Focus on AR Features

But, building a great application is not only about incorporating the latest technology. It’s also about developing the right product. It’s about bridging the gap between user expectations and technological possibilities. Technology should augment the user experience, and that is important to keep in mind when developing AR apps.

Finding such balance is not easy, as so many short-lived popular apps have proven in the past. This is where the second part of the title comes into play: how do you know when to include an AR feature in your application?

Instead of creating an AR app and making it all about the technology, think about how to implement one or two AR features that can improve an already existing app or solve a known user problem in a new way. Don’t just apply the technology for novelty purposes.

Focus on Industries Ripe with Potential

As a general rule, there are no limits to AR. It can be applied to any industry, including design and architecture, real estate, healthcare, automotive and space industries, TV, media and advertising, music and film, and sports and education.

However, augmented reality is natural in some industries, and when it’s skillfully done, it’s a sure hit. Think of the gaming industry, for example, where immersing into an alternative reality is critical to making an application that will earn an enthusiastic following. You don’t need to go as far as to develop a new gaming idea. Adding AR features to a game app may breathe new life into it. A great example is Disney’s Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app, which is based on a movie classic delivered in a new package. Gaming is a billion-dollar industry, one of the few areas where paid apps can work just as well as free apps, so it definitely provides fertile ground for new AR features.

Social apps also offer great AR potential. Even if some AR communication features may seem goofy to you, people connect by sharing emotions. AR apps have the capacity to enhance the bland two-dimensionality of communicating on social apps and instantly excite users. Social AR apps can go a lot further than Snapchat if you find a way to implement the features in a clever way.

How about enhancing the shopping experience? Though online retail stores have enabled shopping in a jiffy from home, users’ closets still include undersized items in tacky colors and toys that looked a lot better online. AR has the potential to prevent such mishaps. Amazon has included AR features in its shopping app to help users learn what they’re getting for their money. Other large retailers have also followed suit.

If this trend takes over the retail industry, augmented reality can change the way we shop, and we will start relying on AR apps regularly to make purchasing decisions. As things stand at the moment, AR is poised to fundamentally change the shopping experience.

To develop a successful AR app, you need to think in terms of implementing augmented reality as a feature rather than as a holistic technology concept. Educate yourself about the possibilities of the AR software kits for the relevant OS – ARCore or ARKit 2 – and invest in industries ripe with potential that have already taken significant steps toward incorporating AR features.  

Written by Michael Kordvani

The post How and when to include AR in your app’s features appeared first on DevOps Online North America.

The cross-platform service integrates competitions into mobile, PC and console games, helping developers partake in the growing eSports market.

Players and streamers will be able to create their own user-generated competitions and invite participants, which allows them to connect with friends, helping expand their gaming network.

‘Powerful tools to foster community’

The gaming service works on any operating system and is built on AWS cloud infrastructure.

Amazon competitive gaming director, Marja Koopmans, said at the firm’s GDC 2018 keynote: “Game developers have consistently told us they are looking for ways to increase player engagement and retention.

“We built Amazon GameOn to give developers simple, yet powerful tools to foster community through competitive gameplay.”

GameOn is currently being used by nWay, game Insight, Millenial Esports’ Eden Games, Umbrella Games, Nazara, Mindstorm, Mokuni, Avix and GameCloud Studios.

Written by Leah Alger

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OMEN Game Stream allows gamers to play top AAA games anytime and anywhere by leveraging the power and performance of their OMEN PC on any Windows 10 device with a high-speed internet connection.

Specific details include:

• Connected cloud gaming experience: Offered within the OMEN Command Center, gamers can now take their OMEN gaming experience with them on-the-go with their OMEN gaming PC doing all the heavy lifting by acting as a cloud gaming server
• Push gaming boundaries: Using any Windows 10 device, gamers can connect to their OMEN PC and play games that are well beyond the hardware specifications of the connecting device for an incredible cloud gaming experience

According to CNet, the serving system should be physically connected to the network, and the connection between it and the client system is stable, with a bandwidth of at least 25 megabits per second, making a performance of 1080p/60fps.

Written by Leah Alger

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As one of the first bookmakers to recognise the potential of online and then mobile platforms for betting and gaming, Sky Betting & Gaming today operates five major online products – Bet, Vegas, Casino, Poker, and Bingo – as well as leading sports affiliate Oddschecker.

Reengineering a legacy online service

Sporting Life, a subsidiary of Sky Betting & Gaming, partnered with BJSS to deliver an end-to-end digital replacement of Sporting Life’s legacy online service, which was first introduced in 1996.

Delivered with the BJSS Enterprise Agile approach and using open source technologies, BJSS developed and replaced the Sporting Life online platform and built a complementary set of enterprise-grade iOS and Android mobile applications.

The digital replacement also included significant back-end development with a bespoke content management system that enables rapidly-changing content to be quickly published.

Migration to the public cloud

Substantial performance improvements created a level of service which is unmatched by Sporting Life’s competition. The entire service was migrated to the public cloud, providing the flexibility required to accommodate spikes in demand seen during popular sporting events.

The initial iteration of the new Sporting Life website was delivered in February 2017, ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, one of the biggest highlights of the horseracing calendar.

The BJSS team cutting over to the new Sportinglife.com platform on launch day.

A new, scalable, high-performance and feature-rich service

“The BJSS team worked closely with us to ensure that our online presence continues to support our market-leading position,” Andrew Evans, Sky Betting & Gaming Head of Super Affiliates said. “BJSS has ensured that our Sportinglife.com service is scalable, high-performance and feature-rich, allowing us to quickly provide compelling sporting content to our customers.”

Stuart Bullock, BJSS Head of Client Services, added: “This was an ambitious project which reengineered Sporting Life’s digital presence. Moving it to the Cloud, our client has improved its user experience while saving time and money, which can now be deployed elsewhere.”

Edited from sources by Cecilia Rehn.

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The glittering awards ceremony will take place in October, Central London.

Meet Richard Hilsley – our judge from Aviva

Richard Hilsley, Director of Platforms and Engineering at Aviva, will be one of this year’s judges at the upcoming award ceremony.

When discussing his own DevOps journey, Hilsley said, “I’ve tended to be a big advocate and sponsor for DevOps adoption, to inspire change in teams and IT organisations as a whole”.

He went on to say, “I think that’s not always easy, because companies tend to not understand it. Organisation structures and operating models can make implementing DevOps difficult, and I’ve had to face these problems previously.”

When asked what he will be looking for in entrants, Hilsley said, “new ideas and ways of working that have broken with convention in some way, particularly where teams have had to demonstrate determination and resiliency.”

12 exciting categories to enter

You will be able to enter 12 different categories at The DevOps Industry Awards 2017, ranging from Best DevOps Automation Project to the DevOps Team of the Year.

If you work in a specific sector, then there are also categories reflecting the Best Overall DevOps Project in Finance, Retail, Gaming, Public Sector or Communication.

The DevOps Industry Awards are here to stay

Being launched this year, entries for the DevOps Industry Awards, which celebrates companies, individuals and teams who have accomplished significant achievements in the DevOps space, open on 1 March 2017.

As a judge at this year’s DevOps Industry Awards, Hilsley believes that awards ceremonies such as this one “raise awareness of the topic in a positive way, and it’ll inspire teams to not give up on something, that generally, is a very good thing. It also allows the industry to connect and share ideas – you need every bit of help you can get in IT nowadays, it’s a complicated industry.”

Entries need to be submitted by the 14^th of July 2017, and the winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner in October 2017.

Written by Jordan Platt.

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Business simulations to aid IT training

GamingWorks designs, develops and deploys professional business simulations or serious games aimed at solving the issues describes above and supporting organisational learning and development. The ‘learning-by-doing’ solutions are used by a worldwide network of professional partners.

“The firm launched 15 years ago, with its business simulation for Apollo 13, allowing companies to get the most out of ITSM/ITIL training,” Schilt says. “We’ve grown, expanded globally and now offer 6 different scenarios from process management to cyber security, ITIL, and most recently DevOps.”

Business simulations are often customised to firms, to meet their learning objectives. Then, typically, 10-12 people join for a full day’s collaborative learning in a workshop, Schilt explains. The tasks start easy and get harder as the day goes on; ensuring team members challenge each other and themselves throughout the day.

Soft skills needed for DevOps professionals

There is a demand and necessity for soft skills amongst firms taking on a DevOps transformation.

“When you look at DevOps and its success/fail factors, it always comes back to people,” Schilt says. “It’s about communication, interaction, and continuous learning.”

These are skills, Schilt argues, that you cannot pick up in foundation classes where 20+ students passively sit and listen and come out with a diploma.

“All the success factors, communication and continuous learning etc. can only be learned through practice,” Schilt says. “Which is why it’s so great to get people together in a room, let them experience DevOps in practice – use communication skills, use Kanban, develop flow, actually do continuous learning. It makes a massive difference.”

Learning from past mistakes

There is a growing interest in simulation-based learning. Schilt believes it to be as a result of learning from past mistakes.

“I think the industry is learning from the days of ITIL implementation. It was a big drama for many organisations, where despite money being invested in traditional training and courses, it was hard to transfer knowledge into day-to-day work,” he says. “Now there’s an increased understanding of the importance of soft skills, and the different ways to develop these skills amongst team members.”

The Phoenix Project

GamingWorks’ DevOps simulation draws upon expertise from a familiar DevOps thought leader.

“Our simulation is based on Gene Kim’s The Phoenix Project, and we put people in the context of the book for a day,” Schilt says. “They get to live the project from start to beginning, and experience first hand the positives that DevOps can bring to a team project.”

Jan will be speaking on The Phoenix Simulation at the DevOps Enterprise Summit.

Written by Cecilia Rehn

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Growing opportunities in the gambling sector

Gambling is no longer just the domain of the high street or about keeping the social and occasional gambler happy – in fact, more than half the UK population had a flutter last year alone – it’s about providing more choice and ways for people to access the games they enjoy, anywhere and at any time. Recent advances in online and mobile technology have made gambling more accessible than ever. As well as appealing to those who already like to place a bet, the ease of access to these outlets has also opened up a whole new captive audience and world of opportunities for traditional gambling companies, platform providers and game developers.

Recent figures suggest that almost half (44%) of European gambling operators intend to spend more than £3 million on online initiatives. With internet users across the globe more than doubling in the past 10 years, the decision to adopt omni-channel is not only understandable, but imperative to business revenue.

But with these opportunities and enhanced market reach also comes increased competition and consumer expectations, with thousands of games vying for attention in a crowded market. To capitalise on the receptiveness of a new gaming generation and build a loyal fan base, games now need to be released faster, updated more often (and with less bugs) and be timely and relevant to the target audience. Gamers expect a seamless experience, no matter which platform, device, or what time of day they chose to place their bets. It’s vital that game developers understand and implement practices and processes to ensure they stay ahead of the competition.

The omni-channel challenge

The omni-channel environment presents a number of challenges for traditional operators – as they look to compete with new, online players in the market – as well as the developers and platform providers. User demand is accelerating the pace of IT change, with new releases and updates now expected much more rapidly. As such, delivery needs to happen without a hitch in order for operators and game developers to steal a march on the competition.

Once implemented and perfected, omni-channel services can enable consumers to engage with brands in the gaming industry, in a variety of ways, 24/7. With this in mind it’s vital they operate effectively and efficiently. Of equal importance is the ‘first moment of truth’, when a customer encounters and interacts with a brand for the first time. This cannot be compromised by an unnecessary glitch if a brand is to benefit from omni-channel gaming.

For gambling companies it is not just omni-channel but omni-release. Gambling operators face the challenge of not just releasing their games, but ensuring that games can be released on all devices and platforms simultaneously and successfully. The value of the entire digital journey – from the customer relationship through to billing, security and gaining loyalty – should not be underestimated.  One technical hitch or one bug in the system can quickly be highlighted by players, with negative comments going viral immediately and brand reputation taking a knock because of this. No wonder that for nearly a quarter (22%) of European gambling operators, improving user experience is seen as one of the biggest challenges they face in the next 12 months.

The regulatory challenge

Regulatory requirements also add to the complexity and speed of new game releases. The UK Gambling Commission has updated technical and security standards which will came into force at the end of October. A large part of this requirement is that all games must meet the new specifications and be tested by an accredited third party before being released to market. Those operators who fail to meet the deadline or to work with an accredited test partner will simply not be able to release their games, impacting on both revenue and reputation.

Unfortunately there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, with each platform requiring different coding and a tailored approach to getting the game to market. Mobile, tablet, and laptop versions of a game each need to be tested separately and be ready to cope with the onslaught of incoming traffic on release day and beyond. Any delay in a new release could leave developers and operators in danger of disrepute and lead to a loss of hype before they have even had a chance to compete. Ensuring they can not only meet but exceed customer expectations on different operating systems and platforms is vital to their success.

The key challenge, for all stakeholders involved in the race to attract and retain a growing online gaming community, is to streamline the development process. This will ensure that each new release is robust, of high quality, reliable and profitable. Yet, only a truly agile and streamlined process can effectively support the demands and needs of companies in the industry.

Making the gamble pay off

To keep up with market demand and the ever growing complexities of new releases, there are two key approaches that developers and operators can take to ensure the quality of omni-channel game releases.

Enabling a faster and robust release cycle

Not only is this a key component for success but one, which can be achieved by looking at game development in a quality-driven way. Taking an agile and test-driven approach will lead to quick and accurate releases and put a framework in place for developers and operators to react efficiently to market demand and regulatory change. The iterative nature of the process ensures that regular testing along the way leads to an end result fit for purpose. It is this assurance of effective testing in line with the changing technology and ensuring compliance, which leads to success in such a competitive market.

The DevOps approach

Taking a DevOps approach to game development will support an agile methodology throughout the process. Adopting this collaborative approach to software development allows for continuous integration. However this time-efficient method will only succeed with a strong focus on quality and expertise throughout the life of a game’s software.

Summary

This way of working can and should be the reality for developers and operators. If this is not the case, developers need to act quickly. Working with an independent, accredited testing partner will ensure that developers and platform operators can not only remain compliant but keep up with the pace of change. With quality of service and market reputation key to growing a loyal customer base in the expanding omni-channel gaming environment, getting it right first time is vital in order to stop gamers placing their bets elsewhere.

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