Author

Noyal Sharook

Noyal is a Digital Marketing Manager at Armia Systems Inc. He is a passionate writer who helps entrepreneurs and businesses grow sustainable online communities by directing them to the right tech and industry best practices.

Event

Armia Systems Joins GITEX Global 2023: A Tech Extravaganza in Dubai

by Noyal Sharook October 9, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

Introduction:

The tech world is buzzing with excitement as GITEX Global 2023, the world’s largest startup show, is just around the corner. From October 16th to 20th, 2023, Dubai World Trade Centre will transform into a hub of innovation, hosting thousands of tech enthusiasts, developers, and industry leaders. In this blog, we’ll delve into what makes GITEX Global 2023 so significant and why Armia Systems’ participation is noteworthy.

GITEX Global 2023: The Epicenter of Innovation

GITEX Global is not your run-of-the-mill tech event; it’s an annual extravaganza that has earned its reputation as the world’s largest and most influential startup show. It provides a platform for the convergence of the brightest minds in the tech industry, offering a glimpse into the future of technology and innovation. From Metaverse to Web 3.0, ESG to Quantum, 6G to Blockchain,Cyber security, cloud and edg computing and AI, GITEX 2023 covers the entire spectrum of emerging technologies.

One of the standout features of GITEX Global is its inclusivity. It brings together not only established tech giants but also startups and individuals who are passionate about driving technological advancements. This inclusive approach fosters a diverse and vibrant ecosystem where ideas are exchanged, collaborations are formed, and innovation thrives.

It is hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, an organization dedicated to fostering digital innovation and transformation. The event’s new venue, Dubai Harbour, offers limitless opportunities for founders, investors, and corporate innovators from around the world. It also sets the stage for COP28, highlighting the commitment of GITEX Global to co-creating a sustainable future.

The Year to Imagine AI in Everything

As GITEX Global 2023 approaches, the theme for this year, “The Year to Imagine AI in Everything,” has created immense anticipation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of technological advancements, and this year’s event promises to unveil remarkable prophecies and expert perspectives on its profound impact. With AI’s ever-increasing role in shaping industries, economies, and societies, GITEX Global is poised to supercharge the global race for AI supremacy.

Armia Systems at GITEX Global 2023

Amidst this exciting tech frenzy, Armia Systems is set to make a significant mark at GITEX Global 2023. Armia Systems is a renowned player in the tech industry, known for its innovative solutions and cutting-edge technology. The company’s participation in GITEX Global 2023 is a testament to its commitment to stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

We are a distinguished web and mobile development agency, operating with dedicated teams in Chicago, India, and Sri Lanka, boasting a rich history of 19+ years in the global arena. Whether your needs entail custom software development, a team of skilled developers, or expert server and infrastructure management, we stand ready to assist you. Our diverse talent pool includes proficient designers, developers, server engineers, DevOps specialists, and IT experts, making us exceptionally well-suited to serve startups and mid-size companies across various industries.

We will be showcasing our latest innovations and technological solutions at GITEX Global 2023. This is an excellent opportunity for attendees to witness firsthand how Armia Systems is pushing the boundaries of technology and contributing to the industry’s evolution.

Iscripts, a division of Armia Systems, entails a portfolio featuring a wide array of products, including online store builder software, on-demand service platforms, multi-restaurant platforms, and last-mile delivery managers.

Our remote infrastructure management division, SupportPro, caters to data centers, hosting companies, and enterprises. As an AWS consultant partner, our team of experts excels in efficient DevOps and infrastructure management.

Armia Systems’ presence at GITEX Global 2023 signifies our role as a thought leader in the tech industry. Through panel discussions, presentations, and interactions, the company will share its insights and expertise, contributing to the overall discourse on emerging technologies. GITEX Global is a global event, attracting participants and attendees from all corners of the world, and we are thrilled to showcase our capabilities and solutions to a diverse and international audience, thereby stepping one step forward towards making a global impact.

Final Thoughts

GITEX Global 2023 promises to be an extraordinary event that will shape the future of technology and innovation. With its theme of “The Year to Imagine AI in Everything,” it is set to supercharge the global race for AI supremacy and reveal groundbreaking insights into the world of tech. Armia Systems’ participation in this grand event underscores its commitment to innovation and its role as a key player in the tech industry. As the tech world converges in Dubai from October 16th to 20th, 2023, be sure to keep an eye out for Armia Systems and the exciting developments that will unfold at GITEX Global 2023.

October 9, 2023 0 comment

Web Development

Your Guide To Outsourcing Web3 and Emerging Tech

by Noyal Sharook May 3, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

The outsourcing process is hiring resources for your company, which can be either locally or internationally, handling any business activities. The most common outsourced functions are web development, hosting, database management, infrastructure, etc.

The outsourcing partner can be located anywhere in the world, near your office or another continent.

Businesses nowadays usually have a good grip of exisitng technologies and development practices but when it comes to Web 3.0 they are completely lost. However, emerging technolgies such as Web3 cannot be ignored and it is best to leverage their potential for your company as early as possible.

We understand that adopting a completely new technology such as Web3 might seem difficult. So, it might be beneficial for you to not take up the whole process yourself and try outsourcing.

Let’s look at some new Web3 emerging technologies that can be outsourced and how you can do it:

Top Emerging Technologies That Can Improve Your Business

There are some of the top emerging rechnologies in the Web3 space that can help improve your business manifold.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) was coined a long time ago in the 1950s, but nowadays, it is becoming more relevant with the introduction of increased data volumes, computing improvements, and changing consumer needs. AI automates the learning and discovery process and adds intelligence in data. You might have already seen this happen recently, with technologies like ChatGPT and Bard already poised to disrupt the internet.

Companies can make use of new tools and technologies to implement AI that creates better customer experiences. They can use it to improve productivity and even marketing.

Automation is the key trend of outsourcing that can bring changes in the future. Most of the investments will flow to RPA and AI.

Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality(AR) technologies render a computer image in the real world when it comes to our consumer end products providing such experiences can increase traction. Think about a fashion shopping site that can try out your favorite styles in real-time without going to offline shops!

The AR Technology market has over 10 billion dollar valuation expected to reach over 50 billion by 2025. A recent acquisition of many AR Startups gives rise to such propositions.

Virtual Reality

If AR is about the rendering of your dream car in front of you, Virtual Reality gives you the option to interact and experience with the vehicle without going to the shop. Most of the VR technologies will have a head-mounted display(HMD), which worn on the head or part of a helmet.

Startups like virtual spaces, surgical theater are some examples for to what extend VR tech can provide services. Tech giant Facebook has been very active in this space with technologies such as Metaverse.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a ledger technology where it distributes and decentralized to provide security and reliability using different cryptographic and distributed algorithms. Blockchain platforms like Ethereum, Solana and Hyperledger open the door to more possibilities.

Check: Staff Augmentation and Outsourcing

Advantages of Outsourcing Web3 Requirements

1. Saving time & 24/7 workforce

We can bring a time zone basis advantage between the outsourcing location and your country. You will get the job done while you are not present for the day. And get delivered your service the next morning. This in effect gives you a unique benefit of round the clock operations.

2. Cutting down expenses

Cost-saving is the visible benefit that brings out by outsourcing your Web3 need. Here you can incorporate interesting new soloution at a lower cost and better quality. There is about 60% of cost savings when outsourcing your work. The quality of services will be high ensuring the low-cost.

3. Wide talent pool access

Try not to invest resources for your business. Outsourcing can take care of your needs with their highly skilled resources and have experience handling the business needs of different companies. Get access to the expertise and abilities of Armia Systems.

4. Upscaling abilities fast

Experianced development agencies offer high-quality deliverables and minimize the total time to reach the product in the marketplace. Thus you would be better at delivering a value-added proposition. And it will help to convert the idea into the product faster.

Once you need to upscale, you don’t have to worry about what everything is as every process is documented. Usually with new technolgies such as Web3, its hard to upscale as their development is dynamic and companies lose track of their exisitng work.

5. Increased Efficiency and Productivity

Outsourcing will increase the productivity of the organization and employees. It will increase the efficiency of the core areas of the company. You will be more focused on what you have to do and to provide better services to the outside sources.

Productivity is also increased after successful implementation of Web3 in the company in the form of better record, automation and communication.

Check: How to communicate with your outsourced development team?

Challenges of Web3 Outsourcing

Every new brand is attempting to utilize outsourcing to reduce expenses. The client needs better service at a low cost, and the vendor wants profit. So this must be managed thoughtfully to provide expected benefits for clients and vendors. On the one hand, there are a lot of benefits with outsourcing, and at the same time, it has many risks and challenges with huge responsibilities.

Misunderstanding of the Project

The client and the outsourcing agency must be aware of the terms of the project. So the client and the project executive of the outsourcing company can understand the agreement, and it will help to analyze the perspectives of each other. A misunderstanding will do a bad project, and this will hit both.

Lack of Skills

Sometimes the agency might not have the skills that the client is looking for. So this will force the agency to do with what they have, which would later end up with bad results and performance. This will happen because of the lack of prior experience and skills. Always be sure to check the credentials of your development agency and see their experaince and clients they have worked with. This is espectially true while working on emerging technologies such as Web3 and AI.

Late Deliverables

The outsourcing agency has to deliver the work before the deadline. Since the Web3 space is untested for the most part, it might be hard for inexperianced outsourcing companies to provide an accurate time estimate. Its always best to set a acheivable deadline or go for companies that provide discovery services beforehand.

Poor Time Management

The management should be aware of streamlining the process so that the entire process can manage efficiently. A fall in the process will affect productivity and the final result. So time management can reduce the chances of failure.

Check: Risk Areas in Software Development Outsourcing

Web3 Outsourcing Engagement Models

Fixed Bid Engagement

In the traditional flow of outsourcing, companies send RFP(Request For Proposal) describing requirements of the software or how IT should work. The document is consulted with developers to bid on the project, the client would go for the price they like, and development will be started.

This model gives clients cost certainty, simplicity, and budgeting advantage for clients, which makes this model quite appealing to clients.

Why are Fixed Bid Engagements wrong?

Most IT professionals know that the fixed bid contract way is terrible, but most clients don’t know that fixed bids are wrong for them also. Most of the organizations are moved from this type of outsourcing process years ago; in fact, many governments advocate creating offshore contracts that have frequent deliverables and flexibility on feature prioritization.

The fixed bidding process was introduced for price, estimation, and risk management. But comparing bids and deciding the best price is very hard, and sometimes it will go wrong, and in software, the client will be able to get better estimates from iterative outcomes than features. The fixed price model may have the advantage of reducing risk, but in real scenarios and real projects client, won’t be able to ensure that the project won’t go over budget.

When choosing IT outsourcing companies, clients should be aware of the developers that make a real decision in tech functioning, by developing a trusting link client and hired professionals can work together building the best product conceivable.

Dedicated Team Model

This model is now gaining more interest when it comes to outsourcing business. In this model, the outsourcing company offers professionals that match the client requirements and RFP details.

The dedicated team then works on the project where the client has complete control over the organization, including management means the company will have an in virtual house team.

Advantages of a Dedicated Team Model

Proper implementation of agile project methodology: Agile means flexibility to control execution and testing, which lets you manage development costs strategically.

Your dedicated virtual team: Passionate Hiring professionals will put their effort into the group forms a virtual team in the house will give you a fast response to your queries, maintaining continuity, and making workflows responsibly.

Access to the development progress: When you have a dedicated team, you will have a single window to review the development progress, which is crucial in a software development that has different stages in the process.

Scalable team size: In the DTM(Dedicated Team Model) way of outsourcing, it creates a virtual team, which means you will be able to scale your team size quickly.

Cost and Time savings: You don’t need to be worried about project management, analysis, and quality assurance, which leads to cost and time savings.

How to Outsource Web3 R&D?

According to the study, the connection between R&D, business growth, and innovation vary as per the industry. The objective of R&D is to obtain new applicable ideas to the small and mid-size businesses, which can result in improved products, systems, or services that help to increase the sales and profits of the company. In regards to emerging technologies and Web3, R&D asssumes even more improtance.

Many new-age entrepreneurs outsource their Web3 R&D for the product, process, service and component innovations, software design, and so on. This can be conducted in-house, under contract, or jointly with others.

The benefits of outsourcing R&D are:

Outsourcing firm with better Web3 expertise
No Shortage of workforce
Less expensive R&D
New-age product or service can market within a meantime

Factors that affects outsourcing R&D

Timing: For a slow or moderate growth rate of the market, in-house is the best means to obtain technology. While the market is growing fast, the chances to lose the opportunity for the new technologies developed by beginners will be high. It is always better to acquire technology before it enters the market.

Risk: The technical success of R&D is not guaranteed because of the uncertainty in technology development. The project completion will not meet the exact planned specifications. The time will extend more than the expected deadline, and the cost of R&D manufacturing will be higher than the estimate. Technology acquisition entails a much lower risk since it can see and test before the contract is signed. This risk can be reduced carefully by technology forecasting and planning.

Cost: Technology acquisition is less risky and costly for a successful product than technology development. At the same time, R&D requires high front-end investment. A small business can manufacture a cost-effective product by using R&D. The new ways of manufacture allow the companies to realize the revenue with the sales of the product.

Financing: By investing in R&D programs, you will be able to develop technologies and solutions that can open new markets to your organization. This will attract investors to your organization, and you will get financing to reach your business goals. Many of the corporate investors are interested in companies to become industry leaders.

Do you want to outsource your Web3 projects?

Do you have an awesome new product idea in the Web3 or Emerging-tech space?

If your project requires extra expertise do outsource with us. We have a passionate and efficient team of developers to work with you!

Have an Idea for web/mobile app?

Request a free consultation to review your development options.

May 3, 2023 0 comment

New Business

How to entice your SaaS customers to upgrade to a paid plan?

by Noyal Sharook April 17, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

As a SaaS business owner, you understand the importance of acquiring new customers with free trials and freemium models. However, turning those users into paying customers is a different challenge altogether. You need to provide a clear value proposition that justifies the cost of your service. With competition on marketing channels rising, keeping customer acquisition costs low is essential. That’s why focusing on customer retention strategies, such as encouraging customers to upgrade, is crucial to the long-term success of your business.

Upgrades lead to expansion revenue and indicate that your customers have fully integrated your tool into their daily business operations. So, how can you entice your freemium customers to upgrade to a paid plan? In this article, we will explore tried and tested conversion techniques- from providing personalized services to offering advanced features, to help you persuade your customers to take the leap to a paid plan.

Why do customers usually not upgrade to a premium plan?

The decision to upgrade to a premium plan is critical for both customers and businesses. Understanding why customers upgrade or do not upgrade is vital for SaaS businesses to develop an effective marketing and pricing strategy. One of the primary factors for customers who have already signed up with a free plan is that they don’t see the value in upgrading. SaaS companies need to structure their pricing and tier strategy in such a way that each level delivers enough value to provide success to the customer but also holds back enough that there is an incentive for them to upgrade.

Another reason why customers don’t upgrade is that they are not being onboarded correctly. SaaS companies offering a “free plan” tend to attract a lot of people who sign up for anything free without any intention of upgrading. SaaS companies must be clear about their ideal customers and how they will attract those customers to sign up. They should avoid customers who are freebie seekers, as they will not upgrade anyway, and their churn rate is relatively high.

Natural inertia is another reason why customers do not upgrade. Some people are naturally conservative when faced with making any upgrades, and it’s easier for them to do nothing and leave things as they are. They might also need to be made aware of the benefits they will receive once they go premium. SaaS companies must do their best to communicate and demonstrate those upgraded features to their free customers.

How do you understand what customers value? There is no better way to do this than talking to them. Surveys, panels, beta users, or phone conversations can provide raw feedback that can help companies structure their tiers and pricing to match what their customers want.

Let’s take the example of one of the shining examples of startups that does ‘premium’ really well. Canva is a graphic design platform that started in 2012 as an easy editing tool for people who don’t know Adobe Photoshop. The company hit a $40 billion valuation in 2021 and boasts over 100 million users, with a significant minority paying to use it.

Canva brought many people to their platform using their feature-rich free plan, providing users with essential tools and limited templates for image editing. Users who want to upgrade are provided a paid subscription that unlocks more advanced features and a full selection of templates, images, and editing features. The paid plans are multi-tiered, catering to individuals, teams, organizations, and education institutions.

Canva employs several strategies to encourage its free users to upgrade to paid plans.

Limitations on free plans: Canva imposes certain restrictions on its free plan, such as limiting the number of designs a user can save or upload and providing access to only a limited number of design elements. This encourages users who need to create more designs or have access to more features to upgrade to a paid plan.
Targeted emails: Canva sends targeted emails to its free users with offers and promotions, including discounts and free trials of its paid plans. These emails are designed to entice users who may be on the fence about upgrading to a paid plan.
In-app prompts: Canva prompts their free users to upgrade to a paid plan with in-app messages offering additional features or benefits only available with a paid plan. These messages are carefully crafted to appeal to specific user segments or users based on their behavior and usage patterns.
Social proof: Canva leverages social proof to encourage its free users to upgrade to a paid plan. For example, it displays user testimonials and case studies on its website and social media channels, showcasing the success that others have had with Canva’s paid plans.
Exclusive content: Canva provides exclusive content and features to its paid users, such as premium templates, stock photos, and graphics. These features are not available on the free plan, and can entice users to upgrade to a paid plan to access them.

11 Ways to to get your SaaS customers to pay for your service

Keeping in mind the example of Canva, here are 11 things you can do to get your SaaS customers to pay for your service:

Keep the customer experience a high priority: Maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction is crucial for the success of any business. This involves providing a quality product or service, responsive customer support, and a positive user experience. By prioritizing the customer experience, companies can build loyalty and increase customer retention, leading to increased revenue.
Focus on engagement: Engaging users is critical for driving revenue and building a loyal customer base. You can achieve this through various tactics, such as personalized messaging, gamification, or social sharing. Businesses can increase user retention and drive revenue by creating a sense of community and encouraging users to interact with each other and with the product.
Examine your pricing – Pricing strategies can have a significant impact on revenue. Businesses should consider various pricing options, such as offering a free trial period, providing value-based upsells, or creating multiple product tiers to cater to different customer segments. Businesses can determine their product or service’s most effective pricing strategy by analyzing customer behavior and preferences.
Hold back just enough: Businesses should be strategic about what features and benefits are included in their free version and what is held back for the paid version. Businesses can provide enough value in the free version to engage users but hold back certain features that incentivize users to upgrade.
Nurture your free users: You should always notify and educate free users about the benefits of the paid plans to make them aware of what they are missing out on. This can be done through reminder emails, social media, influencer or in-app prompts.
Craft a compelling offer: Companies can offer discounts or trials that lower the barrier for free users to convert. Adding a personal touch, such as a coupon code that is the user’s name, can also delight users and encourage them to upgrade. In certain platforms, charging a fee to remove intrusive advertisements can also be an effective strategy to increase revenue.
Unlock paid features for a limited time: Allowing free users to experience the benefits of paid features can be an effective way to encourage them to upgrade to a paid plan. Companies can offer limited-time access or a limited usage of certain paid features to give free users a taste of what they are missing out on. However, they need to strike a balance between being generous enough for free users to experience all the benefits and not so much that they no longer have a reason to upgrade.
Share positive stories and accounts from paying users: Companies can use social proof to establish trust and credibility with their free users by sharing positive stories and accounts from paying users. They can use the answers from paid user surveys as testimonials to convince free users to upgrade their plan.
Create a sense of urgency: Creating a sense of urgency can be a powerful tool to motivate users to take action. This can be done through various tactics, such as limited-time offers or promotions, countdown timers, or highlighting the benefits of taking immediate action.
Make it easy to upgrade: Simplicity and ease of use are key when it comes to upgrading users to a paid version of a product or service. Businesses should make the upgrade process as easy as possible, with clear instructions and a seamless transition from the free to the paid version.
Follow-up: Once a customer upgrades, you should follow up before every payment cycle to remind them of your service’s value and to notify them to renew their plans in case auto-payment is not enabled.

Have an Idea for web/mobile app?

Request a free consultation to review your development options.

April 17, 2023 0 comment

New Business

What is the Best Framework for a New SaaS Application?

by Noyal Sharook April 3, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

When you are building a multi-tenant Software as a Service (SAAS) platform, you should be spending most of your energy on the actual product rather than the billing, accounts, user management, provisioning and the rest. If you identify a good SaaS framework, a lot of the external functionality is already in the framework.

There are a few good frameworks that can be used for this very purpose:

Top 4 SaaS Application Frameworks for New Applications

1. Spark

Laravel Spark provides the framework for a SAAS site for a flat rate of just under $100. The framework includes services like subscriptions, billing, and invoices that are tedious to code. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t versatile, however. How you chose to bill users is incredibly flexible.

Laravel is based in JavaScript, a powerful and versatile coding language. As a result, it’s easy for users to go in and change code – even code that is part of the framework itself. They also boast advanced user interface making it easy for early-stage coders to make the most of the framework despite its many advanced features.

Spark is great for websites that need to manage a lot of users. Tasks that are important for managing users including profile images and security concerns like passwords and two-factor identification are built into the framework from the beginning.

Spark is also great with languages (not coding languages, spoken languages). Unfortunately, Laravel doesn’t provide an easily accessible list of supported languages. You might still not be able to have your website translated into Romani, but this feature is definitely something for organizations with an international footprint to look into.

2. Icarus

Armia also offers a framework called Icarus. The Icarus framework includes many basic features as well as billing, subscription, and API integration. That makes it easy for elements in the framework to work together with other files and device systems and hardware for a more cohesive and user-friendly experience even in advanced applications.

Many elements of user management are also automated so that users can focus on what their site does rather than how their site does it. Those elements that aren’t automated are made more manageable by powerful and friendly CMS modules. Modules for content and users mean that no matter what kind of service you offer to how many people, it can now be easily managed.

The one potentially big selling point for Icarus is the lightweight MVC. A Lightweight MVC means that engineering the website beyond the basic framework will be easier and will give the coder a higher degree of freedom than a clunkier MVC.

That is, provided your organization has a coder who is advanced enough to make good use of a lighter MVC. If you have a smaller or less experienced team, a lighter MVC might mean a more basic website that involves a bit more tinkering and you may be better off with a more restrictive but more defined framework.

The source code is available for download free of cost

3. Innomatic

Innomatic is an open source SAAS platform. It doesn’t offer many of the services offered by Laravel and Armia but what it does offer is scalability. The site claims that the platform uses single-tenant databases and multi-tenant code so that businesses of any size can use it. Innomatic predictably markets itself to startups that may have a smaller number of users.

Another great strength of the platform is how much consideration it puts into the frontend services. Innomatic’s framework includes a desktop that can be easily customized to fit your existing themes.

While it can be easy to overlook the importance of an attractive and user-friendly desktop, it can go a long way in attracting and retaining customers and clients.

One thing that you can see as a good thing or a bad thing about Innomatic is that the level of customer support that you receive is based on tiered payments.

That means that established organizations with experts coders can take advantage of the framework for less money. It also means that smaller and newer organizations with less expert coders may need to pay more money to make the most of the framework.

Innomatic can handle subscriptions, but some of the other important payment services will have to be manually coded by the user.

4. Magpie

Armia Systems offers another SAAS application framework called Magpie. Magpie is a MEAN framework, making it ideal for building dynamic websites. Dynamic websites are capable of hosting a wide variety of applications and file types.

Magpie also offers CRUD based API, so that all of the different file types can work together smoothly with each other and with other device systems and hardware.

It also makes it easy to manage and maintain large amounts of stored content. This makes Magpie perfect for more advanced projects or projects that require allowing interaction with varied content and tools.

Magpie also has a package installer that makes your website compatible with popular software packages for working with sites and services like Authorize.net and Amazon.

This is ideal for organizations that rely on other websites to do things like sell products, capitalize on add revenue, and conduct secure transactions.

While Magpie is particularly good for mobile or social applications, it’s also good for services like information technology and event registration.

What is the Best Framework for a New SAAS Application?

All of these SAAS application frameworks have fairly evenly distributed strengths and weaknesses. As a result, there isn’t really one “best” framework. The framework that is best for you depends on a number of factors.

What your organization needs from the framework, the kind of team that you have to work on it, and the budget that you are working with can all tip the scales in favor of one of these frameworks or the other.

To pick the best framework for you and your needs, don’t stop at this article. Visit the websites of the companies that we talked about and also read about some SaaS software examples.

Do your own research and contact their customer service representatives. Start a real conversation about what you need, what you expect from a provider, and what you can pay to see which ones can work with you and which ones will work for you.

If you are in the process of launching a new SaaS application, talk to our expert developers who created many multi-tenant applications

Have an Idea for web/mobile app?

Request a free consultation to review your development options.

April 3, 2023 0 comment

Web Development

Stellar vs Solana: Technical Performance Comparison

by Noyal Sharook April 2, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

Blockchain is the future, and there are no two words about it! Recently Armia Systems has been adopting an informed shift into the world of blockchain through our client project and in-house research and development teams. A lot of it has to do with the sheer number of queries we get regarding Crypto Tokens on a day-to-day basis.

Since the beginning of the new decade, interest in blockchains, especially cryptocurrencies and tokens, has skyrocketed. For investors and developers, they offer a lucrative money-making opportunity when issued for trade in major crypto exchanges through Initial Coin Offering (ICO). For businesses, blockchain opens up many new possibilities in Fintech, IoT, Smart Contracts, and other new-age tech segments.

Armia Systems is currently fully capable of creating Crypto Tokens based on any blockchain. We are extending this support to our clients as well. However, many of our ambitious clients want to go further and implement Crypto-based reward systems on their websites and apps– similar to what ‘Brave’ web browser is doing. Such a system’s complexities are in a different ballpark altogether, but we’ve taken this up as a challenge.

The first step in creating a Crypto-based reward system is to select the right blockchain. In this article, we will concentrate exclusively on this aspect of development.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive subsequent updates to this story and learn more about how we are creating a robust reward system in the blockchain.

Crypto Reward System: Which blockchain to use?

An essential part of implementing a crypto-based reward system for a website or app is finding an efficient token minting process where users are rewarded tokens for specific interactions within the platform. This could be sharing new content, interacting with other users, or inviting non-users as affiliates. These tokens should be able to be transferred within the app and even be used for transactions outside.

Many reliable blockchain options are available in the market, but their minting prices are too high or lack proper support. For these reasons, we decided not to go with bigger blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum and zeroed in on Solana.

Solana is a relatively new blockchain technology launched in 2020 but has quickly risen in ranks due to its stable nature, high performance, and robust token support. The Solana blockchain is one of the world’s biggest contributors to crypto tokens. However, for all its positives, Solana claims high gas prices, which would be difficult to incorporate on a mass scale, especially if the platform owner has to bear the brunt of each minting.

We decided to look for a blockchain that demands a lesser gas fee and found an affordable alternative in Stellar. Stellar’s native crypto XLM costs just a fraction of Solana (SOL), making it an affordable option to mint. However, it does suffer in terms of performance using ‘stellar consensus protocol’ instead of Solana’s more modern ‘proof of history algorithm’. The price is a central plus point, and only testing will prove if its performance is adequately comparable to Solana and thus become a viable alternative for our projects

Stellar vs Solana – Performance Testing

We did the test to understand how the performance of Solana and Stellar blockchains vary across different real-world conditions. This should ideally provide us with data on which one to use for a mass-scale implementation as an error-free and fast crypto reward system on websites and mobile apps.

A test environment was created to study the performance of specific APIs within multiple simultaneous transactions- starting from 30 and going all the way up to 300.

Test Setup

Tool used : Apache Jmeter

Networks : Solana and Stellar

Network Type : Testnet

Internet Speed : 4MBPS

Maximum simultaneous Transactions on both networks : 300

APIs that were tested

Three APIs were tested to their limits by requesting simultaneous transactions in the order of 30, 100 and 300. They are:

CreateTokenAccount: Creating a new token account in either Solana or Stellar blockchain.

TransferTokens: Transferring tokens from one account to another within the same blockchain

getWalletBalance: Checking the wallet balance of a created token account

Performance Testing Parameters

Response time

Response time is the time taken for the API to respond to the transaction command. It is measured based on minimum, maximum and average scales. For this testing, Response time is the average response time value of all three APIs.

Standard Deviation

The Standard Deviation measures how response time is spread out around the average value. The smaller the Standard Deviation, the more consistent the response time.

Error %

If there were errors in executing the transaction, the Error % shows the percentage of failures after the test condition was met.

Throughput

This is one of the most important parameters of the study. Throughput shows the total number of APIs processed in a second

Stellar vs Solana- Result of the testing

Solana was the clear winner in this comparison testing, outperforming Stellar in almost all the benchmark parameters we had set. We started by sending 30 simultaneous transactions to each API to check how the performance varies.

This was the result:

Stellar vs Solana low traffic performance

Attribute	Solana	Stellar
Minimum response time	0.6 seconds	4 seconds
Maximum response time	1.2 seconds	6.5 seconds
Average response time	1 second	5.4 seconds
Standard Deviation value	177	537
Error %	0%	0%
Throughput ( apis / second )	15.4	4.0

We can see that Solana has outperformed Stellar even at a meager 30 transactions per second. The average response time was 1 second for Solana. Processing above 15 APIs per second. On the other hand, Stellar had a response time of 5.4 seconds and could only process 4 APIs per second.

Now we increased the simultaneous transactions to 100. The response time of both decreases- Stellar by about 3 seconds and Solana by 1 second. Solana performed much better in this test, too, and the response time was within acceptable levels to provide a great user experience.

Attribute	Solana	Stellar
Minimum response time	1.3 seconds	3.3 seconds
Maximum response time	2.2 seconds	9.7 seconds
Average response time	1.7 seconds	5.9 seconds
Standard Deviation value	241	1990
Error %	0%	0%
Throughput ( apis / second )	31.3	9.8

In order to maximize the test’s potential, we sent 300 simultaneous transactions in the final round of testing. The test network IP immediately got blocked for Solana, and we couldn’t get a result. However, based on the trend in the previous two tests, we are providing expected figures for the purpose of comparison.

Stellar allowed 300 concurrent transactions in test condition, and the number had deteriorated, but surprisingly not by much. The average response time was only six-tenths of a second slower than what it was at 100 transactions. The throughput also increased, from 9.8 at 100 simultaneous transactions to 21 at 300 transactions.

Attribute	Solana (Expected)	Stellar
Minimum response time	1.8 seconds	3.9 seconds
Maximum response time	4.5 seconds	10.3 seconds
Average response time	2.8 seconds	6.5 seconds
Standard Deviation value	380	6567
Error %	0%	0.20%
Throughput ( apis / second )	80	21.3

Stellar vs Solana: Creating a Crypto Reward System

An ideal cryptocurrency reward system would provide steady performance even at 1000s of simultaneous transactions, is based on an appreciating crypto blockchain, and could be implemented affordably. Our tests prove that Solana offers a safe bet when considering the first two factors, but affordability is an issue. At $27 (On 22nd October 2022), using the Solana blockchain as a reward system would prove too costly. On the other hand, Stellar is priced at just $0.1103 when writing this article and is hugely affordable to implement. However, it struggles on the performance front.

Solana’s stable performance makes it a great candidate for any website, provided that development and operational costs are not an issue and users don’t have to bear the brunt of its gas fee. Stellar would best suit small, enterprise-level websites with smaller internal traffic. It would ensure affordable, reliable delivery within a stable and widely accepted blockchain environment.

Need Help With Your Blockchain Project?

Our Blockchain and cryptocurrency experts are here to help! Contact us today

April 2, 2023 0 comment

New Business

Introducing Pocket Buddy: Now shop with your best-saving card, every time!

by Noyal Sharook April 2, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

Pocket Buddy chrome extension automatically finds the best offers, discounts, and cashbacks on your credit card, debit card, and other payment methods during checkout.

Armia Systems is excited to announce the launch of our latest product- Pocket Buddy, on ProductHunt.com– the biggest destination for the best new products in tech. Pocket Buddy is a money-saving chrome extension that automatically picks the best payment method for your online shopping checkout.

Why Pocket Buddy?

Nowadays, people use multiple payment options, including debit cards, credit cards, and even app-based ones like Apple Pay. Different financial institutions have specific and unique incentives depending on the shopping website, making it harder for users to find the best option to choose while checking out. Pocket Buddy makes the whole process simple by automatically going through the your available payment options and selecting the best one that gives maximum savings. It even lists out all the other offers and discounts that you might be interested.

“Our vision has always been to give customers the right tools to utilize their time and money efficiently,” said Aji Abraham, CEO and Founder of Armia Systems Inc. “Our company has vast experience in the eCommerce development industry, and we understand the struggle of the consumer and retailers. Pocket Buddy is designed to be a satisfying and meaningful part of the daily lives of our consumers and provide a superior and seamless shopping experience. At the same time, retailers and financial institutions can now effortlessly reach desired audiences with the right incentives. It is a win-win situation for all parties involved.”

Pocket Buddy will work perfectly on 350+ online shopping websites, including Amazon, Flipkart, Apple, Walmart and Target. All you have to do is select the cards and other payment methods they use during the simple set-up process. The extension has an extensive and constantly updating database of offers, cashbacks, and discounts from all major payment options, including those of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Standard Chartered and HDFC.

It’s free forever, no signup required!

Pocket Buddy is currently free to use for everyone in the Google Chrome ecosystem. The platform is tailored to provide an enhanced user experience from installation all through to final checkout. It doesn’t ask for any signup or verification, and you don’t have to provide their payment credentials. All that is needed for setting up the extension is to choose applicable payment options from a list within the extension. The whole process is fast and straightforward.

“Adoption of online shopping has increased manifold since the beginning of this decade. We want to make their experience personalized, affordable and rewarding without the hassle of paying a fee for it or even signing up. Pocket Buddy is built for the modern shopper, who has a lot of options but has very little time to explore them.” added Mr. Aji Abraham.

One thing that Pocket Buddy does very well is leveraging the power of AI. It starts by collecting the best coupons and offers available on cards in real-time from various financial institutions and matching them to the thousands of shopping websites across the web. This ensures that you are always updated on the latest coupons and offers on their cards, even seasonal and private ones, which shoppers often miss.

Once you complete your shopping and reach the checkout page, Pocket Buddy automatically goes through its database and finds the best credit card or payment method that lets will give you maximum savings. All you have to do is continue the checkout process with the recommended option.

Pocket Buddy is now publicly available in the Chrome Web Store, starting August 2022. Consumers can download the browser extension for free starting today.

To learn more about Pocket Buddy, visit ProductHunt.com, Chrome page or https://www.pocketbuddy.com

About ArmiaSystems

Armia Systems is a web design, development, and hosting company founded in 2003. Since the beginning, the company has strived forward with a sincere drive to create innovative solutions to enable online businesses to succeed. Today, Armia Systems represents this culmination of an entrepreneurial spirit, the drive to succeed, and the vision to continue a business worthy of its customers.

April 2, 2023 0 comment

Startup

RFP for mobile application development – Use and Templates

by Noyal Sharook April 2, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

When you have finally found your astonishing idea for a mobile app, the next step will be finding the right mobile app tech team for making the best out of it, but it’s not that easy as finding the right LEGO piece!

You have to properly communicate your idea in a standard way by documenting your requirements, which is called Request For Proposal (RFP), then you can search for firms to bid on your idea.

What is Request For Proposal (RFP)?

When you require technical expertise, Request for proposal (RFP) document makes the communication with vendors or technical teams easier.

A good RFP document includes the following information in detail:,

About Company: Describe your company background, vision, and projects in short, which will give the development firm an idea on what are the project goals you are focusing on.
Requirements: Document the requirements you are expecting in the project and guidelines to be followed if you have any.
Deliverables and Standards: Make an idea about the major components of your product and what you are expecting from the firm; this can include support services, suggestions, etc. The accuracy of this section will give you accurate time and cost estimations.

Why is an RFP crucial for mobile application development?

It is crucial that in every stage of mobile application development, you and the development company must agree on every change even if it is very small, an RFP document plays a major role in this by making audit trails.

Software development agreement practices are often very ambiguous in determining the sizes of various schedules, deliverables, and other matters. When you have proper documentation for the project, you can minimize the risks in any mode of operation, and you will be able to assess handling project changes objectively.

Here are few reasons why RFP is important:

Defining your requirements: When you make an RFP document, it will impose you to define your project requirements and thus creates an internal discipline for your company.
Ability to Compare Different Systems: When you bid your RFP, you will get responses from various vendors, and you will be able to compare functions, investments, and implementations.
Details on Return on Investment: The Ability to compare functions and systems gives you details on how the proposed system can provide you returns
A Standard for Evaluation: Using a proper RFP, you will be able to ask for a time and cost breakdown instead of any technical jargon provided by the vendor firms.

Tracking Schedules: When you have no idea how large the project will be on a technical basis, you won’t be able to arrive on a decision on how long it will take to implement such a project’s internal systems.

Large projects will take months of coordination from the team members, a proper RFP will ensure that even after you switch back to your own team, a new employee can get goals of the project and hence the efforts.

What to write in your Mobile App RFP?

Let us discuss app-specific details to be included when writing an RFP for mobile app:

App Description

You can include the following details when describing mobile apps.

1. App Features

App features mean functions you are expecting in the final mobile app. When describing features, try to include core features and then make a list of features by prioritizing from must have to good to have.

2. User Scenarios

Describing different user scenarios will help the developer to understand the concept.

For Example:

What will happen when a user opens the app for the first time?
What will happen when a user completes a purchase in the app?

UI Sketches or Mockups

If you already have some UI concepts in mind that will be useful when communicating with the developer, this doesn’t need to be a professional one, hand-drawn sketches also work!

Platform details

For any mobile app development projects, we should give details on what platforms we are targeting or what devices you are targeting, this will make the cost and time estimation more clear.

What platform are you targeting? Android, iOS, or Both?
What device are you targeting? iWatch, Tablet, or Midrange Phones?

Documenting details like this will help your project development team more details on estimating the cost and time and thus properly manage your project development life cycle.

How to Find the Best Mobile Development Firms?

After you have created an RFP document for your mobile app, the next step will be finding the best partner for developing it.

You can use providers like UpCity or Clutch to search for different categories of vendors, but for that, you have to choose which category is right for you!

1. Development Focused

If you already have design materials for the app, these development companies will help you make it on different platforms. They will have a project manager and a group of developers so that you can focus on other areas like marketing, branding, etc.

2. Design Focused

In mobile app development, having a good UI/UX can help you onboard your targeted users easily. If you can handle the development team on your own or you already have a development partner, you can approach different design studios focusing on creating UI/UX for mobile apps.

3. Design & Development

When you have finalized your mobile app requirements, have proper marketing plans and channels, these firms can help you create UI/UX, and develop your app idea.

4. Full-Service Agencies

Sometimes you will need help with every stage of the app development life cycle like ideation, design, development, marketing, maintenance, etc. These agencies will help you connecting with the best partners for you.

Once you have your development direction, it is time to choose the company. Keep in mind the following thing while outsourcing your app development:

Connect more than one companies with your Requirements: The more discussion you have with companies, you will get more clarity on your app idea, market rates, etc. So always connect with more companies.
Be sure to have clarity on your budget: Having clarity on your budget will help you filter out companies.
Research online for company reviews: Although sites like Clutch.co can help you find companies in one place, you should check reviews from past clients to avoid wrong companies.
Always Clear your doubts: There will be many hidden details you may not have considered or missed, So querying details on team background, project team details etc. helps!

RFP for mobile application development: Wrap-Up

Now you have a clear picture of the steps you need to follow to find the best mobile development firm to bid your RFP.

Would you like to know about how to write an RFP template? Download the template from the article and write your RFP as mentioned in the template.

Do you have any plans to build a mobile app? If so contact us, We have the best development team to help and work for you.

April 2, 2023 0 comment

Event

Armia Systems Joins GITEX Global 2022 in Dubai

by Noyal Sharook April 2, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

We are so excited to announce that Armia Systems will be attending the world’s biggest tech show GITEX GLOBAL 2022 at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 10th to 14th of October, 2022. If you are at the event and want to meet us, give us a ping and we will be happy to meet you any time!

Meet us at GITEX 2022

GITEX 2022 is also the also the world’s biggest meetup developers and coders. Through a trade show exhibitions and conferences, the community is given an opportunity to build connections across the technology sector and future technologies. The event brings 5,000+ leaders and innovators from tech powerhouses and startups around the world to share the innovations that will change the way we work, live and shape our future.

At GITEX 2022 Dubai, you will experiencing the future, listen to the pioneers and practitioners redefining every industry and hear their inspiring stories of innovative thinking. It quite literally bring together the world’s most pivotal ecosystems that advances business, economy, culture and society through the drive of innovation.

What makes the 2022 iteration of the event exceptional is the wide spectrum of futuristic industries and topics being covered including 6G, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud & Edge, Cybersecurity, Fintech, Blockchain, Data Analytics, Smart Cities and many more. Discussions surrounding them are broadly classified in to 8 major events- only one of which is GITEX Global. They are:

Ai Everything: For innovative applications of AI that benefit the economy and society.
Global DevSlam: The largest gathering for the developer and programmer communities
X-Verse: Discover world premieres at the X-VERSE from leading companies in the Metaverse ecosystem.
North Star: The most significant startup event in the world that brings together government officials, investors, accelerators, and businesses that are changing whole industries.
Fintech Surge: Created for the Fintech Disruptors by bringing together top fintech firms, startups, regulators, and financial hubs.
Future Blockchain Summit: The largest blockchain event in the area brings together influential officials, innovators, and early adopters to drive the decentralization movement.
Marketing Mania: Showcasing ground-breaking advancements in Marketing through data, analytics, CX, and creativity.

Powered By The Top 7 Tech Communities

Best Tech Execs
Government Enterprises
Coders & Developers
Innovative Startups
Investors and Funders
Students
Teachers and Academia

We would love to meet you there and introduce you to our wide array of innovative products and services.

Armia Systems at GITEX GLOBAL 2022

Armia Systems is a web and mobile development agency, with teams in Chicago, India and Sri Lanka with over 19+ years of international experience. When you require a custom software development, dedicated developers, or some server/infrastructure management needs to be done, we have a team of qualified designers, developers, server engineers, DevOps, and IT experts, to help you out. We are very experienced in working with startups and mid-size companies in different industries.

We will be presenting our wide variety of products; which includes Online store builder software, On-demand service platform, Multi restaurant platform, and Last-mile delivery manager.

Divisions of Armia Systems

SupportPRO

SupportPRO offers remote infrastructure management for data centers, hosting companies, and enterprises. We are an AWS consultant partner. Our experts can manage your DevOps or infrastructure management efficiently.

Armia Systems

Armia Systems offers custom software development and focuses on web and mobile development technologies through the offshore development center.

iScripts

iScripts is a leader in developing off-the-shelf, turnkey online business platforms, and distributing them with source code. iScripts develop scripts that encompass proven business models

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April 2, 2023 0 comment

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