Category: Software Development

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How digital banking can save your day in these tough times?

How digital banking can save your day in these tough times?

Introduction

With the Covid-19 continuing its infectious spread, banks and the financial sector are in dire need of new and refreshing customer experience. They have to get adjusted to the changed realities to serve and maintain their customers and involve them remotely. In order to deal with the challenges posed and stay afloat, several banks have transmitted positive vibes like perks of online banking to their customers’. Services such as comfort of performing round-the-clock transactions and access of instant information regarding their account happened to be measures which banks have taken these days to retain their customers. Also, some banks are even having tutorials to create awareness among their tech-unfriendly customers and upgrading the scope and type of transactions to maximize the use.

With the Covid-induced social distancing measures in place, the use of Digital banking has gone up immensely. This will have a direct bearing on how people will carry out banking transactions in future as well. Even users have taken to digital banking like fish to water as visits to brick-and-mortar branches have reduced.

Components that are highly likely to be affected shortly.

Changes in digital customer experience

Digital transformation has made its way into the banking and finance sectors some years back, and Covid 19 has only expedited the process. Instead of a luxury, this has become a necessity in the current scenario for banks and financial institutions. As per McKinsey report, customers who happened to be happy over digital banking experience will in all probability open new accounts and create more positive word of mouth. With social distancing being the new normal, banking procedures such as customer onboarding and product origination will be digitalized to offer an incredible digital experience to customers at the cool confines of their abodes.

More emphasis on engagement

With high perks on offer customers are highly likely to shift towards involvement through a digital banking experience. With digital transactions being more convenient and involving zilch physical efforts the trend will gain more traction even after the Covid-19 problems subside.

As per Harvard Business Review, the major repercussion of the pandemic is poised to be the spike in data-enabled services in every aspect of life. This means not just the operations arena, but banks will have to work harder in the domains of virtual sales and marketing to promote those services. Through data analytics tools and instant campaign management, banks will be able to transform customer data into logical insights and utilize the same via making the correct decisions at the appropriate time. This will assist banks to accelerate both involvement and bottom line in the post-Covid scenario.

Embracing next-gen tech

In the approaching years, banks will see a lot of changes in the digital market. Hence, banks and financial institutions will become increasingly receptive to embracing new technologies to add more convenience to their lives. Banks will even welcome more expandable and flexible technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, and Cloud platforms to serve the customers in the best possible manner. But, this evolving scenario will heighten competition, which would prompt banks to keep on delivering new improvements and features through their banking apps.

Finally

Hence, it is easy to surmise that the digital trends that have caught the imaginations of many are highly likely to flourish as a result of the pandemic. Retail banks and other financial institutions that can change their work patterns in line with the existing reality, adopting digital technologies, will make more more impact in the mercurial market in the future.

We can assist you with digital transformation techniques through our development and industry expertise. In case you wish to learn more about how we can aid you in these tough times then approach us without any hesitation.

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How can businesses benefit with Airbnb’s API?

How can businesses benefit with Airbnb's API?

Airbnb started off in 2008 with the objective of transforming the landscape of vacation rentals or Short-term rentals. Over the years, it has evolved into one of the biggest entities with footprints worldwide and a robust brand name. It provides a perfect platform for people to rent out their vacant residential spaces for travelers or tourists for a short duration. The duration could be one day or several months at a time. Presently, the Airbnb has ceased to be a mere trading space that connects hosts and tourists. It has gone way beyond the realm of rooms and apartments. The platform, currently, also provides local experiences and exclusive information on premium rental spaces for those eyeing world class amenities and facilities. In fact, the Airbnb is also eyeing a bigger pie in the hospitality segment by exploring new arenas.

The online marketplace has also provided people the opportunity to start independent property rental businesses. Over here, they are only required to deliver the property. The other essential things such as the listing, money transactions and customer assistance are very well looked after by the Airbnb. So, the platform has opened several potential business opportunities and it offers all kinds of assistance to business owners. All these could not have been possible without its Application Programming Interface (API).

What exactly is this API?

An Application Programming Interface (API) is a medium that connects two software applications. The applications cannot interact with each other without an API. The interface is widely-widely used, but not many are aware of the same. This is extremely beneficial for developers. For instance, if an application wants to click photos through the camera of a device, the developer does not have to build a camera interface. He or she only has to utilize the camera API of the operating system to insert the built-in camera interface into their app.

The application interface is significant in the matters of security as well. It can restrict the access control on hardware and software functionality for an app. For example, if an app wants access to a device camera via an API, it could be denied the same by the user upon prompting. This totally eliminates all the possibility for an app to access the camera. So, the API ensures that security of a device is not breached by a third-party software application.

Airbnb’s API not for everyone

The Airbnb came out with a distinct API of its own in 2017. The entity has always tread with caution when it comes to selecting partners. Despite heavy demand, the Airbnb had not given access to its API to other companies to make products using its platform.

However, the platform, eventually, became a part of the developer community in 2017 with its API. Following this, external developers got access to the Airbnb API. But, the API is not yet accessible to everyone as Airbnb has put in place several procedural safeguards to restrict the access. Due to the stringent policy, it becomes extremely tough to access the API. This way Airbnb is treading a unique path compared to other businesses in operation.

Benefits of Airbnb’s API to businesses

For those wanting to list their properties on Airbnb space, its API can be a very handy tool. This aspect motivates developers to incorporate effective tools in the API with which people, who list on Airbnb, can gain good control over the online marketplace.

The API provides users with a tool called OAuth. The tool is an open protocol which facilitates authorization of mobile and web applications conveniently in a standardized manner. The OAuth enables users to update the content and the rates of their listings via a single app.

It should also be noted that APIs permits software to software interaction. This implies that the Airbnb can also dispatch data back to the custom apps. So, when people make bookings via Airbnb platform, they will also get reservation and messaging details via API. This aspect ensures that businesses, which use the platform, can streamline their operations in an effective manner.

The procedure to acquire the Airbnb API

Despite being part of the developer community, the API of Airbnb is not easily accessible. The Airbnb has a very stringent policy in terms of providing access to the API.

Earlier, the interested parties had to fill out a form. Then on the basis of this, the company’s partnership managers took a decision on providing access to the API. However, this process has been put on hold now. Currently, the company’s worldwide team of partner managers is providing access to businesses on the basis of the supply potential, the technological prowess, and the capacity to support shared customers. Hence, the ideal option is to approach the company directly or through the partner managers.

If they permit you as a partner, then the Airbnb will give you API documentation in order to work out a development timeline. Now, developers can finish their task and launch the application.

In case of any doubt, seek the help of Airbnb partner manager. Once things are in place, you can start incorporating the list of lodging on the Airbnb platform through the API connection and start receiving travelers from all around the world.

Benefits of Integrating Airbnb API into your business

There are immense benefits for those businesses looking to integrate the Airbnb’s API. It becomes easier to manage the listing on Airbnb platform. You only need to log in to make any tweaks to the content listed, be it about the vacant space or price. In case you have multiple listing on the website, then you need to manage or change the content manually, which could consume a lot of time. However, with a custom property management software, linked to the website via Airbnb’s API, will help you make any number of amends in quick time.

This happens to be one of the convenient methods to manage list of properties on Airbnb.

In case you are dealing with multitudes of renters, then messaging each and every one manually can be a herculean task. In such a scenario, automated messages are the best options to respond quickly to each and every queries. So, an API-linked software can effectively deal with multiple queries and improve your image among customers.

This also helps in customer creation and retention as they would get a feeling that you would be around in case of any issue. In case, developers require any technical assistance that is not there in the documentation for the API, Airbnb’s worldwide team of partner managers will always be there to help you out.

Also Read : What Is API & How Does It Work ?

Seek expert’s help for API integration

If done properly API integration can work wonders for your business. However, the company would suffer a lot if the same is not performed with due diligence. As discussed previously, the API connects two softwares so as to facilitate effective communication between the two.

Hence it becomes imperative to entrust the task of integrating custom software solutions with APIs to experienced and skilled developers. For this you can trust Winklix with your eyes closed. Winklix happens to be one of the leading software companies across the world, which has successfully partnered with both renowned global brands and startups. Be it the custom CMS, payment gateway, mobile app or API integration with Airbnb, our skilled developers with their high-class expertise have accomplished everything. The company is based out of US with offices in Salt Lake City, Utah. So, get in touch with Winklix for any software development activities or smooth facilitation of Airbnb API integration.

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Does Coronavirus Forced You To Work Remotely For Very First Time ? Here Is Our Guide On How To Do It Effectively

Does Coronavirus Forced You To Work Remotely For Very First Time ? Here Is Our Guide On How To Do It Effectively

In this era of technology , many of us love being working remotely . But it necessarily does not means everyone in the company thinks in similar way . Some person might find it difficult to work from home . In your experience it may be frowned upon , disapproved or only be done one special circumstances , under forced rules . But now new to recent outbreak of Coronavirus worldwide , and we have been advised to maintain social distancing , which can asked employees of companies to mandate work from home policies for business on worldwide level , it’s time to get comfortable with practice . 

Remote workers can be rewarding situation for many companies . It has been found is study that working from home for employees increase overall productivity and mental satisfaction among employees . On the other hand it also have positive effects for employers like reducing spends , eliminating rent on physical space and so on . If there is pros , then will surely be cons as well . Some employee might feel isolated or gets distracted because of many reasons ( children’s playing , dirty dishes , changed social contacts etc ) .

How To Make A Switch To A Remove Worker 

Here is our guide on how to make work from home effective – specially when you are experiencing it for the first time and you have to make strong connection between clients , prospects and partners .

The basis : your home office setup 

The very first step that you can take is finding  isolated place at your home . If you are living in studio apartment with only one bedroom , the best place to work is on kitchen table with laptop table placement . If you have big house with two or more bedrooms , make one room dedicated towards working which should be noise free , distraction free and entry to that room will be restricted during working hours , which can often be denoted by sign board outside house .
We know this is not the permanent solution , but perhaps the preparation can go long way for temporary remote workers . 

Provide Training For Chosen Video Conferencing And Messaging Tools 

At Winklix , we use Slack for instant messing and Zoom for video conferencing with our team . As our workforce has been spread world-wide and majority of them work from home ( more than 60 % of us work from home ) , and that is the reason our team members are already familiar with this tool . Work from home is part of our dedicated IT team for providing ongoing support .
Irrespective of what you are already using or whatever your IT heads have decided t use immediately looking at the current scenario , it is mandatory to train your workforce in order to get maximum output . The training is achievable by providing live demo with representative tools with your entire team using preferred method ( eg , email , Salesforce Chatter , Slack announcement channel ) . 

Stick To Regular Check-ins And Virtual Forms Of Team Building 

If you have a tools to regularly check the work of employee then its great for remote work . It is suggestible to always have one hour video meeting with your team to check then they are on same page and it also keeps connectivity at forefront . 

Winklix use services of HiveDesk which helps employee to log in into app , and at the same time helps manager to track and see the screen shorts of work being carrying on by employee . It also facilitates task assignments , real time chats with employee and more . This also forced employee to timely check in and check out in the app during working hours in order to get them working time tracking along with work done by them .

Tools like slack and Trello makes it easy to collaborate with team and manage team worldwide .

How To Maintain Connections With Clients, Prospects And Partners 

Learning to work from home is one thing , but at the same time you should also take care of maintaining a healthier relationship with clients , prospects and partners which together called as health for your business . At a leading digital agency , Winklix has over decade of experience with digital first and remote relationship building .

Events Cancelled ? Move To Digital Value Exchanges 

We are already been experiencing live streaming for years , and now its no new bee for us . We all due to Coronavirus outbreak worldwide , are avoiding large conference , project kickoffs and even two or more in-person meeting , it does not necessarily means you have to make halt for meeting .

Webinars 

When you have to maintain social distancing  , you can provide webinars that is not only capable of attracting captive audience , but can also be used on social media and other platforms once they are recorded for future purposes 

Survey And Reports 

In order to reach client directly and giving them satisfying experience , you should send periodic surveys to clients about your industry , best practices and innovation in your space . 
So once the survey reports is collected it will help you and your clients as well in providing of long lasting impact on costly event. 

How To Get SAP / Software / SalesForce Support While You Are Fully On Remote  

We at Winklix with clients worldwide already have experience operating as remote team to satisfy the needs of client in relation to SAP / Customs software / Salesforce needs . Learn more about our services from Winklix by reaching us out right away .