How is Blue Label Labs different from its competitors?

First, we live and breathe cutting-edge/bleeding-edge technology, so your app will similarly be cutting-edge/bleeding edge with a long “shelf-life”. Second, with a perfect mix of local, domestic and international talent you are guaranteed to get the optimal mix of a high-quality product and a fair price. Third, you will be assigned a dedicated Program Manager (PM) after we’ve established a contract who will be your single point-person for all of your needs and questions. This PM will stay with you for the duration of your relationship with Blue Label Labs and is your conduit to all of the resources we have to offer, thus streamlining your communication and preventing you from having to repeat your message to multiple resources or play air traffic control. Our PMs are the best in the business and we’d be happy to introduce you to a projected PM (and project team) once we’ve got an estimate on the table to discuss. Fourth, the size of Blue Label Labs team (now 64 people strong) means you don’t have to worry about the “single point of failure” issue that exists at smaller shops of just one or two developers, nor the burden paying for the high overhead cost associated with larger shops. Fifth, we have a stronger focus on design than most other shops. We split our design team into two specific functions—Product/User Experience and User Interface. It’s a rare unicorn designer that is good at both thinking through flow and product decisions, as well as branding, colors, logos and overall User Interface. To that end, each project team has both a UX Designer and UI Designer staffed to ensure top notch design. Sixth, with over 7 years of operation and over 250 apps completed, we have both the experience and extensive re-usable code base to ensure your app is built as efficiently and as inexpensively as possible. Seventh, our QA and Testing methodology is rigorous and as important to us as the actual development—meaning your app will be as bug free as is possible. We have a dedicated QA Engineer staffed on every project. This engineer is not the original author of the code ensuring the highest quality results from the QA process. Please see the below sections for more details.

How does Blue Label Labs work with clients?

Blue Label Labs Labs begins most projects with a Discovery, Planning & Design Phase (Phase One). First, we determine the proper technologies and development schedule. Second, the Design teams inherit the User Stories that were drafted during the sales process. User Stories are simple one-liners that outline the activities your users will need to be able to accomplish within the app. These User Stories then get grouped together into meaningful features and feature sets. The Design teams work with the client to finalize the User Stories. Third, our design team sets out creating greyscale wireframes to illustrate how a user will move through the app (i.e., the user experience, UX). Fourth, we transition to full color illustrations/designs that have the final look and feel of the app (i.e., the user interface, UI). Fifth, the app designs are then uploaded into a prototyping platform called Invision that allows our team to create tappable and swipeable “hotspots” so that you can show the app on your phone or via a mocked-up phone in a web browser. At the same time, we draft a Functional Specification document that details the technical hows and whys of the project for the development team. Once that work is complete, we them move on to the Development Phase (Phase Two). The Agile development/engineering team works hand-in-hand with the Program Manager and follows the wireframes and the Functional Specifications to build the app. Our first development goal is the First Deliverable milestone—we call this D1; this is a highly functional build of the app that contains a subset of features agreed upon by Blue Label Labs and the client. We then begin an iterative process of finalizing the remaining features. At the same time, a QA Team builds a full test plan for the app. The QA Team continually performs functional and regression testing on the app, reporting issues to the Project Manager. Learn more about our process here.

How long does it take to complete the average app?

Typically, for our average 4 to 5-month project, the Phase One: Discovery & Planning and Design lasts for approximately 4 to 6 weeks, with Phase Two: Development and Testing Phase occupying the remaining 3 to 4 months. At the end of the Phase Two, the final app is prepared for Deployment. Deployment involves moving any web services and server side components to a production environment and submitting the app to the relevant app store(s).

How much does the average app cost?

If we were in full-swing on a new project, a client can estimate a cost of between $10,000 and $30,000 per two-week sprint ($20,000 to $60,000 per month) for the effort—typically billed bi-weekly. If Blue Label Labs is handling everything from Discovery, Planning & Design through to Deployment in an app store, total app costs average about $120,000 for one “platform”–iOS, Android, Web, etc. That said, it very much depends on the complexity of the design and development required for each individual app, we’ve completed full apps at costs of between $50,000 (a bare-bones, simple MVP/prototype) and $2,000,000 (a full featured, enterprise apps). We provide free, no commitment estimates to clients. After the app is submitted to an app store(s) or pushed live on the web, the Blue Label Labs team monitors the app store and customer reviews and deals with any issues, questions, delays or approvals that arise. We have a great track record with app submissions and make sure that the app submitted is highly likely to be approved without issue. Post approval, a maintenance agreement can be put into place to cover and small issues, minor app edits (e.g., color, image or text changes) and any bugs that might linger. At the end of the project, we will transfer all source code and project files to you and you will remain the sole owner of all IP in the app. After that time, we provide our services at an hourly rate of $120/hour for ad-hoc updates or at an hourly rate of $100/hour for a mutually agreed upon set number of hours in a 6-month retainer. The monthly maintenance cost for the average app is $2,000/month: in other words, a retainer of 20 hours per month at $100 per hour equals $2,000/month and guarantees expedited service vs. ad-hoc requests.

What is the difference between a Native App, a Hybrid App and an HTML5 App?

Native App: A Native App is an app written for a specific platform like iOS or Android—in other words, the app is written in the coding language used for development on that specific platform (Objective-C or Swift for iOS and Java for Android). When you build a Native App, you get access to all the hardware features exposed by the native code APIs and SDKs. For example, Apple iOS Push Notifications are one example of a feature that cannot be supported by an HTML5 App. The graphics and user interface of a Native App are far superior to any Hybrid or HTML5 app. You would choose this option, if you want to use the user interface components from Apple’s proprietary user interface libraries (i.e., the usability is better); you want full device hardware access—cameras, microphone, and geo-location; you want peak performance with no lag; you want users to be able to access the app off-line (i.e., without Internet access); you want access to push notifications and in-app purchase; and you want your app to de discoverable in the app store. On the downside, your code is less portable across operating systems and it is often the most expensive development option. It is our recommendation that if you plan to start a true, revenue generating, app-based business, this is the only viable option. Hybrid App: A Hybrid App is a form of web app that is deployed to a native platform like an iPhone or Android phone inside a native shell. This shell is usually little more than a web browser view (to display the HTML5 content) and some other hooks to allow your web app to potentially access some more hardware features that are not available inside a typical mobile web browser—e.g., push notification and in-app purchases. It improves code portability because if you want to port your app to another platform, you only need a native shell on that other platform to run it, the HTML5 content of the app is directly portable. These shells can be hand written, but can also be generated automatically by tools in the marketplace like React Native, PhoneGap, Cordova or Xamarin. These tools allow a developer to push the app out to multiple platforms (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows Mobile) quickly by generating the shell and packages required to do so automatically. This sounds powerful, and it is, but clearly creators of these third-party platforms have a lot of configurations and hardware to support, and thus, the solutions do not always work the same across all devices, and in practice, testing and hacking of special cases will be required by the developer to get proper functionality. You would choose this option if you want a balance between cost and usability; you want access to some (but not all) of the phone’s native APIs/SDKs and hardware; you want to be able to quickly deploy across multiple device types; and you’re not worried about high-end graphics. On the downside, because these third-party hybrid platforms (e.g., React Native, PhoneGap and Xamarin) need to support so many device types there are always implementation and usability issues to workout. In addition, you will only have access to the features of a new operating system 6+ months AFTER it is released by Apple, Google or Microsoft. In this way, your app will never be able to cutting-edge technology. While we are fully capable of building Hybrid Apps, it is our recommendation that this option is only viable for simple, lo-fi apps that are heavy on text and images, but don’t need much in the way of functionality or user interface. An HTML5 Web App: An HTML5 app is essentially a website with JavaScript code written to allow the app to perform dynamically, as opposed to a static website that you need to refresh to see the changes. It works interactively to make it feel like an app, but it is actually running in a web browser. It is essentially a website, which will support multiple viewports or screen sizes so that it works well on mobile. Because it is running in a browser, it is confined to what is possible within a mobile web browser. You would choose this option if you want to support multiple platforms with the same app/codebase; you want to deploy it on the web; you want the widest possible support across multiple device operating systems and manufacturers; and you want to be able to update your source files on your server and have them immediately deployed to all devices (i.e., removing the need for the app approval process). On the downside, your app is not discoverable in the app stores; it will never look and feel like a true mobile app; and you will have limited access to some of the software and hardware functionality of the phone (e.g., push notifications and cameras). It is our recommendation, that this option is only viable for view-only content where users are not expected to interact in any meaningful way.

Has Blue Label Labs ever transitioned an app the firm has built to a client’s internal development team? What is the typical process and how long does it usually take? Is there a fee for this?

Quite often Blue Label Labs transitions an app to a client’s in-house development team. As part of our regular transition for any client, we transfer all functional specs, wireframes, UI design resources, screen flow maps, passwords/certificates/credentials and source code to the client. We also have extensive experience working in tandem with a client’s existing engineering team. For example, Blue Label Labs will build the front-end experience of an app on top of a client’s existing backend web service and databases. These transitions are the quickest, averaging only a few days, since the Blue Label Labs team and the client team have already been working hand-in-hand for months. If we are handing over a complete project with no prior engagement with the client’s development team, then the transition can take a little longer depending on the support needed. This can range from a few days to a couple weeks. The transition is typically free of charge unless engineering resources are needed to facilitate the transition or the Program Manager is required to spend more than a week on the transition and training. We’ve even helped companies to interview potential new technical team members—e.g., developers and CTOs.

How does Blue Label Labs provide training to a client’s development team so that they could make app enhancements and how much would that training cost?

Along with all the project documentation and support outlined in the answer to the question above, we are happy to provide hands-on training to in-house developers/team members as part of the transition. There is typically no extra charge for this if only a few hours are required. If ongoing training is necessary, for example an in-house developer is not familiar with app development and requires a crash course, then we can offer our services at our hourly rate of $120/hour for training. We’ve even aided our partners in their hiring of their own technical/development team if/when the time is right.

How many designers and developers does Blue Label Labs have on staff? How many work on each client project? Where is the team located? Can the client talk directly to whomever will work on the app?

The Blue Label Labs team is comprised of 64 individuals across its UX Design/Product, UI Design, Development, Program Management, Quality Assurance, Sales, Marketing and Leadership teams. We have 6 Designers, 10 Program Managers, 35 Developers, 3 App Marketers—the remainder of the team is comprised of the Sales, Marketing, Operations & Leadership Teams. Depending on the size of the project, a team of at least 7 Blue Label Labs staffers will work on your project: 1 Program Manager, 1 UX Designer, 1 UI Designer, 1 Technical Architect, 1 Front-End Developer, 1 Back-End Developer, and 1 Quality Assurance Engineer—in addition to the technical and strategic oversight provided by Blue Label Labs leadership. The majority of our Design and Program Manager teams is based in New York City, Seattle and San Francisco areas. The Developers and Quality Assurance Testers are also based in the aforementioned cities, in addition to India-based team members. The Development, Design and QA Teams are managed directly by the Program Manager. The Program Manager is your primary point of contact and the liaison across all other Blue Label Labs team members associated with your project. That said, clients are welcome to speak directly with any individual team member as is needed.

Are projects priced based on “time-and-material” (i.e., hourly) estimate or a “fixed-price” quote?

Projects are priced on a “time-and-material” basis. With 7 years and 250+ apps of experience to our credit, we are able to produce very accurate estimates. We do our best to stay within budget or provide you ample warning if we think we may exceed our initial estimate so we can coordinate how to move forward together with you. Prior client references can vouch for the accuracy of our estimates and can be provided to you upon request.

Is Blue Label Labs able to guarantee that our app will be published in an app store?

Unfortunately, no application can be guaranteed for app store approval. However, Blue Label Labs has successfully built and deployed over 250 apps for the Google Play and Apple iTunes stores. We have a solid understanding and insight into what these stores will typically approve or disapprove of. We will warn you well in advance if any particular aspect of you project poses an approval risk. We have had a handful of instances where an app store has rejected an app for publication; not due to technical issues, but due to legal/business/terms of use issues; however, we successfully appealed ALL of these rejections and these very same apps are now in the app store for download today. We led these appeals on behalf of our clients at no extra charge. If your app is rejected due to technical reasons, we will make all necessary corrections needed to get approval at no extra charge. We are happy to connect you with some of our clients who did face some app store pushback to tell you about the rejection and our successful appeal.

What is Blue Label Labs’ policy regarding correcting defects and publishing an update in the app store?

We provide our services at a blended hourly rate of $120/hour for ad-hoc updates or at blended hourly rate of $100/hour at a mutually agreed upon set number of hours over a 6-month retainer. For example, a retainer of 20 hours a month for $2,000/month guarantees expedited service vs. ad-hoc requests. Ad-hoc requests are handled on a first come, first serve basis across all of our clients and development is based on our team’s earliest availability. The monthly retainer of hours functions much like an extension of the warranty period; issues are addressed within 24-48 hours and development will start as soon as the scope of the issue is defined. For those clients wanting a guaranteed 24 to 48-hour turnaround time on maintenance issues, a 6-month retainer is suggested.

What level of Quality Assurance is included and provided by you in your proposal?

A Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer is assigned to every project and builds a custom test plan for every project during the Discovery, Planning & Design Phase. During the Development & Testing Phase the QA Engineer continually tests the app using functional and regression testing. We test on a wide array of physical devices as needed for a given project. If we are building a backend web service and databases as part of the project, we will also have a set of automated unit tests that are run regularly to verify functionality.

What is Blue Label Labs’ quality assurance (QA) and testing methodology?

We believe that Blue Label Labs’ QA and testing methodology is part of our competitive differentiation. The fact that we dedicate resources to solely this function is something that sets us apart from other development shops for whom testing is simply an afterthought. At Blue Label Labs, QA is handled at all levels of development. There are generally 3 layers of QA/testing that happens for every project: 1.) Internal Development Team Testing Each Development Team has an internal QA Tester along with the Developer Lead who perform basic validation on bug fixes prior to builds being released to the broader Project Manager and QA team. Their validation is to ensure that items within JIRA, which we use alongside Trello, to coordinate team efforts and communicate with clients—are properly remedied according to their descriptions prior to “checking-in” or committing code. When items are resolved by the Development Team they are pulled into the “Testing Done by Dev Team” stack of Trello cards and/or within JIRA. When developing new projects, the Blue Label Labs Development Team will also be responsible for creating “unit tests” for our code so that we can quickly run a basic set of verifications. The dev team does the majority of their testing using iOS and Android app simulators. 2.) Dedicated QA Engineer Each project has a dedicated QA Engineer who sits independently from the Development Team who is responsible for: a.) Drafting a milestone based test plan which outlines a list of black box scenarios to verify and the expected results; b.) Performing smoke and full test pass runs against weekly and milestone builds; c.) Verifying and closing bugs that the Development Team has marked as complete; d.) Working with the Development Team to report issues and regressions; and d.) The QA Engineer takes items from the “Testing Done by Dev Team” Trello stack and verifies whether it is actually fixed. If it is, the Trello card is moved to the “Done (Verified)” pile, or sent back to the “Weekly Priorities” or “Product Backlog” stacks, as appropriate. The QA Engineer will generally perform their tests on 2-3 devices, depending on project requirements. 3.) Project Manager (PM) Testing The final QA gate is the PM who is responsible for quality of the entire product. They will also work with the QA Engineer to verify items have been fixed properly in addition to triaging new issues coming in from the client and the QA Engineer. The PM will appropriately schedule issues to be resolved based on their severity and importance. The PM’s testing is done on actual devices.

Can Blue Label Labs help me with Marketing and PR?

Absolutely. We aim to be your full-service app partner. Our Marketing & PR Offering is designed to help you launch your app and gain marketing exposure. Learn more about our Marketing & PR Offering here.

Digital Transformation

What is Digital Transformation? A 2022 Guide

The idea of digital transformation in business encompasses a variety of looks – at its core, this concept refers to the adoption of technology to enhance one or more business processes through digital innovation.

Here, we’re going to explain why digital transformation is important for businesses by looking at how it helps accomplish goals, identifying where it’s used, and covering some examples that showcase successful initiatives.

How digital transformation helps businesses accomplish their goals

Successful digital transformation is much more than just bringing a new piece of equipment into a business or buying a sophisticated piece of software – there needs to be successful adoption as well as a measurable, positive impact.

Source: Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels

For example, let’s say that a company adopted a new fintech solution that can handle all of their financial processes from accounts payable, processing invoices, payroll, and beyond.

But instead of configuring the system to take advantage of all the system’s features, the business leaves some elements disconnected such as the accounts they use to process payroll and pay vendors. They continue to use fragmented systems to manage certain financial processes such that the company experiences no benefit from their new technology that offers digital innovation.

All kinds of problems can manifest when your “new and improved” system is only the former – assuming a good solution is in place, you need to ensure users are equipped with everything they need to make the transition.

Providing digital transformation through an app

Depending on the nature of a business, efforts need to focus on appropriate categories relevant to its model. A few ways that companies benefit from effectively using apps as part of a digital transformation process include:

Better engagement with customers through platforms that offer communication features and feedback tools.
Increased conversion by making information and products accessible through an app – when compared to their mobile website counterparts – eCommerce apps convert around 157% better.
Faster delivery of content. Whatever you provide, an engaging app keeps you connected with your users which you can use to deliver personalized messaging. Just don’t abuse it!
Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to analyze and interpret datasets. This could be anything from a heat map to understand how people move about a physical location (like a retail store) to uncovering the spending patterns of individual customers.
Increase collaboration between team members with integrated communication. While solutions like Slack or Microsoft are excellent platforms for many businesses, many businesses such as virtual healthcare providers and finance require compliant, integrated communication solutions.

Leveraging technology as part of a digital transformation is a journey that should seek to enhance performance in at least one area of operation although ideal efforts effectively bridge multiple processes with technology as part of a multi-faceted solution.

In most (but not all) cases, a new digital product like a website or an app has the potential to improve business efficiency by affecting more than one department or process.

In retail, a common example would be an inventory database that’s connected to a business’s website, app, and POS. When properly integrated, this can serve to help businesses both sell inventory over the web as well as help with back-of-house operations like directly interfacing with the supply chain and managing inventory.

Of course, there are a vast variety of businesses spanning a breadth of industries which is why it’s important to assess each business on a case-by-case basis.

You can’t assume that just because something seemingly works for a similar business it will produce the same results for you.

What are some specific areas that digital transformation helps improve?

Businesses spanning every industry have substantial opportunities to both genuinely transform and optimize existing processes by adopting new technology.

To be more specific, a few areas where digital innovation makes a significant contribution to business are explained below.

Applying digital innovation to sales and marketing

Digital transformation is being used to furnish an effective customer experience through marketing and sales.

The easier it is for customers to find products and services like in the Cirque Coffee app pictured above, the more likely they are to buy. Websites and mobile apps that blend useful information with digital elements that make navigation intuitive allow visitors to seamlessly browse which is vital for new business.

Converting these individuals into paying customers relies on empathy communicated through marketing collateral – while some customers are easily sold, many are more inclined to do some homework before making a purchase.

Source: dole777 on Unsplash

This is why it’s important that marketers employ a variety of distribution methods to maximize the exposure of their products on multiple digital channels.

One of the most popular ways that companies get attention is through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to get eyes on their product considering the average US citizen reportedly spends just over two hours a day on social media. Through paid advertisements, digital marketers can target the proper audience to drop posts into the news feeds of potential buyers.

In fact, simply becoming active on social media can play a major role in an overall digital transformation process!

Why buy just one end table with an awkward form factor when you can get a whole set? | Source: Amazon

Further adding AI-based systems for product recommendations which reveal additional purchasing options that regularly entice the customer to spend more much like Amazon has been doing for some time.

Once the sale is complete, businesses that continue to send personalized promotional content to the customer’s email or through push notifications will tend to keep customers engaged which typically results in returning business.

Today, chatbots. Tomorrow, wise-cracking little droids that follow you everywhere. | Source: Jason Leung on Unsplash

One last useful feature that’s seen in great digital transformation efforts is the use of chatbots for everything from sales to customer service.

These systems can help answer questions leading up to a sale as well as serve as the first point of contact in resolving customer service issues. Often, a well-designed chatbot can intelligently handle many requests that typically require human interaction which helps businesses save on labor expenses.

A glance at digital transformation in the supply chain

Many SMEs and large corporations in industries like construction, healthcare, agriculture, and more are digitizing efforts by integrating intelligent systems on the backend for supply chain management.

Source: Michoff on Pixabay

Advances in supply-chain technologies that bring intelligence to sourcing and moving items help in areas like improving digital fulfillment, shedding like on risk optimization, and enhancing corporate control.

For example, supply chain management systems are using a combination of AI and ML in ERP systems to help with demand forecasting by analyzing current buying trends and comparing them against future projections.

These solutions can help in multiple areas by connecting with vendors to automatically procure materials, determine outcomes of certain purchasing configurations to uncover potential risks, rework logistics with shipping and receiving to be more efficient, and much more.

Digital transformation in the restaurant industry

In the restaurant industry, businesses were once able to thrive by relying on a flow of both dine-in and carry-out customers with virtually no modern technology but a lot has changed.

The pandemic served as a catalyst for rapid evolution in the restaurant industry and customer expectations followed suit.

Now, many restaurants offer web-based ordering, either through a website or an app, as well as delivery options from third-party providers like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, and others.

By adopting solutions that allow customers to place digital orders, speed and accuracy increase which allows the restaurant to more efficiently process orders as well as reduce errors. Just like anything else, it’s important to pay attention to your products to keep issues at bay.

When all goes well, most delivery services prove to be extremely effective at increasing sales as have good mobile ordering apps that offer loyalty rewards.

Digital transformation in fitness

To shift gears, digital innovation is being creatively applied to products like bicycles to track, analyze, and gamify riding.

Source: Dimon Blr on Unsplash

Following suit with fitness apps, solutions like the Huffy Biking App are bringing modern technology into the mix with the intent of making rides more engaging by offering challenges and rewards.

Beyond exercise, gamification serves to increase user motivation, thus increasing the amount of time they spend and the effort they exert on any given platform. By providing special offers and other promotions, users are more likely to spend money which means more profit for the company.

A look at apps that offer digital innovation

Many apps on the market right now serve as excellent examples of what digital transformation can look like in their respective market.

1. Banking and a look at Chime

Banking is one industry where technology has played a massive role in each department, making everything happen faster with more accuracy.

Source: Chime

For core banking services like account hosting via checking and savings programs, we’ve found that apps can essentially replace brick-and-mortar locations for most services as is the case with Chime bank.

Initially founded in 2013, the app and web platform allow customers to manage their finances as they would with any other bank but without the need to perform cashless tasks in person.

Chime demonstrates that simple banking can be accomplished entirely through a well-designed app.

2. Healthcare apps are transforming people’s lives in a variety of formats

Like banking, healthcare is one area of business where digital transformation is occurring everywhere.

Source: App Store

There are apps like sophisticated booking apps that expedite patient intake and scheduling, eHealth apps that monitor patient activity and vitals, apps that tie into a facility’s EMR system, as well as a ton of fitness apps in circulation like Apple Fitness pictured above.

A great example of an app that has made an impact on digital transformation in healthcare is Medscape which is one of the most downloaded medical apps on the App Store.

Source: App Store

Made for clinicians, Medscape puts information at the fingertips of medical providers by linking them with medical news in 34 fields of medicine.

Medscape also provides a clinical reference section that can be used to research information on all kinds of conditions which helps professionals connect the dots when determining drug and other treatment options.

3. Transforming manufacturing with apps

Apps contribute to modern manufacturing in a variety of different ways. Manufacturing is one area where inventory management is a pressing issue which apps like NetSuite Manufacturing Edition from Oracle.

Source: Intoday

This solution is aimed to solve by providing tools for tracking products and managing warehouse functions. Powerful dashboards provide insights that allow businesses to make decisions quicker by tying in supply chain data from vendors.

Manufacturing is one area where there are immense opportunities for machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) apps.

For example, computer vision could aid some operations significantly by providing a mechanism to help categorize items produced which aids in the documentation process. It can also help track, document, and analyze what it sees like objects on an assembly line.

Truly, computer vision has a ton of applications in manufacturing as it can also be used to optimize production by playing a role in QA, just to name one of many examples.

4. Reaching more customers in retail and eCommerce

Online shopping has become the most prevalent way that people buy goods and services so it’s an ideal place to look for answers with regards to, “What is digital transformation?”

Source: Forbes

Stores that formerly relied on people walking through the doors greatly increase their sales by furnishing an app or a web platform. Now, some formerly online-only locations like Amazon are applying what they’ve learned from their digital business to models like Amazon Go.

While figures vary, it’s been observed that more than half of smartphone owners make purchases using a mobile device. Retail has observed significant digital transformation as virtually every successful business around the world uses a mobile app (or at least a website) to sell products and services.

Brick and mortar locations also benefit from integrating systems like QR codes, geofencing, and Bluetooth beacons to bridge in-person shopping with online platforms. To “make it” as a successful online retail business, an app is a necessary component.

5. Telecommunications is all app-based

Email is dead and so is the landline.

This is one of our go-to’s here at Blue Label. | Source: Slack

These lingering technologies serve little purpose today outside of being a formality with solutions like Slack, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and the many others on the market towering over traditional telecom.

Overall, communication has transformed more than anything over the last 20 years as it is an integral part of virtually every digital transformation endeavor. With communication shifting to apps, we’ve come to expect that we can not only contact people we know in an instant but also communicate with businesses.

Companies need to recognize that communication tools whether plugins or standalone apps are how customers prefer to communicate. Apps often “do it better” than traditional calling solutions so businesses must look to options like Twilio and other tools that can be used to improve communications with modern interfaces.

We are equipped to help with all manners of digital transformation

The key to a successful digital transformation endeavor is research and planning, which happens to be our forte.