Enterprise Mobile Apps Deployment
Why? Enterprise Mobility is mission critical to business. It has several advantages including real time updates and increased productivity. It enables businesses to remove paper and reduce the environmental impact of their processes. Additionally, Enterprise Mobility Solutions are easy to roll out to staff now as we are a mobile generation, already able to use mobile devices.
At “On Device Solutions” we are passionate about providing our customers with enterprise mobility solutions to mobile enable their workforce. As technology continues to evolve and diversify mobile UI choices, organisations must have ready guidance in place to help make fast decisions on mobile UI technology for mobile solutions deployment.
We are here to guide you through this process, with our Enterprise Mobility Strategy services but let’s share some intel with you first. Here we go through four key UI approaches you can use to develop your Enterprise Mobile Apps, detailing the positives and negatives.
Native Mobile Apps Development
The phrase native refers to applications that are coded in a platform specific programming language, such as Objective C/SWIFT for iOS or Java for Android operating systems. They offer the best user experience and performance for the device. The look and feel of a native solution also tend to be familiar with the user, so workers will be quicker at adopting a new technology. Native apps are also faster to debug and more stable against OS upgrades.
However, if you need to build your app for multiple OS platform, you must build the app in multiple programming languages, which can be costly.
Native Code Generators
Native code generators like Xamarin are platforms for building modern and performant applications for iOS, Android, and Windows with single code base. They provide an abstraction layer that manages communication of shared code with underlying platform code. This allows software engineers proficient in one programming language to develop mobile apps for multiple OS platform.
Native Code Generators are best fit when there are in house skills available in a sole programming language, or limited resource. However, there are limitations, not all the OS platforms, and platform features and UX controls are supported. Please note that Native code generators works on common denominator principle.
Hybrid Development
A hybrid application is a software application that combines elements of both native apps and web applications, so in the case of mobile apps a native container (e.g. Cordova) with a HTML5 front end. Once an app is downloaded and installed on a device, the native container will then utilise the capabilities of the application, through a browser embedded in the app.
The positive of this is that it allows developers to enjoy the benefits of using the HTML5-standard in the front-end, while retaining the power and flexibility of a native application container.
On the negative side HTML5 apps, do not run as well as a native app and provide at best an average level of user experience. They are also difficult to debug, so errors can take longer to resolve.
Progressive Web Application / Mobile Web
PWAs are a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS and JavaScript e.g. Angular, React etc. They are essentially responsive web apps which are launched like an app through URL shortcut on a mobile device.
These provide a great way of creating an application that is cross platform efficiently, however, there is often little or no offline capability, meaning that remote staff must always have a solid internet connection.
This table summarises the 4 enterprise mobility deployment techniques:
For specialist and complex use cases where there is extensive use of the native device features, and UI is very important, native app development is the best approach. Native is even better, when there is a supplier who can offer prebuilt solutions for all the native platforms you might need. Something we can offer at On Device Solutions specifically if you are looking to extend SAP ECC or SAP S/4HANA.
So that’s it, I hope the above summary of 4 main UI deployment types for enterprise mobility will help you in speedy decision making. Our team of experts are just a click away for advice, consultancy, trials, and demonstrations to ensure enterprise mobility deployment is rapid, cost effective, and user friendly.
Enterprise Mobile Apps Deployment
Why? Enterprise Mobility is mission critical to business. It has several advantages including real time updates and increased productivity. It enables businesses to remove paper and reduce the environmental impact of their processes. Additionally, Enterprise Mobility Solutions are easy to roll out to staff now as we are a mobile generation, already able to use mobile devices.
At “On Device Solutions” we are passionate about providing our customers with enterprise mobility solutions to mobile enable their workforce. As technology continues to evolve and diversify mobile UI choices, organisations must have ready guidance in place to help make fast decisions on mobile UI technology for mobile solutions deployment.
We are here to guide you through this process, with our Enterprise Mobility Strategy services but let’s share some intel with you first. Here we go through four key UI approaches you can use to develop your Enterprise Mobile Apps, detailing the positives and negatives.
Native Mobile Apps Development
The phrase native refers to applications that are coded in a platform specific programming language, such as Objective C/SWIFT for iOS or Java for Android operating systems. They offer the best user experience and performance for the device. The look and feel of a native solution also tend to be familiar with the user, so workers will be quicker at adopting a new technology. Native apps are also faster to debug and more stable against OS upgrades.
However, if you need to build your app for multiple OS platform, you must build the app in multiple programming languages, which can be costly.
Native development is best when the app is going to be used extensively by the end user e.g. field service apps, or the user experience of the application is of primary importance.
Native Code Generators
Native code generators like Xamarin are platforms for building modern and performant applications for iOS, Android, and Windows with single code base. They provide an abstraction layer that manages communication of shared code with underlying platform code. This allows software engineers proficient in one programming language to develop mobile apps for multiple OS platform.
Native Code Generators are best fit when there are in house skills available in a sole programming language, or limited resource. However, there are limitations, not all the OS platforms, and platform features and UX controls are supported. Please note that Native code generators works on common denominator principle.
Hybrid Development
A hybrid application is a software application that combines elements of both native apps and web applications, so in the case of mobile apps a native container (e.g. Cordova) with a HTML5 front end. Once an app is downloaded and installed on a device, the native container will then utilise the capabilities of the application, through a browser embedded in the app.
The positive of this is that it allows developers to enjoy the benefits of using the HTML5-standard in the front-end, while retaining the power and flexibility of a native application container.
On the negative side HTML5 apps, do not run as well as a native app and provide at best an average level of user experience. They are also difficult to debug, so errors can take longer to resolve.
Progressive Web Application / Mobile Web
PWAs are a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS and JavaScript e.g. Angular, React etc. They are essentially responsive web apps which are launched like an app through URL shortcut on a mobile device.
These provide a great way of creating an application that is cross platform efficiently, however, there is often little or no offline capability, meaning that remote staff must always have a solid internet connection.
This table summarises the 4 enterprise mobility deployment techniques:
Most enterprise mobility solutions now come with a standard mobile offering which is generally developed using PWA or Hybrid approaches.
For specialist and complex use cases where there is extensive use of the native device features, and UI is very important, native app development is the best approach. Native is even better, when there is a supplier who can offer prebuilt solutions for all the native platforms you might need. Something we can offer at On Device Solutions specifically if you are looking to extend SAP ECC or SAP S/4HANA.
So that’s it, I hope the above summary of 4 main UI deployment types for enterprise mobility will help you in speedy decision making. Our team of experts are just a click away for advice, consultancy, trials, and demonstrations to ensure enterprise mobility deployment is rapid, cost effective, and user friendly.