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Find out what is an enterprise mobile app and how it can benefit your business. You will learn the difference between a custom solution and app development platform, prices, and the most prominent use cases from the market leaders.
Introduction
In these challenging times, the performance of a business is more critical than ever before. To get the most out of your organization you must create a detailed enterprise mobile application development strategy. Why? Because your competitors probably already have it and gain additional income out of corporate apps. Over the three-quarters of companies acknowledged that today we have considerably better apps for mobile platforms than 2 years ago. The same study claims that nearly 70% of companies are decided to join forces with enterprise app development companies to build an app they require in the next 3 years. In this article, we will discuss the reasons you should leverage an enterprise mobile app to boost your processes, the prices, and strategies, as well as the vital aspects of mobile enterprise security you must pay attention to. Are you ready? Let’s start with the basics!
The key enterprise mobile application questions
These are the most common questions you might have talking about this topic.
What is an enterprise application?
We can call an app “enterprise” when this sophisticated or relatively non-complex software is aimed to solve specific challenges or problems in the organization or helps to improve customer experience. Simply put, the enterprise app moves some of the organization’s functionality to the mobile realm or introduces mobile-specific functions.
What is enterprise mobile app development?
This is a complex process divided by stages aimed to build high-quality software for different types of data and protected by adhering to the latest security standards.
What is the difference between the enterprise application and web application?
The web app allows users to perform functions via a web browser serving as an interface – it is basically a universal tool that can help anyone. Enterprise apps are created to resolve specific business problems, for example, mobile helper applications for the HR department.
What is the Mobile Enterprise App Development Platform (MEAP)?
This is a suite of services and products that’s created for the development of mobile apps.
Enterprise mobile application development process and price range
Enterprise app development companies generally have a strict development process that proved to be effective in software building. Of course, some stages can change or merge, but here is how the basic process looks like:
- Setting business goals
- Determining a budget
- Introducing technical specifications
- Choosing platforms
- Designing a wireframe
- UI/UX design
- Developing a product
- Testing
- Support and maintenance
Each stage has its own details and important things to look for. It is crucial for the final product to determine the type of enterprise mobile application from the very beginning – employee-level, department-level, or company-level. Based on this decision you can calculate the approximate budget and create technical specifications. The actual mobile enterprise application development process deserves an article on its own, as its full of nuances. The trusted partner could provide you this information, so here are some suggestions to find the one that suits your case.
One of the most important things to look at while looking through enterprise app development companies is the price for their services. Other factors like proven expertise or reviews are also fundamental to the best choice but if you are not the industry leader in your niche the budget is somewhat limited. So, the custom corporate app can cost less than $200,000 according to information provided by Clutch. But the real market prices are higher, mobile enterprise application development services can cost you a sum in a $350,000-$500,000 price range. Among the factor that influences the price is the type and functionality of an app, whether it’s native or cross-platform, size, and location of an expert team. Speaking of location, due to economical differences the prices may vary:
| Location |
Development Price Per Hour |
| The USA and Canada |
$20-$250 |
| The UK and Australia |
$35-$175 |
| South America |
$25-$120 |
| Eastern Europe |
$20-$110 |
| India and Indonesia |
$30 on average |
It could be a mistake to think that the smallest team possible will save you money. The truth is that time is a very important factor, and non-complete team can cost you in the long run. So, plan wisely while choosing your dream team of experts. It’s a good place to start with recruiting a responsible project manager with a proven track record, a versatile software developer, a User Interface/User Experience Designer, and a rigorous Quality Assurance (QA) engineer.
Mobile enterprise security advice
You can’t predict all possible fraud scenarios, but what you can do is to adhere to the essential mobile enterprise security measures. First, you need to have a clear and structured security checklist at the initial stages of the development. Second, determine whether legacy software that you use can be the cause of potential security breaches. If it can, consider partial Legacy Systems Modernization before building an app. Third, consider all the latest encryption methods and standards, for example creating a gateway for a preliminary security audit is a great idea. Finally, multi-factor authentication and two-factor user authentication may seem very basic, but it is nonetheless very important aspects of enterprise mobile app security. Learn what OpenID Connect protocol and OAuth 2.0 authorization framework are and use them to your maximum advantage. The hackers become smarter and the technology evolves every day, so the situation when you know too much about security simply doesn’t exist – learn as much as you can about protecting your app before, during, and after the development process!
The most prominent enterprise mobile application use cases
Some of the biggest companies and brands across the globe had already benefited from having an enterprise mobile application development strategy and bringing it to life. These are just a few prominent examples!
Under Armour
This is the world-renowned leader of sports clothing and accessories from the USA. Under Armour took an initiative to invest in mobile experience and offer their customers an opportunity to improve their health and fitness. They invested in three different applications – $150 million into MapMyFitness, $475 million into MyFitnessPal, and $85 million into Endomondo. This amount of money looks astonishing, but the company received the leading fitness software for that moment of time. By combining forces with the most cutting-edge technology, this brand built a community around it and improved dramatically brand awareness and sales.
L’Oréal
This company leveraged the Augmented Reality (AR) technology to turn the mobile camera and display into a virtual mirror that can show how certain cosmetic products will look on the face of the customer. The application is called Makeup Genius and it has social networking option to share the preview. Makeup Genius proved its credibility by being downloaded millions of times across the globe and receiving acclaim from the customers.
McDonald’s
Not only being the notable user of corporate apps, McDonald’s also powered to Instagram to improve their marketing efforts. The company allowed users to share their favorite food and save it through adds. Their leaders believe that more interactive customer experience and content generated by users is a key to success, and we definitely can’t argue with that!
Nivea
How to show your customers that you truly care about them? Nivea has a good case of just that – they had introduced Nivea Sun Kids, an app that allows parents to find their children in crowded places. That was basically a part of an ad campaign – when the person bought a magazine it received a bracelet that could be placed on the child’s arm and monitored via an app. This ad campaign and application showed a nearly 70% sales increase in the target location and added to the brand reputation supporting its core values.
Starbucks
One of the pioneers of enterprise mobile apps Starbucks launched its first app 11 years ago. myStarbucks helped to find coffee shops and provided in-depth information about products. The company increased its digital presence with a mobile loyalty program in 2011, which now serves a fifth of its loyalty operations. Finally, they had an integrated Square payment system. Results? Nearly 10% increase in revenue after two years and a significant reduction of transaction costs.
“Tech will transform from something we actively use to a more seamless integrated experience that is ‘on’ all the time.”
- Daniel Bæk, Co-founder of Nodes
Conclusion
An enterprise mobile application is an additional way for a company to make money – this is a final destination of the whole software development process. Revenue increase could happen by mitigating the tasks of departments, improving communication within the organization, elevating the efficiency of the internal processes on the entirely new level, improving customer experience, and building brand reputation. Your company will undoubtedly benefit from the right app developed by the team of true professionals, so keep your finger on the pulse of innovation and partner with the best!
