The Magic Application Platform Blog: April 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012

Defining the Mobile Enterprise

Mobile Enterprise, n., a business whose primary nature or strategic advantage derives from the agility attained by deploying a significant proportion of its workforce in a mobile fashion and facilitating their interaction with customers, suppliers and one another without primary dependence on a fixed location.

In attempting to define the mobile enterprise, Rahul C. Basole, PhD of the Tennenbaum Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology proposes that:

The mobile enterprise is built on a foundation of processes and technologies allowing full access and instrumented insight to all organizational resources, resulting in improved adaptability, access, and interaction among employees, customers, partners, and suppliers, independent of location.

His work remains useful in defining and understanding the mobile enterprise to this day. As Basole notes, the mobile enterprise can be comprised of two groups of workers, those who primarily work on-site and those whose work is normally performed off-site or independent of location. In the first group of on-site workers are the desk workers, on-site rovers, and site wanderers. In the second off-site group are the tele workers, off-site rovers, road warriors and global cruisers.

The initial response to the overall need for enterprise mobility has been to develop ad hoc native smartphone applications to serve the needs of many of these workers. Gartner believes that the need for enterprise IT departments to create mobile apps quickly and easily will cause the Rapid Mobile Application Development (RMAD) sector to grow rapidly.

Recently, I was at the largest independent gathering of Oracle Software users in Las Vegas and while on-site conducted a live webinar with Microsoft. The challenge of enterprise mobility is an increasingly hot topic in business today. Users of enterprise systems have traditionally been deskbound workers and mobile, or off-site workers as Basole defined them, have often had access to little more than email, making them fully dependent on their office bound colleagues for execution of simple tasks.

With the introduction of the enterprise mobile mashup and secure mobile computing, users of mobile apps on a wide variety of platforms can directly access relevant data and execute context sensitive and mission critical business processes from the convenience of their smartphone or tablet devices. This evolution in capabilities provides revolutionary possibilities for business success.

Gartner believes that by 2018 a majority of business enterprises will leverage RMAD to develop mobile apps. As the largest and most established vendor in this segment, Magic Software is positioned to take early advantage of this market by offering enhancements and extensions to business processes as well as through "mobile first" development.

Additional important concepts:

What is a mobile app?

What is a mobile enterprise?

What is a mobile enterprise application platform (MEAP)?

How do mobile enterprise application platforms (MEAP) differ?

How can I make money as a mobile app developer?

What job skills do I need to develop mobile apps?

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

How does mobile app design differ from design for desktop and web apps?

Designing business applications for mobile smartphones and tablets is often described simply in terms of screen size. While it is a factor, this is only one of the important differences to keep in mind when designing mobile apps. I’ve developed an acronym to help mobile app developers think about best practice when designing for mobile apps: P.O.O.D.L.E.

By considering the differences in context between desktop or web applications and mobile apps, we can begin to see the outlines of best practice design considerations. Consider these six dimensions of mobile app design when developing new smartphone and tablet applications whether with a Mobile Enterprise Application Platform or through more tedious native development tools:

Pressed-for-time. The mobile user is typically in a time crunch when compared to their desktop computing counterparts. Attention spans are shorter, the need for extensive information and data is far less. In fact, thoroughness of data and information will often be viewed as a negative an a mobile app. Mobile users want just the pertinent facts and procedures because they are pressed for time. They are often in the midst of doing something else and the use of the mobile app is literally an interruption to their current task. Pressed-for-time means apps need to be aware of the multi-tasking being done by the user. The app needs to allow the user to get in, get out and be done. POODLE Rule-of-thumb: Mobile apps should typically involve no more than 2-3 screens.

On-the-spot. Mobile apps are usually at their best when they are location sensitive. Accessing the GPS for location allows the application to lookup relevant data, display locations on a map and so on. Geocoding requires developers to think in new ways about data relationships. From a design standpoint a mashup of Google Maps or other geocoded information can be especially useful to mobile app users. POODLE Rule-of-thumb: Limit initial application scope based on where the user is currently or most recently located.

On-the-go. Keep in mind that the current location of the device is not always the location the mobile user is concerned about. A mobile user is often thinking about “where to go next” and not simply where they are. For this reason a mix of GPS, server-side geocoded data and user entry about desired locations will need to be a part of the application. POODLE Rule-of-thumb: Allow the user to easily indicate an alternate, more relevant location from where they are currently located.

Device-specific. Not only are mobile screens smaller and the interface method different (no mouse and usually no physical keyboard) but the devices vary drastically from model to model. Size, screen resolution, camera resolution, battery life can all make a difference. Poor application design that constantly drains a battery through GPS use or radio use can become a real issue. If a company has to program in different languages for BlackBerry, Apple iOS, Android and Windows Phone, this can be extremely resource costly. Consider a Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) suchas Magic’s application platform to overcome these duplicate efforts. POODLE Rule-of-thumb: MEAP Platforms Reduce Development by 35-90%.

Leveraged-Data. When designing business apps, it is essential that the apps leverage backend data and business processes so that the mobile user is fully connected to the business without having to interact directly with enterprise IT systems. An enterprise mobile mashup will allow the business app designer to leverage data and processes for the most effective user experience. POODLE Rule-of-thumb: Enterprise mobile mashups increase app acceptance by 35%.

Expressly-Personal. With traditional business software, the user learns to navigate a series of screens and interfaces to accomplish their tasks. With a mobile app, user navigation is resource intensive and regarded as a waste of time. Mobile apps should learn the preferences of the user to personalize the interaction without the user having to set preferences and options. If I press the same three navigation buttons every time I use the app, shouldn’t that become my start page?

Mobile applications should be expressly personal experiences allowing the user to interact when, where and how they want to. Apps should be limited in scope so as to be more intimate and personal to the specific need of the user at that moment. Other apps can accomplish other tasks for other users. POODLE Rule-of-thumb: Tailor applications on-the-fly in a way that lets the user know you have been paying attention to their preferences.