels. The rules of engagement with mobile apps is also very different. Why? Mobile is a direct and personal communication channel of which users are very protective. And that’s why brands have to earn their places in their user’s mobile screen. And this is no mean feat considering most of brands already have or are building mobile apps to market their products and services. The other challenge comes from entertainment and utility apps which take most of the user’s interest and screen space. So how can brand increase the chances of their apps attracting consumer’s interest? The answer lies in providing value to the customers.

  • The most common use of mobile apps for brands was to communicate with customers (83%). Source: Adobe Survey
  •  Customer service or support (79%), product information(74%), transactions (69%) and brand engagement (67%). Source: Adobe Survey

So how can a brand create value in their apps for customers? Here are 3 ways brands can engage customers better through their apps, earn their loyalty and achieve their business objectives:

  • 1. Entertain: Engage via entertainment. People love to get entertained and it’s easy for brands to send their message across using emotions. So your app must have entertainment features. It can be in the form a good story with your brand message embed in to it or a game that allows your users to earn points, badges and status etc. Anything which will make your user to come back to your app and has the potential to take a pie of his mobile time regularly will do.
  • 2. Inform: Your app must able to inform the users about your various products and services. So pack your app with all the key information for the users to visit it at the time of need. For example, a retailer’s app must provide catalog of its products, its availability, pricing information and maps etc., for the customers to guide into its stores. Moreover, the app should also be able to communicate information on latest deals and offers for the customers.
  • 3. Action:  Your mobile branded app must also enable action by users when needed. So, if you are an automobile manufacturer then your app must allow users to book test rides, download product brochures or book an appointment with your sales team. Banking apps must allow users to check-in to their accounts and make transactions.

To create value to customers, brands must mix and match the above three elements. In addition, putting customer at the heart of your mobile marketing strategy is crucial. A study by webappy highlights that usability and user experience are critical to mobile users. Designing an app that is user-friendly, rich in experience and provides value will ensure success to your mobile marketing.A proper mix depending on your offerings, messaging and business objectives will not only help you earn loyal users but also get you better ROI from your mobile initiatives.

Blog, Healthcare

mHealth: How mobile medical apps are transforming healthcare?

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Healthcare industry has been one of the early and enthusiastic adopters of mobile technology. From fitness app, that aid people in their work-outs and help them get into perfect shape, to remote monitoring solutions that aid physicians in monitoring their patients from anywhere and everywhere, mobile devices and apps have permeated across the healthcare system. Let’s look at a few numbers gathered from various studies done of mHealth trends-

  • The global mHealth market size estimated at $6.6 billion in 2013 is expected to reach $20.7 billion by 2018 registering a CAGR of 25.5%.
  • In the U.S., clinical mobility is expected to grow to $5.4 billion in 2016, at a CAGR of 12.7%.
  • The market for mobile health sensors is expected to grow at a CAGR of 69% in the next five years to $5.6 billion.
  • 30% of total smartphone users will have used mobile medical apps by 2015.

Factors driving mobile medical app usage

The soaring use of mHealth solutions can be attributed to two broad factors- challenges facing the industry and huge advancements in mobile technology. Healthcare providers are facing myriad challenges like the shift to accountable care models, changing economics of markets, shrinking pool of talent and rising healthcare costs. Mobile technology, on the other hand, has made huge advancements in the recent years. The cost of devices has dropped significantly. Smartphones and Tablets have become superior in functionality and power and costs of building an app has reduced. Bandwidth has expanded and become faster to support mobility. Moreover, enabling technologies like M2M, sensors and wearable devices etc., has improved the scope and impact of mobility in healthcare. And, most importantly, there is a growing interest among patients and physicians to use mobile medical devices and apps as they offer comfort and convenience, in the time of need.

“Now I can sit with a patient, have an eye-to-eye conversation, and show them their CAT scan or a video about treatment options. I can use Synthesis Mobile (an app that taps into hundreds of internal systems) to notify staff to change an IV setting, or do order entry and charge capture right from the application. I’m more efficient and faster, and I’m doing less work between patients,” says Dr. Brad Leibovich, Mayo Clinic. (Source:Apple)

mHealth apps across the ecosystem…

According to Business Insider, there are around 100,000 apps related to healthcare and fitness in various app stores. Many studies suggest that more and more healthcare providers are building mhealth applications for both their internal and external usage. So today we have apps for medication administration that enables timely and accurate medication to patients; hospital asset management solutions that allow hospital staff to locate health equipment and physician rounding mobile apps that helps physicians see more patients in less time. Moreover, there are apps specially meant for patients that enables them to reach their doctors at the time of need from their home, capture and record their vitals and send it to their hospitals and monitor diabetes and cholesterol levels.

“For patients dealing with any health issue, information is power,” Leibovich notes. “The more we can empower them to understand what’s going on with them, the better they’ll feel and the better their outcomes will be.” (Source:Apple)

mHealth in future…

Healthcare providers are still picking the low lying fruits of mobile healthcare technology. The current trends in the market give enough reasons to be excited about the future of mHealth. There has been a big push to M2M and wearable devices in the sector. In the recently concluded, there was a lat of talk on healthcare wearable devices with several manufacturers showcasing their visions and innovations. Experiments with Google Glass in healthcare has already begun with some physicians using the Glass while performing surgeries. Moreover, more and more healthcare organizations are embracing smartphones and Tablets. Furthermore, healthcare providers, as they are realizing the benefits of mobile in healthcare, are moving towards drawing a comprehensive mobile strategy which will further increase the role of mobile. And, the biggest push will come from patients and physicians. A Digitas Health survey reveals that a staggering 90% of chronic patients in the US willing to accept a mobile app prescription from their physician, mobile medical apps are surely on the upside swing.

“The future is going to be amazing technology-wise,” says Mark Henderson, Division Chair, Information Technology, Mayo Clinic. “Mayo Clinic is just touching the surface of what’s possible. In terms of trying to be more efficient and providing the best care, the apps we’ve written have definitely given us a vision of where we can go in the future.” (Source:Apple)

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Blog, Logistics

Mobility in Logistics: 5 mobile solutions that are revolutionizing the industry

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The logistics industry thrives on mobility. Everyday, the industry witnesses a mammoth movement of people and packages- in air, sea and surface- from one location to another. For an industry on  constant move, mobile devices and apps comes across as a natural choice and has the potential to play an impactful role in ensuring accurate data capture, consistent and real-time information flow and tighter collaboration. This article highlights the benefits of mobile adoption in the logistics industry, have a look at popular mobile solutions in play and understand the overall impact of mobility in logistics.

How iPhone and an app revolutionized D.W.Morgan’s business?

“We always gave customers the information,” says Grant Opperman, President, D.W.Morgan. “But it took a lot of phone calls and a lot of individual effort. And between the time the driver took the signature and the time it was uploaded, there could be a 24-hour delay.”
CEO David Morgan adds “For years, we’d been looking for a mobile device that would allow us to update shipment information, collect signatures, and get GPS tracking on every individual box we deliver. “Ten years ago, it was available, but it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.” And that was for a non-customizable solution.
Then came iPhone, and an application they created that revolutionized D.W. Morgan’s business.

Source- Apple

Mobile Adoption Benefits for the Logistics Industry

Real-time information is valuable.

D.W. Morgan’s 30 drivers carry iPhone loaded with a custom app ‘ChainLinq Mobile’. As they deliver shipments, the drivers record pickups and status updates using the app. On reaching their destination, they collect recipient’s signature on the iPhone. At every point, all status data—including date stamp and a time-stamped GPS locations is uploaded real-time for the customers to view it on the company’s website.
“We move critical inventory for some of the most high-value, complex supply chains in the world,” President Grant Opperman says. “For our customers, the information is as important—or sometimes even more important—than the actual goods inside the boxes.”

Source- Apple
  • Real-time Inventory Status: Mobile can help companies get precise, real-time overview of the return goods inventory helping them save a lot of money, time and manpower. This means optimum utilization of inventory space and lesser time consumption in manual counting of returned goods.
  • Better decision making: Mobile helps capture and process critical data at the source and its dissemination in real-time thereby helping employees take informed decisions on-the-go. The management has better overview of the business performance and operations aiding tighter control over issues.
  • Optimum resource management: With real-time information flow, logistic service providers can better manage resource availability usage, accurately monitor employee’s timesheet, update worker job lists, shipment schedules and vehicle routes to accommodate changing scenarios.
  • Boost employee efficiency: Providing employees with mobile devices, maintaining real-time information flow and giving them constant access to data, can boost employee productivity, reduce manual efforts and help them better manage time.
  • Location based services: Mobile enables technologies like GPS helps companies accurately track their vehicles and shipments. This information then can be channelled across the ecosystem to help various stakeholders get real-time updates and act to evolving situations.
  • Improve customer services: The customer expectations are soaring. Today’s customer want precise, on-time delivery with the facility to track his shipment. Mobile apps for customers can help them track their shipments on the go from their device. Moreover, it will also ensure that the customer is available to receive the delivery when his shipment reaches reducing return goods or shipment counts.

Mobile Solutions for Logistics

1. Mobile Warehouse Management Solutions: Know your warehouse in and out.

A mobile warehouse management solution will provide complete visibility of your warehouse, identify consignments, package and ship items in a streamlined manner with optimized resource utilization. Supporting scanners ,RFIDs and printers, the app will help you-

  • Get greater visibility of the warehouse by providing overview of the entire space on your screen.
  • Conduct batch pick, slot, verify and cycle count effortlessly and accurately.
  • Prevent errors/inaccuracies in shipment identification and loading by aiding data capturing through scanning or by reading RFID labels.
  • Helping packaging by allowing your workers to print labels on-the-spot and label consignments.

2. Door Delivery Mobile Solutions: Speed-up your door delivery services.

Mobile apps can play a big role in your doorstep pickup and delivery services. A custom app on your worker’s device will help him scan the item at the customer’s doorstep, create a label, input delivery details and movement time and create invoice- all at his doorstep. A door delivery mobile solution can help you-

  • Reduce time to delivery as the shipment can now be directly transferred to the export facility.
  • Reduction in warehouse space use.
  • Boost your customer-services.

3. Mobile Asset Tracking Solutions: Know the position of each and every shipment.

Delivering the product on time and in perfect condition is the key to success in your business. A mobile asset tracking solution will help you accurately track your shipments with pin-point precision using advanced geo-positioning and identification technology. A comprehensive and accurate visibility of the entire operations will help you-

  • Streamline your processes, cut costs and meet service level agreements.
  • Keep deliveries on schedule and if required act as per the changing scenarios.
  • Optimally utilize your resources as per needs.

4. Mobile Fleet Management Solutions: Get the most from your fleets.

Reduce operational costs and improve resource management by capturing data on your fleets and drivers. A mobile fleet management solution will provide you with details on vehicles and assets within the vehicles, delivery schedules of each vehicle, route planning, deviations, individual driver’s log times and behavior. The solution will help you-

  • Manage your fleets better.
  • Improve driver’s efficiency.
  • Better manage fuel and fleet costs.
  • Keep track of your delivery schedules.
  • Identify and retain good drivers.

5. Customer Servicing Solutions: Meet the needs of the modern-day customer.

Mobile apps can also used to improve customer services and increase their satisfaction. A custom mobile app for customer servicing will facilitate mobile bookings, shipment tracking and complaint reporting from your customers. A customer service app will help you-

  • Get online booking for door delivery services.
  • Enables customers to track movement of shipments.
  • Get customer feedback on services and address complaints.
  • Improve customer satisfaction and boost loyalty.

“Supply chain managers are often away from their desks and benefit from mobile solutions, which enable them to track time sensitive shipments and adapt their planning, where necessary. In an age of real time information availability, finger-tip convenience is a must for all supply chain professionals”.

-Michael Young, Global Head of Marketing and Sales, DHL Global Forwarding

Getting mobile right
That mobility can be a critical tool for logistics providers is an undeniable truth. However, experiences from the industry suggests that companies are struggling to realize the true benefits of their mobile initiatives. Most of the mobile initiatives are silos based on piecemeal approach delivering limited benefits to a company. What an enterprise really needs is to adopt a mobile culture and put it at the heart of their ecosystem integrating people, processes and packages. Successful implementation of mobility in your organization would need a comprehensive, end-to-end strategy catering to your workflows, business needs and customer expectations. Building a secure, scalable and reliable mobility infrastructure would not only help logistics companies reduce costs, better manage resources and boost efficiency. But also get shipments on-time and in the perfect condition, earning the trust of customers.

Blog, Enterprise Mobility

3 key factors to your enterprise mobility success

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In the last few years, use of mobile devices and apps in enterprises has rapidly grown. And today, in most organizations, mobile is omnipresent- in every department, process and function. While enterprises are realizing benefits from their mobile investments in terms of boosting their revenues, cutting costs, improving employee efficiency and customer engagement, there are still challenges ahead. Many enterprises are struggling to increase mobile adoption, bettering ROI from their investments and making the most from their mobile initiatives. Here are the 3 key factors to ensure bigger success for your enterprise mobility project :

  • 1. Mobile CoE: You would not need a mobile center of excellence when you are planning your first mobile project. But as you get ready for a wider corporate roll-out encompassing hundreds of devices, multiple apps and mobility management software, a CoE becomes a must. Why? Mobility projects in the initial phases are siloed, i.e. restricted to a single department or few processes. The mobile implementation and usage is confined to a few people with little or no collaboration or knowledge transfer to others. However, as your mobile initiatives begin to spread out, you would need greater involvement and collaboration from people from diverse backgrounds. And an overall mobile strategy to spell out mobile policy and governance issues. The CoE will be the fulcrum around which your entire enterprise mobility project will revolve.
  • 2. Apps for humans: Many companies struggle to understand that enterprise apps should be different than your desktop software. A mobile version of your enterprise software will not make the cut. User experience and practicality matters far more in the new mobile world. Your employees are used to simple, fast and responsive apps from their personal lives and therefore expect the enterprise apps to provide similar experience. Secondly, your enterprise apps must be practical; that helps your employees work faster and easier than before. To build valuable apps for employees, you would need to comprehensively understand their needs, existing pain-points and how an app could solve their problems.
  • 3. Employee education: Whether you follow a BYOD or a corporate-owned device policy, employee education on mobile policy and best practices are a must. This will not only help your employees (people have varied mobile maturities) understand the true power of your enterprise mobility asset but will also help him make the best use of it. Moreover, with security being a key concern, it helps to layout the mobile usage policy and educate your employees in best practices to ensure security of your data and information. Share success stories, appoint ambassadors who can help you popularize mobility benefits across your organization.

 It takes time to boost mobile adoption and build a mobile culture in your organization. But once done, you are ready to reap the benefits.

Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Blog, Media

Mobile Broadcasting: How Apps are helping news channels be first, fast & factual?

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You may be reading this post on your smartphone or a Tablet, after someone shared it with you on Twitter or Facebook. You may be travelling, waiting for a client or just taking a break in office. Mobile devices and apps has not only changed the way news is consumed these days but has also significantly altered the way it is produced and distributed. In an industry where you need to be first and fast to break news, give your viewers factually correct and comprehensive breaking of events, mobile has become a must-have reporting tool.

The mobile reporting tools…

Take the case of CTV, Canada’s leading news source. The company has adopted iPhones and iPads as reporting tools and is efficiently using it to break news, whenever and whereever they take place. Armed with smartphones, the crew is able to report from the site, without waiting for its satellite van to arrive.

Shooting videos is just half of the story. The feeds need to be sent back to the studios, and as quickly as possible, to broadcast it. Sky News reporters use Dejero, a live broadcast app that lets them send live feeds from a mobile device back to the newsroom and straight on to the TV screens. CTV built a customized iGateway app that enables its journalists and reporters to upload video clips in the background as they shoot events. Using the app, reporters can now shoot a video, trim it on the device and securely transfer it to the newsroom.

Not just on-site but in newsrooms too…

The role of mobile devices and apps doesn’t end there. In the production room, portable and light mobile devices are replacing the now bulky laptops. It’s become a common sight to see producers and technicians using iPads in their work. And not be left behind, news anchors use their mobile devices as they report news to the viewers.

First & fast at lesser costs…

Mobile not only help news companies be first and fast to reporting but also help them cut production costs by reducing the crew size, cutting expenses on transferring broadcast equipment and in managing sattelite vans. And, as we move ahead, we will see more widespread and innovative use of mobility in broadcasting. Smartphone apps are quickly changing the face of news broadcasting.

Source: Apple

Source:Journalism.co.uk

Blog, Retail

15 insightful stats every retailer should know before building his next mobile app

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Mobile devices and apps have transformed shopping. With the mobile applications on surge, retailers cannot afford to miss the growing opportunities to win and engage customers better as well as to make shopping effortless. However, just building any retail mobile solution will do no good. To make their app stand out of the crowd, retailers need to first gain insights on what customers think on retail apps and how they use it while shopping. Our retail mobility stats sheet will provide you with critical insights on shopping app usage and consumer preferences-

1. Mobile boosts revenues.

Of online revenue earned by retailers is via a smartphone or Tablet in 2013. The smartphone revenue increased by 113% over 2012, and revenue via Tablets grew by 86% over the same period.

Source : Forrester
 
2. Mobile means more sales.

Sales made from mobile devices in 2013, a nearly 300% jump from $20.7 billion in 2012.

Source : Javelin Strategy & Research
 
3. Mobile gets new customers.

New customers eBay won in 2013 was via mobile. They contributed $35bn in commerce volumes, 88% increase from 2012.

Source : eBay
 
4. Apps connect brands.

Smartphone shoppers say mobile apps boost brand connection.

Source : Adobe
 
5. Loyal customers need apps.

Shoppers use apps from their favorite stores. Adobe

Source : Adobe
 
6. Branded apps add value.

Growth of branded apps in 2013. In 2013, 34% shoppers made a purchase via a retail branded app over the holidays, in comparison to 23% last year.

Source : Baynote
 
7. Apps score over the web.

Shoppers in 2013 were interested in shopping using an app than on a mobile browser.

Source : Adobe
 
8. Smartphone is an indispensable shopping companion.

Smartphone shoppers use a store locator to plan their shopping trip. 37 percent stay organized using lists while shopping on their phones.

Source : Nielsen
 
9. Customer’s way to savings.

Shoppers use smartphones to search and scan to check prices.

Source : Nielsen

 
10. Track the progress.

Smartphone shoppers said they use their devices to track the progress of their online orders.

Source : Nielsen
 
11. Mobile at POS.

Smartphone shoppers use their devices for mobile coupons while 23% use for payments.

Source : Nielsen
 
12. Mobile’s social connection.

Write comments on social media using their mobile device after purchasing a product.

Source : Nielsen

 
13. Security, a key concern.

Shoppers in United States say they do not use their mobile devices for shopping because of security concerns.

Source : PWC
 
14. Experience matters a lot!

Shoppers will defect to competitors due to bad mobile experience.

Source : Skava
 
15. Ensure effortless shopping.

Customers feel check out on mobile is frustrating.

Source : Skava
Blog, Healthcare

4 Significant Ways Mobile Can Help Accountable Care Organizations (ACO)

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The healthcare industry is undergoing a transformation. Two factors are at play. New care models and deliver mechanisms are experimented with and are being adopted into the system to address critical challenges posed before the industry. Many healthcare organizations are now pursuing accountable care models wherein the organizations are accountable to the patient and third party payer like medicare companies for the quality, efficiency and cost of the care. On the other hand, healthcare organizations are embracing technologies to improve care, reduce costs and better treatment outcomes. Mobile devices powered by healthcare apps can play a significant role in enabling healthcare organizations to get lean, agile and responsive. Here are the 5 ways mobile devices and apps can play a larger role in ACOs-

1. Educate And Engage Patients

Patients often lack right information, guidance and support at the time of crisis. Every injury or illness doesn’t need a rush to the emergency care. A symptom checker app or video chat facility with a doctor can help patients take correct and informed decision on the treatment required and can help organizations reduce admission rates and treatment costs.

2. Boosting Efficiency Of HealthCare Staff

Healthcare mobility solutions like mobile EMR, physician rounding solutions etc., can liberate the nursing staff from central stations and help them be mobile. With a device in their hand, the staff can get updates on patient condition and can take necessary steps. Similarly, healthcare apps can reduce paperwork and other redundant activities of the staff helping them concentrate more on care, thereby improving patient satisfaction and treatment outcome.

3. Streamline And Better Processes

Mobile healthcare solutions can give a massive flip to streamline processes. Medication administration apps will ensure that right medications are administered to patients at the right time. On-the-move access to patients medical history help doctors take appropriate treatment decision from anywhere, anytime thereby helping them cover more patients in less time. Similarly, hospital asset management solutions ensure that organizations cam maintain and locate their various assets like medical equipments, wheel chairs and stretchers, effortlessly. Streamline and efficient processes will boost treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction in addition to lowering overheads of the hospitals.

4. Reduce Re-Admissions

Medicare companies have gone very strict on re-admissions. The onus is now on healthcare providers to reduce re-admissions. Post-discharge mobile apps can play a big role in managing the discharge process and post-discharge treatment management by facilitating communication and guidance between physician, home caregiver and patient. From providing a list of do’s and don’ts to recommending exercises and medication, the app can be a vital tool in home care. Remote patient monitoring apps can help healthcare staff monitor and provide treatment to patients at home thereby reducing hospitalization and readmission rates.

Mobile is quickly becoming an enabler in the new patient-centric and accountable healthcare model adopted by ACOs. Healthcare mobility solutions can perfectly align with ACO model to help them realize their objectives and empower patients through better access to information and care.

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Blog, Wearables

How wearable tech is invading the enterprises? Adoption, applications and success stories

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On February 11, this year, popular airline Virgin Atlantic unveiled a pilot project wherein the concierge staff will be using Google Glass and other wearable devices to deliver personalized customer services to its Upper Class passengers. As passengers step out of their limousines at Heathrow’s T3 terminal, they will be greeted by their name and the check-in process will be initiated by the staff. As the check-in process undergoes, Google glass wearing Virgin staff will update passengers on real-time flight status, weather and other relevant information of their destination. In future, Virgin plans to use the technology to further personalize the services to include dietary and refreshment preferences of its passengers. The company intends to understand the impact of wearables on customer services and their overall business ahead of a wider roll-out in future.

While this may be pathbreaking for the airline industry but clearly not an exception for businesses. Many enterprises cutting across sectors and geographies are looking at wearable tech as a change agent that can trigger the next generation of innovation. Like the internet and mobile revolution of the past decades, wearable technology and gadget are poised to change how businesses interact with their people, products and processes.

2014 is touted to be the year of wearable technology. However, as the world gets readies to embrace wearables, it is important to understand the technology and its implication for businesses. This article explores wearable technology in detail, understands its business potential, looks at the multiple challenges faced by businesses, talks about wearable technology applications across industries and gets you views from leading experts and practitioners.

The Shift…

Wearable technology has moved beyond sci-fi movies, military tools and is all set to become consumer technology of the future. Already there are number of wearable devices that are in use, both in personal life as well as in businesses. Take for example FitBit, a wristband that can be worn by the users. The device tracks steps, distance and calories burned during the day while at night helps the user track his sleep quality in addition to waking him up in the morning. In a Tesco distribution centre in Ireland, workers wear armbands that tracks the goods they are carrying and inputs the details into to the system. A band communicates to the wearer about his work-allocation, predicts the completion time of each task based on his history and calculates his movements. A display in the band provides an overview of complete and incomplete tasks to the worker.

The adoption of wearables in enterprises is spreading across all sectors, from the early adopters healthcare industry, sports, manufacturing to even gaming and entertainment. ABI Research predicts the market for wearables in sports and health industry alone to grow to nearly 170 million devices by 2017, an annual growth rate of 41%.
Clearly, what was imagination a few years back is now becoming a reality. And, in the next few years, wearables will take the world by storm.

What’s driving the change…

A perfect mix of innovation in technology, changes in lifestyles and a desire to be connected all the time is creating the platform for wearables to become mainstream and play a larger role in personal and professional lives. The massive proliferation of smartphones is one of the key drivers behind the surge in wearable devices and application. Smartphones are becoming enablers and a hub for most of the wearable apps. according to BusinessInsider, There are more than 250 million installed mobile operating systems that can support wearable technology. With Google, Apple, Microsoft and other market leaders pushing for the technology by making significant investments in R&D is also helping wearable technology get higher attention. Further, technology is getting sophisticated as we see improved hardware with powerful , precision-rich sensors and long-life batteries. By 2020, batteries are expected to be 2.2 times more powerful than the current available ones. And, beyond technology and markets, it is the changes in our lifestyles and the natural desire to be connected, updated with real-time information flow which is what making a strong case for wearable technology to get integrated with the broader ecosystem of connected technologies.

Wearable applications across sectors

Smart watches, glasses, fitness devices and smart clothes; wearables are spreading their wings, opening up new possibilities and are driving the innovation in the industry. Let’s look at a few wearable applications across the sectors-

Healthcare & Fitness:  The healthcare and fitness industry is one of the early and most enthusiastic adopters of the wearable technology. From measuring cardio performance and heart rates of athletes to measuring vital signs of a patient and communicating it through mobile and web-based applications, wearable devices in the industry has shown lots of possibilities. The technology can help the healthcare industry address some of its critical challenges through remote access to quality healthcare, optimized utilization of medical resources, reduced healthcare costs and can significantly impact treatment outcomes.

‘The wearable band market is really about the consumerization of health.There will be exciting innovations that disrupt the medical industry this year, and with the increased awareness about personal wellbeing they will bring to users, having a computer on your wrist will become increasingly common.’

-Canalys Analyst Daniel Matte.

Manufacturing: In the industrial manufacturing sector, smart glasses, sensors and bands are being used to help workers communicate, access information and to input data to the information systems. Wearables are being used to help workers get task allocation, time-management and get feedback on their activities. In accident prone zones, sensors and bands are being used to monitor a worker’s alertness, heart rates and stress levels etc., to reduce accidents and speed-up incident management. Moreover, gloves that change colors in the presence of toxics and clothes that can heat or cool depending upon the environments are also being experimented with.

Christian Stammel, CEO and founder of Wearable Technologies, in a recent interview with IMT, listed a range of potential industrial applications for wearable technology, many of which are in development or already available for purchase:

  • Processes where workers need both hands
  • High-risk operations
  • Processes requiring high precision
  • Physically and/or emotionally tiring jobs
  • Remote monitoring and management
  • Hazardous material detection
  • Security profiling
  • Identity recognition
  • Tracking solutions

Banking: Spain’s Banco Sabadell has created an app for Google Glass that guides customers to the nearest ATM, provides them with account information and supports 24/7 video conferencing for customer services. The bank is also planning a check deposit app and is also considering adding more of its services to the wearable app. Experts say there is huge potential for wearable banking apps and devices in the industry with people demanding on-the-move access to various services.

“More related to the experience with this first app for a wearable device, we visualize that it will be important how these devices will change how we use services, for example giving access to customer support by a more natural (using just voice) and convenient way. (Imagine customer support, seeing the same screen as your customer without any additional software). It also will enable something like “talking” to machines. It begins to seem possible to say to an ATM, wearing a Google Glass, ‘Please, Give me money.’ (Likely in future releases Google Glass will allow iris-secure identification, etc. There are numerous opportunities!)”

-Xavier Marin, Digital Services Strategy at Banco Sabadell

Source- bankinnovation.net

Financial Services: Fidelity has developed an app for Google Glass that uses the innovative user interface of the Google wearable to offer functionality to investors like watching market news, getting updates on stock prices and generate market quotes from a company’s logo. The app uses pioneering concept of voice-command login to give access to the users account. Similarly, wearable devices can also help financial professionals to keep track of market movements even when they are away from their terminals.

“[A finance firm] is looking to use the ring for real-time data for finance professionals because you can’t be in front of your terminal 24 hours a day. But there are certain stocks and indicators they have to always monitor. By having something very personal on your body, like wearable technology, 24 hours a day, they can, for example, get information about whether a stock is going up or down.

-Adrian David Cheok, professor of pervasive computing at City University London

Source-Computerweekly

Travel: SITA Lab has developed an app named SWIFT Boarding that uses the smart headgear’s built-in camera as a scanner and the heads-up display. The app enables agents in the boarding area to scan and verify boarding pass and passport simultaneously wearing smart glasses. The agents hold the documents side by side while the app matches the two to ensure they belong to the same person. Further, smart glasses and watches can be used to provide flight, booking, weather and other related information to the travelers.

Jim Peters, Chief Technology Officer, SITA, speaking at the Europe Aviation ICT Forum in Vienna, said: “Wearable devices like Google Glass offer new opportunities to mobilize staff, keeping their hands free, while keeping them connected to the traditional check-in and reservation systems. Interaction can be via video analysis of what a staff member is looking at, like a boarding pass or bag tag, or voice recognition, or a combination of both.”

Entertainment: Philips has developed an Emotions Jacket that promises to take cinematic experience to next levels. The Jackets use sense of touch to help viewers feel the emotions of the character on-screen and makes them a part of on-screen action. In gaming, wearable tech promises to further push the virtual reality concept to make gaming more immersive. There are games developed for Google Glass that can use head movements, voice commands and taps to play the game.

“The entertainment aspect of (wearable) technology is what’s going to drive this. When people see it in their cars, and when they see all the fun things they can do with it, I think then (wearable technology) will really transcend into a must-have for other problems out there.”

-Patrick Bertagna, president, CEO and founder of GTX Corp.

Retail: Wearable applications can help retailers connect with their customer and deliver personalized experiences. Much better than what mobile phones currently do. Apps for smart glasses and watches can help customers create shopping lists and access it on the glass. Retailers can use apps for targeted advertising and precision marketing, right at the buying point, as ads can be displayed on the screen based on the past and current buying behavior of the customers. The apps can further be used to guide shoppers to the retailers, provide them with product and pricing information.

“Wearable technology has been identified as a potential driving force for the high street’s renaissance. With this technology, margins can be preserved and conversion optimized by offering the right offer to the right customer at the right time in a personalized way. Consumers will choose to adopt the technology if and when retailers clearly articulate the benefits for them.”

-Eric Abensur, group CEO of Venda

The Challenges

While wearable technology is continuing its progress in the enterprises and is set to take centre stage as a business technology in the future, there are several challenges that needs to be addressed.

  • Battery: Just as in mobile in the early days, battery size and power is a major limiting factor for the wearables. While there are expectations that by 2020, technology advancements will make battery 2X powerful than what they are today, there are still concerns for battery size which can impact the weight of wearables and hence wearability.
  • User Interface: Currently, being in the experimental stages, wearable devices don’t have standard user interfaces which may prevent users from comprehending data emanating from various devices.
  • Data security: The enterprise use of wearables will involve transfer of data and other critical corporate information among devices. This will require a robust security mechanism that not only protects data but also empowers enterprise to wipe-off data in case of unauthorized access and missing or theft of devices.
  • Privacy: User privacy is a major concern as mobile devices and apps have shown. With wearable applications able to capturing many sensitive data bio-metrics, patient vitals and shopping history etc., manufacturers have to battle out the privacy issue.

Wearable devices and apps bring similar challenges to enterprises what smartphones and Tablets brought in their early days. And therefore, if wearable technology has to become an enterprise technology, manufacturers and developers need to quickly address the challenges to earn the trust of the businesses and push its usage.

Its just the beginning…

Who would have believed, a few decades back, if we were to tell him that there will be a device which can allow you to talk, listen to music, shoot pics, work, play games and so on. And that too wirelessly anywhere, anytime. The same is true for wearable tech. We are in the forefront of another technology revolution that will transform the way we connect, communicate and work. Wearables will encompass everything around us. Enterprises must get ready to embrace the change.

Blog, Enterprise Mobility

Enterprise Mobile Center Of Excellence: You Need It To Take Your Mobility To Next-Level

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Enterprises are rapidly adopting mobile solutions to unlock the opportunities offered by mobile to boost efficiency, streamline processes and be more agile and responsive to customer needs. However, the invasion of mobile device and applications in organizations is also leading to many major challenges like:

  • One hand often doesn’t know what the other is doing: Most of the mobile initiatives are siloed. In most cases, the processes, procedures and policies for mobile implementation are confined to a team or a function and is rarely disseminated across. Enterprises would need a broader coordination and strategy to spread it across the organization to optimize returns and benefits out it.
  • Overload on IT department: Mobility adoption has also put enormous responsibilities on the IT department in terms of development, deployment and management of enterprise mobile apps & devices, handling user expectations, creating mobile security mechanism, and adopting to the swiftly changing mobile landscape.

However, as mobility invades deep and wide into the enterprise ecosystem, organizations now need a comprehensive mobile strategy to organize, execute and evaluate a wider roll-out of mobility. Establishing a central entity as an enterprise mobile center of excellence can help organizations move to the next-generation of mobility implementation in addition to building a cohesive, standardized and collaborative mobile environment. The MCoE can be a fulcrum around which the entire mobility of an enterprise revolves.

When you need a MCoE?

Of course you don’t need a mobile center of excellence for your first mobile app. However, if you have 3 or 4 mobile solutions and are planning an enterprise wide roll-out of mobility then you would need a MCOE to define standards and architectures, spell out mobile governance model, facilitate collaboration across stakeholders, promote and disseminate best practices in the organization.

What is a Mobile Center of Excellence?

One size doesn’t fits all. There is no standard structure to a MCoE. As organizations vary in their mobile intent and maturity so as their centre of excellence. In some companies, a mobile centre of excellence exists as an informal group responsible for mobile while some companies have put in place a formal MCoE. However a well-defined MCoE with a strong mandate and executive endorsement is essential for its success.

How to Build an Effective Mobility Center of Excellence?

  • Give your MCOE endorsement: A MCoE cannot be successful without the management endorsement and participation. Put MCoE as part of your organizational structure to help it gain visibility and authority across departments. Empower it with decision-making and execution responsibilities.
  • Clearly define the MCoE scope: Your team will need a clear, well-defined charter right from defining the scope, leadership, budgets, measurement metrics and goals. A MCoE not only handles the architectures and procedures for mobile but also engages with the mobile experience and customer needs.
  • Bring in diversity to the team: The MCoE will collaborate the technical and business part of enterprise. You would need people who are technical experts as well as people who understand the business and customer well. Bring together people with different skill sets and subject matter expertise to foster broader synergy.
  • Start small, build big: As with any business process, an MCoE would also need time and experience to get going. Start with a project or a business unit, roll out the process, evaluate and review the impact. Once the entity gains sufficient tractions, let it encompass wider responsibilities to align with the big picture.

Mobile Center of Excellence has a big and impactful role in the enterprise mobility environment. Not only to address technical challenges arising due to proliferation of mobile devices and apps but also to answer business strategy challenges poised in the existing environment.

Image courtesy of Sujin Jetkasettakorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Blog, Platform

Android Maintains Its Leadership In OS Market, Windows Phone Posts High YOY

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As per data released by IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker,the smartphone market crossed a major milestone in 2013 as worldwide shipments surpassed the 1 billion mark. In the smartphone operating system market, the race is clearly between Android and iOS with the latter holding the lion’s share at 78.6% in the fourth quarter of the last year. However, in terms of year-over-year change, it’s Mircosoft’s Windows Phone that grabs the headline with a 90.9% growth. RIM’s BlackBerry gets further marginalized in the market with a negative year-over-year change.

Blog, Travel

Mobile For Hotels: Driving Revenues Via Self-Servicing Mobile Applications

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In an industry where “Service is King”, a positive guest experience is a critical factor to succeed. Happy customers become loyal customers and are the best brand ambassadors. More so in the current social media age, where a customer can immediately share his reaction on your services with his friends and the rest of the world.
Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
However, the new-age, mobile armed customers are hard to please. Their expectations are soaring with no room for compromise. Long waits in check-ins, in-accuracy or delay in room servicing or non-availability of mobile booking facility can be a big turn-off. Hotels, on the other hand, already reeling under the financial pressure due to economic downturn are finding it tough to match up to the expectations. This is where mobile self-service apps can play an impactful role in delighting guests by  giving them more control in meeting their stay requirements and also help hotels boost revenues and profitability.

Self-service apps benefits

Self-service mobility tools like mobile check-ins, mobile keys and service request apps can help hoteliers improve their guest experience, get more guests, optimize resources, improve staff productivity and ultimately cut expenses and improve margins.

Taylor Short of Software Advice says “Mobile apps are essential self-service tools for hotel brands who want to add revenue through strategic up-selling, convenient room service ordering, pushing targeted offers to specific guests or direct messaging with customers—all on the smartphone the traveler carries everywhere.”

App-oppurtunities in hotel guest cycle

Whether it is pre-sale, point-of-sale or post-sales, there are ample opportunities for hoteliers to use mobile self-service solutions and improve comfort and convenience of their guests. Agrees Taylor, “Mobile apps can replace the typical in-room menu and list of services that clutter the desks or nightstands. Travelers are constantly on their smartphones or tablets anyway, so give them access with the app to anything they would want during their stay, like spa reservations, concierge recommendations and information about local hot spots.”

  • Check-ins: Mobile check-in apps can enable guests to check-in via the app available in their smartphone from airport or any other place before his visit to the hotel. This will keep the hotel informed about the arrival time of the guest helping it keep the room ready.
  • Mobile Keys: Once the guest check-ins using his mobile app, an NFC (Near Field Communications) technology based keys can be sent over-the-air on his mobile device. The guest can then bypass the check-in line and head straight to his room, unlock the door using his smartphone.
  • Guest Servicing: While he enjoys his stay in the hotel, he can use his mobile device to access various services like ordering food and drinks and room servicing etc. Location-based functionality in mobile apps can be used to guide guests to various facilities in the property like gym, spa, saloon and casinos etc.
  • Check-out: Just like the check-in experience, the check-out process can be made easy and quick, eliminating the front desk stop. The guest can use the app to initiate check-out process, get the bill amount on his device, pay the bill using card swiping machine or other payment methods available, connect with the service staff if required and book a cab or a ticket for his/her onward journey.

As we have discovered, self-service mobile solutions can play a huge role in driving more revenues by streamlining operations, improving guest experience and getting more customers. There are several other benefits as Taylor points out, “Hotels should encourage guests to interact with them directly through the app with comments, concerns or questions. Not only is it a convenient way to engage customers on a personal level and increase satisfaction, but it can be an incredibly valuable source of feedback and criticism that hoteliers can use to improve operations.”
Our latest eBook ‘5 MUST HAVE MOBILE SOLUTIONS FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY‘ dwells further on the role of mobile customer engagement solutions in detail. Download it to discover how mobile can help you delight guests, boost productivity and improve profitability.

Blog, Insurance

3 Ways Mobile Apps Help Motor Insurers Simplify & Expedite Claims Process While Reducing Claim Expenses

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Claim servicing time is a key factor in the buying decision and insurer-customer relationship.  For insurers, a streamlined and speedy claims process not only means reduced costs but is also an excellent way to boost market reputation through competitive differentiation. As per World Insurance Report 2011, for every dollar collected in premiums, insurers, on average, spend 61 cents on claims pay-out and 13 cents on claim expenses. The advent of mobile devices and apps provides new opportunities for insurers to improve customer convenience, reduce time and costs via claims self-service mobile apps.
Mobile solutions for insurance claim management can help insurers in-

1. Easing claim servicing

A study by AXA UK shows that only 34% of the motorists, participating in the survey, knew exactly what to do in case of an accident while 54% remembered taking photos from the accident site. A smartphone app for claims servicing available in the consumer’s device will be able to guide customers through the claim report process, shoot photos of the accident scene and instantly report to the insurer. Insurers can add more value to the app by providing breakdown services, hospital and garage information and improve the customer experience through value-added services.

2. Reducing costs

Mobile app for claim processing can also help your team handle more claims as reporting claims gets self-serviced. It will also reducing customer servicing calls and visits of your team thereby helping you optimize resource utilization and expedite claim settlement helping you reduce claim expenses.

3. Boost efficiency

Mobile solutions for claims processing can also boost productivity of your staff by helping them gather data, collaborate and communicate in real-time. Moreover, accurate information from accident site ensures prompt response leading to speedy quicker claim processing.

Mobile apps can play a critical role in speeding claims servicing for motor insurers. apart from that, they also help insurers build long-term relationships with customers through personalized communication, build loyalty through frequent engagement and earn revenues through up-sell/cross-sell.
To know more on how mobility can help insurance companies, download our ebook ‘5 MOBILE OPPORTUNITY AREAS FOR INSURERS‘ here.
 

Blog, Enterprise Mobility

Enterprise Mobility: 5 Simple (But Often Ignored) Tips To Create Compelling Mobile Experiences

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A good customer experience is central to attracting customers, earning their loyalty and more business. And it’s no different when it comes to mobile apps. Enterprises who are developing apps without putting mobile experience at the centricity of their overall strategy or those who are not measuring app satisfaction of customers are hitting in dark.

Mobile is different and so are mobile users. Mobile has its share of limitations and content consumption pattern and so enterprises building apps must compensate these limitations with functionality so as provide an optimized engaging mobile experience to the users. Here are 5 simple tips to designing awesome mobile experiences:

1. Keep your app simple

Don’t overwhelm your users with numerous features. Adopt a simple and clean layout. Arrange the workflow in such a manner that your user can perform desired tasks easily. Make navigation smooth and seamless.

2. Add value to your app

Why should your users download your app? It should be of value to them. Value can be information, performing tasks like banking or shopping or getting entertained via games. While it is tempting to add more value to an app but remember not to loose sight of your key objective.

3. App performance is key

Ensure that your app works properly across devices and platforms. Make sure that pages load faster and buttons are responsive. These are little things but often act as a block against good mobile experience.

4. Personalize experiences

Remember, mobile is a personal device. So your targeting should be precise to the users needs and behaviors. Mobile app provides excellent analytics support to understand buyer behavior and shopping history. Use it to engage with them through personalized content.

5. Encourage users to come back

Give reasons to your users to keep using your mobile app. Regularly update your app with new features and fresh content. Run loyalty programs on mobile and use push notifications to inform users of any new events and happenings in your company.

With studies suggesting, more people using mobile than desktops for shopping activities, it is essential for brands to ensure higher app satisfaction. The more engaging your mobile app will be, the more your users will return and use them.

Ebooks, Insurance

Mobility In Insurance: 5 Reasons Why Mobile Is The Right Tool For Your Agents?

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Mobile technology is changing the face of insurance business. While a significant population of insurance consumers want and use mobile solutions for their insurance needs, the portability and form-factor of the devices makes it tailor-made to cater to the on-the-fly requirements of an insurance agent.

As per a survey by research firm Celent, 27 of the top 100 life insurance companies have apps for producers. This is more than double the number of insurers that offered apps to producers in 2011.

Smartphones and Tablets powered by apps are helping insurance agents boost his productivity, better manage his time and help him reach out to his clients better. Here’s 5 reasons why every insurance company must have a mobile app for its agents

1. Deliver Value Messaging

Insurance buyers are well informed today. Most of them do their reasearch online before contacting a company. The time-starved but savvy buyers wants specificity in the discussion and not a generic sales pitch. Mobile can help your agents tell compelling stories by personalizing the presentation according to the buyer needs, back it up with facts & figures and engage your client better.

2. Provide instant quotes

Price is a big differentiator in the insurance industry. A tablet armed agent can instantly generate quote using his mobile insurance app while interacting with the client to better argue his case. For motor insurance, the agent can instantly shoot an image of the vehicle, send it to the office to get the right quote in a few minutes.

3. Closing the Deal

With the intense competition in the industry, its better to close the deals in one meeting. Insurance mobile apps can help your sales agent get quotes on-the-spot, and if the client agrees get the policy document on his device, get it signed using digital signatures, swipe the card using mobile card reader and close the deal.

4. Sales Enablement

Mobile sales enablement solutions can help your agent remain connected with the office all the time, do his little work in between meetings or travelling, manage his leads and get access to office legacy systems like CRM and sales automation tools at the time of need.

5. Training

Tablets and smartphones are also excellent tools to train your agents. The training department can put all training materials in an online depsoitory which can then be accessed by all concerned. Your agent can watch videos, view presentations and listen to podcasts while he is travelling or is waiting for a client.

Mobile is not only an excellent tool for agents, but can also encompass other processes of an insurance company to bring efficiency, cut costs and improve profitability. To know more on mobility in insurance, download our ebook ‘5 mobile opportunity for insurers here.

Blog, Travel

Mobility For Hotels: 5 Excellent Benefits Of Serving Guests With Mobile

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hospitality-hotel-mobile1

Picture this: Mr. Anderson, a businessman, is on a work trip to NewYork. Outside LaGuardia airport, he pulls out his smartphone, opens the hotel’s (where he has a reserved room) app to check-in to his hotel. Within seconds, he receives a notification that his room is ready. With the hotel nearby, he decides to stroll down and again taps into his phone to get directions. As he steps into the hotel property, Anderson receives a welcome notification with the room number and mobile key details in it. By passing the reception, he heads straight to his room, unlocks the door with his smartphone. He then instructs the room attendant through video chat facility in his app to order dinner and book him a car for the next morning.

Easy, isn’t it?

Mobile devices and apps are redefining the guest experience in the hospitality sector. For an industry where service is king, smartphones are playing a critical role, be it in attracting and engaging the customers or to improve the service delivery mechanism. Hotels, both branded and individually owned properties are now arming their staff with smartphones and Tablets to go nimble and innovative in their services, cut costs and create a winning impression on their guests. And the hotel apps are not just limited to booking reservations or loyalty programs but are moving beyond that. Hotels are endeavoring to be innovative in using mobile and get more out of their mobile investments.

So, what’s making hotels, big and small, to embrace mobility? Here are the 5 benefits that’s alluring, compelling and pushing hoteliers to go mobile-

1. Delight Guests

The guest today is expecting world-class standards. He wants cleaner floors, pristine rooms and agile services. If you deliver, he will comeback and recommend other too. If you don’t you loose them. Mobile apps help you standout of the competition by improving service levels.

2. Get More Customers

Mobile apps have become a must-have tool for travelers with a large population using it to search and book rooms. If you are not on mobile then you will miss out targeting this significant group.

3. Boost Staff Productivity

Mobile is a perfect companion to your on-the-move staff. It helps them receive requests on their device, address them faster and significantly improve their efficiency.

4. Better Manage

Mobile dashboards ensure that your manager always gets the top-level as well as detailed view of the entire operations helping him intervene and resolve issue when required. And keep a firm grip on the entire operations. Moreover, analytics help you understand specific needs of your guests based on his history and deliver personalized services.

5. Engage to Retain

A mobile app not only helps you pull customer but also help you engage with them personally. Mobile loyalty programs and gamification techniques can help you keep your brand name at the top of the mind of your customers. Mobile loyalty programs are not only cost-effective in comparison to paper or plastic cards but are also helpful in boosting customer participation as it resides on their device and can be used anytime.

Adoption of mobility in the travel and hospitality industry is significantly contributing to enhanced guest experience and it will continue to do so in the times to come. Apps surely makes for ‘appy’ customers.

Blog, Enterprise Mobility

15 Insightful Stats On Enterprise Mobility

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Mobile has emerged as the biggest disruptive force in the last decade. Enterprises, from Oil & Gas to retail, are embracing mobility like never before. Here’s a stats guide that provides you with rich data and insights on enterprise mobile apps. Know them before you get down to plan your next mobile strategy.

1. Mobile is a top priority for enterprises

Enterprises believe mobility is a top priority while 63% believe it to be the biggest factor in helping them gain a competitive advantage.

Source : Citrix
 
2. Enterprise Mobility Market is Growing

The global enterprise mobility market size is expected to be $140 billion by the year 2020, growing at a CAGR of 15%.

Source : Nasscom
 
3. Mobile’s pie in IT expenditure is expanding

The spending by businesses on mobility is expected to increase from the present 5% to 10-12% of the total IT expenditure by 2020.

Source : Nasscom
 
4. Businesses investing in mobile apps

7.6% enterprises have built more than 20 apps while 38.5% have at least one mobile app built for their business.

Source : Appcelerator
 
5. Enterprises use both internal and outsourced development strategies

41.1% enterprises procure and integrate mobility solutions internally, 29.4% use an outside service provider while 29.5% use both internal and external support.

Source : CurrentAnalysis
 
6. BYOD is the right strategy

81.9% enterprises across the globe believe BYOD is an appropriate strategy for their business.

Source : CurrentAnalysis
 
7. Enterprises are using MDM and MAM in a big way

48% enterprises are using mobile device management (MDM) and 47% are using mobile application management (MAM) to manage their mobile assets.

Source : Citrix
 
8. Apple rules, Android catching fast

Apple’s iOS is the most supported OS with almost 65% of the enterprises who claim to support this OS. Google’s Android is on a small distance with 55% of the supporting it.

Source : CIONET Mobility Survey 2013

 
9. Platform fragmentation is still a pain point

Top reported hindrance to mobile app development is building for multiple devices and platforms. 62% of enterprises support 3 or more operating systems.

Source : Appceleartor

 
10. There are Bottlenecks

3 main barriers preventing mobility initiatives – lack of security controls for new devices and clients (38%), legacy systems unfit for mobile purposes (37%) and challenges supporting multiple mobile operating systems (36%).

Source : Citrix
 
11. Security and Privacy is a Concern

77% of survey participants said that data security and user privacy concerns are the biggest challenge they face when they build and implement a mobility strategy.

Source : Dimension Data
 
12. Businesses reasons mobile

Enterprises point out that business reasons (47.8%) is the main driver for mobility initiatives, followed by the IT department (25.18%) and the employees (17.27%).

Source : CIONET Mobility Survey 2013

 
13. Enterprise mobility offers multiple benefits

Employee effectiveness (79%), cost savings (74%), customer relations (72%), increasing sales (63%) and new product and service offerings (66%) are the top reasons for a business to go mobile.

Source : CIONET Mobility Survey 2013
 
14. The Consumer is on Mobile

Consumers spend 15+ hours researching on their smartphone. 93% of people who research on mobile go on to buy a product or service.

Source : Neilsen
 
15. Branded Apps bringing more sales

45.8% of customers feel that branded mobile apps cause them to visit the stores, buy more of the products and services (40.4%), spread the word about their experience (35.8%), and even encourage friends to visit the store (30.8%).

Source : ABI Research
Blog, Financial Services

Mobility For Financial Advisors: Show, Don’t Tell And Get More Business

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Smartphones and Tablets, powered with apps, are transforming the way financial advisors do business and engage with their clients. The advisors, these days, are snapping up mobile devices as they hit the roads.

Take the case of Mr. Bryne, an advisor with a leading company in Dallas. He swears by his iPad for work. He uses his sleek device to run presentations, showcase benefit illustration of various investment products pulling tools available in his iPad, takes notes and even executes trades from the client’s place using his firm’s recently developed app. His clients use a similar mobile app to keep track of their investments and get anywhere, anytime access to their portfolio.

Bryne says “I’m able to meet more clients in a day, better respond to their queries and provide a clear and concise view of their investments. The difference is clearly visible. I’m connected with my office all the day and can work while travelling or waiting for the client. And I’m travelling light these days.”

Client engagement is changing

A financial advisor arrives at a client’s place lugging an overstuffed suitcase. After exchanging pleasantries, they get down to discuss the client’s investments. The advisor takes out a stack of printouts and pulls her laptop. While waiting for his laptop to start, she glances over the printouts to realize that these are not updated with the latest product information and performance results. She then gets to her laptop to access various data and information and finally starts her presentation. By then 15 of 30 minutes appointment is already over and she now runs down her presentation quickly leaving the client unimpressed. This incident would have been a normal experience a few years back. But, in the current real-time information driven environment, it’s a threat to survival. And a reason enough to loose clients.

Mobile’s competitive edge

With better informed but time starved clients, customized presentations packed with valuable information are important to win their trust and business. The client engagement experience has become a key differentiators and mobile devices are offering the solution. Today, advisors armed with Tablets and access to latest data and digital assets like videos, online assessment tools, graphics and ROI calculators, are engaging more productively with clients and offering them superior services. Moreover, mobile devices are also helping them get more productive by automating various administrative paper-based works, upgrade their skills by accessing training videos and reference materials and help them be updated through real-time access to research insights and news. More and more financial firms are leveraging mobile solutions to give a competitive edge to their advisors.

There’s an app for that

From data visualizations, analytics, retirement planners, paperless document transfer with digital signatures, remote access to PC to trading platforms- there are hundreds of apps available for financial advisers. And, slowly yet steadily, investment firms too are joining the bandwagon with their custom in-house apps that provide a wealth of information to their clients as well as allow financial advisers to access all critical data from their device. And, as advisors are on the road, meeting clients they keep getting notifications and alerts which help them take necessary action on-the-fly and better manage their client’s account.

Mobile is Essential

The benefits of using Tablets and mobile apps are clear. With client expectations changing and shifts in the industry, the way financial advisors relate with their clients and do business is no longer the same. Financial advisors, wherever they work, have to quickly adapt to the changing scenarios. Mobile has become a necessity for future success in the industry. It’s time financial advisory firms leverage mobility to ensure superior client service than ever before.

 

Enterprise Mobility

5 Simple Steps Towards A Lean Mobile Strategy

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lean-mobile-strategy

What is lean? Simply put it is the practice of deriving more value for customers from fewer resources while minimizing wastes and being flexible to changes. Lean, with origins in production plants, has travelled a lot from being a buzzword to a best practice employed across the globe. And, now with enterprises embracing mobility in full steam, the big question is- Can lean be applied to a mobile strategy and, if yes, then how? Many enterprises across the globe are employing lean mobile strategies to offer more value to their customers and get more from their mobile investments. And you too can. Here are the 5 easy steps towards a lean mobile strategy to plan your 2014 mobile investments right-

1. Identify and specify

Specify value of your mobile initiative from the end-user point of view. Understand your organization’s mobile experiences. Identify your business objectives. Align value specified for customers with your business goals to get your mobile strategy and goals.

2. Map the value stream

Imagine your enterprise at one end and your customer at other end linked by a value stream. Now map the set of activities you would need to get the value delivered to your customer with your mobile app or game. Your road map for mobility is ready.

3. Create a MVP

The MVP or minimum viable product should be created with just enough features to able to provide you with authenticated learning on customer engagement. Your goal should be to test key business hypothesis.

4. Chase actionable metrics

What are the factors that will define the success of your mobile efforts? Is it downloads or user engagement? Clearly define quantitative metrics and goals.

5. Launch, iterate and perfect

Launch your mobile app or a game within a small customer group or a market for a pre-defined cycle. If developed for internal usage, then launch it for a single process or a function. Track your defined metrics and evaluate results. Based on the customer feedback, you now know for sure what the customer wants. Now develop the product to serve them.

The goal of a lean enterprise mobile strategy is to apply scientific methods to better understand customer needs, reduce risk, cut wastes and improve success rates of your mobile investments.

Key Success Points

  • Understand the end-user point of view and behavior by listening to users through validated feedback.
  • Don’t try to get perfect from the start. Ideate, implement in short cycles, and iterate to get perfect.
  • Constantly review to ensure consistency in delivering valuable mobile experiences to your users.

To integrate mobile into your business with a smart mobile strategy, download our enterprise mobile strategy guide.
 

Announcements

Leanstartup Twitter Contest: And The Winners Are…

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On the sidelines of 2013 Lean Startup Conference, [x]cube LABS ran a Twitter contest with the hashtag #leanstartup wherein we asked participants to tweet us their view, opinions and takeaways from the event. You responded in huge numbers and most of the responses were well-reasoned and insightful. And the reactions came from both sides (for and against) of the spectrum making the interaction truly engaging and meaningful.

Our esteemed panel of Jury consisting of Dr. Mureen Allen from UHG, NYT Bestselling Author Mr. Brant Cooper from Moves the Needle and Ms. Diana Kander from Kauffman Foundation had really tough time picking the best from your tweets. The jury debated and deliberated long and hard over the week and finally we arrived at the list of winners.

But there’s more…

It’s the holiday season and we at [x]cube are in the spirit of giving. Instead of 2 we are giving 3 prizes for the contest as an appreciation to your encouraged response.

And the winners are…

1st prize

Name: Brett Marl

Twitter id: @brettmarl

Winning Tweet: I learned Lean can be like Ikea stuff- looks good in the store, but hard to assemble when you get home #LeanStartup @xcubelabs @leanstartup

“Shocked. First contest I’ve ever won. All the credit goes to Steve Blank though for the Ikea quote.” – Brett Marl

2nd prize

Name: Karen Gates

Twitter id: @KEGates

Winning Tweet: @xcubelabs.com Intuit’s Brad Smith: “Meritocracy means death of Power Point, politics, and persuasion.” #LeanStartup

“The prize makes me feel extra grateful for all of the stimulating ideas and people there are to learn from. That includes gratitude for your idea of this contest, which added a truly special element of value to the conference. Thanks, and hope you repeat next year!” – Karen Gates

3rd prize

Name: Kojo Kitchen

Twitter id: Twitter id: @KoJaKitchen

Winning Tweet: At the #LeanStartup #LeanStartupConference, KoJa Kitchen learned how to NOT suck horse crap and call it a pivot cc: @leanstartup @xcubelabs

“WOW!! Thank you so much for selecting us as a winner!! WE ARE SO STOKED!” – KojoKitchen

Blog, Energy & Utilities

Mobility In Oil & Gas: The Mobilized Oil Fields

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The Oil and gas industry knows better than most to leverage technologies to make major breakthroughs. Sugar Loaf Field in Brazil, Ghawar Oil Field in Saudi Arabia and all other big and small oil field discoveries have been possible thanks to significant progresses in technology. With sites in remotest of locations, assets spread over hundreds of miles, and people working across geographies, the industry is always in look for technology that can best cater to their requirements. Moreover, ever-increasing data gathering and analysis, real-time collaboration and operability needs constantly push companies to explore newer technology options. In the last few years or so companies engaged in oil & gas industry is increasingly banking on mobile technology to manage its complex system, smoothen information flow from remotest location and be connected all the time. Mobile devices and apps are becoming a big enabler in the industry.

In an Oil & Gas CIO survey, over 73% of CIOs consider mobile as their top priorities with 55% believe mobile technology will greatly enhance operations. Moreover, by 2015, it is estimated that $8 billion will be spent on oil and gas mobile apps.

Mobility adds value to the industry by

One of the major drivers behind mobility adoption in Oil & Gas industry is necessity of data and information flow. The field personnel can capture and send data from remote locations using their handheld devices, enable analysis at workstations and ensure regular information flow across the chain. Mobile also supports real-time operability thereby providing greater visibility across the processes and infrastructure and helping decision makers react to an evolving situation. Mobile technology also enables location based information which is a prime necessity in an asset intensive industry stretched over large areas. Smartphones and apps also help collaboration between a large numbers of people dispersed across geographies.

Areas where mobile apps are making an impact

  • Production Control: Oil and Gas are using mobile apps for well-testing work flows. From identification of oil-wells, capturing & analyzing data for drilling and pulling to helping personnel conduct physical measurements and production analysis, mobile applications are enabling on-the spot decision making for field personnel.
  • Asset Management: Mobile apps for asset management in oil & gas industry are helping companies in better tracking and scheduling of deployed assets. The store asset information is accessible to employees on the move on their mobile device. The application also allows employees to update inventory records, view locations of items and plan maintenance for it.
  • Field Maintenance: Mobile apps for field maintenance are easing the jobs of inspection and maintenance. With the application on their device, the maintenance team gets access to maintenance tasks and work order, raises alerts, report defects and problems and register completion of work.
  • Security and Compliance: The industry requires stringent, regular security & compliance audits to conduct. Oil & Gas companies are using mobile apps to quicken-up and well-coordinate the audit process. From checklists, planning schedules to assigning work-orders, incident reporting and preparing reports, mobile is considerably easing the entire process
  • Retail Operations: Mobile applications are not only used in explorations and productions but also in retail and distribution. Oil & gas companies are building apps for dealer engagement and management. On the customer-facing side, most companies are using mobile apps for meter reading, bill generation & payment and outage reporting.

In future, with the more pronounced usage of other mobile enabling technologies like M2M and Augmented Reality, the industry will have more to do with mobility. The miniature devices are set to play a crucial role in the industry in times to come.

Enterprise Mobility

Mobility In 2013: Year In Review

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The mobile landscape in constantly evolving. With each year, mobility is expanding its horizons bring more users within its ambit, packing more power and bringing more possibilities. 2013 was no different as it witnessed many steps forward and churns in the marketplace. At the start of every year, [x]cube LABS does a mobility recap infographic that summarizes the last year movements in the mobile ecosystem. In continuation with the practice, we present to you our latest infographic ‘Mobility in 2013’ that recaps all the major highlights, up and downs and market share swings in 2013 in the world of mobile devices and apps.

Blog, Enterprise Mobility

M2M Applications: The Next Big Thing In Enterprises

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Machine to Machine or M2M is catching the attention of businesses across the globe. Analyst Mason, in a study, predicts that M2M device connections will rise to 2.1 billion by 2021. A Vodafone survey reveals that 78% of respondents were of the opinion that M2M will be at the heart of successful businesses in the future. The study further highlights that 55% of participants rank M2M as a key priority for their organizations while 9% consider it as their number one priority.
Various research insights clearly show that M2M is evolving and is set to drive the next big thing in business.

What is M2M?

Simply put, Machine to Machine or Machine to Mobile (M2M) technology connects various machines like cars, appliances, computers with mobile or other fixed assets over networks and facilitates real-time data exchange to monitor and control either of these machines or their surrounding environment.

Drivers behind M2M

There are many motivations behind organizations embracing M2M including new revenue streams, cost savings, competitive advantage, process and productivity improvements, operational efficiency and speedy decision making capabilities etc. In short, the potential of M2M technology to encompass every function and its quantifiable business impact is making enterprises seriously consider M2M and put it at the core of their business.

M2M applications in business

From healthcare, manufacturing to retail; industries across the spectrum are using M2M.

  • Healthcare: M2M applications have broken the barriers of distance by remotely connecting healthcare providers and patients. Remote monitoring solutions are allowing physicians to monitor their patients anytime, anywhere; seek critical data and capture images for condition management and home care. M2M healthcare solutions have not only improved quality of patient care but are also reducing costs.
  • Retail: Retailers are using M2M enabled automated inventory tracking system wherein the legacy inventory management system is communicating with billing systems, mobile devices, RFID and sensors in the stores to report the consumption rates of products in the stores. The reports are then accessed by store managers and other relevant people on their mobile devices facilitating accurate inventory positions and store replenishments. From Kiosks, parking management to remote surveillance, M2M solutions are playing a big role in retail industry.
  • Automobile: The automotive industry has been one of the early adopters of M2M solutions. From connecting infotainment systems, the dashboard with drivers mobile device to enrich superior driving experience to its use in vehicle diagnostics, accident prevention and telematics; M2M is speedily evolving in the industry.
  • Consumer Electronics: All kinds of consumer appliances are communicating with other connected devices using M2M solutions. From smart refrigerators, ovens to remotely controllable equipments; the opportunities for M2M in the industry are just limitless.
  • Energy & Utilities: M2M applications can also be found in power, oil and gas industry. Smart grid is being used to gain control over electric transmission and distribution networks while M2M supported metering solutions are helping companies to provide improved customer services. In the Oil and Gas industry, sensors and other connected machines are bringing accuracy and agility in exploration work.
    Other sectors like industrial automation and monitoring, transport and logistics and utilities too are leveraging M2M technology to become more agile, responsive and innovative, and to outsmart the competition.

In future

One of the major hurdles behind M2M adoption is the high costs associated with it. But as the technology evolves and the costs associated with it falls, we will see M2M play a wider role in business and personal space. Similarly, as results of adopting machine-to-machine technology becomes more visible and clearer in the future, we will see the technology gain higher traction. The surge in consumer demand will also push M2M in mainstream further driving the adoption by businesses. With Strategy Analytics predicting the global M2M communications market to reach close to $30 Billion by 2014, M2M is set to grow big in the future.

Announcements

[x]cube LABS CEO To Participate In CES 2014

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CES2014

The biggest electronics show CES 2014 is scheduled on January 7th to 10th in Las Vegas. Like every year, the CES 2014 is expected to be the biggest gathering of giants and newbies from the electronics industry and a platform to contemplate and showcase the latest consumer technology innovations. At [x]cube LABS, we see it as a perfect occasion to interact with various stakeholders from the mobile industry, share opinions on the trends and practices and explore new business opportunities. Our CEO Mr. Bharath Lingam will be attending the event. If you too are attending the event, then please drop by to say “hello”. It will be a great pleasure to meet you all!

You can connect with Bharath on his twitter account @bharath007 or reach us @xcubelabs.

Announcements

Enrich with new ideas & experiences at 2013 Lean Startup Conference; Get a chance to win an iPad!

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Lean Startup has travelled a lot from being a buzz word to a movement that is sprouting new ways for product developments and business processes. The 2013 Lean Startup Conference is yet another opportunity for all of us to learn new success stories, fresh case studies and read into the minds of business leaders, entrepreneurs and practitioners from other walks of life.
Our CEO Mr. Bharath Lingam will be attending 2013 Lean Startup Conference along with other members from the [x]cube management team. If you too are attending the event then we look forward to meet you all. You can connect with Bharath on his twitter account @bharath007 or reach us @xcubelabs.
But there’s also an opportunity for you to win an iPad!
[x]cube LABS is running a #leanstartupco Twitter contest where you have a chance to win an iPad on each day of conference by sharing with us your thoughts and key takeaways on the conference. Here’s what you need to do to win an iPad

Step 1

Tweet your thoughts/ key takeaways on the conference @xcubelabs. and use the hashtag #leanstartupco

Step 2

We will monitor and collect all such tweets @xcubelabs. with the hashtag #leanstartupco and send them to our judges

Step 3

An eminent panel of judges will select the best tweet of the day and the sender will be awarded an iPad.

tweet-to-win

Contest Rules

– You can tweet as many responses as you want.

– The contest will run for two days i.e. on December 9th and 10th.

– Winners will be decided by a panel of eminent judges.

– Winners will be announced on twitter as well as officially informed by the conference organizers.

Blog, Enterprise Mobility

Enterprise mobile strategy: 9 steps to success

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Many enterprises are still implementing mobile in a piecemeal manner and therefore are not able to fully realize the gains and better ROI from their initiatives. A holistic mobile strategy can deliver maximum value to businesses, help them drive profitability and transform them into a proactive digital enterprise.

strategy

Developing a long-term business mobile strategy involves playing devil’s advocate, involving others in an argumentative discussion process, testing the quality of reasoning and then deriving insights that will seed your mobile strategy and implementation. Here’s how to go about it –

1) Define your goals:

What are your mobile expectations? How the outcomes correlate with your overall business vision? What form of mobile presence will help you realize your goals? What are your customer expectations and how going mobile can cater to it? Look within and outside your business to identify mobile opportunities. Just don’t look at what they are doing. Find why they are doing it.

2) Prepare a mobility road-map:

 Once you have defined your business goals, the next step is to prepare a roadmap by finding appropriate mobile solutions that will take you to your destination. Do you need a mobile website or a mobile app? Is smartphone best suited to your business or a Tablet? For each mobile solution, build a case summary that lists important benefits, functions and target audience etc. Prioritize the mobile solutions based on your goals and your mobility roadmap is ready!

3) Analyze your exiting process:

Any mobile solution implemented within your organization will impact the existing workflow. It is therefore pertinent to go in for a comprehensive analysis of your current process before mobility execution. This will help you identify mobile implementation opportunities in the process, measure the impact of mobilizing it, gauge the user experience, justify the costs involved and calculate ROI.

4) Draw a technology blueprint:

Get into the specifics to draw a technology blueprint which entails decisions on mobile platforms, OS, devices- BYOD or company owned, app development and security policy etc. After this stage, you will have a clear idea on the mobile architecture to be integrated with your business.

5) Set a budget:

Many enterprises commit the error of clubbing mobile budget with the overall IT budget. This leads to confusion in ownership, authority and budgetary prioritizing. Create a separate budget and draw a clear picture of detailing out your investment strategy for investments- today, for the next 6 months and if possible for the next couple of years? Break-down the overall budget department and process-wise for better clarity.

6) Lay an implementation roadmap:

The implementation roadmap should spell out work process with specific tasks and the time horizon for each specific task. Identify risks and dependencies of the mobile project and base your projects on it.

7) Create a center of excellence:

A COE involving people from diverse domains and expertise will aid you in promoting collaboration across varied groups, institutionalize best practices, monitor and evaluate mobile projects, define policies and procedures to bring consistency into your mobile adoption initiatives etc.

8) Test deployment:

Implement your mobile plan in a single process and activity. Determine success and failure areas, document and analyze the deployment experience. Hone your strategy based on the test deployment experience and then go-ahead for an organizational rollout.

9) Assess and review:

Prepare an evaluation calendar and set metrics for your mobile strategy. Gather inputs and feedback from various sources on the mobile experience. Look for mobile adoption rates and engagement metrics to determine usage. Identify discrepancies and disturbances and take corrective action.

Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, says “Mobile is so important; put your best people on mobile. If you don’t have a mobile strategy, you are no longer relevant.” Yes, it’s that important.

Announcements

[x]cube LABS to unveil Adbient & Instasense at TechCrunch, Bangalore

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TechCrunch is hosting its first event in India! The two-day event, scheduled November 14-15, will focus on how to build companies in India that will go global and will feature keynote sessions, startup pitch presentations, startup exhibits and a hackathon. The event is expected to draw an amazing lineup of startups and thought leaders and will be an excellent platform to share new ideas and exhibit new products.

Instasense-xcubelabs
[x]cube LABS will unveil its two new intellectual properties Adbient and Instasense at the event. InstaSense is a comprehensive context aware platform that offers many interesting functionalities like managing your app’s Event-Partitioning model, geo-fencing capabilities, customized mobile gesture-based functionalities and enables contextual actions against multiple phone orientations. Adbient, on the other hand, is our latest media & marketing planning solution focused on helping developers acquire high quality users and monetize their apps.

[x]cube’s Team led by our CEO Mr. Bharath Lingam will be present at booth #10 at the event. Please feel free to stop for a demo of our latest mobility products Adbient and Instasense or to learn more about our enterprise mobility consulting services.

You can reach out to us on twitter @xcubelabs.

Nasscom Game Developer Conference (NGDC) is scheduled on Nov 15-16. Our COO Mr. Ravi Korukonda will be representing us at the event. If you too are attending the event then we look forward to meet you all. You can connect with Ravi on his twitter account @Ravikorukonda or reach us @xcubelabs.

Moreover, we are also participating in Devthon Collaborative Hackathon in Hyderabad on November 16-17 and India’s largest Android conference Droidcon India scheduled on 28 – 30 November. Our COO Mr. Ravi Korukonda is actively involved in setting the vision and successful organization of ‘Droidcon India’ in his role as member of Program Committee (Gaming Track). You can know more about it here.

Announcements

Idea to 1 million app downloads; our CEO speaks at Nasscom Conclave

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NPC

[x]cube LABS CEO Mr. Bharath Lingam was a key speaker in the NASSCOM Product Conclave, Bangalore attended by “who’s who” from the Indian IT industry. Bharath spoke on the idea to get 1 million app downloads and shared success secrets with the participants. According to him, there are 2 main success factors, one, building a great app that identifies the right space, promotes engagement and solves a problem big enough to have a bigger user base. The second factor is data driven, precision marketing. And he believes both should complement each other to reach the goal. The discussion is laced with actionable insights, practical tips and case studies and will help every app developer or a brand in getting a million users. Listen to him in this video-

Announcements

[x]cube LABS COO encouraging force behind India’s largest Android Conference Droidcon India

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Droidcon is back! The 3 day annual event this year aims to engage the finest minds from the Android community, contemplate on new ideas, best practices and trends and give a platform to developers & designers to showcase platforms, APIs and apps.

[x]cube being a leading enterprise mobility consulting firm considers it as its responsibility to encourage learning, ideation and community collaboration particularly in the area of mobile technology. As part of our continued efforts, our COO Mr. Ravi Korukonda is actively involved in setting the vision and successful organization of ‘Droidcon India’ in his role as member of Program Committee (Gaming Track).

Droidcon is India’s largest Android conference, and is part of worldwide series of Droidcon conferences organized in London, Paris, Berlin and many other prominent cities across the world. The event is organized by HasGeek, a team dedicated towards organizing technology events for learning and providing discussion space to discover new opportunities for like-minded people.

The annual event this year will focus around Gaming, Business, Systems, UX, & App Demos and will bring together the best of industry experts and technology minds as featured speakers on a range of topics. The 3 day conference will be marked with in-depth sessions and workshops culminating with a full-day hackathon.

The Droidcon India is scheduled on 28 – 30 NOVEMBER 2013 in BANGALORE. For more information, please visit www.droidcon.in/2013/.

Announcements

Meet [x]cube LABS at GITEX 2013, Dubai.

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GITEX- the technology gateway to Middle East and other neighboring regions is in its full swing. The event attracts the biggest and the best names from the technology world from across the globe and is wonderful opportunity to showcase your work, discuss industry trends and network. [x]cube being a leading enterprise mobile consulting company finds GITEX 2013 an excellent opportunity to not only witness the amazing display of technology products but also to meet some of the finest minds in the industry and keep abreast with the technology trends. The [x]cube LABS team will be led by our COO Mr. Ravi Korukonda.

If you too are attending the event then we look forward to meet you all. You can connect with Ravi on his twitter account @Ravikorukonda or reach us @xcubelabs.

Blog

Infographic: The Mobile Movement

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The mobile app economy is getting bigger and bigger. With iOS and Android coming closer to each other, leaving other platforms far behind, the mobile app landscape is governed by the movements in App Store and Google Play. Here’s our latest infographic that brilliantly captures the key trends in the mobile app ecosystem. Our infographic takes you through-

# App downloads figures for 2012 and 2013.

# Increase in revenue over the last 2 years.

# Revenue from in-app purchases.

# Monthly download numbers for Apple and Google.

Blog

eBook: 5 Ways to Rock Your Sales with Mobile Sales Enablement!

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Do you know 61% of companies that use mobile sales tools improved their customer retention rates in comparison to 47% of companies without any mobile tools?

Driving sales effectiveness is every CSO’s concern today!

As per CSO insights 2012, for CSOs across the globe, driving Sales Effectiveness is their top priority followed by increasing revenues and improving up-selling/cross-selling.

What has made driving sales effectiveness more challenging is the shift in sales engagement process with today’s savvy but time-starved customers demanding a relevant, personalized engagement that “shows, not tells,” and “helps, not sells.” Plus they also demand financial justification before taking a buying decision.

Do you know 56% of reps from companies that use mobile sales tools attained their sales quotas, while just 39% of reps from companies without mobile tools did so?

Mobile sales enablement is helping sales teams in better engaging clients, increasing productivity and winning more deals. From customized digital assets, collaboration tools to data driven decision support, MSE is arming sales teams with the right tools to meet the demands of new age sales cycle.

Our latest Mobile Sales Enablement eBook tells you-

  • WHY TO USE MOBILE SALES ENABLEMENT
  • BENEFITS OF MSE
  • 5 KEY SALES CHALLENGES THAT MSE CAN ADDRESS
    1. – BETTER INFORMED, TIME STARVED BUYERS
    2. – SALES QUOTA ATTAINMENT
    3. – NEW CUSTOMER ACQUISITION IS TOUGH & EXPENSIVE
    4. – IMPROVE SALES PRODUCTIVITY
    5. – SALES TRAINING IS NOT YIELDING DESIRED RESULTS

This eBook also helps you take the first step, by providing actionable insights and practical tips, on implementing MSE in your organization and optimally benefiting from it.

You can download your free copy of the ebook here.

Happy Reading!

Blog, Retail

5 Simple Augmented Reality Integrations For Retail Mobility

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Apple has left an undeniable impression on every technical designer and strategist.
It has altered the perspective on solution-design forever by demonstrating the strength of ‘simplification’ in driving product adaptability. Augmented Reality has been viewed as a trending technology, and like all technologies might lose its X-factor pretty soon.

Continue reading →

Announcements

Gaming for Business

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xcubegames

Mobile games has been our passion since Apple launched its app store. Over the years, we have established our expertise as a leading mobile game development company by creating awesome mobile gaming experiences for people across the globe. Today, we have a specialized division in [x]cube GAMES where we deliver end-to-end services to businesses in leveraging mobile games for their internal and external usage. Watch our latest video where Imitiaz Hussain takes you through our mobile journey.

Announcements

[x]cube LABS COO Marks Major Milestone with HR LEADERSHIP AWARD

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Ravi Korukonda, with his endless dedication and passion, has molded [x]cube LABS into a great work place to work. Ravi has an affinity for people and it is reflected in the ethos of the organization, where the employees are not just a part of the processes but also have a say in modeling them.

The HR Leadership award, conferred by the IPE Asia Pacific HRM Congress is another feather in the cap of this illustrious COO, known for his dexterity and precision in setting up departments, defining HR processes and talent management to create people-centric environments.

This is an annual award jointly instituted by the Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) and the Asian Pacific HRM Congress to honour individuals and organizations for their best practices in the field of human resource development.

The theme for this year’s Congress is “SUSTAINABILITY & GROWTH IN CHALLENGING TIMES” wherein prominent HR leaders and experts from public, private and social sector are expected to gather and contribute to the discussion.

We are indeed proud and privileged to announce that our COO will receive the award from an esteemed Jury and Council of Board members in a special ceremony scheduled on 5th September, 2013, at Taj Vivanta Bangalore.

Here’s to the [x] factor!

Blog, Platform

iOS 7 Background Execution and Multitasking

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Multitasking has always been a smart way to switch between apps. Multitasking allows apps to continue running in the background even after the user switches to another app. Multitasking has been supported in iOS since iOS 4, but it was quite restricted, operating only with music, location and voip. This becomes very frustrating when we need to download some content for an app in the background, but it isn’t supported. With iOS 7 Apple provided multitasking for almost every app. Now we can perform lots of task when an app is in the background.

ios7

By integrating the new multitasking APIs in iOS 7, the app can keep the content up-to-date. The new service allows your app to update information and download content in the background without draining the battery unnecessarily. The updates can happen at opportunistic times and are intelligently scheduled according to usage, so your app can update content in the background only when your users need it.

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