Do you App? Developing Apps to Boost Your Business

The possibilities, features and capabilities of mobile applications, known as apps, are improving at an extraordinary rate. In a few years, most of what is now done through web applications will be available on your smartphone or tablet through an innovative, often user- friendly, app. With a drastic move from desktops to mobile devices, the change of how applications are used and developed is a natural progression.

TEXT PRISCILLA J. LOTMAN

The social media industry, financial information sector and the online store giants are all succeeding marvelously with their apps. On most smartphones you will undoubtedly find the apps of Facebook, YouTube, Bloomberg, The Weather Channel and Whatsapp, located prominently on the main screen of one’s device. These are daily indulgences for most people. With companies now following this trend for both their consumers and employees, regional businesses, including the telecom companies, are also taking note and developing their own useful apps.

Ictual, a Curaçao based company established in 1992, started developing mobile applications over three years ago, based on their experience with web applications for the telecom companies in the region. “The company has developed two main app solutions, the Phonebook and the Customer Self Care Service (CS2x), which are currently used by telecom companies in Curaçao, St. Martin and Suriname,” said Darrell Rosalia, team manager of the mobile and web application division at Ictual.

The use of apps improves the usability and communication between companies and their customers.

Telecom Apps
The Phonebook, used by UTS in Curaçao for their White pages app, provides the consumer with easy access to the company directory on the island. “With CS2X, Ictual is paving the way for the future of apps,” said Rosalia. “Now telecom companies provide their clients with incentives through Short Message Service (SMS). These incentives and functionalities can now also be provided via apps. In Suriname, with My TeleG, and in St. Martin, with TelCell Customer Selfcare, this is already possible. For Curaçao, we are in the final development phase,” he continued.

Rosalia is certain that apps will improve the usability and communication between companies and their customers. With the apps now available on iTunes and Google Play, customers of UTS, TelCell (Telem Group) and TeleG (Telesur) can check their balance, data usage and purchase more credit or transfer credit to other subscribers using the CS2X platform. They can also search for phone numbers using the Phonebook option.

Enterprise Services
Small and medium sized businesses are now also moving into the “app era”, as Rosalia labeled it, by providing their employees with the efficiency of enterprise apps. Moving company directories, sales applications and knowledge sharing systems from the web to apps is an expected advancement. “Whether you have 5 or 500 employees, you may want to make it easier for people to share ideas, work outside the office or access their customer relation information. With mobile apps, this becomes more efficient and you can customize it to your business needs and branding profile,” Rosalia explained. “We have created a platform to make the development process more effective by bringing the entry barrier down and making it less expensive for companies to have an app.”

Moving company directories, sales applications and knowledge sharing systems from the web to apps is an expected advancement.

With the global move towards mobility, local companies and entrepreneurs are persuaded to improve their systems by incorporating the use of apps in their business. Whether this is done primarily to engage customers or to facilitate employees in their daily work depends on the strategy of each individual company. “Not every company has a web or app developer in house,” said Rosalia. “Working with the app solutions we have created, we can provide a solution for companies looking to innovate.” In the future, local companies on Curaçao should also have a range of apps to improve their overall user experience. This will probably be sooner rather than later.