Telehealth has changed how we treat and care for those who have medical maladies and are vulnerable. The latest innovations in this field are enabling people to live safer, fuller lives without the need for constant human supervision. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this abundantly clear; more healthcare facilities than ever before are embracing telemedicine in an effort to keep patients from in-person appointments that risk exposure to the deadly virus.

Recent telehealth innovations such as wearables heavily rely on the Internet of Things. With this technological paradigm, we can securely transmit and analyze data in order to unearth life-improving care plans. These capabilities allow aging populations to continue to live in their own homes while reducing the burden that many care facilities are experiencing at the moment. In this post, we’ll examine the benefits of furthering telehealth connectivity innovation and the factors needed to make it happen.

Enabling Patient Independence

Good connectivity is essential for three types of telehealth monitoring: passive, active, and condition.

Passive monitoring deals with medical applications and technologies in the patient’s home that quietly monitor his or her behavior. These devices usually only initiate action if they notice something concerning. For instance, the Alcuris Memo Hub connects a variety of smart devices around a patient’s home, like a tea kettle, TV, and lighting. If this platform notices a change in the patient’s typical pattern of behavior, it will issue an alert. It can also observe and trigger an alert for gradual changes that may indicate a revision to a health regimen is required.

Active monitoring entails devices such as panic buttons and two-way intercoms. In summation, these devices require proactive action, either from the patient or a caretaker.

Lastly, as its name implies, condition monitoring involves the monitoring of specific health conditions. It combines aspects of the first two approaches we’ve discussed with detailed health data, like blood pressure, heart rate, and movement.

Simplicity Is Essential

Digital health innovations help improve the quality of life for aging populations as well as patients living with chronic conditions and disabilities. They also help lower the costs and resources needed for adequate healthcare delivery for these cases.

Ensuring that telehealth devices have enough connectivity to reliably capture, share, and analyze data is absolutely necessary. Without proper connectivity, wrong conclusions (and consequently, outcomes) could be reached. But these connected devices need one more feature to take telehealth to the next level: the ability to work right out of the box.

Telehealth device manufacturers should configure their devices to seamlessly connect to a healthcare provider’s system seamlessly without any complexities. They should also be able to work anywhere, whether that’s Beijing or Los Angeles. Making telehealth devices and platforms plug-and-play is imperative since a large portion of their audience may not be tech-savvy or have the time to set up complicated systems.

Overcoming Connectivity Obstacles

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, chances are good that you have some experience with mobile phones. This means you’re also painfully familiar with the occurrence of black spots where your mobile device can’t receive a strong, reliable signal. Can you imagine this conundrum for a device that your life depends on?

When a patient’s life is on the line, we cannot compromise on connectivity. To mitigate this issue, telehealth devices should be capable of selecting the best network based on its location and even change between networks to minimize drop-out time. During a critical moment, a dropped connection can mean the difference between life and death. So any device in the telehealth market should offer strong, reliable, and continuous connectivity.

To ensure optimal connectivity, medical device makers must consider its importance from the start of the design process. This often translates to a few common factors for the device. For example, it must be lightweight, easy to operate, robust, and unobtrusive. Often, these elements restrict the design of these devices, which is something that manufacturers may have not dealt with before if they previously focused on larger or fixed devices.

On top of this, manufacturers must also think through what occurs at the back end of their telehealth devices. Do they connect to a cloud service through which analyses are run? Or is the data being transmitted to another human who needs convenient access to it? In this case, how should the information be presented? Alongside connectivity, this focus on communication must also be considered at the beginning of the design stage.

Don’t Forget Security

End-to-end security is always crucial for anything that handles sensitive data such as telehealth devices. Whether it’s your hardware or software, all of your connectivity platforms must be secured properly in order for your device to work effectively.

Unfortunately, several consumer SIMs lack advanced security protocols. They actually send data over standard internet channels, which increases the risk of this information being stolen or lost. To mitigate this, prioritize security early on in the device design phase.

Numerous IoT manufacturers treat device security as an afterthought. As we know from the IoT industry’s track record with data breaches, this has not worked out well. The same mistakes cannot be made when it comes to the personal data of patients.

Dedicated end-to-end security solutions are usually the best for telehealth devices. This involves measures such as data encryption at the device level, communication through trusted private networks and secure gateways, authentication, and authorization.

If you want to take things a step further (which is never a bad idea), add in data flow monitoring tools to detect any unusual activity. These could be your first indicators of a malicious attack taking place. Lastly, consider consulting a third-party pen tester before deployment.

Are You Ready for the Future of Telehealth?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this overview of how connectivity can help accelerate telehealth innovation. It may not be the first topic that comes to mind when you think of new capabilities in digital medicine, but it’s certainly among the most important. By emphasizing connectivity during the design of a telehealth device, you’re able to give patients and providers more peace of mind and unlock better outcomes for both parties.

Have you had any unusual experiences with telehealth connectivity? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Automatic clipping hanging machine with pack for sausages

Warning: This article serves as an industrial use case study for how meatpacking facilities are applying automation to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Consequently, many of the images in this post contain depictions of these meat processing operations that some would consider graphic. If this statement leaves you feeling squeamish, you may want to skip this one!

Grocery shoppers from Los Angeles to New York have noticed a decrease in meat on the shelves combined with higher prices for anything that’s in stock. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit meatpacking facilities hard, with thousands of workers getting sick and more than 30 dying. These facilities are cold, humid, and cramped, requiring workers to stand shoulder-to-shoulder working so fast that washing hands to adjust a face mask isn’t even possible.

With the help of the Internet of Things, an innovative technology that’s already improving business operations in industrial facilities all over the world, meatpacking factories can start to automate processes to reduce the number of employees needed on the floor at any given time.

Business As Usual During Uncertain Times

During the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of meat processing facilities have closed or slowed down operations. Grocery stores are now rationing meats. A Milwaukee-based sausage factory stopped manufacturing its hot dogs completely. But in Europe’s biggest pig slaughterhouse, the factory floor is completely automated. Robots do most of the work while being overseen by humans.

At this facility, everything is business as usual. Pigs come in on trucks around 5:30 AM. Workers herd the pigs into temporary pens on the 90-acre facility. A few hours later, a few pigs are nudged out of the pens and into CO2 gas chambers. The gas knocks them out, and they’re put onto a belt that helps position them for a worker to cut off each pig’s rear feet. From there, the pigs are transported to a moving production line. A worker cuts the pig’s carotid artery, and a vacuum is placed at the cut to lap up all of the blood.

After that, it’s up to the robots to finish the job. A laser-enabled robot measures the pig’s dimensions. Using those numbers, another robot cuts a 4-inch hole around the pig’s tail with a customized artificial intelligence (AI) application. It then reaches into the pig to take out any excrement that’s left inside the carcass. A bladed robot then cuts the pig from top to bottom before a robot mechanically removes organs, slashes tendons, and splits the spine.

The robot portion of the pig’s journey takes only ten minutes. At the end of the working day (midnight), a total of 18,000 pigs have been slaughtered, cleaned, excavated, and packaged.

Modernizing An Age-Old Process

This facility is one of the world’s largest, most modern, and most transparent meat processing facilities in the world.

In fact, many Danish slaughterhouses are heavily automated using IoT applications, and it’s helped them prevent becoming hotspots for COVID-19 infections. Out of 8,000 of the company’s Danish employees, less than 10 have tested positive for the virus. In stark contrast to America (and the rest of the world), none of the Danish slaughterhouses closed down or slowed production.

Meat scientists say that others in this sector and other industrial markets should take note of the Danish slaughterhouses. They’re a prime example of how to physically and technologically set up a facility for long-term success. Robots, IoT, and AI work together with humans to make meatpacking safer and more efficient.

Jayson Lusk is a food and agricultural economist at Purdue University. He says that the cost of not investing in IoT has come back as a bad consequence of failing to implement emerging technologies. According to Lusk, the US government doesn’t provide economic incentives to automate meat processing plants.

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As a result, meat facilities have employed undocumented workers instead of investing in new technologies. In the US, staying competitive as a meat facility depends on how many workers you have tending to the production line.

Progressing Forward Faster

Labor shortages are forcing meat facilities to change their business operations from the ground up. Poultry facilities in the US have become more automated for the last few decades; it took an hour to process 3,000 chickens in 1970, and we can process 15,000 chickens per hour today. But because chickens are much smaller than pigs and cows, the investment to automate is a lot lower.

In the past decade, pork and beef facilities have started introducing more automation into their factories. In 2018, a new pork facility in Michigan opened with automation and robots. It helped the company cut 300 employees while increasing output. The plant has been able to stay open through the pandemic, but it’s slowed down production because it ordered new protective equipment to install.

Close up bologna sliced plate on conveyor of automatic slicer machine for industrial food manufacture

Last year, Tyson Foods start investing heavily in robots for its pork facilities, in an effort to reduce the negative effects of labor shortages.

Preventing the Inevitable

Even if every meat plant in the world automated their production lines and installed robots overnight, it might still not prevent pathogens like COVID-19 from spreading throughout the factory.

Without a strong healthcare system, it’s impossible to prevent a contagion like COVID-19. Workers need to be able to work from home or stay at home when they’re sick without any worry about losing their job and health insurance.

It’s also extremely important that the government moves quickly when a pandemic or any global problem occurs. In the US, President Trump signed an executive order that made meat a critical and scarce “material essential to the national defense”. It meant that meat facilities stayed open while facing less legal liability, even if their workers got sick.

Prioritizing Worker Safety Is a Must

If lowering the number of people in a factory can lower the risk of infection, installing a few robots can help bring down the number of cases.

But automation takes time to implement and optimize. So, in the meantime, factories need to invest heavily in their employees, all of whom keep the factories running at full speed at the risk of their own health and lives. Without more value placed on worker safety and lives, it seems that robots may not help prevent the next pandemic at all.

Hopefully, other industrial facilities examine and learn some insights from the precedent set forth by Danish Crown’s meat processing facilities. What do you think of IoT-fueled automation? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

As we roll into the 2020s, we’re looking forward to how technology is going to vastly improve healthcare, and more specifically, the patient experience. Before the turn of the decade, we saw several new tech trends that will be implemented in the coming years. In this first part of our healthcare tech trends series, we’ll cover how artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), electronic health records (EHRs), 5G, blockchain, and chatbots will transform our medical experiences — and unlock a healthier future for us all.

The Promise of AI and ML

The rapid development of AI and ML are allowing us to apply these innovative emerging technologies to healthcare already; every year, the impact these two fields are making on healthcare grows larger. From automating patient follow-up and appointment-setting to enabling a robot to assist patients, AI has the potential to change and save lives.

Experts predict that consumers will eventually buy the latest AI-enabled healthcare apps to monitor and optimize their health without having to visit a doctor’s office.

But patients aren’t the only benefactors of AI in healthcare: therapists can use clinical AI robots to administer cognitive behavioral therapy, radiologists can employ AI to help them detect or dismiss health conditions, and robots can reduce paperwork for administrators. When providers and administrators experience time savings, patients wait less, services cost less, and diagnoses can become more accurate.

Improving EHRs

Patient medical records are currently in a disarray. In the US, if you move out of state, there’s a good chance that your new provider will be using a different EHR system than your previous provider.

These records come in a wide variety of forms that contain different facets of information. For example, EHRs contain general patient information, treatment plans, diagnoses, progress notes, surgery results, lab results, outcomes, and much more. The information could be attached as audio, video, or a piece of paper.

In the 2020s, experts want to see providers move to common EHRs so patients can seamlessly take their information to another doctor’s office. For medical professionals, EHRs save tons of time by allowing the provider to skip the usual basic questions and dig into other areas that may have been neglected in the past.

Patients can be reached through text and email without a receptionist having to lift a finger. And best of all, EHRs can’t get lost, burned, or stolen by a malicious party. They’re built with enhanced levels of cybersecurity and access levels to prevent data theft.

Seamless 5G Connectivity

5G has only been implemented in a few select cities like Los Angeles, so we haven’t experienced the true benefits of this cellular technology within our healthcare system yet. But when it becomes more widespread, we’re going to see 5G become a turning point for healthcare IT infrastructure. Most people’s experience with hospital Wi-Fi is that it’s either non-existent or mind-numbingly slow.

With 5G, a hospital can truly become connected. Remotely monitoring patients in real-time, paging doctors immediately when something doesn’t look right, and faster loading speeds for those huge medical image files are some of the first improvements 5G will bring.

Down the line, ambulances en-route can send the emergency room staff the patient’s EHR without any latency issues, families can monitor their loved ones without the risk of contaminating their hospital room, and a concierge robot can keep you posted about your loved ones’ vitals, rather than you having to bug a very busy nurse.

Imagine using a 5G network to remotely train physicians for surgery and administration, a remote surgery taking place internationally on a 5G network, and AI working in real-time to analyze patients across the entire hospital.

It’s difficult to predict exactly how we’ll use 5G over the next decade, but experts expect 5G to completely transform several aspects of the patient experience.

Implementing Blockchain

Blockchain is a trendy technology that many people dismissed as an overhyped paradigm that didn’t hold much potential for medical applications. But because blockchains have built-in anonymity and security, it turns out that it’s actually the perfect technology to implement in healthcare.

Using blockchain to secure EHRs would create records of who accessed which record at what time. It anonymizes EHRs so that hackers can’t steal personal or identifiable information using cryptography.

One of blockchain’s best features is that peer networks copy blockchains in real-time, so if the original blockchain was ever corrupted, deleted, or stolen, there are multiple copies of the blockchain living on different networks that hold the truth.

Intuitive, Personable Chatbots

Chatbots are already improving by the day. Whereas we used to give a chatbot our email address so a human could contact us, they’re now coded and routinely optimized with answers to common questions and issues.

Chatbots in the healthcare industry can provide a great source of comfort and information to patients and their families. They offer empathy and emotional support to patients. Patient-only chatbots track the patient’s health, connect the patient to clinicians for diagnosis and treatment options, and analyze the patient’s data. Other chatbots help rural patients deal with emergency situations and simpler medical issues with a walk-through-style conversation.

Revolutionizing the Healthcare Game

Healthcare is already a $200 billion industry. But the technologies we’ve discussed will expand the industry’s worth exponentially over the next few years.

In our next post, we’ll cover how computer vision and image recognition, wearables, virtual reality, telemedicine, and voice search are going to impact medicine and the patient experience in the 2020s. So stay tuned!

Have you seen any of these technologies implemented in a cool way at your doctor’s office or at your local hospital? Let us know in the comments below!

In fact, lack of cybersecurity in IoT systems is actually hindering the field from reaching its full potential. To make matters worse, security features for IoT applications can vary from developer to developer. It, unfortunately, isn’t uncommon for security to take a backseat in the development process until the end, when there’s no budget or time left to implement a proper solution.

But this approach isn’t cutting it. In IoT applications, it’s not enough to create a set-it-and-forget-it security layer; IoT isn’t like a PC or any previous technology we’ve encountered before. Because there are so many sensors, devices, and a cloud component, it takes a lot of thought and planning to create a robust, secure IoT system.

Could AI help solve this conundrum before it’s too late? The short answer is yes and no. The long answer? Keep reading.

The Bright Side: Helpful AI

Right now, AI development within IoT applications is limited to data analysis, predictive analytics, and generating notifications for a human to take a closer look. It does very well in this area, and there’s still a lot to learn and apply. But even this application results in a lot of false positives for humans to sift through manually. In this case, applying AI to assist with IoT cybersecurity could cause more issues than it helps solve.

Is it possible for AI to train on known patterns of security attacks and breaches? Yes, but we would have to put the IoT system itself through the attacks multiple times so the AI can learn each nuance properly. And when hackers change up their methods and patterns, we’ll have to ensure our AI-enhanced cybersecurity protocols are trained on these changes immediately. Otherwise, this type of AI application can quickly make itself become obsolete and useless.

Whereas a company may have full-time dedicated cybersecurity and IT teams, it would also be imperative that they employ a full-time team of ethical hackers to constantly come up with new ways to breach their company’s security protocols. Even then, it’s not a 100% guarantee that an IoT system is fully secured against any type of hacking attempt.

One major hurdle is the lack of training data available for these breaches; companies who’ve been breached in the past are not likely to openly give out details of how and why their security systems were breached. Because of the nature of the Internet, anyone could use this information maliciously against other companies or against the same company again.

And more importantly, releasing information about a breach implicates personal and sensitive data that could upset customers.

The Dark Side: Malicious AI

AI is what you make it. If you’re developing AI with malicious intent, it can certainly be used to bring down a business’s operations for a few days or leak private data into the open waters of the Internet.

And as hackers get smarter and more creative with the increasing number of tools at their disposal, AI will be used to help breaches successfully occur, rather than help prevent them. This type of AI has already been lovingly named by experts as “enemy-AI”.

Enemy-AI is arguably easier to develop, train (it’ll take any training data it can get because any information can help it facilitate a security breach), and apply to attacks, especially when compared to using AI as a defense mechanism.

When we discussed companies not releasing breach information to the public, we see that with enemy-AI, there is no ethical standpoint. With hackers, we must assume that they have no morals or ethics that they follow; if something can yield losses for a company, we must assume that hackers find that information valuable as a result.

Which Will Take the Cake?

The cynic in us believes the malicious AI can easily win over the defense AI. But there is hope yet because it’s likely that neither “side” will ever truly win. There is a ton of value in using AI for IoT security. As far as what this value is used for depends on who gets to it first and who implements it best.

Ultimately, developers must prioritize security as a main part of IoT systems development. At our Los Angeles-based mobile app development studio, we’re planning for security layers in our applications from Day 1; we believe cybersecurity is so important to connected devices and systems that our own CTO is an ethical hacker!

Although AI has limitless potential for every industry today, we mustn’t expect it to do all of the heavy lifting, especially in the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity. AI is a tool that imperfectly does what we tell it to do, and we mustn’t expect anything more from it — at least for now.

2018 was a great year for mobile app development. But it was really just getting us ready for 2019. What’s in store for 2019? Well, we’re glad you asked! Let’s take a look at the biggest trends coming up in the new year.

Send in the Chatbots

At our Los Angeles development HQ, we’re always excited to take on new projects in the chatbot market. Chatbots are forecasted to grow to $1.25 billion by 2025. It’s easy to see why: They’re great virtual assistants that satisfy modern business needs.

Studies show that up to 50% of B2B buyers prefer self-help options. And thanks to AI, integrating a chatbot into your app isn’t a tedious programming chore anymore. In 2019, chatbot personalization will become more sophisticated and streamlined.

An Accelerated Mobile Experience

Google’s AMP (Application Performance Management) pages result in faster, better experiences for mobile browser users (and as a result, better retention). In 2019, this technology will be central to better speeds and performance in apps.

2016 introduced instant apps, native mobile applications that don’t need to be downloaded; they’re smaller than regular apps, and they lower waiting times when first setting up a new phone. This convenient way to simplify installation will be a welcome trend in 2019.

The Convergence of IoT, Wearables, and Location-Based Technology

Wearables are forecasted to expand market penetration; experts say the fitness wearables market is projected to rise 64% by 2019.

Combining wearable devices and mobile apps with IoT and location-based tech will help to create a more holistic health and fitness experience. Expanding this field to IoT can bring in additional sensors and trackers to feed more multivariate data into the existing model.

And although most wearables are focused on health and fitness, developers have the freedom to create a solution for any problem they deem solvable with wearables. Beacon Technology uses GPS to get a user’s location and send them an automated, customized message. For example, when you walk into a store, your phone will vibrate and show you a coupon you can use at the register.

We look forward to seeing how location-based technology is implemented around us in the near future, whether it be at airports, during mobile payments, or custom beacons for your own home.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

AR and VR are projected to generate $200 billion in revenue by 2020. In 2019, we can expect to see these emerging technologies exert more influence over mobile strategies.

Hardware is getting better; more smartphone manufacturers are integrating dedicated AR and VR platforms into their devices. And with more intuitive development kits to navigate and utilize, software is getting better too. So it’s no surprise that developers are set to create unique, beautiful user experiences with AR and VR in 2019.

As in recent years, AR will most likely steal most of the spotlight due to its practical applicability to various scenarios that VR is not suitable for.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Perhaps no other disruptive technology is impacting mobile app development more than AI. Today, integrating your app with machine learning (ML) has never been easier. And the benefits it offers are almost immediately realized.

ML and AI will particularly impact conversational agents like chatbots and virtual assistants in 2019. But that honestly doesn’t even touch the tip of the iceberg for the potential AI offers for business and consumers. Expect to see AI and ML implemented in novel ways this coming year.

Payments on the Go

Seamless and flexible payment systems are now expected by consumers from institutions; digital wallets and cryptocurrencies will continue to impact mobile app development in 2019.

There is a lot of potential for mobile blockchain applications in the next five years. And with e-commerce continually growing, mobile payment gateways will absolutely need to be secure, reliable, and convenient.

Integrating with the Cloud

If your mobile app developers don’t utilize the cloud to offload device wear and tear, you’ll want to make sure you’re including the cloud in your apps moving forward. With better storage options, loading times, and reduced hosting costs, the cloud can streamline the customer’s experience and the business’s operational workflow.

Research also shows that users are more likely to return to your app when an app uses the cloud.

Stronger Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity will become a big topic of discussion for many technologies and the industries in which they’re operating. In particular, mobile app data security is generally weak. Uber recently admitted to getting hacked, Facebook gave away user information without their explicit permission, and the EU recently fined Google $5 billion for Android anti-trust practices.

There’s clearly room for improvement. Hopefully, 2019 is the year industry leaders make it a priority.

Investing in cybersecurity can cost a lot up front, but it (obviously) costs more to replace your codebase and apologize to customers for losing their information. As consumers start prioritizing cybersecurity in their devices and software, mobile app developers cannot afford to fall behind in cybersecurity in 2019.

Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics are being used to improve the user experience in apps for Facebook, Apple, and Google. A mobile app’s UI or UX can change depending on what predictions are made about your browsing behavior and interests.

This field will only get stronger with more data, so implementing predictive analytics, whether in your development workflow or in your actual app, can win you incremental improvements over time — which can become substantial, fast.

On-Demand Apps

The on-demand business model is growing beyond Uber, Postmates, and Seamless. In 2019, apps in this space will be enhanced by better UX/UI designs, predictive analytics, chatbots, and other technologies, like machine learning.

Even though it doesn’t seem like it can expand any further, this field will continue to grow and innovate new ways to bring us new services. And users will find that their feedback matters most for developers creating on-demand apps.

Your Imagination Is Your Only Limitation

2019 is the year for innovation in mobile apps. Many emerging technologies have evolved to the point that they’re ready for effective implementation. So this new year, creativity will be the name of the game for all involved with mobile apps.

What do you think is the most interesting mobile app development trend for 2019? Let us know in the comments below!

This year I started attending Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management (OPM) program. On my first day there, I didn’t know what to expect. Little did I know, this life event wasn’t only an opportunity to innovate with talented business leaders from around the world — it was a chance to step back from my day-in-day-out role at Dogtown Media, a mobile app development company, and examine my situation from a holistic perspective.

About the Program

Running a company is an all-encompassing endeavor that often leaves you with little time for personal growth. Fortunately, the folks at Harvard knew this; that’s why they established the OPM program more than 40 years ago. The program is designed to help business leaders realize their true potential.

“Through a unique and intensive learning format, OPM enables you to assess your strengths and weaknesses, identify and exploit emerging opportunities, and transform your company and your career.” According to Harvard University..

My class consisted of 160 founders and entrepreneurs from 41 different countries. Industries ranged from finance and marketing to tech, healthcare, and manufacturing. But regardless of our differences, we had one objective uniting us: to improve ourselves so we could improve our respective businesses.

Here are my 5 top takeaways from the program:

1. Cultivating Company Culture Is Crucial

Company culture can feel like a subtle aspect of your organization. But it’s integral to how your team operates. The OPM program strongly stressed the importance of examining and investing in your company culture. After all, its effects cascade through every other facet of your business.

To start this process yourself, begin with “Why?” Why is your company doing what it’s doing? Why would anyone want to join your team? Why should they care about your vision? Why do you care about your mission?

Don’t underestimate the power of “Why?” Your team is everything. The most important investment any business makes is in its people. And if you can answer “Why?” succinctly, everything else about company culture falls into place.  

Your team will understand why you exist and why you do what you do. This insight produces a vision that everyone can share. It allows you to move forward toward that vision, together.

2. Get Back to the Basics of Business

At first glance, it may seem counter-intuitive to gather business pioneers together to discuss the basic of business. But in retrospect, it makes sense — your fundamentals are your foundation. They are the building blocks for a better business.

Ask yourself, what business are you in? Who are your clients? Who are your competitors? Do you know why your clients choose you over your competitors? What about the inverse: why do you lose business to your competitors?

Digging deep into these questions yield unparalleled insight into your overall strategy. And this is the first step to making a shift to win more business. You start realizing the nuances of how your company differentiates itself and what you’re doing better or worse than competitors.

In turn, this enables you to become more customer-centric by aligning your long-term vision with the people you want to do business with. Speaking of alignment…

3. Align Your Finances With Your Vision of the Future

Is your business growing how you thought it would? Are you planning to execute a growth strategy soon, or are you content with where you’re at? And if you are intent on expanding, how will this affect pricing, cost control, cash flow, and numerous other aspects of your operations?

At the end of the day, business really isn’t all about your bottom line — it’s about how you use it to catapult yourself toward the future you envision. Ensure your strategy going forward is financially aligned with your fundamentals.

It’s not as simple as always having more cash flowing in than out. When you’re getting ready for growth, you must pay special attention to how you’re utilizing your current finances; it’s the only way to retain a great return on investment.

4. Know When to Hold on and When to Let Go

Are your duties discretely defined? Or are the lines blurred? When you’re growing a business, delegation becomes of paramount importance. Unfortunately, it’s a fact that many entrepreneurs have trouble accepting.

If you’re in charge of guiding a team towards success, you can’t be held back by the day-to-day grind. You’ve already got a vision, culture, and strategy to worry about. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Make sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew. This not only impedes progress but could actually be detrimental as well.

You’ve spent an inordinate amount of time gathering together your team. You know you’ve got the right people in the right places to make something special happen. So trust them. Empower your team to execute upon the strategy you’ve planned together.

5. You Don’t Have All the Answers. And That’s Okay.

This was my favorite insight to learn (and the hardest one to stomach). When you’re leading your business, you want to believe in yourself. You want to have all the right answers. After all, you’re often dealing with an onslaught of obstacles. So it makes sense that you’d want to trust in your abilities to handle them.

I came into the OPM program seeking answers to a plethora of questions. I wanted to learn from brilliant minds like Larry Culp, who, less than a week after the program’s end, went on to become the next CEO of General Electric.

And sure enough, I got answers. But not the ones I anticipated. As in other areas of life, business success depends on adaptability. And true adaptability begins with acceptance of the fact that you don’t have all the answers.

That’s okay. You don’t need all the answers right now. In life, we’re often faced with less-than-ideal situations where we don’t have all the information we think we need. But that doesn’t need to stop you from moving forward. You can figure out a way to move past each obstacle, no matter how insurmountable it seems. Just take it one step at a time.

Always Stay a Student

While this was my first day back to school in a while, it certainly won’t be my last. The lessons I learned at Harvard’s OPM program have given me an exceptional outlook on my role at Dogtown Media and how I can improve as a leader.

But above all else, this remains the most important insight:

Never stop learning.

At Dogtown Media, we specialize in mobile app development, grounded with expert knowledge in the internet of things, fintech, medical tech and user interface design. We are determined to take on your next project and create an app that will help your business grow.

Clutch, a company that publishes unbiased reviews of B2B companies, has featured us once again in a recent press release of top California mobile app development companies.  We’re excited to share that we have been featured highly in their directory list of the top mobile app developers in California. This honor adds to our previous recognition as a top California Mobile App Development Company on DesignRush.

Clutch’s ranking algorithm takes many pieces of information into account when displaying companies on their directory pages; the most important part of Clutch’s ranking algorithm is client reviews. To date, we have received over 20 positive reviews. Our clients aren’t shy to share their successes with Clutch:

“Dogtown Media developed a solution for a project considered impossible to do in the tech world.”

“They were extremely responsive and supportive and I never felt like I was working on anything on my own.”

“Their work has made my life easier by automating features in the app that I was doing manually.”

In addition to our feature on Clutch, we were also mentioned on their sister-site, The Manifest.  We are pleased to announce that we were listed as one of the top mobile app development companies in the world on The Manifest.

Here at Dogtown Media, we are ready to improve your business by creating vital apps that will allow your business to access your consumers at all times.  Our team will work directly with your business to assess how to stand apart from competitors as well. We look forward to taking on your next project!

By now, we’ve all heard of or experienced the transformation of living rooms and kitchen areas into smart spaces with the help of devices like Alexa. But Internet of Things (IoT) development is also reshaping the commercial and industrial landscape with automation, predictive analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Manufacturers and suppliers around the world are already capitalizing on major benefits throughout the supply chain from industrial IoT (IIoT). In fact, our next industrial revolution (called “the Industrial Revolution 4.0” by many experts) is riding on the cusp of IIoT’s newest features.

IoT Is Catalyzing the 4th Industrial Revolution

Using IIoT, AI, and edge computing, enterprises can combine data from multiple sources to distill insights to apply across the entire operation. This includes information from customers, sensors, service providers, employee input, and more. The result is real-time analysis that outputs actionable information, creating an automated system that just keeps improving with each iteration.

As Robert Schmid, the Digital IoT Chief Technologist at Deloitte, explains, “In IIoT technology, sensors are attached to physical assets. Those sensors gather data, store it wirelessly, and use analytics and machine learning to take some kind of action.”

The meteoric rise of IIoT occurred within the first two decades of IoT’s growth. No one knows where IIoT will take us or its long-term consequences. But we do know it’ll bring businesses unparalleled efficiency and unprecedented capabilities, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars saved. Linear, rigid supply chain structures will become interconnected, dynamic, and highly-optimized systems.

And at the center of these systems are the customers’ needs.

Ensuring Customers’ Expectations Are Exceeded

Providing customers and clients with a great experience is the main goal of any business. With massive amounts of data available for support teams to look through, customers can get a clear picture of progress on a problem; it’s easy to track whether the customer’s package left the warehouse yet or where it might be stuck in the shipping process. And with this information and the help of chatbots and data analysis dashboards, any real-time demands can be met with accurate information.

Many experts believe that the power of IIoT depends on notifications and updates to react to sensors and machine data accordingly. After all, if companies aren’t going to use the data to continuously improve their systems or customer experience, what’s the point?

Predictive and Preventative Maintenance

Similarly, if there is no notification for emergencies, why even go through the trouble of installing advanced monitoring technology?

Because every machine is outfitted with sensors, it’s easy to keep track of which are more likely to be in need of repair soon. In many cases, sensors can be set to send an alert when they reach a certain threshold level. Engineers can be dispatched to the problem, drastically decreasing downtime in factories and supply chains.

IIoT is also bolstering the abilities of humans. Using infrared thermography, mechanics, repair technicians, and engineers can now get a new perspective on what’s going on inside the machines. Different colors can represent faulty connections, abnormal motors, tank levels, and pipe temperatures.

Instead of knowing when each machine’s lifecycle end is coming up, sensors can signal important updates for maintenance or replacement. Machine learning tracks minute changes in readings, so when the difference is significant enough, it sends an automatic alert to the appropriate party.

This comes in handy for maintaining a safe work environment. Running well-oiled machines results in huge improvements to worker welfare. IIoT also helps in case of emergencies. Sensors can monitor employees’ locations in tight or dark spaces, in case of an evacuation or accident.

A Future with Augmented Reality

One of IoT’s greatest strengths is its ability to adapt and work side-by-side with other disruptive technologies like AI. And IIoT is no different. DAQRI is a Los Angeles-based studio specializing in augmented reality (AR). They’re developing an AR helmet for engineers that will allow them to see 4D images above machines, instructions, and a map of every feature.

Another company, named UpSkill, is using AR to create wearables for field employees to send media and complete checklists, tasks, and work orders. This happens in real-time; managers can watch their employees’ progress by checking their IIoT platform.

Wearables and handhelds are a more affordable way for traveling salespeople to keep in touch with the rest of their colleagues and send automated notifications. Although they aren’t going to be AR-enabled for a while, it’s worth mentioning wearables; according to recent reports, more than 50 billion machines will connect to the Internet by 2020, and many of these will be wearables and handheld devices.

IIoT Will Affect Every Industry

AR enables employees to remain organized and helps train new employees at record speed. Ongoing maintenance keeps costs down for businesses and helps machines run longer. All of these savings in time, cost, and energy translate into a better experience for customers and a cheaper product all-around.

Machine learning algorithms working alongside traditional IoT systems multiply the true power of IIoT. The idea of “set it and forget” is a huge need for IIoT; it’ll drive many AI-fueled automations and IoT-enabled features while simultaneously pushing the envelope in sensor innovation.

And this doesn’t even begin to touch upon the plethora of other disruptive technologies that IIoT is integrating into warehouses and factories at a faster rate than ever before. IIoT will bring an infinite amount of possibilities, from the very top of the supply chain straight down to the consumer.

It’ll completely revolutionize every industry as we know it today. Are you ready for the next Industrial Revolution?

There’s Still Work To Do

In case you haven’t heard about the threat to our Internet freedoms in the past year and a half, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed net neutrality in December 2017.

This led to many citizens voicing concerns that their opinions weren’t being heard. After all, no one wants to swap the right to browse the Internet freely for unnecessary, expensive speed upgrades and Internet website bundles similar to the bundles available for purchase in cable TV subscriptions.

Under a repealed net neutrality Internet, we’d be paying for fast lanes. If you don’t fork over the cash, your Internet speeds are subject to throttling and content is subject to blocking. A perfect example of why this is inane occurred a few months ago, when California firefighters had their data throttled by Verizon during the state’s largest wildfire ever, the Mendocino Complex Fire. The issue wasn’t resolved until the fire department upgraded their data plan.

Unfortunately, things may still be up in the air. As soon as the news reached Capitol Hill that Governor Brown signed the new law into effect, the Justice Department sent a note to expect a lawsuit. The federal government wants to stop California from blocking federal regulations, but it’s not entirely clear whether they have rule over specific state-sanctioned laws too.

Setting the Standard

Experts have frequently noted that California’s new law has the strongest net neutrality regulations in the whole country. The new law gives the attorney general the main responsibility of making sure there are no potential lawbreakers.

Compared to the original federal law, California added quite a few extra regulations into its bill. First, it restricts zero-rated data plans (deals that allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide free calls, texts, or content in exchange for using a specific app or website). Because ISPs could restrict content from some companies but not others, it wouldn’t be fair to consumers.

Unlike the bipartisan divide when Congress discussed rolling back the federal repeal of net neutrality, both parties overwhelmingly supported the bill.

As a result of California’s strongly-worded bill, advocacy groups and tech activists say other states will surely follow the example California set. Indeed, more than 25 states have considered legislating net neutrality protections when the federal decision to repeal was made.

Whose Domain Is It, Anyways?

Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke out against California’s newest law as soon as it passed. He says, “Under the Constitution, states do not regulate interstate commerce — the federal government does. Once again, the California legislature has enacted an extreme and illegal state law attempting to frustrate federal policy.”

Ajit Pai, the face of the FCC council that ultimately repealed net neutrality federally, also had some thoughts on California’s new law. He brought up a federal appellate court ruling that found “state regulation of information services is preempted by federal law.”

Additionally, Pai commented, “I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Department of Justice to ensure the Internet remains ‘unfettered by federal or state regulation,’ as federal law requires, and the domain of engineers, entrepreneurs, and technologists, not lawyers and bureaucrats.”

Telecom lobbyists are even predicting that this lawsuit could end up in the national Supreme Court.

Fighting Words

But Miguel Santiago, an Assemblyman representing Los Angeles who co-authored the new California legislation, disagrees. He says the new law directly relates to the First Amendment right of “free speech”. Specifically, he says, “The fight for social change and progressive values is directly tied to a free and open Internet. This measure ensures that we, in California, will maintain a free and open Internet that doesn’t discriminate or price users or content differently.”

The California Senator who initiated the legislation, Scott Wiener, said he thinks California can defend the new law in court well.

This lawsuit reminds Senator Wiener of another time when the federal government sued California. Wiener outlines that “we’ve been down this road before: when [President] Trump and Sessions sued California and claimed we lacked the power to protect immigrants. California fought Trump and Sessions on their immigration lawsuit. California won — and California will fight this lawsuit as well.”

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra helped lead a lawsuit against the FCC over the net neutrality repeal. But he says California needs more budget to enact the regulations, and, “while the Trump Administration continues to ignore the millions of Americans who voiced strong support for net neutrality rules, California—home to countless start-ups, tech giants and nearly 40 million consumers—will not allow a handful of power brokers to dictate sources for information or the speed at which websites load.”

It Won’t End Until The FCC Caves

The new California law will take effect on January 1st, 2019, and California Senator Kevin de León isn’t backing down against the federal government. As Senator de León aptly puts it, “The bottom line is this. The Internet is vital to our democracy because it is part of our daily lives.”

We’ve been watching California’s progress on the new bill from our Los Angeles-based mobile app development studio, and we couldn’t be prouder of our state government! We’re ready to support them and every state looking to reinstate net neutrality. But we know this endeavor will need all the help it can get.

Do you trust your ISP to have your best interests at heart? If you didn’t emphatically answer “YES!” with 100% certainty, you need to join us in the fight for Internet freedom and the right to privacy.

Show the FCC, the federal government, and big telecom companies that we won’t stop fighting for what’s right, no matter how much lobbying power or budget they may have.

Follow EFF (the Electronic Frontier Foundation) to fight against the ISP monopolies, corporate giants, and the FCC. EFF is in Washington D.C., following a Circuit Court case closely that will affect the federal lawsuit against California. Donate to the EFF today so they can continue fighting for our human right of fair access to a free and open Internet.

Each year, Clutch publishes a press release naming the top service providers within certain industries. We’re proud to announce that Clutch has named Dogtown Media among the world’s leading mobile app developers this year.

We’ve also been listed on Clutch’s sister website, The Manifest, a B2B news website that helps buyers through the process of selecting a vendor. Manifest also ranked Dogtown as one of the top app development companies in the world.

Founded in 2011, Clutch is a Washington, D.C.-based research firm that leverages unparalleled market insight to determine the leaders across numerous industries. With unbiased case studies, industry trend analysis, and business market comparisons, Clutch’s data-driven platform allows clients to find and connect with top-tier companies who can solve difficult challenges.

Clutch’s directories adhere to this meticulous, data-centric approach; it’s organized to list the most credible firms first. Credibility is gained by attaining client testimonials and market presence. Essentially, the directories allow potential buyers and clients in need of partnerships to visualize their different options with a holistic perspective of each company.

Check out some of the reviews we’ve received so far below!

Webdam is a digital asset management software company. We re-developed their platform from the ground up. Here’s what they had to say:

“Dogtown Media’s work was a massive improvement from the previous app version and received high praise from customers… They were extremely responsive and supportive, and I never felt like I was working on anything on my own.”

We also got the opportunity to help the University of Oklahoma improve its app with more student-centric functionalities and geolocation capabilities. Here’s their feedback:

Another client required an app for the University of Oklahoma. Here’s what they had to say:

“Dogtown Media’s expert team inspires confidence throughout the project by communicating clearly from the start. They bring creative ideas to the table at a reasonable value… Their work has made my life easier by automating features in the app that I was doing manually.”

The past few weeks have been surreal for Dogtown Media. Recently, we made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the United States for the second year in a row. Not long after, we were honored again by being included on Clutch’s list!

Both are incredible awards we couldn’t have imagined attaining when we first started developing in L.A. in 2011. We’d like to give a big thanks to Clutch, Inc., our team, clients, and community — none of this would be possible without you.

From humble beginnings as a mobile app developer in Los Angeles, we’re extremely proud of the work we’ve accomplished so far and we’re also very excited to see where the future takes us. We can’t wait to create more amazing mobile experiences for the world to enjoy.

If you have an idea but don’t know where to begin, reach out anytime — if you can dream it, we can build it!