PureSoftware

Mobile devices have permeated every sector of life including the workplace. Today, mobile phones have unbelievable capabilities apart from calling and sending messages. Enterprises have therefore sought to take advantage of the capabilities by creating apps that make their contractors/employees/partners more productive and give them ability to work from anywhere.

The demand for such apps is so high and as a result, traditional IT companies are incapable of meeting the demand. To meet the rising demands, enterprises are now creating shadow IT units to create the apps quickly or for buying COTS apps. The apps go almost unnoticed when the creation begins but as they increase in number, it becomes a CISO’s and CIO’s worst nightmare. The issue leads to numerous IT issues such as fragmentation of toolkits, BYOD, speed to market, integration and management of app, end-to-end data security, and support for numerous apps amongst other challenges.

To prevent or deal with the chaos of the apps, enterprises should consider the following technology tips.

1. Flexibility of toolkit – There are new and better toolkits developed every day which are important in solving the need for multi-platform support. A flexible toolkit allows clients to use their most preferred toolkit and architects select the right toolkit depending on the need.
2. Common services – A good enterprise app should be able to provide all the basic services. Some of the basic services include offline capabilities so that it can be used in places without internet, push notifications and authorize and authenticate users. If an enterprise plans on creating many apps, there is a probability that it will soon experience a design disaster. This is likely to happen if the enterprise depends on the apps to fend for themselves so as to provide the basic services. Enterprises should save the operating team the burden of managing the apps during their lifetime by providing the services as REST APIs.
3. Comprehensive security architecture- When it comes to apps, security is not a feature: it is an important building stone. Security should be upheld for data in the device, data on transit, user authentication and authorization, network and data center, infrastructure, and when connecting with backend applications.
4. Scalable standard based technology - The platform should be built upon open standards to be able to meet growth requirements and to benefit from the advantage of community development.
5. Reusable micro services relying on back-end connectors – Integrating an app with backend applications allows the app to be available to other apps as an API.
6. Flexible deployment model – An app with flexible model caters for varying client needs and budgets. For this to happen, the App should have deployment services from public to on-house cloud.
7. Enterprise Mobility Solutions – The tools help enterprises to identify different problems and to know how users are using the app. The information helps in improving user experience and to gain insights on customer usage.
8. Mobile device development – This is a priority when developing apps. It enables enterprises to wipe data off in case a device is stolen or gets lost and it helps to manage security policies.