A Unity APK (Android Package) is required when you want to publish a game or application built using the Unity game engine for Android devices. The Unity engine allows developers to create 2D and 3D games and other interactive content that can run on multiple platforms, including Android. Creating a Unity APK allows the game or application to be packaged and distributed through the Google Play Store or other Android app marketplaces.

Need to create Unity APK for Android

Creating a Unity APK for Android allows businesses to publish their Unity-developed games or applications on the popular Android platform, reaching a wide audience of potential users. By leveraging the power of the Unity game engine, businesses can create engaging and interactive 2D and 3D games and other content that can run smoothly on a variety of Android devices.

Furthermore, Unity APKs can be distributed through the Google Play Store and other app marketplaces, providing businesses with a direct channel to reach their target users. Unity provides a wide range of tools and features that allow businesses to optimize their games for specific devices, add support for different device resolutions, and create virtual/augmented reality experiences. This makes Unity APKs an attractive option for businesses looking to expand their reach and engage with users on the Android platform.

Unity APK for Developers

Unity enables the developers to customize the APK file by adding specific features such as support for different device resolutions or the ability to enable or disable certain features.

Unity also allows developers to optimize their games for specific devices using Unity's built-in optimization tools. Moreover, It can also help in creating virtual/augmented reality applications. Unity APK helps in creating interactive visualizations, simulations, and architectural walkthroughs.

In the next section, we will take a detailed look at the process of creating a Unity APK for Android. We will cover everything from setting up the Unity game engine and exporting the project, to signing and aligning the APK file and distributing it through the Google Play Store and other app marketplaces.

Whether you're a business looking to expand your reach on the Android platform or an individual developer looking to publish your Unity-developed game or application, this guide will provide you with all the information you need to create and distribute a Unity APK for Android.

Prerequisites to create Unity APK for Android

Creating a Unity APK for Android requires a specific set of tools and software to be installed and configured on your computer. It includes installing the Unity game engine, Android Studio, and the Java Development Kit (JDK). By understanding and following these prerequisites, you'll be able to create and publish your Unity-based games and applications on the Android platform with ease.

Install Unity on the Operating System: Windows/macOS/Ubuntu

Download Unity from https://unity.com/download page for your preferred OS.

To set up Unity on your preferred OS Windows, macOS or Ubuntu based computer, these are the steps you can take:

Windows: 

1. Go to the Unity website (https://unity.com/) and click on the "Get Started" button.
2. Select the "Personal" option and then click on the "Download" button for the appropriate version of Unity for your system.
3. Once the download is complete, open the installer and follow the prompts to install Unity.

macOS: 

1. Go to the Unity website (https://unity.com/) and click on the "Get Started" button.
2. Select the "Personal" option and then click on the "Download" button for the appropriate version of Unity for your system.
3. Once the download is complete, open the installer and drag the Unity icon to the Applications folder.
4. Open Unity from the Applications folder.

Ubuntu:

1. Go to the Unity website (https://unity.com/) and click on the "Get Started" button.
2. Select the "Personal" option and then click on the "Download" button for the appropriate version of Unity for your system.
3. Once the download is complete, open a terminal and navigate to the location of the downloaded installer.
4. Use the command "sudo dpkg -i unity.deb" to install Unity, replacing "unity.deb" with the actual name of the installer file.

Please note that these are high level steps, you may need to check the Unity website for specific version compatibility with your system and any additional requirements. The Unity Hub also allows you to manage and install additional versions and packages of Unity. Or, you can follow : https://docs.unity3d.com/hub/manual/InstallHub.html

Install Android Studio 

Android Studio is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Android app development, and it's necessary for building, testing, and publishing Unity APKs for Android. In this section, we will walk you through the process of installing Android Studio and configuring it to work with Unity, so you can start creating and publishing your Unity-based games and applications on the Android platform. 

Install on Windows/ MacOS/ Ubuntu

Installation can be done using the link- https://developer.android.com/studio on different operating systems, namely- Windows,  MacOS, and Ubuntu.

Additionally, it's worth checking if Java Development Kit (JDK) has been installed on your machine. JDK is essential to run and develop Java applications such as Android Studio. You can obtain the JDK from this page: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase-downloads.html

Install Unity Editor

Once you have downloaded the Unity Hub, you'll need to install the Unity editor. For new projects, you can select any version of the editor. However, if you're working on a project that has been created by someone else, it's important to install the exact version of the editor that the project was made with. You can access older versions of the editor at the following link: https://unity.com/releases/editor/archive. 

Install Android Modules in Unity

To include the Android modules in Unity, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Unity editor and click on the "Installs" tab on the sidebar.
2. Click the "Settings" button on the Unity editor.
3. From the "Settings" window, click on "Add Modules" button.
4. Select "Android Build Support" and click on "Install" button to proceed.

This will install the necessary Android modules in Unity, enabling you to create and distribute Android applications (Fig. 1).

Step-Wise Guide to Create Unity APK for Android

Creating a Unity APK for Android can seem daunting at first, but by following this step-wise guide you can go through the process, from setting up the necessary software and tools to exporting and signing your APK to finally publishing it on the Google Play Store or other Android app marketplaces.

It will also help you in troubleshooting any issues that may arise during the process. By following a step-by-step guide, you'll be able to create and publish your Unity-based games and applications on the Android platform with confidence and ease.

Step 1: Export Unity Code

To begin creating an APK for Android, we will first export the Unity code. First, install the Unity editor and locate your Unity project file. Then, within the Unity editor, navigate to the "File" menu and select "Build Settings" or alternatively, you can use the shortcut key combination "Ctrl+Shift+B" on a Windows device as shown in Fig. 2 below. 

If your current platform is not set to Android, please select Android and switch to it. Before exporting, make sure to click the "Export" button. Additionally, don't forget to check the "Export Project" checkbox (Fig. 3).

Step 2: Import the exported file into Android Studio and build an APK for Android

To create an APK in Android Studio, follow these steps:

1. Open Android Studio.
2. Go to the "Build" menu and select "Generate Signed APK."
3. Follow the prompts to sign and export your APK. It will be saved in the project's "build/outputs/apk" folder.

Note: A signed APK is required to publish your app on the Google Play store, as it guarantees the authenticity and integrity of your app by using a digital signature.

You can follow the below mentioned steps to generate a signed APK in Android Studio. (Fig. 4).

To create a signed APK in Android Studio, follow these steps:

1. Open Android Studio.
2. Go to the "Build" menu and choose "Generate Signed Bundle / APK."
3. Select "APK" as the output type and click the "Next" button.
4. Choose the signing configuration and keystore that you want to use. If you don't have any, you can create a new one by clicking the "Create New" button.
5. Click the "Next" button.
6. Provide the password for the keystore and choose the private key for signing.
7. Click the "Finish" button.

The APK will be saved in the project's "build/outputs/apk" folder.

Once you have completed the steps above, Android Studio will create a signed APK and save it to the designated location. This APK can be used to publish your app on the Google Play Store or distribute it to testers or end users. Once the APK is generated, you can test it by installing it on a physical Android device or an Android Virtual Device (AVD).

Conclusion

In conclusion, creating an APK for an Android device from Unity is a straightforward process that can be completed using Android Studio. By following the steps outlined above, developers can easily generate a signed APK that can be used to publish their app on the Google Play Store or distribute it to testers and users.

From a business perspective, having a mobile app on the Android platform can greatly expand your reach and provide an additional avenue for revenue. With the ability to easily create an APK, businesses can quickly and efficiently develop and release their app to the Android market.

To take advantage of this opportunity, you may take initiative and create an APK for your Unity app on the android platform. This will help you to reach more customers, increase revenue and create a stable source of income.
 

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards digital, and businesses are now more reliant on their websites than ever before. As online traffic increases and the digital landscape continues to evolve, it's more important than ever for businesses to have a website that is secure, fast, scalable, and easy to use. 

According to Drupal's website, Drupal is used by more than 1.3 million websites worldwide and it is the second most popular content management system (CMS) after WordPress. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of upgrading to Drupal 10 with examples of how businesses in different industries have successfully made the switch.

Drupal 10 is here, but why move from the status quo?

If you are still using an older version of Drupal for your website, it's time to consider upgrading to Drupal 10! Upgrading to a new version of Drupal can improve return on investment (ROI) in several ways, such as increased user engagement, new features and functionalities can help to improve the user experience and increase engagement, which can lead to more conversions and higher revenue.

• Improved SEO: The latest version of Drupal is more SEO friendly and can help to improve the site's visibility in search engines, which can lead to more traffic and higher revenue.
• Reduced maintenance costs: Upgrading to the latest version of Drupal can reduce the need for ongoing maintenance and support, which can lead to lower costs and higher ROI.
• Better scalability: Newer versions of Drupal are optimized for performance and scalability, which can help to support growth and increased traffic, leading to higher revenue.
• Improved security: Upgrading to the latest version of Drupal can address known security vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of hacking and data breaches, which can help to protect the site's reputation and revenue.

By addressing these factors, upgrading to a new Drupal version can help improve the site's performance and revenue-generating potential, ultimately leading to a better return on investment.

Upgrade to Drupal 10 for Multiple Benefits

There are many benefits of upgrading to Drupal 10, the latest version of the popular open-source content management system. With improved security features, better performance, and new capabilities, upgrading to Drupal 10 can help your business stay competitive in today's digital world. Drupal 10 is built to handle high traffic, and with its improved performance and scalability, it's the perfect platform for businesses looking to take their online presence to the next level.

Drupal 10 is the latest version of Drupal, actively supported and maintained by the Drupal community, so there will be no future security issues or compatibility problems. Here are some of the reasons why your business should upgrade to Drupal 10.

Improved Security

Drupal 10 includes several security enhancements such as the removal of deprecated code and the introduction of new security features, which reduce the attack surface and make the platform more secure. Drupal 10 has implemented security hardening measures like Same-Site Cookies, CSP 3, and Content Security Policy (CSP) Level 3.

According to the Drupal Security Team, there have been no critical security vulnerabilities reported on Drupal 10 since its release. That makes it more secure than previous versions. This can help businesses protect sensitive customer data and reduce the risk of cyber-attacks.

Better Performance

Drupal 10 has been optimized for speed and scalability. In benchmarks, Drupal 10 has been shown to be up to 2x faster than Drupal 9, which can help businesses handle increased traffic and improve the user experience for their customers. Performance improvements like lazy loading of images, improved caching, and better management of assets can lead to faster page load times, which in turn increases conversions.

New Features

Drupal 10 includes new features such as improved multilingual support, which allows businesses to create and manage content in multiple languages. According to the Drupal community, Drupal 10 has improved support for over 100 languages. Drupal 10 has a new Media Library which makes it easy to manage and reuse multimedia assets. This can help businesses expand their reach to a global audience.

Accessibility

Drupal 10 is built with accessibility in mind, which means that it can be used by people with disabilities and older users. Drupal 10 has accessibility improvements like color contrast, ARIA landmarks, and semantic HTML. The newest version of Drupal is built with WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, which is the highest level of accessibility compliance. This can help businesses to reach a wider audience and be more inclusive.

Future-Proofing

Drupal 10 is the latest version of Drupal and it is actively supported and maintained by the Drupal community. According to Drupal, Drupal 10 is supported for three years, with long-term support (LTS) releases every two years. Upgrading to Drupal 10 can ensure that businesses are using the most current and secure version of Drupal, which can help them avoid security issues and compatibility problems in the future.

Improved SEO

Drupal 10 has improved SEO capabilities, including better URL handling, improved meta tags handling, and structured data. According to Drupal, the new SEO-friendly URLs can help businesses increase visibility and reach more people organically.

Better Collaboration

Drupal 10's new Workflow module allows multiple people to work on the same content at the same time, improving collaboration and speeding up the content creation process. Drupal states that this improves team collaboration and makes it easy for content creators to work together.

Mobile-Friendly

Drupal 10 is built with a mobile-first approach, which means that it is optimized for smaller screens and touch-based interactions. Drupal 10 has a responsive design, which can help businesses to reach more customers on mobile devices by creating mobile-friendly websites.

Better compatibility with third-party modules

Upgrading to the latest version of Drupal can ensure that the site is compatible with the latest versions of third-party modules and plugins, which can help to improve the site's functionality and performance.

Conclusion

Upgrading to Drupal 10 can provide several competitive benefits with improved site performance and revenue-generating potential, leading to a better return on investment.

Built with better security, accessibility, improved collaboration, and better compatibility with third-party modules, Drupal 10 is currently actively supported by the Drupal community. This means businesses would quickly implement solutions off the block and remain future-proofed. 

Contact us to schedule your Drupal upgrade today and see the difference it can make in your site's performance and ROI!

Drupal 10 is here with its all-new features and several benefits and what’s more exciting is that upgrading is easier than ever. There were 771,407 websites using the Drupal core project as of December 25, 2022 (using the Update Status module). The graph below shows the weekly project usage of D10 (Fig. 1).

Releasing D10 in December 2022 came with its own sets of advanced features and benefits, most prominently-

• Allowing site owners more time and control over their content by stabilizing CKEditor
• D10 came with Symfony 6.2 which includes bug fixes and improvements over the current 6.0 release
• The security teams have comparatively lesser work to do with this release

From the looks of it, D10 is the best version of Drupal with its Claro theme, front-end Olivero theme, New starter kit theme, decoupled menus, and much more.

If you’re looking for Drupal Site Audit this handy guide can help you remain at the top of your game by improving security, and performance and preparing it for upgrades and enhancements. Regular monitoring and site audits can help you stay updated with Drupal best practices.

Why should you consider a Drupal site audit?

While Drupal site upgrade is essential to stay in tune with the latest features and modules, a holistic site audit also helps with maintaining site security and personalization on the site among other challenges.

Drupal 10 release has opened an exciting box of new features that can help a site gain a competitive advantage.

If you have an older site version (Drupal 7 or 8) and are ready to migrate to Drupal 9 or the latest versions, it is a must to go for a site audit to ensure a smooth and successful migration, and also to understand the current status of your site. It is important to understand the obstacles to CMS migration and ways to overcome them before you decide to migrate to Drupal 9 or Drupal 10.

Site Audit for D10 Upgrade: Know your eligibility

Whether or not you are eligible for Drupal 10, a site audit report can suggest the same (Fig. 2). If you’re using the older versions like Drupal 7, 8, or 9, the road to upgrade to D10 means that the following requirements must be met:

• Your site must update to at least Drupal 9.4.4
• Sites using CKEditor 4 should upgrade to CKEditor 5 in Drupal 9.4 or 9.5
• Sites should update their .htaccess files
• Sites should update any copies of .htaccess or web.config
• New developer feature to show debug markup for render caching has been added. Sites should ensure that their site-specific services.yml includes the new section
• Site owners can update their settings.local.php to maintain consistency and forward-compatibility
• Drupal 10 requires PHP 8.1 or higher
• Drupal 10 recommends Composer version 2.3.6 or higher

Drupal Site Audit Checklist

The on-site Drupal 10 audit components can include the following checklist, such as mobile usability, speed, accessibility, and hosting infrastructure, among others (Fig. 3).

Apart from these, there are domain checks which become as critical as on-page site audit. These include:

• Site Map
• SSL Certificate
• WWW resolution
• Robots.txt Indexing

Drupal Site Audit Report

Conducting a Drupal site audit can help you upgrade to Drupal 10, or maintain the site for performance, SEO, and security. We hope the checklist assisted you to understand what needs to be done to upgrade to D10 and maintain the basic hygiene of your website.

Would you wish to need assistance from experts in performing a thorough Drupal site audit to check eligibility for Drupal 10, send us a message and we’ll connect with you shortly.

GrapeJS is a multi-purpose, open-source Web Builder Framework that is used to combine multiple features and tools to create HTML templates without the need for coding. GrapeJS is seen as a replacement for WYSIWYG editors, which are often pitched as good content editors. However, the drawback with WYSIWYG editors is that they are inappropriate for creating HTML structures.

Why GrapeJS?

While GrapesJS was initially designed to be used inside Content Management Systems for creating dynamic templates, instead of being used as just an application, it is an extensible framework that can now be used for any purpose.

At a first thought, GrapeJS looks like just another page/HTML builder, but in fact, it is a Web Builder Framework that enables creating create a drag & drop-enabled builder of HTML-like structure. These HTML-like structures can then be used for lot many content-creation purposes, such as Newsletters, Native Mobile Applications, Native Desktop Applications, and PDFs.

GrapeJS enables users to create complex templates with set of elements like <tag some="attribute">... other nested elements ...</tag>. GrapeJS builder is easily customizable around this attribute and can hence, be used independently in the applications.

How to show GrapeJS Editor Content in PDF

Our requirement to show GrapeJS Editor Content in PDF emerged from the project we were working on, and where a requirement like this erupted. This blog is a tutorial on how to show GrapeJS Editor Content in PDF. It if for all the software engineers and developers looking for a unique solution to this problem statement. So let’s get started.

Prerequisites

Install npm and node by following this article:

https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-node-js-and-npm

Step 1: Setting up React

To get started, you must first set up React by following the below mentioned article-

npx create-react-app grapesjs-canvas-to-pdf
cd grapesjs-canvas-to-pdf
npm start

Above steps will create react project called grapesjs-canvas-to-pdf in current working directory, after which we can now get started with GrapesJS.

Step 2: Install GrapesJS

To install GrapeJS, you need to follow the below mentioned steps:

grapesjs-preset-newsletter,react-to-print and dangerously-set-html-content libraries

Install above libraries in project by executing the command mentioned below in the project folder:

npm i grapesjs grapesjs-preset-newsletter react-to-print dangerously-set-html-content

Step 3: Create folder structure & files

Create following folder structure and files inside project for basic grapesjs setup (Fig. 1).

Put the following code in /src/components/Editor/index.js for basic initialization of GrapesJS.

Follow the code mentioned below in /src/components/Header/index.js to create site header for out application.

Replace the App.Js with below code and clear the App.css to add previously built components. 

Once you have completed the basic setup, the UI will look like Fig. 2

Step 4: Create the plugin for showing the pdf

Add the folders and files for pdf plugin and pdfpreview component as shown in Fig. 3 below.

Put the following code in /src/components/Editor/Plugins/PDFPlugin/index.js to create a PDF preview plugin which will show button on top panel of GrapesJS editor as shown in below screenshot.

Put the following code in /src/components/Editor/Plugins/PDFPreview/index.js to create a component that will take editor content as a props and be used by print dialog in order to show the content.

Edit the  /src/components/Editor/index.js file and add the plugins and functions for calling pdf preview update the Editor file.

Once you have finished all the aforementioned steps, you’ll be able to see the pdf preview button in top panel as shown in Fig. 4

Step 5: Basic web page creation using GrapesJS

If you clicking on button without any content, you will be given an alert as shown in Fig. 5 here.

Therefore, let us now put content in canvas. We’ll put header, two sections with image plus text and footer (Fig. 6).

Step 6: Check webpage pdf in browser’s default print capability

All the above mentioned steps will allow us to check webpage PDF in browser’s default print capability ignoring rest of the UI of web and focusing only on content of webpage created in canvas of GrapesJS. After creating this let’s click on PDF button (Fig. 7).

Now it’ll show web page in browser printing dialog with content in the canvas ignoring the header and GrapeJS UI. We can also change the PDF configuration for page dimension, layout, etc.

Conclusion

GrapesJS is an excellent Open Source Web Builder Framework that allows implementing powerful and simple Style Manager module, enabling independent styling of the required component inside the canvas. The tutorial on how to show GrapesJS editor content in PDF will help developers explore further styling options in the projects.

If you have a query regarding our tutorial, or would you wish us to add more, reach out to us.

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is the technology that empowers sites and applications with the ability of audio-visual media. The technology allows one to capture and optionally stream video and audio in real-time while exchanging arbitrary data between browsers without having a need for an intermediary.

WebRTC as Real-Time Streaming Solution: How business can use it

WebRTC is widely used to deliver the user experience. From Google Meets, Google Hangouts, and Facebook Messenger, to Discord, and Amazon Chime, WebRTC has found a place in some of the known massive applications. Businesses can deploy WebRTC for various functionalities such as-

• Remote content delivery 
• Contact centres
• E-commerce
• Healthcare
• IoT
• Education

WebRTC delivers promising benefits like low latency delivery, easy collaboration, and secured multi-user audio-visual calls. WebRTC can be integrated into an organization’s website easily, and can also be embedded into mobile applications, company websites, or marketing banners published on the Internet as ads. The solution makes collaboration simpler, and also facilitates external parties to arrange web conferencing over the Internet without having a need for a separate application or plugin.

While WebRTC has emerged as an innovative, real-time streaming, and disruptive communication solution, this high-quality technology also needs prior testing to ensure unified communication or seamless P2P connections. But what exactly is WebRTC testing solution?

WebRTC Testing Made Easy

WebRTC testing is rather unique as challenges are multi-fold. Not only is the web-based application tested, but the system should also be able to test the voice and audio across the browsers. This makes it a very expensive problem to solve as high bandwidth and resources are needed to run a WebRTC application.

However, to test the same we need systems to run multiple video and audio-receiving applications concurrently which are then monitored accordingly. This further augments the resource capacity of the systems required to test. There is no way to launch a project without getting the capabilities of the system tested out before it goes live to thousands of users.

What is the objective of the WebRTC Testing Solution?

The Rise of start-ups across industries and enterprises led to many WebRTC applications in the market, but most of them need attention to get performance results for scaling to make a better product for the end users. Creating a product to handle a large audience using WebRTC is difficult and time-consuming, and testing it is an even more difficult process.

Hence, defining objectives for WebRTC testing is a must. Before hopping onto the final product, an organization, therefore must address the following objectives for WebRTC testing-

• How to ensure real-time streaming that is the fastest, easiest, and most scalable?
• How do you know how many peers/streams your WebRTC Application has?
• A way to automate the regression/sanity testing for Webrtc applications
• To get an overview of How your WebRTC application will behave in different scenarios like network, VM, etc.
• Get a proper understanding of Server size and connected users to scale the server based on requirements.

Testing of an application based on WebRTC contains various levels such as-

• Sanity: just to validate basic functionality on diff environments to be sure about its working condition
• Regression testing: at the time of the release all the previously developed and new features need to be tested before the targeted release. Regression is something that can be pushed manually as well as automated.
• Performance: Getting to know how the application will perform with a large number of users will be an outstanding achievement of the product and it needs to be done for all the applications handling a huge audience.

Sanity testing and latency of WebRTC applications can be done manually but regression and performance become a challenge for this type of application as it needs to be tested against each release and contains repetitive work.

Valuebound’s WebRTC Testing Solution

Conducting WebRTC testing for a product can be challenging but the devil rests in the details. Valuebound, when faced with a difficult challenge, went about with the following test plan to test an application with WebRTC technology built in-house. We needed answers to specific questions that arose from the application complications.

What are we testing:

• some basic details like video/audio streaming
• sent/received audio/video chunks
• WebRTC dumps from the browser
• Average loss packets/jitter/latency

Basic statistics against the performance of the application

• Valuebound’s WebRTC testing solution can be scaled for any number of users to test the performance of the application
• Automated interoperability test scripts run on any platform.
• It supports all web browsers- Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera on all OS (Linux, Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android), mobile native apps on Android, iOS, and also the desktop native apps on Windows and macOS.

Valuebound’s WebRTC testing solution can help you automate your regression test and can be used for performance testing with some modification, which becomes a huge success parameter even before your product launch.

Get started with WebRTC Load Testing

We are continuously orchestrating WebRTC testing solutions to help our clients create, run, and analyze their WebRTC applications for a unique user experience in the simplest, fastest, and most affordable way.

When doing content delivery for interactive events, live auctions, remote movie, and TV post-production, broadcast production, sports, bidding, betting, the metaverse, AR/VR, gaming, and more, load testing for real-time streaming applications becomes essential.

Get started with WebRTC testing solutions with us. Learn more about real-time streaming that is the fastest, easiest, and most scalable for multiple concurrent viewers. 

According to the McKinsey survey, technology investments are proving their worth, especially at companies making more tech-based changes and bridging more of the technology-business divide. This impact is visible across four main organizational benefits, which include:

a) realization of new revenue streams, 
b) increased revenue from existing streams, 
c) reduced costs, 
d) improved employee experience

Out of these factors, people-focused plays (Fig. 1) bring in the maximum value of technology investments.

McKinsey survey also suggests that most companies across industries associate people-focused initiatives with value creation. In fact, 37% of companies are now focused on digitizing their end-user experience. So, the holy grail for most companies now is their talent strategy.

This blog explains how the pharma and healthcare industry can leverage digital transformation by delivering a total experience.

But what is a total experience? It’s a simple formula-

Total Experience (TX) = marketing content and strategy + UX Design + customer and employee experience (CX/ EX)

Our blog is for pharma chief digital officers (CDO), chief information officers, and other C-suite executives in the digital space that are trying to scale their organizations toward TX through digital overhauling.

The Greatest Barrier to Digitization in the Pharma and Healthcare Industry

The greatest barrier to the pharma and healthcare industry in going digital is the way organizations are structured. “There’s certainly a degree of risk aversion in trying new things through the implementation of digital solutions, whether it’s clinical trials or a commercial launch or a discovery project,” says Francesca Wuttke, the Chief Digital Officer at Almirall, a Spanish pharmaceutical company. Although the collaboration between biotechs, startups, and pharma is improving, the healthcare industry is still late to the party of digitization (Fig. 2)

The industry is often bruised by regulatory restrictions, which affects its mindset. Yet another barrier in scaling data and going digital is a lack of leadership drive or skill. While scaling databases and technology is at the core of most companies, they often forget to speak about change management.

“One of the biggest barriers is that you’re constantly being asked to prove the value of what digital has brought to the table. That could relate to really small, incremental-value projects all the way through to complete business model shifts,” opined Jeff French, Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, ViiV Healthcare.

There is also a vast difference in adopting digital analytics by domain or function. Leadership is a key factor to consider here. For example, in Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, the Marketing and Sales domain is well aware of the value and capabilities of digital transformation, but other functions are still developing their awareness. The Chief Technology Officer of the company, John McGill, says that what is needed is “pulling that all together into a more homogeneous, company-wide transformation ultimately to drive greater value.”

So this makes two things clear: a) change in culture and b) change in mindset are two factors that can drive digital transformation in the pharma and healthcare industry.

Talent Strategy: The Holy Grail of TX

Biopharma executives in the digital transformation panel discussion explained the capability and talent required for digital transformation in the pharma and healthcare industry.

In 2019, only 3% of the clinical trials out of 32,000 were digital or hybrid. Cognizant is projecting that over the next four years, that will increase to 25%—an increase of more than 800%. But it is essential to disseminate this message from top to bottom across business units in an organization. In the past 2 years, the discussion over digital transformation of pharma and healthcare industry has elevated to reach the boardrooms.

“It’s going to be a continuous transformation in pharma,” says Sanjay Parikh, Executive Vice President, Indegene. He further adds that the right kinds of change catalysts need to be added within an organization. The right shift hence comes from a complete shift in the business model.

Moving Data Across Different Business Units for Faster Digitization

It is essential for a pharma and healthcare company to share and leverage data within the organization. Opening, federating, and governance of data is at the crux of digital transformation so that the leadership can then align it and get the right people to handle opportunities when they appear.

How a pharma company can regulate and democratize data internally and create a single source of truth is the right question to be asked.

“The burning platform for pharma is moving faster, and being able to provide meaningful insights from that data and use it to fuel clinical trials and better commercial decision-making,” explains Patrick Roche, Chief Digital & Information Officer at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. He also explained that COVID was a catalyst of change in the pharma company because it not just fuelled collaboration but also helped break silos and increase the speed of retail delivery.

To go fast, a pharma and healthcare organization must have people or talent that know how to go fast. With a data management system, a pharma company can maintain a crisp vision toward its commercial strategy. It is from the top that the acceptance of data-driven decisions needs to be driven.

Import IT Talent from Outside the Industry

While the pharma and healthcare industry is used to seeing very long development timelines for products, when the word “digital” comes in there is also a natural expectation of faster time-to-market.

Creating a more collaborative network consisting of IT-savvy professionals with the right tools and technologies that help the pharma and healthcare industry can hence be an immediate way to digitization. So while the core business units can be focused on business imperatives, IT teams from outside the industry can stay tuned to strategy and deployment. Biohaven, the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has worked on a collaborative model like this.

Industry experts believe the same. “In my experience, they can bring in new thoughts in terms of tools and technologies that we hadn’t even thought about using in pharma from a speed and capability standpoint, “ says Pickett, Jr., Chief Information & Digital Officer, Syneo Health.

Conclusion

Having digital transformation in the pharma and healthcare industry is more about solving the problems of business with processes, data governance, and technology. People with the right capabilities can embed themselves into this and understand the business issues that pharma companies are trying to solve.

Having an IT team from outside the industry means that a pharma company can have a nucleus of talent that also has a business standpoint and speak the language that everyone understands.

At Valuebound, we believe that curiosity is among the most important companions of digital transformation in pharma. Novartis in the UK has been investing in learning capabilities and embedding such systems into organizations, using frameworks from IT and tech to make the processes faster. If you wish to apply a similar model to your culture, speak with us and open new prospects of digitizing your business units.

Delivering the promise of a tech-enabled and digitally-sound business is a model that most companies struggle to deliver today. As CIOs look forward to overcoming building pressures to improve user experience, grant more secure and sustainable solutions, and enhance employee experience, we help you understand where to invest, how to define your business ambition, design your approach, and orchestrate sustainable change.

From automation to hybrid cloud, frictionless digital experience to decentralized finance, some of the core themes that are set to rule digital transformation trends in 2023 are explained in our blog. So let’s take a look at our list of what every business must ready itself for in 2023 when it comes to digital transformation trends.

The Metaverse

Forbes describes the metaverse as “a more immersive digital world.” While some may think of it as just Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality (AR/VR), it is also about blockchains and decentralization. A world-renowned futurist, Bernard Marr says, “The term web3 is closely linked to various ideas of what the metaverse will be and is used to describe what many are calling a decentralized web.”

The Sandbox is a decentralized, community-driven platform, one of the finest examples of the metaverse. The Co-founder and COO of the company, Sebastien Borget considers The Sandbox one of the most advanced metaverse platforms to date. Immersion, 3D content, and platforms like The Sandbox are set to rule the digital transformation trends in 2023 and beyond.

Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity

Milind Wagle, EVP & CIO of Equinix opines that cybersecurity and artificial intelligence will continue to drive opportunities for businesses across industries, especially since the technology is becoming more decentralized and accessible. In 2023, a strong focus of AI would be on workforce augmentation, which means allowing employees to navigate the change around remote and hybrid work cultures by leveraging new tools.

Another form of AI in business to watch out for would be synthetic content. This means that a business harnesses the power of AI to create entirely new kinds of content like images, information, and sounds that have not existed before.

Frictionless Digital Experience

By tapping into the power of data, and smart APIs, and then driving an action that would enhance employee and customer experience is what is needed for a frictionless digital experience. Ellora Sengupta, VP & Head of Business Technology, Procore believes that designing customer and employee journeys through engaging, connected and frictionless digital experiences would be essential for CIOs.

To enhance productivity, it is imperative that businesses provide an intuitive, simple, and connected experience. All this would become even more important as more governments are interested in creating smart cities and smart countries that offer connected experiences such as smart homes, and intelligent and automated check-ins at airports, and hospitals.

Hyper-Automation and Hyper-Cloud

Automation can drive growth, enhance productivity, and generate cost savings during economic uncertainties. One example of this is Salesforce’s suite of automation technologies, which allowed its customers to save more than 100 billion hours every month. In 2023, however, automation is not enough. Organizations must take hyper-automation initiatives at the enterprise level with a more strategic approach.
“In the year ahead, I will also be looking to see more focus on hyper-automation – where organizations rapidly identify, vet solutions, and automate as many business processes as possible,” says Lisa Davis, SVP & CIO, Blue Shield of California.

The technologies which are already built are no longer supported at just the cloud level. Hyper-cloud requirements are needed, which means that organizations must fully automate the provisioning of infrastructure, storage, networking, and computing.

Decentralized Finance

DeFi is largely known to be driven by the rising need for individual control and ownership over personal finance. NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens are digital assets based on blockchain technology, and they are the drivers of this trend. NFTs can completely change the way investing and transactions are done. DeFi is highly innovative and allows shared or fractional ownership. This technology also opens up a range of possibilities and opportunities for the finance industry.

Future Lies in Delivering Total Experience or TX

In 2023, organizations will have added pressure to deliver a seamless employee and customer experience to drive growth, generate more revenue, and seek customer loyalty. Organizations will hence, look to create a holistic digital experience that delivers TX or total experience encompassing not just customers, but also employees. There will also be a focus on resilient and agile outcomes with more focus on integration and automation.

If you are prioritizing a total experience through advanced tech stacks in 2023, speak to us and let us create a roadmap for a successful digital transformation of your business.

Banking as a Service or BaaS is a provision of facilitating products and services to customers through third-party distributors. The concept of BaaS functions by the integration of non-banking businesses within the regulated financial infrastructure. BaaS offerings enable new and specialized propositions and bring them to the market at a faster speed-to-market. Since these new propositions are built on the modern concepts of agility and specificity, they are displacing conventional banking offerings and disaggregating various profitable elements of the traditionally working banking value chain.

As a result of Fintech companies dominating the finance sector now, various incumbent banks are waking up to the potential of banking as a service. And why not? Stats on the financial market suggest that BaaS offerings are gaining ground as customer dissatisfaction grows with traditional banking models. Deloitte suggests that 30% of customers are considering switching banks, while 42% of customers have already used a Buy Now, Pay Later service also popularly known as BNPL. Moreover, the banks focussed on BaaS offerings have 2X Return on average assets (ROAA).

In this blog, the bank’s CMOs, CIOs, and C-Suite executives can gain insights to build customer-led journeys. But before we dive deeper into the subject, we must know what is Banking as a Service or BaaS, and more importantly, what it is not.

What is Banking as a Service?

Banking as a Service is defined as a business model where banking institutions enable fintech and non-financial businesses to provide financial products and services via the bank’s APIs. Connecting with banks’ APIs helps non-banks build innovative financial services upon a licensed and regulated infrastructure of the existing bank.

The concept of BaaS is deeply rooted in the increasing need for embedded finance. As a result, financial institutions started Banking as a Service as bundled offerings, which were often packaged as white-labeled or co-branded services. Today they are branded as embedded products. Non-Banking Financial Companies or NBFCs can use BaaS to serve their customers.

To make Banking as a Service or BaaS work, financial institutions or FIs require technology and capabilities since it is distributed to third parties via APIs and so it is based upon strong compliance and risk management.

BaaS is Not Open Banking

In our previous series on Banking as a Platform or Open Banking, we have discussed that BaaP is a different business model than Banking as a Service. The two terms are often confused because both involve the use of bank APIs by third parties and fintech companies. But the major difference lies in the objectives of BaaS and BaaP or open banking.

While BaaS allows third parties to integrate complete banking services into their product offering, BaaP or API-based open banking only allows third parties to use data for their product offerings.

Considering the Pain Points

Several traditional banks across the globe are concerned that when they distribute products or services through channel partners, it threatens their business relationship with clients. However, if end users or customers have already started adopting embedded finance in huge numbers, the banks have no room for not considering BaaS business lines.

Banks must look at the sunny side of this. The good news is that banks have that licensed and regulated infrastructure that fintech companies and NBFCs lack. Additionally, enabling third parties to distribute products and services through their APIs can be a low-margin and high-volume business.

Traditional banks are often seen struggling with cost structures that are based upon legacy technology and are managed through manual operations. Hence, to adopt a BaaS business model, incumbent financial companies must be willing to undergo digital overhauling. Fortunately, many banks have already started their journey.

Zac Townsend, who works with banking clients on creating digital businesses, writes for McKinsey, “ My work with incumbent banks suggests that more than two-thirds have undergone the digital transformation and modernization necessary to be competitive in BaaS.”

While it’s still a rising tide, one possibility with Banking as a Service is that it becomes pervasive as mobile banking or online banking. BaaS can evolve as a channel that every bank builds and maintains.

Why Banks Must Move Past the Status Quo: Lyft’s Case Study

The rising interest of traditional banks in BaaS is a result of embedded finance, which also explains why incumbents must move from the status quo. Let’s consider the case of Lyft's debit card. The Lyft Direct debit card is issued by Stride Bank, N.A., member FDIC, pursuant to a license by Mastercard International.

The debit card company offers excellent drivers for customers in the form of a strong rewards program. The result is customer experience improvements such as seamless account opening.  Behind the debit card offering of Lyft is a bank that:

a) Provides a debit card
b) Manages transactions in and out of the accounts, and
c) Handles regulatory compliance requirements for this product offering

Across the financial services offerings, including insurance, lending, and payments, the embedded finance offering like this is estimated to generate $230 billion in revenue by 2025, which is 10x increase from $22.5 billion in 2020, suggests Lightyear Capital Inc., a private, independent investment dealer.

Moreover, 11% of banks already have a BaaS strategy, 8% are in the process of developing one, and 20% are considering it, a Cornerstone Advisor, the expert banking consultants, survey of financial institutions found.

So the answer to why banks must move from the status quo lies in growth opportunities. On average, the banks which are currently offering BaaS have six partners and can support around 1.3 million account holders.

Overall, a sponsor bank that supports 1 million consumer accounts and 300,000 commercial accounts can easily generate a revenue of over $40 million annually, which calculates roughly $15 per consumer account and $71 per commercial account.

Cornerstone research estimates that the industry-wide, BaaS market could expand to over $25 billion in annual revenue in 2026. Forbes says, “This would go a long way to replacing the inevitable loss of overdraft fees the banking industry will face over the next five years.”

What’s So Important About Embedded Finance?

There’s nothing new about vertical integration, but historically the companies had integrated supply chain elements from within their industry only. What embedded finance offered is banking enablement into other industries. Digitization of banking led to the integration of banking into other industries by “embedding” banking software into non-banking companies. That is what’s new. And the interesting aspect is that it is beneficial for both financial institutions as well as non-banking companies.

The Road Ahead

A traditional bank could go the route of developing its own BaaS platform from the scratch, but for most banks, this doesn’t seem to be a viable scenario due to cost and time requirements. Additionally, the operational and technical challenges remain daunting.

This is paving the way for BaaS platform providers which can productize services such as account management, compliance, lending fraud management, and payments. Even for the fintech companies, going through the route of platform provider becomes significant from a cost and time perspective.

Unit, a BaaS platform provider says that working directly with banking infrastructure typically requires a cost of about $2 million and a time of 15 to 18 months to launch, with approximately $2.5 million in ongoing annual costs. But, working with a platform provider can also help fintech companies because it helps in reducing deployment time to less than 2 months and initial costs to $50,000, with ongoing annual expenses of around $50,000 too.

Strategic planning by a bank’s CMO or fintech companies can help reduce deployment time and cost. If you are scaling the change and looking for BaaS platform providers, Valuebound engineering capabilities can help you integrate embedded finance. Drop us a hello or reach out to our team with your inquiries.

Accenture says, “Those that treat Open Banking as a strategic growth priority will position themselves to deliver the seamless and engaging digital experiences customers want—and potentially boost revenues by upwards of 10 percent.”

A reasonably mature FinTech environment with existing use cases of API-led banking has emerged in recent years. This has led to the development of a conducive environment for financial services companies, banks, and incumbent financial organizations- collectively called the financial institutions or FIs- to consider how they can mature in the quest to embark on their API-based open banking journey.

In our previous two parts of the open banking series, we explained why banks should adopt API-based open banking and the challenges and opportunities in adopting the same. We also demonstrated it through the successful use cases of top banks like HSBC and ICICI.

Our collection of three-part series of experience-driven insights on successful API integration for open banking models can help C-suite executives of FIs and banks navigate their way into a thriving digital future.

APIs, as we clearly see, have grown beyond their initial definitions of just letting two systems interact with one another. Today APIs have evolved as a full-fledged suite of services that all leadership personnel must understand in depth to adopt open banking.

So, what should be your internal capabilities? What are the key tenets for implementing an open banking ecosystem? Through our blog, we discuss them and develop a market-ready strategy for implementing an API-based open banking business model.

Internal Capabilities to Gauge Before Implementing Strategy for Open Banking

Before formulating a strategy for an API-based open banking business model, executives must gauge internal capabilities first. A gap analysis is necessary to identify loopholes and internal areas for building capabilities. Key stakeholders must assess the following four considerations (Fig. 1).

• Technology Readiness- Assess the current IT infrastructure of the FI and the ease of API integrations.
• Customer Experience- Understand customer needs and align them with product or service offerings.
• Workforce Readiness- Gauge whether an organization has manpower capabilities to integrate APIs or not.
• Cost Implications- Estimate the cost of API integration and technology upgrade.

Fundamental Tenets of Successful Open Banking Implementation

Five considerations serve as critical tenets for successfully implementing API-based open banking ecosystem. These include data sharing, data privacy and cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, partnerships or interoperability, and customer experience (Fig. 2).

Data Sharing- Open banking is highly reliant on data sharing. It makes it possible for the customers to control the portability of critical financial data, which is shared with third parties for the ultimate benefit of customers. In addition, financial service companies can monetize customer data, given that open banking envisages secure data sharing. This can create another source of revenue for incumbent banks.

Data Privacy & Cybersecurity- Customer trust, market reputation and confidence, and service adoption- all lie at the heart of data protection. Compromising cybersecurity could be a costly mistake. C-suite executives can read our insights on the cybersecurity roadmap to gauge the risks and inculcate cybersecurity best practices. Hence, banks and financial services companies must ensure appropriate internal audits for data transfers to move toward open banking.

Regulatory Compliance- While developing and implementing an open banking ecosystem, there has been a differentiated approach of regulatory authorities across different jurisdictions. As a result, FIs must ensure compliance with data sharing, cybersecurity regulations, data privacy, consumer protection, and personal data protection.

Partnerships or Interoperability- Since API forms the premise of open banking, including banks and NBFCs, developing capabilities to strategize data, products, and services is critical. Following set standards in context with the security, customer experience, API, and operations eases the process of creating partnerships and interoperability.

Customer Experience- Open banking not only helps create additional revenue streams but also provides greater control for improved customer experience. This is possible through actionable insights based on data. Hence, creating customer-centric products and services becomes easier while reinstating customers’ trust in the brand.

Market-Ready Strategy for Open Banking

The average compounded annual revenue growth of banks and competing players in the Accenture study that utilize different business models (between 2018 and 2020) is

• 76% of digital-only players with non-linear models
• 44% digital-only players emulating traditional vertically integrated models
• <2% traditional banks with vertically integrated models

The revenue performance of digital-only, non-linear challengers is an inspiration for incumbent financial services companies, and banks for higher market valuations. So now the million-dollar question is how to facilitate a smooth “go-to-market”? Deloitte suggests three key areas that form essence of successful deployment of market strategy for API-based open banking (Fig. 3).

Developing Core Capabilities

As banks and financial services companies move towards developing core capabilities, their aim should be to develop an agile architecture that supports use cases for API enablement. Additionally, FIs must have organizational maturity for a seamless API management system, which includes API gateway, sandbox environment, and API lifecycle management.

To ensure optimum channel penetration and customer acquisition, banks and non-banks must have-

• Well-defined legal framework for liability and dispute management
• Capability building for personnel operating the system and acquiring the requisite skill set for APIs development
• Scalable, agile infrastructure to offer greater modularity and easier configuration
• Global FAPI (Financial grade API) and ISO 20022 standards to ensure adequate security controls
• Identification of verticals where API-enabled products and services can add value

Identifying and Prioritizing Relevant Use Cases

Financial institutions can leverage data to generate leads, cross-sell products, pre-, and post-delinquency management, risk assessment, and product development. Direct benefits of leveraging data for open banking are business augmentation, operational efficiency, improvement in asset quality, and cost optimization. For reaping all these benefits, banks and financial services companies must identify and prioritize the use cases to understand the relevance for their customers and the banks. Measure the intent to use, perceived benefits, and current experience for monetization, potential opportunity, and risk management.

Deloitte identifies the top 10 relevant use cases that form the basis of a successful market strategy for open banking. These are-

1. Wealth Management – High relevance to FI
2. Recurring payments – High relevance to customer
3. Sweeping accounts and micro-saving accounts – Medium relevance to FI
4. Credit risk assessment - High relevance to FI
5. NPA management and collections - High relevance to FI
6. Financial product aggregator - High relevance to customer
7. Spend management - High relevance to customer
8. Non-financial product aggregator – Low relevance to both banks, and customers
9. Automated overdraft credit - High relevance to FI
10. Automated payables reconciliation - High relevance to FI

Determining the Right Monetization and Pricing Strategy

The years to follow are promising for open banking, which is why banks have already started their journey toward API monetization. Banks can use robust pricing strategies for their competitive advantage by leveraging monetization opportunities and unlocking the full suite of API-enabled offerings.

Both free and premium APIs come with their own sets of monetization opportunities. Free-charge APIs facilitate services through third parties, which can help banks orchestrate unique customer experiences, intensify service penetration, and increase customer acquisition. Meanwhile, premium APIs monetization opportunities arise because banks can charge third parties for using them. Some of the pricing models for premium APIs can be

• Pay-per-use- No minimum fee, charge per call/per month
• Free + Premium- Free for basic; more information requires premium pricing
• Tiered-  Tiered pricing for pre-defined buckets
• Fixed fee- A fixed or percentage of the transaction paid to the API provider

In Brief

While the global open banking wave is relatively low tide right now, there is a change building at the bottom of the seabed. Accenture says that $416 billion in revenue will be at stake as the open data wave arrives, and banks must decide between surfing on the wave or riding it out with minimal damage. The leaders of open banking tomorrow shall be the ones who prioritize APIs, agile partnerships, data custodianship, analytics mastery, and trusted security.

Valuebound helps banks and financial services companies win in the digital ecosystem and get ready for what’s next. Talk to us to know how you can create a successful go-to-market strategy for API-based open banking.

Even though APIs have become a common denominator of digitization over the past few years, only 30% of the FIs were actually using APIs as of early 2021, suggests PYMNTS. So where is the challenge? To explore the growth potential, C-suite executives must also be aware of the global open banking situation. In this article of three-part series on open banking, we explain the challenges and opportunities of adopting API banking business model.

Matt Naish, head of the product strategy at FISPAN, a fintech company offering differentiated banking experience, says, “the lack of integration, generally speaking, is not a technical problem. The problem is with change management and process management.” He adds statistics to emphasize that “50% of customer relationship management (CRM) implementations fail — not because of the software but because of the inefficiencies of layering new systems over legacy infrastructure.”

Deloitte in its 2021 report, Open banking: Unleashing the power of data and seizing new opportunities underscores that data sharing is among the most critical challenges of open banking. The wariness to share data lies not just at the bank’s end, but also among the customers. The report says that cybersecurity and data protection are the top concern areas across all age groups, followed closely by wariness towards third-party access to data and transparency on data usage.

About 70 percent of survey respondents feel that greater emphasis should be made on data protection by institutions. More than 80 percent of respondents (who include multiple Financial Institutions, including banks and FinTechs, and customers) are uncomfortable with sharing the transaction history of accounts hinting toward a need for all FIs to assure customers that their data is secure.

So, we can safely say that the critical challenges of open banking are across 3 areas (Fig. 1)

• At the organizational level: Change Management & Process Management
• At the technology level: Running APIs with FI’s older tech infrastructure
• At the security level: Implementation based on regulatory favourability, industry maturity, cybersecurity, and data protection.

Open Banking Scenario in India: Case Study

India’s open banking or API banking scenario stands on a hybrid foundation. The retail banking industry and the government have collectively been involved to fuel financial development, and at the heart of this is an ambitious project called India Stack- an initiative that comprises several APIs and is aimed at bringing developers, businesses, fintech start-ups, and government at a unified software platform.

India Stack is a set of APIs (Aadhaar, eKYC, UPI, Digilocker, and eSign) that allows governments, businesses, startups, and developers to utilize a unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.

“We believe Open Banking represents the next “UPI moment,” opening up new capabilities empowered by data,” TCS’ Report suggests. The strategic imperative for banks will be to figure out the implications stemming from the widespread consent-driven sharing of financial information.

From an operational perspective, banks will need to invest in technology for evaluating and acting upon large volumes of diverse data.

Despite the anticipated marketplace shifts, banks are well positioned to deliver solutions with deeper functionality, especially in areas such as corporate and SME banking, which requires deeper, contextual financial advice and expertise beyond what fintechs, telecom companies, and technology firms can typically provide. In these specialist segments, banks will likely continue to thrive.

HSBC’s Open Banking APIs and ICICI’s API banking are two successful examples of open banking. While HSBC’s open banking APIs enable third parties to begin integrating their financial services into merchant’s applications, ICICI’s payment APIs enable the complete payment lifecycle from registration to making transactions, checking status, and de-registering.

The Road Ahead

There are different ways in which financial services companies can approach the adoption of API banking or open banking. One way is to build APIs in-house, or they can also buy APIs and then bring them in-house. The second way is to integrate with platforms and partners like Valuebound.

A collaborative model can help banks future-proof their technological pursuits, given that it is still hard to say where the banking industry will go in a decade or half from here. By engaging with platforms and partners, FIs get an opportunity to position themselves for growth in real-time data exchange, embedded banking, and real-time payments.

Partnering with a product engineering company reduces a traditional organization’s time to market by adopting an agile product development and deployment. If you wish to spin off a successful, agile, cost-effective digital operation, get in touch with us to learn how we can accelerate your business model towards API banking or open banking.

In the next insight of our three-part series, we shall talk about the key tenets of open banking that form the pillars of a successful open banking ecosystem and a market-ready strategy for implementing an open banking business model by solving the challenges mentioned in this insight.