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The biggest compliment every startup aim for is to be called disruptive changing not just local businesses but entire industries across the country and around the world. Uber has successfully created that impact in a very short period of time.

Uber has changed the way we go around and has impacted the taxi industry around the world. It is valued at $82.4 billion dollar, has over ten thousand employees and more than a million drivers operating in 528 cities.

Initially started with a bunch of guys wanted to ride around town in style, Uber now has become a highly valued private business. With its sole intention to make transport easy and available Uber didn’t just provided privacy and comfort but also made taxi service luxurious and economical.

With their disruptive technology and explosive growth this revolutionary 8 yr old startup has literally defined what an on-demand business is! Uber provided an on-demand service platform without owning cars and employing drivers to drive them.

Now with its driver-less cars, flying taxis, and Uber-Copter, Uber is heading for world domination.The success story of Uber is the reason that every on-demand business aim to replicate it.

 

What is an On-Demand Business Model?

At its core on-demand is basically a marketplace. What really sets it apart from a traditional marketplace is the sense of immediacy. I order and I get it instantaneously and then there is a buyer, merchant and seller relationship.

 

Its biggest challenge is getting both buyers and sellers simultaneously. How to deal with this is to start small. There’s a much better chance of getting both sides of the market place with starting small. For best success, focus on a small market, an industry or even one customer side of the marketplace.

 

These business models are so powerful because they are meeting the changes in consumer behavior. Millennials and Gen-C are more inclined towards more convenience, comfortability and speed. On-demand businesses meet these demands perfectly.

 

Elements of the System

When looked from the technical perspective, not many realize that Uber or any such on-demand business basically comprises 3 core elements:

 

• Mobile app for riders – iOS & Android app where anyone can conveniently order a ride;

• Mobile app for drivers – iOS & Android app used by the drivers who execute the orders;

• Administrative panel – the central control web-panel to manage drivers, riders, orders & marketplace;

 

It’s the amalgamation of these 3 applications/software that makes these on-demand services a success. Let’s try looking at each one of them separately to understand, what set of features does each of them have.

 

Features of Mobile App for Riders

1. Vehicle Tracking System (GPS)

– Auto-sensing the current location of the rider.

 

2. Rate Card/Flexible vehicle options

– To pick and choose the type of vehicle with varying pricing options.

 

3. On-Demand Booking

– To set pickup & drop location while booking

 

4. Automatic Fare Calculation

– To provide accurate fare and distance for the destination journey.

 

5. Estimated Arrival Time

– To provide an estimated time when the driver will reach the rider’s location

 

6. Chat Feature

– To chat with the driver directly from the mobile app.

 

7. Driver Details

– Complete driver profile in terms of feedback received from other riders,

– History of ride cancellation and important reasons associated like cancellation after knowing destination address, ride cancelled since it was night time, etc.

 

9. Trip/Cab Tracking

– For rider security, he/she will be able to track entire journey and will be able to allow his/her friends to see the vehicle path and other details during the journey.

 

Features of Mobile App for Drivers

1. Chat Feature

– Once accepted ride request by the driver, the mobile app will alert to the rider through chat about vehicle details and approximate pickup time.

2. Fare Calculation & Payments

– The app will auto-calculate the fare at the end of the journey.

– The app will also facilitate the driver to mark whether the payment was received as cash or paid directly through card etc.

3. View Trip Routes Using GPS

– The most economical and fastest route will be shown on driver’s mobile app from source to destination

– Deduce and notify the most probable area to get passengers/riders.

 

Features of Admin Panel

1. Vehicle Management

– Registration of all cars in the system with details like car make, model, year of manufacturing, insurance start date, and end date, insurance value, mileage wise number of services done, future service schedule, etc.

 

2. User/Customer Management

– View/add/edit/delete the customers/drivers

 

3. Trip/Cab Tracking

– Know the time for which a vehicle is idle and not driving.

– Notification generation if any vehicle is idle for more than 5 mins, which driver is driving which vehicle etc.

– Categorizing trips as personal/official travel.

 

4. Salary Generation

– Generation of driver’s salary

 

5. Manage Dashboard & Reports

– Real-time data based on various parameters of Drivers and Riders

– Reports including: Actual Vs Target Trips, KPI performance Report, Daily Collection, Daily Vehicle Utilization, Driver Performance, Earning Report, Hourly Vehicle Utilization

 

6. Invoicing

– Management of all customer invoicing

 

7. Settle Cash Payments

– Accumulation of all details like who submitted cash, which car or cars helped in generating cash, cash amount, period, etc.

– Validation system of trips and cash collected at the end of each trip against every submission

– Validating the cash submitted against the trips made in the day and approve the receipt

– Generate receipt and automatically syncing with the driver app and showing cash collected for a particular trip

 

8. Multiple Payment Gateways

– Support for country-specific payment gateway integrations

 

Along with these there can also be Advanced Features like:

• Multi-Language

For better ease, the app can support multi-language for rider/driver

 

• Voice Bookings

This feature can assist specially-abled people & also helps in quick bookings.

 

• Spot me Feature

The app can facilitate riders phone screen to turn to a color that’s specific to their driver. To easily spot them at their pickup location, they can just hold up the phone so that their driver can find them.

 

• Emergency Taxis

The app can have a feature(similar to SOS signal) where the User can click on a medical emergency button. This will automatically route the nearest vehicle to the user’s location. Such vehicles can have basic medical aids available.

 

• Surcharge

Extra charges in case of peak demand hours.

 

• Quick Complaint Management

The app can have an easy chat support/call feature to reach to Operations team.

 

• Leave Management

The administrator will be able to manage the leaves & KPIs of the drivers through their web panel.

 

What should you keep in mind while building an app like Uber?

Uber for services app is a platform that brings offline and online together. As this idea of an on-demand business app is applicable across various business verticals, there are few things to keep in mind before building an app like Uber-

1. Research- understanding of the industry is important. You should be aware of the upcoming trends, how will the industry evolve, deeper understanding of niche and demography to target the right audience.

2. Technology- To build an app which will potentially supports large number of users, technology plays an important role. Choosing a technology which is matured enough and provide great community support is crucial to successfully build an app like Uber.

3. UI/UX – Crafting smooth UI/UX designs ensures user friendly navigation.

 

Cost of Building an App like Uber-

To develop a basic version of your Uber-like app, your set of resources will be:

• Project Manager/Business Analyst

• UI/UX Designer

• Frontend, Backend & Mobile app developers

• QA team

 

If you have the Idea/Business we Got the Technology

As our economy is becoming more and more consumer centric the rise and need of on-demand businesses is rapidly increasing. So if you have an idea or an existing on-demand business an app like Uber can boost your business growth and reach.

Brace yourself to build a disruptive business with an app like Uber.

6DegreesIT is a experienced web development company. We have successfully designed Uber like apps for various businesses.

Our team of expert developers have lots of creative ways to meet your innovative ideas. We understand our client’s vision and provide the best technological solutions to make it a reality.

Do you want to hire our creative team of developers for developing your Uber-like app?

Talk to us today!

Let us know your requirements to help you serve better. In case you have queries and concerns about the pricing of building an app like Uber please drop a detailed inquiry and our team will get back to you.

Help us reach out more to-be Uber businesses by sharing our extensive guide on how to build an app like Uber.

Source: https://www.6degreesit.com/how-to-build-an-app-like-uber/

If you are managing a small or mid-sized business, especially if you are into e-commerce sector, it would be hard for you to get customer’s attention on your stunning website and to make them stay and get actions. I can understand your struggle that how much time and efforts you have spent on search engine and social media marketing just to make them aware that you EXIST!

Also, you must be daydreaming to get loyal customers, more action, fastening your operations, gaining popularity (ohh I want that too!), and of course more sales!

Am I not correct?

But how you will get all of these?

Giving your customers exciting offers, discounts, and gifts which they might not be interested in accepting or what if they accept it and forget you as your ex did. That sounds horrible and surely this is not the solution!

So where your loyal customers-to-be are sneaking? How do they look like? Huh?

Ok, enough brainstorming!

You may have to get in touch with an expert individual or a mobile app development company but at the end of the day, you need to understand that your lifesaver is going to be a customized mobile application. YES! Not all superhero wears caps. Some are rocking in the Apple store and Google play store.

Your targeted audience has smartphones and they are spending their time (actually, a lot of time) on mobile in texting, posting, and ordering your competitor’s products & services which have thrilled growth of the global smartphone market. According to the survey done by Yahoo in 2016 declares that “Mobile users spent 90% of their time in apps.” Mobile apps with more advanced computing capabilities and connectivity are one of the most powerful tools for reaching the target audience in terms of business. Here are the reasons to go for mobile app development for your business –

1 – Audience Building

You know one-third of people use their smartphone as their best medium to access the Internet. Even if you have the website you still need the mobile application because today businesses need to connect with the customer in order to make them loyal and also to make a long term relationship with them. Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart or any other successful business have not relied truly on the website. It’s easy for customers to switch to other websites just by one click. Since the app is already installed it would be like a trap to retain your audience and not let them go. Combination of Website + Mobile application will maintain a long term relationship and connection.

2 – Take the Advantage of Personalization

Personalization, who don’t want to get served according to them? We all want things the way we like it so do your targeted audience. Send push notification through mob app about personalized offers, and promotions.

3 – Go Global or Go Home

Go Global or Go Home, Yes! If you are not going global then please don’t think of growing and leading. Those businesses who didn’t grab this opportunity had seen a big fall. Through the development of an attractive mobile app, you can build a global level audience, you can easily retain them, and you can easily serve them.

4 – Customer Engagement rate

Constant interaction develops support and loyalty, and in turn, a good loyalty level arouses businesses. With an intelligently developed and designed mobile app, you can benefit from this opportunity.

5 – Ease of Communication

Email has been the best communication tool but now it’s a time of innovation and change. As new technology is evolving, the one who accepts changes can only survive. Mobile app notifications i.e. push and in-app notifications both are exciting alternatives for communicating with app users in a less intrusive way. As per the survey, push notifications have delivered more than 40% click-through rates.

6 – Fasten your Business Operations (Quite like the flash)

Apps are so much faster than the websites, a well-designed mobile app can perform actions much quicker than a mobile website. Websites generally use web servers to store data locally though apps usually store their data locally on mobile devices. For this reason, data retrieval happens swiftly in mobile apps.

7 – Gain Name and Fame

Let’s talk about building your brand name! Yes, name and fame. Without a mobile app, you might seem out-dated from modern trends. Set your business apart by using mobile to connect the dots for your users, creating a more streamlined experience by enhancing current capabilities because your brand image is critical for your success. Mobile apps are the absolute way to increase brand recognition. The more you involve your customers with your business through apps, the sooner they will demand your products/services.

8- Deserve your Customer Loyalty

Talking about the main awareness, why you should consider building your own mobile app? The answer is customer loyalty. With all the distractions, roadside banners, billboards, newspaper ads, flyers, coupons, websites, website banners, Facebook ads, and email marketing, we slowly lose our impact on customers because of the enormous amount of advertising surrounding us all. It’s time to make a true and genuine relationship with your customers and making them a loyal lover of your product/ service.

9- Much Required Intelligent Insights and Precious Analytics

Analytics and Insights gained from your mobile application are precious, using analytics tools will help in recognizing user behavior. One of the biggest benefits of mobile apps is the volume of detailed customer data that you can gather through them. You can identify your most profitable and promising regions, demographic segments, customer needs, and overall app performance. All this knowledge and data can be used to make product enhancements, identify new business opportunities, and develop new and products or features that meet customer needs.

Let’s wrap it up. Shall we?

Mobile application development and especially a native mobile application development is flourishing and no doubt that Mobile applications are needed. It’s not needed to just boost sales but to make a long-term relationship with customers, to understand the customer’s behavior, make them loyal, and to use it as a new and effective marketing tool.

What do you think?

Source: www.6degreesit.com/why-your-e-commerce-business-certainly-needs-a-mobile-app/

Can Small and Mid Sized IT Companies Collaborate?

I am the founder and co-owner of a mid-sized IT company based out of Indore, India. We are in business since 2008 and are focused on building customized web and mobile applications across platforms. Our clientele is mainly from North America and the projects vary from fully managed staff augmentation & development to fix priced and turnkey projects.

The big issue with IT service-based companies is maintaining a balance between the revenue and salary cost. We cannot afford to overstaff and hire benchwarmers but also cannot compromise on the service quality and delivery times. We also need to keep pace with the changes and upgrades in technology and continuously need to train or hire staff to meet market demands. This again adds to the cost affecting the bottom-line. To summarize running an IT service company is similar to walking a tight rope and crossing a cliff. Slightest misstep can send your company plummeting down the valley.

We have built a successful business over the years with a positive revenue growth but I can safely say we were one of the lucky ones who could survive and overcome the diversities. I am sure there are many other companies in my city, state, and country who have gone through a cycle similar to ours with different success rates.

Over the years one common problem that impacted our profits was making resources available for short-term projects. Hiring long-term does not do justice to the company’s bottom line and short-term hires are hard to find. There is an option of getting freelancers on board but that puts a major dent to the control, privacy, and quality of work. These are the aspect that matters most to my clients and me.

To overcome this I strongly feel there can be a collaboration of like-minded IT companies within the City that require resources of similar skill set and experience. There can be a stringent set of rules and regulation to get companies on board and become a part of this collaboration. The resources can be made available to members only portal and the remuneration and compensation can either be by barter or cash.

I strongly feel that culmination of like-minded companies, a strong IT platform, and strict qualifying criteria and make this concept a reality.

Give it a thought. It will help you.

Source: www.6degreesit.com/can-small-and-mid-sized-it-companies-collaborate