WHITEPAPER Enterprise Mobility Give your business a big advantage with enterprise mobile applications. Discover all aspects of enterprise mobile applications - benefits, pre-requisites & approach This whitepaper is meant to inform developers and corporate professionals with the importance of enterprise mobile applications. With this article you can understand the strategies of developing mobile applications for business and enterprise operations and how it benefits in today's fastpaced working environment.
Augmentation of Mobile Usage in Enterprises The use and growth of mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets is a noteworthy event so far. Due to this phenomenon, enterprises have now started considering these mobile devices as a means of growing their business. With this perspective they have begun considering work from home or road or any place outside office as a part of organizational culture and believe that workers are as productive as working in the office premises. Within a very short span of time, the mobile device usage has moved to enterprise proportions with executives and workers using it to perform various job functions. This practice has encouraged BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy wherein employees bring their personal mobile devices to workplace to perform job functions. According to US and European enterprise mobility usage survey conducted by the Yankee Group in 2011, 35% of employees use smart-phones while 53% of employees use laptops and 7% of employees use tablets to carry out their work. It is because of the rich user-experience and familiarity of using one's own device that BYOD policy has found increasing acceptance as a part of work culture. Since the traditional IT department of companies cannot match the quality and user-experience delivered by mobile technology, the former has been left behind by the latter and this has considerably revolutionized the work scenario. Approximately 38% of workforce in US uses mobile devices to perform job functions. Figure 1 will highlight the spread of mobile usage as a part of organization culture across different countries. BYOD policy has found increasing acceptance as a part of work culture. Figure 1: Breakdown of Workforce Using Mobile Devices [Source Yankee Group's 2011 US and European Enterprise Mobility Survey]
With the growing number of factors like the evolution of high-speed mobile networks, explosion of smart-phones, user's familiarity with mobiles as well as decreasing cost of using smartphones, there has been a considerable rise in smartphone usage. This has triggered the idea of using mobile phones at workplace which can help organizations in various ways. Figure 2 below highlights the activities enforcing mobility in the workplace. Enterprise Mobile Applications help perform tasks, get progress updates and review your reports, while on the go. Figure 2: Activities Enforcing Mobility in the Workplace The growing concern for using mobile devices for performing job functions has accentuated the idea of developing mobile applications for enterprise and business operations which help managers and executives remain close to their work with their favorite device on hand. Enterprise Mobile Applications are applications developed for performing specific function of business on mobile phones. They help managers perform the task, get updated with the progress, examine reports, etc while they are on the go. The next section lists the benefits of using mobile applications for business work, strategy for developing these mobile applications, a step-by-step process of different stages involved and the support required in enterprise mobile applications to work as per business requirements. In a nutshell, the following paragraphs will explain the foundation of creating business growth with enterprise mobile applications.
Less Paperwork: Business applications on mobile reduce paperwork. These apps perform business functions with a mere tap and discard the need of bulky paperwork. Employees get ease and convenience to perform tasks which reduce overall paperwork. Increased Efficiency & Productivity: With an easily accessible business application, employees can perform job functions remotely and even while travelling which eliminates the wastage of time and energy and increases the efficiency and productivity of business operations. Increased Revenue: Improved productivity, reduced paperwork and quick customer response due to easily accessible business functions on the mobile phones adds up to deliver more profit in less time. Better Brand Image: With instant access to business functions and customer facing applications right on the mobile increases the customer responsiveness which accounts to building better brand image of the enterprise. Due to all the above benefits, enterprises are now increasingly looking to align their business functions with the mobile devices and have now started considering Enterprise Mobile Applications to offer their businesses cutting edge benefits and growth platform. But there are certain factors which need to be considered by every business before they jump to develop or purchase enterprise apps for mobile phones. Things to be Considered before Developing Deploying Enterprise Mobile Applications Define Business Function: Every business needs to finalize the specific function for which it wants to develop the application. This is the first point of consideration if the companies want to reap the full potential of business progress and growth with the use of mobile applications. Decide the OS Platform: Looking at the range of available mobile platforms, businesses need to analyze which platform/os will be the best for running the desired business application. There are many mobile application development platforms which include: Internal Messaging Report Generation Email Access Database Access Web Conferencing Customer Services
Benefits of Using Enterprise Mobile Applications A recent survey about mobile application advantages taken by Aberdeen Group on 240 companies suggests that by using mobile phones to get the work done, the productivity among employees increased by 45%. Moreover, the operational efficiency also rose by 44% when the employees are made to work with business apps on their smartphones. This data demonstrates why the usage of enterprise mobile applications is increasing and gaining momentum in corporate and business houses. This awareness also extends down to the smallest business houses which have now started realizing benefits of using mobile apps for their business operations. According to the survey by Aberdeen Group, the benefits accrued with the use of mobile apps for enterprises are shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: Percentage Benefits Accrued by Using Enterprise Mobile Applications Productivity & operational efficiency increase when employees are made to work with business apps on their smartphones. In addition to these specific benefits, one can also get more generic benefits by investing in mobile applications for business which include: Increased Employee Satisfaction: When organizations provide their staff with the technology apps to collaborate and work on their mobile, they work effectively and respond with increased loyalty. Besides, it infuses more productivity among workforce which dramatically improves staff retention and increases satisfaction among them.
Analyze the Target Users: It is inevitable for businesses to analyze the targeted users of the application to generate complete utility of the app. An app developed for marketing function running on the device of a finance manager would yield no benefit. Thus the targeted users of the app should be decided in advance to streamline the complete workflow of the said department. Evaluate Costs: Whether developing or purchasing enterprise applications for mobile, costs must be appropriately evaluated and weighed against benefits. Businesses have to anticipate the upfront and recurring costs for developing, integrating, maintaining and supporting the application and devise an appropriate plan directing these costs so that it does not hinder the operation of business. Define Success Measures: Before going for developing or deploying applications, businesses need to define the success measures which can help in knowing how the mobility has benefitted the business. These success measures can be fixed for productivity, profitability, new business, workflows, employee retention, etc. Develop Security: Every business before developing or deploying applications on their employees mobile devices need to develop a security layer to protect the data and content of application. Along with this the necessary responses for security breach also needs to be developed like disabling remote usage, a system to send alerts, etc. Plan for Support & Maintenance: The business also needs to develop plan for support and maintenance of the mobile application to keep its quality and performance intact. Whether a company is planning to outsource the application development for business or planning to develop them in-house, the above points will help in moving on the right track and provoke right benefits at right time for the business. Types of Application Development Models Once the pre-requisites of mobile applications development are acknowledged, businesses need to identify the types of application development model which would best suit its requirements. There are four types of application development models each of which is likely to be optimal for different business requirements.
The most optimal application for a particular business would be the one which provides required flexibility and ROI within minimum cost and time frame. Following are the different models of enterprise mobile application development : Custom Developed Apps Business can develop customized apps as per its requirements if the apps available from the market are not likely to address its specific concerns. It can outsource development of such apps or develop them inhouse according to budget and resources on hand. Ready-made Apps - The readymade apps are easy and quick for deployment which can be purchased or downloaded at anytime from the market or app stores. However, these apps are deprived of appropriate alignment and suitability with the business functions. Modifiable Apps As a middle road between custom development and readymade apps, business can opt for Modifiable apps which impart better flexibility, speed and suitability in design and deployment. Business can download open source apps from any app store and modify them while deploying as per the requirements. Web-based Apps Instead of downloading or developing apps, businesses can go for Web-based apps akin to website designed apps or online apps. Business can use these online available apps to perform specific function if the requirement is not that big and functional suitability is not the criteria. Process of Enterprise Mobile Application Development & Deployment Whether a company is developing the app in-house or outsourcing to one or more vendors, the process required to develop and distribute the app is completely similar. It consists of application development, designing, coding & integration, testing, deployment, and maintenance. Application Construction: Application Construction stage includes all the backend tasks like defining the functions of app, architecture of the app, customization or modification of the app, connecting with the system and most importantly, building features to execute the app and solving business problems.
The party developing the app has to go through all the above tasks in such as way that the outcome in terms of features, architecture, functions and wire-frames match the business requirements. Custom Developed Apps Advantages Single platform to develop multiple apps Better control and high degree of management while building apps Apps to meet specific business functions Better integration with back-end system Disadvantages Apps are built from scratch which consumes time Requires high efforts to maintain the development process Difficult to fix rate of pay to in-house developer May lack the required User-Interface and Graphics Ready-made Apps Pre-focused apps to perform defined function Quick and easy for deployment Better User Interface to meet requirements of wide customer base More close to achieve ROI in stipulated time Issues with integration, management and security Challenges of compatibility with varied mobile phones Unlikely to meet the desired Operating System Unlikely to meet the desired Operating System Needs huge effort in integrating apps with devices Modifiable Apps Requires much less time to design and deploy the app in comparison with custom developed apps Address complete requirements with less effort, time and cost Issues in deciding what should be modified The modified app not necessarily meet the desired function or paradigm Web-based Apps Supports all operating systems, devices and browsers Highly compatible compared to other development models Support future enhancements and upgradation No cost of development, deployment and integration Requires continuous connectivity with internet to use Web-based apps Takes long time to access the required app in comparison with an app installed on mobile phone which operates with a single click Less likely to integrate with device's internal functions Designing: Designing the look and feel of the application is the next stage. It consist of incorporating graphics, media, animations and developing UI of the app to provide rich user-experience which can be done by any web or graphics designer. However it is important to make the design touch friendly. Coding & Integration: Coding stage covers connecting application with the device which takes few weeks or months depending on the complexity of the app.
The coding of the app has to be in line with the functioning of the devices. In addition, the application also gets integrated with the legacy systems of the organization. The most favorable approach is to utilize 3-tier architecture with custom API which allows installing apps to multiple devices, operating systems as well as the Web. Coding & Integration: Coding stage covers connecting application with the device which takes few weeks or months depending on the complexity of the app. The coding of the app has to be in line with the functioning of the devices. In addition, the application also gets integrated with the legacy systems of the organization. The most favorable approach is to utilize 3-tier architecture with custom API which allows installing apps to multiple devices, operating systems as well as the Web. Testing: The next stage is to ensure the application is developed correctly and runs smoothly on the user's device which is why the application needs to get tested. The app needs to be tested for all the devices and operating systems on which the application is to run. This may take few days or weeks depending on the functions of the app. Deployment: After testing, the next stage comes of actually deploying the application on user's device. The enterprise has to carefully monitor the deployment process to ensure no problems arise. If needed, enterprise can iterate the deployment till all the problems are ironed out and it is completely satisfied with the functioning of the app. Maintenance: The final stage is to maintain the application and ensure that the employees and end-users do not encounter any difficulties in operating or using the application. Also the application should be continuously upgraded and revised to get the complete benefits for performing the job work with the application. An enterprise by following the above process can successfully deploy the app in its employee's devices and get the competitive edge in running the business. Conclusion Enterprises planning to embrace the mobile technology for their business by adopting policy of working from anywhere can certainly go for developing enterprise mobile applications. The complete guide mentioned above can help businesses in taking right decision towards employing these applications in their work structure and avail competitive benefits in cost effective manner.
Some examples of enterprise mobile apps that Cygnet has developed for its clients Machine Service Diary: An iphone application to help a manufacturing company in managing schedules of machine maintenance to avoid conflicts in operations. It keeps complete track of all the machines and maintains the notes of servicing of a particular machine. It also synchronizes with calendar to send reminders for upcoming services. Read more about the Machine Service Diary App Reports2go: A universal ios app to quickly share reports and information within and outside the organization and cut back on costly and time-consuming printed paper reports. It allows organizational employees to share work documents and reports with phone contacts anywhere, anytime with a mere tap of a finger and cut the cost of printing these documents and sharing them. Read about Reports2go NotaCalc: A mobile application to help Belgian law firms perform notary calculations quickly and accurately. It saves time by giving correct estimate amount to be paid by customers for various legal services. It supports Dutch, French and English language and can give results depending on region, amount of abatement, etc. Read more about NotaCalc Author's Bio Khusbhoo Chattbar is a market analyst and content writer working with Cygnet Infotech. She keeps watch on the upcoming trends in different technologies and likes to write about them to educate readers. She also maintains 'Cygnets blog Cygnet Infotech is a software services and solutions provider with clients in over 20 countries. Cygnet specializes in custom software development for desktops, web and devices. To know more about Cygnet, visit INDIA... Cygnet Infotech Pvt. Ltd. 2-A, Manikyam, Opp. Samudra Annexe Nr. Shilp Cross Roads Navrangpura Ahmedabad - 380009. Gujarat, India. Tel +91 79 3048 7400 Fax +91 79 3048 7422 USA... Cygnet Infotech LLC Mack-Cali Centre III, 140 East Ridgewood Avenue, Suite 415 ST, Paramus, NJ 07652 Tel: +1 201 995 7444 Fax: +1 201 221 8516 UK... Cygnet Infotech Ltd Tel: + 44 20 8099 1653 CONNECT WITH US... Email: inquiry@cygnet-infotech.com Web: Twitter: @cygnetinfotech Skype: cygnet-infotech-pvt-ltd