The only way businesses could operate from home and ensure continuity was by moving their entire infrastructure to the cloud. This is where the importance of cloud solutions rose to a peak and with it surged the popularity of cloud solution providers. 

From Microsoft’s Azure to Google Cloud, Alibaba and IBM, cloud solutions were in demand.  Though each of these offers tremendous benefits, one that stands apart is AWS. 

One of the best cloud solutions, AWS has a lot to offer. Besides enabling you to host data and business applications, AWS plays a crucial role in mobile app development.                            Not sure how? Don’t worry, you are in the right place. This article will provide insights on AWS, highlighting the top advantages of using it in the app development process. Without further ado, let’s get started. 

What is AWS?

A subsidiary of Amazon INC offering on-demand cloud solutions to organizations and enterprises across the globe, AWS is all you need to digitize your business operations without any hassle. The fact that it offers scalable, reliable, and cost-effective cloud computing solutions, it is considered to be one of the leading cloud computing solution providers. 

How AWS Helps in Mobile App Development?

The next question that arises here is why AWS for mobile app development. Or to put it this way, how does AWS help in the development of mobile apps. 

The first and the most important reason for using AWS for mobile app development is the feature of multiple platform development. Given the above, developers have the ease to design and build a single application that can run on all platforms irrespective of the type. Meaning that no matter whether you want to build an app for the iOS platform, the Android, or the web, AWS consolidates all in a single application. 
Optimized Efforts

Developers spend a considerable amount of time working on the backend servers when building an app. This consumes a significant amount of time, delaying the overall duration. Leveraging Amazon Web Services, developers need not worry about the server. Instead, they can focus more on the development space, thereby reducing the time and the efforts spent on building the app. 

Scalable Solutions

An exciting thing about using AWS for mobile app development is that it offers end-to-end scalability. AWS is known for its auto-scaling features where the usability is automatically upgraded depending upon the need and the requirement. Imagine building an app with limited downloads. If the usage increases beyond the limitation, it stops functioning, or the effectiveness drops. On the other hand, AWS for mobile app development has auto-scaling features that expand the limitations, ensuring uninterrupted performance. 

Cost-effective Solutions 

Offering the pay as you go model, AWS mobile app development allows you to pay only for features that are used. To be precise, the AWS cloud computing platform has dozens of tools and libraries that simplify the process of app development. Developers have the ease to select the CPU, memory, storage, operating system, security, networking capacity, and access controls required to run an app in their environment. Doing the same, they are charged only on the number of resources used thereby cutting the cost of operation.
Tools and services for app development

AWS renders an entire suite of tools and services facilitating the development of app development. From access to the database to the computing power, SDK for mobile apps, and storage space, AWS encompasses all. In addition to the above, it also has development tools, testing environment, mobile services, API gateways, marketplace, and application management tools to streamline the process of app development. Combining all of these, developers can easily build exciting enterprise applications on the go. 

Having said the above, you might wonder why AWS over other cloud solutions. 

To help you with that, we have highlighted the top three reasons that account for the widespread popularity and adoption of AWS for mobile app development.
Pioneer in the industry

AWS was launched back in 2006. What we mean to implicate is the fact that Amazon was the first to launch a cloud computing platform. Its competitors Google’s Cloud, Microsoft Azure, all came in later years. In other words, AWS has had an upper hand in understanding the market and attuning its offerings as per the industry. 
Greater computing capacity

• A recent report by Gartner reveals that AWS has a computing capacity 10 times more than the largest vendors combined. 12 cloud regions and 33 availability zones, the capacity and capability of the platform stand undeterred.

Extensive suite of development tools

In addition to all of the above, Amazon Web Services offer management tools, development tools, mobile services, etc for hassle-free enterprise app development. Besides, developers have the ease to gain access to the storage and the computing resources adding more power to the developed application.

Conclusion

We at Sparklin Digital prioritize the app development process in a way that our customers get the best. With an experience of more than a decade, we take pride in growing with technology. We offer best-in-industry solutions to our customers allowing them to scale their business with ease. 

Wondering if AWS is right for your needs? Hop on a consultation call with us and let the game begin.

Even though the idea has been the topic of the business world for a long, there existed a huge gap between conversation and implementation. For the good, the pandemic bridged the difference, making digitization the new normal. 

From the top tier organizations to the small-sized retail stores, everyone was now on the path of digital transformation. We too at Sparklin Digital prioritized digitization adapting to the change. We believe that the face of business would be a lot different in 2021 than it ever was. Keeping this as the core, we now outline the top trends that are to dominate the business world in the coming times. 

Without further ado, let’s get started! 

Top Technology Transformation Trends to Lookout for in 2021

1- Artificial Intelligence as a Service

Artificial intelligence has been the technology of the decade. Computerized systems designed to emulate human behavior, analyze and assess situations to make fact-based decisions, AI isn’t anything new. What the year now unveils is leveraging Artificial intelligence as a service. 

Similar to the idea of using the software as a service or platform as a service, artificial intelligence as a service aims at enabling business organizations to leverage existing AI solutions within their line of business operations. Meaning that instead of building a whole new solution, organizations will now have the ease to extend an existing one and leverage it to improve their day to day activities. This eliminates the need to invest in AI design and development, simplifying the adoption process. 

2- Cloud Adoption 

One trend that has become a necessity and a must for business survival is cloud adoption, integration, and/or migration. Even though the on-premise architecture seems relevant, yet it has limitations. For one, it isn’t 24/7 accessible, and to add, the traditional architecture lacks flexibility. 

Irrespective of whether it is data or an application, moving them to the cloud ensures that you can access them as and when required. Besides, it reduces the storage space required as all of them could be shifted to the cloud infrastructure. Not to forget the reduction in operational cost that comes along with cloud migration. 

3- Internet of Things 

IoT or to be specific, the Internet of Things is the technology that talks about interconnectedness. From the watch you wear to the mobile phone you use, the electric switches, and the television, everything can now be connected, automating all. While the technology has been in trend for a long, it was limited to home appliances, cars, etc. 

With technological advancements into play, the technology is now finding it’s way to digital chips and other devices. This ensures better security with improved performance.  It is expected that the technology will further grow in 2021, unleashing a whole new era of connectivity. 

4- Augmented Reality

Augmenting digital elements into real life, AR is the technology that brings artificial elements to life. According to a survey, the global market of augmented reality would reach $50 billion by 2021. Experts consider it to be one of the most fascinating technologies and hence, the growth.

From retail to healthcare, manufacturing, and education, Augmented Reality is now everywhere. The work from home concept forced people to look for alternatives. That is to say, the year 2020 has been eventful, witnessing the growth of AR tools and applications. And this will only increase in the coming years. 

5-Predictive Monitoring

Another trend that is sure to captivate the eyes of business leaders is predictive monitoring. And the increase in the amount of data produced vouches for it. There are tons of tools that help gather and mine the data. This helps analyze and assess them to make data-based decisions. 

Predictive monitoring, in an ideal sense, is to use data to predict future possibilities. This helps business enterprises to act beforehand, preparing themselves for the future.

Conclusion

Technology is one thing that keeps growing each day. And with this, the competition also grows. For organizations to not just survive but win the battle, is to adopt and adapt digital transformation. In case you are planning to jump to the bandwagon and adopt modern-day solutions for your business, now is the time. Get in touch with us at Sparklin Digital to know more about digital transformation. 

Native VS Hybrid App Development

App development is one of the most talked-about topics in the business world today. A couple of decades ago, business leaders would debate whether they should invest in a mobile app or not. Today, this has changed and the topic in question is what type of app should one develop.

That is to say, there has been a shift from why to what. While a few enterprises stick to the old-school method of building native mobile apps for their business, others are planning to jump on the bandwagon and adopt hybrid apps.

In case you too find yourself amidst the fuss, this article will help you with the same. Highlighting the two app development frameworks, we proceed to see which one should you choose: Hybrid or Native for mobile app development.

Native Apps:

As the name suggests, native apps are native to the device for which it has been developed. What this implies is that native apps are platform-specific apps and meant only for one device in particular. If you are to build an app for the Android platform, you will use the Java programming language. On the other hand, iOS apps are built using Objective-c.

One reason why developers invest in native apps is the fact that it appears as if it is part of the device. Besides, native apps can effectively make use of device features such as camera, GPS, etc. This adds to the overall efficiency of the mobile app.

Hybrid Apps:

Hybrid apps are websites that have been packed within native wrappers. To be honest, Hybrid apps are web apps built using technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, CSS. These are then wrapped and condensed into native apps giving it the look and feel of the same. Meaning that the app works like a web app on mobile devices.

Like native apps, hybrid apps can also gain access to the built-in features of a mobile. It used APIs to connect and draw communication between the app and the desired features. One thing that separates hybrid apps from native ones is that native apps can work in an offline mode. Such is not the case with hybrid apps.

Hybrid apps emulate a web app and hence aren’t downloaded on the device. They operate directly through the web and hence, require a steady internet connection.

Native App vs Hybrid Apps

After knowing the two processes, we now draft a comparison between the two to finally conclude which is better, and why?

1. Codebase

When it comes to programming, hybrid app development requires you to work on a single code base. As known, Hybrid apps work on all platforms irrespective of the type, they have a single codebase that can work well.

On the other hand, native by definition is particularly designed for a single OS. If you need to build an app for the Android as well as the iOS platform, you would need to build two separate codes, one for each OS.

2. Accessing the hardware/software of the device

Native app development has the potential to take advantage of the built-in features of the device. For example, if you are developing a transportation app for Android/iOS mobiles, native apps allow you to integrate the GPS of the mobile and leverage the same to add real-time tracking facilities in your mobile app.

Hybrid apps, on the other hand, are not native and there’s no direct way of accessing the hardware or the software of a device using a hybrid codebase. However, you can still induce the features using plugins and APIs. This allows you to connect with the device and share features without any hassle.

3. Cost of Development

Because hybrid apps utilize a single codebase, facilitating one app for all of the platforms, the total cost of developing the app reduces dramatically. What this implies is that you can deploy an app in lesser time using minimal resources.

Native apps, however, are specific to the platform. If you need to develop an app both for the android and iOS platforms, you would need to hire two different development teams and then spend twice the money you spent on the development of a single app. This way you add to the cost of development. If you are bigger on the budget and convinced that you need a native app, you can go for it.

4. User Interface

If you are looking to design an app that offers an aesthetic look and is rich in appearance, then you must opt for native app development. While hybrid apps too offer a certain level of visual appeal, it isn’t as good as the one provided by native apps. Hybrid app development aims at improving the usability of the application whereas native apps are meant to enhance the end-user experience by offering appealing designs.

5. Performance

Talking about the performance of the application, native app development renders apps that are extremely fast and offer unmapped efficiency. They are built for the platform itself and hence, no compromise is done on the performance part.

Hybrid app development is designed to meet the requirements of multiple devices and there are times when the performance deteriorates dramatically. It would be wrong to state that Hybrid apps have poor performance. However, it is definitely less as compared to the native apps.

Conclusion

In the end, the decision is yours. One thing to remember is that both of these have their advantages and disadvantages. And there’s no such concept as best or better.

The choice of a native app or hybrid app totally depends upon your app requirements and overall budget. If you are ready to invest a lot of money and prioritize performance over other factors, native app development is the best way to start. On the other hand, if you are a startup or a medium-sized organization, looking to set up your business’s online presence, hybrid app development would be a better approach to creating apps for your business.

If you are still doubtful and prefer consulting an expert, reach out to us at Sparklin Digital!

Introduction:

Long gone are the days when the debate was whether to develop an app or not. Times have changed and so has the mindset of people. Today, it is more about how than why.

And to decide on how to develop an app is a major challenge. While native app development has been the priority of business leaders for quite some time, the limitations imposed by the same have paved the need for an alternative. This is where the idea of cross-platform app development comes into play.

There are multiple cross-platform app development frameworks available, each of which has its share of pros and cons. This article talks about the two most popular frameworks, React Native vs Flutter in an attempt to compare the two and determine which one is better and why.

Without further delay, let’s dive straight into the details of Flutter and React Native.

Quick Statistics

Source: https://codeburst.io/flutter-or-react-native-which-is-the-best-choice-for-2020-355d9473edde

According to react native vs flutter google trends, nearly 61% of the developers prefer Flutter for mobile app development. However, 83% consider react native to be better than flutter.

Flutter

Flutter is one of the leading cross-platform app development frameworks. It is created by Google and uses Dart as its development language. The first version of the program was released back in 2017 and since then, the developers have been pushing the framework for the development of cross-platform applications.

One of the major reasons why Flutter has gained a huge audience in such a short time is because of its reactive nature. Even though reactive programming isn’t something new, yet not all frameworks accommodate the feature.

Features

a) Integration/Scalability

Flutter offers end to end integration capabilities. Irrespective of whether you wish to design an application or build a new wireframe, modernize your legacy application or integrate third-party software, Flutter is highly flexible and allows you to do all. Needless to question the scalability offered by the framework as it helps you adjust your enterprise applications the way you want.

b) Hot Reload

The hottest feature of all, hot reload makes development easier and better. Making changes to the code meant pushing them to the IDE and then waiting until the application is re-run. This not only consumed a lot of time but also added to the cost of development. Supporting the hot reload feature, Flutter aims at optimizing the pace at which changes are manifested within a piece of code. Meaning that as and when developers modify a code, it renders the same within a matter of seconds or instantly to be precise.

c) One-stop-shop Development Solution

If you are looking for a quick way to design, develop, and deploy business applications, Flutter is an all-in-one platform that allows you to do the above. You need not shift from one application to another or one framework to another. Flutter has all of the resources required to build a fully functional application. In addition to the above, you can also trace bugs and indulge in code fixes without any hassle.

Pros/cons

Having said the above, let’s find out what are the plus and minus of the development framework.

Advantages of Flutter Mobile App Development

Being the cross-platform app development framework, Flutter allows you to use the same code for different platforms. This saves a considerable amount of time, in a way accelerating the app development process.
The ‘hot reload’ feature eliminates the need to recompile the code after every edit.
The layered architecture helps customize the application, animate, and embed rich visual content.
Reduces the cost of development by reusing the same code for different platforms.

Drawbacks of Flutter:

The framework is pretty much new and often considered to be immature.
The language is heavy and complicated to understand.
Doesn’t offer a 100% native-like appearance.

React Native

If Flutter leads the cross-platform app development segment, React Native is the leader. Based on the React library, React Native empowers developers with the ease to use the same code for building iOS and Android apps. Both React and React Native is developed by Facebook. The fact that top-tier applications as Facebook, Instagram and Airbnb leverages the framework, they vouch for its exhaustive development capabilities.

Features

Write Once, Use Anywhere

Mark Zuckerberg had the notion that cross-platform apps would be the future of development. Convinced by the same, he began developing the framework in 2013 and it was in 2015, that the framework was released for public use. Since then the framework has been the talk of development. The ease with which it facilitates the use of a single code base for different platforms accounts for the above.

User-friendly Language

Developers tend to pick frameworks that are based on a language, they are familiar with. Similar is the case with React Native. It uses JavaScript, which happens to be one of the simplest and popularly used languages. Hence, no matter whether the developer is an expert or a fresher, learning to build apps with React Native is easy.

Support for third-party libraries

Another fascinating feature offered by React Native is its compatibility with third-party applications. This adds to the flexibility and scalability offered by the framework. Also, it gives developers the freedom to customise their applications and how it pleases them.

Pros/cons

Like every other framework, React Native too has its share of advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of React Native Mobile App Development

One thing that separates React Native from other cross-platform apps is that offers a native-like app experience to the users.
Embed modules relative to iOS/Android emerging to be platform-specific.
A steeper learning curve and anyone with previous experience in React can gel with the framework without any hassle.
Quick loading leads to faster coding m
Opined to have a greater level of maturity.

Disadvantages of React Native

A few claim that React Native has a fragile UI.
Abandoned a few libraries and packages.

Conclusion

The debate of React Native vs Flutter is never-ending. Both have their perks and bottlenecks. What you choose depends upon your development requirements. Flutter, though not-so-mature, is considered best for MVP development. React Native, on the other hand, is best for complicated projects.

Before you decide on picking either of them, sketch out your requirements, and then depending upon the cost, development time, make your decision.

If you are not sure who to pick, or thinking is react native better than flutter? Get in touch with us @ Sparklin Digital. Our experts will walk you through the frameworks, helping you with the decision.

When it comes to mobile app development, most companies prefer to outsource the task as it can help cut the cost and facilitate seamless team management. The practice of outsourcing mobile app development has gained pace rapidly especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This urge for making an informed and careful decision of selecting and hiring the right outsourcing team as the success of the project depends completely on it. If you hire an incompatible development company, it might result in a higher cost of development and wastage of time & efforts.

Common mistakes to avoid outsourcing mobile app development
It is necessary for all enterprises to cautiously select reliable and skilled developers for their projects. Few companies take decisions too fast and that results in dissatisfaction with the final product. Some of the common mistakes committed by companies while selecting an app development partner could actually cost them the future of their businesses. We have listed a few actions to consider seriously when outsourcing mobile app development:

1- Unclear Goals and requirements:
This is one of the basic mistakes that companies make. Companies fail to clearly explain the goals, product vision, business, and technical requirements of their final product. Choosing an app developer that does not understand you or your business goals is inaccurate. This is a very common mistake that enterprises make simply because it might be their first time engaging an app developer so they do not know how to differentiate the good ones from the bad.

2- Uninformed and hasty decision:
Mobile app development is an in-depth process that needs proper planning and a thorough understanding of product vision. While selecting development partners, you must assess their working styles, previous projects done by them, and level of compatibility. Hasty decisions taken without gathering sufficient information might result in unsatisfied results.

3- Poor research:
If you want a final product that could achieve your business goals, base your decision on proper research and background check-ups. Before taking the final decision to outsource a development firm, it is crucial to compare teams, technical expertise, pricing, and previous work of potential development partners. Hire the development company wisely that rightly fits into your project vision.

4- Lack of proper communication:
Let’s consider you find the right partner for your project, but if you don’t synchronize with the outsource team regularly at every stage of the development process from start it might result in undesirable outcomes. Consistent communication with the development partners ensures delivery of the right product as per the planned schedules and also helps in building long-term relationships. You can also get regular status updates of your project’s progress.

5- Compromising quality over price:
We know businesses always want to keep the budget low in order to get a higher return on investments. So they tend to collaborate with development companies that can provide the services at a cheaper price. But unfortunately, they don’t see the long-term risk of compromising the quality of their final product. They embark on a journey that might cost them more money than saving.

6- People don’t focus on building lean product:
So what is a lean product? A lean product essentially means you build a product with only key features that solve a problem for your end-users. Building lean products costs you less, so while creating a bigger impact you would be investing less. Your final product will be the one that your users need or like.

7- Giving preference to local developers:
It is not advised to narrow down your choice only to local development partners. You must always keep your options open while finding app developers. Your focus must be on the skills and expertise and location restriction should not be imposed. The mobile app market is global and you must leverage this robust feature.

How to outsource mobile application development properly?

Outsourcing can bring in a range of skills and expertise if you take the decision wisely. Following are some of the guideline which we gave outlined to help you through the decision-making process:

1- Preparation:
Definitely, you can have two reasons why you are looking for outsourcing. The first is that you want to reduce cost. And the second one is that you can’t find the right person for the team. You must prepare all your technical and non-technical documents. Also, get your business model ready for sharing. It is also important to decide the length of collaboration with a freelancer or a particular development company.

2- Choose the right location:
Before making a decision of any specific location from where you would like to select development partners, check the staff turnover rate, cultural compatibility, level of education, and geographical position and time difference of that place.

3- Find the right company:
Look for directories to find a list of development companies and check out their portfolio. You must verify the credentials of the potential development companies. You can search for developers online on clutch.co, goodfirms.co, Upwork, or Toptal.

Key Takeaways:
You need to be very careful while choosing app development partners. To start with, set clear goals and requirements to get a satisfactory final product. If you are planning to engage an app developer and want to potentially save yourself from wasting money, make sure you don’t land up making the same above mistakes. We, at Sparklin Digital, can guide you with our skills and expertise through the whole process. We can help you transform your product vision into reality.