What is a framework in CSS?

Imagine CSS frameworks as pre-built toolkits for web developers.  Instead of writing all the CSS code from scratch to style a website,  these frameworks provide a collection of pre-designed styles and components like buttons, forms, and navigation bars. This saves developers tons of time and effort, especially when developing responsive mobile apps that need to adapt to different screen sizes.  
 

Benefits of Using a CSS Framework

1.Faster Development:  

CSS frameworks come pre-equipped with a vast library of pre-built styles and components. This eliminates the need for developers to write everything from scratch, allowing them to focus on customizing the framework's styles to fit their specific project needs. In today's fast-paced development environment, this time-saving benefit is crucial for launching projects quickly and efficiently.

2. Consistent Design and Style:  

Maintaining a consistent look and feel across an entire website can be challenging with custom CSS. Frameworks address this by offering a standardized set of styles for common elements like buttons, forms, and navigation bars. This ensures a cohesive user experience and a professional overall aesthetic.

3. Responsive Design Made Easy:  

With the ever-increasing use of mobile devices, creating responsive websites that adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes is no longer optional. Many CSS frameworks are built with responsiveness in mind, providing built-in grid systems and utilities that simplify the process of crafting fluid layouts.

4. Improved Maintainability:  

Frameworks often promote a more modular and organized approach to CSS code. This makes it easier for developers to maintain and update styles in the future,  especially when working on large or collaborative projects. Additionally, many frameworks have large and active communities, providing access to resources and support for troubleshooting any issues that may arise.

1. Tailwind CSS:

• Features: Utility-first approach, highly customizable, lightweight.
• Why Choose Tailwind CSS: Ideal for building complex UIs with maximum control and flexibility. Great for experienced devs who prefer a granular approach.
• Top Users: Landing.jobs, Webflow.

2. Bootstrap:

• Features: Mature, widely adopted, extensive component library, responsive grid system.
• Why Choose Bootstrap: Excellent starting point for beginners, vast ecosystem of themes and plugins, ideal for rapid prototyping.
• Top Users: Spotify, Slack, NASA (.gov).

3. Materialize CSS:

• Features: Google's Material Design implementation, pre-built components, animations, cross-browser compatibility.
• Why Choose Materialize CSS: Perfect for building apps with a clean, modern aesthetic inspired by Google's design language.
• Top Users: Airbnb (partially), MDB (commercial theme provider).

4. Foundation:

• Features: Modular, responsive, accessible, Sass preprocessor integration.
• Why Choose Foundation: Flexible and customizable, strong focus on accessibility, well-suited for complex web applications.
• Top Users: Yahoo!, ZURB (framework creators).

5. Bulma:

• Features: Simple, lightweight, flexbox-based layout, easy learning curve.
• Why Choose Bulma: Perfect for beginners or small projects, clean and minimal aesthetic, easy to integrate with existing code.
• Top Users: BMW, Siemens.

6. UIKit:

• Features: Lightweight, component-based, touch-friendly, extensive documentation.
• Why Choose UIKit: Well-suited for mobile-first development, offers a rich set of interactive components for dynamic interfaces.
• Top Users: GOV.UK, Wrappapper (theme provider).

7. Chakra UI:

• Features: React-based, component library, accessible, built with TypeScript.
• Why Choose Chakra UI: Ideal for building modern React applications with a focus on accessibility and type safety.
• Top Users: Asana, Vercel.

8. Emotion:

• Features: CSS-in-JS solution, integrates seamlessly with React, runtime styling.
• Why Choose Emotion: Enables writing CSS within JavaScript components for better organization and maintainability in React projects.
• Top Users: Netflix, Dropbox.

9. Styled-components:

• Features: Another CSS-in-JS solution, component-scoped styles, integrates with various React frameworks.
• Why Choose Styled-components: Similar benefits to Emotion, offers a slightly different syntax and styling approach within React components.
• Top Users: Uber, Reddit.

10. Semantic UI:

• Features: Semantic class naming, human-readable syntax, large component library.
• Why Choose Semantic UI: Easy to learn due to intuitive class names, promotes self-documenting code, extensive component options.
• Top Users: Atlassian, Microsoft (partially).

11. Pure CSS:

• Top Features: Lightweight collection of basic styles, promotes a minimalist approach, vendor prefixes included.
• Why Choose Pure CSS: Ideal for small projects or developers who prefer a vanilla CSS experience with minimal overhead.
• Top Users: Many small businesses and developer portfolios.

How Choose the Best CSS Framework for Your Project

      1. Complexity: For simple websites, a lightweight framework like Bulma or Pure CSS might suffice. Complex UIs with intricate designs might benefit from          Tailwind's granular control or Bootstrap's vast component library.

       2. Responsiveness: Is a responsive design a must? Most modern frameworks prioritize responsiveness, but some like Foundation excel in this area.

      3. Technical Expertise: Consider your team's skill set. Beginner-friendly frameworks like Bootstrap or Bulma might be a good starting point, while Tailwind caters to experienced developers comfortable with a utility-first approach.

      4. Integration Concerns: Are you using a specific JavaScript library or PHP framework (e.g., React)? Opt for a compatible framework.

     5. Project Scale: For large-scale projects, a lightweight framework like Tailwind or Pure CSS might be preferable to avoid code bloat.

     6. Popularity: Popular frameworks like Bootstrap or Materialize often have larger communities, providing easier access to tutorials, troubleshooting, and third-party themes or plugins.

You can choose a CSS framework that empowers you to develop beautiful, functional websites/apps efficiently in 2024. Remember, there's no single “best” framework – the ideal choice depends on your unique project and development preferences.

The post 11 Popular CSS Frameworks That Will Help You Build Faster & Save Time in 2024 appeared first on Datafloq.

However, technology and data-driven solutions present promising ways to tackle this complex issue and reduce food waste in homes, grocery stores, restaurants, and across the supply chain. 

One company using data and technology to combat food waste is Foodiaz, a personalized recipe and meal-planning app. 

I spoke with Foodiaz CEO Nicholas Nedelisky to learn more about how they are using data analytics and algorithms to help consumers reduce food waste. A key challenge is the sheer amount of food spoilage that happens in consumers' own kitchens. 

According to Nedelisky, “The majority of food waste happens at home. We didn't want to bog down users with hours of pantry management and updating expiration dates every time you shop. Instead, we made it as simple as possible to use up ingredients that are about to spoil.”

To accomplish this, Foodiaz focuses on seamlessly integrating into users' cooking routines and subtly influencing their behaviors regarding food freshness and spoilage. 

Nedelisky explained, “Our goal is to keep the app frictionless by staying away from onerous tasks and keeping the experience fun and intuitive.”

Rather than requiring users to input expiry dates or inventory all their groceries, Foodiaz passively tracks what users are cooking and buying. It then gently nudges users towards recipes that feature ingredients they already have on hand that are close to spoiling. 
 

Personalization is Key

This personalization and passive tracking of users' habits is key to Foodiaz's approach. As Nedelisky noted, “A lot of the personalization comes directly from users specific pantries. The ingredients they choose tell us a lot about what kind of recipes they are looking for.” 

Foodiaz supplements this direct user input with sophisticated AI that monitors user behavior across the app, from recipes viewed, favorited and actually cooked. This allows Foodiaz to learn about each user's taste preferences and recommend recipes tailored specifically to their purchasing and cooking history.
Importantly, Foodiaz also allows users to specify dietary restrictions like gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan. According to Nedelisky, “If you choose to buy great, healthy, whole ingredients, I can without a doubt find great recipes tailored to those ingredients. This applies to restrictions such as gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, etc.” 

Users can further customize with filters for calories, carbs, sugar and more macros if they desire. This integration of user-provided data, observed usage patterns, and personalized algorithms powers the “Foodiaz learns what you like” feature at the heart of the app.

Grocery Integration

In addition to recipe recommendations, Foodiaz also integrates with grocery shopping by partnering with major grocery chains. This provides another data point – users' real-time grocery purchases – that improves the app's ability to suggest recipes using items they already have. However, rolling out this grocery integration presented challenges, as Nedelisky explained: “The biggest hurdle in all of this is incorporating the major grocery systems and APIs into a single interface.” 

By syncing with users' groceries, Foodiaz can incrementally build an inventory of their pantries. This makes recommendations even more tailored while seamlessly helping users eat food before it goes bad. Nedelisky stated they are nearly finished fully implementing this grocery tech nationwide.

Powered by Data Science

Behind the scenes, Foodiaz leverages data science and algorithms to enable this personalization and inventory tracking. While Nedelisky was understandably reticent to reveal proprietary technical details, he noted their tech stack relies on Google's Firebase platform to ingest usage data and identify trends. He also discussed how their models improve with scale, stating, “Currently, our model does better at scale as we can learn more holistic information, but I am sure we will make adjustments as we monitor the algorithm's performance.” 

Foodiaz is powered by an intelligent data backend that continually optimizes its waste-reducing suggestions based on real-world usage patterns. The algorithms examine both individual user behaviors as well as broader eating habit trends across its user base. This allows for a feedback loop where the product continually improves its waste reduction capabilities even as Foodiaz scales to more users.

Tackling Waste Across the Supply Chain 

While Foodiaz focuses on reducing household food waste, data-driven technologies can also make an impact across the broader food system. For example, analytics and IoT sensors can better track perishable inventory at restaurants, grocers and across supply chains. Machine learning algorithms can optimize ordering and human decision-making to minimize over-ordering. Predictive analytics can increase the accuracy of demand forecasting and production planning.  

Meanwhile, computer vision systems can automatically inspect food for freshness and quality control both pre and post-harvest. And blockchain solutions can provide transparency into supply chain bottlenecks that lead to spoilage. Even simple barcode scanning apps allow stores, restaurants and consumers to digitally log inventories and expiry dates to minimize waste. 

The potential of data-driven food waste solutions also extends into logistics, where route optimization algorithms minimize spoilage during transport. Big data helps retailers identify popular items to stock and price promotions to increase sales of perishable items close to expiring. And digital marketplaces connect consumers with discounted food that would otherwise be landfilled.

Ultimately, waste occurs across the entire food ecosystem. But advanced analytics opens up new possibilities to identify previously hidden waste patterns across this complex system. Artificial intelligence can then optimize systems, tailor recommendations, and modify behaviors throughout the supply chain to cumulatively reduce global food waste.

The Bottom Line

Food waste is an immense challenge globally, but also a major opportunity for technology and data to make a positive impact. As demonstrated by Foodiaz's use of data personalization, there are compelling waste-fighting solutions available today. And continued innovation in this space can help reduce food waste at scale. 

Technology provides insights to raise awareness of the problem, while analytics enables data-driven action across homes, businesses, and supply chains worldwide. With sufficient investment and adoption, data-powered tools provide reason for optimism that we can create a smarter, more sustainable food system with far less waste.

The post Reducing Food Waste with Data-Driven Solutions appeared first on Datafloq.

A comprehensive deliverable is a tough ask when it needs to demonstrate its value in such a short period. Still, UI design principles and additional tips can craft an app worthy of five-star reviews and years-long use.

1. UI Determines UX

UX is how users feel when using an app, and interactivity, ease-of-access and aesthetics often contribute to those feelings more than designers realize. Design principles guide users in the right direction when it comes to responding emotionally and mentally to the app.

For example, the UI principle of Structure prioritizes app architecture that appeals to how the brain categorizes like and unlike things. The Feedback principle allows user participation in the design by recording their reactions and opinions to change the app's state or presentation to adjust their UX.

2. Never Stop Testing

A 2017 survey uncovered that 88% of app users would stop using an app if they encountered too many bugs. Users may not immediately uninstall it – though this is possible – but they would at least close out and consider deletion later.

Frequent testing will prevent daily bugs from creeping into an application. Additionally, transparent patch notes demonstrate attentiveness to detail and responsiveness to feedback for improved UX and UI.

3. Make It Accessible

Not every app user has the same capabilities, so it's critical to consider UI elements that appeal to as wide an audience as possible. With testing in mind, app makers should consider finding diverse individuals to provide feedback. It could reveal the answers to questions like:

• Does the app have colorblind settings for color changes?
• Is the text adjustable in size?
• Are there audio or visual aids for people with visual or audio concerns?
• Does the app use gender-neutral language?
• Are there diverse representations of bodies, if applicable?

4. Keep It Simple

The Simplicity and Visibility principles of UI explain why a more approachable, less flashy design is to the advantage of app designers. Users want to be able to find all the information and settings they are curious about without seeking an FAQ or customer service representative.

The app text should be free of jargon – unless the target audience demands otherwise – so navigation is straightforward. App users could also leverage images, diagrams and other visual aids instead of walls of text. The fewer requests app makers get from users, the more they know their design prioritizes ease of use.

5. Make It Compatible

Platform availability is crucial – nobody wants to discover a valuable app and find it's unavailable for their phone model. App wars like the battle between Google and Apple Maps show these contentions firsthand, despite the apps offering nearly similar features. Ideally, app makers will make their app brand agnostic while including functionality and integrations for other devices like wearable tech or seamless car connectivity.

6. Leverage White Space for Readability

App designers are creatives at heart, so it might be an exercise in self-restraint to pull back on elaborate design elements for the sake of simplicity. Negative space between graphics and paragraphs helps scannability. Put them under and beside images and columns to discourage long text blocks or oversized visual elements.

7. Use Breadcrumb Navigation

Breadcrumb navigation uses logical menu mapping that appeals to the audience. Whether it's attribute- or history-based navigation or anything in between, users shouldn't have to search for long to find the landing page they need. The key to smart breadcrumbs is to have the right amount – there is no need to be hyperspecific. Determine what users want to find and make links accordingly.

8. Spell Out Data Transparency and Protection

Apps collect data – users may not love it, but they're willing to agree to terms and conditions that are clear and concise while providing them the convenience they desire from the app. The app should have a dedicated area to explain why and how it collects data and uses it per federal compliance and regulations.

9. Increase Load Speeds

Everyone's internet speeds and data accessibility is different. Still, app designers have a lot of influence on UX if they can decrease file sizes, simplify source codes and update software to load as quickly as possible without depending on those external influences. UX improves if users don't experience lag or distrust servers.

10. Hone Brand Consistency

Brand awareness and tone should resonate with the app's users and the company's story. Every subsequent style update should only be degrees from the original concept – not a massive divergence. Otherwise, it could confuse users. Are they in a different app? Did someone buy it out? Spend time in the early development and design stages to ensure a solid brand foundation for the app's longevity.

Ensure Content UX With Quality UI

Following design principles to forge a simple, practical and easy-to-boot application will make users happy. App design is rarely a stagnant process – it's a series of updates to improve quality, appearance and experience. It's a rare opportunity to hone a product long after its release, so app makers should want to make it perfect.

The post 10 Keys to UX/UI for Mobile Apps appeared first on Datafloq.

When it comes to mobile app development and the features that modern apps bring to the consumers, AI and machine learning can greatly streamline the process while enhancing the in-app user experience. Let's put that into perspective and take a look at how these technologies are changing mobile app development, just in time for your next app development project in 2023.

Here's what you need to know.

Enhancing the DevOps process

DevOps is a comprehensive term used to describe the numerous tools, tactics, and processes used for efficient and effective software development, but its foundational pillars can be applied to numerous other departments and sectors. In mobile app development, the DevOps principles and way of thinking can be invaluable in driving down costs while aligning IT teams with operations and other departments in an organization.

You can apply DevOps principles and methodologies in android and iOS app development in the fields of automation, collaboration between teams, continuous testing and optimization, as well as ensuring you're making constant daily progress. It's also important to note that AI and machine learning play a vital role in maximizing the potential of every DevOps project.

AI and machine learning are primarily tasked with providing automated, daily testing of software to ensure everything is working properly, but in a separate sandbox environment so that the teams can continue working on the product at the same time. Quality assurance is a big part of AI implementation here, and it helps to develop a mobile app faster all the while ensuring that all features are working as intended.

Detecting malicious behavior and profanity

When it comes to in-app functionalities and ensuring complete data protection and cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning systems are becoming indispensable to software engineers and the end users. During the app development process, AI systems can conduct regular pen testing and security probing to uncover potential weaknesses, while the deep learning systems can continue to improve cybersecurity measures and create meaningful insights.

After launch, artificial intelligence can be used alongside a profanity filter that automatically spots and flags suspicious behavior in the chat, such as bullying, criminal activity, sexual advances, bigotry, and more. The system can keep learning to not only detect these keywords, but to spot potential malicious or criminal activity ahead of time.

These features can bring the end user much-needed peace of mind, knowing that the app itself is safe and that the chat functionality is smart enough to automatically protect them in various conversations and potentially harmful situations.

Automating chat functionalities

Speaking of chat, we also need to recognize that in-app chat functions have become ubiquitous to modern mobile apps, as they facilitate brand-user communication and communication between users. A good chat function helps develop your brand's community, but it also allows you to deliver exceptional customer service on a moment's notice right there in the app.

Modern mobile apps are heavily banking on chatbot marketing as well, allowing the brand to communicate directly with the user in the app by sending direct messages and push notifications. Artificial intelligence comes in when it starts providing smart, timely support along with personalized offers and interactions in the DMs.

Programming AI-driven chatbots and intuitive chat functionalities during the development process is therefore an essential element of good UX and a great way to ensure user satisfaction in the long term.

Building automated self-help desks

The in-app experience is becoming increasingly complex and all-encompassing, but that should come as no surprise. There's nothing that modern users hate more than having to venture outside the app to get an answer to a question or to complete a certain action. Every time they exit the app because they have to and not because they want to, you risk them going to the competitors.

That's why software developers are working heavily to create a closed loop of in-app experiences that will keep the user from closing the app while perusing products or services.

When it comes to customer service, a user should be able to reach a support agent directly in the app through a CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) system, or if they don't want to talk to anyone, they should have access to an in-app information desk. Building an intuitive, AI-driven self-help desk functionality and complementing it with an in-app support tool is a great way to keep the users in the app.

Better predictive analytics and personalization

Artificial intelligence can collect and collate vast amounts of industry and user data, and it can help the app development process by generating insights fast for the dev teams. On the other hand, machine learning can support ongoing improvement and app personalization for specific customer segments and target groups.

Some of the best SaaS ideas are born from artificial intelligence and the reports and industry insights it creates, allowing business leaders to identify the biggest gaps in the market and make the right investment. Even if the idea for the app is nothing new to the consumer, AI can still uncover the best ways to make the app better and more unique than what the competitor's are offering.

Wrapping up

Mobile app developers are always looking for more efficient and effective ways to get their products finished faster without sacrificing quality, while ensuring high customer satisfaction. Getting everything ready in time for the rollout is one thing, but integrating all the features the modern users need while ensuring next-level functionality and security can be a difficult challenge.

That's why leveraging low-code AI along with machine learning is becoming an integral and a necessary part of the process. Make sure to implement these technologies in 2023 to shorten your development cycle in 2023 and bring amazing new apps to the market.

The post How AI and Chatbots are Changing the Development Landscape appeared first on Datafloq.

In the past, you had to choose whether your app would be mobile or desktop, universal or native. The native ones performed better as they were written in separate code for each platform.

This made them expensive, taking more time to develop, and hiring a team of developers specialized in each platform was still necessary. However, Flutter, based on the Dart language and created by Google, in 2017, changed this scenario.

What is flutter anyway?

Flutter is an open-source development kit with which you can develop interfaces for various platforms for apps, websites and portals.

With it, it is possible to create mobile, desktop and web projects with a single code, making the application development process easier and more optimized. That's because Flutter, in addition to being cross-platform, is a native application.

A native application is developed based on the operating system on which it will work and uses features of the device, such as the camera and GPS.

Advantages of a native app

• Faster, as it needs less processing
• More development quality and fewer bugs
• Improves user experience as it utilizes mobile device hardware and software
• More usage modes, as it can be used with a slower connection or even offline
• More security, as it does not need intermediaries, being a very stable application

In addition to all these advantages, Flutter also helps when developing versions for Android, iOS, Windows, Linux and all other operating systems. Its programming language is Dart, very similar to JavaScript.

Another feature of Flutter is that the structural elements, such as menus, layouts, buttons and others, are widgets, so they can be used from packages already ready in the framework or create them from scratch.

As one of the most complete platforms at the moment, large corporations use Flutter for application development.

Main features of Flutter

By combining the quality of native applications with the flexibility of cross-platform application development, the framework brings many advantages and benefits to application building.

Flutter contains everything needed to create the best user interfaces (UI), enabling designers to easily render operating systems.

Regarding the user experience, Flutter works in the User Interface (UI) layer of applications, without intermediaries between devices. As a result, native applications developed in Flutter have better performance and fluidity, benefiting user interaction.

See Flutter's architecture

Flutter is a great choice for companies that need quality application development and a great user experience, but have a tight budget. Precisely by having the same code base for all platforms, the code process is much faster.

In other words, using a slightly more technical explanation, let's assume that your business is developing a cross-platform application using Flutter's MaterialApp widget.

This widget, for example, builds several other useful widgets at the root of your application, including a browser. This browser manages a stack of widgets, called strings and known in Flutter as routes. In this way, the browser allows you to move smoothly between application screens.

How has Flutter changed app development?

Now that we have a better understanding of what Flutter is and how the framework works, let's understand how it positively impacts mobile app development processes.

Less development time

Undoubtedly, the time factor is one of the most requested and taken into account when hiring an application development team. Big businesses and companies aim to develop the highest quality app as quickly as possible.

Because of Hot Reload, creating applications in Flutter allows for more agile development, as the developer can instantly see the changes made to the code while programming. With this, he can iterate and optimize the test procedure quickly.

In this way, the development team saves time, as problems are identified and resolved at the same time the programming is done.

It even happened with one of the apps developed in Flutter, the Hamilton App, which takes the experience of the American Broadway musical beyond the theatre, as the team had to develop the app in less than three months and still had to make a big change in the code. the night before it was released in stores.

Flutter apps are more budget-friendly

The quality offered by the applications developed in Flutter has an excellent cost-benefit for all the usability and loading speed that the framework provides.

It is a perfect option for testing MVPs, allowing you to test prototypes quickly. The cost of Flutter is generally lower when compared to different frameworks to develop the application on each platform. Not to mention that you don't need a specific team to develop the application for Android and another team specialized in iOS, further reducing costs.

Google and Community Support

Because it was created by Google, obviously, the development team also has the official support of the technology giant.

With this, you guarantee your application a higher quality, always updated documentation and the security that this framework will not fall into disuse, with the risk of losing your application.

In addition, Flutter is also a free and open-source framework, providing all the necessary documentation to be analyzed further. It also offers external consultations to resolve any issues that may arise in the future.

More current and longer-lived apps

Another very interesting point about Flutter is that it makes the app's lifespan longer by always offering the same widgets for all platforms. With it, there is no problem of changing the aesthetics of older devices, requiring fewer interface updates or constant layout adjustments.

Also, because these widgets are part of the application code developed in Flutter, without intermediaries, there are much less incompatibilities in the different versions of each operating system. That is, your branded app will continue to work on newer versions of more modern mobile devices.

The post What is Flutter: check out the advantages of Google’s framework appeared first on Datafloq.

Employees may also benefit from digital technologies to humanize fundraising campaigns and help companies target donors effectively. There are five aspects of fundraising software assisting companies in maximizing their profits.

Fundraising and the Digital Revolution

The digital revolution is influencing profitable business model changes, helping companies expand their profits. This new tactic integrates digital channels into fundraising models to influence engagement, broaden customer reach and increase giving opportunities.

Companies can reach beyond their local audience using digital channels and connect with global donors. They may use artificial intelligence, prospect research software, customer-managed relationship (CMR) software, virtual reality (VR) and mobile event apps to assess and connect with a broader audience. The data collected by technological devices also helps businesses humanize their fundraising campaigns.

Using digital technologies can create distance between fundraisers and some donors, so decision-makers must take advanced steps to make a deeper connection with people. Fundraisers may use technology to add a face to their campaign.

1. Artificial Intelligence

The first technology companies can use to personalize their digital fundraising campaigns is artificial intelligence (AI). Researchers at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation discovered ways to maximize profits using AI. The technology is affordable and reduces employee intervention, which helps businesses save money on campaigns.

Individuals can use AI as chatbots to locate potential donors from global data sets and directly communicate with them. It may analyze a potential donor's data and develop personalization tactics to improve a campaign's reach. This helps humanize fundraising efforts by allowing companies to connect and talk with more people than was previously possible.

2. Prospect Research Software

Businesses can also use prospect research software to humanize their fundraising campaigns. The software uses different tools to collect and analyze data. Developers can then use this information to create engaging campaigns and increase consumer appeal. Targeting people directly can make them feel more visible to a larger company.

Marketers may apply their strategies to social media campaigns, which is a vital advertising resource. Researchers found social media influences about 15.6% of donors. This medium is more personable than other platforms because marketing teams can mix fundraising campaigns into a timeline with fewer commercial posts.

3. CMR Software

CMR software helps potential donors access information and donation channels. It improves individuals' access to donation links, which enhances their sense of control. This enables digital fundraising to feel more personal by making people feel seen and appropriately assisted.

4. Virtual Reality

VR technology also helps companies develop personable fundraising campaigns. The devices can increase a campaign's exigence by bringing a cause to life. Some potential donors could be less likely to give when a problem is out of sight and out of mind.

Virtual reality may physically display specific issues a campaign targets. It can also show people how their donations may improve conditions. Companies may sync their campaigns to VR headsets and help potential donors connect with the cause.

5. Mobile Event Apps

Companies can integrate customer service into their mobile apps and improve satisfaction ratings by 38% on average. The apps help potential donors quickly and efficiently connect with a campaign.

Developers can improve their mobile apps' success by adding in-app payment options and creating a place for user feedback. Integrating communication channels within the app also helps humanize a fundraising campaign.

Benefits of Campaign Humanization

More companies are investing in digital technologies to humanize their fundraising and improve profits. The technologies help developers collect more customer data to build stronger campaigns. They also provide more channels to tell a story and effectively target potential donors.

The post Can Software Help Humanize Fundraising? appeared first on Datafloq.

It all started with a marketing creative

The story of CountThis (AI mobile app that quickly counts similar objects through the phones camera) started with a great marketing creative. Our colleagues from the Marketing Department are constantly testing various ideas. At some point, they came up with an idea of a creative about an app that counts items in a photo (a lot of logs, to be specific).

What followed was a clip that showed AI instantly counting completely different objects. It received a large positive response from social media. The team was convinced that the concept had potential, the Machine Learning specialists tinkered with the first version of the neural network, and implemented the counting mode in one of our apps to see how real users would react. This is pretty much the beginning of CountThis, and soon afterward, it became a separate app in the AIBY product portfolio.

Initially, we didnt pick any specific category of objects to count; instead, we were trying to train the neural network to count any type of similar items in the picture based on the object selected by the user. Later, we had to switch to a different approach. We realized that putting quantity (a lot of different object categories in our case) over quality is not worth it. Basically, training the AI to count keyboard keys, concrete slabs, and pills are 3 different processes that are time and effort-consuming. Users expect the app to count quickly and accurately, which is perfectly reasonable. By spreading ourselves between several counting categories, we wouldnt achieve high quality and accuracy of the resultthe two criteria that became our main focus. Thats why we decided to introduce new counting categories gradually. At the moment, we are focusing on the spheres of construction and medicine.

The time it takes to train a neural network to count new objects depends on:

• whether you have a good category dataset, which simplifies the training process and reduces time;
• the complexity of the category. If it contains items that can be easily distinguished in a picture (e.g. boxes), everything goes smoothly. But if its something denser (e.g. sheets of iron or cardboard), the training gets more difficult and time-consuming.

On average, it may take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to train AI to count objects of a certain category.

Dealing with challengeshow to choose relevant spheres for an app

This raises an obvious question: why do we focus on the construction and medical fields? The answer is quite simple. After several iterations of the product, we gained a better understanding of what our users were trying to count and what we were good at counting. We received a lot of feedback from construction, industrial, and pharmaceutical companies, where employees often have to count a large number of construction materials and pills.

At this stage of app development, we realized that counting various items equally accurately is impossible due to the current level of technology. Thats why we decided to focus on improving the counting accuracy only in certain spheres.

Obviously, we are not thinking about stopping here! We are planning to expand the list of the counting spheres beyond what we are working with right now. To get an idea of what item category we should introduce to the app next, we are looking to the following sources:

• Items are counted by our users. We collect the information about them with the users permission, which helps us learn whats relevant for them.
• Clients. Usually, they want to count items of a specific category, but we can find out what else they need to count.
• User surveys. We find out our users needs through surveys and consider the results of creatives prepared by the Marketing Department as they continue to test various counting hypotheses.

As Product Manager, I do additional work to research new possible spheres for CountThis. This includes continuous research of the market, users, and competitors, generating and checking hypotheses (with as few resources and as little time spent as possible), understanding of the technology limits and how to get the most out of it. Dealing with data, interviewing users, and studying the domain are all great ways to accurately determine the most relevant items for counting and focus on them above all others.

Moreover, we are constantly improving the apps UI. User interviews and analytics help us find out whats lacking or working incorrectly, unintuitively, not how we imagined it, or is inconvenient to use. This is a great field for study and examination that reveals non-obvious scenarios of use. In a nutshell, all of them are areas for improvement. For example, we know what kind of conditions certain users take pictures of objects in. We see that quite often, there isnt enough light or the smartphone camera is of poor quality. Later, we can try to solve these problems while training the neural network or pre or post-processing a photo to get the most out of the current technology.

Why is it so interesting despite being so complex?

Working on an AI app is a challenging but incredibly engaging experience. Why do I like being a Product Manager for a product like this one?

Its a new project that allows you to go through all of its development stages: from an idea to a fully-fledged product that helps people. This work is at the forefront of computer vision and machine learning. It involves communication with the brightest minds who are turning technology that used to seem like science fiction into reality. A big part of this job is interacting with users, which gives you a sense that your product helps them solve their problems and motivates you to keep improving it.

The post Developing an AI mobile App: Our Experience, Mistakes, and Achievements appeared first on Datafloq.

However, placing a phone call has its own set of limitations. It is impossible to connect to multiple people at once in a corporate meeting set up unless you have set up a conference bridge. Also, there is no possibility of knowing beforehand whether the person you're calling is available at that particular time to respond or not.

Having a streamlined communication tool setup is prime in specific industries such as construction, transportation and logistics, public-emergency services, etc., employing on-field workforces working across geographies for the growth of an organization. The implementation of a consistent communication channel can promote field team collaboration and eradicate costly errors. Push-to-talk technology is an excellent example of how this can be accomplished.

Stopping the current operational task to respond to incoming messages or phone calls by an on-field employee is highly distracting and time-consuming. As a result of its instant PTT message exchange and team collaboration through channels (Public or Private), PTT has been the de facto standard for communications in diverse industries for years.

In addition, the technological landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. Businesses that use smartphones and tablets are increasingly finding legacy PTT services inconvenient and obsolete due to limited exclusivity, limits to distance, interference and annoyance due to background noise, limited coverage, lack of discretion, etc. Considering this perception, many wireless carriers and service providers such as Verizon, T-Mobile, Dish wireless, etc., have been investing time and effort into transforming the legacy PTT technology with Mobile App development to match the needs of 21st-century employees.

But that's just the start. By choosing a solid and reliable PTT application, businesses can expect more than just instant communication. How much more? Here are 10 primary stuff you need to know about the PTT application.

Group Call Capability

Do you need to communicate with a large group of people simultaneously? Compared to traditional communication methods such as voice calls, text messages, and emails in the business scenario, the push-to-talk (PTT) application can save organizations a significant amount of time with instant group communication.

Most PTT applications in the market empower administrative users across different industries such as transportation, warehouse and logistics, construction, public-emergency services, etc. The ability to create multiple channels, such as public groups (one-to-many) and private chat sessions (one-to-one).

As a result, recipients will not have to set up and dial into a conference bridge to establish instant group communication or manually invite other parties to a phone call one by one.

Following these simple steps can facilitate instant group communication between participants in most of the PTT apps:

1. Tap on contact (for individual chat session) or channel (for group communication)

2. Press and hold the PTT button

3. Start talking (be blunt, conscience and to the point)

4. Release the PTT button when you're done

The barge call will broadcast live in one go regardless of whether there is just one listener or a group of people among participants.

Instant communication

Facilitate instant communication via a Push-to-talk application integrated into a smartphone – irrespective of whether there are users in a small group, targeted group, or an individual.

With PTT, the end-user can select a contact or a group/channel, press the PTT button, and speak. Once the Recipient releases the PTT button, their voice message gets delivered instantly and broadcasted live on the receiver(s) smartphone.

Additionally, the Push-to-talk application benefits remote workforces across different industries by enabling them to connect with their peers and supervisors in an emergency or instances where traditional communication methods are not feasible.

With a high-performance PTT application, you can meet the demands of instant communication by sending/receiving PTT messages in a matter of seconds and achieving ultra-low latency.

The convenience of Barge Call to the Recipient

The main aim of modern PTT applications is to establish instant communication between the organization and its remote workforces without disrupting them from the present tasks at hand.

An employee working on a construction site, for example, will find it more convenient to hear the incoming PTT messages broadcast live through the smartphone rather than setting down tools and removing gloved hands to attend a traditional phone call.

Push-to-talk (PTT) application enables the end-users to hear the incoming PTT message broadcast live on their smartphones the moment it arrives. As a result, they can listen to the barge call in a hands-free and eyes-free manner (without triggering any actions in the smartphones) while continuing their operational duties so that the level of productivity is not impaired.

Say No More Than Necessary

Due to its simplicity, PTT calls usually last less than a minute, far less than regular phone calls. They omit the typical greetings and endings protocols that are part of everyday phone call conversations. By disabling the greeting protocol, PTT applications enable the workforces to communicate more blunt, short, precise, and mission-specific.

As per a study, PTT can save an employees‘ time by up to 49 minutes in a typical 8-hour workday – approximately 16 minutes can be held on 50 one-to-one calls and 33 minutes on approx. Twenty group calls & meetings. This subsequently benefits both the organization and the remote workforce greatly since calls per day are drastically cut.

When the end-users exchange PTT messages, they can assert themselves less, which improves the workforces' productivity correspondingly.

Cost control

A smartphone equipped with a reliable PTT application can easily replace expensive and dedicated walkie-talkie devices in most organizations.

Organizations across different industries can lower their investments primarily spent to obtain dedicated Land Mobile Radios (LMRs) and realize genuine cost savings by investing in readily available consumer-based smartphones.

Most PTT apps also empower the administrative user's functionality over and above the traditional walkie-talkie devices such as workflow management, assigning specific groups (or communication channels) based on objectives, roles, geographies, etc., apart from instantaneous communication at low cost.

Maintain an archive of all PTT communications

In today's fast-paced world, it can sometimes become a challenge for remote employees to mentally retain the mission-specific details generated by meetings, memos and other conventional communication methods. Push-to-talk application bridges the gap by enabling the end-users to keep track of all the incoming and outgoing PTT messages right at the palm of their hands. Modern-day PTT apps maintain the archive of all the PTT messages exchanged over channels, no matter public or private and enable the end-users to access the history of PTT communications.

The recording of PTT messages not only allows organizations and employees to capture the vital details that they might need in the future; it can also enhance operational efficiencies during a similar mission in the future.

Worldwide coverage

The Push-to-talk application facilitates real-time communication and collaboration between remote workers and critical staff members regardless of their geographical boundaries.

By contrast, PTT apps integrated with smartphones can harness the use of cellular data/3G/4G and WiFi, something that traditional walkie-talkie devices can't offer. PTT apps can leverage WIFI even if the phone reception is limited.

This won't deteriorate the quality of the PTT messages nor shall restrict any features of the PTT application that can limit its usability.

Recipients Management with streamlined communication

Since the Push-to-talk application in smartphones mimics a traditional walkie-talkie, administrative users can import the unified corporate directory into the PTT app and create separate groups specific to departments for fewer or no miscommunications.

Traditional communication methods are often plagued with no reception, delayed acknowledgement of messages, cluttered mails, and a slow response time.

Since all the employees working in the organization shall be consolidated and imported into the PTT app, the addition of pre-approved users empowers the organizations with limited instances of miscommunication.

PTT apps broadcast incoming PTT messages live and empower the on-field workforces dispersed across geographies to respond quickly. No matter your project's size, complexity, or objective, the PTT app keeps everyone in your organization on the same page.

MDM integration and an application running in the background

One of the main characteristics that distinguish most PTT applications available in the market is the seamless integration with Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions.

A modern PTT application will cater to the need of establishing mission-critical communication and collaboration objectives among workforces dispersed across geographies, irrespective of whether an organization plans to leverage its own devices or adopt a Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policy.

Keeping the communication chain uninterrupted during on-field tasks, most PTT applications run in the background even if your app isn't open and will broadcast incoming PTT messages live to reduce any chances of miscommunication.

Media collaboration

The best Push-to-Talk apps available in the market are more than just a communication tool. On-field workforces can leverage their smartphones as an instantaneous communication tool integrated with PTT. However, most PTT apps empower them with additional administrative and workflow management functionalities as well. With media collaboration into the mix, they can share media files such as images, videos, and data files and collaborate with the team through the channels created, whether a public or private channel under a single app.

Closing lines

While Push-to-talk technology has the potential to be revolutionary, it is only possible to reap the benefits of the Push-to-talk application if there are features available above and beyond standard cellular communication modes.

Developing and implementing a tool that enables rapid communication between different departments in the organization or between other industry domains with a single press of a button is crucial.

Push-to-talk eliminates the burden without tiring yourself with the hope of lack of communication, follow-up calls, texts, and emails for any priority level of communication.

NuovoTeam is one such PTT app that is complementing the rising prominence of instant communication over other solution providers available in the market. NuovoTeam PTT is not only streamlining instant business communication across diversified departments but is also providing robustness, scalability, and uptime as a prerequisite for emergency and mission-critical operations being conducted in industries such as transportation and logistics, warehouse, public emergency services, etc.

The post 10 Things You Need To Know About Push-to-talk (PTT) Software appeared first on Datafloq.

Many businesses are pursuing the solution of deploying their custom mobile applications.

With such a wide range of mobile devices, too many operating systems, as well as sizes of display and device capabilities of handling the applications, it becomes challenging to develop mobile apps which suit all.

However, as mobile devices evolve, so does the technology for building apps; as a result, there is now a list of Low-Code development platforms available to help developers to create mobile applications that meet their business objectives.

So, let's see what Low-Code development is.

Low-Code

Low-code is a software development strategy that allows applications to be delivered more quickly and with less coding.

Low-code platforms are a set of technologies (Tools) that allow the visual creation of programs using the modeling and a graphical user interface which makes it easy for someone with less knowledge of programming, it also speeds up the process of getting an app to production.

The approach to Low-Code application is evolving with time, but it is critical to grasp the notion of low-code, the composition of low-code platforms, and the challenges that low-code answers.

It is a technology that allows for the visual development and delivery of whole applications.

The essence of low-code platforms is a drag-and-drop interface.

Instead of developing complicated code and terminology, you can utilize low-code to rapidly and graphically develop full apps with advanced user interfaces, software solutions, databases, and analytics.

Benefits Of Low-Code

The demand for IT firms to provide new solutions is increasing. Only a limited number of successful firms have the financial and personnel resources to satisfy the market need for speed and better development.

Most businesses are plagued by massive shortages, and unable to find suitably skilled employees, and are always pushed to accomplish more with less.

Low-code platforms, on the other hand, have drastically decreased the complexity of application development.

It increases the value of programmers by allowing effective approaches to build on their knowledge of how to produce and maintain high-quality websites and apps while also broadening their skills by experimenting with new technologies.

Low-code allows developers to accomplish more. They may spend more time developing and less time on repetitive tasks using low-code.

Drawback Of Low-Code

• The truth of low-code is that most low-code systems are conceptual, necessitating a significant amount of effort to be automated.
• When it comes time to expand, interface with existing programs, the low-code application may lead to the collapse of functional and non – functional criteria.
• If a low-code application needs to be updated for technological development it becomes difficult or nearly impossible to do.

Top 5 Low-Code Platforms

1. Visual LANSA

Visual LANSA is a low-code, Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows you to build mobile, responsive web or desktop applications (Windows, browser, mobile devices) for cloud (AWS, Azure) or on-premises (Windows, IBM i, Linux).

2. GeneXus

GeneXus is a cross-platform, knowledge-representation-based development tool aimed primarily at enterprise-class applications for online applications, smart devices, and the Microsoft Windows platform. GeneXus generates native code for a variety of contexts mostly using declarative language.

3. Zoho Creator

Zoho Creator is a cloud software that allows you to develop custom applications without any prior coding knowledge. The drag-and-drop interface of Zoho Creator allows you to develop customized business apps easily.

4. Creatio

Creatio is a low-code SaaS (software as a service) solution for process management and CRM (customer relationship management). It may be used to automate corporate activities, set up rules, and create third-party connections.

5. Appian

Appian is a low-code development platform for companies of all sizes. Users can use it to create business process management (BPM) applications.

Final Remark

As you've gathered enough knowledge on what Low-Code is, how it works, and, more significantly, its advantages and disadvantages.

Low-Code platforms will play an essential role in the rapid creation of mobile apps. However, as explained in this blog, it may be unable to create applications that complement current technology.

And this is where low-code app development differs from the standard, with the majority of businesses still opting for the traditional development approach.

The post What Is Low Code Mobile Application Development? appeared first on Datafloq.

The wellness industry runs on majorly three pillars- nutrition, fitness and travel. Health clubs are part of the fitness segment of this industry which focuses on whole-body wellness, unlike gyms where the focus is devoted to physical wellness more. A health club offers a comprehensive fitness approach, providing recreational sports and exercise facilities at one place to consumers.

According to studies, health clubs globally witness an increase of 4.6% annually. Similar to other industries, health club industry also benefited from technology during the pandemic by including healthcare app development, online on-demand services, etc, in its offering.

How digital transformation is useful for health clubs?

Fitness was never this important for people as it has been over the last few years. During the lockdown, digital solutions were welcomed to reach those lockdown fitness goals. This sudden need for a shift to digitization paved the path for many interactive and innovative fitness solutions. Even though the industry started this transformation a little late, it adapted quickly to this change.

Engaging with the members

Engaging with the clients is the root driver of digitization for health clubs. Omni-channel trends were existing but engaging with clients accelerated during this period. Brands sought after pre-recorded content, live streaming for engaging with their members. They also used text experiences to connect with their clients.

Using the technology to bridge the gap of not being accessible physically, clubs who launched their apps to have a platform for their content, stood out of the crowd. The virtual offering made it easy for clients to continue their fitness routine. Many took help from the healthcare app development companies for making this transition. Pretty sure, your gym trainer was teaching you over WhatsApp and Zoom. Wasn't he?

Making operations easy

Digitization brings with it, ease of operations. In every industry, digital transformation has proved to improve functioning and reduced costs over time by streamlining the processes. Health clubs also took advantage of the technology to reduce their operational costs and provide an easy, seamless member experience through CRM systems and easy bookings.

Bringing personalized experience

Digitization helped health clubs to bring personalized experiences for their clients. Mobile applications enabled brands to provide personal fitness plans to each of their clients based on their needs. This was earlier done face to face but with digitization, this process has become seamless, easy and virtual. Healthcare app development integrated with AI takes this to another level.

Using data

Data is of prime importance when we talk about digital transformation in healthcare. Using the data collected through IoT devices and applications, brands can develop a 360-degree view of the client's needs. Offering a comprehensive personalized solution to their problems, it also helped in learning about the behavior and preferences by using the algorithms and executing personalized outreach.

The data can also help the brand to anticipate the fitness needs of their clients by using AI-driven methods. People need solutions to problems and data can help brands discover those problems even before their clients discover them.

Digging deeper into a fitness experience

The IoT devices help brands in expanding this digital transformation. By integrating wearable devices, applications in their health club experience, brands can elevate their member experience. They can also provide a deeper insight into their fitness regimen through analytical analysis of the data collected. There are some health clubs who are pioneering this segment.

A roadmap to how Health Clubs can leverage the benefits of digital transformation

Digital transformation in healthcare is not an easy process. Simply investing in technology will not suffice. Digital transformation in healthcare requires a stringent cultural shift. It applies to health clubs as well.

Understanding the members and the experience you want to serve based on your brand is important. This helps in ensuring that the new technology and the fitness experience you want to serve your members complement each other. They should be in sync with each other and bring an authentic fitness experience.

From the numerous ways that health clubs can leverage the benefits of digital transformation, we have a few in the list.

Smart machines: Exercise and gym equipment that can be connected to the cloud and is responsive to an individual, is a popular thing among health clubs and gyms. Some of these smart equipment are even programmed with machine learning technology that enables self-learning and improvising the fitness journey of the user.

3D body scanning: This technology can be used to create effective and accurate personal programs targeting the specific problems of the clients.

Using SMS and texting services: Apart from providing only an exercise routine, a health club can also leverage the use of SMS or text services to motivate their members and give health reminders. This can also be used to send out awareness messages on mental health and other issues concerning the members. This will help in creating a more connected engagement channel.

Wearable 3rd party devices: Health clubs can provide members with 3rd party wearable devices to track their progress and vitals inside and outside the gym for providing in-depth analysis.

Digital transformation in healthcare has proved to be of supreme advantage. Adapting to advanced technology in the health club industry has and will prove to be groundbreaking. Not only does it bring efficiency in operations, but it also gives a competitive advantage.

The post Reinventing the Health Club Industry with Digital Transformation appeared first on Datafloq.