Enterprise App Development Best Practices for 2017

It is not surprising that Enterprise app development has made its way to the year 2017 too. The growing number of smartphone users has led to the continuous increase in the demand for enterprise mobile development. This growth has forced the enterprises to design a robust mobile strategy and development plans. Since the need for enterprise mobile apps is very much apparent, it is important for every organization to have a thorough understanding of the best 2017 strategies for enterprise app development.Creating good mobile enterprise apps isn't easy, but it can be easier if you follow these best practices.

Let us have a look at some of the Enterprise App Development Best Practices for 2017:

1. App Security is the Key:
Today, Enterprise app development is trending and it’s not only because of the increase in smartphone users but also, because of the increase in the number of mobile apps downloaded every year. But this trend has increased the risk of security threats too. If an enterprise is building an app, it is certain to have some important and sensitive information of the user. Think, why would you need any enterprise app that doesn’t offer security? Thus, the developers need to understand the network components, communications mechanisms, authentication mechanisms, etc. and develop apps that come with the security protocol. Building security feature into the app should be given prime importance throughout the development process, and not only at the end.

2. Know Your Audience:
The platform on which the Enterprise apps are run,do matter and so does the expectations of its users. Know your audience and try to understand how will they be using the app. Build a feedback mechanism into the app and pay attention to the feedback received. Pay attention to logs and run regular analytics.

3. Plan Ahead:
It doesn’t matter how expert you become, if you intend to develop enterprise app that are successful, reliable and secure, you would need to plan in advance. If not anything more, at least plan the application framework and how it will be implemented. Plan out the user story and be flexible to deal with the unexpected results after testing.

4. App Portfolio:
Apart from the need for enterprise mobile apps, the thing you would need to emphasize upon is to identify and prioritize the mobile opportunities. Identify things including an objective process, priority features, their alignment with the goals, app initiatives, etc. in order to have a robust app portfolio.

5. Define End Goals:
Enterprises often focus too much on designing the app, that they almost forget as to why are they actually developing it! While developing an app, it is important to ask yourself, why do you want to develop the app? What benefit will it bring? Who are your customers? Will it help you engage with them? You simply would need to define your end goals and results before launching the app.

6. Data Management:
You can develop a robust app only if you can efficiently build the data. Data management increases the app productivity and enhances customer engagement and customer satisfaction. Thus, data management and data protection both are crucial aspects of enterprise app development and should be taken seriously.

7. Robust Testing:
The importance of testing cannot be ignored. Do a robust, massive and iterative testing of your app. Don’t take your users as beta testers for your app. Release your app to your users only after testing performance, security and everything that you can ever imagine!And don’t pause once the app is launched. It should be a continuous process as the pattern of platforms, networks, and user changes.

8. Performance Matters:
Who like to run a slow app? Present era believes in instant results! Your app’s performance can be impacted by a lot of things and thus, you should continuously monitor the app, the networks, and the server to ensure a smooth performance. Design performance in and make sure that performance stays within design parameters.

9. Update the Application:
There is nothing constant in technology, not even the best of the applications. There are bound to be advancements. Have a dedicated team to look after the updation and improvements in the app, to fix bugs (if any) and to improve the overall app security.

Thus, the need for enterprise mobile apps is pretty much evident. There is a continuous increase in the number of mobile users and you will have to tap them if you want to be ahead of your competitors. If your enterprise is planning to implement an app, the above mentioned strategies can help the development team in building a robust Enterprise app. Though building a successful mobile enterprise app isn't simple, but a perfect mix of right process and implementation can make you win!