5 Features All Business Apps Need

For businesses to be competitive in the highly saturated, globalized, and connected digital world, having a good app is a strategic necessity. Whether the app’s purpose is for the customer or for employees and internal processes, it needs to be tailored specifically for the business blueprint. Whilst there is no set way to construct an app, there are some key features of successful business apps that ensure productivity and satisfaction are met. Utilizing these features will allow your business app to prosper and deliver long-term goals. 

Security

Whilst some of the beauty of the internet and the digital age is that it is more accessible for everyone to access online applications and websites, some issues come along with this. Security has increasingly had to become one of the most important things that businesses consider. Many companies will rely on apps to store sensitive information, which could pertain to company records or customers' personal details. A single breach of the systems that hold this data could prove costly, which is why businesses using apps need to be so stringent with their protocols. 

Any good business app should implement authentication, ideally 2-factor, make use of biometric technology, and also include end-to-end encryption in order to secure the data that is present. Not only do these security measures strengthen the robustness of the app, but they can also streamline the process of accessing the app for users, safely. 

Different businesses within many industries have already widely adopted different strategies to combat cybercrime and make their platforms more secure. Financial institutions and banks now use stringent biometric checks, retail platforms often use end-to-end encryption and HTTPS for safety, whilst online casinos will often utilize 2FA, ID checks, and regular auditing. The online gaming industry has had question marks over its safety and transparency, which has led many platforms within the industry to adapt and adopt new protocols to shift these connotations. Crypto slots on mobile combine the effective security protocols within these apps with the more widespread security of cryptocurrencies to offer fast transactions that are more anonymous and require fewer personal details to be stored. Something many other apps and businesses may adopt in the coming years. 

Intuitive And Good UI

A business app can be packed with creative mechanisms and clever ways to improve your business. But for apps to be effective, they need to be easy to use and simple to navigate for the user. Without a good user interface and intuitive design, an app can go from elevating your business plan to actively negating its efficacy. Indeed, 83% of customers have said seamless user experience across devices is essential for apps. 

For many customers in the modern era, the ease of use is one of the most important facets of any app or technological device; after all, Apple has based its whole business on this. Unnecessary distractions and a clean interface make it easier for those using these apps to operate them, whilst shortcuts and visual patterns aid users in navigating around the app. There should be a limited need to learn how the apps work with this intuitive design, driving more widespread adoption. 

Integration Abilities

Businesses in the modern world now rely on a plethora of different tools and programmes. Businesses can have CRMs, ERPS, HR platforms, communication platforms and dashboards all at their disposal. This can sometimes mean things are placed in silos. The last thing you want any business app to do is entrench this further and create deeper inefficiencies. 

Instead, having a business app that integrates is essential. This can be achieved through APIs or webhooks, but no matter what strategy you are using for integration, creating an app that works harmoniously with other parts of the business is extremely helpful. This integration reduces the chance of errors or breaches and gives a unified flow throughout different processes within the business, which saves time, money, and effort. 

Report, Track, and Monitor

When it comes to business, you will want to make sure you are as informed about everything as possible. That is why apps that can report, track, and monitor activity are so helpful. Built-in analytics to apps that can report on this important data can be invaluable to businesses. 

Live data that is collected and then presented can help with monitoring performance and tracking the progress of employees. Data can also be used to identify sales trends or financial curves, and can give great indications of user behaviour. 

Apps that offer this sort of data can create reports and valuable data for businesses to reflect on and use to improve aspects of the framework that have not been working. It also means the data can be used to effectively enhance the strands of businesses that have been going well.

Scalability

Apps need to be scalable. There is no sense in creating an app for businesses that is only destined to remain stagnant and stuck in the here and now. You want to have an app at the business's disposal that grows and evolves alongside the business model. 

There is evidence to suggest that around 76% of digital transformation efforts fail in scalability due to limitations in performance and poor design. But for businesses, having an app that is able to cater to scalability is key. Optimized system architecture, along with efficient and up-to-date databases, is just the beginning. Having cloud-based systems keeps things responsive even during high traffic periods, and modular codebases enable developers to add new features more easily. When an app is able to be improved, it can become future-proof and, in turn, more valuable. 

Finally

Business apps now have an increasing importance in the wider commercial setting. They have to be able to empower the user whilst catering to the needs of the business, all the while not being vulnerable to security concerns. Apps that make use of existing systems and integrate to scale rather than isolate are much more useful than apps that do not. Businesses using apps that consider these important features can enhance their productivity and deliver longer-term solutions.