Overall, businesses have demonstrated a willingness to use technology to drive profitability. Globally, spending for IT is predicted to exceed $3.8 trillion during 2015. Part of this spending will be to initiate or expand enterprise mobility — 62.5 percent of respondents in a recent study bought one or more mobile apps in 2014, proving that enterprise mobility is a concept that is here to stay.
Although the move to enterprise mobility is definitely underway, mobility initiatives can face certain challenges. This is true whether you are building a first app for a small business or the 100th app for an international corporation. However, there are ways to work around the three biggest challenges you are likely to face, which are development cost, support and time to deployment.
- Choose a tool that will allow you to develop cross-platform applications. You will have users accessing the app on a variety of operating systems, such as Android and iOS, as well as different devices, such as laptops, tablets or desktops. Instead of developing an app for each possible OS and device, recycle code and graphics and tweak them as needed. You will reduce your costs and your development time, and your app will be easier to support in the future as well.
- Stay abreast of announcements about new OS releases. Not every company chooses to upgrade every time that a new version of an OS is released, but sometimes, the newest version has features that make it crucial to do so. More importantly, your users might upgrade, making your app too slow or less secure. Know what functionality will be provided in the upgrade so that you can keep your apps compatible and leverage any new features to your advantage.
- Do not assume that you will need to build your app “from scratch” to get what you want. There are hundreds of apps already created and for sale online. Many of these apps cost much less than it would cost to develop one yourself, and there are even some excellent free apps available. You might find one that does precisely what you need. You can also find one that has most of the functionality you need and customize it to your exact requirements. “Canned” apps can save you both time and money, since all or most of the work has already been done for you.
If you need a technology partner to help you with your enterprise mobility initiatives, the professionals at PhaseAlpha are ready to assist you. We have extensive experience in creating mobile apps for customers in a variety of industries. Our team consists of highly skilled personnel who deliver top-quality products on time and within budget. You can send an email to info@phasealpha.com, or phone (913) 648-9220 to discuss your project in greater detail.