Do You Know What a Good Enterprise Mobility Platform Looks Like?
By Guest Expert: Mike Miranda
If your company doesn’t already have an app, there’s no time to waste. However, instead of paying someone else to build one for you, invest in enterprise mobility software and create your own.
Simplicity
Chances are you don’t have a degree in computer science or years of coding experience under your belt. That’s why you’re looking for this type of platform in the first place. You’d rather not go back to school for four years, leave with a bunch of debt and then put in the work to create an app.
You probably don’t want to hire an expert coder either and spend a small fortune getting the app you see in your mind. That’s why enterprise app development programs are so popular. Yet some of them aren’t that easy to use. It doesn’t make any sense! You shouldn’t have to read a small novel to understand how this software functions or watch video after video to get up and running.
Instead, what you want to basically be able to do is download or otherwise install your program and get busy creating. With most platforms these days, you don’t have to do much more than drag and click the functionality you want in order to piece together the perfect app. Look for this kind of thing and you won’t be disappointed by the software or the app you end up building.
To be sure of your purchase, demand a demo. Most developers will actually give you a free trial period of their entire platform. At the very least, though, you should get to demo the program to get an idea of how it works. Otherwise, it’s probably best not to invest too much money in one of these options.
Ability to Sync with Your System
Although you’re on the verge of creating your own app, you most likely have other forms of software you use on a regular basis for your business needs. Companies generally have inner systems or “logics” that form a type of digital framework for their organization. An app will be an excellent complement to this infrastructure, but only if you create it correctly.
Most apps will need to sync with this internal logic just to carry out their purpose. For example, you may be thinking about creating an app to help your employees place an order on the run and track it. If that’s the case, then you want the app to be able to communicate with the inside of your system, where inventory is managed and other related functions.
The best enterprise mobility platforms allow you to accomplish this kind of thing with user-friendly APIs so that it’s just a couple of clicks before the work is done. At most, you may have to do a little “manual” mapping to connect everything as you’d like. What you want to avoid is having to do a lot of coding or hiring someone who can. Again, this kind of defeats the purpose of using the software in the first place.
Great Security Features
Whether it’s an enterprise mobility platform or a new widget for your website, do not make the mistake of thinking security is anything but a priority. If you don’t prioritize your security needs, hackers will be all too happy to show you why this was such a big mistake on your part.
This is especially important when it comes to your app though. Having an app for your company is going to open up its access to more people than ever before. Even if you limit access to only your employees, the number of times people access your internal system will definitely spike. Every time someone goes through an entry point, they could be bringing a hacker with them and not even realize it.
That’s to say nothing of the fact that this could work in the other direction too. A hacker is going to be extremely excited if they find that they can grab the controls to your app and affect hundreds or even thousands through their mobile devices.
The world of enterprise security is more advanced than ever before. However, one very important feature your enterprise mobility software must have is the ability to encrypt.
Encryption makes your communications completely off limits to anyone without the proper clearance to view them.
Management Functions
It can be easy to forget that once you’ve actually used your enterprise mobility software to build an app, the fun has really only just begun. You’ll need to keep an eye on that app for as long as it’s in use. Otherwise, it can quickly become a lot more trouble than it’s worth.
For one thing, no matter how good your enterprise mobility app is, there’s no way the first version you create will be your final one. Instead, you’ll most likely find that this initial version has a few problems with it.
Again, this has nothing to do with the software. You’ll probably best it a number of times before releasing it. Unless it’s extremely simple, though, it will just take a much larger group of people to really figure out where it’s lacking.
The good news is that if your enterprise mobility program has a good amount of management features, you can simply make the necessary changes and re-release it back to all the devices that have already downloaded it. That’s really all there is to it.
Of course, the right management features also mean being able to decide who can access your app and how. You’ll probably want to base people’s access on the role they have in your company. No matter what, though, you have to be able to revoke someone’s access whenever you want.
While you’ll have a long list of options to choose from, the above list should help you narrow it down considerably. The important thing is to keep in mind the type of app you want to build and keep looking until you find a program that will make this possible. Do not settle when it comes to such an important decision.
Mike Miranda writes about enterprise software and covers products offered by software companies like Rockets Software about topics such as Terminal Emulation, Legacy Modernization, Enterprise Search, Big Data and Enterprise Mobility.
