Mobile apps have evolved into core enterprise-grade solutions, creating quality, build delivery and strategic deployment benchmarks for complex mobile app development projects worldwide. The burgeoning popularity of mobile enterprise apps targeting consumer behavior analytics and customer relationships has fueled the need to leave behind traditional ad-hoc development models and switch to agile cloud based app development environments. Still mobile apps differ on their category type, development, deployment and project management aspects, which is why selecting the right platform for mobile app development remains crucial for developers.
App development has become more challenging with the added requirements of enterprise mobility benchmarks, including input costs, team collaboration, time-to-market, security aspects, scalability, integration with APIs, user experience and more. The right mobile app platforms helps in avoiding both short term and long term issues, and as developers you must anticipate those project development challenges in a proactive manner.
Things that matter
Enterprise-grade mobile app solutions rely heavily on the platform they are built on. The choices could be iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, etc. but the real questions dwell on a selection criteria. These could be customer preference, crowd popularity, user friendliness, security, private purpose, etc. Let’s cover few pointers towards picking the perfect platform for your mobile app.
Do your homework – identify your target audience
Knowing and understanding the needs and requirements of users that will be using your mobile application are two different things, and this information is perhaps one of the deciding factors that contribute towards choosing the mobile platform.
For starters, as an app developer you don’t want to limit your app downloads on account of target users mismatch. When you are targeting mass markets like those of Apple’s iOS and Android, you must carefully choose the one that is more suitable for your app. Enterprise mobile applications thrive on a large customer base, and if you hit the right fraction of smartphone users, you hit the bull’s eye!
Agile mode – It is the future
Time is money. We hear this clichéd term a lot, but unfortunately it holds true in the case of mobile app development. Agile methodology lets you develop and test your app quickly, and this is a time-and-tested suggestion. Not only one can reduce the average app development timeframe, but also its time-to-market and input cost as well. Rapid app development platforms must be preferred over their more traditional counterparts.
Application security parameters
Different platforms have their own security binders and secure encryption algorithms. This is why one must pick the mobile app platform most suitable from the design and security requirements. Platforms offer easy built in support for app and user security, app and device level management. Other special requirements depend on the app type – secure encryption, remote location access or identity modules, which again differ from one platform to other.
Present and future versatility
Mobile app development platforms come trimmed with flexible support for advanced integration on mobile devices and back-end legacy systems. Whether it is a native mobile app or HTML5 based web application, compatibility and complete functionality is downright crucial. Further, the most suitable mobile application platform should provide cost-effective scalability to accommodate both contemporary and future trends, possible in both theory and practical.