In this article, IT experts share their experience about digital projects. If you’re trying to raise capital for your business, this is an important read for you. That’s because these experts aim to help those of us without an engineering background accurately assess the potential of digital projects.
Read on to learn more about investing wisely in digital projects.
Background of Digital Projects
The lucrative IT field changes rapidly. Financial investors closely monitor its activity. Mergers and acquisitions among software companies change the landscape almost continually. In short, the rapidly evolving IT sector does not stay within an expected framework.
Nonetheless, investors’ outlook is generally one of optimism. There is a soaring demand for portable electronics, for one thing. Couple that with the ongoing digital transformation, and you have a trend that drives the public’s obsession with all things digital.
To put it plainly, however, most IT startups are risky assets. For that reason, investors need to be smart about their decisions. In other words, don’t invest in digital projects blindly. You’ll need data, and plenty of it. Furthermore, rely heavily on the statistics and analytical reports that are at your disposal.
If you choose wisely, however, incredible profit awaits you.
RELATED ARTICLE: KNOWING WHEN IT’S TIME FOR A CUSTOM SOFTWARE SOLUTION
1. Initial Currency Offering (ICO)
When it comes to initial currency offerings, or ICO’s, it pays to remember that there are only a few real projects among the hundreds of launched ICO’s. For example, if you study the whitepapers of some ICO projects in detail, you’ll soon become aware of obviously fraudulent intentions.
As a matter of fact, most ICO’s today are almost guaranteed to lose money. The very fact that a new startup chooses to offer an ICO to attract investment should arouse your suspicions. That’s because an ICO requires no documentation. Unregulated as they are, detailed business plans or system definitions are neither required nor offered. Therefore, smart business owners don’t consider ICO’s to be safe investments.
2. To Blockchain or Not to Blockchain
The reasons for the rush to blockchain projects are clear. After all, blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now, new blockchain-based platforms attempt to duplicate the financial success of the major cryptocurrencies that preceded them.
However, there are two issues worth noting here:
- Blockchain is not the revolutionary technology many believe it to be. On the contrary, the concepts upon which blockchain is based were well known in engineering circles long before its explosive growth in popularity. In fact, its popularity triggered the investment phenomenon we are witnessing now. It is simply that it has attracted much attention, and its popularity now triggers a flow of investments its way.
- Practically speaking, blockchain technology is irrational. It requires an excessive consumption of system resources. It also puts an extra load on communication channels. For that reason, end-user blockchain-based solutions have a dim outlook. On the other hand, this technology might be capable of reaching its full potential with solid infrastructure projects.
Therefore, if you’re looking to invest in a blockchain-based project, be sure to assess its risks and prospects carefully. As a matter of fact, you would be wise to turn to IT consulting experts. Get clear answers to such questions as:
- To what extent is blockchain technology feasible for this project?
- Will the current infrastructure have enough bandwidth for the scheduled number of blockchain transactions?
- Is blockchain a marketing screen for developers who are trying to hide its drawbacks?
3. Neural Networks (NN)
Artificial neural networks represent another technology that seeks to attract investors with its mystery. Scientists and programmers have been researching, improving, and solving applied tasks with the help of different types of neural networks since the 1960’s. Recently, however, this development trend gained momentum when large companies invested in its research and development.
NN-based software solutions have proven to be highly efficient in tasks involving image data processing, linguistic analysis, decision-making systems, and the like. However, they are not equally efficient in all application areas.
Additionally, the use of neural networks requires extensive training on high-quality data sets. What’s more, the training sets themselves, having been specially selected, become an expensive intellectual property. To put it bluntly, these technologies are specific tools that have value only in the hands of experienced specialists.
4. Mobile Application Development
Mobile application development is a thriving market with high capitalization. Nonetheless, you should be cautious when investing in digital projects geared toward mobile.
It’s worth noting that several million mobile applications compete within just two platforms: iTunes and Play Market. This leads to intense competition. The result is bloated marketing budgets, constantly declining ROI, and unfair competition.
Experts recommend adhering to the following safe strategies with regard to mobile apps:
- Focus specifically on your target audience. Further, plan the release of a mobile application toward a segment of that market that has a sufficient number of loyal users.
- Ensure mobile access to your own content as soon as the app monetizes.
- Employ technological innovations. This will help to attract a wider audience and contribute to the popularity of your new mobile application. This could lead to an acquisition similar to Facebook’s acquisition of the filter app MSQRD.
5. Web Applications and Services
Of all digital projects, web applications and services appeal to the largest audience. That’s because this field includes mobile and desktop as well as server applications. Designers create custom software solutions for various levels. These can include anything from personal finance accounts to advanced corporate solutions.
It would be wise to make web applications and services the first trigger point in your investment checklist. After that, thoroughly study some custom web application projects. Additionally, pay attention to infrastructure projects, as these can become the subject of major deals and acquisitions by IT giants.
Keep in mind, too, that communication bridges and API cross-platforms can significantly expand the functionality of existing solutions. These, too, can become profitable investments.
In addition, multimedia platforms and services for aggregation and processing of users’ videos and photos have a good investment potential as well. This is due to the avalanche of media content and the upgrading of cameras in mobile devices.
Takeaways
Take heed of these tips and recipes for your business’s digital transformation. You will thereby improve your chances of avoiding investing mistakes.
In addition, remember that large does not always equal good. Even the IT giants own unsuccessful web projects. Think Microsoft Zune or Google Buzz, for only two examples.
Therefore, always remember to include IT experts to help you gauge the technical value of digital projects.
Acknowledgement
A shout-out to the IT experts at OCSICO for sharing their expertise in this post.
