10 Mobile Networking and Application Development Myths to Forget

Reality: Writing code for each operating system and for every device can be labor-intensive, especially if you are deploying to thousands of users as opposed to hundreds. To combat the heavy workload, companies can choose an enterprise mobility platform to develop native apps centrally and deploy across multiple devices.

Reality: Building apps from scratch for each operating system is costly, tedious and time consuming. Instead, by using an enterprise mobility platform to “configure once, run anywhere,” you can reduce the amount of manpower needed to build cross-platform native apps. Using a platform approach, you can build, deploy and begin managing complex enterprise apps for multiple devices in just two to 10 weeks. Apps built using an enterprise mobility platform will integrate with the native mobile app features of each device including touch screens and gestures, camera, accelerometer and more.

Reality: Some people think Web-based apps built with HTML5 are the magic bullet. The central question with HTML5 for mobility is how to get the best of both worlds: the rich UI, native device capabilities, security and back-end functionality of a native app, and the ability to leverage Web talent and content wrapped up in the movement toward HTML5. Certain enterprise mobility platforms provide a way to not just embrace HTML5, but enhance it. You can enhance it by allowing HTML5-based mobile content to run in concert with native apps built on a proven mobility platform, taking full advantage of the platform’s integration, security and management capabilities.

Reality: The right mobility platforms provide the flexibility that allows users to make real-time changes. You can skip the recoding, recompilation, regression testing and resubmission to the app stores. Using a drag-and-drop integrated development environment (IDE), users can make ongoing changes to their apps in seconds. The agility and flexibility associated with such platforms is essential to companies that aim to grow and evolve, allowing you to add new features and changes to apps, simultaneously.

Reality: Building multiple enterprise mobility apps shouldn’t cost a fortune. Find a mobility platform with a pricing model that scales with your needs. The platform price should align with the number of CPUs you need to run those apps rather than paying per app or per user. That way, you have total control of your mobile strategy, giving you the ability to build as many apps, on as many devices, for as many users as you want.

Reality: Regularly, when organizations envision an enterprise mobile app, they picture it working on one platform. The reality is that an increasing number of businesses are implementing a BYOD policy, allowing employees to bring whatever device they choose to the office in order to access enterprise data. By opting for a cross-platform mobility platform from the outset, your organization can deploy the same enterprise mobile app content to multiple device types and platforms. Additionally, you are able to save on development time and resources since the same functionality will be designed to run on multiple platforms.

Reality: BYOD has raised countless security concerns and businesses want to clamp down on corporate data sharing. Using an enterprise mobility platform, your company can rest easier by sharing data via enterprise mobility apps that are secured at the app level, providing a finer set of controls than the traditional device level approach. App-level security enables businesses to remotely wipe data if a device is lost or stolen, while leaving personal information intact. These apps give employees secure access to data and prevent users from sharing the information with others, while enforcing user authentication and authorization levels.

Reality: It’s clear today that data access is everywhere with smartphone use steadily on the rise. With the concept of data access now altered, the realization is that your company will likely need a mobile app to keep pace with customers and competitors. In the enterprise, more businesses are integrating phones and tablets into their everyday workflow and your company needs to be ready to mobilize. Your data needs to be ubiquitous, regardless of device or location. Businesses that have yet to develop an enterprise mobility strategy are now beginning to hear the groundswell from their employee base and customers.

Reality: The critical data stored in your legacy database or enterprise systems can be mobilized through back-end data integration. Enterprise mobility platforms offer plug-ins and other comprehensive data integration capabilities that make laptop and desktop applications accessible via a mobile app. Just think about all the information that apps get from established systems of record. If your sales people are using a smartphone app to quote prices or order-promise dates to customers, the accuracy of those promises relies on sound, real-time integration to a back-end system.

Reality: The lines between B2C and B2E apps have merged into one set of standards. Users are now expecting a rich experience and specific data via a secure app, regardless of their need for accessing the app. With the rapid expansion of the app economy and the necessity to provide value quickly, delivering an app that is effective and easy to navigate, with the back-end integration and security to back it up has become the key to high adoption rates. Using an enterprise mobility platform that enables you to build apps with different workflows for each user group, your company’s app should allow every end user—whether employee or customer—to access what they need within 10 seconds; otherwise you risk losing interest and downloads.