Evaluating Enterprise Mobile Platforms Go Big or Go Small?

Transcription

1 Evaluating Enterprise Mobile Platforms Go Big or Go Small? Theresa Regli Principal Analyst & Managing

2 Real Story Group: What We Do Provide in-depth research analyzing weaknesses and strengths of technology... and vendors Advise on successful technology selection and implementation best practices Over 3,000 customers in 60+ countries We consult only to end-users, never advising the vendors we evaluate

3 Agenda Introduction Universal Scenarios Devices and Development Deployment and Delivery Summary Overview of our research What exactly are you trying to do? What does the technology do? What does the enterprise need? Closing thoughts and Q&A

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5 Enterprise Mobile Technology Refers to a set of tools that provide capabilities for: Mobile app and mobile web experience development Services required by these mobile applications

6 Infrastructure Vendors Mobility Specialists Niche Offerings 6

7 Key Choice Large Infra Vendors OR Specialized Mobility Vendors 7

8 Agenda Introduction Universal Scenarios Devices and Development Deployment and Delivery Summary Overview of our research What exactly are you trying to do? What does the technology do? What does the enterprise need? Closing thoughts

9 Scenarios What Exactly Are You Trying to Do? Let s look at a few categories

10 Six Canonical Usage Scenarios Explicitly or not, different products target different use cases. Understanding the business scenarios that best fit different packages enables you to see more deeply into their relative strengths and weaknesses for your particular circumstances. More Consumer Oriented 1. Simpler Business to Consumer (B2C) Like a beer-lover s network app 2. Complex B2C Like online banking apps 3. Location Based Like some ecommerce and delivery tracking apps 4. Mobile Websites Often a marketing-oriented or informational site 5. Offline Apps Typically for remote workers, like plant-floor or delivery staff 6. Business to Employee (B2E) Workaday collaboration and communications apps, often connecting to packaged software More Employee Oriented 10

11 Simpler B2C Apps Constitute the vast majority of apps out there Key Requirements Multiple OS and Device Support Analytics including usage and in-app behavior Social media integration Support for rich-media (images, audio, video) Scalability & Cloud-friendliness App store distribution Many others: QR Codes (Marketing); Graphics libraries / GPU (Games) 11

12 Complex B2C Apps Not only support optimized mobile experiences but also geared to handle transactional activities Advanced Requirements: Integration with industry standard payment APIs Integration / Connectors to ecommerce systems More stringent security requirements Ability to support usage at scale, particularly viral spikes in activity 12

13 Mobile Web Sites Usually the starting point for enterprise mobility Key Requirements: Device and OS support Content adaptation to target device (e.g. transformation, transcoding) Integration with CMS systems and Enterprise portals, including shared workflows Image and Rich Media APIs 13

14 B2E Apps Digital workplace to go Key Requirements: Integration and out of box connectors Mobile Middleware features Security capabilities App Management features 14

15 Agenda Introduction Universal Scenarios Devices and Development Deployment and Delivery Summary Overview of our research What exactly are you trying to do? What does the technology do? What does the enterprise need? Closing thoughts

16 Devices and Development Functional capabilities required for developing applications and supporting functionality provided by different platforms 16

17 App Types Supported Browser based (Mobile Web) Downloadable apps (Mobile Apps) Completely Native Web technologies but wrapped (also known as hybrid apps) Cross platform but compiled to native

18 Mobile Web Mobile enabled website You access a website from a browser the same way you do on a desktop Device adaptation and leveraging web standards requires no additional effort by user

19 Mobile Web But what about taking advantage of device capabilities? Highly transactional apps or gaming apps

20 Native Mobile Apps Downloadable and created separately for each platform Best native experience You use native SDKs and APIs (Objective C for ios and Java for Android)

21 Native Mobile Apps Key Issues: Development of the code for each platform separately Maintaining multiple different applications How many apps can a user handle? Security, Integration

22 Cross Platform Cross platform but compiled to native Downloadable and the core is natively compiled Key features: IDE Ability to create native apps for multiple platforms Key issues Performance Sometimes, a new Scripting language Source: Appcelerator

23 Hybrid Apps Downloadable apps but the core uses standard web technologies Take advantage of some native capabilities like Camera Like all marriages, has its ups and downs Source: Bullcitymobile.com

24 Which Approach: Mobile Web vs. Apps vs.? Support wider user base Less admin overheads Easier to develop and maintain Less cost Hybrid Wrapper Better user experience Device capabilities Performance Browser Cross compiled Completely Native Select a combination of development approaches. In many cases, what works is a combination of mobile web combined with specific apps for specific use cases

25 Agenda Introduction Universal Scenarios Devices and Development Deployment and Delivery Summary Overview of our research What exactly are you trying to do? What does the technology do? What does the enterprise need? Closing thoughts

26 Delivery and Deployment What does the enterprise need? 26

27 Reporting and Analytics 27

28 Agenda Introduction Universal Scenarios Devices and Development Deployment and Delivery Summary Overview of Evaluations What exactly are you trying to do? What does the technology do? What does the enterprise need? Closing thoughts and Q&A

29 Summary Select big infrastructure vendor if: Already invested in them (but this is not good enough as the only reason) Need capabilities to mobilize other products within the suite Enterprise concerns more important than breadth of functionality Mostly suitable for B2E scenarios Usually focused on hybrid approach Select specialized mobility vendor if: Need to support multiple scenarios Breadth of functionality more important than other factors Especially important for B2C Better support for native apps (via cross platform approaches) 29

30 Thank you! Please visit our web site: realstorygroup.com Vendor/product evaluations Analyst advisory papers Webinars Education courses One-on-one analyst advice Download a free research sample: /Sample Enterprise Mobile Technology Follow us on Contact me at tregli@realstorygroup.com