In the past several years, there has been a dramatic rise in the demand for and use of mobile devices and the applications that run on them. In 2013, users downloaded more than 102 billion apps – almost double the number downloaded in 2012. By 2017, users will download nearly 269 billion apps. Alongside that intense increase in demand in the consumer world, there has also been a rise in demand for mobility in the workplace, accompanied by a proliferation of devices. By 2017, the BYOD market will be worth $181 billion.
Some of the Key Enterprise mobility trend for 2015:
- MBaaS, mobile backend as service is replacing MEAPs (Mobile Enterprise Application Development Platforms) “Mobile-first” application development is a common ask today from the business community. Mobile Backend as Service (mBaaS) is a set of functionalities imbibed in a platform to provide web and mobile app developers a way to connect their work to a backend to access common features such as user management, push notifications, social integration, location etc. that an end user demands from their business applications. MBaaS attempts to fill the gap between traditional application platform and mobile application. Traditional MEAP vendors investing in MBaaS further testifies this trend.
- Cloud based deployment
Customers are increasingly looking at this, especially with several proven and secure cloud based model availability. Compliance and security are the only reasons for some industries to continue to look on premise, but as companies get a better handle on mobile security in general, they will not hold back from the cloud middleware push. - Blurring boundaries between device and application management
In the last couple of years, various mobile applications are deployed across the line of business. Enterprises are now facing challenges associated with managing these applications as well as devices owned by both the corporates and employees. Enterprises are increasingly looking to address challenges relating to security, integration, managing users, roles and authentication, setting up corporate App stores etc. - The dividing line between personal and business mobility is no more.
Traditional distinctions between personal and business mobility is quickly fading. In an era when we seem perpetually glued to our smart mobile devices–typing out texts, swiping through social media feeds, and tapping through food orders and gift purchases–the way we interact with mobile applications in our personal lives inevitably blends into our behaviours and expectations of mobile technology in the workplace. - Drag and Drop app development
Business analysts will create more than 25% of enterprise apps using frontend GUI environments. Most enterprises can’t hire mobile developers fast enough. Their backlog for mobile apps continues to grow. Fortunately, “low-code” development platforms have emerged, enabling a broader base of developers (including business users) to create mobile apps. According to Gartner Research, by 2018, more than 50% of all mobile apps will be created by business analysts without coding. These GUI based development have been available for quite some time, however most of them did not have the capabilities to do end to end work. Today’s platforms have travelled far on the maturity path and it is only a matter of when functional and business users start designing apps without coding. This trend has started to make inroads today in the form of a simple application where few form based data collection functionality is required without backend integration and with advancement in platform enterprises will see them replacing coding for greater number of mobile app projects.