Enterprise Mobile Application Development – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Mobile Application development today is so advanced that there seems to be an app for everything we do – be it shopping, research, information business processes, bill payment, and banking – just about anything! Business enterprises are looking at this as an opportunity for either easing some of the business processes or solving a certain pressing business issue or helping employees stay connected to office data while on the go.

Development of software for a wide variety of distributed enterprises is not an easy task. If you are looking for mobile application development, make sure that you know the good, the bad and the ugly of it too!

Here are a few pointers that will help you:

The Good: User Experience is what matters the most

Make sure that you keep in mind that the mobile devices are basically different from regular computers. Including size and processing power. Your mobile application development strategy must include features to ensure that mobile users get a great user experience with the app without slow down or maxing out the resources. After all, your business app will be used by your customers or potential customers.

The Bad: Don’t create an app just for the sake of it

There’s no pressure. Just because everyone is creating an app, you need not jump on the bandwagon immediately. You need to think about what value addition this app will create for your business. Ensure that the app has a very specific function and serves a specific requirement. It’s not about having an app for the sake of it. It’s about delivering best results with mobile application development for your enterprise.

The Good: Mobile sensors and form factor

Mobiles today are smart devices with smart features. They have  3G or LTE, a camera, GPS, accelerometers, Bluetooth and WiFi (and some also include near field communication sensors too). They also have features for reorienting the display if the screen tilts and taking snaps and instantly uploading. Make judicious use of these features for your app and use them effectively for your business.

The Bad: Don’t mobilize everything

Every aspect of your business need not go mobile. Select the one process or one(or a few) business functions that require it and then decide what type of mobile application development you would like to go for.

Well, if your entire business is online, a mobile app is perfect for you.

The Good: Add services that will add value to your business

Along with the array of features that mobile devices offer, there are various third party  apps or extensions that you can integrate with your application such as social sharing, RSS feeds for important updates, promotional emails etc. Select the one’s that are applicable and add value to your business.

The Ugly: Don’t ignore security

Considering that your enterprise app will provide employees or users with access to the enterprise systems, make sure that you do not ignore security so that your sensitive corporate information is safe. Considering that it is very easy for a user to misplace mobile devices, pay extra attention to the security of your app.

The Good: Empower the app users

The user is going to be the ultimate decider for the success of your application. Make the app user friendly at the same time empower your users with rich features. While developing a mobile app, make sure it delivers to a user’s expectations.