Sophisticated mobile plans influence app development

Mobile initiatives are becoming a major priority among organizations across a variety of industries due to the variety of benefits that they can offer. While there was a significant amount of trepidation toward the mobilization of the workforce, decision-makers have started realizing the potential business advantages they can leverage. As this value becomes more clear to managers, it will be important to create a solid strategy for deploying a mobile effort. Without a plan in place, developers will not be able to deliver successful applications and the rollout of mobilization may ultimately result in failure. However, by addressing necessary elements and ensuring that resources are in place to handle each critical component, mobile efforts will have a higher chance of success.

As new technology continues to emerge, it will be essential for organizations to research their options and consider how best to address them with their mobile plans. Some app builders may choose to utilize HTML5 development, while others opt to take a native coding approach to better leverage specific features for a device. Although each of these options has benefits, there are also disadvantages that must be weighed. For example, native methods take a considerable amount more time to enact as the program has to be recoded for each unique operating system. HTML5 is a young technology, making it difficult to find professionals that are well versed in it. However, by identifying the optimal app, developers can better meet user needs.

The innovating app building process
Individuals are increasingly relying on their mobile hardware for both work and personal purposes and it will be important to create programs to support these demands. According to an Aternity white paper, more CEOs are warming up to mobile efforts, with 35 percent taking an active role in mobile strategy development. In addition, CEOs are making mobile transactions and mobile-based customer engagement higher priorities when allocating budgets. However, despite this increase in interest, a majority of executives were unable to measure the effectiveness of their initiative due to lack of formal metrics. While this is a substantial gap for insight, by focusing the effort of the user, the organization can get its mobile strategy on track and ensure that the rollout is successful.

"The mobile ecosystem is still evolving and becoming increasingly complex," the report stated. "But in the midst of this complexity, keep your eye on the prize - who your end user is, what they are doing and how they are doing it. That is where true gains lie that will drive business success."

The changing face of mobile strategy
The way people use mobile devices is continually changing, requiring a more flexible strategy to quickly adjust. Enterprise Irregulars contributor Ray Wang noted that more organizations are focusing on methods that allow them to write code once and deploy the program over a range of devices. This approach will also enable developers to handle upgrades more efficiently and support agile development to deliver a viable product upon initial release. Organizations can use HTML5 form to accomplish these endeavors while ensuring the users will have a capable application that innovates processes and reinforces innovative technology. With this language, app builders will not have to spend additional time and funds required in native approaches. It will also help quickly patch any issues once without having to individually address each vulnerability in the various versions of native code. This will deter future threats and be more timely in mitigating current risks.

"By applying design thinking to solving specific and purposeful tasks and processes, organizations can rethink the digital journey with mobile projects," Wang wrote. "More importantly, mobile enables organizations to break the silos of existing systems from mainframes to on-premises systems and bring new life to legacy applications usage."