The world now has over 2 billion active smartphone users and a grand total of over 25 millions apps have been downloaded to date. This makes mobile app development one of the most important and fastest growing sectors in technology.
No financial institution worth its salt can operate without a solid mobile strategy.Everything around us is governed by technology, and people rely on their smartphones for almost everything these days, whether it’s to conduct transactions and manage their
finances, keep track of daily tasks, check what they’re going to eat for dinner, and of course, communicate with the people close to them. New advances in technology, like the advent of 5G among other things, are set to transform the way we use and develop
apps in the future. Here are a few things that will shape the future of financial applications.
The Cloud and the IoT
We already know that people love to use apps, but what they hate is having to download them. Employees, customers, and business leaders are all looking for mobile solutions that will allow them to access data quickly and seamlessly.
Most of this is made possible by the cloud and the IoT. The number of internet capable mobile and non mobile devices will mean that developers of the future will need to have this interconnection in mind and create apps that will be able to communicate with
each other through different protocols. The IoT reaches all sectors of industry, may it be transportation, agriculture, or energy, and is set to fuel the evolution of mobile strategy. The cloud will play a central role with its ability to use APIs to connect
disparate data and devices in the low-code and light
mobile app development world of the future.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
AI and ML has undergone revolutionary changes in the past few years. These has now become affordable technologies that even smaller companies can leverage upon. There are lot of possibilities of AL and ML in mobile app development, some of which are already
being used in industries like ecommerce, entertainment etc
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
With big tech companies like Google, Apple, Facebook etc investing a lot in the research is of AR and VR, it has changed from a fun and entertainment thing to a more serious technology that could help people solve many complex problems especially in health,
construction, ecommerce etc
Blockchain
Blockchain has proved it value to the world, apart from being just a technology behind the cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is one technology that disrupt many institutions that we see today, ranging from banks to insurance. Even the normal currencies are also
in. a threat. The Reserve Banks of many countries have already thinking seriously of issuing digital currencies and some of the big tech companies have already done this – like the Libra crypto currency supported by Facebook.
The Future is Light
Speaking of which, many observers, including Kevin Rands, contributing writer for CIO, warn that developers should brace themselves for a shift toward a low-code development approach. APIs are and will increasingly be used to streamline design development
and reduce the amount of coding needed. This mentality is rapidly spreading across programmers, some of whom are already starting to disrupt many industries.
Another
incentive to low code is greater accessibility, fewer bugs, and more specifically, lower costs. All these factors are bound to push demand for low code application development.
The Democratization of App Development
Just as we saw a rise in DIY site building tools, we could see a future where more cash strapped entrepreneurs will turn to easy to use low-code app programming platforms to create fully functional apps. These platforms will come will all the tools needed
for people with little to no development skills code script on their own. This doesn’t mean however that developer will become obsolete. While non tech related sectors could have all their needs met by an in-house app, companies that develop more complex
solutions will still need people for
maintenance and management.
No matter what the future of financial apps looks like, one thing is for certain, and that it will look vastly different than today. Developers would be wise to start paying caution to the wind, and see how they can adapt their approach to these new realities.