How MADP is Changing The Mobile App Development Industry

- S.Sundararajan, Director, i-exceed Technology Solutions

The introduction of the Apple App Store in 2008 triggered the rise in significance of mobile apps. While consumer apps initially stole the limelight, the interest around internal business apps have recently been on a steady rise. A recent report from Garner indicates that the application infrastructure and middleware (AIM) market was worth $428.6 billion in 2014, a growth of 5.7% from the previous year.

However, this growth has come with its own share of challenges. Multiple operating systems and form factors have contributed to delays in development and deployment of apps. While Apple’s iOS seemed to have had an initial edge over Google’s Android, the platform wars seem to have reached a stalemate. The mobile app development platform (MADP) route for app development is fast gaining popularity since only this approach allows an enterprise to fully leverage on the advantages of better productivity while factoring in operating system and device nuances of customers, partners, vendors, employees, and other business stake holders.

When enterprises take on the challenge of appifying themselves, the development of an app must not be conceptualized and developed in isolation. Enterprises must recognize that an app plays an important role in implementing a unified business strategy. Leveraged right, a mobile app can indeed work as a source of competitive differentiation that would enable enterprises leapfrog their competitors.

However, vesting the responsibility of developing mobile apps with IT teams has led to the undesirable effect of technology calling all the shots. Developers and designers must factor in user engagement and consistency in user experience across devices apart from just coding and deployment of apps. Apps should also be developed by taking the entire enterprise into account as a whole.

How MADP accelerates mobile app development

A well thought-out technology decision must aim to reduce the number of tools and architectures to be used. Enterprises disregarding this could get trapped in a snarl of architectures and end up with high support costs, security loopholes, and worst of all, sub-standard apps. Getting past these hurdles brings us to just one solution; the adoption of an MADP. The platform is not just an environment that comprises software, tools, and best practices for secure mobile app development; it represents a new thinking in enterprise mobility.

Platform based app development mitigates wastage in development effort and investment. Using an MADP, enterprises can follow and enforce standardized policies, designs, and techniques, rather than implementing them in fragments. By aligning enterprise mobile app strategy with corporate strategy, branding, and positioning, an MADP paves the way for the appification of the enterprise.

Using an MADP, enterprises can also take benefit from internal sufficiency. IT teams can begin app development on the platform with very little training or reskilling, thereby reducing dependence on external vendors. Then, there’s the vital issue of security. A good MADP incorporates robust security mechanisms at every layer of the app process to provide levels of data protection that meets the highest standards. Last but not least, the platform reduces the total time and cost of mobile app development.