Best Practices for Enterprise Mobile App Development

In this digitized world, it is fair to say that everything is becoming “smart”. Smartphones and other smart gadgets have completely changed the way people conduct business. There seems to be an app for just about everything! However, building an enterprise mobile app is a different game. Almost all businesses have gone digital or “smart” by creating mobile apps for their customers. With enterprise apps, all stakeholders including employees and enterprise owners will also become “smart” to ensure the proper functioning of their business.

Enterprise mobile app development varies from regular mobile app development. These apps are built specifically to meet an enterprise’s needs. Unlike consumer mobile apps, the users here are mainly the employees of the organization. This software offers digital solutions to all employees working at various levels of access and hierarchy.

 Are you a budding enterprise mobile app developer? Or are you a seasoned developer who is looking to up his game? Whatever your reasons are, you are in the right place! So many factors go into consideration while building an enterprise app. This guide will discuss the top 7 best practices for developing these apps alongside a few things you should avoid while building them.

7 Best Practices for Enterprise Mobile App Development

Building software for enterprises is no easy feat. App developers have to deal with multiple advent technologies and high distribution of networks, along with the added pressure of the ever-growing range of smart gadgets that these apps operate on. On top of that, one has to consider different stakeholders utilizing this app while also taking care of security, flexibility and scalability.

However, enterprise applications are a high priority for organizations. Therefore, there cannot be any compromise on the quality of the applications. With this in mind, here are the top 7 best practices for building a high-quality enterprise app:

• Proper Research: Determine the business requirements of the enterprise before you invest in app development. Please do your research to understand the business objectives and how you plan to achieve them with this application. These goals are to be the references during the development of an enterprise app. It may sound like ordinary advice; however, with the arduous task of creating an enterprise application, the main goal must be identified.

• Choosing the coding language and platform: The language of app design is an important decision. Most enterprise applications are developed in coding languages such as Python, JavaScript, Raspberry PI, etc. Things get tricky because employees use these apps on their device; therefore, cross-platform development has to be considered. For example, enterprise apps have to be built for both Android as well as iOS. As such, hybrid app development might make things work much easier. Additionally, avoid redundancy of codes as well. Instead, write codes that you need and incorporate the features that are essential for the software.

• Enhanced security: Security is always a top priority when building any application. However, building an enterprise app calls for enhanced security as it involves many critical procedures within the intranet networks. In addition, these apps are used by an innumerable number of employees on their mobile phones which means they operate across multiple platforms simultaneously. Hence, enterprise apps need a bullet-proof security system.

• Prioritize efficiency: Code efficiency should be a priority above code speed. While we all want time-intensive apps, inefficient code will ruin the software, making it unusable. Therefore, even if it takes extra time, the code must be bug-free and work correctly. The functionality of the entire domain rests on code efficiency.

• Software testing: All mobile applications undergo testing to ensure efficiency, and enterprise apps are no different. The software testing is done through the Enterprise Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), a series of phases through which the application software goes through during its development stage. There are at least six various phases in the software testing life cycle. Therefore, we must undertake the continuous testing approach and run automatic and manual tests to avoid failures. Automated testing offers early diagnosis, whereas manual testing is necessary for a good app User-Interface.

• Seamless integration: Enterprise applications may need third party integration. The employees might be using various other apps along with enterprise mobile applications. These apps may have features that are beyond the scope of an enterprise application. In such cases, you may integrate enterprise mobile apps with other apps on your employee’s device.

• Training and administration: The enterprise’s workforce needs to be provided with comprehensive training. It is demanding too much of employees if they are asked to understand the functionalities and features of the application instantly. Moreover, the administration has the added responsibility of legal formalities as well. Therefore, build a good team of professionals who will take care of such requirements for you.

Building an enterprise app has disadvantages such as API strategy, slower development, app distribution, etc. However, the app’s advantages outweigh the disadvantages easily. These apps streamline workflow, integrate different business functions and resolve thousands of separate needs in one go. You can enjoy these benefits, especially when you follow the top guidelines mentioned above.