Why is Enterprise Mobile App Development Important?
An enterprise mobile application guarantees structured workflows and streamlined internal operations, which leads to improved productivity and business growth. These apps automate every aspect of an enterprise, including inventory management, sales and marketing, customer support, and measuring and monitoring employees’ performance.
6 Benefits of Enterprise Mobile App Development
Enhanced Productivity and Efficiency
Enterprise mobile applications streamline workflow and automate repetitive tasks that require human involvement. By automating redundant tasks, enterprises can improve productivity. These apps also enhance operational efficiency by saving time and resources and reducing the chances of costly errors.
Better Data Security
Custom enterprise mobile applications come with advanced security measures that protect sensitive data and prevent data breaches and unauthorized access to the data. It improves overall data security.
Seamless Integration
Custom-made enterprise mobile apps are easy to integrate with an enterprise’s existing technical infrastructure, including different software and solutions. This level of interoperability enhances data flow and saves time and effort.
Personalized User Experience
Personalization plays a pivotal role in delighting enterprise app users. Tailor-made applications leverage AI, ML, and other technologies to process enormous data to extract actionable insights that allow enterprises to understand users’ behavior and expectations. They can leverage this data to make data-driven decisions.
Minimizes Overall Costs
An enterprise mobile app automates various operations, reduces paperwork, and optimizes resource allocation. All these benefits contribute to shrinking the overall costs, which is one of the goals of an enterprise.
Agility and Adaptability
Enterprises can update and modify their mobile applications when they scale up or when industry trends change. This agility makes sure an enterprise stays ahead in the dynamic business landscape.
7 Core Features of Enterprise Mobile Apps
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Offline Functionality
An enterprise mobile app should allow working offline to ensure employees can access data and execute other critical processes even in remote areas with limited or no internet connection. The data or tasks should synchronize automatically when the system connects to the internet.
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Real-Time Communication
An advanced mobile app for enterprises should include features, including in-app messaging, video conferencing, and push notifications, to facilitate seamless communication and collaboration between employees.
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Data Analytics
The data analytics and reporting feature allows enterprises to get valuable insights. They can measure employee performance, productivity, and customer behavior. These insights also help with making data-driven decisions and effective business strategies.
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Personalization
Customized user experience based on each user’s preferences and roles enhances engagement and ensures employees can fetch whatever information or relevant data they need to perform different tasks.
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Workflow Automation
An enterprise mobile app automates repetitive tasks and offers structured data to accelerate task completion. It also minimizes the chances of costly human errors and allows employees to focus on other strategic and creative tasks.
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Geolocation and Mapping
The geolocation and mapping feature offers location-based services to allow enterprises to track assets, manage workforces, and ensure geofencing for targeted marketing and customer engagement.
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Scalability
Scalable enterprise mobile apps allow enterprises to add or take down new features and functionalities as the business thrives. It also facilitates accommodating new users and data without impacting the app’s performance.
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Seamless Integration with Existing Systems
Having an enterprise mobile app that seamlessly integrates with your existing ERP, SAP, or any other technical infrastructure is a boon. With such an app, you can streamline all the processes within your organization.
Key Challenges of Enterprise Mobile App Development and Their Solutions
Integration Complexities
Integrating a new enterprise mobile app with existing systems or technical infrastructure can be complex and time-consuming.
Enterprise app development companies can overcome this problem by adopting an API-first approach and using the right tech infrastructure. Prioritizing compatibility and scalability during the mobile app development process also contributes to avoiding this problem.
Data Security Concerns
Improper or outdated data security practices make enterprise data vulnerable to cyber-attacks and breaches.
Implementing advanced data encryption techniques, security measures, and two-factor authentication can fix security-related issues. Furthermore, conducting regular security audits and adhering to data protection regulations and compliances can also help.
Performance Issues
The inability to handle increased workloads, user base, and data volumes leads to poor app performance.
To overcome this problem, enterprise app development companies should build the app with a scalable architecture. Moreover, they can use cloud-based infrastructure and execute different performance testing techniques to spot and troubleshoot bottlenecks.
Multiple Platform Support
An enterprise may need to run its application on different devices, platforms, and operating systems, such as Android, iOS, and Windows. It is possible only with multiple platform support.
Building cross-platform applications by leveraging frameworks, such as React Native or Flutter, can help overcome this problem. It also minimizes the development time and costs.
UI/UX Issues
The inability to create a compelling user experience that meets your custom enterprise needs impacts the app’s performance and success.
Conducting user research and executing usability testing can help an enterprise platform development firm to identify user pain points and preferences. They can create the app’s design accordingly.
A Step-by-step Guide to Enterprise Mobile App Development
Define Your Business Goals
Prepare a list of your unique enterprise requirements, pain points, and the goals you want to achieve through the mobile application. It will help you convey your enterprise goals to enterprise mobile app developers or a company.
Choosing the Tech Infrastructure
Decide a suitable programming language, framework, or platform (Android, iOS, Windows, etc.) for your enterprise mobile app. If you are a startup with little or no technical know-how, connect with a reliable enterprise development company to discuss this. Apart from tech infrastructure, check how much it will cost to build an app for your enterprise.
Select the Right Enterprise Mobile App Development Company
Shortlist a few enterprise app development companies based on their portfolio, client reviews, testimonials, and case studies. In the preliminary discussion, share your requirements, goals, and everything that can help the company build a powerful, robust, and feature-rich enterprise app. After selecting a company, check its development methods, UI/UX design methodologies, and communication and collaboration methods.
Post-development Support and Maintenance
Ask if the company provides post-development support and maintenance services. You will need it to fix bugs and technical glitches and accommodate new features to the app after the launch.
5 Factors to Consider When Hiring an Enterprise Mobile App Development Company
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Technical Expertise and Experience
Check for the company’s experience and technical expertise in various app development technologies, tools, programming languages, and frameworks. Partnering with an experienced enterprise app development agency delivers robust and future-proof applications. Therefore, find a company with a proven track record. Check the company’s client testimonials, case studies, and portfolio.
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Customization and Scalability
An enterprise application development company should offer end-to-end app customization to develop a tailor-made mobile app that meets your unique business needs. It should also ensure the app can adapt to evolving customer demands. A scalable app facilitates accommodating new features and functionalities with business growth.
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Security and Data Privacy
An enterprise captures and stores crucial and sensitive information about employees and customers. It makes it susceptible to data breaches and cyber-attacks. Look for a company that follows advanced security measures and techniques, like data encryption, two-factor authentication, etc.
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Collaboration and Communication
Make sure the enterprise mobile app platform development company offers effective communication and collaboration. It paves the way for the successful app development. Open communication boosts customer satisfaction and makes enterprises feel involved during app development.
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Post-Development Support and Maintenance
The enterprise mobile app development process doesn’t end with deployment or launch. It also includes support and maintenance services. These are essential to make changes to the app according to the evolving demands and troubleshoot errors that may occur after the launch. Post-launch support and maintenance services guarantee your app remains functional and updated with the latest trends.
How to Calculate Enterprise Mobile App Development Cost?
Calculating the cost of your enterprise mobile app depends on various factors, including the following:
App’s Complexity
The features and functionalities of an enterprise app determine its complexity. Furthermore, an app that requires custom integration is costlier than one that is easy to integrate with multiple systems.
Platform
The cost of an enterprise app also depends on the platform you choose. Android app development requires a different tech infrastructure, processes, and methodologies than an iOS or Windows app. It also depends if you want to build a native, cross-platform, or hybrid enterprise app.
UI/UX Design
A visually appealing and functionally sound UI/UX design determines an enterprise app’s success. Therefore, it is critical to invest in user experience, which may require additional costs, but contributes to customer satisfaction and better retention.
App Development Company or Developers’ Experience and Location
The location and experience of the app development company affect an enterprise mobile app’s costs. Highly experienced developers charge a bit more but guarantee that the app will be error-free and fully functional.
Technology Stack
The programming languages, frameworks, tools, and additional technologies, such as AI, AR, VR, ML, Blockchain, etc., you want to integrate into the app also determine the development cost.
