Enterprise Mobile App Development Challenges

Enterprise Mobile App Development Challenges

There has been an evident change in the way enterprises function over the last few years. Technological changes, transformation of infrastructure and the shift in demographics of employees, all have led to changes in the way enterprise processes are managed and goals are achieved. Enterprise Mobile Applications is one such change, that has been actively adopted by organizations for gaining competitive advantage over others.

But, what do Enterprise mobile apps really offer? What make them popular? Here are a few aspects that make it shine.

  • Access to Operational Data on-the-go
  • Unifying all work processes on a single platform (communication, scheduling, reporting, etc.)
  • Reducing the time, for processing, implementation etc
  • Improving the interaction and communication within the enterprise

Mobile Apps have a lot to offer for enterprises, but as with everything there are developmental challenges that one needs to tackle.  Let’s take a look at the key Enterprise Mobile App Development Challenges.

Finding the Right Development Team

Finding the Right Development Team

That’s where it all begins (bypassing the need analysis and identification of target audience). But, getting an operative and efficient team right from the start may not always easy. In many cases enterprises lack the expertise when it comes to mobile app development, this is where contracting an experienced development team comes in. While an in-house team may suffice in certain cases, collaborating with an experienced team (outsourcing) has its own perks. There is also the confusion brought in by app types (read here), that influences the development process to a great extent.

With the recent experiments on container-based models, where Progressive Web Apps or Packaged Web Apps (PWAs) are hosted inside a container app, enterprise mobile apps are becoming truly device agnostic nullifying the app-type puzzlement. The process of identifying the right team, communicating and interacting with them throughout the development process to get the right output may be time consuming, but is often worth the effort considering the kind of mobile app being developed.

Tackling Security Issues

According to Appthority’s Q2 2018 Enterprise Mobile Threat Report, “62% of enterprises have at least one vulnerable app in their mobile environment.” A Report by European Commission states that, “Losing critical company data, and especially customer data represents the major concern for most of the companies not yet having adopted the BYOD concept. Other concerns include unauthorized access to company data and systems, the downloading of unsafe apps or content, the loss of devices, malware and the exploitation of vulnerabilities.”

In layman’s terms, App vulnerabilities are caused by several factors including design flaws and programming errors, which may have been inserted intentionally or accidentally. In either case, it poses a risk to enterprises in terms of loss of regulated data like medical information, sensitive personal data, financial records etc. Such security risks can however be reduced by the use of MDM (mobile device management system), as well as its technological successor – MAM (mobile application management system).

Authentication and Data Encryption

Authentication and Data Encryption

While both are important aspects of security itself, it becomes crucial to focus on those specifically due to the issues pertaining to loss of intellectual property. According to Appthority’s report, “40% of vulnerable apps installed are business related, increasing the risk for IP loss.” This would include loss of corporate private keys and access credentials, leaked data about private business conversations, leak of confidential corporate sales details etc.

While keeping the users aware about information security is an important step, the inclusion of highly secure and advance authentication process clubbed with usage of secure containers for data encryption can reduce the overall risk. Reliable credentials and access rights system, to deliver different sets of data to employees based their job roles adds to the security aspect.

Integration with Existing IT Infrastructure

Enterprise Mobile apps are created with the aim to be a synchronized part of the overall enterprise growth strategy. For this to happen the apps and the API strategy must have ready integrations with the existing IT infrastructure.

This responsibility falls on the development team (in-house or outsourced). The team should ideally take into consideration the existing technological experience of the company and map it with the new enterprise mobile application requirements. This requires collaboration between the development team and the enterprise’s IT department for detailed analysis of the existing infrastructure, listing of the existing APIs and charting the new requisites.

Getting the UX Right

The success of an enterprise mobile app usually lies in its acceptance. User experience (UX) and Usability play an indispensable role here. UX determines the level of user satisfaction and also impacts the efficiency of enterprise wide functions and ultimately the achievement of enterprise goals too.

While in case of enterprise mobile app development the target audience is clearly defined, understanding them better can assist in delivering the right UX. This includes:

  • identifying problematic areas where the application can be helpful
  • understanding information exchange processes and identifying employees’ communication needs
  • pinpointing specific needs of departments, working roles etc.

Enterprise Mobile Applications are the face of technological change in smart organizations and have improved the impact on the productivity, engagement and retention of employees.

The success of an Enterprise Mobile app hinges on the groundwork done before development, efficient development processes and the thoroughness of testing done before its launch. The trends of enterprise mobility keep changing and there will always be new challenges. In the end it all boils down to the technical readiness of the enterprise itself, on how good the development team is, and the involvement of the key stakeholders in the development process.

If you are facing challenges in developing your enterprise mobile apps, you need to talk to an expert. Get in touch with us for a FREE consultation where our in-house experts can help you with your challenges.

2 comments

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