So your company has finally made the decision to build a mobile app for your mobile workforce. After months of decision making, you finally found the value in creating a mobile app. So what are you waiting for! Build it already! Slow down. Their is more than meets the eye when developing an app. Here are 4 key things to keep in mind when creating a enterprise mobile app for your company.
Developing an enterprise level application takes time. Their are 5 steps in developing an enterprise app. Audience; Who is going to be using the enterprise mobile app? Sales? Support team? Customer Service? Marketing? Data; What type of data is going to be used for the app? Where is the data going to come from? Are you pulling data from one internal system or multiple? Infrastructure; Who controls the data and how accessible is it? Typically, mobile apps use web services to get access to the data. If these don't exists, they will need to be built from the ground up. That takes time. Deployment; When deploying to internal employees, it’s usually not possible to go through a public app store. A Mobile Application Management (MAM) system will need to be employed to distribute an internal app. If one isn't already in place, it will have to be installed. Support; Once the initial app is completed, bugs will be found and new features will need to be added.
Be patient. Don't think of a mobile application as something that you need fast because everyone else has one. Think of it as a long term investment that will help your business propel itself into the future.
API stands for Application Programming Interface. An API is so important to mobile developers. It allows them to gain access to data from programs that they wish to communicate with. The unfortunate part of APIs is not all pieces of software have available APIs for mobile devices to communicate with. So that means developers have to create an API for the software that you want to have access to. Another time draining effort, but definitely a necessity for enterprise level apps in terms of accessibility and scalability.
Maybe your company has in-house website designer and developer who may have made a game for the iTunes store. So does that meant they can develop your enterprise level app? Chance are no. There is a lot more that goes into creating a enterprise level app when compared to an iPhone game or a website. Designing a mobile app is fundamentally different than designing a website. Some app developers deal with web code to create their apps, like HTML 5 and CSS, but most mobile developers are fluent in native code for individual operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry). A lot goes into making an enterprise level app, so we suggest contacting professionals in when designing your enterprise level application.
Just like computer software, mobile applications can get hacked too. Mobile malware attacks hit a record number in 2011, growing 155 percent, hitting Android the hardest. It is unacceptable to leave your company at risk especially since security can be built to at least minimize any attacks or even make them none existent. This is another reason why consulting a professional mobile developing firm is any company's best option.
To learn more about building a enterprise mobile app and how they can benefit your business, contact AndPlus today!
