How to build
great mobile apps for the long haul
great mobile apps for the long haul
By: David Lee Heyman, ASEAN MobileFirst Leader,
IBM
IBM
Mobile apps have become mainstream. No longer is it just
the global banks and retailers who are using mobile but also local shops which are
driving their growth and customer engagement through mobile applications.
the global banks and retailers who are using mobile but also local shops which are
driving their growth and customer engagement through mobile applications.
Many of the food joints I’ve visited in Singapore offer
customers and in fact, encourage customers to order and pay for their food
through a mobile application with the perks of earning loyalty points and
avoiding long queues.
customers and in fact, encourage customers to order and pay for their food
through a mobile application with the perks of earning loyalty points and
avoiding long queues.
While going mobile may have been part of a digital
transformation strategy initially, for many, it has become a natural channel
for doing business. Gartner predicts that by 2020, more than 75% of enterprises
will have adopted at least one mobile app development platform, up from 33% in
2015.[1]
Other research has also indicated that 85%
of companies have a mobile backlog of
up to 20 apps.
transformation strategy initially, for many, it has become a natural channel
for doing business. Gartner predicts that by 2020, more than 75% of enterprises
will have adopted at least one mobile app development platform, up from 33% in
2015.[1]
Other research has also indicated that 85%
of companies have a mobile backlog of
up to 20 apps.
Clearly, the demand for mobile apps isn’t going to slow
down anytime soon and any enterprise without a mobile app is losing a
significant opportunity to engage with their potential prospects and employees.
More importantly, a well-designed app can help to drive topline growth.
down anytime soon and any enterprise without a mobile app is losing a
significant opportunity to engage with their potential prospects and employees.
More importantly, a well-designed app can help to drive topline growth.
Market research has shown
that:
that:
·
Customers with a good app experience
are 58% more likely to make a purchase.
Customers with a good app experience
are 58% more likely to make a purchase.
·
72% of the customers would
tell their friend about their positive experience and even start exploring the company’s
social media sites.
72% of the customers would
tell their friend about their positive experience and even start exploring the company’s
social media sites.
·
Consumers
can react decisively to a bad experience with as manyas 63%openly
criticizing and spread their negative experience on social media.
Consumers
can react decisively to a bad experience with as manyas 63%openly
criticizing and spread their negative experience on social media.
That said, the real challenge in building a mobile app is actually
not how fast you can create it but how well you can sustain its usage. While
speed-to-market is critical in today’s world, any enterprise contemplating a mobile
app must first develop a mobile strategy that can sustain and continuously
improve the user experience, or risk failure. According to IDC, close to a
quarter of enterprises polled have experienced a failure rate of over 50%[2].
not how fast you can create it but how well you can sustain its usage. While
speed-to-market is critical in today’s world, any enterprise contemplating a mobile
app must first develop a mobile strategy that can sustain and continuously
improve the user experience, or risk failure. According to IDC, close to a
quarter of enterprises polled have experienced a failure rate of over 50%[2].
So what constitutes a robust and sustainable mobile
strategy? Here are five guiding principles:
strategy? Here are five guiding principles:
·
Continuous improvement: Creating compelling apps requires constant user
feedback, monitoring and revision. If mobile phones are the interaction channel
with your customers, then youmust be prepared to keep close tabs on what your customers
are telling you through collecting in-app usage and feedback for enhanced
sentiment analysis and crash analytics. Enterprises must also leverage the
right technology to easily manage app iterations and release cycles.
Continuous improvement: Creating compelling apps requires constant user
feedback, monitoring and revision. If mobile phones are the interaction channel
with your customers, then youmust be prepared to keep close tabs on what your customers
are telling you through collecting in-app usage and feedback for enhanced
sentiment analysis and crash analytics. Enterprises must also leverage the
right technology to easily manage app iterations and release cycles.
- Enterprise grade
security: With more
and more apps that transact outside the network’s protection, you must
ensure a delivery platform that is secure. Such a platform must be able to
leverage advanced user authentication and support app authenticity while
encrypting local data and performing app scanning. You only need one
failed attempt that exposes financial or client information to ruin your
brand and possibly lose your job.
- Context: Making apps relevant means capturing,
interpreting, and acting on context in disparate environments leveraging
multiple data sources in seconds. Enterprises must be able to develop
proximity-aware mobile apps to create relevant, contextual mobile
experiences that connect insights from digital engagement and presence.
- Strong Data
Integration: A good
app requires mobile-aware integration and database approaches for app
developers. A well thought out mobile strategy
must allow organizations to store, sync, scale and connect to data in
enterprise systems in order to ensure the customer has a good experience
whether their data connectivity is high speed or intermittent or they are
completely offline.
- Leveraging Cloud
Services: The more immersive and engaging the
customer experience becomes, the more demand there is to leverage emerging
technologies. The fastest way to gain access to a new paradigm is to find
a cloud provider which can deliver the supporting technologies through
simple API calls.
Unfortunately, most developers are spending their time
building out these capabilities themselves, or integrating a myriad of
technologies to achieve these capabilities. This slows down app development and
reduces it to a series of bug-fix releases, preventing your company from
delivering a differentiated and exciting app experience.
building out these capabilities themselves, or integrating a myriad of
technologies to achieve these capabilities. This slows down app development and
reduces it to a series of bug-fix releases, preventing your company from
delivering a differentiated and exciting app experience.
On the flipside, outsourcing app development will allow
developers to have access to the latest technology and ensure that your
applications benefit from global vendor investments in addressing security
vulnerabilities so that they can ultimately focus on driving great customer
experiences rather than doing the underlying plumbing.
developers to have access to the latest technology and ensure that your
applications benefit from global vendor investments in addressing security
vulnerabilities so that they can ultimately focus on driving great customer
experiences rather than doing the underlying plumbing.
A robust mobile strategy must be underpinned by not just
one that is designed with an underlying infrastructure capable of delivering speed
and productivity. It must also be able to relate and connect to the back-end services, whether in your datacenter or in the
cloud, and managed holistically for complete app life cycle management
without compromising security.
one that is designed with an underlying infrastructure capable of delivering speed
and productivity. It must also be able to relate and connect to the back-end services, whether in your datacenter or in the
cloud, and managed holistically for complete app life cycle management
without compromising security.
In whatever industry you might be in contemplating your
foray into mobile, the good news is that there are enough examples and used
cases that you can leverage to bring benefit to your customers and employees. Working with the right cloud technology
vendor will allow you to benefit from the experience of others while helping
you formulate the strategy and execution helps you to more rapidly achieve your
goals.
foray into mobile, the good news is that there are enough examples and used
cases that you can leverage to bring benefit to your customers and employees. Working with the right cloud technology
vendor will allow you to benefit from the experience of others while helping
you formulate the strategy and execution helps you to more rapidly achieve your
goals.
[1] Source: 2016 Gartner MADP Magic Quadrant
[2] Source: IDC 2015 Enterprise Mobile Software
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