Enterprise Mobile App Development: Types, Challenges, Stages and Tips

Enterprises and businesses are not resting on their laurels when it comes to optimizing all processes while reducing operating costs. We want to talk about how developing an enterprise mobile app for modern business can be a technological solution that will help with this and more.

Below we will describe what problems and steps you can expect on the way of developing such an application, and how to protect your project as much as possible. You will also find some helpful hints and tips on how to develop a successful app.

What is an Enterprise Application?

An enterprise application is a software system that enables organizations to solve business problems and satisfy their needs. In other words, it is an application that has what it takes to make your work better and more efficient, as these solutions cover programs designed using enterprise architecture to solve most tasks or problems inherent to the business/enterprise. Also, it can be embedded into your existing system and can be especially important if your company is on the path of legacy systems modernization.

Enterprise mobile application development benefits everyone from employees to business executives. Automation of work processes and increasing the efficiency of personnel work are among the top advantages of such applications.

NIX experts know that sometimes creating such an app can have many complexities and stumbling blocks. Having many years of experience in creating such applications of varying complexity, our experts will share below all the pitfalls that can arise in the process, as well as try to give you some best practices on how to overcome them.

Types of Mobile Enterprise Applications

Expanding mobile access to enterprise software represents a digital transformation opportunity. Every day there is a growing demand from organizational employees for new mobile enterprise applications or the features of those applications—and more companies are recognizing the benefits of a mobile approach in the enterprise environment.

Going forward, enterprise mobile app development and different types of enterprise software will grow exponentially.

Enterprise Mobile App Development Challenges

Enterprise mobile application development, like any development process, can be fraught with challenges. The great news is that knowing about these challenges ahead of time can prevent them from arising.

Security. This is an area around which there is much talk and concern — and for good reason, because threats and cyberattacks happen almost every day. In order for an enterprise to protect confidential data and prevent breaches, it is important to be vigilant and prevent breaches by implementing a robust level of security in your mobile apps.

Besides enterprise mobile app development you may also be interested in Mobile App Security Best Practices Against Threats.

Scalability. Before the app is developed, it is important that you consider the app’s possible expansion in the future. The best time to manage the scaling of an app is before an issue arises. In fact, any experienced mobile app development company will always initially consider laying a proper base for advancement and avoiding pitfalls.

Poor user experience. A consequence of bad UX will always mean errors in the work and difficulties in staff training. When developing enterprise mobile apps, a great UX is a key factor, as it makes the work convenient, fast, and efficient, and minimizes the probability of issues.

API strategy. The interaction between the mobile app and the main enterprise systems is done with APIs, which is why it’s so important to get the API strategy right. It’s worth taking care of the right API strategy and selection of tools to ensure that all elements are stable and data transfer is secure.

Expertise and resources. The world of enterprise mobile app development is not the only one where experience and resources are important. A reliable team is what will provide you with a robust development process where you, as the client, won’t have a headache.

If you’re in search of a reliable and experienced team, contact our experts to answer the questions you care about in the context of enterprise app development.

What you Need to Know Before Development 

Before moving on to the stages of enterprise mobile application development and design, it is worth paying attention to the following points:

Business objectives. Of course, the first thing to do is to understand exactly what product your company needs and what you want to achieve with the app. It is absolutely true that the success of a future application depends to a large extent on how well you figure out your goals before you develop it.

Security. Yes, we won’t stop at mentioning security only once. Transferring data within an unsecured enterprise application means putting corporate information at risk. Therefore, security should be made bullet-proof and proper consideration should be given to the storage, transfer, and use of corporate information. In the context of enterprise application development, this should be the number one priority for any business. Make sure your software vendors adhere to the latest security standards.

Choosing a platform. Your future development depends directly on which platforms your application will run on. Also, it is unlikely that companies need an app that will lose its relevance after a few years or even a year.

For enterprise mobile apps, it’s important to properly downsize the app to create an optimized and lightweight solution that lacks redundant features and focuses on core functions without distractions.

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Administration. After the main work of application development, it is also necessary to pay attention to the training, administration, and IT policy of the company — all of this is also worth taking into account and thinking about in advance.

Enterprise Mobile App Development Stages

Enterprise mobile apps deal with corporate databases and frequent data transfers. This means enterprise mobile app development must consider high levels of security and scalability.

Before jumping into the development stages, let’s cover the topic of security. To create an enterprise mobile application development process, organizations must address the challenges and adhere to the structure established by the system or software development life cycle (SDLC).

From NIX practices we recommend to follow the top 10 mobile controls and design principles for mobile apps.

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To replicate the consumer experience of commercial applications in enterprise mobile applications, companies must carefully select the development architecture that best fits. The three main options for mobile application development architecture are native, web architecture, and hybrid. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, but the most important aspect in the decision-making process should be how each option aligns with your enterprise mobile application strategy.

Moreover, testing, building automation, and integrating the app into the enterprise infrastructure each have their own peculiarities. In addition, enterprise application development is different in terms of application distribution and legal aspects. This is due to the fact that you have to comply with the policies of app markets, such as Apple’s App Store evaluation rules. Enterprise apps also need to be user-friendly. Since enterprise apps are different from consumer mobile apps, so is their development.

This is where you may need expert advice to determine what works best for your project. Choosing the right software development partner will serve as the starting point to begin developing an enterprise mobile app, which will set the tone for the entire project from start to finish.

For now, we have covered the topic of the security specialist in your development process. Let’s stop here to examine the other development stages:

Step 1: Writing specifications and strategy. The idea, the goals, the requirements — that’s where it all starts and continues. Do not forget about the target audience as well. All this should be reflected in a specifications document, in which everything is clearly recorded.

Stage 2: Choosing a platform. As mentioned above, platform selection is a crucial step in the development of a mobile app. In contrast to the usual mobile application development, here you should choose two platforms, at least iOS and Android. Most likely, the devices of your employees are very mixed because of the “bring your own mobile” policy, and when creating an application you should think about that right away.

Step 3: Developing a wireframe. A prototype is an attempt to show how the app can function and what its capabilities are. This stage is very important because you have the opportunity to see what your corporate mobile app might look like in the future. You can always change something during the development phase, and by testing a working model, you can save development time and resources.

Step 4: UI/UX design. Obviously, the first thing enterprise application users encounter and expect is a user-friendly and intuitive design. No matter how you look at it, cool functionality is lost without these two components. Remember that first and foremost this application is for business, not for entertainment, which means that the design team should focus on simplicity without overloading the application with unnecessary details.

Iterative design is something a lot of people are leaning toward. One of the main benefits this brings to enterprise mobile apps is the ability to constantly update the app based on user feedback at short intervals.

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Find out more about Best Practices in App Design.

Step 5: Product development. It’s hard to overestimate this important stage for your app. This is a complex part of the project and in order to be sure of the quality of the outcome, it is worth looking out for an experienced team you can trust. In that case, your requirements and expectations can be heard and recreated.

Step 6: Testing. Remember that your employees are your best testers. Often application development companies also have a QA department — they are the ones who will find and fix all the bugs. However, beta testing is what helps end-users immerse themselves in a new working tool.

Step 7: App release — ongoing support. Congratulations! Your app is released, but don’t forget to provide timely updates to ensure the safe and stable operation of the app. Also keep in mind that over time and as the system evolves, additional features may be needed.

For a start, this is a must-have. Of course, your individual requirements can make the development process more cumbersome and time-consuming. To find out all the necessary steps in your particular case, contact NIX experts.

Here you might be also interested in the topic of Essential Stages of Mobile App Development.

Conclusion — How We Can Help

Creating your own enterprise application is not only an investment in the competitiveness of your company but also a streamlining of your work processes. Yes, enterprise mobile application development may look like it contains a lot of pitfalls at first, but it is all difficulties that pay off in benefits.

If you still do not have an enterprise application but have been thinking about it for a long time, you should take a dig at what exactly is holding you back from developing it and invest in the development after all.

Since NIX has been developing its expertise in mobile application development and cybersecurity, we’ve come to know the exact algorithms for how to create an application that will satisfy you and your employees. Contact us to close any remaining questions and also to build a team for your future product.