Enterprise apps are extremely popular in the business world because they are specifically designed with the business user in mind. A small business, for example, can hire a talented and reputable app developer in the UK in order to have a customised enterprise app created for his or her employees to use daily in order to streamline processes, solve problems, access information, and much more.
Despite all of the benefits that can be derived from the use of an enterprise app, however, there are also challenges that businesses are facing today when it comes to developing their enterprise apps. Continue reading to learn more about what those challenges are, as well as what can be done to overcome them with ease.
You Should Have a Strong Focus on Connectivity
One of the challenges that businesses face with enterprise apps is the inability to fully access the data that they require. A great enterprise app must be connected to the information and data that you are attempting to access, but for a lot of businesses, the data that they need to get to is likely going to be hosted with the protection of a firewall.
Therefore, you have to make sure that your enterprise app has connectivity designed specifically for mobile. If an enterprise app is not built with a private Wi-Fi network and unrestricted access to a company’s network, users will no longer be able to use the app once they leave the office. You can prevent further challenges by avoiding the use of VPNs, as they are not designed for mobile specifically, they are session-based, and they will drop sessions and require log-ins continually.
Management Capacity Should Not Be Disregarded
It is not only challenging to actually have your enterprise app developed, as you also need to focus on how you will effectively manage your app once it is launched and being used. Everything from app testing and rollout, to lifecycle management needs to be addressed, and one of the biggest challenges is operating system upgrades, which can render apps useless.
Once you have developed and launched an app within your organisation, and your workforce relies upon the app daily, you will have to integrate a plan for quickly fixing the app and releasing an upgrade as soon as possible when things like OS upgrades that are not compatible with your current app occur.
You Should Take Advantage of Push Technology Whenever Possible
Push technology allows an enterprise app to send users important notifications, and it also enables an app to work even while offline. Because enterprise apps have to work whenever and wherever they are needed, you should certainly have push technology enabled within your app. You can do this either by using a ‘poke and pull’ method to notify users that synchronisation is required, or you can push data content to the app.
Just be aware in advance that not all devices will provide support for push technology. This is because there are some mobile operating systems that actually work on preventing background processing. This ultimately means that triggers that are initiated by users will be necessary in the absence of the push technology.
You Should Also Take Advantage of Open Source and Open Standards
Over the last several years, several major app stores have been launched, and their focus is set upon catering to the various needs of the many different mobile operating systems that are available. This has ultimately resulted in a shift that has moved everyone from closed systems towards open standards, and the open source community, such as Github as a great example, has definitely continued to grow rapidly as a result.
Currently, the standard in the world of app development, including when it comes to enterprise app development, is the use of HTML5. Mobile apps that use the latest version of HTML will require minimal code changes if they are going to be launched and used on various platforms. In other words, you can hire a developer to write a single app and minimally change the code for every platform that the app will be used on.
When developing your app, take advantage of open source technology, and remember that your app developer can solve problems more easily than you can because he or she is already well informed and trained on how to address a variety of issues that you are facing with your app. Also, avoid the use of anything proprietary. Doing so would result in you being locked into a vendor’s framework or development tools, and that would require that you completely rewrite the app whenever changes occur, thereby costing you a lot more money in the long run.
Always Remember What Your Enterprise App Is For
Establishing the intention for your enterprise app is vital to being able to communicate with an app developer effectively and get the app that you truly want and need. Remember that, for the majority of businesses using enterprise apps, this technology is designed to allow for more innovation in the workplace, as well as reduce downtime.
Business-critical apps are also developed and used to improve the overall experience of both customers and company employees, all while more easily maintaining the security of a company’s network. So whether you are developing and launching an app that you plan on delivering to your employees or your clients, have a clear plan for how you want the end user to utilise the app on a daily basis.
Even though you will face challenges if you are a business owner who wishes to integrate an enterprise app into your daily workflow, there are ways that you can prepare for those challenges and overcome them. In other words, the challenges that you will face certainly will not outweigh the benefits that you will derive from your enterprise app. If you simply follow the guidelines above, you will be able to create a strong app or strengthen an existing app while minimising its complexity and making it easier for all users to integrate it into their workflow.
Images: ” a businessman with an icon with the word app in his hand /Shutterstock.com“
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