Category: How-To

Among the many different applications, games have been the undisputed market leaders for several years. However, this does not mean that smartphone owners prefer only to have fun. According to Google, back in 2016, 73% of smartphone users used at least one finance management app. And already AppsFlyer pointed to a 354% growth in the popularity of personal finance apps in the 5 years from 2014 to 2019.

In addition, the emphasis is on the fact that it is mobile applications, not web versions, that are now a more promising segment. According to Allied Market Research the U.S. personal finance software market size was valued at $232 million in 2018 and is expected to reach $343 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 5% from 2019 to 2026.

What is a Finance App and Why do People Need Them

Al finance app, also known as money management or budget app, is a mobile personal income/expense tracking application with a variable functions set that allow you not only to control personal spends, but also advise where to invest. So the user can not only save, but also earn.

All accounts, bank cards, e-wallets, and other money custodians are collected in one place. The information is systematized, analyzed, and the user observes his/her expenses on charts and diagrams ad oculos. If the first created financial apps required a person to contribute all their income and expenses, everything could be done automatically. Every cup of coffee and every donut counts – they shall not pass! However, manual versions of money management apps are still in demand. Financial apps help:

• Take control of your spending
• Save money for a substantial purchase
• Collect an amount for a rainy day
• Deal with tax charges
• Get out of debt with the least losses

The same Google statistics suggest that users abandon half of the applications because they find something more interesting, suitable in functionality, and meeting current needs. On average, users who decide to control their finances tend to download 2-3 apps because they cannot find all the functions they need in one place. Is this not a reason to create the “perfect” application for your target audience? And The APP Solutions can meet this challenge.

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Types of personal finance apps

As we have already mentioned above, most often, budgeting apps are divided into two types:

• Manual (simple)
• Automatic (complex)

In the first case, all data is entered by the user himself. In the second, electronic transactions provide such information to the personal finance app.

The advantage of manual budgeting apps can be called a “psychological” moment at which the person driving all the expenses realizes that some of them could have been avoided. Accordingly, he/her has a better idea of ​​what to save on and where to fork out. Such applications are more secure in terms of security. Plus, their interface is much simpler. Among the minuses is the human factor. The user can not only make a mistake when entering data, but also banally forget to enter something.

In contrast, automatic management apps do not forget anything (unless the payment was made in cash and is not registered) and save time. Security issues can arise, but if you invest in good cyber defense, nothing will happen.

Accordingly, the first type of personal finance app is much easier and cheaper to develop. But in the future, the second may be more advantageous due to broader functionality.

Note that fintech applications also include:

• Peer to Peer Payments App
• Full-Service Banking App
• Money Investment Management App
• Financial Management Software
• Bookkeeping Software
• Financial Forecasting Apps

However, here we will be talking solely about personal money management apps.

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How a Personal Finance App Makes Money

How can you earn money on a finance app? Well, the most obvious way is to pay for it, invite potential customers to get a monthly or yearly subscription. However, for users to understand what they are paying for, they need to be given a trial period or make the basic set of features free for all time – the so-called freemium model.

For example, one of the most popular personal finance apps in the world, Mint, is available for free, but for a fee, you will receive, not only a set of more advanced features, but also personalized offers. The AI ​​of the application, based on the financial situation, makes calculations and, based on them, offers the most relevant investments, loans, credit cards and types of savings that would ideally suit a particular user. And U.S. users for a separate monthly subscription get the opportunity to communicate with a live financial advisor.

Another easy way to make money on a financial application is an affiliate program (advertising, which can be turned off for a nominal fee).

A personal finance app vs. Covid 19

Deprived of the opportunity to spend money offline for a long time, confused people worldwide have reduced their spending. However, now, when the market is slowly recovering and people are happy to leave their homes, the mood to spend what they have not spent encourages impulsive purchases. To control themselves, many users download personal finance apps.

Even without the peak of Covid restrictions in 2019-2020, the Asian market grew significantly – weekly use of fintech applications in Japan grew by 55% between December 29, 2019, and March 1, 2020. Whereas in Western Europe and the United States (only 20%), money management applications were used less often. In France and Spain, the growth was zero.

This suggests that emerging markets are more promising for budget mobile apps. So, among the attractive countries, Apptopia analysts named Brazil, Turkey, and Ukraine. That is, countries where the general level of financial literacy of the population and its training in educational institutions leaves much to be desired, which causes users to need money management apps.

What is the Best Personal Finance App

According to Investopedia, the best financial mobile apps at the moment are:

At the same time, in addition to the budget management apps listed above, Forbes advises Personal Capital, Good Budget, Stash, Honeydue, Digit… All of them received a score of 3.5 out of 5 and higher. Each personal finance app has its own strengths.

How to Create a Budgeting App that People will Want to Use

What do users want to see in the perfect finance app? In fact, many of them initially don’t even know what they want. They just download the apps recommended by friends or ratings and see how easy or difficult it is to figure out how to use it, exclaiming along the way: “Oh, this is an interesting thing, I didn’t even think it was possible. Well, I’ll use it.”

Remember that finance isn’t always a deeply personal, intimate topic. Many couples have all their accounts in common. Also, a lot of parents want to teach children from an early age financial literacy through gadgets, because in the digital era, not textbooks, but smartphone screens for children have become the best teachers.

So, when developing a concept it is best to contact competitors who are already working with your target audience. Your money management app should balance between information content and simplicity that won’t scare an uninformed user the first time they open it. Keep in mind that a financial application must meet these criteria:

• Minimalistic interface. Study your audience. Your task is to ensure that any option in the personal finance app is within a 3-step accessibility maximum. Make the home page as simple as possible, and at the same time, visually attractive so that there is a desire to download your budgeting app from the first screen.
• Comprehensibility. Each hierarchy should be logically built. Each schedule should be clearly substantiated. The financial due diligence process should be as fast and straightforward as possible since people use financial applications on the run.
• Micro animation. It helps to better explain what you want to focus the user’s attention on. Various buttons, sliders, dynamic charts, and other interactive elements, help to  show more clearly the success and gaps in a person’s budgeting.

Separately, we’d like to note how important two-way communication with the client is. If your finance app has technical support (even if not round-the-clock, and in a chatbot-form), this will significantly elevate you over competitors.

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Trends in personal finance app development

In addition to the standard set of options found in every second budget app, it is very important to keep up with the times and try to win with attractive features that will make your budget application even more attractive.

Consider implementing artificial intelligence first. Algorithms will help the application form personal advice for users: indicate excessive spending, suggest how best to manage the rest of the monthly budget, advise how to build your budget in accordance with the goals of each specific user…

Another important point that a wide variety of personal finance apps have increasingly begun to implement is voice commands. Agree that voicing your expenses and the categories you need at the moment is much faster than typing them.

The easiest way to achieve the maximum simplicity of the money management app mentioned above is to place the expense history on the main page. In the overwhelming majority of cases, this is exactly what users come for, so now it has become a trend among budget apps.

Do not offer users a simple cost calculator – often, these are people who have no idea how to save their money. Instead, give them a clear outline that will allow them to streamline their spending, see their gaps, and correct mistakes from the very first month of using the budgeting app.

Finally, to attract as many users as possible to your side, introduce an element of gamification so that the boring practice of balancing an account will become an extraordinary incentive for the user. Reward the user for fulfilling the plan on a monthly budget, help the user playfully achieve the desired result:

• Add the option to “compete” with family and friends
• Make an attractive visualization of savings growth so that the user can literally feel and see the increase in their income
• Add a strategy element to the application.

 

For example, personal finance apps like Nestlings and Fortune City may entice you to make smart financial moves to advance your virtual characters’ storylines. If this approach is made correctly, the application is bound to succeed!

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Psychology of personal finance management

For the target audience to hire us for jobs to be done, you need to understand what an ordinary user expects from personal finance applications. There are two main groups among users of budgeting apps.

• Spenders
• Savers

 

Those who cannot control their budget without help, and those who know how to distribute their expenses correctly, like to track the dynamics of cash receipts and spending visually.

As practice shows, it is better not to be limited to one of these two groups but to work with both at once. Help spenders keep their money within limits so that they don’t exceed their salary. And show savers what useful things they can do with their saved money. Debt is bad. Emergency funds are good. Overdrawing your account is bad. Earning interest on your savings is good.

With a set of useful options and minimalistic design, you should be able to catch even people who are not interested in financial applications, who are scrolling through Apple Store or Google Play Market in search of useful applications.

What people expect from a money management app

In order that your budget app is wanted to be downloaded and not abandoned after the second entry, you should focus on the user’s needs, both in form and in content. An application should not only keep up with the times in terms of technology and UX/UI design but also offer users the options they need, including:

• Simple authorization and personal account without redundant functions
• Ability to bind to bank cards, integration with banks, scan checks
• Transactions history, as well as their tracking, viewing balances on accounts and cards
• Limit on spending – per day/week/month
• Categorization of expenses for food, clothing, rent, taxi, household appliances, unplanned expenses
• All conceivable and inconceivable reports and statistics in dynamics (comparison of spending with other family members or a certain product in different stores)
• Setting goals and tracking progress
• Tips on financial literacy, such as how to save up for a large purchase
• Reminder about paying taxes, fees, fines, etc.
• Standard features of any fintech app: calculator, currency converter, exchange/cryptocurrency indices, regular payments calendar, etc.
• Payment templates
• Search
• Backup (is a must!)

But the most important thing is safety. According to Google statistics, 30% of financial applications succumbed to hacker attacks. In this regard, always build budgeting apps with a secure cloud infrastructure, conduct penetration testing and security audits. When building a personal finance app it’s important to pay attention to PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). And, of course, choose trusted developers to collaborate with.

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Personal Finance Management Mobile App Development

First, you need to understand what kind of team you need to develop a financial application. This usually includes:

• Project manager
• Android developer
• iOS developer
• Front-end developer
• Back-end developer
• QA engineer
• UI/UX designers

You will work closely with this team for the next six months (the time may vary depending on the number of team members and your willingness to invest).

App development process: a step-by-step guide

The algorithm for creating a budget application is not very different from making any other. Specificity with emphasis on safety. Otherwise, as always, you need to go through a similar algorithm of actions.

1. Market research and analytics 
2. Development process
3. Security
4. App design
5. Testing and launching

Now a little more detail about each step.

Market research and analytics

First of all, you need to study your target audience. What needs should your proposal cover? What are they waiting for? An analysis of competitors’ financial applications follows from this. What have they not yet managed to offer the public, and what are their strengths? What interesting features can you take on board for yourself, and what weaknesses can you improve? It is important to study the market itself to understand where the industry may move in the future and, as a result, your application.

It is also essential to analyze marketplaces and other advertising spaces to place your personal finance app.

Development process

The technology stack should focus on adaptability, scalability, debugging capabilities, and security. At this stage, experts decide which technology and platform to choose and determine the desired functionality. This phase also includes the technical specifications for creating the application and the product information model. But it’s not just technical nuances that play a role in this step. Business processes need to be modeled as well.

Security

When developing a security system, there is never “too much.” This delicate process should be carried out by real professionals who, among other things, could establish:

• Bank-grade data encryption
• Two-factor authentication
• SSL and HTTPS protocols
• Bio authentication
• Reverse for inactive sessions 

This is just a basic package of precautions, you can always discuss additional measures with security experts that would add more security components and, at the same time, will not slow down the operation of the mobile app.

App design

What have we already mentioned several times? Simplicity rules! The clearer you explain complex fintech questions for users, the more likely your budget app will be downloaded.

For example, a familiar hamburger menu, loved by many users, can play a bad joke in this case since it only shows a few functions. There is a chance that the user simply will not see what he needs (although in fact it is) and will leave. Menu bar tabs looks more organic, but there is also a priority issue here.

Speaking of priorities – Priority + Navigation Pattern seems to be the best combination for a financial application. However, only if these very priorities are set as logically as possible, otherwise the venture risks failing. Likewise, a floating button menu can only work profitably if its design is really damn good.

There are also options for gesture-based navigation and full-screen navigation – we do not recommend this. However, this type of design can work with proper design.

Testing and launching

Now it’s time for QA engineers. Before launching a financial application it is important to check the correctness of all calculations, the order of transactions, and test performance. It is important to check the application’s update ability and normal operation in case of complications in functionality. 

But security testing is an absolute priority to ensure that personal data is transmitted after encryption and that the data transmission channel is secure. After that, you can move on to production.

To avoid wasting time on cooperation with each freelancer separately, it is better to turn to outsource services where there is already a well-coordinated team of specialists sharpened for the development of such projects as in The App Solutions.

Thus, creating an application like Mint or YNAB will take at least 2,000-2,500 hours of work. 

Outcomes

The personal finance app market offers many solutions, but none are perfect. Each of them, offering a certain range of services, chose a specific feature that performed best. This is exactly why people download the application following their needs.

You can still find an unfilled niche and become a leader there. To do this, you need to monitor the market, decide on a concept, draw up a roadmap and contact our company for development. The App Solutions will make an MVP version, gradually adding new useful options, as well as help with project support.

Healthcare mobile app development is a complex and demanding job that requires maximum concentration and attention to detail. The cost of a mistake in such an application can be money, health, or even a person’s life. Hence, before taking on the development of such a project you need to consider many nuances and, in no case, release a faster, “raw” product. Therefore, we will try to tell you about the most important aspects and features of healthcare mobile app development.

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Mobile health is growing at a rapid pace these days. The demand for mHealth apps is driven by the growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, as well as the increasing diffusion of digital health technologies. Among others, the monitoring services segment accounted for the largest share in 2019. Nonetheless, diagnostic services are projected to show the highest CAGR.

Covid 19 also contributed a lot to the spread of mobile healthcare apps. However, in 2017, about 64% of the U.S. adult population regularly used the app to measure health indicators. Still, there are some doubts about the confidentiality of personal information and data systems security. But this does not mean that such a suspicious audience cannot become a target – this will be another challenge for healthcare app developers in the cybersecurity field.

The healthcare app market is still far from being oversaturated due to its changes in recent years. Until a few years ago, the list consisted mainly of lifestyle and fitness apps. Now it is starting to include more and more apps focused on specific tasks. For example, working as a complementary medical app clinic or helping people with certain types of diseases. In the mobile health market, analysts have identified several main segments of applications designed for diagnostics, monitoring, prevention, treatment, and medical simulations.

What is a Medical App?

 So, what kind of applications can be called medical or those related (albeit indirectly) to your health?

First of all, these are applications that help users effectively manage their physical/psychological illnesses and fitness achievements, as well as keep records of hospital visits and insurance payments.

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Doctors, in turn, have their own goals when using mHealth apps. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society names the tools most commonly used by doctors:

• Collect bedside data
• Monitor data from remote devices
• Transmit data and coordinate care continuity
• Conduct telemedicine visits
• Communicate with patients
• Integrate data into EMR

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As a result, Health IT Outcomes reports on a variety of usage trends by the physician and healthcare community:

• 93% of doctors believe mHealth apps can improve patient health
• 74% of the hospitals using mobile app devices to collect patient data are more efficient than those that don’t
• 42% of patients say they prefer digitally scheduling an appointment over calling their provider

 

With the reality of Covid 19, doctor visits quickly moved online. Furthermore, the clinicians themselves claim that 75% of calls do not really require the patient’s personal presence in the office, meaning most medical situations can be handled using telemedicine. This immediately gives tangible relief for ambulances.

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What is the Difference Between a Health App and a Medical App?

The difference between a health app and medical app is that health apps are designed to provide health-related services for all types of smartphones and communication devices, whereas medical applications are software on mobile gadgets that users can apply to regulated medical devices.

Types of mHealth apps

For patients:  

• Fitness and wellness apps
• Mental health apps (including meditation)
• Self-diagnosing
• IoT
• Applications for caring for the elderly and sick people
• Patient well-being diaries, vital sign monitoring (blood pressure, pulse, glucose, and cholesterol levels…)
• Health management apps such as hydration monitoring, calorie calculator, diet tips, etc.
• Social networking, health forums, and portals
• Assistants for pregnant women
• Womens’ health
• Telemedicine/Doctor on-demand
• Appointment and recipe reminders
• Medication management/Mood trackers/Sleep monitoring

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For doctors:

• Medical resource and education apps that contain information about drugs, medical articles, or lists of symptoms
• Remote diagnostics
• Remote monitoring
• Communication
• Appointment management
• Telemedicine

 

The classification is limited to these two groups, but there is also a third cluster. These are medical applications for institutions that are somehow related to the medical industry.

• Clinical assistance apps with EMR and EHR access
• Appointment and scheduling
• Billing
• Inventory management

 

Is Mobile App Development Profitable?

The IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science report has found that the consumer digital health app market reached new records in 2020. Over 90,000 healthcare apps were released that year. In general, there are now over 350,000 digital health apps available to consumers in stores.

However, the quality of most of them is poor. The main disadvantages of many applications currently on the market include:

• Fuzzy structure that does not solve a specific problem
• Lack of clinical data
• Poor usability
• Non-observance of the rules of confidentiality and security

 

As a result, 83% of applications were installed less than 5,000 times, which together represent less than 1% of total downloads. Meanwhile, the Lucky Hundred Leader Apps have been downloaded over 10 million times. This is almost 50% of the total number of downloads.

Nevertheless, various healthcare mobile apps continue to storm the market. Health IT Outcomes predicted that global mHealth revenue would reach $49.12 billion by 2020.

According to a report by ResearchAndMarkets, the global mHealth market size is expected to reach $ 316.8 billion by 2027. Statista expects this figure to rise even higher – to $ 333 billion by 2025. The most optimistic forecast suggests that the global digital health market will increase to over 500 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. During this time, the health information technology segment of the industry should generate the largest revenue share, reaching some 280 billion U.S. dollars already by 2021.

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At the same time, back in 2015, Forbes wrote about one million telemedicine patients. By 2018, patient encounters had increased to seven million. This statistic shows the top-funded digital health categories worldwide during 2020. In that year, over 4.2 billion U.S. dollars of funding was provided for telemedicine, making it the most funded category.

Benefits of mHealth apps for business owners

As a health care business owner, you can increase customer loyalty. This will help you with:

1. Convenient functionality. Achieved by providing a quality product that will cover all “medical” needs from making an appointment to storing test results, from telemedicine to reminders to buy drugs. This will attract a new audience and increase the loyalty of existing ones.
2. Successful marketing. Increase customer engagement with self-reminders. For example, by creating a healthcare app for a specific hospital, you can attract more users with promotions, news, offers, and just being creative.
3. Knowledge of the client’s needs. Keeping personal information in your app is the easiest way to collect customer data to improve user experience.

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Ultimately, the development of a healthcare app helps not only improve a particular hospital’s business processes more efficiently, but also improve the image of both the hospital that ordered the healthcare mobile application development, and the company that developed it.

 

Healthcare Mobile App Development vs. Covid

The PWC “Medical cost trend: Behind the numbers 2022” report suggests that coronavirus isn’t the only thing affecting the health of Americans. Lack of exercise, poor diet, increased use of psychoactive substances, and smoking…all can lead to poor health in the U.S. population and increased health care costs.

At the same time, App Annie statistics show that there has been a surge in downloads of medical apps in the months of isolation. These country statistics compare downloads in the “peak” local month, with January 2020 considered the benchmark month. The world average is 65%.

Interestingly, the most significant surge was in South Korea. There, the number of downloads increased by 135%! India’s official tracing app might also be responsible for the 90% upswing we see in that market. We see lower but still significant growth in the European and North American markets as well.

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This speaks of both the level of fear felt around the world and desire to be as aware as possible in uncertain times. However, government agencies are using apps as a platform for managing and tracking outbreaks.

Number of health and fitness app users in the United States from 2018 to 2022 (in millions):

How to Build an Effective Medical Mobile App

 About 30% of startups make it to the 10-year mark, with one in five failing in the first year, and the percentage of failed healthcare startups even higher. As mentioned earlier, the most important reason for failure is the inability to identify the target audience, its problems, and how to solve them. In other words, healthcare apps are often not needed at all.

Therefore, in order not to fail, you should clearly define ‘why’ and ‘what’ you are doing. Such simple questions, but the above statistics say that not everyone is asking them.

The process of developing a mobile app can be divided into an almost infinite number of stages. Here are the most basic ones:

• Shaping an idea
• Market Research
• Making an MVP
• Design process

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Make sure your mobile healthcare application solves a real problem with enough people. Then, form a clear target audience to further direct all available advertising methods to it. Finally, define a list of features that will only be in your application, and also a list of reasons that prevent you from becoming the best right away.

Conduct detailed research of your competitors to understand their strengths and weaknesses. In this way, you don’t have to waste time adding a new feature your customers are asking for or removing any old parts that nobody needs.

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Healthcare App Development

Before starting work on the healthcare app, we recommend you think about such challenges that you will definitely have to solve within healthcare mobile app development: 

• APIs and integrations
• Data encryption
• Multiple devices and channels
• Security and privacy

 

There is nothing more important to do in the development of healthcare apps, than solving these problems.

Start healthcare mobile app development with MVP. This version should include the basic functionality of any healthcare app. But, of course, it all depends on what type of medical healthcare software you are building. For example, some are exclusively engaged in tracking health indicators, some order medicines for you in pharmacies, and some banally remind you that you need to drink another glass of water. But if you want to create an application that will perform many functions at once, think about the features below.

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Tracking

The doctor and user should be able to independently enter health indicators – height and weight, sugar and cholesterol levels, heart rate and blood pressure, regardless of whether these indicators are measured at home or in the laboratory.

Scheduling

When a patient knows that he has the opportunity to independently book a visit to the doctor in a matter of minutes, he will do it much more willingly than when he needs to call, clarify something and wait for an answer. With this approach, it is easier to miss a visit than to struggle with an appointment. But, of course, we don’t want that, do we?

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Notifications and reminders

If the planned visit takes place in a month, or even six months, it is easy to forget about it as well as being reminded to take a pill that you need at a specific time.

Personal account

Allow patients to add their personal information (name, gender, age, etc.) Along with that, permit them to add their health biomarkers and help track them.

Chat and Communication

Allow the doctor to correspond with the patient to enter the conversation results into the necessary documents. To do this, you will need to integrate your healthcare mobile app with the doctor’s software or platform.

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[The APP Solutions layout for a healthcare mobile app]

Telemedicine options

Often correspondence alone is not enough. As mentioned above, video chat with doctors is gaining more and more popularity as it saves time for both the doctor and patient. And, the latter is also not at risk of catching any virus if he doesn’t have to come to the hospital in person.

Geolocation

Allow the patient to find a specialist doctor with good reviews near their location.

File Storage

Hospitals need to create an EHR system to store files securely. As you develop your mobile app, allow users to store their medical data and files.

These can be prescriptions, ECGs, doctors’ recommendations, medical bills.

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Security

A big problem is the distrust of many people in the safety of their data, especially in such an “intimate” sphere. Therefore, place special emphasis on this, do not spare the money spent on security.

Integration with wearables, social integration

Integration with Apple Watch, “garter” to selected social networks.

Search

Create a filter system that can help you find a specific doctor by last name or choose the most suitable one by specialization, location, cost of the visit, etc.

Ratings and reviews

We have long been accustomed to rating the services of taxi drivers and couriers. User feedback about which doctor or hospital will be extremely helpful to future patients and motivate nursing staff to perform even better.

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HIPAA Compliant Messaging

The business owner must clearly understand which region they are targeting with their medical app. Where and what kind of correspondence should you pay attention to?

• HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability). The most common rules in the United States were governing confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all electronically protected medical information.
• GDPR (The General Data Protection Regulation). A set of rules adopted and operating in the European Union since 2018. All medical mobile apps must adhere to the provisions on the protection of personal data prescribed in the document. The GDPR applies to both the companies that collect the data and those that process it.
• CCPA (The California Consumer Privacy Act). An analog of the European GDPR. The law includes informing the client about what data is collected, preparing a free report on the collected data at the client’s request, and deleting the collected data at the client’s request.
• PIPEDA (The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act). A policy designed to safeguard patient privacy in Canada. More often than not a healthcare app that is “confused” with standardization, according to the GDPR, will work with PIPEDA as well since the provisions are very similar.

Payments

You need to decide how you plan to receive income from your medical mobile app. Choose a Monetization Model.

• In-app ads. The healthcare app has no paid options, and it earns by displaying ads
• Freemium. Basic healthcare application options are free, and you need to buy additional exciting features
• Subscription. Users pay only when they use the mobile apps, subscribing for a week, month, year
• Paid. One-time payment for the healthcare app upon purchase

 

Also, do not forget about those payments that are made between the patient and medical institution. It will be excellent if your healthcare app allows you to pay for doctor visits, order at the pharmacy, and so on.

Only 5.76% of apps are paid, and that number is falling every quarter. As a result, Healthcare apps are usually not monetized and serve as an add-on service in and of themselves.

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What tasks should healthcare mobile apps perform?

The most popular healthcare app functions are:

• Improving health data gathering
• Providing timely care, despite the location
• Minimizing medical mistakes
• Lowering spending for healthcare providers and patients
• Improving communication between physicians and patients
• Increasing customer loyalty and engagement
• Providing time-saving features for medical staff

 

UI/UX Design in medical mobile app development

When create a medical app design, you need to remember you are making them for a “sensitive” target audience. Remember that your healthcare mobile application may be used by older people who are not good at all these “newfangled things.” Also, users can be people with specific mental and physical disabilities. Accordingly, in this case, you need to focus on an intuitive interface as never before.

Minimize the number of actions the user must take to complete the task. For example, you can group related content to make it available with one click.

[The APP Solutions layout for a healthcare mobile app]

We recommend using cool colors for the background, warm colors for markers. You shouldn’t use more than three different fonts – choose their sizes following the target audience. The font color should be easy to read and contrast with the background of the healthcare app. Avoid using colored fonts as their visibility is poor. Usually, the best choice is black or dark gray on a light background. It will not be superfluous to accompany the pressing of buttons with characteristic sounds.

And of course, don’t forget about responsive app design!

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Trends in mobile medical software development

In whatever year your healthcare app is developed, it should always remain up-to-date. To do this, you need to track trends, the successful implementation of which will allow you to bypass the competition. And most importantly, both doctors and patients benefit from this.

AI

It is difficult to find an area in which AI technologies would be inapplicable. However, it was a medicine that became the flagship of this trend. Moreover, these are not always global tasks, such as how to overcome cancer. As a rule, these are simple administrative tasks that are not noticeable at first glance, but they free up a lot of time for medical staff to plan – optimizing their work.

With the help of the ability to analyze vast amounts of data, artificial intelligence can identify the most critical patients in a group with similar symptoms or, based on practical experience, prescribe appropriate treatment to a new patient. Artificial intelligence can diagnose diseases, and can also recommend medicines. And of course, where would we be without chatbots!

Blockchain

The healthcare blockchain is used to manage electronic health records, conduct clinical and biomedical research, monitor patients remotely, improve insurance and billing procedures, and analyze medical data. In addition, the blockchain ensures that all transactions are conducted confidentially and without third-party intervention, which is HIPAA and GDPR compliant.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

By 2025 there will be a total of 41.6 billion connected IoT devices, which means there will be more connected “things” than people. And this is not the limit. Thus, more and more medical ecosystems will be created, simplifying the interaction between doctor and patient. For example, the doctor will be able to conduct remote examinations of internal organs and progressive diseases. Likewise, the hospital management will monitor and take into account medications and the use of special equipment.

Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD)

This is information that the patient enters on their own, or with the help of family members, to the healthcare app. At first glance, this is not the best solution since it is not known how honestly, correctly, and objectively the patient will enter data about himself. A doctor would, of course, do this much more accurately. Nevertheless, the practice has shown that this is a working scheme. And again, a win from all sides. 

For example, a patient with a chronic disease monitors his indicators, diligently entering them into a mobile healthcare app. A doctor can go there, quickly go over all the details and decide whether to adjust the treatment. This solution significantly reduces the burden on clinicians.

Telemedicine

You may say that this is not a trend. Video communication with a doctor has become a habit for a long time. However, it was in the era of  coronavirus that telemedicine became more relevant than ever. Not surprisingly, 42% of adults in the United States say they prefer to have their sessions with doctors online, so they don’t end up in danger. As already mentioned, the most money is now being invested in healthcare mobile app development with this function.

In addition, telemedicine covers the needs of that part of the population that lives far from medical facilities. But this can work not only within one country. As a result, video communication with qualified doctors has become a real salvation for underdeveloped countries. In such conditions, the apparent shortage of doctors in failed states has noticeably improved.

VR/AR

It’s no secret that virtual reality creates the effect of presence. So how does it help in healthcare? There are many areas – from creating conditions for training surgeons to the bland feeling of being in a fitness club. The fantasy of healthcare app developers is unlimited.

The APP Solutions and mobile app development services

Our company has already been developing mobile healthcare apps for several years. Therefore we have something to offer you – we keep up with the trends, develop innovative and original solutions and bring your wishes to fruition. Among the services we provide are:

 

• Medical Practice Management Software
• Electronic Health Record Software (EHR/EMR/PHR)
• E-Prescribing Software
• Healthcare CRM
• Data Management/Warehousing
• Predictive Analytics Software
• HIPAA/GDPR Compliance
• Medical Devices Integration

[The APP Solutions layout for a healthcare mobile app]

Check out our portfolio and choose your preferred method of cooperation. The APP Solutions team will do everything to make it as fruitful as possible.

 

Outcomes

Despite the significant number of healthcare apps that flood the market every year, this is far from the limit. All over the world there is a trend towards taking care of one’s health. Covid 19 was the impetus for improving the systematization of patient data in the healthcare sector. Global digitalization has created whole new directions; maybe something new will appear soon that you will come up with and our company can help you implement your idea in healthcare mobile app development!

Neobank is a logical stage in the evolution of financial institutions, which appeared in response to society’s demand to simplify services as much as possible and to minimize communication with bank employees. In essence, it is a rejection of misplaced scaling and an emphasis on marketing.

Today, every country with normal development of digital technology has at least one neobank. So, despite all the convenience and simplicity of the mechanism of work, the niche of neobanking is far from being oversaturated. And the earlier you dare to do something like that, the more chances you have to get an original product, which will have a lot of consumers.

However, do not forget that neobank is not just an application on your mobile but a complex of services requiring maximum security, a well-organized technical infrastructure, and the highest level of usability. Moreover, it requires a high-class development team and considerable investment to make the result worthwhile. 

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What is Neobank and its Workflow?

Neobank is a digital fintech institution that provides the usual banking services (loans, investments and savings accounts, credit cards) without being a traditional bank in the legal sense (no banking license). It has no physical offices and practically no cash machines because all the issues can be solved through a mobile app. The very principle of providing financial services in a digital format is designed to anticipate all the desires and requests of the user and solve them in a few clicks without long and tedious calls to support or – even worse – without standing in queues for a “live” consultant.

The best-known examples of neobanks are U.S.-based Chime and UK-based Revolut. By the way, the U.S. and UK are the top countries in this area by transaction value.

According to Statista, the market size of neobanks in 2021 with a forecast for 2022 and 2030 looks like this:

The market volume in 2021 was estimated at nearly $47 billion. The sector is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 53.4% through 2030 to reach $2.05 trillion. The average transaction cost per user in the neobanking segment will be $18.21 thousand in 2022.

The last five years have been a rapid development of alternative banking services. Part of the reason for these trends is the growing frustration of users with the complexities of traditional banking, which has led to a search for more straightforward and less expensive solutions. 

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What is a NeoBank in 2022?

There is still a perception that neobank is only for young people who understand digitally, but this is not true. In truth, Neobank’s target customers are men (58%) and women (42%) aged 25-44. The EU, Britain, and the U.S. are at the top of the list for downloads. However, an increasing proportion of the population aged 65 and older are also discovering the delights of digitalization.

For their audiences, neobanks take a friendly approach or so-called “new sincerity”. Customer service communicates with you as a longtime mate, not as an absolutely polite, aloof dialogue line. The application itself is built so that you can find any option in a couple of clicks, even if you have no idea where it is. There are gamification elements, no commissions, minimal interest, and favorable cashback, all of which encourage the customer to use neobank as much as possible. Such a beneficial environment is ensured by minimizing the costs of project infrastructure. 

Why Should You Start NeoBank in 2022?

NeoBanking has advantages that make the project profitable and repayable in a short period:

• A niche that is not fully filled

• Attractiveness for clients due to accessible communication

• Greater flexibility compared to traditional banks

• High investment attractiveness

You can create your own neobank from scratch or use a ready-made solution with additional functions and features that will distinguish you from your competitors. Neobank software is more flexible, allowing you to add and expand features faster than traditional systems. Neobanks rely on advanced process automation, web services, and APIs to provide banks and customers with high profitability, security, and flexibility.

You can also create a subsidiary of a conventional bank, but there are some differences. 

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What’s the Difference Between Neobanks and Traditional Banks?

It is important to distinguish between traditional banks offering online banking services and neobanks. As we have already mentioned, neobanks have no offline departments because the working principle is built, so there is no need for them. 

Legally, the regulator for conventional banks is the Central Bank, but for neobanks there are two regulators, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank. Also, Conventional credit institutions can only operate with full banking accreditation, while a neobank can have both payment and financial certification, depending on the services provided.

One should also distinguish between neobanking and digital banking. If, for the first one, the mobile app is the only available form of existence, the latter is just one of the “avatars” of a traditional bank that wants to become more accessible and user-friendly. Neobanks perform the same functions as digital banks, but large financial institutions do not support them in the same way as conventional and digital banks. Instead, most are launched by private organizations and follow an online-only service model.

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With conventional banks going online, though, we can say that the line between the two types of financial services is already blurring. Representatives of traditional banks understand that they need to keep up with the times to retain their customers. But rapid change is usually impossible because of the growing gap between the current level of technology and their large-scale corporate systems. 

One solution is to create a dedicated neobank in which the parent bank takes over the regulatory environment and requirements. On the one hand, the parent takes on new risks, but on the other hand, the subsidiary can provide a broader range of banking and lending products, such as auto loans, mortgages, etc. In this way, you open up the neobank to your company’s existing audience. 

As an option, one of the IT giants, which is not directly related to financial services, can open its own neobank. One of the most popular neobanks in China, Alibaba’s MYBank, serves 35 million users and SMEs. The bank specializes in small personal and business credit services. 

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Developing a Neobank from Scratch

As with any financial product, developing a neobank should start with precise planning, and then follow the steps that are appropriate for creating every outcome. 

1. Having a well-formulated idea that is transformed into a business idea

2. Analysis of the market and competitors

3. Analysis of the target audience

4. Hiring an experienced team of managers and developers

5. MVP creation (from UX Design prototypes to testing and deployment)

6. Launch

7. Feedback gathering

8. Work on mistakes and support

If you have an idea at this stage, contact The APP Solutions company, which will help you investigate the market situation and hire a competent outsourcing team to create a product that will pay for itself in a short time. 

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Neobank Software Development from the Very Beginning

It is necessary to pay attention to the basic details, without which it is impossible to create a sustainable product. 

Every country has its peculiarities of legislation concerning the regulation of neobanking. Therefore, before you start implementing the idea, you need to understand all the aspects due to banking licensing and so on.

A financial product works not only with personal data, but also with the money tied to it. Therefore, the first priority is ensuring the appropriate level of security to prevent information breaches, such as with two-factor or multi-factor authentication.

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Since the primary use of neobank is through a mobile app, payments should be a couple of clicks away for maximum convenience, without filling out a whole bunch of boxes. 

For the payment gateway mentioned above to really work efficiently, you need integration with the most popular payment systems in the region. However, do not forget about security – when you integrate this or that system into your code, you must consider the risks that it can be hacked, and your customers’ data will go to fraudsters. So it helps if you are very selective when choosing partners.

Perhaps there’s no need to repeat once again how important a positive user experience is in a situation when this is the main feature of the application through which it presents itself. This includes everything from lightning-fast account creation and the same fast receipt of a card, to personalized banking services (the ability to buy cryptocurrency and shares, make investments, and take long-term and short-term loans). And all this with zero commissions and no hidden fees. 

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Must-have features for neobank 

What features should be present in your application to interest the user?

• Cashback (a nice little something to spend not only on yourself, but also to donate a small amount to charity at the end of the month, this is a very effective motivator)

• Dynamic CVV2 (as a means to further protect your finances)

• Expense reports and savings against goals (here, neobank takes over the function of the financial app, helping the users keep track of their balance)

• Referral program (one of the ways to get new users by getting existing ones interested)

• Cryptocurrency (an opportunity to integrate your crypto-purse into the application or create such a wallet right here)

• Paying bills (utility bills, apartment rent, car insurance – all of these can be paid with a single click, or you can set up automatic monthly/weekly/annual payments).

Can neobanks be profitable?

As of 2020, there were more than 300 neobanks launched around the world. Statista predicts that by 2026 the number of users will be 347.21 million, which is 4.4%. So as you can see, the market is far from saturation, and the growth prospects are excellent. 

By 2024, there will be 47.5 million digital-only bank account holders in the U.S., a 19.8% increase over 2020, and digital bank penetration in the U.S. will increase by 8.9% from 2020 to 2024.

Source

In addition, not all populations are yet reached. For example, neobanks are mostly aimed at young people who strongly connect to gadgets. But what about teenagers? They are also great with any app in a few minutes, but their reach in neobanking is still minimal.

If neobanks are so profitable for users, then how do they make money? Don’t be surprised, but one source of income is commissions. Yes, for the consumer, they are practically non-existent, and there is no deception here. Neobanks get a cut of the interbank commissions, only their mechanisms are more complicated and are not obvious to the customers.

Neobanks also introduce premium accounts for users who want more convenient services, from two-click medical insurance to VIP cards. What’s more, premiums can come in different levels, too. 

Due to favorable terms, loans in neobanks are much easier to get than in conventional ones, and the terms are better, so the pool of lenders is expanding very quickly. However, there are risks in the sense of unreliable clients. 

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If we are talking about the basic version of neobank, its creation, depending on the features, can cost you from $300-500 thousand. If you have a bigger budget, you can talk about additional options. Be prepared that, on average, the project takes about six months to complete. However, you can always speed it up if you need to and have the right resources. For example, if you agree to work on an out-of-the-box solution.  

In parallel, focus on marketing efforts to attract customers. Make sure you are appealing all the way through. Remember that the profitability of your neobank can be determined by the customer lifetime value (LTV)/customer acquisition cost (CAC) ratio. The higher the LTV/CAC ratio, the more revenue will be generated from each new customer. So, the most important thing is to keep your customers happy.

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What are the Trends of Neobanks?

In order to be one step ahead of your competitors, you need to understand which trends in the niche can be advantageous. Right now, when going through the natural neobank development process, you need to pay attention to the following points.

Even though neobanks are not banks in the usual sense of the word, their security is just as important. Digital banking uses biometric verification, encryption technology, and other security measures to protect customer and mobile data. They also provide highly secure features such as locking and freezing anytime through the app. That said, all security measures need to be configured to make usability easy, and customers face unnecessary steps during transactions or verifications.

You can go further and create your own security tool and software solution to protect customer data. However, it is highly recommended that you keep logs of access of everything that happens on your neobank platform so that your security team can review them at any time in the future.

The advantage of neobanking is the openness of its operating mechanisms compared to traditional financial institutions. And since the neobank has no physical branches, all information about services, rates, transactions, promotions, commissions, and much more must be presented and posted so that the client is sure to be aware of everything promptly.

AI is now present in almost every digital niche, and in financial services, there is no way without it at all. Neobanks are polling users about what they would like to get out of the app. It is important to analyze and anticipate the behavioral factors of your target audience so that the client only thinks of a feature and finds it has already been implemented into your app. This kind of thing helps to increase conversion rates. AI is also heavily used in online support chats and is improving every year.

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The bottom line

Neobank is a financial product that makes life much easier for people without bank accounts and those who can’t imagine themselves without dozens of financial transactions daily. Neobank manages to do it at the same time. 

To expand its audience without losing old customers, neobank has to offer new features and capabilities with enviable regularity. You can do this by working closely with a team of managers and developers who will work for the result, even after the project launch. And we at The APP Solutions can help you with that! So click the button below and tell us your idea; we are here to make it happen.

Credits to Depositphotos

When people talk about cybersecurity and cybercrime, the first thing that comes to mind is financial fraud and bank security. However, what could be more important than the security of our data in healthcare? After all, it’s not about mundane financial well-being, but our physical condition, and even our lives. And it’s not so much a matter of someone possessing and taking advantage of our health data as it is of a doctor not being able to access such data on time. 

This is especially true since healthcare is second only to finance in the interest of cyberattacks. And, the cost of a data breach puts healthcare in the lead (according to HIPAA Journal – $408 per record, compared to about $148 in other areas). In addition, 21% of the consequences result in legal liability, 40% in loss of essential data, and 33% in outages. 

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What is Healthcare Cybersecurity?

Healthcare cybersecurity is an area of information technology aimed at protecting healthcare systems. These systems include electronic health records, health tracking devices, medical equipment, and software to deliver and manage care. 

Cybersecurity in healthcare aims to prevent attacks by protecting systems from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure of patient data. The main goal is to ensure the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of critical patient data, which, if breached, could endanger patients’ lives.

However, there is a global shift in health and human services, with more and more of these services being made available online since COVID-19. Accordingly, medical and paramedical processes, and all other areas, began to digitize as quickly as possible, which has happened before but not on such a scale or at such  speed. The catalyst, in the form of the coronavirus, has given a significant load of medical professionals not only offline but also online – telemedicine, e-prescriptions, and even remote surgeries. Thus, the need to optimize processes through digitalization has become evident. And when it comes to the secure storage of big data, the question of cybersecurity is bound to arise. 

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How Common are Cyberattacks in Healthcare?

According to Statista, the industry is expected to be worth $345.4 billion by 2026, up from $34 billion in 2017. In other words, the financial infusion into Healthcare Cybersecurity has increased tenfold in 10 years. Not surprisingly, Statista cites a study showing that in 2020, 17 percent of healthcare cyberattacks caused severe injury or damage to patients, and nearly 30 percent caused disruption of emergency services.

According to the HIPAA Journal, healthcare cybersecurity statistics show an 8% decrease in incidents in February 2022 compared to January 2022. Nevertheless, those 46 incidents affected 2.5 million people. As a result, the healthcare industry has lost $25 billion over the past two years. 

The number of breaches and affected people:

Source

Why is Cybersecurity a Problem in Healthcare?

By far, the most common type of cybersecurity attack is a money-making attack.

In addition to ransomware attacks on financial assets, the industry has seen invasions aimed solely at disruption, as well as attacks aimed at compromising user data. Recently, cybercriminals have been using indirect supply chain attacks to disrupt companies far beyond their original targets. 

There is a vigorous public debate that responsible government agencies simply cannot keep up with the scope and “quality” of the threats that must be met. In such an atmosphere, it is every man for himself, and private companies are forced to establish a system of protection on their own without being able to ask for help from government healthcare providers. There is an understanding that it is necessary to work proactively rather than respond to attacks after the fact. 

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The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 is designed to help with this, but it is too early to tell if it is effective. 

As a result, more than half of the world’s population does not trust healthcare providers to protect personal data. At the same time, in the U.S. the figure is much better – 80%.

The difficulty is that, in any clinic or hospital, there are many networks and digital complexes: EHRs, electronic prescriptions and decision support systems, intelligent heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, infusion pumps, and medical Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. All of these can be threatened by cybercriminals.

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Types of Attacks on Healthcare Organizations

Deloitte experts identified several threats faced by many healthcare organizations: 

1. Phishing. One of the most unsightly, and therefore most common, methods – links or attachments in emails infect computer systems with malware, which then spreads across the clinical network. 
2. Man in the middle. Cybercriminals infiltrate data transmissions and steal users’ personal information, resulting in severe damages and fines for privacy violations. Sometimes it’s much more trivial – attackers quickly gain physical access to the computer with the data. 
3. Attacks on network vulnerabilities. Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache poisoning, HTTPS spoofing, and other similar cybercrimes targeting wired and wireless networks that provide access to patient information.
4. Ransomware attack. Criminals not only encrypt data and extort money for decryption, but also block access to the entire clinical system, paralyzing surgical and life-support equipment.  
5. IoT attack. Personal patient information and high-tech connected medical devices used in invasive and noninvasive procedures can be attacked, as well as auxiliary equipment not directly related to medicine – smart elevators, intelligent heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and infusion pumps.

Healthcare Cybersecurity Challenges

Indeed today, there is no medical institution that is not protecting the personal data of its patients, as they are required by law to do. But, undoubtedly, one of the most important challenges in this situation is the backwardness and complete irrelevance of such protection. Sometimes the so-called cybersecurity of an individual hospital can be compared to a cardboard wall that shields itself from a fire-breathing dragon. 

The reasons for this may be different – from the inability to allocate an adequate budget for protection to the banal connivance – “it won’t affect us.” 

One of the factors of such a challenge can be considered the forced pulling of your medical institution/company to the super modern standards of cybersecurity. Otherwise, no insurance company will want to cooperate with you to avoid their losses from attacks on you. 

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How to Improve Cybersecurity in Healthcare

To make the number and possibilities of cyber attacks less and less possible every year, you need to work systematically on the process of building your security. Cybersecurity solutions include endpoint protection, identity access control, data protection, and network security. These technologies are used to protect sensitive information and critical systems from attack. More specifically, these measures aim to protect against threats from inside and outside the organization. This underscores the need to view cybersecurity as a comprehensive strategy consisting of practices and technologies.

 

Thus, it is first important to implement technology and collect analytics regarding the frequency and nature of cyberattacks so that a preventive level can be triggered later. In parallel, fundamental security should be in place in any business or government institution related to the protection of citizens’ data – from the tax office to the online lingerie store – should not be forgotten. Organizations should adopt modern security measures, including multifactor authentication and privileged access management, to create a threshold level of security.

Another effective measure should be cybersecurity training for all staff from the lowest to the highest levels (hopefully, no one keeps their account password on paper under their laptop anymore) – how to keep themselves safe; which links to click and which not to click; which emails to open and which not to. How often to backup data and make software updates, what passwords should be, what is multifactor authentication, and what to do if a hacker attack still occurs. 

We would like to remind you that about a third of all data leaks are due to human factors – deliberately or not, an employee of a healthcare institution gives out the necessary data to malicious insiders. Of these types of leaks, twice as many are unintentional. In other words, the culprit is trivial human negligence. 

Clinics must control and monitor malicious file activity. To do this, they can implement systems that block unauthorized actions with data, prevent unauthorized email exchanges, prohibit the possibility of copying to external sources, etc. Unfortunately, the institution doesn’t find out about 39% of hacks until a month later; this situation needs to change urgently. 

Finally, endless testing is essential – APIs must be thoroughly tested before they can be trusted in healthcare systems to enable data sharing while maintaining internal security measures.

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Conclusions 

As times have changed, healthcare systems must change with them, which means more than just annual risk assessments and periodic tests. Each year we come to an increasing realization that the modern hospital is not just physicians and nursing staff, but also a complex system designed to automate, optimize, and store databases, integrated with pharma, biotech government, insurance, and financial entities. Breaking into this system would result in hours to weeks of paralysis, which is unacceptable due to the nature of the industry. 

As we advance, organizations and their technology partners must take responsibility for implementing robust, thoughtful technology and procedures, as well as regular testing and validation of systems. These measures are the best way to meet today’s cybersecurity requirements while preparing organizations for future events.

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These frameworks focus on:

• Describing the security situation and communication risks
• Identifying methods for dealing with cyber threats
• A plan for continuous improvement

Obviously, it’s too costly and impractical for the smallest medical center to keep its own cybersecurity staff. It’s better to outsource that kind of responsibility and not have to worry about anything. But to do that, you have to find professionals you can trust. 

The APP Solutions can find you a team of specialists who will protect against cyberattacks, regardless of the complexity of the product you need to secure. 

Credits to Depositphotos

Healthcare is an industry for which rapid implementation of innovations is as necessary as air and, at the same time, one where these innovations most often pass with pain and misery. The entire hefty system has long needed reform, but change has been too slow. The new touchstone is believed to be COVID-19. The scope of the disaster forced many medical institutions to change their work processes to help significantly increased patient flow effectively.

One option for dealing with the epidemic was Agile. This methodology’s flexibility has helped significantly improve and streamline the interaction between doctor and patient, medical center, hospital, and pharmacy.

What is Agile?

The term Agile came to healthcare and other industries from the IT field – from the need to smooth workflows in software development. About a quarter of a century ago, developers used the methodology of Waterfall, where the second part of the team could not start working until the first part was ready. Constant downtime did nothing to improve productivity.

Agile is a kind of team approach to project management. It is designed to increase team productivity by doing the work in small repetitive parts – sprints (usually a two-week period with specific goals and objectives, but iterations can be shorter and longer).

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Next, a list of results is compiled, and the priorities of those outcomes are determined based on customer opinions (or clients, customers – depending on the field). Finally, when each sprint is over, the team and customers evaluate the work and make changes for future sprints.

That is, instead of relying on legacy processes that often led to long delays, Agile emphasizes building the product quickly with short sprints and using end-user feedback to make improvements.

Source

Operational communication between employees, and their vision of the situation at that moment, was placed at the center of the process – this allows a quick response and effective elimination of problems, as opposed to when employees strictly follow template instructions.

Thus, the connection between the customer/executor becomes stronger when the parties don’t go exactly according to the contract but rather, the circumstances.

Another practice of Agile is daily stand-ups. These check-in meetings unite team members to note progress toward sprint goals and identify any blocking or hindering factors. Each participant in such a rally should briefly discuss the work that has already been done, what they are currently doing, and what is preventing them from completing the next work phase.

Regardless of the specific application case, Agile helps companies move from a method where everything is carefully and diligently planned, to a technique that quietly breaks down those plans if necessary, immediately creating new ones and accepting changes.

 

What is Agility Healthcare?

In healthcare, most of today’s management, business planning, and information technology implementation processes aim to reduce the risk for organizations and are often inflexible to quickly adapt to new technological changes, resulting in incremental changes that fail to deliver much-needed transformation.

Digital innovations entrepreneur Martin Högl can confirm this – as he has encountered it in Germany. According to Martin, German healthcare is a highly conservative field.

You can learn more about thi from the CareMinds channel – The APP Solutions podcast. You’ll find other exciting guests there as well.

Agile in healthcare starts with ensuring patient satisfaction. At the same time, adopting Agile methodologies helps companies deploy functional applications quickly, accelerating flexible development processes.

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When to Use Agile in Healthcare?

Given the complexity and limitations, healthcare companies can benefit more from adopting an Agile methodology than other industries. Healthcare organizations are inherently complex adaptive systems. Multiple, medical and non-medical professions work with technology to meet the needs of virtually every patient who walks through their doors within an ever-changing regulatory and reimbursement environment, and with rapidly growing medical knowledge.

Agile does not dictate what medical teams should do. Instead, it offers guidelines to help teams decide how to prioritize work, communicate, and adapt to challenges along the way.

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In healthcare, Agile focuses on patient voices and developing the best solutions to satisfy those voices. To succeed, individual departments within organizations, such as business planning and information technology, must give their employees freedom and flexibility.

An Agile team comprises of clinicians, engineers, project and product managers, data scientists, and testers. Each team creates an iterative cycle to improve outcomes and increase value for patients, healthcare providers, and the system. At intervals, the team meets to review progress and identify bottlenecks and the means to address them. In addition, the team analyzes user experience to respond to feedback and promptly make revisions.

Teams start by discussing the “dream project” as the customer sees it. Then a start and finish line are formed – from what and to what they should come. And the points between these distances may undergo significant changes along the way, because when you bluntly follow a linear process, you risk falling behind your competitors, or simply getting a  different result from what was planned.

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This approach no longer works in the dynamic marketplace that the healthcare industry has recently become. Instead, there needs to be constant communication between everyone involved in the process, even those who have not yet started or have already finished their part. Everyone involved, from developers to testers, from engineers to doctors, from the delivery to the marketing team, must be in close contact at all times to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Agile allows healthcare companies to start adapting and innovating effectively in the field of:

• Patient care
• Clinical workflows and digital health technology
• Organizational strategies
• Clinical Operations
• Pharmacology
• Insurance Medicine

Teams can use agile to redefine the model of care for patients, taking into account their goals and needs. The Agile approach provides the means to explore, integrate, and adapt to new and emerging scientific knowledge and tools, as well as the ability to respond to the changing needs and expectations of patients and families to create a truly adaptive, responsive system of care. Innovative healthcare organizations are using this Agile approach to deliver patient-centered care.

The Benefits of Agile in Healthcare

Such a work structure (if it is done correctly) promotes a number of advantages.

1. Improving the quality of medical services – focusing on the patient’s needs. Now the patient can consult with a doctor without leaving home thanks to telemedicine. Patient monitoring and care are constantly being improved through adequate documentation in medical facilities.
2. The flexibility of communication/reaction – Agile healthcare eliminates unnecessary correspondence and reduces the time for organization and coordination. Different departments that consistently relate to each other can communicate effectively, resulting in simplified mechanisms and innovations that were not even planned for at first.
3. Introduces clear metrics, encouraging the team to self-organize, empowering it – all team members must clearly understand the scope of their responsibilities, which depends on their actions and on whom they depend (so there are no blockers and bottlenecks). KPIs are better tied to some kind of unit expression to make it easier to measure efficiency. Your staff must be trained to organize themselves and make decisions at critical moments.
4. Innovations – when introducing a new process, going through the cycle faster always plays into your hands. For example, developing and testing a new drug will be much more effective with constant checking and correction, rather than blindly following a plan that may end up being very different from reality. Agile teams quickly respond to difficulties and lapses, correcting them promptly.

How To Make A Medical App: The Ultimate Guide

In moving to Agile, teams work directly with users for development and feedback, IT team members continue with initiatives rather than withdrawing from projects after the initial launch, and budgets and strategic plans remain as flexible as possible to accommodate the uncertainty inherent in the process. All of these initiatives have been woven into the fabric of the health systems using Agile methodology.

Teams do not follow prescribed practices or established tools, although they do use some organizational frameworks, such as Scrum, to plan their work. Prototypes, or minimally viable products, are prioritized to ensure early launch and experience; they are often initially deployed in a small area for improvement and data collection. Documentation in workflows, training materials, or code development is created as part of an innately collaborative process, fostering sustainability but with the initial goal of communication.

KEEP A PULSE ON EPIC APP ORCHARD AND HOW IT BENEFITS THE HEALTH SYSTEMS

Teams focus on vision and goals, both short-term and long-term, define key metrics and performance measures and engage in iterative work cycles. For example, teams change direction when data and user reports show that tools or services are not being used as intended initially, or when the user needs change.

THE APP SOLUTIONS – CUSTOM HEALTHCARE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Implementation of Agile Principles: Step-by-Step Guide

How to implement Agile methodology in your medical institution? Here are some tips from McKinsey:

1. Define the goals – meet with the team leading the organization’s transformation into Agile. Then identify the overall strategic objectives of the enterprise and discuss how applying agile will help you achieve them. Plans may include targeted segment/market growth, improved value-based service models, and cost recovery opportunities.

2. Determine which part of your company is easiest to introduce Agile – for example, the development department. Start with changes there, gradually moving to more “conservative” teams.

3. Create a new model – identify the specific aspects that make up the stable backbone of your organization, then overlay dynamic capabilities and a model for agile teams and departments.

4. Introduce Agile gradually – start with general features and patterns and then refine those processes with each new iteration through feedback. Create space to learn and adapt in the field, then scale by moving target areas to a more agile model.

5. Improve – using the standard features of the methodology, use it in a way specific to your company.

Outcomes

Healthcare organizations can accelerate the introduction of new ideas and learning through the following key elements derived from Agile principles: using user-centered design to clarify the problems to be solved, key metrics, and potential solutions; empowering the team to quickly develop a usable prototype using a collaborative, disciplined approach and testing the initial implementation of early work; and adopting new ideas Agile includes testing and validation as an integral part of the product improvement process.

WHAT IS FEMTECH IN HEALTHCARE

In this way, Agile innovation tangibly contributes to revitalization in healthcare by helping:

• Multidirectional development of the industry as a whole

• Shorten the lead time for product MVPs

• Diversify the range of solutions by investing in new features or products

• Improve efficiency and reduce costs through productivity

• Respond quickly to customer/user requests and feedback

• Increase transparency in both clinical and non-clinical areas

• Qualitatively improve staff skills, promote staff autonomy

The APP Solutions builds any project based on Agile methodology because it has proven its effectiveness in communicating with clients and getting feedback from users. You can see the results of our work in the Portfolio. See also our case studies in the field of healthcare.

Today, as the Coronavirus outbreak comes to an end, economic activities are starting to normalize. More and more grocers are taking their first steps toward re-opening and customers start shopping offline with less fear. However, not all shoppers are ready to leave their homes to buy fresh groceries. The main reason is that crowded grocery stores remain potential places to be infected. Besides this, many shoppers have tried shopping for groceries via on-demand apps and liked it. 

Thus, you may wonder, “Should I start an app for ordering groceries after COVID-19? Would an online grocery delivery business bring profit once the pandemic is over?” The answer is Yes. And we have some figures to prove it. 

According to Bain & Company’s research, before the pandemic, only 3%-4% of customers used online grocery apps. During the pandemic, this number surged to 10-15%. As a result, established grocery delivery businesses such as Instacart had to hire additional workers to meet the demand. The Instacart app, in particular, received 300% more orders during the first week of March, compared to February’s figures. 

Besides this, 50% of grocery shoppers who currently use on-demand grocery delivery apps claim to continue using these services after the end of the pandemic. Since consumer demand is higher than ever before, it is time to reconsider your grocery infrastructure and adopt a new way of serving customers with an on-demand grocery delivery app.  

We’ve already written about on-demand service apps and apps like UberEats. Now, let’s concentrate on the development of grocery delivery applications similar to Instacart. Below, we’ll talk about types of grocery delivery apps, how they work, and features to consider for on-demand grocery delivery app development. Moreover, we’ll share tips to ensure safe grocery delivery amid COVID-19. 

A GUIDE ON STARTING A FOOD MEAL KIT DELIVERY SERVICE

How on-demand grocery delivery apps work

Online grocery shopping apps connect buyers with local grocery stores to shop, then send a “personal shopper” to fill and deliver the order. 

Such platforms include three types of users- buyers, shoppers, and admins. Each type of use requires a mobile or web app with different functionality. Let’s look at the mechanisms of a grocery shopping app in more detail. 

• Buyer. As a buyer, you can log in to the app, create your profile, and fill in the delivery address. Now, you add groceries from the product catalog to the shopping cart. Next, you choose the delivery window and pay for your order via a credit card. Once the shoppers gather your order, you receive a notification with the delivery status and can track the delivery process via GPS in real-time. 
• Personal shopper. In the shopper app, you see deliveries ordered as well as lists of products to buy. Then, you start collecting products from the buyer’s list and pay the cashier with the buyer’s money. If the buyer’s list includes out of stock items, you can contact the buyer via the phone or built-in messenger to suggest similar products or return money to the buyer’s account. After you’ve bought all the groceries from the list, you change the order status from “Picking” to “Delivery” and deliver on-demand groceries to the buyer’s address.   
• Admin. From the Admin panel, you can manage both types of users (shoppers and buyers), product categories, new and processing orders. You can also do a money refund to the buyers and help users with any issue which arises. 

With this in mind, let’s look at different business models and choose the one that will best suit you.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CLOUD KITCHENS: PROS, CONS, AND TECH STACK

Business models for a grocery delivery service app

You may wonder, “Why do you think about the business model before the app is developed?” The answer is that your business model will influence the number of features to add to your grocery shopping delivery app, the project’s complexity, and the monetization strategy to apply.

Below, we have gathered the most popular business models for an on-demand grocery delivery app, currently applied. 

HOW TO BUILD A FOOD DELIVERY APP LIKE UBEREATS

Aggregator model

The aggregator is your business model of choice if you don’t own a warehouse with groceries. Instead, you bridge the gap between grocery stores and buyers. Apart from order gathering, you will provide a delivery service from local grocery stores to the user’s doorstep. 

Instacart, an on-demand grocery delivery app leverages this business model. The app has a team of local shoppers who deliver orders from different stores and markets nearby. The app’s users can shop at major grocery chains, such as Mariano’s and Whole Foods. Besides this, Instacart users can shop by recipe, order on-demand delivery, or schedule their deliveries in advance. 

Store-pick model

With this business model, your users do not need to wait in long queues because your shoppers will buy everything from their list. The main difference between store-pick and aggregator business models is that store-pick does not provide delivery services. Thus, your customers can pick-up the order near your store. Peapod, an online grocery supermarket, applies this business model. Peapod has its inventory. Therefore, it works much like a standard grocery store but provides customers with more convenient shopping. 

[Peapod product categories]

Warehouse model

In the case of having your own warehouse or grocery store, you want to set up an online presence, this is your business model of choice. With this business model, your team of shoppers will pack orders from your inventory and deliver them. Walmart, one of the most popular grocery retailers, applies this business model for its Walmart Grocery mobile app. The app provides both an order pick-up option at the nearest shop and free order delivered within several hours. 

Now, let’s see how you can monetize your on-demand grocery delivery services.

How on-demand delivery apps make money 

To make your online grocery delivery app profitable, you can leverage one of the following monetization options:

Paid membership

Paid membership or subscriptions are popular among grocery delivery companies and businesses like Netflix and Youtube. The main benefit is that you can predict your revenue, thus, gradually invest in technologies for your grocery delivery app. The company that uses paid subscriptions is Shipt. To start using this app, you buy an annual subscription for $100 or a monthly subscription which costs $14. Then, you receive free grocery delivery on orders that exceed $35. If the order is less than $35, you pay a $7 flat-rate delivery fee. 

Delivery and service fees

This monetization strategy is valid for warehouse business models. It means you charge users fees for your shopping services and order delivery based on the order total and delivery distance. For example, the online grocery delivery app FreshDirect charges delivery fees depending on the buyer’s location. Delivery fees start from $6 on a minimum order sum that is $30.

Hybrid approach 

You can apply both monetization models for your on-demand grocery delivery business. For example, users who bought your membership pay fewer delivery fees than users who don’t. To get a better picture of such an approach, let’s look at Instacart. 

This grocery delivery app offers two types of membership priced at $99 annually or $9.99 a month. A paid subscription helps you to avoid extra fees that non-membership users are subject to. For example, customers receive free one-hour delivery, which is a paid service for non-membership users. Another example is busy pricing. This type of fee occurs when Instacart shoppers increase demand from customers. 

You can also shop at Instacart without a membership fee. But, you’ll pay higher service and delivery fees. The app calculates prices based on one’s subtotal, the delivery urgency, and the number of orders currently in operation. 

The next step after choosing your business model and monetization strategy is to gather features for your app. 

THE ROLE OF AI AND MACHINE LEARNING IN DIGITAL BIOLOGY

Essential features for on-demand grocery app development

Since the app includes several types of users, you need to carefully select features that would be useful for buyers, shoppers, and admin applications. Below we offer feature lists for each app to meet the needs of each part. 

Features for buyers 

The buyer app should allow users to find necessary items, add them to a shopping cart, check out, and pay for the order via the app. Thus, consider empowering the buyer’s app with the following functionality: 

• Registration via email or social media (Google or Facebook)
• User profile 
• Product catalog
• Product search 
• Product categories
• Items list 
• Completed and ongoing orders 
• Shopping cart
• Payment gateway 
• GPS tracking 
• Notifications on the order status 

[Shipt buyer app screens]

REASONS TO GIVE UP ON UBEREATS AND BUILD A RESTAURANT MOBILE APP

Features for shoppers

In a shopper’s app, the user should see a list of current orders, required products, contact details of the buyers, and delivery address. If you have a reliable group of shoppers, they can register in your grocery delivery app without additional validation. If you don’t, you should give access to shoppers to download your application only after additional validation. For this, shoppers should provide you with their details via a contact form on your website. In this way, you can build a database of your shoppers to avoid fraud from unreliable shoppers who will take the buyer’s money and disappear.     

• Registration via a website 
• User profile
• List of current and fulfilled orders 
• Order description 
• Barcode scanning
• Change order status 
• Built-in messenger or calling feature to contact the buyer via an app
• Built-in map to show directions 

[Instacart shopper app with barcode scanning]

Features for admin panel 

The administration will manage both buyers and shoppers via a web application and new queries from users who want to join your platform as shoppers. You also need an admin panel to manage finances, upcoming and fulfilling orders. It would also be handy to help users via an online chat. Thus, we suggest adding the following features to your admin panel: 

• Administrator login 
• List of users 
• Review user profile 
• Manage users 
• List of shoppers 
• List of buyers 
• Manage category list 
• List of orders
• Payment and transactions 

HOW MUCH DOES AN ON-DEMAND MOBILE APP COST?

Grocery app development cost 

Since the platform consists of three main components (buyer, shopper, and admin apps), we recommend starting such projects small. This means that for the app’s first version you should integrate only essential features. In software development, such a project version is called an MVP, or minimum viable product. With such an approach, you can validate your business idea without spending too much on grocery delivery app development. Besides this, an MVP ensures a faster time to market.

Below, we share an estimate in hours for an MVP we did for one of our previous clients who hired us for grocery delivery app development. The given app’s cost includes only the Android platform. 

FeatureScreen	Design in hours	BackEnd in hours	Android in hours
Architecture		40	24
Buyer application
Splash screen, tutorial	32		16
Login signup, password recovery	4	16	16
User profile and settings	12	24	16
Orders	12	36	16
Search	4	24	16
Category	8	8	8
List of items	12	24	32
Item page	8	40	24
Shopping cart	8	24	24
Payment	2	40	16
Text pages	8	8	8
Email integration	8	40	4
Shopper application
Login signup, pass recovery	4	8	8
Shopper profile and settings	8	16	8
Orders	16	24	16
Fulfillment order	12	24	16
Web-based administrative panel
Administrator login		4
Users list		16
List of buyers		16
List of shoppers		16
Category		24
Orders		32
Payment and transaction		120

When estimating the costs for grocery delivery apps, don’t forget about project management, quality assurance, bug fixing, and technical documentation. Technical documentation is the core of your project that includes technical specifications, project installation, deployment instructions, grocery mobile app development documentation, and even a clickable prototype. We write such documentation during the Discovery phase of the project. This phase may take from one to four months, depending on the project’s complexity. 

Related reading: 

Uber truck service development 

We can build your grocery app in 8 to 10 months, and approximate project costs vary from $60,000 to $80,000. To receive a more detailed estimate, use our project cost calculator. 

Handy strategies for grocery ordering app owners amid COVID-19 

The coronavirus pandemic is almost in the past. However, people are still afraid of being infected and continue to keep social distancing. To help your customers remain calm about their health, whilst also caring about other shoppers, we suggest using the following strategies. 

Provide personal protection measures

The safety of your couriers and customers is your top priority. To keep people safe, you should provide access for all your shoppers to personal protective equipment, including masks, respirators, gloves, and hand sanitizer. Also, workers should wash their hands when required and clean frequently used equipment once an hour.

Adopt contactless deliveries

Zero contact delivery allows your customers to choose where shoppers will leave their orders: near the doorstep, in front of their home, etc. In this way, you will limit any interactions between both parties, while ensuring safer delivery.

Increase partner network

Due to the pandemic, retail sales have gone down to 30% in the U.S., and many offline grocery stores do not have enough resources to take their business online. Thus, to support local grocery businesses, you can join hands with them, which is a win-win situation for both your grocery ordering app and the local grocery stores.

Provide high-quality services

Apart from protecting shoppers and buyers, you should also consider providing excellent delivery services. Such services might include late delivery, working 24/7, a wide range of delivery windows, and fresh groceries in every order. High-quality delivery services will matter, especially after safety will no longer be an issue. Thus, try to do your best to balance the demand and satisfy every customer. In this way, loyal customers will choose to shop at your grocery store delivery app even after COVID-related restrictions have ceased. 

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO DEVELOP A DIET APP FOR IOS?

Success Story: The APP Solutions

Alfred Ibiza Case Study: How We Developed a Food Ordering Platform

Our main goal for the Alfred Ibiza project was to build a platform that would simplify ordering and delivering products on Ibiza island and help party goers to receive their orders on time. We wanted the platform to be equally useful for business owners, couriers, and customers.

We managed to develop the Alfred Ibiza platform within just three months, at a total project cost of $70,000, 50-60% cheaper than the average development cost of a food delivery app.

The platform includes an app for customers, couriers, an admin panel for restaurants with only necessary functions. Besides this, we also developed a marketing landing page to promote the Alfred Ibiza platform.

Check out our portfolio for more.

I like cooking. I don’t cook often, but when I do, I want to make something special. And meal kit food delivery companies are the best choice for people like me. Meal kit services, especially subscription-based, are quite popular. 17% of adults between 25 and 44 currently receive meal kit delivery services in the U.S. 

If you want to see the bigger picture of the growing fresh-food meal kits in the United States, here are some figures. 

The global meal kit delivery services market size was valued at USD 15.21 billion in 2021 and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.4% from 2022 to 2030? according to Market Analysis Report. 

The online segment dominated the market for meal kit delivery services and accounted for the largest revenue share of 63.2% in 2021. The offline platform is expected to register a CAGR of 17.8% in the market for meal kit delivery services from 2022 to 2030.

But wait, why is it so popular?  

The answer is because people want to eat healthy homemade food but have no time to go to grocery stores or supermarkets. For such people, it is more convenient to pay a company that will deliver fresh ingredients and recipes.

Below, you will find a ready-to-market strategy for starting a meal kit business in your neighborhood. By following the steps described below, you can create your own meal-kit business, find unique sales propositions, and even develop a website or mobile app. 

BALANCING THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND WITH AN ON-DEMAND GROCERY DELIVERY APP

What is a meal kit subscription service?

The idea behind a meal kit delivery business is simple yet smart. Such companies deliver pre-packed, and sometimes partially-prepared food ingredients with a book of recipes right to your doorstep. Meal kits already include all the ingredients to cook a dish. You can use ingredients and recipe cards to cook a meal within 30-40 minutes. So, you no longer stress that you forgot to buy milk or sugar, preventing you from cooking. 

Meal kit delivery business: history and numbers

Now, let’s make a quick overview of the meal kit industry, key figures, and issues meal kit business owners face. 

• Origins

The concept of meal kit delivery appeared in Sweden in the late 2000-s. This business model became popular and quickly spread to other Northern European countries. In 2012, meal kit delivery companies from Europe, such as Blue Apron and HelloFresh, entered the U.S. market and became popular among Americans. 

• Perspectives

In 2017, there were over 150 meal businesses in the U.S., and the meal kit business industry was estimated to reach $2.2 billion globally. Experts predict that in 2020, the meal kit business will make up 1.3% of food and beverage sales. 

Such growth of meal kit popularity concerned supermarket owners, who started to lose customers and income. In response, supermarkets began to make their own meal kits and sell them at their physical stores. 

• Main problems

Despite a rapid increase in customers, most meal kit business owners faced a low customer retention rate.

• New customers tried free meal kits from companies and never used this service again. 
• Most customers used the meal kit service for just 5-8 weeks. 
• Around 6-12% of customers continued using their subscription after 3 months. 

Thus, you need to concentrate your marketing activities on retaining your customers. 

Now, let’s find out how the meal kit delivery business makes money. 

STAGES OF LOGISTICS MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT

How meal kit delivery business model works

Most meal kit delivery businesses operate on a subscription basis. This means you pay a weekly, monthly, or annual service fee, and then, receive pre-packed meal kits and recipe cards. For example, let’s look at the HelloFresh business model. 

This most popular meal kit delivery service charges $7.49 in shipping fees. Five recipes per week for two persons will cost you $89.90. 

To attract new customers, the service offers discounts. So, if you visit the HelloFresh website for the first time, you will receive -$22.01 discount, and five recipes per week for two persons will cost you $67.89, while you save -$22.01 on deliveries. 

HelloFresh offers four types of weekly menu:

• Meal and Veggies
• Veggies
• Family and friends
• Low calories menus

The company changes the menu for each meal category every week in order to increase the customer retention rate. As a customer, you will receive new meals each week, thus never get bored eating the same food. 

If you want to skip one week, you can unsubscribe weekly delivery without paying any penalties. 

Now, let’s see what you need to do to start your meal-kit business. 

HOW TO BUILD A FOOD DELIVERY APP LIKE UBEREATS

The APP Solutions Experience: Success Story

Alfred Ibiza is an on-demand delivery mobile app that connects restaurants, stores, couriers, and customers in Ibiza. The app allows customers to order from restaurants, pharmacies, and supermarkets, listed on the platform.

Our main goal for the Alfred Ibiza project was to build a platform that would simplify ordering and delivering products on Ibiza island and help party goers to receive their orders on time. We wanted the platform to be equally useful for business owners, couriers, and customers.

We managed to develop the Alfred Ibiza platform within just three months, at a total project cost of $70,000, 50-60% cheaper than the average development cost of a food delivery app.

The platform includes an app for customers, couriers, an admin panel for restaurants with only necessary functions. Besides this, we also developed a marketing landing page to promote the Alfred Ibiza platform.

You can find more fascinating stories in our portfolio.

WHAT TECH STACK TO CHOOSE FOR YOUR PROJECT

Launching meal kit delivery in 5 steps 

You can launch an ingredient and recipe meal kit service even without significant investment. However, starting a meal kit delivery startup still requires some operations as listed below. 

Step 1. Get Legal Licenses

The first thing to do when launching a meal kit delivery service is to get all the licenses and prepare other legal documents from your government. 

Below, we list essential legal documents for U.S. citizens. 

• Business License

To open and operate your business in the United States, you need a business license that legitimizes your company as a legal entity. Each state has its regulations for issuing business licensing and related fees that could be a flat rate or a percentage of your total sales. 

To get a business license, search for your state + business license on Google search. Then, follow the application procedure on your state government’s site. 

You’ll need to pay approximately $50 for the registration and $25 to $7,000 for the license. The total cost will depend on your business type and expected profit. 

Don’t forget to renew your license each year and pay for it on time. 

• Employer Identification Number (EIN)

EIN, a tax ID number, is the document you need to get from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You can apply for an EIN through the IRS website. You can also apply by fax, phone, and even mail.  But don’t expect immediate results. The IRS only issues one EIN per day. The good thing about EIN is that it is free. 

• Food Service License

You can receive a food service license from the city or county health department. The health department will inspect the place where you are going to make meal kits to check out whether your business complies with all restaurant food safety regulations or not.

To receive this license, you need to apply to your local health department via the internet or in-person. During the application process, you need to give the name of your food service, an address for a permanent kitchen facility, and the owner’s personal information. 

A food service license cost varies from $100 to $1000 depending on your location and number of employees. 

Now, it is time to analyze your competitors. 

Step 2. Analyze competitors

By knowing your competitors, you can make a bullet-proof business plan. 

Let’s analyze the biggest food kit services in the U.S., such as HelloFresh and Blue Apron, with half of the whole U.S. meal kit market share. 

HelloFresh 

HelloFresh was launched in 2011 in Berlin. Now the company has 850,000 customers and operates in nine countries across three continents. Its 2,000 employees work to deliver 9 million meals a month. 

The reason for such success lies in HelloFresh’s business model. The company delivers groceries right from farmers, cutting out all the middlemen, such as supermarkets and grocery stores. 

In such a way, using HelloFresh meal kit delivery is 75% cheaper than shopping for ingredients at grocery stores.

In 2017, HelloFresh, together with other meal kit services, was criticized for using wasteful packaging and viewed as environmentally unfriendly. 

Since 2018, the company has tried to reduce food waste by keeping and preparing ingredients in the appropriate proportions. 

Blue Apron Inc. 

Blue Apron has operated in the United States since 2012. The most successful year of Blue Apron was in 2017 when the company received $881,19 million. But, with time, the company’s income has decreased. 

In 2019, the company generated $455 million global net revenue, down from $668 million in 2018. Currently, the company receives 2,482 orders per month, with a $258 average revenue per customer. 

In 2017, the company also received extensive criticism for wasteful packaging. In response, the company has tried to limit environmental impact by using recyclable ice packs and packaging. Besides this, BlueApron has a portion control that calculates the portion of ingredients to reduce food waste. 

Step 3. Build your brand

Since you are serious about opening a recipe kit delivery service, you need a unique sales proposition (UCP). In plain words, you need the answer to the question, how you differentiate from other meal kit companies.

Below we gathered several ideas on how you can differentiate from your competitors. 

• Eco-friendly meals 

Since your competitors were criticized for being not eco-friendly, you can turn this into your advantage. Moreover, the continually growing number of eco-friendly and environmentally aware people only proves that this is a win-win idea. 

You can implement this UCP by selling veggies from local eco-farms, packaging meal kits in eco-packages from recycled cardboard, and delivering your meal kits in an eco-friendly way – exclusively on bicycles. 

• Recipes for any occasion 

Your menu can include meal kits for special occasions, such as birthday parties or outdoor activities with friends. 

In a B’ day meal kit, you can include only recipes that take about one hour to cook. This is a great idea because most of us believe that you need to spend at least 3 hours to cook something for your guests. 

As for outdoor menus, you can deliver meal kits to individual’s homes and nearby locations where people make barbecues. Thus, your meal kits can include mushrooms, sausages, corn, cabbages and steaks for the best outdoor party. 

• Special diet meal kits 

You can turn preferences in food and cultural differences into your unique sales proposition. For example, your menu could include gluten-free ingredients. Another option is to sell kosher, vegetarian, or halal meal kits to locals. 

FUNCTIONAL VS NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS: MAIN DIFFERENCES & EXAMPLES

Step 4. Gather meal kit recipes and find suppliers

Once you know the core mission of your meal kit business, it is time to gather recipes that will reflect it. 

You can rate recipes with stars by the level of their complexity. For example, meals that are easy to cook will have one star, and the most complex – five stars. Don’t forget that you need to gather as many recipes as possible, so you can change the weekly menu and always surprise your customers. 

During this step, you also need to think about where you will get ingredients. Thus, you need to find grocery and meat suppliers among local farmers and vegetable warehouses.

Step 5. Develop a meal kit app or a website

For selling and delivering meal kits, you will need a mobile app or website that will charge your customers’ subscription fees and send you their details. We already have an article on how to hire the development team, so check it out. 

Once you select the development team, ask them for a quote. If you will develop your project with us, the software development process will look like this:

Pre-sale

You fill in the contact form, and our business development managers get in touch with you to clarify your requirements for the project and send NDA (a non-disclosure agreement). Next, a business analyst analyzes your requirements, breaks your project down into modules and features, and sends it to a developer for an approximate estimation of your project. 

After you agree on this estimate, we will start the Discovery phase. 

Discovery phase

We need around 1-3 weeks to create a technical specification for your project. We also suggest the app’s or website’s architecture, mockups, and even clickable prototypes of the main project screens during the Inspection phase. 

Project initiation

Once you have a project specification at hand, we will develop more detailed project development costs. After we agree on the project costs and essential features to implement first, we will send you an agreement to sign. Then, we will arrange a small video call to introduce you to our team. The typical team composition includes developers, project managers, quality assurance specialists, and designers. 

Project development 

Next, the team will break-down all project features into iterations to schedule the project development process. One iteration length is 1-2 weeks. 

Once the new functionality is implemented, QA specialists test it, find bugs, report to the project managers so that the developer can fix the bug. 

Then, the developer deploys the code to the project’s prominence, with the rest of the projects developed parts. 

During the project development process, we send you reports every two weeks. In such reports, we explain how much work was done, and what features the team is going to implement next. 

After the team implements all features, we will run the final demonstration session for you, and give all accesses to your project so that you can manage it without external help. 

HOW TO MAKE AN APP: LIFE CYCLE OF MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

Launching an online meal kit delivery business: the final word 

The meal kit delivery services industry is a very prospective niche for investment since it is expected to grow in the next few years. At the same time, to start a food and recipe delivery business, you do not need significant investment. 

There are only two main objects of expenditure – receiving necessary licenses and web or mobile app development. At the same time, you can create unique sales propositions, write a business plan, gather recipes, and find suppliers without hiring extra specialists. 

What our clients say 

We no longer associate the word “marketplace” with grocery shopping early Sunday morning. Now, thanks to Amazon, eBay, and Etsy, marketplaces are strongly associated with digital shopping websites, where you can buy any product you can imagine. But why are such trading websites so popular?  

Two-sided platforms offer small businesses an effective selling channel. In such a way, marketplaces eliminate the need to spend money and time maintaining their own online shopping store. 

For such a service, site owners change commissions and earn money without actually selling anything. 

If you can’t wait to launch your own marketplace business, you are in the right place. This article is about developing a marketplace start-up in six steps and turning it into a profitable business. 

But first, let’s define the ultimate meaning of a digital trading platform. 

What is the digital marketplace?

A marketplace is a platform that gathers retailers who offer their products and numerous buyers who buy from them. In a nutshell, the website performs as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. Such a website could be in the form of a website or mobile app, targeted to different users. 

Types of marketplaces

You need to select the type of marketplace and define end-users. There are B2C (business to clients), B2B (business to business), and P2P (peer to peer) marketplaces. 

Let’s look at each marketplace type in more detail.  

• Business to clients

B2C marketplaces serve small businesses and individuals. While some marketplaces, like Amazon, offer products, others, such as TaskRabbit, offer services.

• Business to business

There are also B2B marketplaces, which means sellers and buyers sell and buy wholesale products. The list of B2B marketplaces includes websites like RapNet that sell diamonds and Alibaba B2B.  

• Peer to peer

Don’t forget about P2P marketplaces, where both buyers and sellers are individuals. One example is Airbnb that offers apartments and houses for rent. 

However, the market of trading platforms is even more granular, and each project varies with the products and services it includes. 

There is a marketplace for selling used products such as Decluttr and Ubup. 

There are also job marketplaces, like UpWork and Fever, where you can find freelancers for various tasks. 

Let’s concentrate on developing true online marketplaces where vendors can sell physical products to consumers.

But how does such a marketplace differ from a regular e-commerce website? 

Online marketplace vs. online store

You need to be aware of six differences between the marketplace and an e-commerce website:  

• The number of sellers. As an online store owner, you perform as a single seller at your e-commerce website. As a marketplace business owner, you do not need to sell anything to receive profit, since many sellers offer their goods, through whom you can earn money. 
• Product variety. Typical online stores offer up to 10 product categories, but marketplaces include products from different industries. For example, Amazon, the biggest online marketplace, counts 36 categories and over 12 million products, including books, media, wine, etc. 
• Features. The online store consists of two parts – an admin panel to manage users and products, and a customer profile to add products to a shopping cart and complete the checkout. The two-sided platform includes features for three types of users. They are an admin panel to manage users; a seller profile to list products, manage orders, receive payments; and a buyer profile, which has the same functionality as one in an online store. 
• Traffic load. Even popular online stores hardly count over 10,000 users per month. Online marketplaces should be powerful enough to handle substantial traffic loads. For example, Amazon counts 5.7 billion shoppers each month. 
• Tech stack. To build an e-commerce website, you can leverage e-commerce platforms. But to build a vast marketplace, those platform capacities wouldn’t be enough. Thus, consider using such popular marketplace builders as Zielcommerce, 3Dcart, Arcadier, or Yo!Kart. If their features are still not enough for you, you can hire developers to build a project from the ground up. 
• Monetization. When you are managing an online store, direct purchases are your primary source of income. However, owning a marketplace opens new streams of earning money, including service commissions, promotions, etc. We will look at them later. 

In a nutshell, an online marketplace is like an e-commerce website on steroids. Such platforms include more products provided by multiple sellers and substantial monthly traffic loads. 

Now, let’s see how to develop a marketplace start-up from scratch or using existing platforms? 

Building an online marketplace website: SaaS vs. from scratch 

When building a marketplace you can leverage an existing e-commerce platform with pre-build features. Such platforms are known as SaaS solutions, which means the software as a service. You also can hire a development team to build an online marketplace from scratch. 

In both cases, you end up with your own two-sided platform. But, there are essential differences between these approaches to pay attention to. Before deciding in favor of a platform-built or custom-built marketplace, consider the following: 

• Customization

By customization, we mean adding features and changing the design to meet your business needs. In the case where you need a UI/UX design tailored to your brand and a bunch of sophisticated features, consider building a project from scratch. If, however, you want to create a simple project with essential features and template design, you can use a pre-coded platform. 

• Traffic load

A high traffic load negatively impacts marketplaces that are not ready for it. Thus, they can crash and cause inconvenience to users. If you expect your platform to handle around 10 000 users per month, a platform-built site will perfectly meet your needs. 

However, if you are going to develop a marketplace like Amazon with a high traffic load, you need custom marketplace development. In this way, developers will create the infrastructure on cloud servers that automatically expand operating capacities. So, the project architecture can work without downtimes, even with 1,000,000 website visitors per second. 

• Timeframes 

In case you expect to launch your platform in 1 or 2 months, rely on existing marketplace builders. Thus, you need to make very few changes to the SaaS marketplace to launch it within a short period. 

When timeframes are not your main priority, build such a project from scratch. 

• Addons 

Take at least some time to research the additional features you can add after launching your trading platform, since, as your business grows, you will need something more than just a shopping cart and checkout for buyers, and a product catalog for sellers. 

Investigate whether your platform’s store has add-ons for email marketing and advanced product recommendation tools, as you will need them sooner as you think. 

In the case of needing more add-ons,  developing a custom online marketplace will work the best. 

Once you find room for new features, your development team can code and add it to your custom project within several weeks. Thus, you receive total control over marketplace website functionality. 

• Tech complexity

If you have at least a basic knowledge of coding, know how to buy a domain name, and set up a server, choose SaaS. 

If you have to google what  “server” means, then hiring web developers is your option of choice. Even if you are not going to create a unique marketplace and the primary SaaS platform meets your needs, we suggest you team up with a development team to set up your marketplace. 

Now let’s see what it takes to launch such a project. 

How to start an online marketplace in 6 steps  

Creating a marketplace includes numerous activities. You need to define your business model, make a feature list, and hire developers. Let’s find out what it takes to develop such a project. 

Step 1. Choose your revenue models 

The first thing you need to do is decide on how the website will bring you money. You need to select your monetization plan among the following options: 

Commission model. You charge a commission on any purchase made via your website, added to the product cost. Thus, when a buyer purchases a product, one also pays your commission during the checkout. Marketplaces that successfully use commission models are AirBnB, eBay, and Amazon. 

Listing model. You offer retailers to place a limited amount of products for free. If they want to extend their product catalog with more goods, they must pay you for such an option. For example, eBay allows vendors to place 50 products for free each month. In order to add more products, the platform charges retailers 5 and 30 cents depending on the product category. 

Paid promotions. Vendors pay you a promotion fee so their products appear first in the search results. Promotion fees work great for marketplaces with numerous products within the same category and are currently applied by Etsy, a platform with DIY products.  

If you don’t know which strategy will work for your marketplace, ask your development team for additional business analysis. 

Step 2. Gather core features 

Below we have listed must-have features for all types of users – buyers, sellers, and administrators. 

Features for a customer app 

The customer application should include all the functionality to find products, add them to the shopping cart, and checkout. Thus, the main features of a customer’s app are: 

• Buyer profile with personal information, shipping address, and bank details
• Search bar to find products 
• Shopping cart to gather products one wants to buy 
• The payment gateway for buying products during the checkout 
• Review and rating to share one’s experience with a particular vendor or  product 
• Push notifications to track the order and delivery status 

Features for a seller app 

To list and sell products, the seller app requires the following functionality: 

• Seller profile with detailed information about the seller, one’s location, and bank account details
• Product catalog to add, edit, and delete products
• Product page to upload product images, set the price, and add product description 
• Order page to manage upcoming orders 

Features for an admin panel 

The admin panel is aimed at managing communication between both sellers and buyers. Thus, your admin panel should include the following functionality 

• Dashboard with information about new and completed orders 
• User management to add, edit, and delete users 
• Product management for changing the information on the product page 
• User analytics to show the number of buyers and sellers, buyer purchase patterns, etc. 

Now that you have a business plan and feature list at hand, it is time to hire your development team.  

Step 3. Hire a development team 

We advise partnering with a development team for both custom marketplace development and setting up a SaaS website. If you are looking for tips on finding a reliable tech partner, check out the article about hiring web developers with handy tips. 

Once you select developers with relevant cases in their portfolio, you need to contact them and explain what type of project you want to receive. You can also send your idea about monetization models and features you want for your project. 

At the APP Solutions, we can estimate your project based on your feature list and monetization models. 

Our customers receive a more detailed project estimation at the end of the Discovery phase. It is a 2-3 week period during which we conduct an in-depth technical and business analysis of your project, create project documentation, suggest architecture components and technologies that apply. 

After we send you the final project estimate, we arrange a kickoff meeting with you and our development team members. During the meeting, we will define the high-level project goals and agree on the communication plan. 

We schedule demonstration sessions to show you our progress in the communication plan. Next, we start creating designs for your website or searching for the most suitable design template. 

Step 4. Create UI/UX design 

The design defines how your marketplace is convenient for users. Besides this, the design should also reflect your unique brand and be recognizable. Thus, even template designs from SaaS platforms require personalization, such as changes in color scheme, adding your logo, and others. 

If you decide to develop a project from the ground up, designers create the look of your website that meets your business needs within the following steps:

• Wireframes. We create the layout of all elements, define how product categories will look, and design elements for the home page. 
• Clickable prototype. We gather all the elements and emulate the customer journey and several project scenarios in a clickable prototype. To create such prototypes we leverage Figma, a professional online tool for mobile and web designers. 

[The APP Solutions clickable prototype]

• Polishing the result. Apart from critical scenarios, we also create other screens for your platform, such as the vendor cabinet, checkout, admin panel, and its features. 

Once the design is ready, we start the coding process. 

Step 5. Coding the MVP 

The MVP means the minimum viable product, the first project version. It includes core features enough for sellers and buyers to use the platform and rate it. 

We define the functionality for the project’s MVP during the discovery place. In such a way we reduce the time for the development and the project costs. 

Thus, you can receive a ready-made website within 2-3 months, whereas the development of such a project with bells and whistles requiring 6-8 months can cost you a fortune. 

• Our solution architect defines the core project elements and considers technologies for the project infrastructure. 
• Developers set up the architecture on the cloud or on-premise servers. 
• Developers begin to add features from the technical documentation. 
• Once the new functionality is built, quality assurance managers test the code and fix errors. 

• Developers deploy the tested functionality to the life environment for the rest of the project.
• Developers integrate third-party services via API, such as payment gateways and shipping tracking tools. 

After we ensure the project works without bugs, we run a demo session with you. We show you how the seller,  buyer, and admin panels work during such a demo. If needed, we can also create instructions on how to manage your project.  

Step 6. Launch the marketplace 

We make your two-sided platform available for users and give you total access to the project’s code, infrastructure, and third-party services. 

We also provide technical support during the first month after the project launch to fix any errors. If you want us to monitor the site performance for a longer time, we can sign a support agreement for two or six months and even a year. 

Now you have a marketplace with all the necessary features and a development team to maintain it. So, the last thing remaining is to attract buyers and sellers. 

As you can see,  marketplace development requires both time and resources. But only partnering with a reliable development team ensures a decent result. Thus, finding good web developers with relevant tech expertise is the only way to successfully launch a project. We can provide you with full-cycle web development services – from project documentation to technical support after the marketplace launch. Our team is here to discuss your business idea and suggest top-notch solutions to bring it to life. 

What our clients say 

Related readings: 

Calmerry Telemedicine Platform Case Study 

Nioxin Consultation App for Coty-owned Brand Case Study 

Just when the world thought app innovation had reached its peak, and the app market is at a saturation point – the Clubhouse app happened. The arrival & success of the Clubhouse app is conclusive evidence that technology keeps evolving. 

This article offers insights into the podcasting industry, including the technologies required to develop a social media app like the Clubhouse chat app. 

What is the Clubhouse App?

The Clubhouse app is an audio-based social media program; the first of its kind. It hosts talkback radio, house-party, & conference call live podcasts. Just as Instagram took the spotlight in 2010, and TikTok in 2020, so will the Clubhouse app in 2021. Within a few weeks of its release, the application amassed 600,000 users. And now, at the time of writing this article, it has leaped to over 2 million people. 

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The Clubhouse app is getting traction at an unprecedented rate. While its popularity is growing, so is its valuation. Talking about valuation, a few weeks after the app was launched, it was valued at $100 million. Over time, this figure has soared to a staggering one-billion dollars!

Clubhouse Isn’t the New TikTok. It’s The New LinkedIn. Although Clubhouse is a social media, it does not operate like most of them. It tries to balance business and pleasure, more like LinkedIn. The Clubhouse community also comprises individuals who normally would talk business on Twitter. 

To make this audio-based chat app worthwhile for important activities, it comes with a few very important features, e.g. the Clubhouse rooms. Members can create profiles and link them with their Twitter & Facebook profiles.

Clubhouse may be better than LinkedIn because of its ability to strike a perfect balance between professional and personal activities in the rooms. This is an important attribute.

How Does the Clubhouse App Work?

The Clubhouse social network app is only available to iPhone users. Joining the platform is only upon invitation. To open a Clubhouse account one has to pay subscriptions. One of the rights reserved by the Clubhouse administration is the ability to change the prices at any time.

To get started with the Clubhouse social media app, you open the app and go to your profile to see a list of rooms. Clubhouse allows you to join a room of your choice, or create one.

Every Clubhouse room has a distinct topic hosted by either a pioneer or an expert in the field. It’s not uncommon to find journalists, celebrities, and venture capitalists hosting Clubhouse rooms.

If you wish to contribute something to the Clubhouse rooms, you have to “raise your hand”. The host of that particular Clubhouse room will decide whether to invite you to the conversation or not.

Clubhouse app: what is it and how do you get an invite to the exclusive audio app?

The Clubhouse is very exclusive. For one to become a member they should receive an invite to join the app. The invite will only come from a friend who already has a Clubhouse account. After the invite, and when you have become a member, you can also invite 2 exclusive friends. Members can invite their friends to download the Clubhouse app via their phone numbers.

Some of the world’s top thought leaders who have already made appearances on the Clubhouse voice chat app are Elon Musk (Tesla CEO), and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder). Their presence caused quite a stir. The Clubhouse app may still be smaller than its social media predecessors. But, its growth curve confirms it’s the next big thing, it will conquer social media.

How do you set up a clubhouse Club?

In order to start a club in Clubhouse, the first thing is to create an account to become a member. Subsequently, go to your profile and select the gear icon; this will get you to settings. On the settings page, go straight to the FAQ section and click “How can I start a club”. A detailed description of how you can start to open a club is given.

To be eligible for starting a club, a Clubhouse member should have hosted a room before. In order to host a room, you open the app and start a room. A room is started by inviting friends to come and join or enabling any persons who want to join to get in. After starting at least 3 rooms, you can then proceed.

What do clubhouses do?

The Club’s functionality enables members to create and join private groups. These private groups will have your specific preferences. Three types of users can be found in private groups/ Clubs and these are the founder, members, and followers. Clubs will receive notifications based on their interests.

Are there alternatives to the Clubhouse App?

If you would like to develop a podcasting application such as the Clubhouse voice app this year, you are on the right track. Android users have forever searched for a similar app on the play store, but to no avail. It’s high time someone started some competition.

There is enough revenue to go around for prospective investors in the podcast industry. Analysts anticipate that the global podcasting market will grow at an annual rate of 27.5% from the year 2019 to the year 2027. 

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What is a podcast, and how does it work?

Simply put, a podcast is an audio broadcast that is made in episodic series. People listen to podcasts while relaxing after a hectic day, driving long distances, or doing some exercises. Any activities that people do while listening to something else fit the category. Podcasts are gaining popularity compared to media such as blogs and vlogs. The reason is that people find them both entertaining and less distracting. 

How to play podcasts

There are two ways through which people can listen to podcasts:

• Downloading/ Streaming online

People can go online using their devices to stream or download content from the RSS feed. The podcast may be played on the podcast website or in a feed reader. 

• Using a player

The alternative to streaming from the RSS feed is to download and use a media player application. Examples may include Pocket Casts or Apple Podcasts. People who subscribe to the RSS will access their podcasts through the player. 

The player will simply synchronize data from the RSS feed. This enables the user to get current episodes and additional details such as file name, notes, and the link to the file (in MP3 format).

What’s RSS?

RSS is an abbreviation that stands for Really Simple Syndication, which is a computer-readable (XML) format used for sharing web content. The RSS enables users & apps to receive updates to a specific web platform. 

If the user prefers to use an aggregator (an application that collects, & displays content or links from various websites), the RSS feed reader will first convert the data into a readable format.

The RSS feed collects information which includes headlines, notifications of updates, summary notes, and links that direct the user straight to the website. Updates are done in real-time and the latest files published by websites will go on top in the RSS feed.

Reasons podcasting apps are the new content platforms

In the US alone, a growth from 51% to 55% of podcast listeners was observed between 2019 and 2020. 

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Podcast listenership is surging across the globe with no signs of plateauing. The factor contributing to this growth is the emergence of podcasting apps such as the Clubhouse app. The app Clubhouse, and other social media platforms, are instrumental in boosting podcast listenership. Applications like the Clubhouse audio chat app are starting to take center stage everywhere because of the points that follow.

Easy consumption. Podcast apps such as Clubhouse allow consumers to easily find podcasts presenting on topics they like. People today have busier schedules and appreciate something that apps like the Clubhouse allow them to stay entertained and updated while also working.  Clubhouse requires less attention compared to vlogs, blogs, & TV. Other than working, people can also listen to the Clubhouse voice chat app while driving, exercising, or relaxing at home.

Accessibility and diversity. Gone are the days when people relied solely on the radio to listen to programs. The disadvantage with Radio-cast was that listeners needed to be at a certain place to listen to a show. Moreover, only a limited number of topics could be aired. With smartphones, people are not place and time-bound. One can open apps such as the Clubhouse anywhere and at any time. And, the app Clubhouse provides countless topics on-the-go. 

Intimate connection with listeners. With the advent of the Clubhouse social platform, podcasters can now have intimate time with their audience. The platform allows listeners to easily identify their favorite hosts and topics.  When an audience is listening to these hosts presenting on their favorite topics/ show, they connect and hear them talk directly to their hearts and minds.

Social Media Marketing. Many podcasters are using the podcasting platform to promote their other businesses through podcasts. According to a blog by Midroll, about 61% of listeners have admitted to buying a product after a podcast advert.

Podcasts consumer types

Podcast producers can be grouped into 5 major segments:

Large Indies 

This group makes a larger population of Clubhouse podcasters. It comprises independent podcasters who are either influencers or celebrities. Rumor has it that Clubhouse is grooming over 40 influencers (moderators) to succeed on the Clubhouse app. These individuals are getting tools and other help from the Clubhouse executives. Concerning monetization, Clubhouse is currently ad-free. But, Large Indies on other podcasting apps get money through adverts, donations, or commodities. Examples of independent podcasters out there are Sam Harris, Joe Rogan, etc. 

Media Companies

These are big companies that offer media content through several formats. Examples would be newspapers, magazines, and radio-casts. On Clubhouse, several media companies, e.g. Barstool Sports, can be found. Media companies get their money from adverts mostly. Other means involve circulation revenue. Circulation can be described as the number of subscribers. 

Hobbyist Creator

 In the podcast industry, hobbyist creators are persons who produce content, usually without getting revenue. These individuals may not be influencers or celebs. The clubhouse also welcomes hobbyist creators.

Non-Media Businesses & Non-Profits

This group is not driven by revenue but focused on building a brand. Each show produced is for promoting the brand.

Podcast-Only Production Companies

These are organizations that produce their content but rely on platforms such as Spotify to reach their audience. They get revenues through adverts, or broadcast licensing to local and international TV networks, etc. Furthermore, they can produce content for a film.

The Clubhouse app is unique in that it accommodates the producers mentioned in each group. And, the clubhouse can make it possible for these podcasters to reach their audiences effortlessly.

Market predictions of the Global Podcast Hosting Software

The podcast market is expected to grow tremendously between 2019 and 2026. Already, over 1,750,000 podcast shows & not less than 43 million episodes have been produced. These numbers will only grow throughout 2026.

For you to catch a glimpse of the growth rate, there were only 550,000 podcasts at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in 2018, but in 2021 the estimation is close to two million.

The podcast market key players

The major players in the podcast at the moment are Apple, Pandora, iHeartMedia, Amazon.com, Spotify AB & Sound Cloud Limited. 

These players own the following shares of the podcast market:

• Apple Podcasts (32%)
• Spotify (26%)
• Google Podcasts (3%)
• CastBox (2%)
• Embedded Player (2%)
• Podcast addict (2%)

Key formats 

The podcast market is categorized into the following: panels, interviews, conversational, solo, and repurposed content.

Podcasters on the Clubhouse app uses all of them. The two popular formats that you should know are:

• Interview. This format is currently the highest in terms of revenue. Analysts revealed that in 2019 alone, it accounted for a share of over 30%. Another name for this format is “facilitator”, used when a variety of guests are being hosted by the same individual. What’s believed to make this format attractive is the freshness and originality of each cast. Every guest will bring with them new content, thoughts, and experiences, etc. The audience likes to be continually inspired, engaged, and stimulated by various opinions on different subjects of life.
• Solo. This format is slightly below the Interview format in terms of its revenue share. Concerning how it works, it involves a single person who is a professional in a certain area. This individual may record content giving their views and experiences in their area of specialty. Most independent podcasters entering the podcast industry are picking this format since it’s easy to start. The only requirements are free editing software & a microphone. The Solo format is expected to grow up to 2026.

Key perspectives 

The year 2021 has seen a lot of services implementing podcasts. And, startups in the industry are getting funded & growing and, or, acquired by larger organizations. Below are examples of some of the things you should know.

Spotify

Starting this year, Spotify confirmed that it will allow podcasters to use its platform through paid subscriptions. People can already start signing up. However, before this begins to work, Spotify will test new functionality in its podcast creation tool. Part of this new functionality will enable existing and prospective podcasters (in the US) to publish paid content to their fans. The first to enjoy this functionality, however, will be existing customers.

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Podchaser

This is a startup that raised over USD 4 million in the creation of what they call the ‘IMDB for podcasts’. Podchaser works the same way as the Internet Movie Database developed by Amazon. Users are given the ability to spot new podcasts as they come. They can review and rate them before adding them to their lists. The CEO also spilled that content of over 8.5 million podcasts which had already been produced, awaiting the launch of the startup.

Acast

Acast, an advertising company for podcasts, bought Radio Public, a company that joined PRX a few years ago. Radio Public started with a podcasting mobile application. But, with time, its leadership shifted focus to providing products and services for podcasters. Examples of the products and services provided include an embeddable web player, pod sites, etc. Today, while part of Acast’s business is to provide these services to podcasters, the other part is still involved in the podcasting mobile app.

Tech Stack for a Podcast App Development 

Entities that need to venture into the podcast industry can do so with The App solutions. If they choose to develop a mobile-only app, The App solutions recommend that they know the SDKs (Software Development Kits) and technologies for their project tech stack. If the client may need help, the CTO, Igor Kopaniev advises the following solutions:

Agora.io

Agora.io enables developers to add HD voice & video communication to applications via a dynamic SDK. Since the tech used by Agora.io can manage billions of minutes of real-time communication annually, developers can support over two thousand users in one call. Regarding implementation, Agora.io is easy, inexpensive, and seamless. While all this is great, clients and developers should also consider data security. Agora.io was formed by a Chinese company, thus, has reliability issues.

Instead of Agora.io, here are some alternatives you need to know:

Live Streaming On AWS

The abbreviation AWS stands for Amazon Web Services. AWS offers 2 Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming solutions for live videos. These two solutions are AWS Elemental MediaPackage and AWS Elemental MediaLive. 

The above solutions offer viewers smooth live streaming of content. The MedialLive channel comes with dual outputs and inputs, plus some for the MediaPackage. When Live Streaming on AWS, the MediaLive, and the MediaPackage are both configured to encrypt & pack your content via an adaptive bitrate streaming on screens through HTTP Live Streaming.

Storage. The AWS Elemental MediaStore is augmented to store media. It provides great performance at low latency, the very thing needed for quality live video streaming.

Latency. To effectively minimize latency, the MediaStore works with the Amazon CloudFront. The Amazon CloudFront connects at the MediaStore’s endpoints to deliver content at high speeds and low latency. Also, an Amazon CloudWatch will work as a dashboard that monitors every request made to the MediaStore. It reveals the overall performance of the workflow.

Security. Live Streaming On AWS is reliable concerning security. CloudFront provides sophisticated security that includes full HTTPS support and encryption at the field level. CloudFront also comes with an AWS Web App Firewall, Shield, & Route 53 to prevent many forms of attacks, including DDoS attacks.

Jitsi

Libjitsi is a sophisticated Java media library that allows secure communication of media. Apps can securely stream, capture, playback, encrypt, decode video and audio flows. Additionally, it allows for advanced functionalities, e.g. audio mixing, management of multiple streams, and the attendance of video & audio conferences to be possible.

Libjitsi was initially a part of Jitsi but it was tweaked to allow other projects to utilize it. The distribution of Libjitsi will follow the Apache license terms. 

On the other hand, Jitsi is a collection of Open Source projects that offer advanced video conferencing as well as Jitsi:

• Videobridge is a server that is created to route videos between conference participants. This server also works with WebRTC, which is a framework that allows Real-Time Communications in the browser.
• Meet is a JavaScript app that works with the Video bridge server to give top-quality, expandable video conferences. It’s also compatible with Web Real-Time Communication.
• Gate-way to SIP is an app (server-side) that enables SIP users to become part of Meet conferences.
• Conference Focus is a focus item (server-side) that is utilized in Meet conferences. It handles sessions amongst participants & the video bridge.
• Jibri is a recording/ streaming tool used in Meet conferences.

Storage. Any available recordings are stored on the company’s servers waiting to be uploaded to a location that you pick (Dropbox). If no action takes place within 24 hours, the recordings are permanently deleted.

Security. Someone can activate end-to-end encryption when using Meet on a Web browser that allows streams that are insertable. To activate the end-to-end encryption, find the menu, open it and click on the tab that reads “end-to-end encryption” and click on it. All people who attend the conference should fill in a similar phrase or password that you use.

Ways through which Jitsi meetings operate:

Peer-to-peer (P2P). Users can use the Peer-to-peer mode to conduct one on one meetings. With the P2P mode,  communication is secured through DTLS-SRTP encryption.

Jitsi Video bridge. This is used when the meetings involve multiple participants. In this scenario, encryption of communications (both video and audio) still uses DTLS-SRTP. But, the outer layer of the encryption is eliminated allowing the Jitsi packets to cross over the Video bridge. The packets only stay in memory when being routed to other people in the meeting. They are not stored persistently. In the event where even the packets are e2ee, the outer encryption layer will not be removed.

Akamai

Content producers can use Akamai Adaptive Media Player for simplified player settings & to ensure that their audience has access to top-quality online media playback. This Adaptive Media Player (AMP) does not only provide optimized bitrate playback algorithms but also gives users extra online media services.

Monetization. Producers can monetize their activities through ads with Freewheel/ Auditude, mid-rolls, VAST, companions, pre-rolls, or overlays.

Latency. Akamai only allows a 10-second e2e latency. This is enough to give online audiences a real TV experience while streaming. Akamai uses liveOrigin™ to manage low-latency video fragments while streaming HTTP-based media.

Security. To ensure that content is securely transported, e2e, Akamai allows users to get content via a Transport Layer Security (TLS). Users can also prevent unauthorized link sharing through Token Authentication. 

Other security features:

• Akamai supports platforms that do not use cookies for tracking
• It provides an additional protection layer (Access Revocation) which allows unauthorized video streaming sessions to be revoked
• Uses AES-128 encryption to protect HLS media against unsanctioned viewing

We recommend you use cloud-based services for your application’s back-end. Examples include AWS and Google Cloud. To learn the differences between these platforms, click here.

Related reading: 

Video Streaming App Proof of Concept

Conclusion 

For investors or media companies that have been looking for fresh and profitable ideas, the podcast industry is the way to go. The success of the Clubhouse is proof that it is a viable business. According to statisticians, the Clubhouse is small today, but it will only continue to grow in the future.

Regarding monetization, there are many ways of monetizing a Clubhouse-like podcasting app. Clubhouse started lean, without ads, but can still make profits. This means a prospective investor has more than one way to make money from a Clubhouse-like application. 

To get started with the development of a Clubhouse-like app, The APP Solutions can offer help. We can develop your application from beginning to end. While building your Clubhouse-like product, we also prioritize data security. Thus, we are against the use of Chinese-based software. It’s better to choose from other trustworthy software vendors.

According to data from the National Alliance for Mental Health, 1 in every 5 adults in the US experiences mental illness, while 1 in every 6 youths in the US aged 6 – 17 experiences a mental health disorder every year. More abysmal is that suicide is the leading cause of death for those aged between 10 and 34 in the US. This data alone is proof that there is a need to make mental health applications available to the general public. It would also explain why there is an influx of mental health apps in app stores ranging from those helping relieve symptoms to those that help healthy people remain healthy.

Reasons why developing a mental health app is a great idea

There are several reasons why developers, who are keen on helping those suffering from mental health problems, consider creating a mental health application. Here are three reasons.

It will help bring mental health services to those who cannot get them

Data from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America shows that approximately 18% of adults in the US suffer from anxiety disorders, yet only 36% of these individuals receive treatment. Furthermore, according to data from the National Council Medical Director Institute, 77% of US counties have a severe shortage of psychiatrists. This implies that, even if more patients decided to get help, there would come a point where the current practicing psychiatrists may be unable to help many people. With mental health apps, more people can receive help from the comfort of their homes from different mental health practitioners from all over the world.

High demand

The Coronavirus has caused havoc, not just to the physical health of individuals, but also to their mental health. Many people have lost their jobs, lost family members, and some industries like the healthcare industry have been severely affected. According to a report by The Standard in 2020, 46% of health workers interviewed from a sample size of 1400 said they were suffering from a mental health issue. This is compared to 39% in 2019. This increase implies that more people will be looking for mental health apps in the future.

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Room for improvement

Data from the Digital Mental Health Revolution report shows that there are more than 10,000 mental health apps available today, with over 100 startups each year. However, many of these apps are underperforming. Some applications do not cater to many users’ needs and preferences, and some need to be upgraded to meet the current needs and demands. There is room for more to be done, moving from traditional therapy techniques to apps encouraging patients to do more self-care practices.

With the aim of improving the quality of services they offer, we find platforms raising money. For example, Lyra Health raised $175 million at a $2.25 billion valuation to connect workforces to therapists and mental health services. Similarly, Calm raised over $70 million, and Headspace raised over $400 million. Some of these funds are being used to improve the services they offer, and making mental health services more readily available e.g. free in some cases.

Calmerry Online Therapy Platform

Healthcare App Development 

A White Label Telemedicine Platform

BuenoPR – 360° Approach to Health

Types and examples of the best mental health apps

Not all mental health apps are created equal. There are many different types of mental health apps offering different services. Consider the different types and  examples of each;

General mental health apps

These applications help users to maintain their mental health by helping them maintain good habits and break bad habits. They also help them maintain their physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual health, which all contribute to their mental health. These applications can serve functions such as mood trackers, giving positive quotes, and giving relaxation exercises like guided meditation. Mindfulness and Meditation apps fall under this category. One such application is Moodfit.

Moodfit

Moodfit is a free mental health app designed with tools and insights to ‘shape up’ your mood. It helps you get into mental shape the same way you would get into physical shape. Moodfit can help you feel better whether you are feeling anxious, depressed, stressed or have PTSD.

Here is how it works:

• You fill out a questionnaire that helps you determine the severity of your symptoms. You also get articles and audio files that can help you understand what you are experiencing.
• You can track your moods.
• Eventually, you can understand the effects certain things and activities have on your mood, for example, specific medications, amount of sleep, or exercise.
• Receive actionable insights to help you feel better and alter your mood

Education and assessment apps

Such applications help their users to get information on mental health disorders such as PTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression, eating disorders, and negative thoughts, among many others. These apps share materials used by mental health practitioners when identifying mental health disorders. One such application is Sanvello.

Sanvello

Sanvello’s mission is simple. ‘To help people build the life skills they need, anytime, anywhere, in any way they choose.’ To do so, they provide their users with clinically validated, evidence-based tools and techniques to help them deal with stress, depression, anxiety, etc. A randomized study of 500 adults who had mild to moderate anxiety found that Sanvello’s tools successfully decreased symptoms. These effects lasted even after the participants stopped using the app.

By using Savvello, you can:

• Find cognitive behavioral therapy tools
• Learn mindfulness skills
• Track your mood and health using their inbuilt tools, and use this information to improve your mental and physical health
• Follow the guided journeys designed to help you feel more in control of your life.
• Use the tools to cope with specific issues, for example, the fear of public speaking.

Mental disorder apps

There are many mental disorders apps. These help you deal with specific mental disorders by providing you with the tools necessary to help you function better. Current mental disorder apps deal with problems such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and schizophrenia. They use techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy cbt, Mood monitoring, cognitive training, and rational emotive behavioral therapy.

More development is expected to help treat other disorders. For example, there is still room in the mental health apps market for PTSD, Bipolar Disorder Apps, Eating Disorder Apps, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Apps, and cognitive behavioral therapy cbt apps, among others.

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MoodMission

One great application that caters to users with PTSD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and stress is MoodMission. Here are some of its functionalities:

• Go through an available list of options and choose the problem you are experiencing.
• Receive five ‘mission’ suggestions based on the information you provide
• Go through each mission with mindfulness, understanding the activities in that mission together with how it may help
• Accept a mission, and after completing it, rate how distressed you feel.
• Your completed missions are logged, and you are ranked based on completed missions.

Online therapy apps

These apps act like banks when you swipe your card at Starbucks (they are intermediaries). They connect you to licensed mental health professionals near you. There are several ways to meet your therapists, depending on your preferences and what the app offers. Ideally, you can get onto an online call, a video call, or chat online. Some apps give group therapy sessions whereby several patients get on a conference call and have a group therapy session. One great example of an online therapy mental health app is Calmerry.

Calmerry

Calmerry will connect you with therapists that match your needs to get you the help you need in order to achieve your goals and meet your needs. There are many types of therapists available such as:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) 
• Gestalt therapy 
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
• Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT)
• Schema-focused therapy (SFT), etc

Here’s a gist of how using Calmerry will work:

• Get a brief assessment where you answer several questions
• Choose how you wish to get therapy
• Select a subscription option that works for you
• Get matched with the right therapist for you
• Start your therapy sessions.

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Must-have Features for Mental Health Mobile Apps

While different mental health apps have different features, there are some features that every mental health app development team should strive to incorporate. These features can be broken down into two main groups: Features for patients and mental health professionals. Here is a breakdown of each.

For the patient

These features make it easy for you to track your progress. Some have mood tracking, guided meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness among other important features. Here’s a more comprehensive look at the features;

An entry survey – This survey is used to collect basic information concerning the user. This information includes their age, location, gender, family status, current mental health conditions, etc. This information can help the application match the client with the most relevant therapist. Some apps give an entry assessment test that helps users identify the cognitive issues they are facing, particularly if they have never been diagnosed before.

Matching flow – The entry survey and assessment data is used to match the patient to a  therapist. In the US, counselors practice in the states where they are licensed, so factors like the state may determine which counselors will be matched. The apps typically match users to a new counselor for free if they are not satisfied with the one they get.

Text messaging functionality – This feature is excellent for patients or therapists who prefer to communicate through online chat. It’s also an easy way to reach out, for example, if the therapist is currently in another session.

Video conferencing – This function is excellent for video sessions.

Subscription – This is how many of these apps monetize their applications and pay counselors. Users chose the subscription that fits their needs and can cancel at any time or ask for refunds in line with the terms of service. Some subscriptions unlock extra features, e.g., video conferencing.

Therapy space – Therapists use this space to record their patients’ goals and track their progress in real-time.

Therapy management – Patients can use this space to manage their therapy sessions, e.g., pause accounts for some time or put unfinished sessions on hold.

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For counselors

Short survey – These verify that the therapist is certified to work with patients. These can include asking for clinical permits, state permits, etc. They also give any necessary information about the counselor.

Text and video chats – This is how counselors access their patients

Caseload management – This allows the therapist to manage their caseloads and even determine how many clients they are willing to work with.

Tech stack for a custom mental health application

The tech stack creates an ecosystem allowing several technologies to run one application. Some technologies to use include;

• Angular for the front-end
• Daily.co for secured video calls
• Ionic for developing a hybrid mobile app
• Node.js for the backend
• S3 Bucket for developing the messaging feature from scratch
• MongoDB for secured database
• Redis for sessions queues
• Pusher to send push notifications without sensitive data
• Kafka for exchanging messages between microservices

Ideally, you want to find developers with experience in one or more technologies listed.

Related reading: 

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Developing mental health mobile apps

You would be hard-pressed to find one person to develop the application. You are better off hiring several specialists. The specialists needed include;

Business Analyst (BA)

The BA will bridge the gap between IT and the business by using data analytics to find solutions that will fit both your mental health business and your potential clients.

Project Manager (PM)

The PM is responsible for running the project on a day-to-day basis, including ensuring that it stays within budget, is done on time, and is done within the scope laid out.

System Architect

The system architect will write the technical documentation for the project data after receiving and analyzing data from the PM and the BA.

Developers

Developers offer one or more technical solutions,

Designers

Designers visualize the project by making prototypes, creating flow in the app, finalizing the project design, etc.

Quality Assurance Managers

Quality Assurance Managers test the lines of code to ensure that the parts of the project align with the technical documentation and that they work correctly.

As you can imagine, it may be very time-consuming and expensive to interview every person needed to make the app a reality. For this reason, it may make more sense to outsource to a development team. Here are six steps to hiring an outsourcing app development team to understand how to go about that process.

If you are wondering what it may cost to hire an outsourcing app development team, here are some numbers. These values depend on factors such as the team’s geographical location and the app’s features. A simple app may cost you between $25,000 to $50,000. A complex app with multiple features may cost from $100,000 to $200,000.

Costs aside, government compliance for sensitive patient information is a core issue you need to understand.

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HIPAA, PHIPA, and GDPR compliance

Many people opt to use mental health mobile apps over traditional therapy because they understand it to be more private. Some regulatory guidelines for mobile mental health providers ensure the app’s safety and, consequently, its reputation. Essential components include;

HIPAA compliance. When developing the app, it may be helpful to determine whether the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules apply. A healthcare app becomes Subject to HIPAA if it includes the user’s Protected Health Information (PHI) that can be traced back to the patient. Otherwise, most mental health apps in the app stores are not subject to HIPAA as they are meant for the patient’s private use.

GDPR privacy standards. GDPR requirements are EU regulations directing how businesses should manage personal data. If your app will serve users in the EU, it is advisable to meet these requirements.

Regulatory guidelines. Mental health practices are regulated on federal and state levels. Therefore, it’s essential that you only engage licensed therapists who are acquainted with the federal and state laws. If you are unsure which regulations your application should meet, this interactive mental health apps tool, designed by the Federal Trade Commission, might help.

Encrypting app data. Ensure that all stored or shared data is encrypted at all stages – Passcodes, usernames, and biometrics. 

These features help keep the user’s data private from prying eyes on their end, which helps them feel more secure.

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TIPS from The APP Solutions

When developing Calmerry, The APP Solutions faced many issues. Below are some solutions that were useful in solving these issues

Therapist validation

To adhere to federal and state regulations about where therapists can offer their services, you need to develop a way of validating the licenses of the therapists hired. You then need to develop an algorithm that matches therapists and users from the same states only.

Architecture

The app’s architecture needs to handle hundreds of actions done by thousands of users regardless of location. An application with video conferencing capabilities functionality, for example, may require heavier loads on the servers compared to chat-based apps.

Unique session I.D. per call and token per participant

Session IDs are necessary to initiate calls. Participant tokens will be unique to the session IDs and will enable users to join the calls. The session IDs can also help prevent double-booking in the calendar if a calendar function exists.

Encryption

To ensure the safety of confidential and sensitive information, it is advisable to encrypt text messages and videos on both endpoints.

The bottom line

According to data from the KFF, more than 30% of adults reported symptoms of anxiety, PTSD, or depression during this pandemic period. This implies that the time is ripe for mental health app developers to develop health apps and online therapy platforms to help people cope with mindfulness and mental health.

If you are looking for a reliable tech partner for your mental health project, the APP Solutions is a mental health and therapy app development company. We can provide solutions for therapy app development and other similar projects.  Drop us a few lines and we will get in touch with you.