Getting a fully-developed solution for your community, organization, institution or industry by adapting (fast) the Smartcity app

“Why reinvent the wheel?” is the kind of reaction that every entrepreneur/manager/financing strategist has when it comes to building from scratch a new app based on specific requirements (for sure) but relying (in fact) on pretty common functionalities.

INDEED! Why reinvent it when you can just adapt it?

This was our approach when we developed the SmartCity solution. ‘Cause, yes, from the very beginning, we built it by considering how we can make it (fast) functional for …various types of communities, organizations, institutions or industries.

And we did it! Read the following article to discover more about:

• How and for whom did we develop SmartCity?
• What modules and functionalities does SmartCity integrate?
• Who is using it now?
• How can this solution be adapted to other domains?
• The people behind the code - who are the developers who developed this prototype.
• Experience in mobile & other apps developed with this team.

First things first: how the ”smart” approaches trends look like today

The trend of adopting "smart" technologies and solutions has accelerated in the last two years, the pandemic context being certainly among the strongest triggers.?

SmartCity has already begun to mean more than it used to integrate 5 years ago, Today "smart" approaches, are about:

• simplifying communication between different categories of users;
• much faster solution of requests and problems;
• increasing the comfort of members of a community through quick access to services and reducing the time for routine activities;
• greater efficiency for service providers.?

It is not surprising, therefore, that smart edging in communities (implemented mainly through digital solutions) has become a "must have" for all cities. And the authorities in the developed urban areas have fully understood this, the investments in the field proving this openness.?

Investments in Smart Cities solutions globally - 2022

How and for whom did we develop SmartCity?

About 2 years ago, most services seemed to be blocked for a difficult time to define. Lockdown made it difficult, if not impossible, to continue important activities, and the idea of digitization suddenly became indispensable.

This is the context in which the SmartCity solution appeared. Matching the digitization needs we had observed and analyzed before the pandemic, with the emergencies that arose during it, we created the first structures of modules, applications and functionalities. Continuous testing of the digital product has led to its maturation, so today we can talk about a stable solution that works without crashes and errors.?

A concrete example of a way in which Smart City can be used is as a notification company for a networking company. It can be used by companies, especially to obtain internal and external feedback.?

SmartCity (the solution developed by us, which can be adapted for any type of community / city) integrates 3 platforms:

• MOBILE APP - iOS & Android application created for citizens to give them quick access to information / announcements / events and the possibility to send notifications directly from your mobile phone.
• ONLINE PORTAL - Extending the services offered by the local administration through a web communication portal - optimized for mobile and search engines (for example: Google).
• BACKOFFICE WEB - Intuitive digital platform, created for employees in the local administration system for receiving and managing complaints from citizens.

Implementing SmartCity to Pitesti City Hall (turning “Too much waiting time” into “No more waiting time”)

Do you know anything more annoying than waiting in line to pay a bill or place a request/complaint? With every minute you lose, the frustration gets higher. And the higher your frustration is the less trust in the public services you have.

Before Smart City implementation, every citizen from Pitesti was dealing with this kind of context. And the pandemic didn’t simplify the situation.

So, this was one of the top things that convinced the mayor that it’s no better time than now to implement a dedicated digital solution: Smart City.

• citizens can add complaints directly from the Mobile App (with pictures and precise localization);
• municipality’s departments are notified instantly via email every time a new complaint is added;
• push notifications, new announcements, or alerts are available for both parties.

SmartCity solution is built to:

• be delivered / implemented quickly at an optimal cost;?
• bring added value to customers;
• allow better organization;?
• be people-oriented;?
• allow better communication and create a bridge between the developer and its customers;?
• allow the extension of functionalities. An example of a function that could be added is the suggestions part (so that those who use the application can come up with a series of suggestions);?
• be able to integrate extended modules/functionalities. E.g., also have an ad module (OLX type), which addresses the community that revolves around the application;
• It benefits from maintenance;
• It can be declined for other industries / fields.?

Some examples on how the solution can be declined for other types of communities

Because one of the advantages of the SmartCity solution is the fact that it can be easily declined for almost any type of industry, community, field, here are some examples:

• SmartOPC (Complaints can be submitted by the mobile application not only through the classic channels: telephone call, written notification, e-mail. The management of the notifications can be centralized from a single place in the back office.);
• SmartCovCity (Can be included in the digitization of state institutions - Health 2021-2027. It can be thought of as an application for personal monitoring with Covid-19.);
• SafeCity (Police complaints, possibly local police);
• SmartSchool (For schools, high schools, kindergartens and universities);

See more examples of declensions of the SmartCity application and what features they can integrate in the article: SmartCity development | How the SmartCity application can be declined for other types of communities

The team behind the project

8 developers (some of them with over six years of experience) specialized in developments on:

• iOS
• Android
• React Native?

and coordinated in the last 2 years by the Mobile Team Manager - Malina Mircu.

"I coordonate, first of all, a team of professionals. We have people in the team with over six years of experience. Developers are dedicated to the client's project, regardless of its complexity. In addition, they can be involved in the development of projects in all fields. And this can be seen in the company's portfolio. "

Mobile team workflow:?

• Technical consulting for the client
• Establishing wireframes
• Design
• Defining the database structure
• Creating application
• Design API design?
• Development
• Implementation
• Testing (Testing is done manually and automatically, depending on the specifics of the project.)?

Other projects developed by our Mobile Team

Tourpaq Guest App

TECHNOLOGIES: Native React, Firebase Realtime Database, Firebase Push Notifications, Dibs by Nets, Redux

Tourpaq Destination App?

Tourpaq destination app is a solution for guides and tourists alike to reserve and manage different trips.

TECHNOLOGIES: iOS, Objective C, Firebase, .NET, SQL

Mobile APP for On-the-Go & Safe Banking, CIM Bank

• extended capabilities (e.g., invoice payment through QR/document scanning)
• secure account access (by using the biometric features)
• secure banking transactions (by using the built-in security features)

TECHNOLOGIES: Swift, Java / Android, ASP .NET Web API

WHISE CRM PROJECT - for real estate

TECHNOLOGIES: .NET 5 Web API, Nancy FX, MSSQL, Elasticsearch, Memory cache, Redis, RabbitMQ, SignalR, Quartz.NET, Azure DevOps, Docker, Kubernetes, ReactJS

Modular waste management solution based on the “pay-as-you-throw” concept

TECHNOLOGIES: C#, Asp.Net 5, EntityFramework Core, PostgreSQL, Docker & Docker compose, Consul, RabbitMq, MediatR, Steeltoe, Polly, Hangfire, IronPdf, SendGrid, MailKit, MassTransit, Ocelot, OpenAPI, JWT, Linux, Angular, Typescript, Nginx, WSL2

Toll payment app (online portal + mobile app) | Plata RCA

TECHNOLOGIES: PHP, MySQL, jQuery, Web Service, Android, iOS, SQLite, XML, GreenDAO ORM, Alarm Manager, Local Notifications

Key-figures about Roweb

• 18+ years in business
• 130 + full-time IT professionals
• clients in 30+ countries
• 3 offices in Romania (Bucharest, Pitesti, Craiova)
• 2008 the year when we became Microsoft Partner
• the longest ongoing project started in 2006

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