This is the age of data and it has emerged to be the most useful or important asset of enterprises today. The volume of data is ever on the rise, and it is collected from various sources and in multiple formats by enterprises across the globe.

99.5% of Data collected by Enterprises never gets used or analysed!

This shows that today, the success of an enterprise is largely dependent on how successfully it uses the information that it collects from various sources. Data is the biggest driving force behind successful businesses today, and this is only going to go to a larger extent in the near future.

However, making the best use of data is easier said than done and for this, organisations need to have a powerful and effective strategy in place. Leading IT Solutions providers offer customised Big Data Consulting Services that are designed to help businesses, big and small, harness the power of the information and use it for the betterment and growth of the business. The Digital Group is a popular name when it comes to Big Data Consulting Services, as it offers a multidimensional strategy for effective management of information. Hexaware is another example of a firm that works on information consulting.

However, Big Data Consulting Services do not indicate any single service, but it’s a complete package of solutions that help enterprises overcome the various challenges of information management. This article takes a look at the key services and solutions that come under it.

1] Data Integration

Data integration is all about the process of combining information that is located in different sources, with the purpose of providing users a unified view that is easy to comprehend. It’s an important part of Big Data consulting services, because it makes collaboration between different teams seamless and easy, by eliminating the need for users to switch from one source to the other in order to get the complete information they need.

2] Data Mining

It refers to a process that discovers predefined patterns from large volumes of information, which makes analysis easy and quick. It’s a concept that is based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and NLP, along with statistics. The objective of the process is to extract information and present it in a format that is easily understood.

3] Data Architecture

In terms of Information Technology, this is a concept that refers to a set of rules or standards that govern the collection, storage, arrangement, integration and the usage of information within Enterprises and/or data systems. It forms a key component of Big Data consulting services and also defines interaction between different systems.

4] Big Data Platforms

This is referred to as a kind of IT Solution that is designed to combine the capabilities and features of multiple Big Data applications to form a single solution. The purpose is to help organisations get a platform for organised development, deployment, operations and management of an information-based environment.

5] Data Warehousing

It is a term that is used to refer to a process which involves construction and usage of a data warehouse. Talking about how they are created, they are the result of integration of information from multiple sources. Information available in it can be used for multiple applications, which include operation analysis, customer analysis, creation of production strategies and more.

So, that was about the key components ofBig Data Consulting Services. As information continues to grow, the future will be all about increased awareness among enterprises to make the best possible use of the information they have. In the future, information will have the potential to determine the competitive advantage of businesses.

The healthcare sector has progressed enormously in this era of digitalization. Global spending on healthcare services is on the rise and this industry has a bright future for sure. Healthcare providers are investing in advanced technologies to ensure high-quality services to their patients. Users of mobile app are able to actively keep track of basic health stats such as consulting a physician over the app, measuring their heart rate, checking their glucose level, BMI level, booking appointments, Accessibility of Electronic Health Records both to patients and Physicians, etc.

But what comes in the picture here is the security of data. It is one of the biggest concerns of the healthcare industry. Data breaches, cyber-attacks, hacking, etc. are common today. They can put the sensitive health data of patients at risk, causing massive losses to healthcare organizations. This data can be at high risk especially while using a healthcare mobile app. So, healthcare organizations need to be more vigilant of their IT and cyber-security practices. In order to avoid theft, fraud, Misuse, identity of the patient data, all healthcare apps in US have to be HIPAA compliant and strictly abide by the HIPAA rules and regulations.

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The Act includes a set of minimum security and privacy standards for protection, confidentiality and availability of sensitive patient information and their medical records. It is issued by the federal regulators. Initially, the purpose of enacting this act was to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of U.S. healthcare organizations. Over time, many rules were added to the Act and the purpose was to protect the individually identifiable health information i.e. Protected Health Information (PHI). These rules influence the working and security of healthcare mobile apps.

The entities covered under HIPAA are healthcare clearinghouses, health plans, and healthcare providers that make use of electronic media for transmitting data like health claims, referral authorizations, coordination of benefits, etc. These entities may comprise of individual practitioners, small or large organizations, institutions, research centres and government agencies as well.

Why HIPAA Compliance plays a major role in protecting data privacy in Healthcare Apps?

It is federally mandated for the healthcare organizations and other healthcare IT service providers (like healthcare mobile app development services, web portal development services, etc.), to adhere to HIPAA for data privacy. So let us understand how HIPAA compliance plays a major role in protecting data privacy in Healthcare Apps:

Data Privacy

The importance of data capturing has increased over the years for improving the overall healthcare operations, with the use of advanced technologies like the Internet of Things, Robotic Process Automation, etc. Personal information of hundreds of patients, their contact details and their medical reports are recorded and saved digitally by many hospital bodies. So, data privacy is important to ensure that only relevant information is shared with the right people and at the right time. This also helps to build trust among the patients.

HIPAA compliant apps abide by strict rules to ensure data privacy. They have to display a link in the privacy policy of the mobile app, while the app is downloaded by the users. The apps take consent from the patients or users before using their information. Also, the users are informed about how their data will be used. These apps are hosted on HIPAA compliant servers for ensuring that all the HIPAA standards are met correctly.

Security of the medical data

Data breaches can be devastating for patients, hospitals and similar healthcare systems. There could be insurance frauds, extortion or identity thefts and once this data is hacked or lost, it can be disastrous for both patient and Healthcare providers. Hence it is of utmost importance to secure the data of patients, hospital staff or other back-office data.

A HIPAA compliant mobile app ensures that healthcare data remains safe and secure. The users of these apps can access the data only through a secure login and 2 factor authentications are applied as well for more security. All the data presented in the app can be only accessed using a secure PHI key. Also, in case the mobile device is stolen or lost, the personal user information cannot be accessed easily due to the advanced security and encryption. Data being stored on database servers are also encrypted so that the medical data cannot be easily accessible.

Secure data transmission

In many large Healthcare Facilities having multiple branches, the medical data needs to be shared with many Physicians or concerned authorities. If such a hospital uses a mobile app for data transmission, it must be in accordance with HIPAA rules and regulations. To ensure that the user data in the app isn’t accessed inappropriately or modified abruptly, the data should be audited from time to time. In case the patients are monitored remotely through wearable technology, IoT or AI, only the necessary data will be transferred to ensure the security of data. There are integrity control mechanisms in place in the communication networks of the apps.

A HIPAA compliant mobile app ensures that the amount of sensitive data that is stored on them has access limitations when the device is carried outside the premises of the hospital. Also, when these apps are deleted by the users, any related health data is deleted completely from the device. It is noteworthy that HIPAA laws apply only to the apps using PHI i.e. protected health information. So, the data transferred from an app that does not deal with personally identifiable information, is not needed to be protected under HIPAA.

Notification of medical records breaches

There is a possibility of sensitive Healthcare data getting fraudulently accessed by hackers. If the Healthcare Mobile app is HIPAA compliant, then it needs to notify affected individuals about the breach of data without unreasonable delay and should not be sent later than 60 days. So it is mandatory for an app that adheres to HIPAA to abide by data breach notification laws. Under these laws, the eligible data breaches are obliged to alert the users or relevant parties.

Some of the data breaches may not cause serious harm to hospitals or medical organizations. In case any disclosure of information, unauthorized access to it or loss of personal information is bound to cause serious damage, such breaches are called eligible data breaches. They can result in financial harm or even harm the reputation of the healthcare organizations. So, the mobile app they use should be HIPAA compliant and send timely notifications to users.

Key Takeaways:

Data is the biggest asset in any industry today and healthcare organizations are no exception to it. Today, most hospitals use diverse technologies and mobile apps for providing better services to their patients. However, the medical data can be vulnerable to threats. So, it is necessary for the healthcare apps and systems to follow HIPAA guidelines. Under HIPAA compliance, the covered entities need to put physical, technical and administrative safeguards for PHI in place and thus ensure privacy, confidentiality, integrity and security of the data.

With technological advancement, consumers are drifting towards personalized solutions; Artificial Intelligence is a boon for all businesses because it can use your information smartly with the help of social media and IoT to track your behavior and recommend policies based on your preferences.

AI is very useful when it comes to accuracy. It simplifies the process and avoids manual work; it can be done much faster than humans. Here we are talking about how the insurance industry is transforming with the AI and ML effect. It is useful to track fraud in a centralized database and verify the information faster.

Data has always been an important part of the insurance industry. When it comes to innovation and technology, AI and ML are transforming the insurance industry in a number of ways. A recent survey stated that 75% of customers would be happy to get the chatbot generated insurance advice. AI is the new tool used in the insurance industry and helps agencies to deliver better results.

New and Better Data Analysis
In recent years, we have experienced many technical terms like AI, Big Data, Machine learning, etc. find their way into every aspect of our lives, and many organizations are adopting transformation. The insurance industry is one of them.

Consulting firm Accenture stated that insurance agents believe that AI will drastically transform their industry in the next five years. Insurance agents, brokers, even employees, and insurers are investing in AI tools to enhance customer experience with automated and personalized solutions.

Insurance providers usually rely on small and average customers to build predictive models and fix pricing plans. With the help of AI tools, end-users now calculate future risk, able to discover other plans, and compare that plan to avoid risks.

Many insurance companies have already started using AI to improve customer experience. Verifying social data to understand customer needs and sentiment about the behavior pattern are some basic applications of AI.

With the extensive usage of the Internet. Consumers now expect personalized solutions, and AI makes it possible by reviewing a customer’s profile and suggesting plans that are relevant for a particular customer. Moreover, AI-enabled chatbots work with messaging apps that are implemented in the industry to solve consumer’s problems quickly.

With the increasing demand of AI-based applications, more and more industries hire angular js development company to build smart and fast applications to enhance user experience

Fraud Detection
The General Insurance Company of Singapore claims that approx one in five claims the industry receives are either fraud or false. To reduce fraud, insurance companies are using AI-driven tools and applications to process thousands of data each month.

With the help of automatic software, you can detect fraud quickly, and massive data indicate multiple things like claim frequency, behavior, and credit score of the insurer. Hence, the insurance industry is using artificial intelligence to process massive data into tabulate format that increases productivity and reduces the rate of fraud.

Different AI algorithm learns the data pattern of the company and helps them to detect fraud in the process. Having self-learning abilities, AI technology improves productivity over time, and Machine Learning helps insurance companies to detect frauds and reflect recovering costs.

Chatbots
Chatbot, the most booming technology of this decade, allows the business to assist the customers quickly by resolving their issues in real-time. A chatbot is a powerful technology where companies can directly interact with the customers and entertain them with a quick response.

The insurance sector uses chatbots to guide their customers. Chatbots can directly start an interaction with the users without any human touch; this reduces companies’ operational costs.

The majority of insurance companies rely on machine learning to detect fraud and to make sure that the customer is enjoying their services.

Chatbots study human behavior and collect data about customers from various sources to improve customer satisfaction. Hence, a customer representative can utilize this time to solve complex issues, and ultimately chatbots deliver a quality experience to the users.

How Will AI Impact Insurance Policies
Leveraging artificial intelligence in the insurance sector is the best example of digital transformation. AI is changing the face of every industry, and experts feel that AI will bring a massive change in the insurance sector in the upcoming years. Thus it would be beneficial for insurance companies to accept those changes at the early stage.

AI will make insurance policies cost-effective and saves time. Just like many industries, insurance companies have a large volume of data, and we all know that AI tools are able to compress the data in a minute without the involvement of humans.

AI systems help companies to create and identify customer’s profiles in an efficient way. It means the insurer can expect faster claims to enhance productivity. For example, in-vehicle insurance, customers can demand the claims through the mobile app, clicking pictures of the accident and asking for the claim instantly. It increases customer satisfaction, and you can automate the claim evaluation process.

Besides, with the help of AI applications, companies can easily find the target market and based on that, they can make a strong and impactful marketing strategy. Send customers meaningful and short promotional messages to drive more sales and user engagement.

Last words
Like any other industry, the use of AI in insurance is reducing the need for human power to perform repetitive tasks. AI can perform all the tasks much faster and more accurately. Along with the technological changes, the insurance industry is evolving, AI and ML offer better and useful solutions to make operations easy and provide enhanced customer experience.

Thus, AI not only enhances efficiency but makes processes simple and smoother that are difficult to understand. In the end, AI opens the door of opportunities for business, and it helps to achieve a higher growth rate.

In short, we can say that AI is here to stay and automate the process and help the business to gain a competitive edge. AI is one of the best things that is affecting several industries in numerous

Building a dedicated mobile app is not an option anymore. It has become a necessity, rather a priority for businesses. However, it is often difficult to decide whether to go for native mobile app development or choose cross-platform development. This decision depends on various factors like budget, time limit, performance and many more. However, in this article, we will be stressing upon the reasons and the benefits of developing native apps. Before that, let us get a brief glimpse of a native mobile app development approach.

What is Native Mobile App Development?
In the native approach, the code is written and the app is developed only for a specific operating system like iOS or Android. The end users can access the apps from dedicated stores like Google Play or the App Store. Such apps can use the device-specific hardware like camera, GPS, microphone, etc. Native apps do not require any external help from other browsers or tools for their launching. Their data is stored in a cloud service or in the memory of the gadget.

For native iOS app development, the developers use programming languages like Swift or Objective-C. On the other hand, native Android app development requires programming in languages like Java or Kotlin.

Benefits of creating Native Mobile Apps

Secure and Reliable
Native apps are known for their reliability and security. These apps make use of the core languages while programming for any specific platform which provide better protection against security violations. Also, it is easier to evaluate risks in native apps. These apps offer proactive performance and security upgrades. Using multi-factor authentication is easier in these apps, which adds to its security. The native app development companies can have an embedded certification for averting a man-in-the-middle attack. They also offer remote management controls on individual devices which have the ability to even wipe out the app and its data remotely, if required.

More Intuitive and Interactive
Native apps run smoothly when it comes to user input and output. These apps can also inherit the OS interfaces and look like they are an integrated part of the device itself. Native apps are quite interactive and intuitive in nature as they are developed for a particular operating system. They stick to the guidelines of the OS while development. So, the apps have specific UI standards of the OS and the users can feel a natural flow while using the app. They can interact with the apps and grasp the concepts easily. This allows learning the apps quickly and performing various actions swiftly.

Optimum Performance
Native mobile apps have a powerful and fast performance and have a great operational efficiency. As they are programmed using the core programming languages and APIs for any platform, they are highly proficient and have the ability to use the features of that platform to the fullest. These platform-specific apps utilize the processing speed of the device to its maximum potential. Also, the load times of these apps are lower, ensuring a top-notch performance.

Better Mobile Hardware Integration
As discussed earlier, native apps take full advantage of the hardware features of the device (like GPS, microphone, camera, etc.) and the operating system. They have better mobile hardware integration and so, are faster in the execution of the processes. Another advantage of native apps is push notifications.

Better UI/UX Experience
The native apps are the best when it comes to user experience. They access the hardware features of devices for better performance aspects. These apps maintain aspect ratio for ensuring good quality of the visuals. They have a better control over size, orientation and resolution. These apps provide a seamless experience to users, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.

Key Takeaways:
It is clear looking at the above advantages that native mobile app development is a highly preferred choice as compared to other approaches. Cross-platform apps offer flexibility in the UI design, however, they lack in providing responsive and fast UX. Native apps are great and reward brilliantly in the long run. No wonder, mobile app development companies continue to get an increasing demand for native apps in the market.