OQTACORE - Web & Mobile development

Do you know that applications to start new businesses nearly hit 5.4 million in 2021? This is the most of any year on record, and the number of new business projects is not going to drop in 2022. Chances are, you've been thinking about starting a business yourself. About 65% of Americans polled believe they can start their own business – this figure is about the same around the world.

If you're determined to create your own business project, you're going to have to face some stiff competition. There are so many entrepreneurs with amazing projects right now. Can you come up with an equally cool business idea if you want to start your own business in 2022?

The OQTACORE team has decided to help you out! We've talked to business experts and entrepreneurs, analyzed the modern market, and prepared for you the top 3 business ideas you can actualise to grow a profitable business in 2022 and beyond.

Blockchain Solutions for Healthcare
We couldn't help but mention blockchain. Its main feature - immutability - would come in handy in modern healthcare. Thanks to blockchain, it would be at least impossible to lose your medical records or change the data in them. To learn more about how blockchain could help medicine, read our article here:

Business Idea Validator
Or a platform that will test whether a future business is viable and profitable. The platform works based on a simple principle: you practically arrange a pitching session for it – you enter sales statistics, market volumes, competitor figures, and other parameters into the validator; you describe the market problem and its solution. Then, based on the parameters entered, a mathematical model is built, which allows you to determine what investments you need the least, and whether your business idea is generally viable from the point of view of the model.

This sounds utopian, but in fact that's how hundreds of investment and analytical companies work. It’s not just software that builds the model, but individual specialists. For example, OQTACORE regularly analyzes its clients' ideas before the project could be commenced. Having a publicly accessible business idea validator would be of great help to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Migration-as-a-Service
Imagine how convenient it would be if you could migrate your company data or software to the cloud in just a couple of clicks. Yes, such platforms already exist. For example, Zapier enables you to migrate data from your internal booking system to a particular CRM. However, Zapier and its counterparts are incredibly complex and not user-friendly.

Of course, if you need to transfer a huge amount of data or all your software to the cloud, you will need to turn to companies that specialize in complete cloud migration, such as OQTACORE. However, to move simpler data, such as information from the CRM, you can create a separate and convenient platform. Perhaps your company could create such a platform!

What business ideas do you think will score a big win in 2022? Leave your opinions in the comments. 👇👇👇

Today, UX design plays a paramount role in determining whether customers will use your product. A report by AWS shows that 88% of online users say they wouldn't return to a product with a poor UX. Moreover, design quality affects business performance. According to UX Planet, every $1 spent on improving UX brings $10 to $100 in return in the long run.

IT companies in 2022 should follow the design market and stay on top of trends. This year, there are new solutions that will improve user experience and customer engagement. OQTACORE has identified 3 top UX design trends to look out for in 2022; they will help you to create a better product.

Customization
UX design is the cornerstone of good user onboarding. It is concerned with building a relationship between the product and the user, persuading the user on why your product is better than the product from your competitors. Onboarding can be done by customizing the interface for each customer.

Personalization
Designing an interface that adapts to the user and their tasks.

Example: In workspace software Notion, the user can either register an individual or a team account. Depending on the choice, the onboarding flow setting will change, the app will show which functionality the client may not use.

Microsurveys
Interfaces are now featuring pop-ups with short surveys in order to get feedback from users.

Example: After creating a new board in Miro, a pop-up window will appear, where you can use emojis to rate the app.

Emotional design
A good UX design is not only about onboarding. Another UX goal is to evoke positive emotions in users, such as joy and fun. This would make the user to be more quickly involved in the interaction; a deeper connection between the user and the product would be formed.

Gamification
Game elements don't necessarily make an app "childish". A game can be used to evoke emotions in the user, which would make them want to return to the app faster.

Example: In Asana, a project management solution, when the user checks off a completed task in the interface, a fairy creature - a unicorn, yeti, narwhal, or phoenix - appears on the screen, happy that the user has successfully completed the task.

Microinteractions
Small, interactive interface details that make interaction more intuitive and keeps the user engaged.

Example: Airtable, a low-code platform for building collaborative apps, shows the user small tooltips, such as error messages, notifications about new features, or answers to FAQs.

Interfaces of the future
Here we've included interface designs that make the world look like an ultra-modern future, but which are already all around us:

VR and AR
These are not just games, but 3D interfaces within virtual reality, or interfaces that literally extend reality using familiar devices like a smartphone or computer.

Example: IKEA Place is an augmented reality app with a minimalist interface. It has a single function - it allows the client to test IKEA furniture in real time and virtually place it in their apartment using a smartphone camera.

Voice interfaces
Voice user interfaces are more intuitive than tapping on a touch screen device. For example, users can take notes, set reminders or search for cafes on a map just by talking to a voice assistant.

Example: Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and other assistants.

The OQTACORE team will give you a clean, consistent, pleasant user experience and visually appealing interface for your product. We use all modern design methods and we constantly analyze current trends to make the interaction convenient and more engaging for your customers.

How a CTO can benefit your company

No one can deny that the quality of any digital product depends on how the development process is structured and what tools the team uses. But really, not all businesses understand this. Only 7% of companies were able to fully adopt digital technology into their organization, although digital-first companies are 64% more likely to achieve their business goals than their peers. For a company to understand how to technically create a product and make development effective, it needs a chief technology officer (CTO). Let's find out more about this business role.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a CTO?

1. Defines the tech stack of the project. That is, they understand the best way to develop your digital product and choose the most effective tools. The CTO determines what programming languages to write in, which libraries and frameworks to use and at what stages, or which platform to store data on, and so on. Besides, the chief technology officer makes sure that the product development is in line with modern standards. You don't want customers to get a product that is outdated at launch, do you?

2. Comes up with a technology strategy. It's not enough to just answer the question "What do we need to create a product?” You need to understand HOW to create it; that's why the CTO creates a plan: defines the technical goal of the project, development approach and methodology (e.g., Agile), determines the talent needed, structures developers' work into stages, and then calculates the deadlines and cost for each stage.

3. Helps in creating the roadmap. Technical strategy is part of the product strategy, so the CTO, together with product managers, also supplement the product roadmap with development technical features and stages. After that, the entire team gets down to development, and then the CTO oversees the work such that everyone performs tasks in accordance with business goals.

The CTO provides the following benefits in product development:
Determines how feasible the business idea is. Viability of a product depends on the limitations of the tech stack and how it is used. The CTO helps the CEO and other stakeholders to understand if the product is feasible from the original idea and if the idea is worth tweaking.

Increases the company's competitive advantage. A chief technology officer understands which technologies are effective and which are trending or innovative. Innovation is important for business, and companies understand this. A report by Booz & Co. found that innovative organisations have 11% more revenue than their less creative counterparts. So, the CTO helps businesses innovate and make development more efficient.

You need a CTO if:
-Your company has never launched a tech project, and you're not familiar with the technology and intricacies involved in developing such product
-Your company needs technological development and digital transformation
-Your developers need a leader and technology expert who will set up the technical process of creating the product

If you have a business idea and you need a development team led by a seasoned tech veteran, schedule a call with Dmitry Elisov, the chief technology officer, OQTACORE: https://calendly.com/oqtacore/meeting?month=2022-09

🧠 Is technology making its way to psychotherapy?

HealthTech is a huge market where startups are solving pressing healthcare problems. According to Vantage, the digital health market size is expected to reach $430.52 billion by 2028. 💊 Digital mental health products are becoming a new trend in this business.

OQTACORE takes a look at the digital mental health market.

What led to the growth of digital mental health?
We don't think the answer will surprise you - the COVID-19 pandemic. For a year or more, people were locked up, some with family and some working remotely all by themselves; there was almost no face-to-face interaction among people. Such stress took a toll on people's mental state. KFF reports that nearly half of American adults reported anxiety or depression amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparison, from January to June 2019, one in 10 reported these symptoms.

COVID-19 has highlighted the mental health problem for venture capitalists - customers need more solutions. According to CBInsights, global funding to mental health tech startups reached $5.5B in 2021, jumping from $3.3B in 2020. This market surge paved the way for a positive trend in the development of digital mental health.

OQTACORE's review of the digital mental health market.
We have identified and analyzed 3 key segments of the digital mental health market for 2020-2022*:

Ongoing therapy and mental support.

Percentage of companies: 46-48%
Average funding: $6.2M
Business model: Freemium or SaaS
Biggest companies and products: HelloBetter, Happify, Reflectly, HeadSpace.

Description: Platforms and apps that replace therapy sessions or help patients self-monitor and improve their mental health: self-coaching apps, meditation apps, interactive games based on cognitive behavioral therapy, and much more.

An example is HeadSpace. The patient gets 10 free sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy meditations. For a subscription fee, they get more sessions and a package of self-coaching programs.

Telepsychiatry and other gateways to mental health.

Percentage of companies: 31%
Average funding: $7.5M
Business model: Pay-per-product or SaaS
Biggest companies and products: Ieso Health, Moka.Care, Lyra, Ableto.

Description: Startups in this segment develop platforms for therapist-patient communication. These can be online video communication services, chatbots, services for finding a therapist or coach, etc.

An example is Speak.Help, developed together with OQTACORE. The service is a freelance platform for psychologists. Clients can schedule on-demand pay-by-minute encrypted audio/video calls or have weekly text & voice messaging subscriptions with psychologists.

Tech-enabled therapy providers.

Percentage of companies: 20-23%
Average funding: $5.2M
Business model: Product-based subscription or SaaS
Biggest companies and products: Thymia, YBrain, OxfordVR, NeuroTrack.

Description: High-tech segment - artificial intelligence for patient observation and symptom analysis, VR/AR for treatment of complex mental disorders, biometric diagnostic tools and other technologies that make treatment more effective.

An example is Dreem, whose headbands measure sleep patterns and then sends the data to an app for analysis and diagnosis. Both the headband and the app are available by subscription.

*The data presented are estimates; there are no verified global statistics in the public domain

Mental health tech continues to evolve. Amidst the global crisis, funding in this area, as in others, have fallen dramatically - about $0.8 billion in mid-2022. However, OQTACORE expects growth to resume next year.

What do you think about the growth of digital mental health? Leave your opinion in the comments section.