Ruby on Rails is the Ideal Answer for eCommerce Solutions

It is not an easy task to set up an e-commerce site that works as per its stated objectives. Apart from the complex business KRAs, one also has to take into account several other important factors like a great user experience, a powerful back end, secured payment gateway, a robust content management system, hosting, development and design.

Though many of you may be already aware of the web design and development process, a common question that often pops up is why should one choose Ruby on Rails  (RoR) to build their e-commerce sites?

Today, we will try to answer this crucial question.

Ruby on Rails has come a long way and the primary three reasons why eCommerce websites prefer it are:

1. Rapid development within budget
2. High compatibility
3. Strong ecosystem

Let us look ahead and expand these reasons and understand why RoR has become a trendsetter.

5 Reasons why Ruby on Rails makes perfect sense

1.    Active collaboration & Versatility

The development community for Ruby is tremendously responsive and active. Programmers are tirelessly developing new programs for communicating with other Application Programming Interfaces or APIs. So the Ruby developers have an added advantage of a versatile toolkit to depend on.

2.    Quick Turnaround Time

Ruby on Rails is a fast tool for application development that enables the developers to model out the features of an e-commerce site quite fast. The leap between modeling, estimating as well as the actual development phase is extremely fast. This feature is helpful for bigger projects that need the developers to find out the ease or difficulty level with which a fresh functionality or feature can be implemented.

3.    Adoption and demand in future

Today, websites are no longer static as they used to be earlier. In fact, they are much more interactive and dynamic. There are many web-based services running on Ruby on Rails, which have been recently launched. Ruby on Rails allows websites to be more dynamic and more flexible to changes in the future. It foresees the future demands and its solutions.

4.    Great cost savings

One interesting point to note here is that Ruby on Rails is available as a free toolkit, running on Linux, which is also a free OS or operating system software. Ruby on Rails can work with many databases as well as free web servers. If you remember, earlier, Microsoft’s ASP or Active Server Pages was a platform, which was popular. But the users had to pay for Microsoft Windows as well as  for the back-end SQL Server from Microsoft. The latter was also used as a data source. Since Ruby on Rails is free development platform, costs can be significantly lowered without compromising performance, security or speed.

5.    Easy to use

The web developers can understand the concept of this development tool quite easily. However, it may take some time to explain in case you are not accustomed with the process of creating a site earlier. The way this tool was created, it has a well-balanced synergy between methodology and the structure while writing the program. Since a developer’s programming style does not get into conflict with writing the program, the learning curve is much shorter when the code is passed down from one programmer to the next one. This feature is immensely useful when you will need multiple developers working on the same project.

Some of the top brands have trusted Ruby on Rails to build their website.

Read here for the list of top brands who have used RoR for their website.

A number of languages can be used for creating an e-commerce website, these include Cold Fusion, Python, Perl, ASP, PHP and Java among others. However, Ruby on Rails provides a specific set of advantages as discussed above to add true value to your e-commerce website development project.

Ruby’s syntax is loved because of its clarity and simplicity, beauty and readability. Most methods and classes are named very logically and could be read like a book. A well-written Ruby code gives opportunity to even beginners in the eCommerce field.

Try out Ruby on Rails and experience the difference yourself.

It will get your business rail back on track.

The GoodWorkLabs team recently caught up with Samara Mahindra, the Founder of the Carer Program – a one of a kind Cancer recovery program, to understand the technology requirement of her business.

Samara wanted to build a web application that would provide holistic therapy for cancer patients post their treatment. The challenge here was to build an easy-to-use and brilliant UI/UX for an age group ranging from 7 years to up to 70 years.

Our Process:

The design team at GoodWorkLabs immediately dived deep into understanding the core of the Carer program business. The idea was to establish an instant connect with the patients who would use this program, and so, we looked at minute details such as color codes, fonts, background textures etc that would help in creating a soothing experience for the users.

We then worked on providing excellent user interactions that would allow patients to easily navigate through the Carer Program modules.

Once we got the aesthetics in place, we began the next process which was the development stage.

As a company, we believe in providing a complete end-to-end solution for our customers, and using agile software development methodologies we created an interactive web application for the Carer Program.

Our journey with the Carer Program:

GoodWorkLabs has always been in the forefront in creating cutting-edge technologies. At the same time, we are also passionate about creating products that touch the lives of millions of users.

Our team was super excited about working with Carer Program and in the healthcare space. As we all know, cancer is a serious medical condition. But building a technology solution that would help speed up the process of cancer recovery was a cause that we were very happy and proud to be part of.

In the video above, Samara also shares a few words about her experience of working with GoodWorkLabs.

“There were many things that stood out with GoodWorkLabs, I think one is the efficiency and just trust! I have worked with many other technology companies, but this is the one company that I can really trust. If there is any glitch in the program or if there is any kind of technical difficulty, or if I want any advise when it comes to do anything with technology, I know I have a team that is there by me who are super efficient and shall get the job done”

 

Why choose GoodWorkLabs:

We don’t just build products. We help in creating an ecosystem for businesses to thrive with the latest technologies.

Also, we go that extra mile to understand your business persona and build products that are aligned to your objectives.

So, if you have a technology requirement and are looking for an exceptional UI/UX design and software development firm, then GoodWorkLabs is the right technology partner for you.

How effective will it be to embrace AI as a marketing enabler in today’s organizations? What will be the key problems that can be solved with the help of AI? How can AI give sales and marketing the much needed competitive edge to sustain and run a thriving business?

Let’s take a look at these questions and get a quick overview of the problems AI can solve for your business’ sales and marketing division.

The rise and rise of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been gaining tremendous traction in recent times. Multiple disciplines such as NLP and machine learning have shown the business world the type of problems Artificial Intelligence can solve. Right from providing a substantial reduction in cost overheads to boosting employee productivity, the number of areas that can be impacted by the smart use of AI is abundant. One such discipline that is ripe for embracing AI is the sales and marketing team.

Where do sales and marketing come in?

Throughout the customer acquisition journey, there are tons of routine tasks, documentation, and paperwork to be done. You may be surprised to know that only 20% of the sales rep’s time is spent on actual sales closing. The rest is spent on follow-up, monitoring, tracking, and support functions. It is these areas that can witness a dramatic surge in productivity with the help of AI. Let’s look at the three top benefits of having an AI system in your marketing team –

1. Qualifying leads

The leads qualification process is a tedious one. These include steps like

• Deep research on the right fit client for your product or services,
• Trying to phone or email the gate-keepers to find the right person within the target company,
• Carrying out a detailed vetting process as outlined in your marketing strategy

These are the key areas where AI can show its maximum impact.

2. Lead nurturing

The golden “Rule of Seven” stipulates seven engagements with leads before they remember your brand. Many inbound leads collapse due to lack of lead nurturing, or untimely interaction. This is where AI can fit in. It can not only keep track of which stage of the buying journey a prospect is in, but can also send personalized messages at the right interval – a positive sales conversion potential.

3. The human element

Today’s sales funnel is highly automated and looks robotic. As a result, the human touch is sorely missing from the sales conversion process. With the smart integration of AI into the various marketing functions, the human touch can be brought into many interactions with the lead. This helps make a deeper connection with the customer and enable conversions of leads to sale at a much swifter pace.

Wrapping it up

While lead quality and sales conversion cycle may not be made fully hassle-free, with the introduction of AI, issues with follow up and human connection can be mitigated for faster sales conversion.

At Goodworklabs we can drive the positive impact of AI to bolster your business margins. Do connect with us for a quick consultation.

You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who is aware of the ‘Internet of Things’ and isn’t aware of its key to the future. Studies suggest that by 2020, the global IoT market will be worth more than $1.3 trillion with a CAGR or 16.9%. The world has already started experiencing IoT equipped devices in homes and offices, and the number of these devices will surpass 50 billion in next three years. These figures are good enough to avow the claim that IoT market is going to get bigger with time, and the success of IoT, in the long run, will be very much determined by machine learning. Before going into details, let’s take a look at how both of these terms are related to each other.

Internet of Things & Machine Learning

IoT is nothing but the inter-networking of devices in such a way that they can send and receive data automatically without any manual interference. Due to this data automation, IoT saves a lot of time and efforts, which results in higher productivity and better user experience. Machine learning, on the other hand, is a type of artificial intelligence that enables computers to learn quickly without being programmed explicitly. It automates the data analysis process and enables computers to learn from data using novel algorithms and hidden insights.

Some of the examples of machine learning can be – self-driven cars (Tesla & Google), online product recommendations on e-commerce sites, knowing what customers are saying about any brand on Twitter/Facebook, etc.

Can Machine Learning Determine The Success of IoT?

The sole reason behind why IoT witnessed a massive success in such a quick succession is because it has the potential to make everyone’s life easier and more hassle-free than ever before. Machine learning is another in-demand technology just like the internet of things and has everything required to take the success of IoT to whole new heights.

In an IoT based environment where terabytes of data need to be analyzed for capturing value, it becomes important for it to adopt machine learning to keep up with this IoT data and generate insights from it. Machine learning is perfectly capable of taking the billions of data points, review them, analyze them and unlock patterns or recurring trends. Doing this in an enhanced way without adding to cost overheads will make machine learning a key success driver in IoT.

Are there any barriers?

Although IoT has opened new doors to success for businesses, there are many unanswered questions which need to be addressed soon. With the passage of time, the data volumes and varieties will continue to increase. In order to compile it quickly in an efficient manner, and use for attaining organizational objectives, businesses will need to learn the proper application of IoT and Machine Learning as soon as possible.

What do you think about machine learning and IoT? Are they both required for a faster business growth? Share your feedback in the comments section.

Success Story: Technology Partnership with Flipkart

Flipkart is India’s leading e-commerce marketplace with over 80 million products and 80+ categories. It is a unicorn that changed the whole start-up ecosystem in India to a new level. Started by a team of two in 2007, Flipkart today is a large company with over 100 million registered users. GoodWorkLabs is proud to partner with Flipkart since 2013 on several key technology-related efforts and consulting.

How did GoodWorkLabs help Flipkart? 

GoodWorkLabs is a Google certified agency that specialises in providing state-of-the-art technology solutions to its clients in India, the US, and Europe. GoodWorkLabs possess expertise in developing futuristic technologies in the field of software and mobile applications, UI UX design, AI & ML, AR & VR, etc.

GoodWorkLabs started delivering effective technology solutions to Flipkart since 2013. Flipkart was experiencing rapid growth in the traffic on their sites, mobile apps, and their business. To keep up with the pace during this growth, they needed a solid team of technology experts to help them with various core technologies and components in their back-end and front-end tech stacks and infrastructure.

GoodWorkLabs partnered with Flipkart for the Ruby on Rails technology to start with for the customer platform. GoodWorkLabs technology experts and consultants worked hand-in-hand with Flipkart’s teams to deliver key solutions. Upon continued success, GoodWorkLabs supported on the Java technologies as well. GoodWorkLabs also worked on UI development effort on the seller platform.

GoodWorkLabs has always valued and treasured their partnership and journey with Flipkart. Flipkart is one of their earliest clients and working with Flipkart has helped them understand how to deal with scalable technologies, high volume transactions, hiring the right talent for innovation, best-practices for development and so on.

 What were the achievements of this consulting?

• Simplified complicated tech procedures
• Built a fully tech-enabled platform

Technology Consulting On:

• JAVA
• Ruby on Rails
• UI Development
• Analytics
• QA

Games to watch out for in 2017:

2017 has arrived, and so have the new Games that are likely to take the excitement level of the gamers to whole new heights. Regardless of your interest in the gaming world, take a look at some of the games of 2017 which are expected to change the gaming industry forever.

• Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (January 24, 2017)

The first name on this list is Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which will release on January 24, 2017. In the latest version, the game developers have tried to undo the mistakes done in the Resident Evil 6 by introducing more bloodshed and action. The central theme of Resident Evil 7 will be survival horror, something which made the resident evil series a huge hit in the past.

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (First Half of 2017)

Nintendo has taken a lot of initiatives in the recent past to regain the leading market share that once belonged to it. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one such initiative, which is likely to turn the fortunes of Nintendo in 2017.

• For Honor (Feb 14, 2017)

Another battle game that demands fine fighting skills and a strong desire to survive. If you’re an action game lover and want to see Knights, Vikings and Samurai fighting with each other, ‘For Honor’ is the game you should wait for.

• Prey (Early 2017)

Love shooting and think that there’s hardly anyone on the planet who can defeat you in the shooting games? Give a try to Prey and take your excitement level to newer heights. Created by famous Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, Prey is likely to go live for Microsoft PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One users before mid-2017.

• Sniper Elite 4 (February 14, 2017)

Ever since the initial launch, Sniper Elite has been getting positive responses from its fan base. The game has successfully created a unique niche for itself, which has significantly worked in its favor. The Sniper Elite 4 will be launched for PS4, Xbox One, PC users on February 14, 2017.

• Halo Wars 2 (February 21, 2017)

It seems like February is the month of games in 2017. Halo Wars 2 is a “Wars” spin-off and has many features that the original game didn’t have. Plus it’s one of the very few RTS games that you can play using consoles. The creators have increased the multiplayer limit to six players and introduced a new enemy called “the Banished.” Halo Wars 2 will release on February 21, 2017.

• Star Trek Bridge Crew ( Early 2017)

It was supposed to release in November, 2016, but things didn’t work out as per plans. Now, the game developers are all set to release this four-player VR game on March 14, 2017. Star Trek Bridge Crew is probably your best chance to get hands on experience of Kobayashi Maru simulation.

Are you an active gamer? If yes, then don’t forget to share your top pick of games in 2017.