Boost Profitability: Optimise Cash Flows In Web & App Products

For SMEs, mastering the art of cash flow management can mean the difference between thriving and shutting down. This balancing act between fostering growth and maintaining liquidity is essential for getting ahead in a competitive market where customer expectations are high, and product life cycles are short.

By focusing on strategic cash flow management you can shepherd your digital product development from concept to profitability by getting ahead of the challenges of fluctuating project costs and unpredictable revenue streams.

Let’s talk cash flow.

Cash Flow Dynamics in Digital Product Lifecycle

Understanding the cash flow dynamic across different stages of a digital product’s life is not about a set-and-forget strategy. It involves a hands-on approach to match development investment with market-driven demand. As features evolve, revenue should increase – but only if those features align with market demands. Therefore, continual evaluation of feature production and customer spending and feedback are critical to ensure your investment contributes positively to cash flow.

To manage this dynamic there are 5 things you should integrate into your operations:

  1. Implement feedback loops to validate features’ market fit to reduce the risk of costly reworks.
  2. Embrace agile development for the flexibility in feature prioritisation and spending control.
  3. Explore strategic partnerships to extend your product while minimising cost.
  4. Establish tiered and scalable pricing models to tap into different customer segments while maintaining cash inflow stability.
  5. Forecast costs diligently, adjusting for project scope shifts to keep development within budget and cash-positive.

Cultivating Growth While Managing Cash Flow

Let’s look at a quick example on how these process might play out using Conferensity, our imaginary SaaS. Conferensity is currently a basic B2B online event management platform. Their primary goal:

“To become a comprehensive conference solution and enjoy the increased market share and revenue possibilities this will create.”

Their strategy involves expanding their web-based software’s capabilities and developing two apps – one for conference admins and another for attendees.

While these are three digital products, 1 website and 2 apps, there is actually a fourth project – the updated backend that will implement the features the website and apps will provide interfaces for. This backend will also require extensive work to provide all the necessary admin features to manage the new frontend features.

For a business like Conferensity, ensuring healthy cash flow while broadening product features requires strategic thinking. Investing in in-app purchases and tiered subscriptions can result in immediate revenue streams. Further monetising the platform through data analytics services and creating a vendor marketplace also offers potential for sustainable incoming cash flows.

To maximise the revenue-generation potential, Conferensity implements a release strategy for several new features tied directly to in-event spending. This approach includes:

  1. Rolling out an integrated ticketing system first, as it served as the initial revenue-generating touchpoint for the app. They ensure that the process of purchasing tickets provides immediate value to the event organisers.
  2. The travel coordination feature, designed to simplify booking, is released well ahead of the spring event season, offering attendees early-bird specials that incentivise app usage.
  3. The food and beverage pre-order system is released during a pilot event, allowing them to gather data on user flow and spending habits and tweak the feature for future events.
  4. A real-time analytics for event organisers is introduced as a subscription service. The analytics feature will also feed into in-app discounts and early bird offers for future events.

Throughout all stages, the Conferensity team monitors not just user satisfaction and uptake but, crucially, the cash flow each feature generates. They scrutinise the transaction volumes, service fees, and overall revenue flow to ensure that feature development costs are warranted by the returns.

Conferensity adopted a phased rollout strategy that ran like this:

Conferensity’s launch and scaling of these features, especially in the attendee app, were timed to coincide with the spring and autumn event seasons. They not only capitalised on existing customer events already in the calendar, but by implementing bookings for talks and panels within the attendee app they maximised the opportunity for attendees to engage with the app’s revenue generating features.

By pivoting to a feature-set primarily generating cash inflow through direct transactional services, Conferensity is transitioning from a service-based to a platform-based revenue structure. This ensures a stable and growth-oriented cash flow aligned with their customer engagement cycle.

Through an iterative approach and by anchoring each strategic decision to cash flow implications, Conferensity is able to expand its platform’s capabilities while being fully aware of their financial health.

The deliberate, event-centric strategy of feature roll-out created an ecosystem within the Conferensity platform that not only achieves customer satisfaction and retention but also creates consistent revenue growth.

It wasn’t just good planning that created success. Conferensity also used these strategies to constrain costs, so they could grow without draining financial resources:

  1. Leveraged open-source technologies to reduce licensing costs.
  2. Opted for cloud services over in-house infrastructure to achieve scalability without the overhead.
  3. Assembled a global, remote workforce to diminish office-related expenses.
  4. Practised lean development methodologies to maintain a flexible yet effective development cycle.
  5. Utilised automated systems for routine operations to cut down on labour and error-related expenditure.

Real-Life Examples

Dropbox and Slack are famous for their remarkable growth. They used very different strategies to drive growth in their own markets, but they each show that finding the right levers to drive users to interact with your product and spend money on it, can generate the kind of cash flow that makes success inevitable.

Dropbox: By rolling out additional storage space as a bonus for referrals, Dropbox accelerated its conversion of free users to paying users, reducing customer acquisition costs and favourably impacting cash flow without the need for external marketing expenses.

Slack: Frequent yet cost-effective feature releases kept users engaged and increased annual subscription renewals by 40%. This strategic delivery of new offerings was essential to Slack’s ability to sustain positive cash movements.

Wrapping it all up – 2 nuances and 3 processes

Crafting a successful cash flow management strategy for web and app products is all about understanding the specific financial and operational nuances of your business and leveraging technology to service those needs effectively. By closely monitoring expenditures, investing in customer-driven feature development, and strategically capitalising on early revenue streams, you can turn your digital services into engines of financial stability and growth.

8 Reasons ReactJS is Perfect for Web-based Apps

ReactJS is the perfect technology to build Web-based applications these days.

The excellent features in ReactJS enable the web-based applications providers to create the most modest-looking designs. 

Since its first launch back in 2013, ReactJS’s popular technology has been used by well-known companies such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Netflix, Instagram, Airbnb, American Express, Dropbox, eBay and hundreds of other web-based applications.

8 Reasons Why ReactJS

Let’s see why ReactJS is the latest attention grabber for most web-based application providers:

1. Easy to learn

Most developers need to learn the basics and understand the functions of this technology to fully maximize its capabilities. ReactJS is not a full-featured framework, but rather, an open-source Javascript GUI library concentrating on one specific target which aims to efficiently complete the task. ReactJS is the V in MVC (Model View Controller). Developers that have had their hands on Javascript will get the hang of ReactJS within days.

ReactJS also offers readily and easily accessible tutorials in the form of videos, tools, and blogs.

2. Easy to write components

ReactJS utilizes JSX, an extension of optional syntax for JavaScript. Writing components is much, much easier now with JSX because you can combine HTML and JavaScript together. This is made possible by not having overly complicated rules, also sources are easily obtained compared to other technologies.

3. Reusable components 

Components’ reusability is a definite advantage for any developers. ReactJS gives you the possibility to reuse components that were previously used to develop web-based applications of the same functions. This will save a lot of time and energy. The components you serve will be smooth and without defect. The biggest benefit that you will gain from this is the increased speed of the construction of the project; which, in turn, makes happy developers and clients. 

4. Possibility of creating isomorphic applications

Isomorphic applications or isomorphic javascript enables the use of the same code for client-side and server-side components from an application. This is one approach to develop applications with a quick-rendering system. This application will improve the index of the search engine and ultimately, refine the user experience.

5. Increased performance due to Virtual DOM

Updating Document Object Model (DOM) used to be the main concern in the construction of web-based applications. ReactJs solves this problem by having a Virtual DOM. ReactJS allows the possibility to build and host Virtual DOM in its memory. As the DOM won’t be periodically updated, the performance of running applications won’t be disrupted.

6. SEO- friendly

Most developers face Javascript frameworks that are not SEO-friendly. Most of the time, this is caused by applications that are built using JavaScript. ReactJS does it differently as it creates an accessible User Interface for various search engines.   

7. Readily-Available Developer Tools

ReactJS understands the needs of software engineers. ReactJs comes with features that can definitely receive a lot of brownie points from the developers. Developer tools that come with ReactJS are designed as an extension from devChrome. This allows for the possibility to pay closer attention to the hierarchy of reactive components and to check the status of the existing components.

8. ReactJS JavaScript Library

The reason why developers prefer ReactJS to other technologies is the JavaScript Library.  With this feature, developers are not limited by templates or patterns and they can overcome any complex architecture that becomes an obstacle in the project. ReactJS allows you to create highly-customizable apps that suit your needs. 

ReactJS does not only maximize speed, but also efficiency in building web-based apps. 

As a quality-driven software house, SoftwareSeni puts responsive and user-friendly applications as the top priority. Clients that are after excellent stability, remarkable speed, and top-notch performance in their web-based apps, we cannot be more glad to recommend the masterpiece that is ReactJS.

Drive Business Growth: Strategic Web & App Development

The beauty of software is that you can shape it into whatever form you want. And today, if your business is online or has an app, then your business is made out of software. Which means you can reshape your business at will. Your options are limitless, but they are constrained – by money, by time, and by pay-off.

So you have a website, or an app. It’s software. You can make it do anything. What can you do with it to drive growth? What’s going to give you the pay-off you need?

Here’s the six main strategies for driving growth when your business is made out of software:

Which strategy you pursue, and how you implement it, is going to be unique to your business. But to help get you thinking about your options, we’re going to go through examples for each strategy and look at how well-known names approached it.

Enter new markets

Identifying and entering new markets involves understanding and catering to distinct user needs within different segments. For both B2B and B2C businesses, this means adapting or extending current offerings (see next section) to meet the unique demands of these newly identified user groups, thereby broadening your customer base.

Spotify looked outside of music to acquire podcasting companies like Gimlet Media and Parcast. This solidified their position in the rapidly growing podcast market and established a new revenue stream.

HelloFresh was initially focused on delivering meal kits with recipes and ingredients. Recognising a demand, they added a marketplace option with ready-to-heat meals and other grocery items, expanding their potential customer base.

Zoom was designed primarily as a video-conferencing tool for businesses. When the pandemic hit, they quickly adapted to serve the exploding need for remote communication in personal and educational settings, vastly increasing their market reach. They now offer Zoom One for Education for this new market.

The classic “Enter New Markets” story is Netflix. They started as a DVD-by-mail rental company and transformed into a streaming giant. They then expanded further by investing heavily in original content production, becoming a major player in the entertainment industry.

Expand Product Offerings

Expanding product offerings entails developing and introducing new features, services, or products that complement existing ones. This strategy aims to provide additional value to current users while attracting potential customers by broadening the utility and appeal of your business’s portfolio.

Slack had its start as a team messaging tool. By introducing features like Workflow Builder and Huddles for audio calls, they have transformed into a more comprehensive collaboration platform attracting a wider user base.

Headspace, the meditation app, added sleep stories, soundscapes, and guided focus music sessions. This greatly expanded the value proposition for subscribers, leading to increased engagement and retention.

Jira, by Atlassian, was originally an issue-tracking tool for software teams. Atlassian has continuously expanded its functionality and Jira now offers a range of products spanning project management, collaboration, and support functions, appealing to a broader range of business units outside of software development.

Notion started as a note-taking app, but it has evolved into a versatile workspace tool with databases, kanban boards, wikis, and, most importantly, teams for sharing and collaboration. This attracted users with diverse productivity needs.

Optimise Specific Channels

Optimising specific channels focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of each point of contact your users have with you, so it is limited to businesses who have a mix of web and app products. The goal is to enhance reach, engagement, and conversion rates within these channels, ensuring that they are fully leveraged to achieve maximum impact.

Instagram introduced shoppable posts and integrated in-app checkout. This greatly reduced friction for e-commerce businesses operating on Instagram, boosting sales directly within the platform.

Pocket, the “save now, read later” service, implemented a “Listen” feature that offers text-to-speech conversion. This made their saved articles accessible even on the go or during multitasking, optimising for different use cases.

Venmo added a social element with a newsfeed of friends’ transactions (with adjustable privacy settings). This made the peer-to-peer payment app more engaging and fostered a sense of community.

Sephora developed augmented reality features for its mobile app, allowing users to virtually try on makeup products. This innovative feature directly boosted mobile sales and improved the shopping experience.

Enhance User Experience

Enhancing user experience is about refining the overall interaction users have with your business’s products or services. This involves streamlining interfaces, improving accessibility, and ensuring that the user journey is intuitive and satisfying, leading to higher engagement and satisfaction rates.

Shopify introduced its integrated point-of-sale (POS) system. This allowed merchants to seamlessly manage in-person and online sales, creating a smoother customer and merchant experience.

Uber introduced “upfront pricing” to replace surge pricing that was subject to fluctuation. This increased transparency and predictability, improving the user experience significantly.

Airbnb implemented a secure messaging system allowing guests and hosts to communicate directly within the platform. This streamlined communication and instilled a greater sense of trust.

Pinterest developed the “Lens” feature, allowing users to search using images snapped with their camera. This made product discovery and inspiration much more intuitive, keeping users engaged.

Personalisation

Personalisation involves tailoring the user experience and communication to individual preferences and behaviours. By leveraging data analytics, your business can create more relevant, engaging interactions that resonate with users on a personal level, fostering a deeper connection and improved response rates.

Stitch Fix, the online clothing styling service, employs machine learning algorithms to match customers with clothing items based on their style preferences and feedback. This hyper-personalisation creates a unique shopping experience and increases customer satisfaction.

Grammarly, the writing assistant tool, offers personalised suggestions based on the user’s writing style and goals (formal vs. casual, creative vs. technical). This customisation makes the product far more valuable to individual users.

Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” and “Daily Mix” playlists offer continuously updated selections, tailored to each user’s listening preferences. This exceptional personalisation keeps users hooked.

Duolingo, the language learning app, uses spaced repetition and gamification principles adjusted to each individual’s progress and learning style. This adaptive approach super-charges engagement in the language learning experience.

Building Trust and Community

Building trust and community centres on establishing credibility and fostering a sense of belonging among users. This can be achieved through transparent communication, reliable service, and creating platforms for user interaction and feedback, which in turn, strengthens loyalty and advocacy among the user base. This can make for a nice moat in a competitive market.

Tripadvisor implemented a system to highlight and reward top reviewers. This incentivized high-quality, reliable reviews and strengthened the platform’s reputation as a source of trustworthy information.

Hubspot, the marketing and sales software provider, hosts “Inbound,” a massive annual conference fostering networking and knowledge sharing. This establishes their thought-leadership position and strengthens brand loyalty.

Webflow, the no-code website building platform, runs a vast educational resource centre and community forum. This attracts and supports users of all skill levels, increasing adoption and reducing churn.

Conferensity’s Digital Growth Strategy

Have you met Conferensity? They’re our imaginary business we’re using to explain and demonstrate the topics we discuss.

Conferensity is currently a basic B2B event management platform. Their primary goal:

“To become a comprehensive conference solution and enjoy the increased market share and revenue possibilities this will create.”

Their strategy involves expanding their web-based software’s capabilities and developing two apps – one for conference admins and another for attendees.

While these are three digital products, 1 website and 2 apps, there is actually a fourth project – the updated backend that will implement the features the website and apps will provide interfaces for. This backend will also require extensive work to provide all the necessary admin features to manage the new frontend features.

Referring back to our list of growth strategies, Conferensity is expanding its platform and launching two new apps to broaden its appeal and functionality. This expansion will enrich the service for existing B2B clients and draw in new users by offering a more comprehensive set of event management tools.

The company is also overhauling its backend to support these new features. This upgrade is crucial for ensuring the system’s reliability and scalability, enhancing user experience across web and mobile platforms.

By developing apps for specific roles within the event ecosystem, Conferensity is reaching into new market segments, increasing user engagement, and extending its market reach.

Conferensity’s is pursuing personalisation and building trust by creating tailored features for different user groups.

Conferensity’s strategy is to do all the strategies. But that’s because it’s an example. However, the idea that a feature can be hitting multiple strategies is worth being aware of when you are making your choice amongst several growth options. That overlap can be a powerful multiplier.

Finding your own path to growth

So we’ve demonstrated the key strategies for digital growth: entering new markets, expanding products, optimising channels, enhancing user experience, personalising services, and building trust.

These strategies are not standalone; they often overlap, magnifying their impact. Our example of Conferensity’s plans for growth shows how these strategies are best pursued: blending some or all of them to reshape your business in order to generate the growth you’re looking for.

Before You Build: Digital Development Budgeting

Managing budgets effectively is vital for the financial health and ROI of any web or app development project. Every step, from design to post-launch, involves a complicated mix of costs that needs strategic handling. For businesses like Conferensity, aiming to expand their digital offerings, mastering budget control isn’t just good practice—it’s central to their strategic goals and project success.

You may not have heard of Conferensity. That’s okay, they don’t exist. We’re using them in this article (and other articles) as a way to discuss the strategies we cover. Their story in short:

Conferensity is currently a B2B event management platform with pretty basic features. Their primary goal:

“To become a comprehensive conference solution and enjoy the increased market share and revenue possibilities this will create.”

It’s a fine dream.

Their strategy involves expanding their web-based software’s capabilities and developing two apps – one for conference admins and another for attendees.

While these are three digital products, 1 website and 2 apps, there is actually a fourth project – the updated backend that will implement the features the website and apps will provide interfaces for. This backend will also require extensive work to provide all the necessary admin features to manage the new frontend features.

Now, understanding and managing development costs requires careful planning plus the flexibility to handle unforeseen financial challenges. Using Conferensity as our stand-in for just about any business, we’re going to talk about strategies for budget planning, staying within budget, and leveraging cost management to achieve business growth.

Budget Planning in Web and App Development Is A Must

Yes, this is stating the obvious: Budget planning is crucial in web and app development. It is about investing the time (lots of time) and the brain power (also lots) to get the right numbers next to the right actions.

Once you’re through your first iteration of your budget (you will be updating it as you progress), you have:

For both startups and established businesses, budgeting is the key to generating ROI and avoiding financial missteps.

The primary purpose of budget planning is finding a way forward despite your constrained resources. Do it well and you will survive the inevitable financial challenges and be able to adapt to project shifts as the real world interferes with your plans, thereby keeping moving toward your goals.

Conferensity has decided to align their work on their site and apps with their growth objectives in three ways:

  1. Dedicating resources to backend development that supports high-ROI features (like capturing transactions),
  2. launching Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) for their apps, and
  3. adopting a phased feature rollout prioritising event attendees (there’s more of them).

This three pronged approach allows them to make the best use of their developer resources while launching growth-focused features into the marketplace.

Breaking Down Development Costs

For software products, at least initially, development costs dominate. Staying on top of development costs is key to effective budget management, from initial design prototypes to post-launch updates.

Initial costs will involve user research (don’t skip this) accompanying prototype development. For Conferensity, development costs form the lion’s share of their budget, including the frontends (for the site and two apps) and the shared backend infrastructure.

Infrastructure expenses, including hosting, third party integrations, and payment gateways, are vital for Conferensity’s app performance, especially for real-time features.

Unexpected costs are inevitable, requiring a contingency budget for unforeseen challenges. But, if you’ve gone deep enough in your planning, these unexpected costs should be arising out of the truly unforeseen – accidents, natural disasters, and the like. Your development budget should have margins to account for the acknowledged “slippage” that always occurs in software development.

For these unexpected costs, reserving a portion of the budget as a contingency is crucial. It’s painful to pull this money out of line items and see your timeline shift into the future. But the contingency is a necessary de-risking step so you will make it to the end. If you’re betting your business’s future on a project you want to stack your odds so you can be sure you’ll finish it.

Stretching cash, shrinking time – strategies for budget control

Budget control is about finding ways to accomplish as much as possible within your resource constraints. Key strategies include prioritising based on ROI to start generating revenue as quickly as possible, adopting lean development approaches to push value to your users, and making strategic decisions between a pure in-house development model or augmenting your developers with a software development team extension to compress your timeline.

For businesses like Conferensity, focusing on high-ROI features, such as an attendee app, can ensure immediate revenue impact. Employing a lean methodology helps in launching with essential features and iterating based on user feedback, optimising resources and aligning with market needs.

Because Conferensity was a web-first product, they had the inhouse skills for the web app and the backend. Rather than lose a big chunk of time to re-skilling their developers, and then losing more time spreading the same team across more products, they opted to run with a software development team extension.

Sourcing new team members from a near-shore provider, Conferensity had instant iOS and Android developer skills inhouse. These developers were also less costly, letting them stretch their development budget over more developer hours and advance production of both apps alongside the website.

Managing costs once you’re up and running

Once a project is underway, you need effective cost management to keep it on the tracks. Continuous assessment of costs and scheduling is a necessity. There are too many software options for tracking these things, each with their own way of doing things. Too many for us to go into details on how to use any of them.

In broad strokes, part of your process needs to be the regular review of where your project is at and how that compares to your budget plan. Someone should be looking at the numbers weekly. How often you decide to act on those numbers depends on how you’ve structured your development. If you’re doing two week sprints, then you should know as you reach the end of the current sprint what needs to change before you start the next sprint, if anything.

Once you start launching features you need to incorporate their running costs and any revenue (we hope there is revenue) into your reviews. Unless you are incredibly astute, whatever estimates you had for those numbers will have to be updated. The effect of those new numbers on your budget plan are going to have to be followed through. Do you suddenly have more cash to allocate? Are you losing developers to bug fixes or unforeseen infrastructure upgrades?

Good problems or bad problems – your budget plan now has a life of its own. You need to keep on top of costs and schedules to keep the budget aligned with reality so it remains an effective tool for getting the project done.

Tying budget strategy to business growth

Strategic budgeting is foundational for sustainable business growth. In digital products that strategy is built upon the development, serially or in parallel, of different platforms and different features on those platforms.

For Conferensity, aligning their budget with the platforms and features that will best contribute to their business objectives is essential for their big dream of becoming a leading conference solution provider with all the best apps and features.

Making informed investment decisions based on cost-benefit analysis informs the staging of the development of new features. Having the option to choose between inhouse development and development assisted by a software development team extension brings a new level of flexibility in both cost and time-to-market.

Effective budget management allows businesses to scale and adapt to changing market demands without putting themselves at risk. This strategic approach ensures that web and app development projects contribute directly to long-term success and business expansion.

Wrapping up

Budget management is more than fiscal discipline aka bean counting; it’s a strategic element of innovation and long-term success. For businesses embarking on digital projects, like Conferensity, efficiently managing budgets is decisive for aligning development initiatives with business goals, ensuring project viability, and supporting growth.

Adopting strategic budgeting practices, enhanced by the latest management tools and continuous performance monitoring, is critical for navigating digital transformation. It enables businesses to get the most out of the resources they have, seize opportunities that appear beyond their reach, and achieve their vision.

Planning on winning: Aligning product and business goals to drive ROI

This might be you. You know you need a website. Or you know you need an app. Or both. Whatever you choose, building these digital products is going to be a major investment and you need it to pay off.

At this stage, before you’ve committed resources, the most important thing to get right is the alignment between your business goals and your digital product development. Getting these aligned and keeping them aligned is the key to success and that success is driven by strategically maximising your ROI.

This alignment requires a deep and thorough analysis of your options and you might need to adopt new processes to get there. That’s why we’re going to give you a good overview of what you need to do. To illustrate the process we’ll be using a fictional B2B event management SaaS we’ve named “Conferensity”.

The first step in the process is determining the connections between your business goals and your potential digital products.

Uniting Business Goals and Digital Projects: A Recipe for Success

As we’ve said, the key to achieving successful outcomes with your digital products is ensuring they’re in sync with your overarching bsuiness objectives. These key objectives might be things like:

It’s up to you to decide which goals you should be chasing. Looking at that short list, they all seem worth pursuing. They are. But you need to prioritise your goals with an eye not just towards the possible ROI, but also the feasibility of execution by your team and solution partners.
To see how making these choices might work in practice, let’s look at Conferensity as an example of how to unite business goals and digital products.

Conferensity is currently a basic B2B event management platform. Their primary goal:

“To become a comprehensive conference solution and enjoy the increased market share and revenue possibilities this will create.”

Their strategy involves expanding their web-based software’s capabilities and developing two apps – one for conference admins and another for attendees.

While these are three digital products, 1 website and 2 apps, there is actually a fourth project – the updated backend that will implement the features the website and apps will provide interfaces for. This backend will also require extensive work to provide all the necessary admin features to manage the new frontend features.

By dedicating their resources to these four digital projects Conferensity is actively working towards achieving their primary business objective.

If Conferensity were in a different industry/market they might have different goals. Let’s look quickly at some other examples:

Returning to Conferensity, let’s go into a little more detail about their goals and plans. Here is some of what they want their products to do:

Their first app will be for conference admins, duplicating the client-accessible website’s functionality.

The second app, designed for attendees, will allow attendees to reserve seats, purchase tickets to the conference, and pay for any related services. It will also have features like schedules and venue maps, presentation start reminders, live questions via chat rooms, presentation feedback, and special features for speakers.

By selecting specific features for their user-facing digital products that will support their business goals, Conferensity is weaving together their business objectives and digital initiatives in a way that maximises the potential for success.

Pinpointing Key Objectives and Priorities: The Guardrails and Guidelines for Effective Development

You can’t afford to waste time or burn money developing your digital products. So you need to identify and prioritise your key objectives and the initiatives that are going to achieve them.

Your key objectives are often broad and can sound obvious – “increase revenues by 12% YOY”, “Reduce monthly churn by 5%”, but each objective will require hundreds if not thousands of actions and even more decisions and judgements across your team. Too many things to specify beforehand. So keeping them simple and clear avoids “analysis paralysis”, enables autonomy across teams, and keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

Having established your objectives you then examine your proposed digital products and determine exactly how they are going to help you achieve them.

For products like apps and websites this is a bit of a two-way process. You know you need the digital products. You just need to ensure you get the link between their features and your objectives right.

The outcome of this process is the first high-level breakdown of your product development plan.

These are the general steps you need to take to identify your objectives and then to rank them by priority:

  1. Assess the business landscape: Do some SWOT analysis. Analyse your current products, services, and customer segments to identify areas that could benefit from web and app solutions. Do some user interviews with your existing customers. Confirm that you understand their pain points and you can address them.
  2. Define your business goals: Make sure they’re clear, measurable and have sensible time constraints. Examples of the kind of goals you might consider: increasing revenue, growing your customer base, improving customer satisfaction, and expanding into new markets.
  3. Estimate your digital products’ potential impact: You want to break this down by product and break down each product into its planned features. Then for each item you need to consider things like their revenue potential, any competitive advantage they’ll bring, as well as the perceived value they will generate for your users. You’ll also need to estimate the resources required for implementation of each item.
  4. Prioritise based on ROI: Taking the information from step 3, order your options by expected ROI. It won’t be a straightforward “Sort Descending” on your ROI column in your spreadsheet. There will be dependencies you need to allow for. For example, there is no point in accepting payments in your app until your backend has been connected to a payment gateway.

Returning to Conferensity as our example, their key priorities are increasing market share and creating new revenue streams by providing purchasing options in a new conference attendee app. The increased market share will be driven by new features and improved user experience on their site, as well as the introduction of an app that will allow conference admins to easily manage their conference on their phones on the day.

The attendee app will help streamline running and monitoring a conference, and by providing functionality to purchase conference tickets and pay for associated events and perhaps even merchandise, Conferensity can capture some of the value of that spending.

By focusing on these digital initiatives, they are working towards providing a comprehensive conference management solution that will attract more clients and set them apart from competitors.

These changes they are considering are broad and complex, including the upgrade of their backend and website plus the introduction of two new digital products. To help them set priorities that will allow them to build towards success Conferensity might consider the following:

  1. How do each of these initiatives align with their overall business goals?
  2. What is the potential ROI for each project?
  3. Which projects can be implemented with the resources currently available?

Notice the interplay between points 2 and 3. It can be frustrating when the project with the highest predicted ROI cannot be the first project implemented.

By finding clear and solid answers to these questions Conferensity can create an implementation plan for their digital products that directly supports their business objectives while minimising risk.

Next, let’s discuss the importance of setting clear ROI-driven metrics and targets for digital project success.

Set Clear ROI-driven Metrics and Targets

Once you’ve determined your priorities for your digital product, the next step is to set up measurable targets to track your progress and success. This is where key performance indicators (KPIs) come into play. By setting KPIs for your web and app development projects, you’ll have a transparent benchmark to measure your achievements and make necessary adjustments.

Here’s how you can go about establishing your ROI-guided metrics and targets:

  1. Choose sensible KPIs: Select KPIs that align with your business goals and digital initiatives and will guide your activities in the right direction. Some examples of KPIs commonly tracked are user engagement, app downloads, conversion rates, and revenue generation.
  2. Set realistic targets: Establish achievable targets for your KPIs. Consider factors such as the resources you have available, existing market conditions, and your team’s capabilities. Ensure that these targets are ambitious enough to drive growth but remain realistic and attainable.
  3. Monitor and analyse progress: Regularly track and assess your KPIs to determine whether you are on track to meet your targets. Use this information to make data-driven decisions and adapt as you need to in order to ensure your projects’ success.
  4. Adjust as needed: Be prepared to adapt your targets and KPIs as your products evolve. The world changes quickly. A lot can happen between starting to develop a digital product and it going live. Stay flexible and responsive to ensure your products remain aligned with your overall goals.

Let’s look again at Conferensity’s plans. They might establish targets for:

By having these KPIs in place, Conferensity can track their progress and if there are any issues they have the data to support the decisions they will need to make. This way they can adjust their strategies as needed and ensure they’re always moving towards their overarching goals.

Creating a Digital Project Roadmap Aligned with Business Goals

Once you’ve established your key objectives and KPIs, the next crucial step is to create a project roadmap that contains clear milestones, deadlines, and deliverables. This roadmap needs to take into account your resources, budget constraints, and risk management, ensuring a realistic and achievable plan of action.

If you haven’t created such a roadmap before, here is the basic outline of the process:

  1. Break down projects into sensible blocks: For digital products this might be a series of releases with increasing functionality. You will want some rough deadlines for each block. This will make it easier to track progress and manage your resources.
  2. Prioritise based on ROI potential: Rank your projects and release stages based on their potential to deliver value and contribute to your business goals. This will help you direct your resources to the most impactful activities first.
  3. Allocate resources effectively: Assign teams and solution partners to blocks relevant to their expertise and planned availability. Ensure that your resources are assigned in a way to avoid bottlenecks and delays. This is just basic project management.
  4. Monitor progress and adjust as needed: Regularly review your project roadmap to track progress, identify potential issues, and make any necessary adjustments to keep the project on track and aligned with your business goals.

In Conferensity’s case, their digital product roadmap might involve implementing current platform functionality in the conference admin app first, as it could provide immediate ROI by streamlining their clients’ management processes. Next, they could focus on the attendee app, starting with basic schedule and booking features to make it usable, but also including ticket purchasing as early as possible. This is one of the most impactful features for its ROI potential. By collecting a transaction fee for each ticket sold, Conferensity can generate additional revenue, further supporting their business growth.

By following this phased approach, Conferensity can keep their digital projects aligned with their business goals while efficiently managing resources and budgets. Regular progress reviews will help them stay agile and adapt to any changes in their business environment or project requirements.

It’s just Goals, Products, KPIs and Execution

It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? But really, that’s all there is to it. The challenge is in the quality of analysis and the judicious setting of priorities. Digital products are complex, but KPIs based on your goals and what you want your websites or apps to deliver will keep you on track. And those KPIs come out of establishing clear ROI-driven metrics and targets.

The process is clear. Thousands and thousands of businesses have gone through it. The challenge is in knowing your business, knowing your market, and finding those clear steps to get from where you are now to your final goals. Monitoring your progress and being prepared to shift your strategy and adjust plans is as big a part of success as making the plan in the first place.

4 Things to Consider Before Choosing a High-Quality Software House

In this modern era where technology is developing rapidly, it is true that the numbers of software houses in Indonesia are increasing. Yes, it’s good news! However, there are two sides to every coin. Finding the best software house will be a bit challenging.

So, how can you choose the best software house? Here are 4 things to consider before choosing a high-quality software house.

1. Software House ’s Portfolio is Important

People nowadays are very familiar with the Internet. Well, thanks to the Internet, as you can access, search, and find out almost everything on it. And of course, you can take advantage of it for your business!

What can you do with the Internet?

First, find out the company profile. Is the company well-established? Has this company survived the test of time? If you are not sure about this, go to their website. Read and explore. You can always find something there. If the answers of the two questions are yes, it might be a good choice for you. When a software house is well-established and has survived the test of time, you might agree that this company is capable of giving you the best service.

Second, find out their clients. You come to the right hand if their clients are some prestigious or well-known companies. Those companies will always try to find the best software house’s services.

Last, find out the technology that they use. You might not know much about the technology that they use, but a professional software house will always help you to decide the best technology for your website.

2. The Client Reviews Do Matter

The next thing you can do before choosing the best software house is to read their client reviews.

Their testimonials speak louder than any other information that the company puts on their website. So, go get some information about their service from your colleagues, your friends or other companies who already know and use the software house.

3. Price and Estimated Time of Completion

Well, sometimes you should pay more to get the highest quality of a product. The more complicated your project is, the more you will pay for their service. So, be careful when you find lower prices for the same services.

Besides the price, another thing to consider is their estimated time of completion. If they take too much time to finish your project, it might not be good for your business. While, if they work on it too fast, it might also affect the quality of the project. So, find out the most ideal estimated time of completion.

4. Working Hours

Well, it’s indeed easier to collaborate with a software house in the same country because the process requires a lot of communication. Surprisingly, it is also possible to collaborate with a software house in another country. There might be a time difference between your country and theirs. Yet, you just need an extra discussion with them about it. Don’t let the time difference keep you from getting the best service for your business.

Just a little reminder for you: everything has to be clear from the very beginning.

Try to ask them several questions, such as:

– How will they help you when you face a problem after their working hours end or during a public holiday?

– What does the procedure look like?

– How will you communicate with each other? Do they use a certain application? Or, do they have their own platform to communicate with you?

– How much does your project cost?

– How long will it take to finish the project?

After reading this, do you still need some references of high-quality software houses to collaborate with? Well, we know SoftwareSeni, Ice House, WGS, Skyshi, Tonjoo (a WordPress specialist), Accelbyte, The Netwerk, and Wonderlabs.

How about now? Have you decided which software house you will work with? The final decision is in your hands. Make sure to choose the most suitable software house to support your business growth.

Please let us know what your business needs by dropping your message here!

How Does Product Online Selling Help Beginner To Win The Market?

Why Online Selling?

The world has gone online, everyone is now on the web. A lot of things have changed ever since. The way we interact, the way we work, and how our economy works. In the past few years, we have seen the emergence of some giant eCommerce sites like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, Rakuten, Tokopedia, etc. that stimulate people and even companies to go online selling. The presence of these eCommerce sites has radically changed the world’s economy. 

eCommerce sites have been one of the best platforms to sell your products. From a traditional store into something innovative. You can sell your products 24/7 with broadened reach. This availability will be more convenient for your customers. Nowadays, with our very tight schedule, the 24/7 online store will give more choices for the customers.

eCommerce or your website is one of the most efficient marketing tools. You can scale up the reach of your store/brand as it grows. There are tons of marketing strategies to help you develop and cope with your brand. 

There are some aspects that you need to consider before you start your adventure in online selling. The first aspect is deciding the products that you want to sell. This should be the most important aspect of your online selling plan. Everything will revolve around your products, i.e; your target market, your SEO plan, etc.

There are lots of stories about people raking up thousands of dollars from selling products that are out of the box. This can be attained because of the unique marketing strategy that they use. Despite all of those stories, choosing the right product to sell will ease your start and make it better.

The great thing about online selling is that you can start selling something that you are comfortable and familiar with. Selling products that you are familiar with will ease everything up and it will also make the flow to run smoothly even though it is a frivolous product. This is better than selling something that looks, or sounds fancy and sophisticated that you know nothing about.

Most well-known online stores/businesses are mostly ones with a very segmented market. It is to be noted that people nowadays love things that are segmented and things that have a personal touch. Along with the massive progress in the online world, people get to know a lot more information, and they can pick and choose any information that they would like to know. This fact makes the society to be even more diverse than ever before.

That’s when marketing strategy starts doing its magic. There are plenty of platforms for online marketing. You can start from something that, we believe, you are familiar with; social media. Social media like Instagram or Facebook can be a very essential tool for starting your online selling. As soon as your product has markets, you can then start utilizing eCommerce platforms or vice versa.

Email marketing, video marketing, or content marketing are some marketing strategies that can greatly impact your business. You must choose your main strategy before you jump into online selling.

Online Selling Success Story

There are many success stories about online selling, but Jack Haldrup is something else. He is selling a product that is very common and he has to compete against some giant companies; yet, he can rake up 6 million dollars in just a year. The product that Jack sells is a soap bar; a daily essential.

The product that Jack sells might be a part of our daily essentials – but with the help of online selling, he was able to target a specific market better. His customers are not the type of people who would come to your regular supermarkets. Most of his customers usually buy organic soap as regular soap makes their skin dry.

Jack’s story can be an example of how small businesses with tailored customers can indeed make huge profits. An example of a much-segmented business can also be found in the fashion industry. The most important thing is the marketing strategy; and in online selling, the business and marketing strategy is almost limitless. As your business grows, the scope of your sales will also be wider.

The key to online selling is the flexibility of time. You will be able to make a transaction in the middle of the night while also in the middle of nowhere. This is practically impossible to be done in the offline/conventional stores. Offline/Conventional stores have scheduled work time. Despite the time flexibility, you will have to wait for days until the product is ready in front of your door. Both online selling and offline selling will have their pros and cons. The decision is ultimately in your hands.

The Potential Gain of Selling Products Online

You may be wondering what the advantages of selling products online are. Well, below are some of the advantages for you to consider:

– Time and cost-efficiency

Let’s say you currently have a shop to run your business. Little did you know that the cost of setting up an eCommerce website or joining marketplace platform is lower than an offline business. Most platforms don’t even charge you to sign up to their platform. Apart from that, the whole sales system for eCommerce/marketplace is automated online. So, you will be able to save on staff, wages and other business costs, such as electricity bill, and rent costs. The money that you will have saved then will be able to be used to develop your eCommerce website and expand your product. 

Once your eCommerce website has been set up or once you have joined a marketplace platform, you will not need to spend as much time running your business. This is because the whole process for the customers’ ordering and making payments will all be automated through the online system. This will give you more time to determine ways to improve your products, such as offering special deals, tracking your daily profit, or even developing new products to sell. 

– A wider  range of customers

Most eCommerce and marketplace platforms these days are competing to develop their mobile apps to make their sites to be more accessible to the customers. This fact will enhance  customers’ experience in a lot of ways. A stay-at-home mother to the busiest of businessmen will be able to enjoy online shopping through their mobile phones without needing to sit in front of their computers. So, in essence, anyone will be able to gain access to their platforms with a lot less hassle.

Another hidden fact is that there is no such thing as opening time restrictions in online selling. Meaning that you are not restricting your potential customers to visit your store, as they can visit your website or your profile in the marketplace and shop at any time. Let’s not forget that some people are indeed very busy, most do not have time to go out shopping.  eCommerce and marketplace make it easier for customers to shop anywhere and at any time. In a business perspective, this means that you are maximising your sales and profits.

– More platforms, more money

The more platforms you sign up to, the more profit you will get. You can always sign into different platforms at the same time. No law that forbids it. 

eCommerce selling can take on many different formats. Each channel has its unique audience that sellers can reach. Giant marketplace like Amazon and eBay allow specific audiences to look for a specific product. You can always use a mix of different platforms to engage multiple customers at once.

How to kickstart Product Online Selling for Beginners?

Not sure about where to begin? You can start by following these steps to begin your journey: 

– Join Online Marketplace Platform

You can start by creating an account in one of the platforms of your choice. You might want to start small by joining one platform, and see how it goes. Each platform offers different methods of selling and various features to promote your products. Some are user-friendly, while others can take time to get used to. You can always move on to different platforms that suit your needs. Most platforms allow new users to sign up for free. You are now off to a good start by basically owning an online store for free. 

– Create eCommerce

When thinking about starting a new business from scratch, an eCommerce site can be quite promising, but before you start thinking about your profit and selling products online, you will need to first create an eCommerce website. It might seem like a difficult task for those who are new at this, but it is not at all that difficult. Let me tell you how:

The very first thing that you need to figure out is the platform that you’re going to use. Once you’ve made your mind up on that, the next thing to do is to create an account. You will only need to provide an email address and a password. Once you’ve successfully signed up, you can choose a plan based on your preference. Once that’s done, you can then start to create your very own site. You can then spill all your creative ideas on this part! Last but not least, you will need to make sure that you connect your domain before you can publish your eCommerce site and get it live. The final steps would be to set up your products on the site, your shipping rules, and your payment methods. Finally,  you’re ready to publish your website live on the web!

– Digitally Transform Your Business 

Now that you have the two most fundamental things in your hands to start an online business, it is time to completely jump into the arena by digitally transforming your business. “What am I supposed to do then?”  You may ask. Here’s the answer:

You can start with data automation. Please keep in mind that when starting from scratch, it is most likely that you cannot afford to hire someone to do all the operational work for you. That’s why you need a system to help you run the business. 

When looking for operational systems that support automation, as a merchant, you should focus on whether or not they can deliver on one or more of the following:

a. Making sure that your inventory is updated in real-time so you won’t receive orders for the items that you can’t fulfill

b. Syncing orders with your accounting system to avoid manual counting errors

c. Receiving goods by scanning purchase order barcodes rather than manually counting stock

Conclusion

Online selling is a solution for your business to get a wider range of customers. Even if the products that you are selling have a very niche market, you can globally reach your customers. Moreover, your customers will be able to conveniently purchase your product without being limited by business hours. To put it simply, you essentially have a store that is open 24/7. The most familiar platform to help you out on implementing online selling is online marketplace & eCommerce.

However, there will be some aspects that you need to consider before executing an online selling strategy. Firstly, you will need to decide on the product you want to sell. No, it does not always have to be a tangible product, it can vary. The products can be either goods or even experiences. Secondly, please ensure that the market segment is not too wide or too niche; just about right in the middle. If your market segment is too wide, you will not be able to focus and will have many competitors that you have to deal with. Likewise, if your market segment is too niche, you will find it hard to develop the market. Thirdly, you will need to generate your own unique digital marketing strategy. The most commonly used and known platform to execute the digital marketing strategy is social media. You can most definitely start from there.

There will be some potential gains if you successfully implement an online selling strategy. Time & cost efficiency are the first ones. Do you know how much you will need to spend to open an offline business? Rent, Electricity, and other types of expenses will burden your cost. And you need to keep in mind that those are fixed costs. Which means that you will not be able to change or compromise with this. Once you go online, you will remove most of the fixed costs from building an offline store. Another thing to note is that since your product can be globally shown, it means that people around the world have the same opportunity to access your product and gain information about it.

Here are some tips that you can use to kickstart your online selling strategy. Before you understand how the system of eCommerce works, you may join the online marketplace first to deeply learn the system. Once you know how the system works, it is recommended that you build your eCommerce. Why? This is because “Data” is essentially the new oil. If you can get the data from your customers, you will be able to better understand the behaviour of your customers digitally. The improvement of your product and services will be preserved with great sustenance. 

If you want to take your online selling strategy to the next level, digitally transforming your business is the key. However, you will need partners to ensure that the process of digital transformation runs smoothly. You can partner up with a professional software house company to assist you and get you going with confidence as you will receive the best recommendations and assistance that you require. 

At the end of the day, it is important to enter the online market as soon as possible. Online marketing is not only essential to sell your products, but it can also help you to widely spread the information of your product & business. If you need help creating the most spectacular and fully-customizable eCommerce website / mobile app, SoftwareSeni is more than happy to be your partner and get your business going and running with confidence.

Telecommuting For Businesses; Solution or Attrition?

SoftwareSeni Media · Telecommuting For Businesses; Solution or Attrition?

Telecommuting For Businesses; Solution or Attrition?

Telecommuting, or more commonly known these days as either Remote Working or Working From Home, has been implemented by many startup companies. This decision is made to cut unnecessary operational expenses. Now, how about companies that have a much more complex bureaucracy? They surely have a lot more to consider.

Most of the people on the internet are all over this working from home thing, however, the discussion surrounding this issue is only mainly talking about the profits (and heaps of losses too!). The decision to implement Working From Home isn’t only about profits and losses and this is mostly being overlooked. This is also why companies need to set a very clear track on how things will turn out when this decision is made. 

Please, please, don’t think that we’re here to fear-monger! We’re here to help you out. How? We will go over on how to make sure that you, your team, and your company, no matter what your current position in the company is, are all aware of maintaining the security of your data and ready to get this “Working From Home” situation going smoothly. 

Work From Home

Now let’s set a couple of things straight before we go further here. Working From Home isn’t exactly a novel business plan. It was actually first thought of and implemented before the Industrial Revolution. Yes, that was a long while ago!

As time progresses, technology gets better and better, and quite naturally, working from home is slowly and steadily becoming relevant.

However, this does not necessarily mean that the implementation of this plan will be easy!  How so? Well, the first thing to note is that companies have different characteristics and this is what really determines the difficulty of whether or not “Working From Home” can actually be a viable option to take.

A Little Bit of History

Now that we’ve mentioned the Industrial Revolution,I had to google that one. You did too? Great, we can make sure we’re on the same page then 🙂

So, before the Industrial Revolution, most productions were done from home! Tailoring, Leather-Processing, to Manufacturing Home Appliances! Then, these crafts were forced to be done in factories since the Industrial Revolution came along.

This is, however, not something to fret about, as this only proves that technology really is the main element of progress.

Around the 80s, Personal Computer, or what most people simply call PC, was invented. This invention truly drove a lot more people to do things from home as it appeared that a lot more can be done using a PC!

Then, the 00s came along. This was when people were just starting to get into the world of IT. Everything that came out of this was really, really, fresh from the oven like a lovely bowl of mac and cheese that people couldn’t resist but to take interest in this world! Yum! I’m hungry now…

There are so many companies that thrive from the world of IT and contributed to the implementation of the Work From Home method. Some obvious examples are Google, and Slack.

Now, we will eventually catch on to all the goodness that you can bask in from this Work From Home method. However, we will need to first understand what risks need to be well-addressed when it comes to working from home.

Let’s get them rolling now!

Success Rate of Work From Home

In order to properly calculate this element, we need to have the proper “tools”. How so? Well, this is because each company, industry, or organization has their own goals that they have to meet and therefore their system will also differ.

However, this can be generally calculated by the productivity rate of the company. In a “normal” situation, the productivity of the company can be assessed and that assessment will be the determiner in the success of the Work From Home plan.

In an emergency situation, such as natural disaster, which is something that is completely out of anyone’s control, the success of the Work From Home plan will need to be assessed using multiple factors; meaning productivity is not the only thing that is accounted for in the assessment.

The Security of Employees, Level of Productivity, and the Seamlessness of Communication are some of the things that will need to be observed very closely in the assessment. Yup, it can be quite a pickle when an emergency situation arises.

“Yikes!”, I hear you yelp! Please bear in mind that while it can be a daunting task to assess the success rate of this Work From Home plan for companies, this can be used as the parameter of standard that companies must never overlook.

– People who spend between 60-80% of their working hours remote for at least 3-4 days out of the week report the highest engagement rates compared to those who never work off-site

– “People working from home completed 13.5% more calls than the staff in the office did,” which turned out to be another full day’s worth of work, according to a different case study 

So, as we previously mentioned, each company has their own goals to meet and that is inevitable. With that in mind, what kind of industry is your company dealing with? How many employees does your company have at the moment? How about the cashflow of your company? How much money is being transferred into and out of your business in order to make sure that the core business activities of your company stay intact and running? These are the list of questions that will need to be considered in the assessment of this Success Rate.

Through the lens of a company that deals with IT, such as SoftwareSeni, Working From Home is a very viable option for all employees. This is because all the production activities are done using highly mobile tools, such as laptops and mobile phones.

Cyber Security

Now let’s jump straight to address the elephant in the room. When implementing the Working From Home plan, the biggest threat that companies face comes from the very element essential to the success of this plan itself. Yes, the threat is the Internet. This is especially true when you are using public WiFis.

Malicious software and hackers are out there to get all the data that they can get if you’re not careful when traversing the world wide web. One employee that got either their laptop or mobile phone infected with one of these malicious software can literally jeopardize a company’s integrity as hackers then will be able to gain access to all the data that that particular employee has saved in their equipment! 

Now, this sounds really scary, and I’m not going to lie to you because yes, it is THAT scary, but we here at SoftwareSeni are ready to help you out! With good fundamentals, you will be able to ready yourselves up to fight against these criminals. It’s just like how it is in real life really; you learn martial arts in order to protect yourselves.

So, we will now get into what you can do in order to prevent hackers from invading your tools:

1. Self Awareness

Yup! It all starts within you. It wouldn’t matter if a company has the greatest DevOps. If an infection already starts, the chances are, it can already be too late as hackers work in a very swift fashion. The least that could be done at that point is to minimize the damage.

So, yes, if you had to use public wifi, make absolutely sure that when logging in, that public wifi does not ask for your bank information or any sort of personal identification. Make sure that the “Public” WiFi you will be using is actually operated and administered by the owner of that particular WiFi. Let’s say, it’s the coffee shop’s. This type of WiFi is the safer option of “Public” WiFi as it will ask for a password in order to access it and you can get that password by asking the proper administrator of that WiFi connection.

Alright, that seems easy enough, so you just have to go to a nearby coffee shop, make sure that they have WiFi, ask for a password, and it’s good to go! Well, yes, but not quite. There is also another thing that you will need to pay very good attention to; your emails. Make sure that you double-check before opening the emails. Check who the sender is, then move on to the title of the email. 

It can be quite telling when you actually read the title closely, so yes, make very sure that you do not open emails EVEN if that is coming from the sender that you know as they might be the one that was infected. So, what you can do at that point is to notify the sender if possible, and inform them that their email has possibly been hacked. That particular person can then be aware of this and attempt to gain their email back by resetting their password and all the essentials.

Check this website out to see if your email address has been compromised. If it is, you will need to reset your password and set this on the right track again.

2. Training

Yup! It is now the company’s turn to get on the action. Companies will need to facilitate a training regarding Cyber Security so that their employees are all aware of what to do and what not to do when it comes to accessing the internet. Readying up your employees against online criminals will highly enhance the safety of not only your employee’s cyber integrity but also your company’s data.

We here at SoftwareSeni have facilitated our employees with knowledge of Cyber Security since we understand the significant importance of sharing this information. As a software house, it cannot be even more telling of our professionalism if we aren’t able to provide this knowledge to our employees. 

Effective Implementation of Work From Home

One thing to note before we get to the nitty-gritty of this section, work culture matters. Yes, building a work culture cannot be done overnight, however, this is the golden key to the efficiency and the effectiveness of Work From Home plan. So, what needs to be done in order to kick-start a good work culture? The answers are the following:

1. Policies / Protocols

Having clear and set policies is the first and always the foremost in a company, so naturally, a Work From Home plan will need them. The HR Department will be one of the chiefs in this particular area, the other being the owner of the company.

Some policies that will need to be properly thought-out is what condition allows for Work-From-Home plans to be applicable, the utilities required by the employees in order to do their duties properly and correctly, as well as the employees’ access to the Internet. When all of these policies and boundaries are set, the finance team will very much appreciate this assistance.

Now, there are 3 ways you can connect to the internet. The first one being fiber optic, the second is Mi-Fi modem (Mobile WiFi), and the last one is Mobile Tethering. Companies will need to clearly define the possible reimbursement for their employees’ access to the internet.

With all of the above being said, planning for Work-From-Home really requires well-thought-out strategies or companies will be at a serious risk. This is also another reason for a company to really take care of their employees by having good communication. Having good communication will not only get your company going as intended, but it will also stimulate and grow a very healthy work culture.

2. Simulation

Have you ever made a very thorough and clearly-defined plan, only for it to end up crashing down and not working out? Well, you’re not quite the only one out there. Now, in order to evade the imminent failure that’s lurking in every corner, the answer is Simulation. By having a simulation session, companies will be able to properly assess how well the Work-From-Home will work out. There will be holes that will need to be filled and that is what the Work-From-Home simulation is for.

Normally, the biggest concern of a company is the employees’ lack of focus as they now are working where there will be a whole lot more distraction. Employees that have kids will have their kids interrupt their work, those that have pets will also be distracted by their pets, all of these distractions will definitely impact employees’ productivity. 

With a simulation in place, a company will be able to assess this and properly address this issue. This is also where, again, good communication between teams must be held high up in the must-have list. Each team will really appreciate a good online stand-up meeting session as that will not only stimulate good teamwork but also entice employees to be fired up every day as they will know that there are people that care about them and people that they need to care for.

Having simulation sessions will also then have a highly positive impact on the way employees expect their companies to resolve issues. They will be much more confident with their job as they know they are with a company that has multiple solutions when trouble arises and this, in the end, will also influence them to have the same kind of mindset.

Yup, this then leads us to the next point!

3. Work Culture

This is quite possibly one of the toughest to crack as this is quite reliant on what line of work the company is on, as well as the people in the company themselves. Companies that have defined their culture to be adaptable and those that have “easing people’s lives” as their motto will have a higher likelihood for healthy work culture. Having this element set-up properly will definitely give a head start on becoming a company that is ready to face any emergency, and yes, even COVID-19.

Healthy work culture impacts the way employees see themselves and their colleagues. Some employees might not even consider them colleagues, but extended family. If a company is able to shape this, they’re on the righttrack and with that, they can virtually overcome any obstacle as everyone will care for each other and will have each other’s backs when push comes to shove.

There will also be another thing to note; natural selection. Yup, natural selection really is the ultimate judge at the end of the day. Companies that can pull through in emergency situations are ones that can preserve, adapt, and act at the right time.

4. Professionalism

This might be what holds companies back in terms of actually applying the Work-From-Home plan. Professionalism in employees really is something that is hard to come by and even harder to maintain.

Companies can stimulate professionalism by actually leading them to it. How? One of the first things that companies can do is by having good absence management. An absence Management system that is concise and easy to use is one of the driving forces that can influence employees’ professionalism as they can easily access the system and log in without any hassle.

Another thing that a company can do to get their employees on the right track is by having a good moral support system. This will be easily achieved by companies that already have a good track record of healthy work culture.

If you’re one of the employees that always stay professional back before the pandemic, you are one of those that can definitely survive this outbreak and know that you are one of those that your company is holding on to. Don’t get swayed by the calls of your pillows and bed or Netflix! So, stay strong, and stay professional.

CONCLUSION

The implementation of the Work-From-Home plan has really got to be very well-thought-out and closely observed. Not every company will be able to implement this method, let’s get that straight first and foremost. This is because each company has their own goals and ways to achieve them. There are still people that will need to get to the office because some of the tools might just not be that mobile. However, it doesn’t mean that the company can’t do anything about that as they will still need to ensure the safety of the employees that indeed have to get to the office to keep the cogs from getting stuck.

The stability of a company will really hinge on the people that are inside of it. What this means is that the employees themselves will need to know how to take care of themselves, as well as the tools that they are using when implementing a Work-From-Home method.

Cyber Security is one threat that employees will need to pay very close attention to. This can literally be the death of any company as once an employee’s tools, let’s say his laptop, got infected with malware, or they were using an unsafe public WiFi and got snooped on, all the files and the data that are inside of that laptop can be compromised and jeopardized. A company’s job now is to make sure that their employees are made well-aware of how to defend themselves against countless of these malicious things that are out to get them when surfing the internet.

Now, those in the HR Department will know the hardships that come when dealing and ensuring the Work-From-Home method works seamlessly. We here at SoftwareSeni have a bit of tips to get that rolling.

The first thing that your company needs is a set and clearly defined policies and protocols. There must be standards that are set as the priority and fulfilled by the employees. It’s not to induce fear to the employees, but this is to ensure that employees are working safely at home and that their connection is reliable enough that they can do their job without any sort of intrusions.

The second thing to note is Simulation. Simulating Work-From-Home prior to actually implementing this method is a crucial step in ensuring this plan works. By having simulation, flaws will come up and they will be able to be tagged and companies will then be able to address this and come up with a solution.

The third is Work Culture. Having a healthy work culture may not be easy to achieve, but when a company is able to get this right, they will see a significant boost in the productivity of their employees. That wouldn’t be the only thing that they will be able to see, but they will also see that having a good work culture will ensure that employees will not see the people in their office as colleagues, but as an extended family. With that, everyone will look after each other and any obstacles can easily be trampled.

The last, but definitely the most important, is professionalism. For those that are already committed and professional when it comes to doing your job, STAY PROFESSIONAL. Obstacles may come in the form of those that you know well (your family), or even your very own bed! Yup, there are so many things that can hinder you from being professional, but looking at the bigger picture, if you’ve already got a company that hires you and looks after you, you really have nothing that holds you back from giving your all.

So how is your Work-From-Home experience? Has your company successfully implemented this method? We’d love to hear your stories! The comment section is all yours!

Home Workout Mistakes You Need To Avoid At All Times

Home Workout Mistakes You Need To Avoid At All Times

With the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19; the world, society, and lifestyles of individuals as we know it has to drastically shift. Staying at home and limiting physical contact are some of the many ways that we can do to not only preserve the well-being of our own selves, but also our loved ones. Most people’s lives have to shift indoors. This shift rattles not only those that have always enjoyed going outside but also those that are not quite outdoorsy. The transition comes in many forms, but the most prevalent one is in the “Wellness” department. People seem to have brought their fitness lifestyle home. How well is this home workout going to work out?

 

Importance of Home Workout

It might not take a whole lot to feel lonely, especially if you’re one of those who bask in the warmth of surrounding yourself with people. You should also note that accessing information does not take a whole lot these days. With that in mind, overloading yourself with information is never a good thing, especially if most of the information that you are overloading yourself with is filled with nothing but negativity. So, equip yourself more with information that can get you to do what you can do for yourself at the moment and less with information coming from questionable sources.

Amidst this COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to keep our sanity in check first and foremost. How do you keep your sanity in check? By taking really good care of your very own self. This might sound cliche, but if you want to love, you have to start by loving yourself. Let’s get right to “how to take good care of yourself”.

Getting yourself in shape does not always mean that you have to rack up the weights and run miles on the treadmill. As experts have recommended, we should avoid going to the gym; at least for a while now. What do we do then? Fret not! With the help of the ever-developing world of technology, and developers who are relentlessly working in software houses, we now have access to fitness apps that you can install right now on your phones! Be it Android phones or iPhones, you can easily go to the App Store and pick and install the one that suits you best. Once you’ve got that done, you’re ready to jump right into the world of “Home Workout.”  

Is Working Out At Home Effective?

COVID-19 truly shows us how adaptability is essential for our survival in the long run. With this in mind, those who have been a fitness addict, or even those that have just been inspired to “get some” might be faced with the fact that they have to adjust their gym-filled lifestyle by bringing it into their homes. Thanks to the help of the rapid growth of technological advancement, we now have many ways to turn this to reality.

It is apparent that since the dawn of COVID-19 breakout, people have been marching towards online-services and this is also very true for the fitness industry. The Co-Founders of Obé, an online-only fitness service;  Mark Mullett and Ashley Mills tell CNN Business in an email:

“We have seen a considerable increase in membership across the US in the last few weeks.”
Source

Now, you might be asking yourself “how do I know if I’m doing it correctly?”, and the answer to that is you must keep a mindset that “Too much of a good thing is never a good thing”. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that adults need 150 minutes of health–aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening each week is the way to go. 

A research done by the University of Utah found that:

“The current physical activity guideline for Americans is to get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, MVPA, a week, which can be accumulated in eight to 10 minute periods.”

That being said, mixing things up is what will get things going right. There’s not quite a right-or-wrong situation when it comes to breaking down the 150 minutes as you can essentially break it up into 7 minutes of full-body workout and add another 5-minute of cardiovascular activity to wrap it up for the day. 

What can go wrong then? Well, the ease of accessing virtual fitness apps is great, but as we all know, with great ease, comes great responsibility. It is as easy as accessing the fitness apps to overdo the training that was supposed to be only either 30-minute or an hour long. This won’t only do more harm than good, but will also jeopardize the very plan that you’ve had in mind, which is to get in shape while at home.

Mistakes While Working Out

So, you’ve followed all the government’s regulations to stay home, had your electricity bills paid, had your internet connection steady, and downloaded the apps that you need to get yourself some sweaty time. That is wonderful! Except, you might still be missing some things. Below are things to consider when you’re working out at home:

1. Getting Way Ahead of Yourself

Having the mindset of losing weight or gaining muscle mass is great! You’ve established a motivation as to why you’re going on the wellness journey. However, you might have skipped over some steps that should have been taken gradually. Keep in mind that your body needs to adjust to the training and the training itself should also adjust to your body.

Everyone is different, especially when it comes to physique. So, you must understand which training suits best for your body. Understanding your body type is not only important in deciding the sort of training that is best for you, but also in controlling the diet that you should be taking.

2. Not Warming Up Properly

Understanding what you can do is important, but understanding what you must do is just as important! The very first thing that some might have completely overlooked when doing their workout is properly warming up. Not only will proper warming up session get your body to adjust to what you will be doing, but it will also mentally prepare you for what you will be doing.

Warming up gets your body temperature to rise up and be ready for an exercise. What this means is the blood flow to your muscles increases and it will essentially reduce the possibility of your muscle to strain and eventually risk an injury. Yeah, getting your muscles twisted that you’re not able to do your workout properly is the last thing anyone would want, especially in the middle of this pandemic. 

3. Overtraining

It’s great that you’re willing to get this ball to start rolling. However, make sure that you don’t get it to roll way too fast, or you’ll end up losing it! What this means is that you must know when to actually take a break. There are a couple of things that you need to know when you’re doing too much:

Up above are the things that you need to take a very good look into when you’re doing your exercise. The worst thing that you do not want is putting too much strain on your muscle fibers that they start dying and they get released into your bloodstream 

This is what is called “Rhabdomyolysis”, or “Rhabdo” for short. Rhabdomyolysis is caused by overworking your muscles that they start to actually die and cause all sorts of nasty stuff to your body that can lead to kidney failure! Again, you don’t want to overwork yourself so that you compromise your immune system in this pandemic! Workout well, workout responsibly!

4. Not Re-hydrating Enough

Overworking whilst working out is one bad juice to your workout routine mix and this can lead to dehydration. While you’re working out, you should understand that your body craves not only protein, but also H2O, or something that we call, water. Water is not only important to cool our body temperature down, but it also plays a very important role in generating all the sweat, the urine, and the nasty stuff that comes out of your back-end!

It is recommended that four hours before you start exercising, you drink at the very least one cup of water. While you’re doing the exercise, about 120ml of water is also sufficient to make up for it. Make sure that you drink this 120ml of water every 10-15 minutes in between your exercise. Lastly, once you’re about done with your exercise, you’re not quite done with this! You will need to not only drink a cup or two but twice the amount of water that you’ve lost during the exercise! 

CONCLUSION

So, you’ve come this far and survived all the odds that are against you at this point and you should be proud of that! Things will only look up from this point onwards. The fact that you’re still here and willing to get yourself in shape is the very proof that we all can do this and definitely not a feat to turn a blind eye to. 

Don’t ever forget to take everything that you find on the internet with grains and grains of salt. Make sure that you do not make the mistakes stated above when working out in the middle of this pandemic. Remember that you want to get in shape, and not get yourself at risk. Make sure that you’re having fun when doing all of this so that your mental health is in its best shape as well. Keeping your mental health in its best shape is what truly matters at the end of the day, especially at these very challenging times, and one surefire way to feel better about yourself is by taking very good care of yourself. So, give a home workout a shot and feel the positivity!

If you’ve got anything else that you would like to add, make sure to hit that comment section and let us know what you have in mind! Stay happy, stay healthy.