The range of business apps is wide. However, not all apps are created the same. Therefore, companies need to address their requirements and expectations in detail in advance.
According to a ComScore survey, the number of smartphone users in Germany increased to 35.7 million in June 2013. The trend is clearly up. More and more smartphone (jailbreak iPhone) owners are using mobile phones for business purposes. A welcome trend for managing directors and decision-makers. App offerings vary accordingly. However, there are often disagreements between companies about what features the new one-app needs to perform. Therefore, companies must adhere to the following rules when choosing the right app:
1. Bad copies don’t help any company
Individual analysis of your own employee’s application and user behavior is essential. In many cases, there is no clear concept, so the idea of ”needing an app” comes to the fore. Other companies’ apps can also be used as templates. However, companies need to clarify individual factors. Only then will the application meet your own requirements in the long run. As a guideline for this analysis, we recommend the following questions:
– Which functions should be included exactly in your app?
– Which employees need to access which data and features while on the move?
– Who needs which database?
– Or how many functions are actually used?
After analyzing the requirements, browser-based solutions may also prove to be a sensible alternative.
2. Better Safer than Sorry
Mobile applications need the concept of efficient rights. The following needs to be clarified.
– How does the company handle important data? How are these protected?
– Which data can access which employees?
– Does the company rely on “bringing in personally owned devices”? How flexible is this concept of rights-managed? Can I use an existing database for this?
Do you need to make your data available offline as well as online? And how is encryption performed? Otherwise, the misuse of data that is important to the enterprise is inevitable.
3. Short development period, manageable cost
Developing apps is usually time-consuming and costly. Enterprises need to be proactive in clarifying timeframes, costs, and contingencies with clients. Otherwise, there is a risk of cost traps.
During the development phase, unpredictable adjustments are often required at both functional and technical levels. This delays the project and, without prior agreement, greatly increases development costs.
The shorter the development and project planning phase, the easier it is to manage costs. For example, there is a solution that allows you to port your database to your app within hours.
4. Look behind the scenes
Beautiful designs are attractive and can, for example, create an aha effect on a customer’s field service. However, the ultimate deciding factor is the function. A well-designed app is a matter of time and cost.
This is desirable if the requirements and budget leave ample room for such a design. However, companies also need to plan for more time-consuming development phases. Your app should be kept slim and load times short.
A good app won’t help your employees if it actually loads too long or doesn’t work. Therefore, features should always be brought to the fore during development. The attractive layout is, of course, “good to have”.
5. Flexibility is the key
The world of work is becoming more and more mobile. The same applies to business needs. Therefore, companies need to evaluate the flexibility of the application situation, even before developing the app. The following aspects are decisive.
– Can the solution be functionally expanded or how can it be expanded?
– What costs and timeframes do I need to plan for this? Or do you need time-consuming new development to integrate new features?
Due to rapid technological changes and requirements, app development would otherwise be an expensive long-term project.