Enterprise resource management is a must for every growing organization. It encourages optimization of the company s resources and reduces cost. A Mobile Enterprise Application Platform or MEAP is an inclusive array of products and services that allow development of enterprise mobile applications.
It takes care of many different aspects with cross-platform portability of the software being a major consideration. This also lets IT administrators deploy and manage enterprise applications in a secure environment.
The different types are:
Thin Client (or Online Applications): These are applications which require internet connectivity for their operation and cannot run without it.
Thick Client (or Offline Applications): These are installed locally on the device and do not require an internet connection for their operation. These apps hold data and synchronize after a pre-defined period of time.
Smart Client (or Occasionally connected Applications): These are similar to thick clients but they can update data anytime they want depending on the importance.
Another reason for the popularity was the introduction of cloud computing platforms. With the cloud, they could be provided as-a-service hence, decreasing the whole concept of purchasing them. This has greatly reduced the costs for many companies. As most of the organizations in today s world have smartphone users the popularity of mobile apps has automatically risen.
But to develop a successful enterprise mobile application a few important points have to be considered:Simplicity in Development: For developing a mobile application which involves managing a number of teams working on various platforms, it is hard to meet the required expectations. Hence, it is important to keep the app development effort as simple as the Client / Server effort.
Integrate well with back-end systems : Building the front-end is the easy part. But for an app to be a success, it requires proper back-end integration through automated metadata-based tools that synchronize with other diverse applications.
Realize the limitations : Mobile apps cannot entirely replace heavy back office systems. It s important to understand what the capabilities of the application keeping it simple at the same time.
Prepare for change : As a developer you have to keep in mind that the user s preferences will mostly change with time. An important factor for software companies is the Time to market. Hence, it is advisable to use resources which speed up this process.
By employing a skilled set of programmers and developers, enterprise mobile applications can be realized and brought into this competitive market with ease.
