Inner apps to lead you to the top

Apps are no future, it’s a modern feature of today. The inner apps for some companies, on the contrary, are rare and unknown species still in need to be explored.

First of all, I need to mention that all apps can be divided in two categories — apps for clients and apps for inner usage of the company.

Not so long ago AppStore and Google Play Market were stuffed with various entertainment apps only, but now we see the focus of apps switching to corporate mobile apps for clients and inner usage of the company. The reason of the change is simple — we have more smartphones and tablets nowadays and, as a result, we use these devices much more often in our daily routines and in our working processes.

Today, as I said before, I want to focus on the inner apps and, moreover, on the apps that are created for usage on inner projects.

Usually such apps are developed to optimize the inner processes of the companies. The processes vary from reporting and communication in the company to tasks management, etc. Such apps can also be used to inform the employees about current company issues and goals.

Speaking frankly, there are much more spheres where you can use such apps. Let me introduce several of them.

As mobile applications for inner usage you can have:

• applications for sales representatives with current database of goods and order formation;
• electronic taxameters with geolocation for taxi companies;
• applications for employees of logistic companies that are integrated with client apps and enquiry forms on the website;
• mobile solutions for public catering that track the orders and help chiefs and waiters;
• mobile apps for doors’, windows’ and strechted cielings’ rackmans with final cost formation feature based on materials you have chosen;
• mobile addons to CRM of the companies that guarantee access to corporate mails, tasks and inner database, etc.;
• much much more.

Various automate systems inside company together with mobile apps can create a local ecosystem that allows to reduce time expences and to reach the maximum effectiveness of work. With such apps you can focus on evolving the company and meeting the needs of your clients.

Results of various polls show that 17% of small business create apps for inner usage only.

What profit you can get from the development of mobile business-app for inner usage?

As Praveen Seshadri, the director and founder of AppSheet said, ‘While investing in mobile app think about possibilities, — the business can integrate all the most important features and tasks into an app increasing the productivity of working processes’.

One would think what except for employees comfort can you get from inner app? Frankly speaking, it’s a lot!

1. Sales growth
2. Growth of client loyalty
3. Competitive strenth on the market

To explain this all I can give you a simple example from our practice. Our client needed to create an app for inner optimization of bank processes, in this case — to optimize the examination of sales points and offices where you can set the credit up.

Speaking shortly, the bank had its own supervisor deparment that supposed to go to various bank offices and check the work of these points according to corporate check-lists. After the work is done they are supposed to inform their director about the results of their work.

What we did in the app:

• We added ability to create the most convenient routes for the managers. Such feature can help navigating through the city in the most profitable way. For example, you need to check 10 different places, — the app will create a convenient route not to travel back from city borders to its center several times per day.
• We included full story of changes and handy schedule with a map of all offices.
• The transparency of manager and director working processes is crystal clear and was organised with the help of check-in instrument.
• We also added an option to create check-lists of various complexity. Managers can add some comments and do reports on them right in the place they need to monitor.
• All statistical data for directors is being placed in one storage right after supervisers are uploading the data online.

So, what we got in the result? We not only got the ability to add data right on place in the real time, we also created an excellent tool for analytics and planning that can also help you to work with mistakes and solve them faster.

As the result client also got more productive work with clients, the incrision of loyalty and the enlargement of number of credit aid (in this case it equals to sales). With the help of an app our client optimized his working processes in such a way that he no longer needed a whole department that monitored the work of supervisors and created tasks for them manually. This part of work became fully automated.

In the end, the bank got an excellent and competitive app.

One more example of clever usage of an inner app is a loyalty program application. In this case you create an app not for the company, but for clients that you’ve already have (the app is available to download, but the authorisation goes through the client number or something similar). The functions of such app can vary greatly.

For example, for the users of Landrover Jaguar Priority Club loyalty program we added the most handy functionality right to such app. Upon the registration user get access to wide number of features such as getting information about your car, its service history, ask for help on the roads, check the technical services periods.

In ‘help on the roads’ section users can get in touch with managers of help service in case of any troubles from the dead battery to car evacuation and passengers transfer on the taxi when car is broken.

Asking for help is realised through mobile app or phone calls.

I gave only two examples from the vast pile of things that can give you case stuides from different industries in any numbers.

Mobile app doesn’t need to be created just for the sake of appearance in the company, it supposed to solve the real problems, to excel the communication between company and its clients, to encourage and raise loyalty.

The future of business, including the future of corporate market, is after the moible apps. And the future has already began.