Month: December 2021

How can agile leadership smoothen Digital transformation?

Introduction

Nowadays more and more businesses are embracing digital transformation (DX) to keep up with the competition. It is projected that spending on digital transformation will reach 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022 alone. And by 2025, global digital transformation spending is forecast to reach 2.8 trillion U.S. dollars. Spending heavily on digital transformation will take you nowhere if you don’t have the right leadership at the core.

In this blog, we will share five common challenges your teams may face while embracing Digital Transformation and how agile leadership can smoothen the transition. Let’s start with Agile Leadership.

Agile Leadership: A Buzzword or Life Saver?

Every business needs “agile” leaders to thrive in today’s rapidly disrupting economy. While the word agile is borrowed from the world of software development, an agile leader should be flexible, quick to adapt, and fast in decision making.

Agile Leaders:

  • Move quickly
  • Are resilient and creative
  • Don’t hesitate to challenge the status quo
  • Embrace change by driving value
  • Listen, learn, and adapt
  • Are open to change
  • Collaborate
  • Learn continuously
  • Are curious
  • Are flexible

5 Common Digital Transformation Challenges (& How Agile Leadership Can Help)

Employee Pushback

The Challenge:

One of the biggest challenges to digital transformation that almost every company faces is employee adoption. As humans, we love having routines and would do almost everything we can to stay in our comfort zone. Thus, when a company introduces new technologies, employees may feel insecure and hesitant to switch due to the skill gap and fear of change.

Agile Leadership Advantage:

Agile leaders can make the transition seamless by clearly communicating each employee’s roles and responsibilities and how they fit in the bigger picture of digital transformation. It’s also important to address the threat of replaceability your employees may be facing. Assure them that they will be provided with enough training and ample opportunities to learn, grow, and prosper with digital adoption. 

Lack of a Well-defined Strategy

The Challenge:

Most companies fail as they lack clarity and often have a misinformed transformation strategy. This leaves employees clueless as to what needs to be achieved and how to go about it. In order to succeed, you must understand the purpose behind the transformation and have a clear roadmap.

Agile Leadership Advantage:

Agile leaders can save you from haphazard decisions taken without analyzing customer needs, and technology trends. They will first define the problem and work their way backwards. This means defining the end goal and splitting the transformation process into phases — each having measurable targets.

Swapping Old Legacy Business Models & Systems

The Challenge:

Change is difficult. Businesses may find it hard to replace the systems and processes they were relying on to date. For one, it’s a lot of work, and switching to new systems can bring a lot of uncertainty. Adding more to that, the cost of transformation is huge – and can discourage small to medium-sized businesses even before they get started.

Agile Leadership Advantage:

Agile leaders are flexible with their approach and can envision the big picture. In comparison, they are more likely to adapt to new changes than people who have a fixed mindset. Good leaders can inspire their employees to take on innovative projects that can challenge the status quo and contribute to the company’s growth. 

Cybersecurity Risk

The Challenge:

Data breaches and security threats can put off companies from taking up digital transformation. The fear of cybercrime is real as it can cost a company thousands of dollars. They may even lose their user’s trust, which is hard to regain, and the damage caused to the brand can be irreparable.

Agile Leadership Advantage:

Strong and agile leadership will allow you to be proactive and take the necessary precautions to prevent any potential cyberattacks. You can start by training your employees and making them aware of potential security risks. Carry out regular risk assessments and ensure you have a sound risk management strategy to mitigate any attacks.

Adapting to Ever-evolving Customer Needs

The Challenge:

We’re in an experience-driven economy. Users care about their experience more than anything else. And to provide a delightful user experience, you need to understand your users, their needs and then work your way backward in transforming their journey.

With competition getting fiercer, customers have started expecting more personalized experiences. And thus, as a company, if you’re seeking to evolve, you will have to adapt to your customer needs. Most companies fail at digital transformation because they think of it as a one-time project. However, it is an ongoing process that evolves with the user’s expectations.

Agile Leadership Advantage:

Agile leaders can help you stay ahead by constantly seeking feedback from customers and employees. They will ensure you’re heading in the right direction by aligning your strategy and goals with your customers’ expectations. Adapting to your customers may mean focusing only on the communication channels that matter or embracing an omnichannel approach towards communication.

Final Words

Digital Transformation is all about enriching your customers’ journey at every possible touchpoint. The transition may be challenging, but having an agile leadership by your side will make the shift almost seamless. 

If you’re seeking to embrace digital transformation but are not sure how to go about it, let us help. Whether you’re seeking to boost your company’s productivity or enhance customer experience, our experts can steer your journey in the right direction. With our time-tested methodologies and proven processes, we will ensure you succeed with your digital transformation goals.

Share with us your vision of digital transformation, and our consultants will be happy to help.

To know more about iView Labs, kindly log on to our website www.iviewlabs.com and to get in touch with us with your queries and needs just write us an email on info@iviewlabs.com and sales@iviewlabs.com. Download the latest portfolio to see our work.

Low Code Platforms and its Pros & Cons

Introduction

Low-code platforms like Bubble have empowered millions of businesses to create production-ready web applications in no time. Using such platforms, even individuals with zero coding skills can create amazing web applications that are future-focused and scalable.

Even giant enterprises and web professionals have started reaping the rewards of low-code platforms to automate and expedite the development process. In this blog, we will understand what low-code platforms are, their pros and cons, and how you can use them to speed up your development process.

Let’s get going.

What Are Low-code Platforms?

To put it simply, low-code platforms enable users to build interactive web applications without writing a single line of code. How, you ask? Low-code platforms like Bubble come with a drag-and-drop interface that allows users to visually build applications without getting into the intricacies of coding.

You can build and deploy applications that can be scaled easily as and when needed. Low-code platforms are cloud-based — that means you don’t have to worry about setting up the back-end, and you will be able to access them from anywhere.

Marketshare

Low code is fast becoming the preferred method of software development in IT, according to the Gartner’s 2020 Magic Quadrant for Low Code Application Platforms: “By 2024, 75% of large enterprises will be using at least four low-code development tools for both IT application development and citizen development initiatives.”

That’s not all. The low code market is expected to increase from its $10.3 billion market value back in 2019 to $187 billion by 2030 as more companies see the benefits of adopting the platform for their business needs. That’s a CAGR of 31.1%.

Having said that, it is safe to say that low-code development is here to stay for a long time and holds great potential.

Pros & Cons of Low-code Platforms

Benefits of low-code platforms are immense. However, they also have a few limitations. Let’s look at both pros and cons of low-code platforms.

Pros:

Shallow Learning Curve, Lower Cost & Deployment Time:

Learning low-code development is fairly easy and self-explanatory. Anyone with little technical knowledge can learn it in limited time and with minimal effort. What’s more, low-code development is cheaper and will cost you less number of development hours as compared to traditional development.

Lower Maintenance

Low-code development platforms are usually monitored and managed by the service provider itself. This means, you won’t have to spend anything on maintenance of the platform. That’s not all. The app you build with low-code platforms will also require little to no maintenance as most of the components used in developing it will be standardized and ready-made.

Increased Productivity

Because low-code development enables organizations to develop more apps in less time, what used to take months can now be developed in just a few weeks…even days. This fosters innovation and boosts productivity.

Improved Agility

Apps developed by using low-code platforms make organizations more agile in the long run. That’s not all, visual design can accelerate the speed of development. This means less coding and automated testing.

Cons

Limited Customization Options

With the modular components of low-code platforms, you can only go so far in customizing your app. Thus, you may have to change your business processes to keep up with the low-code platform.

Lack of 3rd-party Integrations

With low-code, you won’t be able to integrate your other business tools to your application. Thus, scaling up wouldn’t be that easy. You will have to compromise some of the integrations if you’re seeking to develop a low-code application.

You Get Stuck with One Platform

Most of the low-code development platforms will tie with their cloud-based offerings. Thus, you won’t be able to switch platforms frequently. Moreover, hiring software engineers working with that platform can be tricky.

API Development

With low-code development, you won’t be able to develop a proper API. This means if you are seeking to develop an enterprise-class application with intricate features, you must consider other development methods instead of low-code development.

Top 3 low-code Platforms

While there are a lot of low-code development platforms, here are top 3 platforms that stand out from the crowd for their capabilities.

#1 – Bubble

With a thriving community of over 1.3 million users, Bubble is a powerful low-code platform that can help you build production-ready web applications. You can create everything from interactive, multi-user applications for both desktop and mobile browsers. The apps you build can be hosted on Bubble itself – this means you won’t have to worry about managing server and paying recurring hosting charges. Last but not the least, Bubble has a huge ecosystem of extensions that can help you extend the platform as per your needs.

#2 – OutSystems

OutSystems is one of the most promising low-code platforms that can help you create amazing apps swiftly and without much technical know-how. It comes with amazing features like a WYSIWYG editor, drag-and-drop features to build your apps visually, process and workflow mapping, an app marketplace to choose pre-built apps and templates from, and more. While it may take you some time to get accustomed with the system – but once you know how it works, building apps with it can be super fun.

#3 – Appian

Certainly one of the leading low-code development platforms, Appian comes with all the features you’d expect – coupled with a few useful ones. It offers a drag-and-drop visual interface, seamless third-party app integrations and many more. You can also use pre-built apps for creating your own app with minimal changes.

Final Words

Low-code platforms are leading the digital front by bringing in amazing features, unparalleled time-to-value, agility, and scalability. Furthermore, you don’t need to have any technical skills to build applications on low-code platforms.

In case you need help in deciding which low-code platform will be ideal for you, or want us to develop applications for you, let us know. We have been working with low-code development platforms and can help you turn your amazing idea into a clickable reality with minimal time and efforts.

To know more about iView Labs, kindly log on to our website www.iviewlabs.com and to get in touch with us with your queries and needs just write us an email on info@iviewlabs.com and sales@iviewlabs.com. Download the latest portfolio to see our work.

What can you do in Metaverse?

Introduction

The term Metaverse was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his novel, “Snow Crash” released in 1992. And recently enough, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg announced that they are changing their name to Meta Platforms Inc. or in short, Meta. On a superficial level, this may seem just a name change — but it is well beyond that. In this blog, we will understand what is metaverse, its implications, and how it will affect the way we interact with Facebook. That really sounds exciting, isn’t it?

What is Metaverse?

In simple words, Metaverse is a parallel world where you can experience the internet in 3D. To put it in Mark Zuckerberg’s words, it is a ‘virtual environment’ you can interact with instead of just looking at a screen.

To be more specific, Metaverse will have endless interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, and interact with others via VR headsets, AR glasses, mobile apps, and several other similar devices.

Metaverse will comprise immersive shopping and social media experiences. It will be a place where users can create their own virtual items and playgrounds. They can play 3D games with highly personalized avatars that create a more engaging human experience.

“It’s the next evolution of connectivity where all of those things start to come together in a seamless, doppelganger universe, so you’re living your virtual life the same way you’re living your physical life,”

– Victoria P. (Emerging Technologies Analyst)

What Can you Do In Metaverse?

Metaverse will open up a lot of possibilities and will allow us to harness the untapped potential of the virtual world and social media services. You’d be able to host a virtual concert (or go to one), try/buy new clothes, play personalized games, craft digital artwork, etc.

The metaverse will also allow the employers to create a virtual office where everyone can see and interact with each other as if they were right in front of them. Horizon Workrooms, Facebook’s meeting software, aims to achieve this objective via VR headsets that can turn out to be one of the most immersive experiences of the Metaverse.

“A lot of the metaverse experience is going to be around being able to teleport from one experience to another.”

– Mark Zuckerberg

Tech companies, like Facebook, have a lot of work to do before they can offer a seamless and interconnected Meraverse experience to their users. In an ideal world, people in the Facebook Metaverse should be able to interact and engage with users from Google Metaverse. For that to happen, these companies will have to find common platforms through which they can seamlessly exchange data while keeping users’ privacy intact.

Is Facebook Going All-in on the Metaverse?

By the looks of it, yes. The company is investing heavily into the project as they think it is going to play a major role in the digital economy we’re in. They would be investing about $10 billion on Metaverse this year alone. That’s a huge number.

Facebook has also collaborated with Microsoft and Nvidia to scale the project. That’s not all. Video game companies have also been taking keen interest in Metaverse. In fact, Epic Games has raised over $1 billion from investors to build games compatible with Metaverse.

With the ever increasing hype, more and more companies are jumping into this space. And to ensure they are ahead of the curve, Facebook is going all-in on Metaverse.

Is Metaverse Similar to the Internet?

In one of the interviews, Mark Zuckerberg compared Metaverse with the internet by describing it as ‘an embodied internet’ — a place where people can have immersive experiences that a webpage can not offer.

As a matter of fact, one of the key benefits of Metaverse is considered ‘immersion’ — a sense of physically engaging with the world around you instead of watching them through a tab. For instance, interacting with your employees on Facebook Horizon may feel more natural than Zoom/Google Meet thumbnails.

It’s hard to compare Metaverse with the internet. After all, text-heavy internet comes with a lot of advantages. Buying high-end gaming consoles or supercomputers and VR tech can be expensive. Furthermore, in remote areas where internet connectivity is a challenge, people may not be able to access ‘the Metaverse’.

Thus, it is safe to say that Metaverse cannot replace the entire internet, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Is this a yet another stunt to collect more data?

The Metaverse will give Facebook access to a lot more personal data than the conventional internet. With this project, the company will continue to use personal data to show targeted ads, into the Metaverse.

“Ads are going to continue being an important part of the strategy across the social media parts of what we do, and it will probably be a meaningful part of the metaverse, too.“

Mark Zuckerberg

People are concerned that Facebook trying to enter into Metaverse can give the company access to even more personal data. Given their reputation when it comes to privacy and data management, it’s quite alarming.

Metaverse — A Huge Opportunity

A new era of the internet is being innovated. Its implications on our world will be massive. Companies will have to adapt to this change in order to continue thriving in this new space. They will have to be creative and push limits of innovation to embrace the Metaverse. With so much happening at such a pace, the question is, are you ready for the change?

To know more about iView Labs, kindly log on to our website www.iviewlabs.com and to get in touch with us with your queries and needs just write us an email on info@iviewlabs.com and sales@iviewlabs.com. Download the latest portfolio to see our work.