Modern Living has been impacted significantly by the internet of things. This powerful technology consists of a network of sensors that collect data from machines and people. This is sent to a central repository for analysis and provides enhanced visibility to the management - enabling them to understand the effectiveness of policies and procedures and take decisions to improve them. Internet of Things is an umbrella term used to describe the ecosystem of devices which relate to each other and share data to improve efficiency and to serve customers in a better manner. Coined in 1999, this term has become a mainstream since the last few years. The tech world has realized the enormous potential of IoT and is vociferously striving to create more applications with it. The world of mobile applications too has come under the influence of Internet of Things. This phenomenal technology has made a significant impact on the development of mobile apps. __5 Ways IoT is Impacting Mobile App Development__ App development is a booming trend and given the increasing popularity of smartphones, this trend is here to stay. Customers are now accessing their desired services on the smartphone through dedicated apps as apps offer more customized and prompt service. Companies too are looking to woo customers by offering interactive and effective mobile applications. And now mobile app developers are looking to use Internet of Things to develop better applications. Here we discuss the impact Internet of Things will have on the mobile application development field. __Open Source Development Will Become the Norm__ The explosion of IoT technology could well result in IT companies and developers sharing their programs openly, enabling nascent developers to build their own apps. At Flatworld, we have already begun working on rolling out such programs. Open source development will skyrocket the growth of mobile applications and more and more smarter minds will enter the arena to make the most of this opportunity. There will be more transparency in app development. Companies and developers collaborating with each other will become a norm in this industry. __Greater Hybrid App Development__ Conventional native mobile apps work only on the platform they are created on; this is not ideal in the IoT scenario. We can expect more and more hybrid apps with enhanced UX being developed, incorporating the advanced coding capabilities of hybrid platforms and allowing users to interact with an entire range of multi-platform devices. This will natural enhance the app experience for the user allowing them access a variety of services in one go. It all also be a win-win situation for companies as this will allow them to get consumer data from other platforms without much hassles. __Niche Development and New Platforms__ IoT is still in its nascent stages, and app developers are doing their best to adapt. However, they are hindered by a paucity of platforms, and this has spurred them to create brand-new ones. Experts predict a rise in this trend; with the emergence of an integrated IoT platform, developers who create cross-platform apps will focus more on niche platforms. This predication clearly indicates that there is so much to gain from developing new platforms and hence many mobile app developers in the future will focus their energies and pump their resources into developing platforms as they offer lucrative returns. __Prompting the Emergence of Innovative Businesses__ Anyone who has used the Uber app can swear to the seamless functioning of its app - it's nothing but IoT at work. By gathering data from all the connected devices (taxis) and the app users who are customers simultaneously and continuously, the service allows you to call for a cab with just a few taps on your Smartphone. Without the IoT technology, this, and other similar businesses wouldn't have been possible. Soon, we may see many more innovative businesses emerging, which rely heavily on the use of IoT in mobile apps. These businesses would focus on solving pressing issues of customers and would deliver a convenient and simple solution. And for this they would tap IoT's enormous potential. There will be many more apps like Uber who will provide seamless services to customers in real time and solve their problems. There will also be a massive surge in the amount of data collected by companies. This will result in creation of more businesses that will process, analyze and interpret this data. __Small Businesses Having a Big Say__ The cost of developing mobile applications is reducing day by day allowing small businesses to step up on the stage of online world. The Internet of Things will further reduce the costing of mobile application development and will enable small businesses to have a louder voice on the bigger platform. As Internet of Things connects everything into one system, it makes it easier for mobile applications to function and deliver complex services. Small business can benefit immensely from this and create a highly effective mobile application without creating a hole in their wallet. The future of mobile app development companies will depend on how well they adapt to and integrate this powerful technology to make the most of it, to help businesses provide more innovative services and enhanced experiences to their customers.

It is a time when people have acquainted with Amazon-like experience in banking where transactions are swift and efficient with only a few touches on the screen. Convenience has become the utmost motivator for any and all services, and digital banking brings that to our fingertips - much in contrary to the queues and paper-based formalities of a traditional bank. Every individual is a consumer of that convenience that the internet makes possible for us, and almost every sector is switching up their digital game to be in the race, if not ahead of the competition. Banking is no exception to the proverbial change. There was a time when the traditional methods of high-street banking were considered to be the epitome of financial advancement, but people have moved past the hype. Technology has taken over the world and conventions are quickly becoming obsolete in today's time. Further advancement in technology is only improving the user experience that the digital banks provide, therefore giving the customers that one motivator that seems to be working the most right now - convenience. How Technology will Influence the Future of Digital Banking? Here are some ways of how digital banking is setting the bar and changing the whole game in the finance sector - __1. Customized Service for Tailored Experience__ UX or User Experience is heightened in digital banking with the help of AI and Machine Language. It helps in providing customized, tailor-made services for each consumer, which is the essence of digital banking. The software monitors patterns in tastes and likes of the account holder and how he or she chooses to deal with their funds, thereby conducting a meaningful communication with the user based on the insights. This is a great improvement to experience on behalf of the users on the traditional methods, where flexibility was never quite the option. Since much of the modern digital banking is based on AI and Machine Learning, customers get to enjoy a service that is suitable for their own banking activities and does not have to fit their requirements as per the bank's regulated services. __2. Fool-proof Banking Security to Mitigate Fraud and Loss__ Security is one of the most important aspects of banking. Dealing with other people's funds is not something to be taken lightly. That is why the banking, finance, and insurance sectors are so heavily regulated. There are many ways how digital banks set up the safeguarding of personal accounts. The oldest and most popular one is, of course, password protection. But with passwords, consumers had to remember them and also keep in mind which one was for which platform. But it has been more refined with much safer and easier methods too, such as 2-step authentication and biometrics. The former successfully adds a layer of security, but it is also a tedious process to repeat every time the consumer logs into their account. That is where technology takes over to create something with the effectiveness of passwords and verifications, but with none of the headache that comes along them. Fingerprint match authentication was initially the only user-friendly security option that there was. Now the list has been joined by facial and iris recognition as well. Biometrics is perhaps the most convenient option at present that chooses a middle ground between providing iron-clad security but also user convenience. __3. Digitalization to Augment Customer Convenience__ The whole point of digital banking is to optimize customer convenience. Other than the obvious benefits of avoiding long queues, doing away with a host of paperwork and being physically present at bank branches for several services, there are many other aspects of digital banking facilitated by technology that results in better customer experience. Moreover, it has largely helped with e-commerce and fund transfers from anywhere and at any time. Digital banking has done away completely with the concepts of working day and hours for banks. __4. Fewer Accounting Mistakes__ Dependence on machines do away with the possibility of errors and mistakes in the mechanical calculations of banking. With the human factor constantly replaced with digitalization, the chances of errors become considerably less, therefore increasing the levels of productivity. Doing away with redundancy is also a very important by-product of digital advancement in this domain. __5. Business Intelligence to Enhance Banking Efficiency__ The integration of Business Intelligence in digital banking is inevitable, and the number of benefits it brings to the bank is endless. It provides accurate, unbiased and function-specific insights based on historical, current and future banking trends, which helps the bank in increasing efficiency, takes their services a few notches higher and generates more revenue. __Conclusion - Technology is Indispensable for Convenience, Reliability, and Security In Banking__ While traditional methods mean no harm, there is a strong need to innovate when the world is collectively inching closer to digitalization. AI technology is ripe and ready to bring innovation in every step of the banking environment. Migrating to a nimble AI-based system can enhance the fluidity in transactions while keeping the experience taut with clients. By trusting technology to streamline the banking performance, you are taking a giant leap in making financial transactions convenient and safe for users. This, in turn, will add more revenue to banks that embrace the change.

Internet is engulfing all technologies at a brisk speed, resulting in the creation of a world where every other thing relates to the internet. The internet is no more limited to just computers, smartphones, and tablets. It has now touched hearts of several other devices and is making our lives more convenient by enabling us to communicate with devices with ease and simplicity. The phenomena 'Internet of Things' is an umbrella term used to describe devices that relate to internet. Today, Internet of Things has become a mainstream topic and the technology world is striving hard to make key inroads towards development of IoT. **IoT in 2021 - Top Predictions** This is an exciting phase for IoT. The world is awakening to the potential of IoT and is embracing it at a tremendous speed. Tech giants are investing massive capital in developing IoT while some of the best minds across the world are focused on pushing the limits of this eco-system. The upshot? IoT is developing immensely and we are all geared up to witness some breathtaking changes in the upcoming years. Want to know top IoT predictions for 2020? Here we make seven for Internet of Things predictions which reflect a lot about the future of IoT and how it will look by 2020. **Cities Will Continue to Become Smart** Internet of Things won't only be limited to devices and things, it will have wider applications. One such obvious application of Internet of Things is the functioning of cities. In future, cities will become smart courtesy the data gained from IoT and will enable its citizen to enjoy a hassle free and comfortable life. Thanks to IoT, cities will become more efficient & will be able to save money, time & other resources. Data will be collected, managed and automated through video camera surveillance systems, taxi services and visitor kiosks. Modern cities make it easier for citizens to travel from one place to another and access basic amenities. This system will also enable cities to maintain a detailed profile of its citizens and curb crime and other issues. **IoT Will See Fragmentation** The growth and development of IoT will not only be vertical, in fact, it will see a lot of fragmentation. This obvious fragmentation will cause serious issues of compatibility as companies will struggle to create and maintain device standards and certifications. This will push companies to come together and create an eco-system that channelizes smooth running of IoT. It will open new avenues for tech personals to create systems that collaborate with other devices and have universal adaptability. This fragmentation could also mean that we would see several eco-systems of devices being developed and facilitated under one bigger IoT ecosystem. **There Will Be Increase in Security Concerns** Security is already a widely discussed facet of Internet of Things and it is believed that as IoT grows, the security concerns will grow as well. Internet of Things offers limitless opportunities to enhance communication between devices and data sharing, but this same feature makes it highly vulnerable from the point of view of security. As the network of connected devices grows, it becomes daunting to regulate it and to keep the data safe. Companies will have to develop better solutions to ensure that data remains safe and there are no potential leakages in the network. **A Boost to Artificial Intelligence** Internet of Things will enable devices to collect data about you. From thermostats to vehicles and to even coffee makers, all devices will collect information about your behavior. This data will get stored in the cloud and will be used to make the device 'learn' without any manual programming. This learning known as machine learning is a critical aspect of artificial intelligence and the growth of IoT will boost artificial intelligence as well. **Companies Will Have to Develop Data Processing Solutions** The growth of IoT will result in accumulation of enormous data which will need to be processed and analyzed. The current data processing systems won't be enough and hence companies will have to invest in solutions that are faster and cheaper. **There Will Be Big Money** The technology world has acknowledged Internet of Things' ability to enhance customer experience. Hence there will be no dearth in funding and capital for IoT.

> 1. > Business process automation is very quickly becoming a highly strategic enabler of business control and agility and a very important tool in the CIO's kitbag. But why? A lot has changed since the 1990's. Today, the aim is to maximise automation rather than re-engineer it. Technological advancements and the success of cloud computing have accelerated the evolution of business processes from 're-engineering' to 'automation'. But why? What are the real business benefits? As demand increases for businesses to perform complex, labour-intensive tasks, the goal is to automate as many manual processes as possible. We have distilled the many advantages of business process automation into 7 key points. **1. QUALITY & CONSISTENCY** Delivering consistently high quality products and customer service results in happier, long-term customers. - **Quality:** Automation ensures that every action is performed identically - resulting in high quality, reliable results - **Consistency:** If, for example, you have automated your customer service follow-up process, your customers will consistently experience the same level of service from your business This guarantee of quality and consistency coupled with time and efficiency savings means that you can start developing higher quality and more feature-filled products with little or no increase in production time and costs. **2. TIME SAVINGS** Manual tasks take time. They have to be performed linearly by humans who are prone to errors and who are unable to consistently perform to the highest standards. Automation reduces the number of tasks you and your employees would otherwise need to do manually. This frees up your time to work on items that add genuine value to the business, allowing you to be more innovative and increasing your employees’ levels of motivation. Automation also allows you to get more done in the same amount of time, greatly increasing productivity. **3. METRIC VISIBILITY** Sustained business success is dependant on developing and implementing a superior strategy. Retaining your competitive advantage requires that you constantly monitor, evaluate and modify that strategy - all of which are dependant on access to timely and accurate business data. Automated processes are controlled by defined workflows which consistently operate accurately and within your defined timeline. Automation provides the trifecta of requirements for successful measurement. Depending on which process you have opted to automate (financial, billing, collections, sales and/or support), key metrics can be recorded and reported on to provide you with the key information you need. **4. IMPROVED OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY** Efficiency by definition describes the extent to which time, effort and cost is effectively applied for the intended task or purpose. Process automation reduces the time it takes to achieve a task, the effort required to undertake it and the cost of completing it successfully. Automation not only ensures systems run smoothly and efficiently, but that errors are eliminated and that your best practices are constantly leveraged. **5. GOVERNANCE & RELIABILITY** The consistency of automated processes means you can rely on (a) your business processes to operate and (b) you can offer reliable processes to your customers, maintaining competitive advantage. The reliability of workflow automation ensures that processes essential for corporate governance are executed 100% of the time in accordance with legislation. **6. REDUCED TURNAROUND TIMES** Workflow automation allows companies to define and streamline their business processes. Eliminate unnecessary tasks and realign process steps to optimise the flow of information throughout your production, service, billing and collection departments. This adjustment of processes distills your operational performance and reduces the turnaround times for both staff and external customers. **7. REDUCED COSTS** Manual tasks, given that they are performed one-at-a-time and at a slower rate than an automated task, will cost more. Automation allows you to accomplish more by utilising fewer resources.

**Lessons learned supporting customers and appreciating a different perspective of development** Tech support is probably one of the most unloved jobs in technology. Developers frequently look down on tech support as people who can’t program. The tech support team is often thought of as a team of people who “raise the issues” with development teams. They’re the people who are the communicators of “problems.” This is why developers and software engineers will walk away even when they’re directly confronted by a member of the tech support team. The reply tech support always gets is: “I’m busy on another project. If it’s a big issue, please talk to my manager.” When I transitioned into a tech support role for Front Office trading and risk systems after being a senior developer for Middle Office reporting applications in the investment bank I worked at, people thought I was nuts. My need to see the “big picture” drove my decision at the time. I also thought the business knowledge I gained at the job might lead to a developer job for one of the Front Office trading and risk systems. But, instead, I rose through the ranks of my tech support team, became a leader, and eventually found myself appreciating development from a different perspective. From my years dealing with customers, development team managers, developers, and members of my support team, I can now offer some insights into why I think every developer, at some point in their coding career, should sit in that tech support chair to support customers. Even for a short time, such as two weeks, the experience can change the mindset of a developer, change the way a developer codes, and increase the skill set of a developer. **See the “Big Picture”** As a developer, it’s easy to focus on just one part of the software or system. Often, it’s comfortable for both the team and the developer to routinely work in the developer’s area of expertise. This makes “seeing the big picture” that much more important. As tech support, the developer can appreciate the inter-relationships inside the system. The developer can also appreciate all the other systems that depend on this system. For instance, when we started a developer rotation in our support team, the developer frequently commented, “I didn’t know that XYZ system depends on data from our system. Why are we receiving data from the ABC system for pricing this instrument?” Boost to Morale Seeing the product of a developer’s work being used by clients is a huge boost to morale. It’s also motivation to do “better.” When the developer sees that their work sits in the center of an important piece of software or an important system, that developer will be that much more motivated to perform at their best. For instance, when we were rolling out an important version of our software to a new group of internal users, one of the “star” developers rotated on our team for two weeks. That developer was able to solve the client’s issues “on the spot” because he wrote most of the new features. By the end of the two weeks, this developer was grinning from ear-to-ear because he was the one who ensured a successful release and ultimately the success of a project that took six months to complete. **Learn the Nuances of Usage** Even with the best requirement gathering, there are nuances on how clients use the software or the system. Different types of clients will also introduce new nuances of usage. Often, that nuance is not captured “exactly” by the testing team or the project management team. For instance, we frequently had instances where one client was responsible for introducing bugs into our system simply because the client was not using the system or the software as intended. This new client did not introduce the bugs. But those 10 steps that the client took inside the software or the system in its exact sequence highlighted a bug that was already there. **Sharpen Debugging Skills** Debugging is a critical skill of any developer, and there’s no better place to learn about debugging than in a support team. Developers usually focus on debugging software in one language, or one part of the system. But, members of the support team often debug entire systems. This means they trace issues from one end through many components to see what results come out of the other end. All the intermediary results have to be worked out to keep track of what will happen at the end. For instance, when our risk systems outputted “wrong” numbers for our clients, the answers were rarely simple. Members of our support team often had to trace through the log files of many components to finding all of the intermediary outputs. Then, they had to retrieve all the prices that may be involved in our calculations. Finally, we had to put all of those numbers together on a spreadsheet to manually calculate them and verify the output. Debugging from error messages coming out of the compiler is straight forward compared to debugging from data-generated errors that span many system components. **Learn the Importance of Architecture and Design** Performance and reliability are easily two of the most critical issues that developers will encounter when doing tech support. Each time, when these issues creep up, the developer’s patience is tested. A developer might not understand why clients complain about a 10-second delay. But, when they see the impact a 10-second delay can cause in real-time, that developer can appreciate good architecture and design that makes the system fast and resilient. For instance, one of our developers couldn’t understand why we “recycled” the cache every afternoon before one of our large overnight batch jobs started. When that developer did his rotation on our support team, he learned that the “recycling” allowed for 10x the performance for clients who were using our systems heavily in the afternoons. The developer then went back to his team to suggest changes in the architecture and the design to alleviate the performance issues. On top of that, in the next release of the system, critical backup and contingency plans were worked in to allow for more resilience in the entire system. Learn to Appreciate the Simple and the Complex Developers have a knack for solving complex problems. Tech support has a knack for translating complex problems into simple bite-sized pieces. Combining these two perspectives can be extremely beneficial when dealing with complex system problems. For instance, when one of the developers rotated with our team for two weeks, he was surprised to see how quickly our clients were clicking through the components of the software. “Wait, did you know that all these clicks add up to the activation of many parts of the system. Please slow down the clicks.” The trouble is that the client can’t slow down the clicks. The client has to perform his work very fast. In the next release of the system, the developer suggested simplifying the design of a particular part of of the system to cater to this specific type of usage. This allowed those clicks to continue, and the clicks generated a much higher response rate from the system. The client was happy with the performance. The developer was also happy with the simplification that allowed for a more scalable system. Learn About Data and the Challenges It Introduces Developers often only work with test data until the testing stage. Test data often does not represent real data adequately. The saying goes, “No matter how much you test with QA data, someone somewhere will ultimately break the system with some kind of live data that was not accounted for.” In tech support, the experience of working with live data by fixing clients’ issues will allow developers to think about data and the problems it introduces more thoroughly. For instance, one of our systems had data coming in from many pricing engines that upstream, such as Bloomberg, Markit, etc. These pricing feeds introduced a significant variable into our risk systems. Having spent two weeks with us watching the members of our team painstakingly manually calculate trades by retrieving data from these pricing feeds for the clients to verify their numbers, a developer announced, “Data is no joke.” That developer went on to appreciate the critical work that our support team did to bridge the gap between the development team and the support team. The developer also realized the importance of data integrity within the system. The next release of the system contained many mechanisms to ensure this data integrity. **Learn a Different Set of Soft Skills** Communicating complex problems and solutions is difficult for anyone. But, communicating these problems and solutions under a time-constraint is even more difficult. Often, on-the-spot prioritization is important in time-critical communication. This means that tech support members learn when to say what to the customers, how to explain certain problems, and what information to present for optimal transparency. When a developer who is used to speaking slowly, explaining in detail, and drawing diagrams suddenly has to adapt their communication style to this type of environment, it often takes both time and energy. For instance, one of the junior developers who frequently rotated on our team made a point to stop by Starbucks every day on his way to work simply because the caffeine allowed him to speak faster. He often told us that spending time on our team is like doing code competitions — it takes a sharp mind and quick tongue to be able to succeed. Learn the Importance of Test-Driven Development Many developers do not like test-driven development. Developers who are concerned about architecture will argue that designing the entire system from scratch is extremely important. However, on minor releases of the software or the system, test-driven development to fix critical issues are not only important but also necessary. For instance, we often had problems in our issue tracking system that had long lists of steps to duplicate a bug. Developers joked about how our tech support team is teaming up with the clients to “break” the system. But, when the same developers rotated with our team and saw those convoluted steps performed in real-time, those developers created real test cases in their testing plan and developed new features to allow for these types of use cases to integrate more seamlessly into our system. Learn the Importance of “Timeliness” Business changes in real-time. Developers are creatures of habit. This is good. We want software and systems that will stand the test of time. At the same time, agility and flexibility are also important. When business changes, clients have to adapt quickly. Whether or not the clients can continue to use the software and the system depends on how quickly the software and the system can adapt to the situation. For instance, the ability to work with Excel data is extremely important for any financial system. At the same time, data integrity is a huge issue when working with Excel. Developers who rotated on our team were able to experience in real-time how a set of requirements for new features kept changing as the business changed for the client. Eventually, they recommended the development of an entirely different part of the system to give these types of clients the flexibility and agility they were looking for. **Conclusion** For developers to be successful, appreciating a different perspective on their work is important. This is why having some experience supporting the customers is vital to the developer’s success. In the process, the developer can learn to think differently about the various parts of the software or system, such as design, testing, data, and requirements. The developer will also appreciate the user experience that much more. This will allow them to adjust their thinking to be more client-centric. Ultimately, the experience will allow the developer to be more successful at developing systems and software that the clients will appreciate.