Forem: sreejith madhavan

Why Many Call Centers Are Rethinking How They Handle Customer Calls

sreejith madhavan — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:06:26 +0000

A few months ago, I had a discussion with one of my old customers from the UK, for whom we developed their website. He was running a home renovation and maintenance business across multiple cities. After completing the renovation work, they continue to provide support to customers in plumbing, electrical issues, roof repairs, and even lawn maintenance.

All the requests from customers were managed from a centralized call center. He seemed very desperate and told,

“Mate, I had enough, need to find a solution for this chaos.”

“What happened?” I was curious, as I had never seen him so desperate.

“Our biggest cost is not the field team, it’s the call center. Hiring people, training them, making sure they understand every service, and still missing calls during peak hours, and attrition—that is the cherry on top.”

That was the real problem. Calls were getting delayed, customers had to wait, and sometimes the experience depended on which agent picked the call. Even though they were using SugarCRM to manage customer details, the actual interaction with customers was still fully manual.

We analyzed the issues they were facing, studied the root cause, and suggested a solution. Instead of trying to improve the call center by adding more people, we asked a simple question:

“What if most of these calls don’t need a human at all?”

That’s when we moved them to GoHighLevel and introduced its AI Voice feature.

A Different Way of Handling Calls
Now the customer experience changed

The call get answered immediately. There is no waiting, the AI speaks to the customer like a humen, get the details regarding issue, and automatically understands whether it’s a plumbing problem, electrical issue, or something else. It gathers all the information required by asking questions and gets the preferred time for the visit.

By the end of the call, the appointment is booked.

The most useful part of this was that the service person gets a clear summary of the interaction with the customer. When support person reach the site, they know what to expect.

The AI also takes care of small but important things. It calls customers to remind them about appointments. It follows up after the service is completed. If someone misses a call, it can even call them back.

What Really Changed
Over a period of time, the customer started noticing something important.

The pressure on the call center reduced. They don’t have to keep adding more and more people as the business grew. Customers were no longer waiting on calls, and most importantly, the experience became consistent. Every customer was getting a better and consistent experience.

He told me,

“We thought we needed to add more and more people to the call center to resolve this issue, but what we actually needed was a better way to handle the calls.”

A Simple Shift, Big Impact
If you think about it, many call centers today are doing the same type of work again and again, answering basic questions, understanding requirements, and booking appointments.

These are important tasks, but they are also repetitive.

AI Voice changes this. It doesn’t replace people; rather, it takes over the repetitive part, and now the team can focus on situations where human involvement is much more important.

Final Thought
If your business depends heavily on incoming calls, it might be worth asking:

“Are we scaling our team, or are we scaling our problems?”

The answer may not be adding more people,

but changing how the work gets done.

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Zerone Consulting delivers cutting-edge software services and AI enterprise intelligence platforms to streamline operations and drive growth for businesses worldwide. From custom development to strategic consulting, we empower teams with scalable tech solutions. Learn more about our services or contact us today.

The “AI-Native” Shift: Why Adding a Chatbot Isn’t Enough in 2026

sreejith madhavan — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:29:27 +0000

I met one of my old friends who is running a product company successfully for the last 10 years. He has multiple products which are built around open source e-commerce platforms, and it is very successful. During the conversation, he mentioned that,

“Do you know, we AI enabled all our products in the last six months?”

I said, “Wow, that was quick. How did you do it?”

“We added an AI-enabled chatbot, now it will take care of all the primary questions from customers, and also added a powerful search.”

I paused for a while and thought, okay, here we go again.

This is happening everywhere. Add a chatbot or search and put “AI Powered” on the website, announce digital transformation with AI enablement. Good, but not enough.

The chatbot era was there 10 years back and it is still relevant, the only difference is that generative AI made it very simple. You train your model with FAQs, add a chatbot, and then announce “AI Adoption”, or add a semantic search on the website which can return results even if the user didn’t type an exact match. These are really useful features for your web application, but calling it “AI Transformation” is like buying a calculator and saying that now you are running a finance department.

There is a shift happening now.

The conversation is different now, the smarter companies are asking better questions now: “What if AI was part of the system? Can AI change the way users interact with the application? Can this be improved?”

Customers do not want an AI system sitting at the corner of your application waiting for prompts, they want it to help the work move forward. They don’t want the AI just to answer questions, rather they want it to do small pieces of work or change the way the system currently works.

How it looks like
Let me explain it with an example, what happens inside most companies every day.

Email arrives.

Data is copied into the system.

Tasks get created.

Meetings are scheduled.

Someone forgets something, someone reminds it.

Repeat every day.

These are repeatable, predictable things, and these are something AI can help with. This is where AI agents come in. Chatbots are not made for these.

Another example.
A customer sends an email: “Can you send a quotation for the below items?” Someone reads the email, opens the CRM system, creates an entry, assigns it as a task to someone. 30 minutes later, the actual work begins where a person checks the CRM, tries to find items, prepares the quotation, and sends it to the customer. All this takes around one to two hours.

Now imagine if this was an AI-native system?
The system reads the email, creates the record, fetches the details required from the CRM, prepares multiple quotations, checks the salesperson’s availability, assigns the task to the salesperson with the created quotations. The salesperson checks the quotations, selects the suitable one, makes any modifications required, and sends it to the customer. All this happens in 10 to 20 minutes. Now the productivity of the salesperson improves from attending one task in two hours to four to five tasks in two hours.

Re-imagine AI as a co-worker
Now think about the chatbot in a different way. Instead of answering questions from customers, what if it can help the employees of an organization as a co-worker? What if it can remind you, “Hey, this task is pending for you”, “I have prepared a draft reply for this email”, “Looks like this customer needs follow-up”, only assistance with no drama.

The Real Benefits
The real value of AI isn’t answering questions, it’s removing the small repetitive work and in this way improving productivity. Updating systems, tracking tasks, sending reminders, these kinds of tasks drain time and energy.

When AI handles that, people get more time to do productive work like thinking, solving problems, and serving customers.

Adding a chatbot is easy, anyone can do that.

But designing applications where AI quietly helps work move fast and in more productive ways, that’s the real shift happening now.

“We are only at the beginning of it!”

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Socket io integration in epic stack framework without losing vite tool features

sreejith madhavan — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 05:24:41 +0000

What is epic stack?
The Remix Epic Stack is a robust and opinionated starter template for building modern web applications using the Remix framework. It provides a comprehensive setup, integrating various tools, libraries, and configurations to help developers quickly get started with feature-rich applications.

What is Remix?
Remix is a modern web framework built on React, focusing on server-rendered applications with fast page loads, excellent developer experience, and robust handling of complex workflows like data loading, mutations, and error boundaries.

What Makes It "Epic"?
The Epic Stack combines the power of Remix with additional tools and conventions to provide an "epic" starting point for developers. It is designed to handle common challenges in web application development, such as authentication, testing, deployment, and more.

Integrating Socket.IO with Remix Epic Stack: Real-Time Features Made Simple
In the world of modern web applications, real-time communication has become a critical feature for enhancing user experience. Whether it's enabling live chat, real-time notifications, collaborative tools, or dynamic updates, real-time functionality keeps users connected and engaged. This is where Socket.IO, a powerful library for real-time bidirectional event-based communication, shines.

The Remix Epic Stack is an ideal foundation for building robust web applications, thanks to its scalable architecture and pre-configured tools. However, out of the box, it does not include a real-time communication setup. By integrating Socket.IO, you can unlock the potential of real-time features while leveraging the benefits of the Epic Stack's structured and opinionated setup.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to seamlessly integrate Socket.IO into the Remix Epic Stack. We'll cover everything from setting up a Socket.IO server, handling events, and ensuring compatibility with Remix's server-side rendering (SSR) capabilities. By the end of this guide, you'll have the tools to build real-time functionality into your Remix Epic Stack application, empowering you to create dynamic, responsive, and user-centric web applications.

What You’ll Learn in This Blog
1 Introduction to Socket.IO:
· Understanding the role of Socket.IO in enabling real-time communication.

· Key features and why it's a great choice for real-time apps.

2 Preparing Your Remix Epic Stack:
· Setting up the development environment for Socket.IO integration.

· Configuring your backend to support real-time connections.

3 Implementing Socket.IO:
· Creating a Socket.IO server in your Epic Stack backend.

· Managing client-server communication using events.

4 Integrating with the Frontend:
· Connecting the Remix frontend to the Socket.IO without losing vite tool features.

· Listening for updates and handling real-time events in React components.

What is Socket.IO?
Socket.IO is a powerful JavaScript library that facilitates real-time, bidirectional, and event-based communication between clients (typically browsers) and servers. It is built on top of WebSockets and provides a more robust and feature-rich abstraction, ensuring reliable communication even in environments with network constraints.

Socket.IO is widely used for applications that require instant communication, such as:

· Live chat applications

· Real-time notifications

· Collaborative tools (e.g., shared document editing)

· Multiplayer games

· Live dashboards and analytics

How Socket.IO Works
At its core, Socket.IO operates on a client-server model:

Client-Side:
· The client library is loaded in the browser or a Node.js application. It manages the connection to the server and listens for or emits events.
Server-Side:
· The server library is integrated into the backend application. It listens for connections from clients and handles event-based communication.

Preparing Your Remix Epic Stack for Socket.IO Integration
Before you start, ensure you have the following:

Remix Epic Stack Installed · A working Remix application based on the Epic Stack.

· If you haven’t set it up yet, refer to the https://www.epicweb.dev/epic-stack

Node.js and npm/yarn Installed
· Confirm that you have Node.js and a package manager (npm or yarn) installed.
Database and Server Configuration
· Verify that your database and backend server are running without issues. Socket.IO will typically integrate into the backend for real-time data exchange. The Remix Epic Stack uses the Express adapter to run the backend server. This provides flexibility for integrating additional middleware, third-party libraries (like Socket.IO), and custom API endpoints.
Dependencies
· Ensure you have essential dependencies for the Epic Stack, such as Prisma, Tailwind CSS, and Vitest, properly configured.

Install Socket.IO
Socket.IO requires two primary packages: one for the server-side and another for the client-side.

Install Server-Side Package
Run the following command to install the server-side library: npm install socket.io

Install Client-Side Package
Run the following command to install the client-side library: npm install socket.io-client

Backend Server Configuration
Socket.IO needs to hook into your backend server. By default, Remix epic stack uses a Node.js-based server, which can host the Socket.IO server.

Update Your index File
Inside your server folder (typically index.js or index. ts), integrate Socket.IO like this

Frontend Client Setup
To enable real-time communication on the frontend, configure the client to connect to your Socket.IO server

Add Client Code
In your React components, import and initialize the Socket.IO client:

With your Remix Epic Stack prepared and Socket.IO integrated, you’re ready to build engaging, real-time features into your application

In the Epic Stack, when you run the command npm run dev, it triggers the dev:dev script in the package.json file. This script runs the dev-server.js file located in the server folder. The purpose of dev-server.js is to handle the development environment setup. The tsx watch command is active, which watches your TypeScript files and starts the server automatically when changes are detected.

If we use the tsx watch command in the development server setup, we won't get Vite's powerful features like Hot Module Replacement (HMR), which allows instant updates to the browser without a full reload.

tsx watch focuses on watching and rebuilding TypeScript files. While it efficiently restarts the server when code changes, it doesn’t integrate with the browser for live updates. But we use the vite command only in the development server setup, we can’t connect with the socket io, so that we can implement both together, add this below code in your dev-server.js file.

To fix the issue where the Vite server does not integrate with your Socket.IO implementation while maintaining compatibility with the tsx watch command, you can enhance your development setup to ensure both systems work together. Here's a solution:

Approach

Use Vite’s Proxy:
Leverage Vite’s proxy capabilities to forward WebSocket or HTTP requests for Socket.IO to the backend where your index.js is running.
Run Both Servers in Parallel:
Keep the tsx watch command running to handle the backend server with Socket.IO while the Vite server handles the frontend development.
Modify Your dev-server.js:
Update the script to ensure both servers run in parallel without conflicts.

// In Next.js 14

import { execa } from "execa";

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "production") {
await import("./index.js");
} else {
const backendCommand =
'tsx watch --clear-screen=false --ignore "/.timestamp-" --ignore "app/" --ignore "build/" --ignore "node_modules/" --inspect ./index.js';
const frontendCommand = "remix vite:dev --force --cors --clearScreen=false";

// Run both backend and frontend servers in parallel
const backendProcess = execa(backendCommand, {
stdio: ["ignore", "inherit", "inherit"],
shell: true,
env: {
FORCE_COLOR: true,
MOCKS: true,
...process.env,
},
windowsHide: false,
});

const frontendProcess = execa(frontendCommand, {
stdio: ["ignore", "inherit", "inherit"],
shell: true,
env: {
FORCE_COLOR: true,
MOCKS: true,
...process.env,
},
windowsHide: false,
});

// Handle process termination for both processes
const handleExit = () => {
backendProcess.kill("SIGTERM");
frontendProcess.kill("SIGTERM");
process.exit(0);
};

process.on("SIGINT", handleExit);
process.on("SIGTERM", handleExit);

// Await both processes
await Promise.all([backendProcess, frontendProcess]);
}

Vite Proxy for Socket.IO: Ensure your vite.config.ts contains a proxy configuration for the WebSocket requests:

Benefits

Socket.IO Integration:
The tsx watch command ensures your backend (with Socket.IO) continues running, and Vite forwards WebSocket requests correctly
Seamless Development:
Vite still handles frontend development, hot module replacement, and other optimizations.
Independent Builds:
Both backend and frontend processes are isolated, ensuring compatibility and no overlap in responsibilities.

By using this dual-server approach, you can run both the Vite server and your Socket.IO server together without compromising on functionality or development efficiency.

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Why Diversity Matters in Tech Teams : The Business Case for Inclusion

sreejith madhavan — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 05:28:14 +0000

Introduction
As technology companies strive for industry leadership, it’s becoming increasingly clear that diversity and inclusion (D&I) are crucial. C-level executives, such as CIOs, play a vital role in fostering a culture of inclusivity within their organizations.

Prioritising D&I enables technology leaders to attract and retain a diverse workforce, driving profitability and value creation. According to McKinsey & Company , enterprises that prioritize D&I outperform their competitors and are better equipped to meet the demands of a diverse customer base.

To shed more light on the subject, let us explore how technology executives can actively cultivate inclusive cultures and leverage the benefits of a diverse workforce.

The spiking demand for diverse and inclusive tech teams
Diverse and Inclusive teams have become a benchmark in the tech industry, especially within leadership, and the demand is on from all stakeholders of the business.

Customers:
Customers are increasingly aware of a company's commitment to diversity and inclusion, making it both a moral imperative and good business sense in this digital era. Research has shown that a diverse and inclusive team can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

In fact, a study by TopDesignFirms found that 67 per cent of consumers are more likely to make a second purchase from a brand that prioritizes diversity and inclusivity. Additionally, a diverse advertisement is 60 per cent more likely to persuade a customer to make an immediate purchase. This underscores that prioritizing diversity and inclusion can give companies a competitive advantage.

Investors
Investors have clear data that diverse leadership teams tend to outperform less diverse teams financially. McKinsey & Companyanalyzed data across 1,000 companies from 15 countries, finding a strong correlation between financial outperformance and diverse leadership teams. This is a compelling argument for investors to prioritize diversity and inclusion when considering potential investments.

Future and Current Employees:
Current and future employees demand a more diverse and inclusive workplace. A Glassdoor surveyfound that 67 per cent of job seekers factor in workplace diversity when evaluating employment opportunities, while over 50 per cent of current employees want their workplace to be more diverse and inclusive. Therefore, companies that prioritize diversity and inclusion will have a better chance of attracting and retaining top tech talent.

The impact of diverse and inclusive teams
Increasing focus on product accessibility and learnability
As a leader, it's essential to understand that a diverse and inclusive tech team is crucial for creating inclusive and accessible products for all users. When tech teams are diverse, they are more likely to identify and understand the needs of a wide range of users, including those with disabilities, different ages, and those who speak other languages. This leads to products that cater to a diverse set of users and, in turn, benefits the business.

Better at solving complex issues, managing risk, and spotting new opportunities
Diverse and inclusive teams are proving more effective at solving complex problems, managing risk, and spotting new opportunities. In fact, according to a study by McKinsey & Company , diverse teams are 35 per cent more likely to outperform their non-diverse counterparts.

This is because diverse teams bring different perspectives, experiences, and skills to the table. This leads to more creative problem-solving and decision-making, which can ultimately lead to increased innovation, improved performance, and a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

In today's fast-paced tech industry, where agility and innovation are critical to success, having a diverse and inclusive team can be a game changer.

Building products that are as diverse as their users
Diverse and inclusive teams in the tech industry help build products representative of the user base. These teams bring a variety of perspectives, experiences, and skill sets that lead to more innovative and effective solutions.

A diverse team is more likely to be aware of the potential positive and negative impacts that the product may have on different user groups and, therefore, can design and develop products that are more user-centric and accessible for all.

This leads to increased user satisfaction, revenue, and improved brand reputation. In today's global market, having a diverse and inclusive team is not just a moral imperative but also a business imperative to stay competitive in meeting the demands of a diverse user base.

Driving resilience through an inclusive culture
An inclusive culture can be a powerful driver of resilience in the tech industry. Fostering a culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion help enterprises and leaders tap into the unique perspectives and experiences of their employees and team members, leading to increased creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.

Building an inclusive culture also improves employee engagement and retention, ultimately driving business success. When teams experience belonging and inclusivity, C-level executives can ensure that their organizations are better equipped to navigate the ever-changing tech industry landscape.

Better D&I drives inclusive growth
Prioritizing the inclusion of individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, abilities and experiences can help tech teams better understand and anticipate the needs of diverse users. Inclusive teams are also more likely to identify and address biases in products, including algorithms or data sets that negatively affect underrepresented groups.

A recent Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with more diverse teams had 19 per cent higher revenues due to innovation. C-level executives at B2B tech companies should recognize the value of diverse and inclusive teams and actively work to create them. This benefits not only customers but also the company's bottom line. Prioritizing diversity and inclusion gives tech companies a competitive advantage and helps them meet the needs of an increasingly diverse customer base.

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Generative AI in Manufacturing: Paving the Way for Smart Factories

sreejith madhavan — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:25:18 +0000

The manufacturing sector, often perceived as a bastion of traditional practices, is undergoing a radical transformation. At the heart of this change is generative artificial intelligence (AI), redefining what’s possible in manufacturing. From designing sophisticated products to optimizing production lines, generative AI is playing a pivotal role in ushering in the era of smart factories.

Redefining Product Design with AI’s Creative Genius

One of the most exciting applications of generative AI in manufacturing is in the realm of product design. AI algorithms can now generate innovative design alternatives, pushing the boundaries of creativity and functionality. These algorithms consider factors like material properties, manufacturing constraints, and environmental impact, offering designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also more sustainable and efficient to produce.

Optimizing Production with Predictive Maintenance and Quality Control
Generative AI is also revolutionizing production processes. By predicting equipment failures before they occur, AI-driven predictive maintenance can significantly reduce downtime and maintenance costs. Similarly, in quality control, AI algorithms are capable of inspecting products with a level of precision and consistency that far surpasses human capabilities. This not only ensures a higher quality of products but also streamlines the production process, reducing waste and improving efficiency.

Supply Chain Optimization: AI’s Strategic Foresight
In the complex world of supply chain management, generative AI acts as a strategic tool. It helps in forecasting demand, optimizing inventory levels, and planning logistics more effectively. In today’s global economy, where supply chains are often stretched across continents, AI’s ability to manage and mitigate risks is invaluable.

The Future Factory: AI-Driven and Human-Centric
The factory of the future is not an AI-dominated landscape but a synergy between human ingenuity and AI’s analytical prowess. While AI automates and optimizes processes, the human workforce remains at the core, overseeing operations and making strategic decisions. The challenge lies in ensuring a seamless integration of AI into the existing workforce, where upskilling and training become key components.

Conclusion: Embracing AI for a Competitive Edge
As we step into the future, the manufacturing sector’s embrace of generative AI is not just about staying relevant; it’s about gaining a competitive edge. AI in manufacturing promises not just increased efficiency and cost savings, but also a new level of innovation and quality. The manufacturers who will lead the industry are those who view AI not merely as a tool for automation, but as a catalyst for transformation — one that enhances creativity, optimizes efficiency, and redefines the manufacturing landscape.

The journey towards integrating AI into manufacturing also presents an opportunity for environmental stewardship. By enabling smarter resource utilization and waste reduction, AI-driven processes can contribute significantly to sustainable manufacturing practices. This aspect is crucial in an era where environmental consciousness is not just a moral responsibility but also a business imperative.

Moreover, the convergence of AI with other emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics is creating a more interconnected and intelligent manufacturing ecosystem. This integration facilitates real-time monitoring and decision-making, further elevating the efficiency and responsiveness of manufacturing processes.

However, the transition to AI-powered manufacturing is not without its challenges. It requires a careful balance between technological adoption and workforce transformation. The future of manufacturing hinges on a workforce that is adept at working alongside AI, where human creativity and AI’s analytical power complement each other. Investment in employee training and development, therefore, becomes as important as investment in technology.

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Balancing Innovation and Security: A Strategic Approach to Mitigating Cybersecurity Risks in Application Development

sreejith madhavan — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 04:09:25 +0000

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses need to strike the optimal balance between innovation and security when aiming to outpace their competition. The deployment of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) presents businesses with novel market opportunities, enhanced customer experiences, and avenues for revenue growth. However, these innovative endeavors often come with heightened cybersecurity risks. This article examines how industry leaders can confront these challenges while cultivating a secure enterprise environment.

**Balancing Innovation and Security: A Cornerstone of Success
**At a cursory glance, pursuing innovation and implementing cybersecurity measures may appear to be incompatible undertakings. Innovation often necessitates taking risks, whereas bolstering security seeks to minimize risks. Nonetheless, businesses are discovering methods to launch innovative digital initiatives while concurrently taking measures to protect data and other IT assets. The message is simple — innovate in a secure and prudent manner by allocating increased budgets and resources to safeguard both systems and innovative projects.

Cybersecurity Statistics: Comprehending the Expanding Threat Landscape
1. The Escalating Significance of Balancing Innovation and Security
A 2021 PwC survey stated that 55 per cent of CEOs believe that the pace of technological change poses a significant concern for their organizations. As businesses continue to innovate and embrace new technologies, balancing innovation with security becomes increasingly critical. A report by the University of Maryland states that a cyber-attack transpires every 39 seconds, further accentuating the need for organizations to adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity.

2. The Ramifications of Data Breaches
Data breaches can inflict severe consequences on businesses. The global average cost of a data breach amounted to $4.24 million, according to the Ponemon Institute’s 2021 Cost of a Data Breach study. This figure underscores the importance of investing in robust security measures to protect valuable data and maintain customer trust.

3. The Imperative of Employee Training
A 2020 IBM study found that 95 per centof cybersecurity breaches result from human error. This statistic highlights the necessity of regular security training for employees to diminish the likelihood of breaches due to mistakes or lack of awareness.

4.The Advantages of DevSecOps
According to a 2020 GitLab survey, 76 per cent of organizations that implemented DevSecOps reported improvements in their security posture. This finding emphasizes the merit of integrating security into the DevOps process and automating security tasks to detect and address security issues more swiftly.
**
Strategies for Balancing Innovation and Security in Practice**
Organizations across various sectors are devising ways to balance innovation and security in practice. These efforts aim to introduce new technologies, services, and business models while ensuring the protection of data, systems, and compliance with regulations.

Secure Deployment of New Online Services: Organizations are increasingly adopting cloud-based solutions to offer innovative services. To strike a balance between innovation and security, they share only essential core data with vendors and mandate that they adhere to industry standards for data privacy and security.
Integrating Security into New Applications: Organizations need to incorporate security requirements from the project’s inception when developing new apps or digital services. By doing so, they ensure that user data is protected through measures like multi-factor authentication and data encryption.
Adopting an Experimental Approach to IT Innovation: Some organizations embrace an experimental approach by conducting small-scale technology trials while isolating them from external entities. This strategy helps mitigate potential vulnerabilities and in scaling up the experiment, ensuring the final product meets security and privacy standards.
Prioritizing Customer Experience and Data Protection: Enhancing the customer experience without compromising security is a priority for many organizations. By conducting usability studies, customer journey mapping, and implementing advanced security tools, they can create an improved customer experience while maintaining a high level of security. Mitigating Cybersecurity Risks in Application Development To balance risk with the pace of innovation, enterprises should adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity during the application development process when experimenting with new technologies. Here are some steps organizations can take to mitigate cybersecurity risks:

a. Secure Development Lifecycle: Implement a secure development lifecycle (SDLC) that integrates security considerations and best practices from the initial design phase to the deployment and maintenance stages. By incorporating security early in the development process, organizations can identify and address potential vulnerabilities more efficiently.

b. Regular Security Training: Provide developers and other team members with regular training on the latest security best practices, emerging threats, and techniques for secure coding. Educating the development team about secure programming helps to reduce the likelihood of vulnerabilities due to human error or lack of awareness.

c. Security Testing and Assessments: Conduct regular security testing and assessments throughout the development process, including vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and code reviews. This allows for the timely identification and remediation of potential security issues before they become more significant problems.

d. Automation and DevSecOps: Integrate security into the DevOps process (DevSecOps) by automating security checks, vulnerability scanning, and other security-related tasks. Automation help to identify and address security issues more quickly and consistently, reducing the potential for human error.

e. Collaboration with Security Teams: Encourage close collaboration between development and security teams to ensure that security is an integral part of the development process. This collaboration can help to identify potential risks and develop appropriate mitigation strategies more effectively.

f. Monitoring and Incident Response: Establish robust monitoring and incident response strategies for applications, including logging and real-time alerting. This enables the organization to detect and respond to security incidents quickly, minimizing potential damage.

g. Third-party Risk Management: When using third-party software, components, or services, ensure that these have undergone thorough security assessments and meet the organization’s security requirements. Implement a vendor risk management process to evaluate and continuously monitor the security posture of third-party providers.

h. Secure by Design: Adopt the “Secure by Design” principle that emphasizes the importance of building security into applications from the beginning rather than treating it as an afterthought. This approach involves considering potential security risks and vulnerabilities during the design and architecture stages of application development, ensuring that security measures are integrated into the application’s foundation. By incorporating security from the outset, organizations can proactively mitigate risks and create more resilient applications.

Conclusion
Balancing innovation and security in the digital age is crucial for businesses seeking to remain competitive while protecting their valuable systems and data. Industry leaders must proactively mitigate cybersecurity risks, ensuring a secure enterprise environment that fosters innovation. By implementing the practical steps mentioned above and learning from real-world examples, organizations can successfully balance innovation and security, establishing brand authority in their respective industries.

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Mercedes Benz Engine in a Second Hand 15-year-old Economic Car

sreejith madhavan — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 05:22:35 +0000

Around 20 years ago, one of our customers who formed a startup (currently his organization is part of a global 500 company), during a casual chat, asked me:

“Would you buy a 15-year-old economic car with a Mercedes Benz engine fitted to it?”

“For what price?” I asked.

“For the price of the Benz engine,” he replied with a smile.

“No, I won’t. Why should I? Even though the car has power, it does not have riding comfort, right? We purchase cars for riding comfort and safety also.”

“Exactly, without a good user experience, no matter how powerful an application's backend is, there is no use. People won’t like it or use it.”

That was an eye opener for us—no matter how much you spend time on architecting your application for security, scalability, database design, and infrastructure, unless the usability of your application is good, no one is going to use it.

In the last 15 years, UI/UX and usability in web and mobile applications have seen tremendous changes. Below are some of the major changes that happened.

In early 2010, designers were trying to copy real-world objects in software designs, like buttons looking like 3D buttons with shadows, scroll bars looking like real-world items. Around 2013, this trend started changing, as minimalistic design came, where more focus started being given to the functions rather than the aesthetics.

By 2015, smartphones dominated the market and mobile data became cheap. This enabled users to access web applications through their mobile devices with different screen sizes. The traditional design failed here as it was initially meant for desktops and laptops. Twitter introduced the Bootstrap CSS library in 2011 for their internal purpose and later released it to the public for usage. This introduced responsive nature for web applications, and the new trend of developing applications that can reshape according to screen size started.

Even though every design was moving forward in the same direction, everyone was using their own design patterns, which made it difficult in maintainability and additional development. Big organizations started standardizing their design systems, which were later released to the public and helped in standardizing design systems. Apple was much ahead of the time, as they always considered their products as customer-centric, and they were following the Apple Human Interface Guidelines from 1987. Some of the others are Google Material Design (2014), IBM Carbon (2015), Atlassian Atlaskit (2018), Microsoft Fluent UI (2017).

With the introduction of AI-driven analytics, analyzing the user flow in an application became a standard testing practice. For this, A/B testing and heatmaps are widely used now. One of the latest trends in design is microinteraction for users, which is achieved by relatively small animations. For example, when a successful transaction happens, an animated tick mark is shown, or when hovering over a button, changing colour to show that it has an action. Voice-based interfaces are also becoming more common, such as Alexa, Siri, or Google Home. Conversational UI such as chatbots, guided wizards, or visual assistants are already widely used.

WCAG 2.1+ standards are a must to follow for accessibility. It is no longer a nice-to-have but mandatory for websites.

Now, while designing the application, importance is given to a lightweight, minimalistic approach where heavy and rich images are avoided. More websites have moved to Single Page Applications (SPA), Server Side Rendering (SSR), lazy loading, and code splitting to improve the performance of the website.

Improvement in usability is no longer an optional feature but a necessity. With the help of AI tools, we can improve the usability of applications significantly.

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