Category: Business

How To Build An MVP That Helps You Raise Investment For Your Startup Idea

Posted on by galaxy-admin

According to Moneyzine report of 2023, 47% of startups eventually fail due to a lack of funding.

These startups struggle to secure funding due to the lack of a compelling business model, insufficient market research, inexperienced team, and an absence of demonstrated traction.

To overcome hurdles and increase chances of success, startups need to effectively strategize their approach for securing investment. This involves accurate forecasting of potential challenges and demonstrating their value to potential investors.

Investors evaluate various aspects when considering a startup, which include the uniqueness and practicality of the solution it provides, market size, growth potential, and industry trends.

The team’s strength and their ability to set their startup apart is key, as is their growth strategy and the technology they leverage. A financially sound business model and clear use of investment funds are also important considerations.

But for tech startups, it’s not just about investing in an idea.

Investors seek proof of a viable market, a robust team, and a scalable business model. A working product that shows the startup’s capabilities is crucial. This is often achieved through MVP development for startup products, and then presented as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

While an MVP isn’t directly a selling point, it surely facilitates the process of pinpointing the unique aspects of the product or service. This, in turn, can enhance the startup’s prospects in attracting the required investment. 

Is Your Startup Set for Funding? Indicators of Investment Readiness

When it comes to seeking investment for your startup, timing is crucial. You want to make sure you’re raising and utilizing the funds for growth. So, what does it mean to be ready for investment? 

Let’s explore some key indicators that can help determine if your startup is prepared to seek funding.

  • Clear Business Model: Define how your startup will generate revenue, understand your target customers, and outline your cost structure.
  • Problem-Solution Fit: Validate that there is a real problem to solve and that your solution is appealing to customers.
  • MVP or Prototype: Showcase a minimum viable product or prototype to demonstrate your capability of bringing ideas to life.
  • Initial Traction: Show evidence of market interest and acceptance through user sign-ups, website traffic, or other relevant metrics.
  • Strong Team: Have a committed team with diverse skills necessary for your business’s success.
  • Scalable Growth Plan: Develop a plan for how your startup can grow and articulate how the investment will fuel that growth.
  • Financial Projections: Present a financial forecast that outlines expected income, expenses, and cash flow for the coming years.

By considering these pointers and ensuring your startup meets these readiness indicators, you can position yourself for a successful investment journey. Remember, finding the right investment partner goes beyond the funding itself, as they can provide valuable guidance and support for your startup’s growth.

When Is The Right Time To Seek Investment?

Determining the right time to seek investment for your startup can depend on various factors, including the nature of your business, your stage of development, and your specific funding needs. Here are a few scenarios that often indicate a suitable time to seek investment:

  • Development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): 

Having a functional MVP or prototype demonstrates that you have progressed beyond the conceptual stage and can showcase your idea’s potential to investors.

  • Early Traction and Milestones: 

Investors are more likely to be interested in startups that have achieved some level of traction. This can include user sign-ups, positive feedback, initial sales, or partnerships that validate your business model and market potential.

  • Scalability and Growth Potential: 

Investors seek startups that have the potential to scale rapidly and generate significant returns on investment. It is crucial to have a well-defined growth plan and strategy that outlines how the infusion of funds will drive your startup’s expansion.

  • Demonstrable Team Capabilities: 

A strong and capable team is a critical factor in attracting investment. Investors look for teams with relevant expertise, industry knowledge, and the ability to execute the business plan effectively.

  • Financial Preparedness: 

Before seeking investment, ensure you have a clear understanding of your financials, including revenue projections, cost structures, and cash flow management. This demonstrates your financial preparedness and ability to effectively utilize the investment funds.

Remember, seeking investment should align with your business goals and growth plans. It is essential to evaluate your startup’s readiness based on these indicators and seek investment when you have a compelling value proposition, demonstrated market demand, a viable product, and a solid plan for growth.

Here’s an example of a popular startup that mentions how an MVP could have changed its fate.

Argo AI serves as a prime example of a tech startup that managed to secure substantial funding early in its life but ultimately faced significant challenges due to a lack of product-market fit and market validation. Co-founded in 2016 by veterans of Google and Uber automated driving programs, Argo AI sought to build software, hardware, maps, and cloud-support infrastructure to power self-driving vehicles​.

Argo AI
ServiceDevelopment of software, hardware, maps, and cloud-support infrastructure for self-driving vehicles
Problem Couldn’t monetize their technology effectively. Strategic shifts due to new leadership at key backers. Expensive development and implementation of autonomous vehicle technology. Couldn’t secure a sustainable position in an emerging industry. Absence of a product to validate the market and business model.
FundingOver $3.6 billion from Ford and Volkswagen
Market Validation & FitLack of clear business model for autonomous transportation serviceability to bring a successful autonomous vehicle product to market
Technology
Investment in LiDAR imaging technology Despite advantages in LiDAR technology, unable to leverage it effectively for a successful AV product
Financial Performance
Net loss: Posted an $827 million net loss for the third quarter
MVP Approach and Business Model ValidationIt’s possible that an MVP approach could have helped Argo AI better validate its product-market fit and business model. Instead of making massive bets on specific technologies and aiming for a full-fledged autonomous vehicle, a smaller, more focused product offering that targeted a specific customer need or market niche might have helped Argo AI gain the market traction and validation needed to convince investors of its viability. 

This is a powerful illustration of the importance of an MVP when raising investment for a startup, as it offers a way to validate a product idea and business model with real market feedback before committing large amounts of resources.

Putting Investment To Work: How Funds Can Be Utilized

By strategically utilizing the investment, startups can fuel growth, enhance operations, drive marketing initiatives, bolster product development, and strengthen overall business capabilities. Understanding how funds are deployed across different areas is key to maximizing the potential impact of investment and setting the stage for sustainable growth and success.

In the ideal scenario, funds should be infused when your startup is in a position to utilize them effectively across the following key areas:

Product Development & R&D

  • Software and Tools
  • Talent Acquisition
  • Prototyping and Testing
  • Research

Marketing & Customer Acquisition

  • Advertising
  • Public Relations
  • Content Marketing
  • Sales Team

Scaling Operations

  • Physical Expansion
  • Operational Staff
  • Inventory and Supply Chain

Legal & Compliance

  • Legal Counsel
  • Patents and Trademarks
  • Regulatory Compliance

Working Capital

  • Day-to-Day Operations
  • Emergency Buffer
  • Supplier and Vendor Payments

What Are The Investment Decision Criteria?

When investors evaluate a business for potential investment, they consider a number of decision criteria that help them determine the likelihood of the investment generating substantial returns. Investors assess a variety of factors when considering an investment in a startup, particularly when it’s a technology-driven enterprise. 

Here are the key aspects they look for:

  • Speed of Development: 

Investors appreciate teams that can quickly turn an idea into a viable product. The ability to swiftly execute signals a team’s efficiency, dedication, and competence.

  • Financial Prudence: 

Investors want to see effective financial management. They prefer startups that use their funds wisely and can deliver results within a reasonable budget.

  • Focus on Essential Features: 

Investors value startups that understand their target audience’s needs and prioritize features that cater to these needs. A cluttered product with unnecessary features can confuse customers and hamper adoption.

  • Receptiveness to Feedback: 

Startups that are open to constructive criticism and can adapt their product based on user feedback tend to be more successful. Investors seek this adaptability and customer-centric approach.

  • Market Validation: 

Concrete evidence of market demand for a product or service is crucial. Investors need proof that the startup’s offering has the potential for growth and profitability.

  • Customer Base: 

Early traction in terms of a growing customer base is a strong indicator of a startup’s potential. It’s one thing to believe in a product’s potential and another to see customers actually using and benefiting from it.

  • Risk Management: 

Startups that take calculated risks and have plans to mitigate potential downsides are more likely to secure investment. Investors prefer to back ventures that balance ambition with caution.

Now, how can a startup demonstrate these qualities effectively? This is where a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes into play. 

One example of a well-known startup that successfully utilized an MVP to secure further funding is Instagram:

When Instagram launched in 2010, it started as a simple MVP—an iPhone app for sharing photos with filters and basic social features. The MVP gained early traction and quickly attracted millions of users. 

The founders used this initial success and user feedback to secure $500,000 in seed funding from venture capitalists, including Andreessen Horowitz. 

The funding helped Instagram scale its operations, enhance the app’s features, and expand its user base. Eventually, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in 2012, showcasing the significant success that stemmed from starting with an MVP.

MVP: Your Secret Weapon for Raising Investment

Investors highly value the market validation that comes with an MVP. By launching an MVP and gathering real user feedback, startups can demonstrate early traction, user engagement, and positive market response. This validation provides crucial evidence of the product’s viability and attractiveness to potential customers.

Investing in a business without a minimum viable product (MVP) is riskier. When there is no MVP, investors have to rely on assumptions and projections, which may not accurately reflect what customers want or how the market will respond. This lack of concrete validation makes it more uncertain and potentially less favorable for investors.

However, building an MVP for startups helps you mitigate this risk by offering a proof-of-concept. It allows investors to see firsthand how the product is received in the market, assess its unique value proposition, and evaluate its potential for widespread adoption. This tangible evidence significantly reduces uncertainty and provides a stronger basis for investment decisions.

An MVP helps startups exhibit these investor-preferred qualities:

  • MVPs are typically developed and launched within about 5 weeks, but the timeframe can vary based on product complexity.
  • Developing an MVP is budget-conscious, usually requiring an investment of around $10,000 to $15,000 for digital products like apps or websites.
  • MVPs focus on delivering essential features that address the primary needs of the target audience, often prioritizing 1-3 key features that solve customer problems effectively.
  • MVPs gather early user feedback, usually from a few dozen to a few hundred users, depending on the product and market size.
  • Launching an MVP allows entrepreneurs to validate market demand, aiming for a few hundred to a few thousand active users or customers within the first few months.
  • MVPs help establish an early customer base, attracting a few hundred to a few thousand initial customers, depending on the product and market.
  • MVPs minimize resources and time in the initial phase, reducing financial and operational risks. This can potentially save significant costs by validating the product concept before full-scale development.

Investments can be utilized in many areas such as marketing, product development, operations, team expansion, and even research and development. But it’s not just about where the money is used, but also when it’s raised.

One successful example of a startup leveraging its MVP to secure good investments is the story of Slack. Slack, known initially as “Glitch,” began as an internal communication tool for a gaming company called Tiny Speck. However, the founders recognized its potential beyond their initial gaming project and decided to pivot. Take a look at how an MVP was turned to be a successful team communication platform. 

Slack
Initial Idea and MVPOrigin: Developed as an internal communication tool for a gaming company, Tiny SpeckMVP Focus: Simplifying team communication and collaboration with channels, direct messaging, file sharing, and integration with productivity tools
Target Audience: Developers and tech community(Launch and Market Response)Public Launch: August 2013 Sign-ups: Approximately 8,000 within the first 24 hours
User GrowthReached 1 million daily active users within six months
FundingRaised over $1.4 billion in several funding rounds
Current Status and ImpactEstablished as a leading workplace communication platform
User BaseMillions of daily active users globally
Key Success FactorsMarket Recognition: Identified a need for an intuitive team communication toolValidation: Swift market validation and user adoption of the MVPInvestment Attraction: Secured substantial investments based on MVP success and potential

Why Investors Prefer MVP Before Investing In Tech Startups?

Investors can gain confidence in the startup’s traction, product-market fit, risk mitigation, scalability, and efficient use of capital. MVPs provide valuable insights that align with investors’ goals of maximizing returns while minimizing risks. Here is the list of specific factors that investors look for when investing in any tech startup:

Evidence of Traction:

  • Launching an MVP demonstrates early user adoption and market interest.
  • Provides tangible proof of a product’s potential to attract customers.
  • Shows engagement and validates market demand.

Validation of Product-Market Fit:

  • MVPs allow startups to test and validate their value proposition.
  • Gathering user feedback helps refine the product to meet customer needs.
  • Reduces the risk of investing in a product that may not resonate with the market.

Risk Mitigation:

  • MVPs provide real-world data for informed decision-making.
  • Investors can assess the startup’s progress and market response.
  • Mitigates uncertainty and reduces risk associated with investing in unproven concepts.

Scalability and Growth Potential:

  • MVPs offer insights into the startup’s scalability and growth potential.
  • Showcases repeatable customer acquisition process and positive user feedback.
  • Demonstrates the startup’s ability to capitalize on market opportunities.

Efficient Use of Capital:

  • MVP development is cost-effective and optimizes resource allocation.
  • Demonstrates the startup’s ability to achieve milestones with limited funding.
  • Shows the startup’s potential for profitability and delivering a return on investment.

Ideal Stages For Kickstarting MVP Development In A Startup

Determining the right stage to kickstart your MVP development for startup is crucial. It sets the foundation for validating ideas, gathering user feedback, and refining the product or service. By identifying the ideal stages to begin MVP development, startups can maximize their chances of success and make informed decisions before seeking external investments. Here are several key stages that are considered ideal for kickstarting MVP development in a startup’s journey.

Idea Validation Stage: 

  • The earliest stage of a startup is where founders have a conceptual idea but need to validate its feasibility. Developing an MVP at this stage allows founders to test their assumptions, gather user feedback, and validate the market need for their product or service. It helps refine the idea and build a solid foundation for further development.

Early Product Development Stage: 

  • Once the initial idea has been validated, startups can enter the early product development stage. At this point, the basic concept and target audience are defined, and the focus is on building a minimum viable version of the product. Developing an MVP helps startups gain early traction, gather user insights, and iterate on the product to refine its features and functionalities.

Pre-Launch Stage: 

  • This stage occurs just before the official launch of the startup’s product or service. Developing an MVP in this phase allows startups to gather feedback from a select group of beta users or early adopters. This feedback can help fine-tune the product, address any potential issues, and create a positive user experience before the full-scale launch.

Market Entry Stage: 

  • Startups that have validated their product-market fit and are ready to enter the market can utilize MVP development to gain a competitive advantage. By launching an MVP with a focused set of features, startups can penetrate the market quickly, gather user feedback, and make iterative improvements based on real-world usage.

Expansion and Scaling Stage: 

  • Startups looking to expand their customer base or enter new markets can leverage MVP development to test market demand and gather insights. By creating a streamlined version of their product tailored to the target market, startups can validate the demand and make data-driven decisions for scaling their operations.

Secure Investment for Your Startup: Build an MVP that Captivates Investors!

For startup founders, early-stage entrepreneurs, and investors seeking insights into startup potential, developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) can be a critical step toward securing investment. An MVP allows you to validate your business idea, gather user feedback, and showcase the potential of your startup.

However, it’s important to remember that building an MVP for startups is just the beginning. It serves as a starting point to refine your product, gather market insights, and pave the way for building a successful and sustainable business.

If you’re looking to develop an MVP for your startup, consider partnering with experienced developers and designers who can guide you through the process. Galaxy Weblinks, serves as a full-cycle web and mobile app development company for startups from ideation to launching. We are committed to supporting startup founders and early-stage entrepreneurs at every step of their journey.

Whether you’re creating a social media platform, an e-commerce website, or a mobile app, we have the expertise to transform your idea into a reality. Reach out to us today to discuss your startup aspirations and discover how we can help you bring your MVP to life.

The 2023 MVP Development Checklist For Startups To Start Your Unicorn Journey

Posted on by galaxy-admin

56% of startups fail simply because they ignore product market fit or product validation before they skip the process of validating the market and directly proceed to develop a full-fledged product. 

The challenge in creating a complete product is that it needs a significant investment of around $50,000 to $100,000. Additionally, it usually takes a few months or even a year to bring it to the market. During this time, your idea may lose its initial advantage of being the first, and its unique selling point may diminish as others may have already launched a similar idea faster than you.

The easiest way to validate the market fit at a lower cost and in a faster time is through MVP development for startups.

But what exactly is an MVP, and why is it so critical? 

An MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product development. It’s the most basic version of your product that you can create while still solving the main problems or meeting the core needs of your target customers. 

Think of it as a stripped-down version of your idea, focusing only on the essential features. The goal here is to go to market faster, get real feedback from real users and make iterations to the product to ensure product market fit.

So how should one get started?

Among startup founders, this stage poses a challenge for 67% of them, as they often prioritize rapid growth, market capture, or limited resources, they tend to overlook MVP development. But, understanding the value of MVP validation is important and many founders choose to skip this crucial step due to few complexities and lack of awareness. Our MVP development for startup checklist will help you get started with creating your first MVP and then planning a roadmap to ensure your startup’s success. 

Essential Checklist To Prepare For MVP Development For Startups

Whether you are starting with just an idea, or you need to get the MVP developed based on your research, this detailed checklist will ensure that you do not miss out on any crucial step. 

The Pre-MVP Development Checklist:

  1. Clearly identify the problem or pain point your product solves
  2. Describe the impact of solving this problem on your target audience
  3. Conduct comprehensive industry research
  4. Identify and analyze competitors in the market
  5. Explore market dynamics, trends, and existing solutions
  6. Define target audience demographics (age, gender, location, income)
  7. Understand audience behaviors, preferences, and pain points
  8. Tailor your MVP to meet the specific needs of your target audience
  9. Identify essential core features for your MVP
  10. Prioritize features based on importance
  11. Evaluate feasibility of implementing each feature

Development Team Selection Checklist:

  1. Research the right resources that can provide the technical support and expertise to develop the features you need.
  2. Ensure that you are able to communicate your ideas to them 
  3. Get confirmation on the clarity and understanding of the team
  4. Check if they are as motivated and passionate about building the product as you are 
  5. Ensure that the engagement is affordable for your startup
  6. Give higher priority to a team that  is agile and adaptable to changing trends
  7. Verify the flexibility of their working schedule as per your preferences
  8. Check for the possibility of longer association to ensure the product development team remains the same

MVP Development Checklist:

  1. Create low-fidelity wireframes and interactive prototypes
  2. Check for the user journey & experience in the application
  3. Determine the essential features that align with the MVP’s purpose 
  4. Incorporate any current technology updates if applicable 
  5. Ensure proper testing of all features with the required stakeholders
  6. Conduct regular meetings with the team for updates and progress 
  7. Ensure that you get all the required documentation for future reference
  8. Check if the MVP is ready for marketing and promotions before launching it in the market

Post MVP Launch & Iterations Checklist:

  1. Regularly monitor MVP performance
  2. Establish feedback channels and monitor metrics
  3. Analyze feedback and metrics for improvements
  4. Resolve problems that impact usability, functionality, or customer satisfaction
  5. Prioritize user feedback and identify issues 
  6. Plan and execute iterative releases
  7. Plan for scalability as the user base grows
  8. Establish maintenance plans and address user-reported issues
  9. Stay updated with security patches and updates
  10. Consider options for raising investment for scaling the business

Start Your Journey to Becoming a Unicorn with the 2023 MVP Development Checklist!

An MVP development for startups allows them to clearly define the problem they aim to solve, the required functionalities, and the marketing strategy. By avoiding feature creep and delays, an MVP enables companies to create a streamlined, user-friendly product and launch it in the market quickly.

At Galaxy Weblinks, we have a proven track record of delivering customized services that meet our clients’ specific needs and target audience. Our experienced development team is here to help in building an MVP for startups. With over 100 startups utilizing our services, our MVP development for startup checklist has been proven to ensure a smooth and effective MVP development process. 

Begin your journey towards your MVP by taking the first step. We specialize in building an MVP for startups and bringing their product ideas to life through the creation of impactful expertise.

How Much Should You Invest In Monthly Website Maintenance?

Posted on by galaxy-admin
website maintenance services

Are you compromising on quality to reduce website maintenance costs? Or perhaps you’re overspending on maintenance and wondering if there’s a way to cut it down? Well, we’ve got news for you – there’s a sweet spot in website maintenance, and it’s all about finding the balance between cost and quality.

But how much should you be investing in monthly maintenance to strike that perfect balance? 

On average, businesses should aim to invest at least 5-10% of their website development budget into monthly maintenance, which results in improving your search engine rankings by up to 30%.

So, if you’re wondering how to optimize your website maintenance without compromising on quality or overspending on website maintenance services, we’ve got you covered. Let’s find that sweet spot together and keep your website running smoothly for years to come.

How To Calculate The Cost Of Website Maintenance?

Let’s say you run an e-commerce store using the Shopify platform, and you need to maintain the website on a monthly basis. Let’s take a sample metrics to understand the cost better

Factors affecting maintenance cost for e-commerce website: 

  • No. of hours required 
  • Platform expenses
  • Cost of domain expertise

Let’s take an example to understand the cost calculation with the help of some assumed data.

Average maintenance time required in a month: 9 to 12 hours

Minimum Expense: Maintenance Cost for 9 hours per month

Maintenance time per month (T) = 9 hours

Hourly rate for maintenance (R) = $100 per hour

Domain expertise cost = D

Platform expenses = P

The domain expertise cost can be calculated as:

D = T x R

D = 9 x $100

D = $900 per month

Then, the total monthly website maintenance cost can be calculated as:

Total cost = Domain expertise cost + Platform expenses


Assuming the monthly platform cost is $229

Total cost = D + P


Total cost = $900 + $229

Total monthly website maintenance cost  = $1129

——————————————————————————————————————–

Maximum Expense: Maintenance Cost for 12 hours per month

Maintenance time per month (T) = 12 hours

Hourly rate for maintenance (R) = $100 per hour

Domain expertise cost = D

Platform expenses = P

The domain expertise cost can be calculated as:

D = T x R

D = 12 x $100

D = $1200 per month

Then, the total monthly website maintenance cost can be calculated as:

Total cost = Domain expertise cost + Platform expenses


Assuming the monthly platform cost is $229

Total cost = D + P


Total cost = $1200 + $229

Total monthly website maintenance cost  = $1429

Based on the above calculations, we can conclude that the minimum maintenance cost per month would be $1129 and the maximum would be $1429. If you are paying more, then you need to look into resource and task allocation in addition to checking the technology integration for your website.


If you are paying less than the minimum limit, then you should at least consider looking into the details of the maintenance activities and the overall website performance to rule out the possibility of ignored issues.

Factors That Affect the Cost of Website Maintenance

People commonly associate website maintenance costs to be solely attributed to the number of hours required to get the work done. However, there are other factors like the complexity of the issue, the technical expertise required, the priority of the task, etc. It is recommended to take all applicable factors into consideration when calculating or understanding the maintenance cost for your website.

  • Frequency Of Maintenance Issues

The frequency of maintenance issues can have a significant impact on the cost of website maintenance. 

A report by GoDaddy found that small business owners spend an average of 5 hours per month on website maintenance, but this can vary depending on the complexity of the website and the frequency of updates required. 

For instance, a website that requires daily updates and monitoring will have a higher maintenance cost than a website that only needs updates once a month.

  • Extent of Manual Effort Required

The amount of manual effort required for maintenance tasks can also impact the cost of website maintenance. 

A study by HubSpot found that small business owners spend an average of 2-5 hours per week on website updates, which can include tasks such as creating new pages, updating content, and testing website functionality. 

Websites that require more extensive manual effort, such as custom coding or design changes, will have a higher maintenance cost.

  • Technology Relevance

Outdated technology can also impact the cost of website maintenance. A survey by W3Techs found that only 2.5% of websites still use Flash technology, which is no longer supported by major web browsers. 

Websites that use outdated technology may require additional maintenance to remain compatible with newer web browsers, which can increase the maintenance cost.

  • High Maintenance Requirement for The Platform

Websites with high maintenance requirements may also have limitations due to their current technology. 

For example, a website with complex integrations or customizations may require more maintenance, which can be costly. In some cases, it may be more cost-effective to invest in newer technology that is easier to maintain in the long run.

website maintenance services

Recommended Strategies By Experience Website Developers For Reducing Website Maintenance Cost

Yes, it is possible to reduce website maintenance costs by assessing the efficiency of current maintenance practices and exploring technological upgrades. By optimizing current website maintenance services and adopting new technologies, businesses can improve the effectiveness of their maintenance efforts while reducing costs.

Maximizing Efficiency

One way to reduce website maintenance costs is to ensure that maintenance tasks are being performed efficiently. 

  1. Regularly Update Website Software

Keeping website software up to date is crucial for maintaining website security and performance. 

By regularly updating website software, businesses can reduce the risk of security breaches and minimize the need for manual maintenance tasks. For example, updating to the latest version of WordPress or a website theme can provide bug fixes, security updates, and improved performance.

  1. Outsource Website Maintenance 

Outsourcing website maintenance services to a third-party provider can be a cost-effective solution for small businesses that don’t have the resources to hire in-house staff. 

According to a survey by Clutch, the average cost of outsourced website maintenance is $100-$149 per hour. Outsourcing can provide access to specialized expertise and resources without the need to hire new staff or purchase new tools.

Technology Upgrades

Another way to reduce website maintenance costs is to explore technological upgrades as newer technologies may also offer additional features and functionalities that can help reduce the need for manual maintenance tasks.

  1. Adopt automation Tools

Investing in automation tools can help reduce the time and effort required for routine maintenance tasks. 

For example, tools like Jetpack, UpdraftPlus, and WP-Optimize can automate tasks like backups, updates, and optimization, which can significantly reduce manual effort and lower costs.

  1. Use A Reliable Hosting Provider

Choosing a reliable hosting provider can help reduce maintenance costs and prevent unexpected downtime. 

According to a study by the Hosting Tribunal, 1 hour of downtime can cost businesses anywhere from $10,000 to $1 million, depending on the size of the company and the industry. By choosing a reliable hosting provider, businesses can minimize the risk of downtime and reduce associated costs.

By implementing these cost-saving measures, businesses can improve their website performance and functionality while freeing up resources to focus on other aspects of their business.

Achieve Higher Conversion Rate, User Retention, & Performance with Professional Website Maintenance Services

It can be a daunting task for businesses to manage maintenance needs in-house, and outsourcing to the wrong provider can result in higher costs and lower-quality services. 

By partnering with a trusted and experienced website maintenance service provider like Galaxy Weblinks, you can ensure that your website is always optimized for performance, security, and functionality. 

Our team ensures on-time resolution of issues with proactive audits to prevent minor problems from becoming major obstacles. We have also advised our clients on the best technology to reduce maintenance requirements and also scale their businesses sustainably.
Get an in-depth website audit and website maintenance services costs to ensure a high-performing website.

MVP Mobile App Development: How to Get to Market Faster and Make Data-Driven Decisions

Posted on by galaxy-admin

About 90% of startups fail to grow without building an MVP.

It’s a strong number to convince startups to take over their idea and create a prototype before stepping into it.

But what about the rest?

The rest of the startups look for ways to get their ideas to the market quickly and efficiently, and MVP (Minimum Viable Product) supports this concept to help startups achieve this goal. 

An MVP is a simplified version of a mobile app that contains only the core features and functions needed to validate the app idea and gather user feedback. 

The idea behind an MVP is to bring the app to the market as soon as possible and test its viability without spending a lot of time and resources. 

This way, startups can learn about their app’s strengths and weaknesses early on and make necessary changes to improve the product. 

All in all, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your unique value proposition, target audience, and metrics for success. 

Showcasing a demo of the MVP and providing examples of similar successful apps can also be very effective in demonstrating the potential of your app.

But, first, let’s take a look at what you’d miss out on if you target completing the whole project at once and not breaking it into simpler steps.

How MVP Eliminates Challenges: For Users

Creating a solution that provides real value to users is the actual idea of developing an MVP, but let’s clear our lenses to see what would happen if we skip this part. 

Some common pain points for target audiences in mobile app development include:

  • Difficulty In Completing A Task Or Process: 
    Users may struggle with organizing their requirements and finding information quickly and efficiently.
  • Inefficient Or Time-Consuming Processes: 
    Users may be frustrated with the time it takes to complete a task and compelling them to shift to other alternatives. 
  • Poor User Experience:
    Users may be frustrated with clunky interfaces or confusing navigation in a mobile app.
  • Lack Of Functionality:
    Users may want additional features or functionality not currently available in a mobile app.
  • Security Or Privacy Concerns:
    Users may be concerned about the safety of their personal information or the security of their transactions in a mobile app.

How MVP Eliminates Challenges: For Developers

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach to mobile app development helps to minimize the difficulties that can arise in the development process. Some of the difficulties that are excluded in the MVP approach include:

  • Overbuilding:
    With an MVP approach, the development team focuses on delivering only the most essential features, avoiding the temptation to add too many bells and whistles that can slow down the development process.
  • Time and Cost Overruns:
    By focusing on a minimal set of features, MVPs help to control the development timeline and budget, avoiding the risk of project delays and overspending.
  • Unvalidated assumptions:
    An MVP approach validates the assumptions about the app’s potential success before investing too much time, money, and resources in the development process.
  • Lack of user feedback:
    MVPs allow developers to test the app with real users and gather feedback, which helps to avoid developing features that may not be useful or desired by the target audience.
  • Technical complexity:
    By focusing on only the essential features, MVPs help to reduce the technical complexity of the app, making it easier to develop and maintain.

An MVP approach to mobile app development can help businesses to minimize the risks and difficulties associated with the development process, while still delivering a functional product that meets the needs of their users.

Understanding The MVP Development Process 

Building an MVP is an iterative process, and the product will evolve over time based on user feedback and market trends. The goal is to validate the product idea and gather feedback as quickly and efficiently as possible to inform future development decisions.

Here is how MVP development staging takes place to bring out a better user experience.

  • Product Discovery:
    Identify the problem you are trying to solve and research your target audience, market trends, and competitors. The more data a company possesses, the better its prospects of success.
  • Feasibility:
    The product must provide value to users in the simplest form possible, as the term MVP suggests. Outline the users first, then create the MVP around their requirements.
  • Targeted Market Testing:
    The goal is to validate the product idea and gather feedback from potential users. Based on the feedback received, make changes to the MVP app and iterate on the product.
  • Comparative Costs:
    The cost of developing an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) can vary widely depending on several factors, including the complexity of the product, the development methodologies used, the technology stack, and the size and experience of the development team. 

    For example- If the estimated cost to create an android or ios application is 3000$, the estimated cost of developing an MVP mobile application will cost 40% of that. 
  • Comparative Time:
    It’s important to keep in mind that these are rough estimates, and the actual time required to develop an MVP can vary widely depending on the specific requirements and constraints of the project. 

    Additionally, the time required for ongoing maintenance and support should also be considered when calculating the total time required for an MVP project.

MVP Development – How To Get To Market Faster 

Developing an MVP mobile app provides developers with a faster, more efficient, and more effective way to validate their ideas, build a product that users love, and grow a successful and profitable business. 

Here are a few well-known facts about MVP mobile app development. 

  • Faster time-to-market:
    An MVP app can be developed and launched quickly, allowing developers to get user feedback and validate their idea in a shorter time frame.
  • Lower development costs:
    29% of startups crash due to multiple financial disasters. An MVP app typically requires fewer resources and less time to develop compared to a full-fledged app, which can result in lower development costs.
  • Improved user engagement:
    By focusing on a minimum set of features that deliver the most value, an MVP app can engage users more effectively and increase their likelihood of retaining and referring others.
  • Better decision-making:
    Developing an MVP allows developers to collect feedback from users early on and make data-driven decisions about what features to add, remove, or modify in the future.
  • Improved risk management:
    By validating the concept with a smaller investment of resources, the risk of building a product no one wants is reduced, allowing developers to make necessary pivots early on.

  • Improved focus:
    By developing an MVP, developers can focus on the core features that deliver the most value and avoid wasting time and resources on unnecessary features.
  • Better fundraising opportunities:
    An MVP that demonstrates traction and user engagement can increase the chances of attracting investors and funding to take the app to the next level.

Can MVP Market Itself As A Product?

The answer will always be Yes. 

By focusing on delivering a minimal but valuable set of features, an MVP app can demonstrate its potential to solve a problem, provide a unique user experience, or offer a new level of convenience. 

Here are a few solid reasons why MVP is the one. 

Reason #1: It Attracts Early Adopters In Building User Base

Attracting early adopters and building a user base are critical goals for MVP mobile app development. Take these steps to achieve these goals:

  • Unique Solution: 
    By offering a unique solution to a pain point, you can differentiate your MVP from similar products and attract early adopters looking for a fresh, innovative solution.
  • Word-Of-Mouth Marketing: 
    Early adopters can be powerful marketing allies, and their positive experiences with your MVP can help to attract other users through word-of-mouth marketing. Encourage early adopters to share their experiences with others, and reward them for doing so.

Reason #2: It Establishes A Brand Identity & Creating A Following

Establishing a brand identity and creating a following are important aspects of MVP mobile app development. Take these steps to achieve these goals:

  • Brand Personality: 
    Brand personality and values of your brand ensure that these are reflected in your messaging, marketing, and product design.
  • Clear Value Proposition: 
    It is a clear, concise value proposition that communicates the benefits of your MVP to users. This value proposition is reflected in all of your marketing and product design.

Reason #3: Increases Visibility & Credibility 

Increasing visibility and credibility are important goals for MVP mobile app development. Take these steps to achieve these goals:

  • Content Marketing: 
    Use content marketing to educate potential users about your MVP and demonstrate your expertise in your field. This can help to increase credibility and build trust with your target audience.
  • Partner With Businesses: 
    Partner with businesses that complement your MVP, such as app stores, service providers, or complementary products. This can help to reach a wider audience and increase visibility.

Reason #4: Gathering Feedback & Iterating To Improve The ProductReason #4: Gathering Feedback & Iterating To Improve The Product

Gathering feedback and iterating to improve the product are critical aspects of MVP mobile app development. Take these steps to achieve these goals:

  • Leverage Analytics: 
    Use analytics tools, such as Google Analytics or Mixpanel, to track usage and engagement with your MVP. This can help you to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions about future development.
  • User Testing: 
    Conduct user testing to get direct feedback from potential users. This feedback can help you to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions about future development.

Case Studies Of MVP Mobile App Development

Statistics show that one-third of startup business owners started their businesses with less than $5,000 and without any assurance that they would make a profit.

The temptation to start a big campaign immediately could be strong, but you should always start modestly. Due to the lengthy development process, about half of new concepts are abandoned since they cannot be proven at an early stage.

Since premature scaling is to blame for the demise of more than 70% of all firms, it is equally crucial to begin with tiny steps.

Here are two major examples of MVPs you know very well. 

  • Uber: Uber started as an MVP that allowed users to request a ride through a simple mobile app.
    The company validated its business idea by offering a small group of users a basic version of its app and gathering feedback to improve the product.

    Today, Uber is a multi-billion dollar company that offers ride-hailing services in hundreds of cities around the world.
  • Dropbox: Dropbox started as a simple MVP that allowed users to store and share files in the cloud. The company validated its business idea by offering a small group of users a basic version of its app and gathering feedback to improve the product.

    Today, Dropbox is a multi-billion dollar company that offers a full suite of cloud storage and collaboration tools.
  • Blum Telehealth: With the idea to serve users in the comfort of their homes, Blum Telehealth is focused on bringing medical care through Video calling regardless of the patient’s geographical location.

    The remote care facility validates its business idea by offering doctors and patients to effortlessly communicate apart from elevating the level of care for the entire community. Today, Blum Telehealth has served 6+ years successfully with an aim to reduce health care costs. 

Get Started With MVP Now 

If you’re considering MVP development for your startup, staying focused on your target audience, understanding their pain points, and continuously seeking feedback to improve the product is key.

By taking these steps, you can increase the chances of success for your mobile app and build a strong foundation for future growth.

So, what’s your next step toward MVP mobile app development for your startup?

If so, the galaxy can fit your idea into an app. We offer a wide range of product engineering services to help businesses at all stages of product development, from initial concept to market release.

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Build Better Apps in Less Time: 5 Reasons to Choose Low Code MVP Development

Posted on by galaxy-admin

As of 2022, nearly 3 million apps are available for download on the Google Play Store. And of all people, millennials are the most active app users, with 21% opening an app 50 or more times per day.

Your analytics will reveal that most website traffic comes from mobile users. That’s why startups today want to ensure their presence on the mobile platform as long as their idea and the problem they intend to solve are feasible with a mobile app.

But here’s the catch, a growing app market can mean something other than that your new app will succeed. Especially for startups, you will know if your application will grow once you test it. Does this imply that you should invest in full-fledged development? Not quite.

There is another solution that is quite a buzzword in the industry! Many startups and app market legends, such as Spotify, Uber, Instagram, and Dropbox, have succeeded through the MVP approach. And Low-code MVPs can be especially beneficial for mobile startups working on a limited budget or timeline.

If you’re considering this approach for your startup, we recommend reading this post to learn more about it.

Build Better Apps

Why is Low Code MVP essential for mobile-based startups?

Before we get into the details, let’s talk about what an MVP and a low-code MVP are.

MVP is the primary product version you build to understand your audience better. It helps the audience know the product and what to expect from it. On the other hand, it helps businesses realize the actual value of the product and its feasibility.

MVPs allow you to determine:

  • if your users are ready for the product,
  • if they’ll be interested in using your solution, and
  • what the scope is for scaling the product.

If you get enough insights from the users of the no-code MVP, it may be worth investing in a full-fledged solution.

A Low code MVP performs the same function but involves less to no code in its creation, which comes with additional benefits for startups and small businesses since they are more efficient and cost less.

In fact, it is considered one of the quickest and most established routes to success, whether a new product or a feature upgrade.

Now let’s discuss the benefits!

Benefits of Low code MVP in mobile-based startups

Higher efficiency

As we saw earlier, No-code and low-code platforms appeal to startups because they offer ready-made tools, reusable code, pre-built integrations, and templates for various development scenarios.

According to Gartner, by 2024, 65% of development functions will be low-code.

Some solutions include in-depth analytics, monitoring, and A/B testing features to optimize system performance. Plus, they support integrations with third-party services and comply with various industry standards.

Sounds terrific, right? But wait, there is more.

Cost-saving

Efficient and costs less? What can be better than this combination?!

Low code development tools help enterprises reduce their costs by up to 84% by allowing them to spend less money hiring professional development teams, cloud specialists, and other technical jobs. Businesses also don’t need to invest in expensive hardware infrastructure, development software, and licenses.

On top of that, these tools let you build your low-code MVP with less effort.

Faster deployment

IDC found that these organizations have reduced their development lifecycle for new applications by 62% and new features by 72%, respectively.

Low-code solutions improve your company’s agility by making it easier to reuse modules and code templates, create your MVP, and get feedback from users more quickly.

All of this means that you can attract potential investors faster than your competition and get a head start on solving the issues that are holding you back, and you are all set for launch in less than half the time. Now that’s exciting!

MVP helps you identify the market demand and evaluate the customer experience.

Being a startup founder, you prefer to test and validate your product idea by creating an MVP. The concept may seem promising regarding projections and visual designs, but the actual proof of concept interacts with a tangible application.

Customer feedback is crucial, as it allows you to identify your product’s most and least appealing sides.

The reversibility, or being able to go back to make changes, is one of the key reasons why MVP development is popular among startups. If any functions are unnecessary or have bugs, fixing them or adding new features during the quality assurance testing process is much easier. This flexibility helps to implement updates smoothly and bring the release date closer.

Limitations of Low code MVP & Setting the right expectations

Like all tools, despite their benefits, developing MVPs has limitations concerning drawbacks.

Here are the primary things you must consider:

  • Technical constraints

No-code and low-code platforms might not support the features you want in your app. You might need to resort to custom development tools to overcome some restrictions.

  • Vendor lock-in

Your app can become locked into the vendor’s proprietary technology stack and lack access to the source code. So, migrating your MVP to another low-code platform will become too costly.

The most typical and crucial mistakes startups make during MVP development are fixating on minor imperfections, needing more feedback, ignoring analytics, and needing more time for release.

Developing an MVP using no-code and low-code platforms does not guarantee affordability and timeliness unless you keep the limitations in mind and stand clear of any mistakes that might happen.

DIY vs. Professional Services: Which is better?

If you are a startup, low code should assist you in delivering an MVP to market with as few resources as possible. And if you are an established brand and want to try out a new feature on your app, low code MVP can also benefit you.

On the other hand, just building an MVP does not guarantee success. Business owners must remember that creating a no-code or low-code MVP is a quick way to test their business idea, not a magic switch that improves everything about your app.

Your apps rely on coding methodology and management practices to succeed. Furthermore, your team may still need to do some custom coding to overcome the limitations of low-code technologies.

If you believe you require the assistance of an experienced software development company’s assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’ll make your MVP development truly affordable.

How to leverage product discovery to get funding for your app?

Posted on by galaxy-admin

With numerous apps rolling down the industry daily, it’s essential to make the app survive and significantly impact this competitive market. So, how can one greatly influence a wider variety of prospects than at any other time in history? It takes more than just an idea to create a cutting-edge app. Getting funding for the project is equally of utmost importance. Only the right investments will ensure that your winning apps actually win the market.

According to McKinsey, 17% of IT projects fail the business trying to execute them. According to CB Insights, poor market, product, development, and consumer research lead to a product’s failure in 35% of cases.

Before pitching investors your business or app idea, you need to put in some effort. Investors want to know that you have given your concept some serious thought, so a basic idea won’t cut it. IDC predicts that in 2023, infrastructure and service investment for public clouds would nearly double to $500 billion globally. This is where product discovery can make a world of difference.

Using product discovery, businesses can assess whether a potential product concept is viable on the market. Product discovery justifies why your product should exist and determines who will use it instead of creating solutions to challenges that nobody currently faces. Additionally, it brings about the possibility of attracting new investments quickly.

Product-Discovery

What is Product Discovery?


Product Discovery is a process that helps product teams initiate project development to better understand your customer(s) and their problems. In a nutshell, you put your idea to the assessment in terms of how well it really works to solve issues and live up to user expectations.

The primary goal of the discovery phase is to validate your assumptions and ideas about the app and mitigate your risks. Based on the data gathered, you can refine your idea and find the best approach to address their challenges and deliver a solution that meets the users’ expectations and demands. It often involves consumer research, market research, mockups, prototypes, and even the development of preliminary functional products. 

The aim is to:

  1. Recognize and identify users’ existing problems.
  2. Validate the team’s proposed solutions.
  3. Deliver solutions that actually meet users’ and consumers’ expectations.
  4. Minimize risks that might arise before, during, and after product development.

You will find yourself being tugged in many different directions by stakeholders and customers if you don’t know exactly who you are targeting as your customer. You need a product discovery to offer you a solid foundation. You will benefit from presenting a better possibility, and the business will benefit from a more significant return on investment.

How Product Discovery Can Help You Get Investments?


01- IDEA VALIDATION ENSURES FASTER CREATION OF A PREMIUM PRODUCT

When a business idea is validated, you can assess whether any flaws might lead to significant returns, discounts, fixes, or replacement expenses. According to Business of Apps, the cost of developing a simple app can range from $32,000 to $48,000, while the cost of developing a complicated app starts at $72,000. Over 80% of mobile apps need 3 months or more to build, according to a survey by Outsystems. That is just another way of explaining that idea validation for your app will sometimes shield your business.

Investors get a sense of affirmation from product discovery that you will develop products or services that will address the issues your potential customers may have. Additionally, a business may already use a similar model on the market, or it may be excessive and complex for a potential client to grasp. However, product discovery allows you to test your idea, which lowers the risk before investing time and money in an unsuccessful venture. Moreover, incorporating a sharp vision into development will assist you in reducing time to market (TTM).

Key Takeaway- Product discovery serves as a methodical approach to verifying that the problem and the proposed solution you’ve defined align with what customers are willing to pay the price for. Investors get a sense of validation with product discovery as it lowers risk, accelerates the market launch of a value-adding service, and cuts expenses.

02- STREAMLINES PROJECT BUDGETING MORE ACCURATELY

According to **Fortunly, 18% of businesses fail because of cost overruns, and the product discovery process might help you avoid this. It will enable you to gather an accurate estimate of the project’s specific scope, preventing the possibility of transpiration that the product cost ends up being much more significant than anticipated due to unanticipated shifts in the scope or hidden complications. It can spare developers from completing extra work and reduce project delivery costs and time.

Not only will the product discovery increase your chances of getting an investment, but it will also enable current stakeholders to resolve any crucial issues before the start of development. To put it another way, you can set up a process for what you’re developing and how you will make it if you grasp the potential of your product.

Key Takeaway-  A detailed timeframe and an in-depth budget projection are both enhanced by the product discovery process. It prevents falling short of covering necessary costs and lowers the chance of earning less than expected.

03- GET A PRODUCT OUT THE DOOR QUICKLY

Spotting potential pitfalls early on and understanding how to avoid them, as well as making it clear what you’re developing and why product discovery will help you release a product more efficiently and quickly. You will save time in the long run if you take the effort to grasp the product needs slightly earlier. Product discovery aims to eliminate repetition and guesswork from product development and delivery by continually checking for hundreds of frequent change points.

With product discovery, making a choice is simpler if you think about everything your app has to accomplish, including scalability, function as expected, and connecting to data and other systems. All desirable features may be included later as the product gains momentum in the market. Therefore, the discovery analysis carried out at the start of the discovery phase will help you prevent various flaws and faults while saving money on additional development.

Key Takeaway-  Companies that are keen to capitalize on emerging market trends must release products fast to the market. If you use product discovery early in the development process, you can exceed customer expectations and outperform your competitors with quicker development timelines.

04- MINIMIZE DEVELOPMENT RISKS AND DELAYS

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 664 projects were delayed, while 425 out of 1,579 reported cost overruns.

Each investor has a unique level of risk tolerance. It goes without saying that low-risk applications are more likely to receive investment than high-risk ones. By doing product idea analysis as part of the discovery phase process, you can spot apparent risks, provide strategies to manage them, and lower the possibility of unexpected issues throughout the product development process.

Product discovery lays a significant focus on disclosing risks, from missed deadlines and delayed releases to low demand for planned product enhancements to price wars with competitors. You can avoid making risky decisions by thoroughly undergoing product discovery before kicking off the development process.

Key Takeaway-  The discovery session provides you with a range of crucial hypotheses and minimizes the risk of paying extra unnecessary expenses or delivering a product that doesn’t satisfy the needs of the target market.

05- PRIORITIZING THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES

Which aspect or element of your app is most crucial? Which one should you start with? Prioritization is a tough nut to crack in product development. However, the product discovery phase makes it easier to validate the functionalities that will be used the most frequently and bring in the most revenue. Your priority will be clarified by actual user data regarding their problems and expectations. You can work with stakeholders to set the product backlog’s priorities with the help of user input.

Key Takeaway- With product discovery, investors can know what the app can deliver from the start, allowing them to prioritize the most important features with significant parameters. It allows the team to focus on creating something that provides genuine value to customers.

Wrapping It Up

Most app businesses fail due to a lack of investment, as accessing investors can sometimes be challenging. However, product discovery will help narrow down the appropriate investors for your product, as its primary objective is to gain a deeper understanding of business objectives and requirements. This makes it possible for you to lay the groundwork for your mobile app development that will satisfy your company goals and start turning a profit right away. Needless to say, you should do some preliminary research before pitching your business concept or app proposal to investors. Investors will undoubtedly invest in your project if it appears groundbreaking to them.

Galaxy Weblinks has expertise in building software from the get-go, including serving clients through the discovery stage of a software project for a wide range of industries and delving deeply into your product concept and context while providing effective discovery consulting. Contact us, and we’ll assist you in every step of the product discovery process. We believe that a product’s success depends not only on its original concept but also on how well it is put into practice.

4 Benefits of Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Posted on by galaxy-admin

Technology continues to deliver excellence and performance to modern-day businesses. Enterprises globally are keen to adopt technology to scale their business.

Digital transformation results in improved processes, better customer experience, growing revenues, and so on. It enables businesses to stay competitive and relevant.

After the pandemic, the healthcare sector has jumped on the digital bandwagon.

  • Hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and diagnostic centers have tapped into the digital health market, which is expected to hit 426.9 billion (USD) by 2027.
  • Telemedicine, AI-enabled medical devices, and blockchain electronic healthcare records are all examples of digital transformation in healthcare.
  • Healthcare providers have transformed the way they interact and share the data with service providers, and how they make decisions about treatment plans.

Healthcare institutions and pharmaceutical companies have reaped the benefits of digital transformation to further their businesses.

Here are some of the compelling reasons why healthcare services should seek digital transformation.

1. Improved safety

Ensuring the safety and sanctity of digital medical records is a big concern area for healthcare providers. The digital service providers deliver custom solutions that help reduce human errors and minimize risks. For example:

  • Instant sharing of medical records between doctors and facilities can make the emergency room experience less traumatic.
  • Physicians get easy access to patients’ medical histories in one place makes their work easier and more convenient.

We all know that medical data needs to be extremely secure, and that’s a major reason why so many doctors and hospitals are still reluctant to adopt digital health solutions.

With a carefully crafted digital strategy and transformation, there are minuscule opportunities for hackers to get into your data.

2. Reduced costs and enhanced value

Going digital can reduce your costs on activities including marketing, training programs for employees, and maintaining an IT infrastructure. These savings can be passed on to patients.

Moreso, a company that’s technology-friendly has a higher value vis-a-vis competitors who aren’t. Don’t forget that it could also make you more attractive to investors and lenders.

3. Increased Accuracy

The chances to determine the illness increases exponentially when digital systems are involved. Digital systems and connected devices can host patients’ entire medical records, including lab results, physical exams, even x-rays.

Additionally, dependencies on third parties — like a specialist or lab — for information can be eliminated.

4. Reduced Waiting Times

Digitalization reduces waiting time dramatically. People used to take appointments weeks in advance. However, it is increasingly common for doctors now to operate on a walk-in basis, or even remotely.

This is great news for both patients and providers, who can operate more efficiently as a result.

Some other common benefits digitalization can offer to the healthcare industry:

  • Seamless coordination (between doctor-patient)
  • Automated administrative tasks
  • Access to real-time information
  • Collaborative studies and research
  • Ease of online appointments
  • Improved patient management
  • Supercharged hospital evaluations
  • Improved clinical conclusions

We’ve only touched on a few benefits here. Digital transformation can create far more efficiencies and cost savings. Everything from patient engagement to hospital operations will be changed by digital transformation; it truly is an exciting time to be alive.

Innovation is the key when it comes to digital transformation. The main goal is to streamline physicians’ work, optimize systems, improve patient outcomes, reduce human error, and lower costs through incredible web and mobile experiences.

That said, it can be overwhelming to keep up with the digital transformation of healthcare. It is difficult for healthcare businesses to determine which emerging technologies are worth investing in. It is even hard to get the staff on board with the change.

You need to be flexible and open to taking risks to adapt to the digital age. It is important to let go of old business practices and believe that disruption will bring about big changes.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below! If you want to embark on the journey of transformation and take your healthcare business to the next level, fill out this form.

How to Scale on Cloud Computing; Made Easy for You

Posted on by galaxy-admin

“What kind of cloud services do you use?”. 

Cloud services are categorized into Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and Software-as-a-Service (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS). 

The traditional, on-premise deployments require managing your software as well as IT investments. IaaS, such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure provides a pay-as-you-go service for storage, networking, and virtualization. A step further are PaaS options such as Windows Azure, Google Compute Engine, IBM Cloud that also provide services such as hardware and software development. 

SaaS options such as Salesforce, Google Apps, Microsoft Office 365 are at the top of the Cloud Services table. You get an option of subscribing to end-to-end software solutions. 

Cloud Computing drives every little thing in today’s world, including jobs, applications, services, data, and platforms. The cloud is scalable and flexible. It also provides security and control over the data center.

The future of Cloud computing will be a combination of cloud-based software products and on-premises computing. There will be hybrid IT solutions. The shift to public cloud computing is the dominant trend in the industry. This will make cloud technology even bigger going forward.

Currently, cloud computing is dominated by three major players. We all know who they are – Google, Microsoft (Azure), and Amazon (AWS). These cloud computing providers are huge and are rapidly growing. These three did under $30 billion in revenue last quarter. They are heading towards $120 billion in revenue over the next year. Cloud computing is on the growth path for the foreseeable future. 

Scalability is a key driver for cloud migration!

No matter the size of your business, you are always planning to grow. Be it a startup or a successful venture, who doesn’t love to serve more customers, solve more customer problems, and gain profits. Don’t we all get a little starry-eyed when we hear a fairy-tale success story of companies scaling by 200 percent or increasing their team size by a substantial number? 

Scalability here refers to the ability to seamlessly enhance or decrease the compute or storage resources.

Smart and effective scaling requires systems, technology that scale easily. There are two types of scaling. 

Horizontal scaling, or more popularly referred to as scaling out or in signifies the number of resources. On the other hand, Vertical scaling which is also called scaling up or down refers to the power and capability of individual resources.

Cloud technology makes scaling faster, smarter, and more affordable than on-premises servers (on-prem) – by a big margin. Cloud is better for scalability. With on-premise installations, resources for scaling are finite. Opt for the cloud if you want to grow without major tech hiccups along the way.

Coming to the important part!

Scaling in cloud computing is the process of adding or reducing computing power, storage, and network services to meet the workload needs to match your business needs. For example, you own an Ecommerce store and need additional computing capacity on Black Friday, you need to scale up your server capacity to meet the additional traffic to your website. Similarly, if the need for computing power drops every day from 1 am to 5 am local time, your servers must scale down to use fewer resources, costing less money. 

Cloud workloads for computational resources are usually determined by:

  • Front-end traffic (The number of incoming requests)
  • Back-end, load-based (The number of jobs queued in the server) 
  • Back-end, time-based (The length of time jobs have waited in the queue)

Scaling Up & Scaling Out … 

Scaling up and scaling out refer to two dimensions across which resources can be added. To keep the system running smoothly as the user base grows, you have to add more computing power (CPU, RAM) to your existing machine, that is cloud vertical scaling. Or you have to add more machines/servers, that is cloud horizontal scaling.

Horizontal and vertical scaling in the cloud

  • Vertical Scaling is the process of resizing a server to give it supplemental CPUs, memory, or network capacity. With only one server to manage, vertical scaling minimizes operational overhead. The need to distribute the workload and coordinate among multiple servers is gone. Vertical scaling is best for applications that are difficult to distribute. 
  • Horizontal scaling splits the workload across multiple servers working in parallel instead of resizing an application to a bigger server. Applications that can sit within a single machine are well-suited to horizontal scaling. There is little need to coordinate tasks between servers. Front-end applications and microservices can leverage horizontal scaling and adjust the number of servers in use according to the workload demand patterns.

Cloud Autoscaling!

Cloud Autoscaling!

Cloud autoscaling is the process of automatically increasing or decreasing the computational resources delivered to a cloud workload. The benefit of autoscaling is simple – your workload gets exactly the cloud computational resources it requires (no more, no less) at the given time. This reflects sin cost as you pay only for resources you need.

All the major public cloud computing vendors offer autoscaling capabilities:

  • AWS calls the feature Auto Scaling Groups
  • Google Cloud calls the feature Instance Groups
  • Microsoft Azure calls it Virtual Machine Scale Sets

Each of these service providers offers the same core capabilities.

If cloud scaling is not done properly, there are risks. When scaling is applied across many workloads, the stakes go high:

  • Scaling capacity (up or out) beyond actual resource utilization results in overspending on unused infrastructure services. This reflects on cost as well.
  • Scaling capacity (up or out) creates overspend when demand is low, This puts workload performance at risk when traffic spikes

Well, there is always risk involved when things are done improperly, be it getting a coffee or scaling cloud computing. Right from cloud computing, cloud scaling, or autoscaling, everything is quite simple, not intimidating as it seems. 

Galaxy Weblinks has ventured into cloud and security services. With 21 years of experience in IT, we are aware of how deep the waters are. We too are aiming to scale  – help more customers with more technologies and solve more problems. Let’s scale together. Contact us for Cloud Migration and other cloud computing services.

Security in Public Cloud – How to Choose the Right Service Provider

Posted on by galaxy-admin

While considering a public cloud service, you need to keep several important considerations in mind. One of the most important among those is cyber security. The features and capabilities your public cloud service provider employs to keep their networks and services safe and ultimately your data safe.

There are three big players in the game; Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure. All three take their security very seriously because one breach can cause a loss of millions of dollars in penalties, revenue, and reputation.

Here’s what they are offering in terms of cyber security to keep your data safe:

Network and Infrastructure Security

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  • Network firewalls that allow customers to create private networks and control access to instances or apps
  • Companies also get access to control encryption in transit across AWS services.
  • Connectivity options to enable private or dedicated connections
  • DDoS mitigation
  • Automatic encryption of all traffic between AWS secured facilities

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

  • Has purpose-built hardware for security. Titan, a custom security chip used to establish a hardware root in GCP servers and peripheral devices.
  • Google also makes its network hardware for improving security. 
  • Multiple layers of physical and logical protection
  • A global network infrastructure that is designed to withstand attacks such as DDoS.
  • There are additional network security capabilities like cloud load balancing and Cloud Armor that can be deployed on the customer level.
  • Several security measures are put in place to secure data in transit. Google encrypts and authenticates data in transit at multiple network layers.

Fun fact: In 2017, the infrastructure absorbed a 2.5 Tbps DDoS, the highest-bandwidth attack reported to date.

Microsoft Azure

  • Microsoft has geographically dispersed data centers that comply with industry standards for security and reliability.
  • Experienced Microsoft operations staff manage, monitor, and administer the Azure data centers.
  • Operations personnel are profiled through a series of background verification checks. And based on those checks Microsoft limits access to applications, systems, and network infrastructure. 
  • Azure Virtual Network resources are protected by cloud-based network security called Azure Firewall. It is a firewall-as-a-service that comes with built-in high availability and unrestricted scalability. It can decrypt outbound traffic, perform security checks and then re-encrypt the traffic.

Identity and Access Control

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  • AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) lets you define individual user accounts with permissions across AWS resources.
  • AWS Multi-Factor Authentication for privileged accounts including software-based and hardware-based authenticators. 
  • You can use partner identity systems like Microsoft Active Directory to grant employees and applications federated access to AWS Management Console and service APIs.
  • AWS single sign-on enables organizations to manage user access and permissions to all of their accounts in AWS.
  • Amazon also offers a directory service which lets organizations integrate and federate with corporate directories to reduce administrative overheads and improve end-user experience. 

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

  • Google Cloud Identity Access Management(IAM) lets administrators authorize people to take action on specific resources, with full control and visibility to manage GCP resources centrally. 
  • Cloud’s IAM provides a unified view into security policy across the entire organization to ease compliance processes for bigger organizations.
  • Google Cloud comes with Cloud Identity, an Identity-as-a-Service(IDaaS) that centrally manages users and groups.
  • Exclusive in its arsenal Google also provides Titan Security Keys that provide cryptographic proof that users are interacting with legitimate services. 
  • There’s also a resource manager, Cloud Resource Manager that provides resource containers like organizations, folders, and projects which let you organize your GCP resources group-wise and hierarchically.

Microsoft Azure

  • For SSO or Single Sign-On, multi-factor authentication, and conditional access to Azure services, corporate networks, on-premise resources, and SaaS applications, Microsoft has Azure Active Directory(AD). 
  • Azure AD comes with secure adaptive access which simplifies access, streamlines control with unified identity management, and ensures compliance with simplified identity governance.

Fun Fact: Microsoft says that with these features, it can help protect users from 99.9% of cyber security attacks.

Data Protection and Encryption

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  1. Apart from data-in-transit, Amazon also provides a scalable encryption feature for data at rest with its data-at-rest encryption.
  2. Amazon also has flexible key management options including AWS Key Management Service, AWS CloudHSM for hardware-based cryptographic key storage, and encrypted message queues for sensitive data.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

  • Google utilizes Confidential Computing to secure data as it is being used. One of the firsts in the line of products that will benefit from Confidential Computing is Confidential VMs. 
  • Google also offers flexible Key management with its Cloud External Key Manager (Cloud EKM).

Microsoft Azure

  • For the key management, Microsoft has Azure Key Vault which helps keep cryptographic keys safe.  
  • Azure Key Vault streamlines the key management process and also gives control of keys to organizations.
  • Security admins can grant and revoke permission to keys as needed.
  • Organizations can use Microsoft information protection and Microsoft Information Governance within Microsoft 365 to protect and govern data.

The security features and capabilities mentioned above for the respective Cloud Service Providers are a testament to the importance of Cyber security in a public cloud. As an organization, all these cloud security features are at your disposal but you need experts to manage your cloud and implement these security features to be able to secure yourself from attacks like DDoS and data breaches. 
Our Cloud experts at Galaxy are here to help you implement and secure Public Clouds in Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure. Contact us for a free consultation.

5 Reasons Building Your Startup App in Flutter Is Great for Business

Posted on by galaxy-admin

In this blog, we will take a look at the various pros and cons for startups if they choose Flutter to build their mobile applications. 

Mobile apps are instrumental in driving the success of most startups. You must choose a reliable framework to build your mobile application. We will be sharing with you the various reasons why we recommend Google’s Flutter to develop efficient and profitable apps for startups.

The age-old question – Native or Cross-Platform? 

The first decision that you need to make while building a mobile application is – 

  • Shall I go ahead with one application for all the platforms using Cross-platform technologies?
  • Does it make more sense to develop native applications for Android and iOS?. 

Advantages of building a Cross-Platform app for Startups: 

Low development and maintenance costs

Cross-platform is a budget-friendly and faster-to-deploy way of building an app. This is good news for most startups. Native apps on the other hand are costlier to make and maintain as there are different codebases to look after, update, or fix. Cross-Platform with a single codebase in comparison, is easier to make and maintain.

Quicker-to-market

Cross-platform app code is reusable and allows you to make apps for both platforms with a single codebase. As a result, the time-to-market becomes shorter. With native development, you’ll be spending twice the time to provide the same set of functionalities for two separate audience bases.

Plug-ins for every need

As cross-platform development has become a common practice, the plugin marketplace is crowded with plugins to make your developer’s life easier. Plugin eliminates the grunt work, hence making your mobile app development more efficient and flawless. 

Quick and easy testing

When you have a single codebase, you don’t have to hire different engineers with different skill sets to test a single app performance on different operating systems. Checking and optimizing a single app takes only half the time it takes for two apps with different codebases.

Looking at all these advantages, you may wonder why cross-platform isn’t a default for mobile app development already. Here is the catch!

The user experience of cross-platform applications is not at par with that of native applications. The applications are run through a code interpreter since they are not compiled as Native ARM code. As a result, the native apps are more intuitive and efficient. 

Enhanced UX with Flutter – 

Flutter is also a cross-platform development kit. However, it does things a little differently to provide a more native-like feel to your apps. Flutter leverages native UI elements of both Android and iOS. 

Here are some pros of using Flutter for mobile app development for Startups:

1. Better design and customizations 

Design is pivotal for any early-age startup app, as it needs to grab the attention of investors and users alike. Flutter comes equipped with rich UI features and intuitive designs that grab attention like lucrative crypto investments. You will also find custom widgets for Android and iOS quite useful, as it completes the native look of an app with a seamless and crisp UX. Among the list of countless widgets, Flutter is also equipped with Material Design for Android and Cupertino/ iOS widgets for iOS applications. 

2. Dart hits the target

Developed by Google, Dart is Flutter’s programming language. It significantly reduces the launch time of the application. Additionally, Flutter does not need to name OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) widgets because it utilizes its own. As a result, apps built on Flutter don’t require a JavaScript bridge, because Flutter skips the JavaScript bridge to connect directly with the native platform. 

3. Firebase for backend is great for startups

Firebase is Google’s backend solution and comes equipped with Flutter. It makes for a great backend solution, especially for mobiles. With Firebase, Flutter offers out-of-the-box and stable assistance, hosting solutions, real-time databases, and protocols for user authentication as well.

With Firebase’s release automation tool, mobile app launches and maintenance become more straightforward and seamless. 

4. The hottest feature of Flutter | Hot Reload

Hot reload allows developers to apply and check changes to the code in real-time. The feature allows developers to quickly fix bugs and issues without risking functionality and redeployment of the code. With Hot Reload, developers can add new functionality, fix bugs, and experiment in real-time. This feature can increase your developer efficiency up to 5X.

5. Smart Libraries for a functional UI

No matter if you’re developing an app for iOS, Android, or Google Fuchsia, you can easily gain access to widgets for the respective platforms. When you’re using Flutter as a UI creation tool, you can use widgets to integrate all the platform-based functionalities like scrolling, navigation, icons, and fonts.  

For business applications built for internal communications, ticketing systems, geolocation, and so on, Flutter offers powerful functionality to generate structured and intuitive UIs. These UIs rely on geographic locations along with the ability to change the UI based on language, text, and target area’s layout. 

How Much Does it Cost To Build A Startup App with Flutter in 2021?

Like any other app, the pricing of apps built on Flutter is correlated to its complexity. The simpler ones like a fitness app with suggestions, plans, and profile should cost you around $26000 to $34800. Compare that to a highly complex app like Instagram, it will set you back around $41,500 to $55,000.

Factoring in the cost of making two separate native apps in the picture makes the Startup app development with Flutter an even juicier proposition.

Closing Thoughts

Owing to its convenient libraries, customization widgets, and native-like experience, developers are preferring 4-year old Flutter over many older counterparts. Therefore, its framework is evolving at a great pace. Flutter does have some flaws. They include architectural approach and lack of third party integrations. However, the cost of building an app and other benefits outweigh its flaws to make it a good choice for Startups.