Mobile App development

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Seventy percent of the respondents to the Gartner 2013 CIO survey believe mobile technology will be a disruptive force for the next 10 years. That’s a long time before the market settles. So, in the meantime, IT leadership is still looking for solutions to manage multiple device types and OSes, and tools to handle all the different use cases for mobility. More than ever, CIOs are thinking about what the mobile enterprise will look like in the long term, but the stakes are high now, and the road to mobility is not clear as obstacles are numerous and risk lurks in many unexpected places. How can they structure the chaos and transform their business? And create competitive advantage… the answer increasingly lies with enterprise apps.

DEFINING THE APP Most large to mid-sized enterprises have successfully rolled out one mobile app to some segment of their employee population. However, companies shouldn’t mistake that with being mobile. Forward-thinking enterprises are taking a broader approach and creating an end-to-end strategy for building, deploying, managing and monitoring apps, to support a growing mobile B Y PAT B R A N S < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <

workforce today and in the future. Consumer-grade apps (albeit, often being used by employees) are avail-

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able through public app stores, but as Steve O’Brien, head of product market-

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ing for Antenna Software points out, “Apps mean different things to different people. We’re all aware of them, and there are millions of apps available. But most apps that enterprises

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use — the ones they get value and ROI

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from — are not tools that you go to

apps cross over from B2E

the public app store for and download

to B2C when it comes

operate on premise,

on your iPhone. They are custom-built

to POS or an e-com-

pay for servers and

business-to-employee (B2E) apps. They

merce app as well.

train staff to oper-

companies need to

perform specific functions, like CRM,

So while there

ate the platforms.

sales force or field service automation;

is a need for mul-

Development

or they enable delivery and distribu-

tiple apps running

on a traditional

tion, for example.”

on multiple systems

MEAP can cost

Enterprise apps are built for specific

within a business,

more than most en-

purposes, helping streamline opera-

O’Brien points out that IT

tions and making it easier to serve cus-

does not want to have to “re-

tomers. They allow workers to capture

invent the wheel every time you build

more data faster and help automate

a new app.” That’s where partners and

says, “The inherent problem with

previously tedious and time-consuming

the right platform come in.

MEAPs is that they require very inva-

processes with the latest available de-

terprises bargain for, because for one thing, as StarMobile CEO Todd Fryburger

sive changes to the application on the

vices. They are built, deployed, run and

MONOLITHIC MEAPS

backend. Often you have to re-license

managed by the enterprise.

Most experts agree that traditional

applications you own, create new se-

However, O’Brien says, “These apps

mobile enterprise application plat-

curity for the mobile realm, build new

are not ‘one and done.’ You can’t just

forms (MEAPs) can’t meet the evolv-

interfaces and generate custom code

build an app for the sales team and

ing needs of the business. These

for multiple apps across multiple plat-

consider yourself finished.” While the

monolithic platforms are built to sup-

forms using exotic skills.”

sales team has an app, the marketing

port a small set of apps for a limited

According to Fryburger, “MEAPs are

team needs a different one, and field

number of use cases. They typically

good when you have workflow with

service needs still another.

provide connectors to some of the

high complexity and an offline data-

larger legacy applications and fea-

base on the device that needs to be

tures for static data mapping.

synchronized. But that’s maybe five to

That does not mean they are utilized or run in siloes, “Some of these apps talk to each other. All of them

Moreover, they don’t work out of

10% of the use cases in the enterprise.

talk to one or more backend systems,”

the box. As a rule of thumb, for every

The vast majority of the use cases for

says O’Brien. One may be connected

dollar spent on a MEAP, you need to

the enterprise are departmental or

to a time-tracking system for payroll;

spend one to two dollars on integra-

functional, where you might have 10

another needs data for logistics. Some

tion services. Since virtually all of them

or 12 people from HR who need remote access when they’re away from the office. You’re not going to invest multiple millions of dollars to mobilize that.” In addition, Mayank Mehta, VP

Most experts agree that tradional mobile enterprise application platforms (MEAPs) can't meet the evolving needs of the business.

Product at Capriza, says, “The traditional way people provide mobile access to backend applications has been very expensive and requires a long development time. This is especially problematic when companies want to provide mobile access to consumers, where speed is critical. Then you always need to develop subsequent

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cally used in a conversation about enterprise applications. Usually, they’re clunky and difficult and non-intuitive and ugly and slow. The impact of consumerization on enterprise apps is that

Whether it be an app for employees, customers, partners or consumers, a single platform has to serve the different needs.

the expectations are much, much higher. If there’s an app that’s not usable, or it’s too slow, too ugly or too confusing, they just won’t use it.”

MOVING ON TO MAD The new tools supporting the enterprise are generally referred to as mobile application development (MAD) platforms. versions of an app, which also takes

and a significant number of reps left.

According to Mehta, “What we —

a long time.”

Avon ditched this multiyear project in

and companies like us — are offering,

The new generation of application

December 2013 because the technol-

is a way to quickly develop apps that

development platforms do have some

ogy was so hard to use. Dollar losses

access backend systems. Because the

of the same functions as the traditional

were reported to be in the hundreds of

speed of application development is

MEAPs. Cathal McGloin, CEO of Feed-

millions, not to mention the soft cost of

an order of magnitude or two faster,

Henry, says, “The basic principles of

replacing the sales force.

and the cost is so much less prohibi-

what a MEAP did continue to this day

In fact, mobile fails like this are fairly

tive, early-stage companies can experi-

— the ability to build the app, handle

common — though not usually talked

ment more with mobile apps, and fine

authentication and backend integra-

about. And companies must not for-

tune the use cases.”

tion. The difference is that instead of

get user expectations. O’Brien explains,

Mehta also notes, “More mature

being delivered on a siloed platform

“While enterprises have requirements

companies, who already know which

on-premise, these services are delivered

different than apps from the general

use cases they want to mobilize, ben-

as a more open set of services for mul-

public, the trend towards consumeriza-

efit as well. They can develop their

tiple applications on the cloud.“

tion has still had a big effect on the way

apps much quicker and with less cost.”

Also with BYOD, he says, everybody is

enterprise apps look and function.”

For example, if sales reps need to be

mobile. Whether it be an employee, cus-

Since employees use their mobile

able to update notes on their mobile de-

tomer, partner or consumer, a single plat-

devices at home and use apps everyday

vices, this can be done with mobile CRM.

form has to serve these different needs.

personally for things like buying a train ticket, a cup of cof-

CONSUMERIZATION EXPECTATIONS

fee or even playing a

Plus, a clunky development platform can

a similar experience

result in a clunky frontend and users will

at work.

game, they anticipate

Instead of what may be a complicated dashboard on a desktop, you can mobilize the bare minimum. “Mobile is about being really task specific

rebel. In the case of a recent mobile proj-

"These apps

ect at Avon, its attempt to deploy iPads

[consumer grade]

you can get in and

and a new order management system to

work, and they’re

out very quickly,”

sales failed because of this.

beautiful, elegant

The user experience was so cumbersome people could not do their jobs,

and simple. None of these words are typi-

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and making sure

he says. McGloin also advocates for simplicity.

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He explains that traditional MEAPs

much more with it.

were silo solutions that did one or two

It’s the same with

things. If you had a field service team,

mobility.”

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developers must make early on in the design

they mobilized the back-end for one

Businesses

purpose. If you had sales team, they

started out us-

er software on

did the same thing for that group. But

ing the tech-

the client will

they couldn’t go much outside of that,

nology for very

be native code,

because the whole application was

specific purpos-

HTML5 or hybrid.

integrated from top to bottom. They

es, but are now

were vertically-integrated solutions.

realizing how much

Then with the explosion of apps in

more they can mobilize.

phase is wheth-

The following five factors should be considered when mak-

the public marketplace and the avail-

“By nature, apps are small

ing a decision:

ability of the cloud, suddenly people

pieces of functionality that are continu-

1. The speed of content rendering on

wanted to use mobile apps for every-

ously updated. Instead of developing

the device. HTML5 content takes

thing — both personally and profes-

one app for a specific need and spend-

sionally. “So we came up with a more

ing nine months doing so, it’s about

2. The speed of development. Apps

open platform that would talk to a

an ongoing process and more apps,

can be developed much quicker us-

bunch of services that were hosted

meeting different needs. Organizations

in the cloud. You could build differ-

are starting to understand that they

3. The variety of devices/operating

ent mobile solutions for various parts

can put in place a platform to manage

systems that must be supported.

of the business, but all served from

all those apps and provide common

HTML5 is the best way to support a

the same cloud-based platform,” says

services. They don’t have to start over

mixed environment.

McCloin.

every time.”

longer to render.

ing HTML5.

4. Offline operation on the client: Of-

He compares this evolution to what

With the latest MAD platforms,

happened with the web, “The whole

enterprises can put the foundation in

evolution of apps is very similar to when

place to build hundreds of apps if they

5. Security: HTML5 content is more

the web first started. At first everybody

want, all with the specific requirements

difficult to encrypt effectively, and

had to get their website up and run-

of business in mind.

browser-based attacks are possible.

ning as quickly as possible to provide

fline operations are best developed with native code.

On the other hand, native applica-

brochures and other basic information.

NATIVE, HTML5, OR HYBRID

tions benefit from OS-specific secu-

Then companies realized they could do

One of the key architectural decisions

rity features, such as authentication, encryption, and code signing (so any tampering with the application can generally be detected). Many enterprises are selecting a

Businesses started out using the technology for very specific purposes, but are now realizing how much they can mobilize.

hybrid architecture as a compromise. Presentation is based on HTML5 to support a variety of devices. Offline functions are coded in a high-level programming language, and sensitive operations are conducted with native calls and code to make use of OS-specific security features.

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companies like to use app wrapping to secure apps individually, but Brumer doesn’t believe this is the best approach. He says, “It’s better to use

The latest generation of MAD platforms tend to be cloud based, so companies no longer need to install servers on site to run a mobility solution.

a cross-platform container. All apps, email and data goes inside the container. Then if a device is lost or stolen, you can wipe the device clean by simply removing the secured container.”

SAVING THROUGH THE CLOUD Until recently, enterprises wanting to run a mobility solution had to install

MOBILE ENTERPRISE SECURITY

grant access to a specific app — or

one or more servers on site. Servers

functions within an app — based

and software sometimes cost millions

According to Steve Brumer, EVP of Sales

on user roles. Some also grant ac-

of dollars and took nine to 12 months

and Marketing at Globo Mobile, “The

cess based on the type of connection

to deploy.

current generation of apps are more

(WiFi or cellular), on the network

mission critical.” When enterprises de-

used, or on device type.

ploy B2E apps, the three most impor-

By contrast, the latest generation of MAD platforms tend to be cloud

• Virus attacks: Companies need to

based, so companies no longer need

tant security concerns are:

protect against viruses that might

to install hardware or software behind

• Data leakage: Devices can be lost or

render devices unusable. When

the firewall. As a result, customers save

stolen, which potentially exposes

employees have a single device for

both time and money.

sensitive company information.

both personal and business use, un-

The company simply sets up a VPN

Data privacy is best ensured through

less business apps are containerized,

connection or a punch-through con-

a combination of authentication

viruses from public apps may infect

nection from the cloud of their choice

and on-device encryption.

business apps and data.

to their backend applications. All the

• Some MAD platforms provide func-

To minimize the number of times us-

services, such as authentication and

tions to containerize apps. Then if

ers have to go through identification and

the device is lost or stolen, the con-

authentication with all the different busi-

McGloin says, “Our real value

tainer, and everything within, can

ness apps they might use throughout the

comes in from the cloud layer, where

be wiped from the device to prevent

day, many MAD platforms provide single

all the heavy lifting occurs. This is

breaches of confidentiality.

sign on. The one-time identifica-

• Unauthorized access: Not every

tion and authentication

caching, are done in the cloud layer.

where the services are exposed and you can add new services as

user should be able to access all

might occur at the

parts of an app, and not every user

time of device login,

should have access to all data. Ac-

or it could occur

tive, it’s not about

cess control is best ensured through

when the user

how you build the

identification and authentication,

connects to the

apps, but about

and through application software

enterprise for

how you integrate

that partitions data and restricts

the first time.

those apps with

access based on user credentials. Most MAD platforms are able to

As for securing apps, some

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needed. We think that from an IT perspec-

the rest of the organizations and the

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• Application Monitoring - To help enterprises track how many people are using an app, which functions they use most and what problems

With apps being part of the greater mobile strategy, enterprises need full lifecycle support, and that's what the next gen MAD platforms offer.

they may be experiencing, many platforms provide metrics and data analytic capabilities. By following usage patterns, enterprises can determine if their mobile application strategy is being implemented effectively, and as envisioned, and make changes accordingly. By providing full lifecycle support, the new generation of MAD platforms

backend systems and get data in and

ing. Some provide drag-and-drop

promises to help CIOs streamline the

out of the platform.”

capabilities. Others provide tools for

complex mobile environment of mul-

He explains that solution partners

more hardcore programming. Most

tiple device types and OSes accessing

can provide management of the cloud

platforms come with connectors to

data from multiple backend systems for

resources, and lifecycle management of

backend applications.

a multitude of use cases. //

versioning. “If you have a next genera-

• App Deployment - To help enter-

tion app coming out, one of the biggest

prises catalog their apps and allow

questions is how you deploy it. We take

access to them based on user roles,

care of all the authentication and all

many platforms offer deployment

the synchronization between the de-

features, which are often similar

vice and the cloud and the cloud and

to the enterprise app store model.

the backend.”

App deployment features may help operators make decisions about

FULL LIFECYCLE SUPPORT

which apps are ready for deploy-

To classify the current MAD platforms

ment, and which ones are still in

as simply development tools is limiting.

testing. They may also support

With apps being part of the greater

asset tracking and some sort of

mobile strategy, enterprises need full

payment mechanism for internal

lifecycle support, and that’s what the next gen platforms offer.

charging to business units. • App Management and Security -

O’Brien says, “Development is

To help operators configure and

where you start.” The platforms, how-

troubleshoot apps, many platforms

ever, run from end to end to deploy-

provide management functions.

ment, management and monitoring.

Some include device lockdown and

The critical components of the life-

UPCOMING SUPPLEMENTS MARCH/APRIL

“The New Age of BYO” MAY/JUNE

“Rugged Revealed” JULY/AUGUST

“Ensuring Mobile Access”

device wipe to protect enterprise

cycle, according to O’Brien, are:

data when it’s suspected that a de-

• App Development - To support

vice is lost or stolen. Some platforms

developers, platforms provide a

even provide secure containers to

framework for application devel-

separate enterprise apps and data

opment, along with tools for cod-

from personal apps and data.

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SEPT./OCT.

“Mobile Risk”

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Thank you to our sponsors: TITLE SPONSOR:

Antenna, now part of Pegasystems, is a leading enterprise mobility specialist that helps global enterprises build, run, and manage mobile applications. Antenna’s mobile platform, AMPchroma, is the foundation that handles complex components of mobility that many businesses struggle with, namely security, integration, and management. Visit www.antennasoftware.com or www.pega.com. 

Capriza extends enterprise applications to mobility in a rapid and costeffective way. Founded by the former executives of Mercury Interactive, Capriza simplifies and lengthens the life of existing business systems by delivering custom, HTML5 mobile views that give employees instant access to critical business data. www.capriza.com/MAD

FeedHenry provides a cloud-based mobile application platform that simplifies the development and management of mobile apps for enterprise. Based on open, scalable and agile technologies, the platform speeds the development of native, hybrid or HTML5 apps that securely connect to multiple backend systems and cloud services, and supports deployment of server-side code to private, public or hybrid cloud environments. www.feedhenry.com

GLOBO (LSE-AIM:GBO), is an international leader and technology innovator delivering Enterprise Mobility Management and Telecom software products and solutions. The Group operates internationally through subsidiaries and offices in US, UK, Europe, Middle East, and South East Asia offering a wide range of products to the corporate, public, and consumer market. www.globoplc.com

StarMobile is a disruptive, cloud-based solution that delivers enterprise mobility at a fraction of the cost and time of any other approach. StarMobile dynamically transforms any packaged on-premise or cloud-based application, or custom-built system, into a mobile application at 5 percent to 20 percent of the cost and time of any other method. www.StarMobileInc.com

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