Mobile Application Development
MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT
In the past decade, businesses have been playing catch up converting their line of business applications from traditional desktop applications to web applications. In the last few years, the same innovators have begun the process of mobile application development. It is very likely that most organizations that you interact with as a consumer have an app presence. Amazon, most delivery restaurants, and every major bank has a mobile app for their customers. These apps allow the organization to better control how their users view and manage their content. It also allows the developer to implement features such as offline storage, geolocation, and even augmented/virtual reality. Access to this functionality allows businesses to solve problems using technology that would otherwise be impossible via a web application.
MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
We recommend utilizing a lightweight, low cost approach to mobile development. There are several challenges associated with building and maintaining a mobile application that do not arise with typical app programming projects. Firstly, your company has very little control over how or when operating system updates take place on the end-users mobile/tablet device. There is a non-zero risk that an iOS update could break some or all functionality on your mobile apps. Second, there are a set of guidelines and restrictions that your application must follow in order to be deployed to the app stores (Apple, Google, and Microsoft). These guidelines may or may not conform to your organization’s standards, and they will most definitely evolve over time. There are also a handful of design and technical obstacles to cross such as: battery life, screen real estate, and internet bandwidth constraints. Trusted mobile app developers like Entrance will work with you and your team figure out the best way to mitigate these issues, including if a mobile app is the correct choice for your organization.
In many scenarios, it is likely that existing infrastructure (databases, web services, and content storage) can be reused when building a mobile application. We have built several mobile applications that leveraged existing code or web services from legacy projects, or integrated directly with databases from other LOB software products. Part of our process includes reviewing and investigating what can be re-used and what needs to be re-built. We have also reviewed and augmented mobile solutions created by other mobile app development companies.
Custom software developers offer a couple of alternatives to a pure mobile development using the native iOS or Android technology stack. Web applications can be made to be “mobile-friendly” meaning the web app will scale/shrink based on the size of the mobile device or tablet. This a great stepping stone for many organizations that have a modern web application to move into the world of mobile applications development. A second option is to build what is known as a “cross-platform” application – or “build once deploy anywhere” app. This approach allows mobile apps development to be done with a single technology stack, but the finished product can be deployed to iOS, Android, and possibly Windows Mobile. This is a preferred choice for many a mobile app developer as it provide a rapid development process and potentially saves development effort with respect to on-going maintenance. Entrance has helped organizations in the past decide which approach makes sense for their business and the project: a native mobile or a hybrid strategy.
Customer Portal Success Story
DIFFERENTIATING YOUR SERVICES WITH CUSTOMER PORTALS
Real-world examples of how 2 companies used customer portals to attract and retain customers.
