The enterprise dilemma: Key considerations while embracing Mobility

In this fast-paced business scenario, shifting over to innovative mobile technologies is one of the crucial business strategies organizations are adopting today. Their dream is leveraging pioneering solutions to acquire considerable business value and gain a competitive edge over their competitors. In an effort to employ the power of mobile technologies, a majority of businesses are automating and streamlining their business acumen with cutting-edge mobile applications which could ensure improved productivity and reduced operational costs.

The diagram shows the shift in the enterprise world in terms of implementing mobility from strategic perspective to optimize cost associated with managing the information.

Micro Browser apps vs native apps

Background. There is presence of certain leading drivers for wireless technologies but even so , the market is still in its infancy. Some would argue that there is considerable difference of opinion in adopting dedicated platforms in organizations.  The jury is still out over the question as to which mobile micro browser apps on mobile browsers would not only be cost effective but also open new vistas in enterprise mobility. The question on the other side is, should the enterprise adopt a Mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP). There is debate regarding the use of browser based micro-apps and the role of MEPA. Above all it is a point to ponder that there are 100s of variations of the mobile browser, which bring up the unexpected QA issue.  Our previous article “web developers can rule the mobile development” discusses some of the challenges and benefits with browser based applications.

Debate. Organizations are also discussing the role of multitude  Mobile micro browser-apps, in the enterprise environment and native apps. The micro-apps are light-weight and do simple things such as  alerts, approvals, expense reports etc.  The point to consider here is the enterprise going to manage these. Whether the mobile users would use ”n” different enterprise micro-apps on their Smartphone? Micro-apps may be considered as short term innovations which can simply be consolidated into a mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP).  The interesting point, based on our work with different enterprises, is that an enterprise user would like to have a single icon on their mobile dashboard and not “n” different icons for each micro application. That single icon in return could offer “n” menu options along with mobilized business processes.  More such options can be added later as an opt-in function such is the flexibility of this platform.

On the other hand, by native apps we mean mobile apps in native environments of the mobile platform in question.  These native apps reside on the mobile devices which while connected to the Enterprise environment could get the data by using secure protocols, use the underlying capabilities of the platform – camera, accelerometer, GPS, enhance User experience. By the way did you know BlackBerry apps are using Java along with standardized Java and RIM-specific interfaces?

No doubt the MEAP vendor’s job would be to create micro-apps and consolidating them on their required platforms. The big question is how quickly the best MEAP apps could be created which can get enough market exposure, while at the same time leveraging the target mobile platform capabilities to the maximum.  The best MEAPs could include excellent visual design tools for adapting and creating new mobile enterprise applications, dominant combo tools which can be connected and synchronized with different backend database applications and environments etc., and different tools for the IT help desk, mobile user and mobile device management dashboards etc.

Role of Mobile Roadmap

It is no secret that the mobile market is developing at a faster pace but its major components such as  wireless networks, applications and devices are evolving unpredictably. For organizations it has become a herculean task to deploy mobile applications that permit communication-mobility amidst multiple devices. There is a cutthroat competition amongst the Smartphone players including, Symbian, Blackberry, Web OS, Mac OS X, mobile Linux.  In this cut throat competition platforms such as  Qualcomm Binary Runtime for Wireless (Brew) may have fallen slightly behind but they are also trying to compete.

The diagram below depicts how enterprise mobility platforms are evolving with respect to device proliferation.

It should be recognized that implementing the right mobile technology for your organization’s requirement is sine-qua-non for your enterprise health. Fortunately, there are varied browsers available on mobile devices like the upcoming RIM, Palm, Symbian s60, android, and iPhone which are based on WebKit.  Individuals or different organizations can choose these platforms according to their necessities and requirements by deciding whether they would be satisfied with the micro-apps or MEAP.

Your Organization’s Mobility Road Map. Given this complexity it is necessary for organizations to first identify the roadmap for building the capability and infrastructure to deliver applications on mobile devices. The Roadmap should be able to answer important questions ,

·         What are the mobile application needs within the enterprise for their employees and what are the opportunities to build mobile applications for consumers?

·         What is needed in terms of people, process and organization capability to develop mobile applications?

·         What do they need in terms of infrastructure to support mobile devices – either their own or employee owned devices?

·         How do they design and build the mobile development environment for the long term, as well as deliver applications that can show the possibilities to users

·         What is the roadmap and associate costs and value of enterprise mobile application development?

The Technology Consulting Group (TCG) at Endeavour- the mobility company, continuously researches on emergent mobile technologies and key mobility trends to provide reliable solutions and strategic advisory to organizations looking to leverage mobility. The TCG evaluates business, IT , Mobile complexities and provides specific advice on the choice of mobile platforms, mobile application – complete product lifecycle, the ROI and the common pitfalls.

Obstacles to tackle

Key challenges – Obstacles that we have seen organizations come up against when considering Mobility Initiatives are

1. The connectivity issue. Users may not always be connected and at times they could be out of coverage or flying.
2. User liable vs Corporate liable devices. As the mobile worker already has a choice of mobile devices the organizations dilemma to use the user’s smartphone for enterprise job function grows.
3. 80-20 rule. What are the 20% of the mobile apps that add 80% of the value in a mobilization initiative? This depends from organization to organization and its particular business and work force needs.
4. Technology. Choice of MEAPs or self maintained applications , the debate between browser and client resident apps.

In the past there were other obstacles like low wireless network connectivity.  We now have access to 3G’s networks which without any doubt are much faster and provide speed around 1 Mbps. With the coming up of 3G and fresh networks like WiMax there would surely be improvement in mobile app performance.

References

• Enterprise Micro Applications Technical User Guide
• Exploring Mobile Applications Technology Landscape Technology
• Nokia focuses on Mobile Web with new Acquisition

Web Developers can rule the Mobile Development

A lot of application providers who have their well defined means to market their applications are nowadays disappointed with the fact that they have to share their revenues with the device manufacturers and are looking for options which can help them avoid the same. On top of that there is almost a new device coming to market every other day thereby putting enormous pressure on their profitability.

Can a Mobile Browser application be a worthy option !!!

Here I have tried to look at the challenges faced while mobilizing an Internet Website and the key considerations for designing a Mobile Website.

The early development environments felt too sandboxed and needed resident applications to access the core features of the mobile phone. Today, things are changing. A lot of features however are now beginning to be found within the web browsers (vibration, accelerometer, geolocation).

With support from tools like jQTouch, it's shockingly easy to create apps that feel like they belong on the mobile phone using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. With PhoneGap, you can reach out to features like vibration, accelerometer, and geolocation. What's more, Mobile Browser lets you target your application to multiple platforms, so you're not even locked into the manufacturer’s tightly-controlled universe of Application Stores and need not shelve the hard earned dollars.

The world, of course, includes Google, which last week in a somewhat more modest development bypassed Apple’s iPhone app blockade by unveiling an html5 version of Google Voice, which takes full advantage of mobile Safari on the iPhone. Wired.com found it to be an impressive variation of the app Apple has neither approved nor officially rejected.

Add to that Endeavour now also offers a "Hybrid Approach" which brings together the benefits of both the native application and the Mobile Browser (am purposely not disclosing too much here but can be shared on request).

Having said that, developing a browser application has its own challenges.

Every year hundreds of devices flood the market with different browsers, display capabilities, screen sizes, and keypads — making designing a consistently good experience both an expensive and time-consuming process. The companies should not go by the initial hype created about Mobile Web being Device and platform agnostic which is not entirely true. The firms need to adequately balance the quality of the customer experience with both the size of the target audience and the costs associated with Mobile Web approach vis a vis a native application.

To approach the mobile Web in a systematic fashion, Endeavour therefore recommends that companies should take the following approach:

Deal with widely different interfaces. There are hundreds of mobile devices on the market, and they differ in screen size, resolution, orientation, keypad, and menu buttons. Different device manufacturers adopt proprietary technologies and operating systems, fracturing the device landscape even further. Updates to existing devices can even introduce minor behavior differences between two versions of the same phone. It is therefore important to identify the manufacturers (and devices, if possible) which needs to be supported.

Support a plethora of browsers. Unlike desktop Web developers who can limit their testing to three major browsers viz Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari the Mobile Web developers must contend with more than 40 mobile browsers — including Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Openwave, Opera, and RIM. Mobile service providers aggravate the problem by customizing mobile browsers on their devices. Since most devices do not allow over-the-air updates of software, faulty browser devices are simply replaced with newer versions on the next release of the phone. This often leaves multiple versions of the same phone with different capabilities. Most mobile service providers also recommend that application and site developers support devices for two years. It is important to design and develop the Mobile Web keeping in mind not only today’s phones, but should also take into account the past and evolving technologies.

Once the decision is taken on going the Mobile Web route a six step approach is recommended in order to have a website that is supported on maximum number of browsers and handsets:

Even well-designed sites can render drastically differently across a few common devices. Since the differences in browsers and devices are outside of a company’s control, site designers must factor in development, testing time, and cost when deciding on a mobile strategy. Most mobile design firms have expertise in developing for many devices; however, companies should always inquire about a firm’s design and testing plan across their devices of interest.

Endeavour recommends one of FOUR basic approaches for companies considering a mobile Web site.

A detailed technical note on designing of Mobile Web Application is available on request.