White Paper: Key Considerations for Taking a Microsoft Windows

Transcription

1 White Paper: Key Considerations for Taking a Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise Application or Apportal Cross-Platform to ios and/or Android Introduction Today, public sector and commercial sector security professionals are struggling with consolidating information in a meaningful way for their executives, channel partners, employees, and customers. Employees must learn how to use multiple applications, tools, reports, and systems. Then they must toggle between them throughout the day to get the information that they need extracted and packaged up for stakeholders. All of this results in very low productivity and high frustration. In addition, employees are moving between laptops, mobile phones, and tablets continuously. More than eighty percent of mobile users are viewing information through Apps because viewing information on a device via a Web browser is a very poor experience. The future of great experiences in the Enterprise will be viewing enterprise information through Windows-based Apps. An Apportal (pronounced App portal) is a Microsoft Windows 8.1 enterprise App that can integrate a company s entire Line of Business (LOB) stack, social media, news, and business intelligence into a single, modern, touch-based experience seamlessly across Windows-based devices. The concept behind a Windows Apportal, according to Microsoft, is simple provide a single view of the heterogeneous Apps that exist in organization today in an on-the-glass experience. Microsoft has been evangelizing that in today s diverse organization environments, it is not realistic or desirable to build a single, monolithic application. Instead, organizations can use the flexibility of the Windows 8.1 OS to create a UI-based virtual integration. With the help of firms like Bloom, business users can initiate a new P a g e 1 10

2 way to experience information in the enterprise that is extremely simple, intuitive and designed specifically for the modern UI. And, because the App can be customized and experienced based on the user s role in the organization using Active Directory, the experience is all the better. With Windows 10 launching later this summer and new Cortana APIs that will allow users to interact with their Enterprise App using voice, the demand for Windows-based enterprise applications for security professionals will surge to deliver more relevant information to users quickly and to ease mobile workflows. Apportals are native to Windows, and as such, bring the inherent advantages of a Windows application running on the Microsoft network ecosystem. This includes critical enterprise security elements such as transparent authentication, Single Sign-On (SSO) capability, rolebased security, and integrated enterprise identity management. Bloom s Company Apportal available on the Microsoft Store Apportals work easily within the Microsoft network ecosystem, integrating easily into corporate security policies. This is also true of Apportals that are deployed to Windows-based mobile devices such as the Phone and Tablets. All of the advantages an Apportal has on a Microsoft network ecosystem are also inherent to an Apportal that runs on a Windows mobile device. Microsoft s Patrol Car of the Future Apportal Concept for rugged, in-car laptops P a g e 2 10

3 But what about non-windows devices? Most mobile devices are non-windows, with Android accounting for approximately eighty two percent of the mobile device market and ios accounting for approximately fifteen percent. As mobile devices have proliferated, the use of them for work-related tasks (especially and chat) has skyrocketed. Accompanying this has been a surge in demand to have the same secure, seamless, company-specific and job-specific mobile applications on non-windows devices that already run on Windows desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. As a result, many companies are looking to a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy for their Enterprise Mobile solution. This means that companies must find ways to incorporate personallyowned, non-windows devices into their existing security policies for network, data, and applications. The headache of creating, distributing, and maintaining applications for separate platforms like ios and Android, as well as securing the data and devices has led some to call BYOD Bring Your Own Disaster. While this might be an exaggeration, it does reflect the difficulty many companies are facing as they try to address usage of enterprise Apps via non-company issued mobile devices. One of the main challenges is that these non-windows mobile devices are running operating systems that have significantly fewer capabilities in terms of native enterprise security than Windows-based devices. According to Forrester research, enterprise security is the top Enterprise Mobility Management concern. Given this reality, what is the best way for an organization to get an Apportal into the hands of non- Windows BYOD mobile device users while still addressing BYOD concerns? Until recently, it was necessary to write a native application for each of the device operating systems, consuming significant resources to create and maintain each of them. Luckily, there are a growing number of development frameworks designed to make cross-platform mobile application development far faster and easier than it has been in the past. Cross-Platform Development Tools There are multiple options for developing cross-platform Apportals that run on ios (iphone, ipad), and Android. The four main categories of cross-platform development tools are: HTML5/JS/CSS, pure web, Native, and Hybrid. The following is a comparison of the general pros and cons of each. 1. Web Toolkit The primary cross-platform development frameworks are PhoneGap/Cordova, and Sencha. These are examples of HTML5/JavaScript/CSS-based development frameworks. They use existing JavaScript libraries such as AngularJS and Knockout to rapidly create applications that can run on any smartphone. In essence, they create an empty native application shell hosting a WebView control which runs an HTML5/JS/CSS application. These options are the most popular because of the substantial number of developers who have HTML5/JS/CSS skills, and the speed with which they can create a native application. Pros: They are free (with payment usually only for professional support), it is relatively easy to create applications, and there are numerous plug-ins and controls available. There is also a relatively large pool of talent with the skills to use these. And the convenience of a single code base for ios and Android implementations, as well as a seamless update path for applications is important. Cons: There is no Windows Apportal code reuse. This is a big one. There is also little to no access to native APIs, and the performance issues of the more substantial applications compared to P a g e 3 10

4 native applications. The lack of a native look and feel on each device might also be a problem. The look-and-feel of the application will be the same (non-native) across all platforms, which could be significant depending on your applications goals. 2. Pure Web Application Another option is to have the Apportal be purely a web-based solution running only in the device s web browser. Pros: The advantages here are similar to those in the Web Toolkit approach. The browser-only approach also takes advantage of web authentication and security mechanisms, which are established and ubiquitous if not seamless and transparent. A web application would use the same HTML5/JS/CSS applications as the Web Toolkit options, but run only in the device s web browser instead of in a custom application with a WebView, making deployment and updates convenient. The technologies are free, open-source, and have a large pool of skilled developers and a number of toolkits that make development easy. The device fragmentation issue in Android would be dramatically reduced. Cons: Again, No Windows Apportal code reuse. The browser has extremely limited access to native APIs (mostly no access), and there are some cross-browser compatibility issues in that different browsers (e.g. Chrome, Safari, IE) get updated capabilities at different rates. The application is also unquestionably a web page, and so does not have the same conveniences including native controls and navigation as a native application, and does not have the look and feel of a dedicated application. 3. Native-based Development Framework Xamarin and Appcelerator Titanium are currently the main cross-platform development platforms that compile to native code on both ios and Android (and Windows mobile), even as there are others on the way. These have the singular advantage of compiling their applications to native code for each device, which give them native performance. Appcelerator Titanium Titanium uses JavaScript as its language of choice. It is an open source cross-platform development framework that has been packaged by Appcelerator, a private company. Appcelerator s implementation of Titanium is used to create cross-platform mobile applications that run on ios, Android, and Windows mobile. Pros: Like with PhoneGap, there are a lot of people with working knowledge of JavaScript. It runs a native-looking UI on each device, although some of the nuances will be different for each device. The native aspect of the framework means that it also has some ability to use native APIs for features such as Bluetooth communications and camera. Cons: The code base, while common across ios and Android, will be different from a native Windows Apportal. It also has an immature development system, and the security integration is not as seamless as in Xamarin. Xamarin Xamarin is a framework that grew out of Mono (Spanish for Monkey ), which is an open-source framework for cross-platform app development based on Microsoft s C#. Like Titanium, it compiles to native code for each device. It has its own integrated development environment (IDE), called Xamarin P a g e 4 10

5 Studio. Even more useful though, is the fact that it is fully integrated into Visual Studio 2015, a much more mature IDE. Pros: A large proportion of the Windows Apportal code can be reused. It also has the advantage of running a native UI on each device. This gives it a native look and feel with the full power of the native navigation and access to all of the native APIs. Xamarin uses Microsoft s powerful C# programming language and has recently adopted XAML Forms as a way of drawing the crossplatform UI screens. Together, this gives the Xamarin solution a compelling single code base for native-compiled Apportal business logic. With XAML Forms, the UI layer can also be built with a single code base, bringing a tremendous cost and time savings by having to maintain only one rather than two or three code bases for the various mobile platforms. Another potentially decisive advantage of Xamarin is that user authentication with Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory Premium, or Active Directory Authentication Library is native rather than third party. Given the fundamental importance of security in an Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) strategy, having a core layer that connects natively to Microsoft network authentication and security policies gives Xamarin a powerful leg up. Cons: With all of these advantages, there must, of course, be some disadvantages. These include a steep learning curve for developers transitioning to it, a relatively high price for the development environment (especially the integration with Visual Studio), testing environment and support, an immature development system in Xamarin Studio, and the importance of having a good understanding of native ios development as well as native Android development to create effective cross-platform applications. 4. Hybrid Solution A hybrid solution is a way of getting some of the best of both native and web tools. This approach consists of using a cross-platform Xamarin shell application to leverage the power of native code and native APIs while using a hosted WebView similar to what Web Toolkit solutions use to host the views and interactivity. This could either use only a WebView or use a combination of cross-platform XAML pages as well as WebViews for interactivity. A skilled designer/developer team can make these seem seamless. Pros: The core app development and maintenance is made easier by using HTML5/JS libraries, while still giving access to native APIs via Xamarin. It also makes most updates and changes easier, as they can be delivered via a hosted web page instead of having be published and distributed via the app store. Cons: No Windows Apportals code reuse. It requires a two-tiered implementation, with some application capabilities running in the WebView and others running in the shell application. This increases the complexity of overall maintenance by requiring it those two places. The Best Choice The best choice for implementing cross-platform Windows Apportals is Xamarin. The reuse of the existing Windows Apportal business logic, combined with native performance as well as the security advantages make it the clear winner. P a g e 5 10

6 Development Framework Capabilities Xamarin Titanium Pure HTML Web Toolkit Hybrid Integrated AD security Windows Apportal code reuse Native UI Native performance Free toolkit Comprehensive testing facilities Large library of open-source controls Low cost Access to native APIs * The Hybrid has partial capabilities in each of these categories Implementing Apportals on Non-Windows Devices Now that you have an idea of what tools there are to create cross-platform Apportal solutions, let us take a look at how well Apportals fit to each different type of platform. ios Each of the cross-platform development technologies can be used to create your Apportal for ios, but with varying results. Using Web Toolkit Pros If an Apportal was created using a framework like Titanium having the Apportal running in a hosted WebView, the HTML5/JavaScript/CSS would easily be able to show an Apportal with a horizontally-scrolling executive dashboard or marketing view. This has the advantages listed with the development environment (e.g. large number of available developers, free development tools). Cons The main drawback is, of course, that it would require creating a new and completely separate codebase from the original Windows Apportal meaning no Apportal code reuse. Also, including the capability to seamlessly join the enterprise domain is a complex and tedious task at best, currently requiring third-party tools. Recently Microsoft has simplified this process somewhat with Office 365 and Azure Cloud Services, but is still lacks the elegance of the native approach. Using Hybrid/Pure Web This has the same advantages and disadvantages on ios as the Web Toolkit approach. Using Titanium Pros The benefits of Titanium are partly the same as the other JavaScript-based options, which is that P a g e 6 10

7 it uses an easy language that is well-known in the marketplace. The native look and feel is also a benefit. Cons Titanium has been accused of being laggy on ios, especially when it comes to animations. JavaScript is also generally regarded as ill-suited for all but the most basic applications. Using Xamarin Pros The Xamarin option has the benefit of being able to reuse almost all of the business logic code base from the Windows Apportal as well as being able to use the Xamarin XAML for both the ios and the Android implementations. This gives at least the business logic layer a single codebase. And while UI is a separate implementation, it still requires only one code base for Android and ios. Cons As Xamarin compiles to native ios, it uses a completely different visual interaction paradigm, and a different navigation paradigm. This can be jarring to someone used to a regular Windows Apportal experience. Summary The ios devices are among the most expensive and are limited in many ways. The Apple App Store has a notoriously tedious publication procedure that can sometimes take weeks or months to get an app or update available to the end users. And this is even more difficult when looking to publish an application to a private store. There are Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions which address internal application delivery, but they require additional expenses in purchase, installation, and management. Apple s ipad also has a more square form factor. This square form-factor (4:3) does not intuitively lend itself to horizontal panning the way that most 16:9 PC and laptop monitors do. While Apple s hardware and software are of consistently high quality, the device limitations especially in joining AD domains and having network security policies enforced are a critical shortcoming. There are EMM systems to address this, but they have limited capabilities and if they are not already implemented, doing this is a complex and expensive process. Using cross-platform development technologies such as Xamarin and/or taking a hybrid approach, it is possible to get a decent Apportal-type experience on Apple. But compared to the native ease of an Apportal in Windows, making Apportals on Apple ios is a considerably trickier and more expensive proposition. Android Using Web Toolkit or Hybrid/Pure Web Pros and Cons These are the same as for ios. Using Titanium Pros and Cons These are the same as for ios. P a g e 7 10

8 Using Xamarin Pros and Cons These are the same as for ios, except that Android has a similar navigation paradigm as Windows, so that is not a drawback. Summary Android has the same Active Directory authentication challenges as ios, and requires the same solution. Android also has severe device fragmentation, as well as OS fragmentation, with many different companies adding different capabilities to the Android base, since it is open source. There are estimates of 10,000 or more combinations of devices, screen sizes, and orientations. The most visible consequence of the device fragmentation is the way that images especially icons are rendered. Because of the large number of resolutions and screen sizes, the visual design of the application must be both flexible and also have enough assets of different resolutions to reduce the need for excessive scaling when rendering the screen. So while the cross-platform solutions that work for ios can also work for Android, there is an additional degree of complexity required due to the device fragmentation. While Google Play has a faster publishing turnaround time than ios, it still has an external store. And, like the ios App Store, the process of making and maintaining a private section of the public Google Play store can be cumbersome, as can using MDM infrastructure for an internal mobile application distribution system. Also, alarmingly, Android has by far the highest incidence of malware of any mobile device, making up over 60 percent of the infected devices. By comparison, ios, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and Symbian together make up less than one percent of the total. And, unfortunately, Google has a reputation for slow security updates. If BYOD weren t a bad enough headache for IT, this can certainly increase the pain level. Device Platform Advantages Windows Android ios Minimal device fragmentation Low Incidence of malware Low cost device options High market penetration Effective Apportal form factor Native AD authentication Fast application publication time Internal App Store publication option P a g e 8 10

9 Windows Apportals With Apportals, Active Directory authentication, the simple, intuitive Apportal modern UI design, and transparent logins are native to Windows applications, whether they run on the desktop, the laptop, the tablet, or the phone. Furthermore, Microsoft s One Windows Platform approach and Universal Apps solution, makes the creation of Apportals across different form factors a more straightforward process with a single code base. It is also easy to create an internal app store on a company s network using InTune, which make the cataloging and distribution of secure applications a more manageable process. Writing applications for Windows devices also allows the native use of Microsoft s best-of-breed development environment in Visual Studio. With its many tools and extensions, as well as its long track record, Visual Studio simplifies the development process far more than other environments. Far and away the most important aspect of mobile applications from the corporate perspective is security. Windows phones and other devices provide a built-in ability to be managed by corporate security policies with no additional tools or headaches. The Bottom Line To get the inherent advantages of Windows Apportals on a non-windows device, the best bet is Xamarin. Not only do you get to reuse a large portion of the existing Apportals code base, it is likely that you can even use the very same developers. While it is not free and open-source, and there is a developer learning curve, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) looks to be lower due in large part to the future headaches that can be avoided. The most prominent of these is the lowered cost of code maintenance from having a smaller code base and the disasters avoided by having good security capabilities built into the system. As companies continue to develop their BYOD policies, it makes sense to go with the technologies that elegantly address the potentially costliest problems. None do this better for Apportals than Windows and Xamarin. P a g e 9 10

10 About the Author Mitch is a Senior Solution Architect at Bloom Consulting and Manage Group, Inc., a Redmond-based business consulting and application development firm and Microsoft born in the cloud partner. Mitch created his first software project Alphabet Invaders at the age of 14 on the computer that was his birthday present. Soon after he got his first computer-related job teaching software development classes for a local computer store. As the Senior Solution Architect for Bloom, Mitch is responsible for Windows 8 application development innovation and leading Window 8 Apportal projects for the firm. Mitch has been part of several technology startups, eventually co-founding a company that specialized in Port Security software, working with the United States Coast Guard to help to protect the ports of Miami, Long Beach and Seattle, among others. He was recruited by Microsoft where he worked for five years as an architect and developer and eventually left to start his own consulting company. About Bloom Consulting Group, Inc. Bloom Consulting Group, Inc. is a world class business management consulting firm based in Redmond, Washington that serves leading businesses and public sector organizations and is one of the few partners in the U.S. trained by Microsoft in late 2014 to develop Windows 8.1 Enterprise Apportals. Bloom helps clients grow their business by delivering a range of high-impact strategy consulting, creative design, business intelligence, development (web, Windows application, mobile, SharePoint), social, cloud, and project management services. For more than a decade, Bloom has been proving that a boutique firm can attract top talent and make lasting improvements for clients at all levels of their organization. Bloom Consulting Group, Inc. was purchased by Daves + Associates, Inc. in 2009 to strengthen its solution selling and cloud first, mobile first capability and is now a wholly owned subsidiary. In the twelve years that the firm s principals have worked together, the team has delivered over 1000 projects and worked with Fortune 500 companies such as Xerox, Disney, HP, GardaWorld, IBM, Cisco, Citrix, and Microsoft. In addition to the firm s Redmond headquarters, Bloom has sales offices in Atlanta, D.C., and Irvine. WE CAN HELP YOU CREATE AN ENTERPRISE 8 OR 10 APPLICATION OR APPORTAL TODAY! AND WE CAN DEVELOP IT CROSS PLATFORM. Contact Bloom: information@bloomconsultinggroup.com Phone: Headquarters: 7730 Leary Way Redmond, WA Bloom Apportal developed for Windows, ios, and Android P a g e 10 10