GenesisIT Blog: Mobile App Development for your business

Monday, 14 May 2012

Mobile App Development for your business

Mobile Application or "Apps" seem to be everywhere at the moment and there seems to be an App for just about everything. When developed for the right reasons and in the right way a mobile app could prove an invaluable addition to your company.

Why would my company need an App?

If your business is constantly on the move or spread out over a number of locations it could be a way of keeping your employees in touch or up to date with developments. It can ensure data is current and up-to-date for example, some examples of how applications could be used by your business include:

Booking Entries
Job Entries
Expenses
Sales Order
CRM data entries

Apps can enable customers to place orders at the click of a button, they could be used as an alternative to mail / email shots to keep your customers informed of the latest offers. A mobile app for your business also demonstrates to customers your business is up-to-date with the latest developments. The possibilities really are endless.

There are 2 basic choices when it comes to developing an app for your company; Native Mobile Apps and Web Apps, (there is also an in-between stage known as a Hybrid App, but that is more for developers to worry about)

How does a Native App differ from a Web App?

Basically a Mobile App is a piece of software which can be downloaded to a device it then pulls and pushes information through the mobile or WI-FI network. The App can still be used without an internet connection, for example a game could still be played without a current internet connection. Native App's will require updating frequently.

A Mobile App is an app which is designed to be accessed via a mobile browser. This for example could be a cut down version of your main website that has been designed with a mobile device specifically in mind so by simply visiting a website you will be presented simplified version. The User interface will be presented in a way which will make it easy to use on a mobile device and make the information easy to access. You do not need to download any software to the device each time you visit the site you will get the latest version without having to update your software.

Should I choose a Web App or a Native Mobile App?

It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you are looking to use your app as a revenue maker. The Native App markets for each of the devices particularly iOS, Android and Windows Mobile is a tried and tested delivery model to deliver your app. There is also a large captive user base who have the potential to download your app. Native apps are coded with a specific programming language. These mobile applications are fast, reliable, and powerful but are tied to a particular platform. That means you must duplicate them using the appropriate programming language in order to target another mobile platform. This will increase the expense of the development as efforts will often need to be duplicated or triplicated, although with emerging technologies this is likely to change in the future. There are disadvantages to using to app market to release your application, a percentage will be charged for each download of your App.

If you are looking to use your to be internal to your organisation but and do not wish to use the App Markets and do not wish to be updating your software constantly a Web App could be for you. Access to a Web App can be limited to a particular audience by using password protection. Using a Web App would also require an Internet connection to be useable. The most popular use for a Web App is for a mobile version of a companies Internet site.

Web Apps come in 2 varieties.

A Dedicated Web App is a mobile web site tailored to a specific platform or form factor, like the Linked In web app which was designed for Android and iOS, but not for other smartphones or feature phones.
Generic Mobile Apps are mobile web sites designed to match every web-enabled phone, like the Wikipedia mobile page.

If you wish to know more about Web Applications or are interested in having one for your company, come along to our “Let’s Talk Apps Event” where we discuss how Mobile Apps can be used to benefit your business. At Genesis we are able provide: