As I write this today, the world is battling a war on two fronts: our health is threatened by COVID-19 and our economies have slowed and even stopped in certain sectors. As a leukemia survivor and someone dealing with a significant amount of medical issues in the past few years, our health is paramount to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The current state of the world, with workers all figuring out how to do their jobs remotely if even possible, shows just how fragile our societal and economical constructs truly are. I’ve often struggled since leaving the Marine Corps with the concept that my chosen profession in Information Technology, while requiring a high-level of aptitude to perform well, doesn’t exactly contribute to humanitarian causes. Building apps just isn’t as noble as a nurse, a firefighter, or other public servants. I admit it can feel empty at times. Since anyone reading this is likely in the same profession, I bet you’ve felt similarly at some point. How do we contribute to “beyond corporate purpose”?
I’m very proud of my company, EPI-USE, for our non-profit GroupElephant.com. We contribute 1% of our for-profit revenue and our expertise in technology to help preserve Elephants and Rhinos from poaching and eventual extinction by enabling the people of the nearby communities. I encourage you to check that out. So in a direct and indirect way, our work does contribute to more than just the pursuit of profit and I relate to that very well. But nonetheless, there is a humanitarian in me that always wants to be on the front lines. It’s why I became a Marine. It’s why I chose leadership as my career path.
These are time-sensitive apps that require solutions now, not in weeks or months…Who better to respond to that than us, the Rapid App Developers?
Right when I started to feel a bit helpless this week like there was so little we do to help in times like this, I received an email to see if we could mobilize quickly to help a client finish an infectious disease-related app that they had built in a hackathon that could contribute to the current efforts. Within hours we met and formulated a plan to meet their goals in just a week’s time. Today is that end of week and we are on the final difficult requirement but confident we will achieve it. A couple of days ago, I was asked to help design and build another app related to how the medical teams are mobilizing and treating suspected patients in these tent hospitals. Another client is trying to mobilize a Center of Excellence (COE) but struggling to show the art of possible, so one of our new hires with less than a month of experience was able to build a POC in three days to replicate one of their existing public facing apps on the potential list of app modernization projects, allowing them to showcase what could be achieved with their new emphasis on remote work projects. Other projects are being pushed forward, not back like anticipated, to be ready for the pent-up demand that is building while the workers and buyers sit idle. When they come back they will need solutions ready to go. These are time-sensitive apps that require solutions now, not in weeks or months.
The market has learned to turn to experts in Rapid App Development to solve these problems. Additionally, we are able to lean on non-traditional developers to prototype solutions. We are surprisingly busier than ever before. I don’t know if this is temporary or a sign of a changing demand curve. While much of business will return to the previous norms, I do think a number of them will look for ways to interact more remotely with their suppliers, employees, and customers, and to do that they need digital solutions like apps more than ever. It’s as if the Digital Transformation we have been evangelizing for years has been accelerated.
Apps are needed to collect or provide vital information for the app owners. The purpose of the app doesn’t have to be a COVID-19 related app for it to be important. Perhaps it has to do with a new product launch. Maybe it extends functionality of an existing system to make it easier on the parties involved. If that app helps a business compete in the market place, it helps their growth and stability, which helps employers keep their employees and offer jobs. This isn’t just a health battle; it is also an economic one. We can do more in less time vs traditional app development and enterprises need to move quickly right now. Who better to respond to that than us, the Rapid App Developers?
I don’t know how many will even see this, but if it helps just one person re-frame their importance in these times to push through the despair and realize that we all have a role to play, then I’m glad I published this. There are many rough months and frankly years ahead. Improve your skills and be ready to respond. Rapid App Development is more essential now than ever in it’s relatively brief history. The technology is built on the shoulders of programming giants. Let’s not let them down and rise to the occasion!