Mindset change needed for enterprise app development

Enterprise application developers need a different mindset when creating mobile applications which must encompass added focus on data efficiency and security, according to an Ovum analyst.

In an interview Monday with ZDNet Asia, Carter Lusher, an Ovum research fellow and chief analyst for enterprise applications ecosystem, pointed to mobility as one of the disruptors of the enterprise apps ecosystem where companies "do not have a choice" but to support this requirement as users expect to have access to the corporate database through a mobile client.

"A company that decides not to have mobile access is going to be at a disadvantage," Lusher said.

However, he noted that building mobile apps is different from traditional apps and a lot of change needs to take place to ensure smooth delivery on the mobile platform. For instance, it is not enough just to push data to a mobile browser, he said, noting that this would only serve as a short-term solution.

In addition, enterprise app developers must be mindful about security and data efficiency when developing for mobile platforms, he said.

Security will prove especially challenging because the underlying technology for mobile technology is not as secure as it should be, Lusher cautioned. "Google Android, Microsoft Windows Mobile and even Apple iOS are not as secure as they need to be," he said.

Therefore, the Ovum analyst said players in the app ecosystem will need to work with the platform providers and continue to push the latter to make their platforms more secure. However, regardless of security issues that may be inherent to the platform, developers still have a role to play in enhancing overall protection for the users, he said.

"It is the responsibility of the application vendor to always be thinking about security and how they can enhance security," he noted, adding that developers need to put in safeguards and measures to identify potential problems and fix them as quickly as possible.

Users will also need to be smarter when using their devices, he said. The analyst pointed to how users often receive and open e-mail messages that appear to be from their friends but actually contain malware or virus.

Solving cost in mobile equation
Apart from understanding security issues, developers also need to consider the cost of pushing data to the mobile device and develop apps that are more bandwidth efficient.

Lusher explained that it is "very bad" to think like a traditional application developer. "They're used to [building for] big fat cable and free communications [pipes] that send data back and forth."

Compared to traditional software developers, software-as-a-service (SaaS) players have a slight upper hand in their experience with developing more efficient apps, the analyst said. "Developers for SaaS tend to think a little more about efficiency because [the data] goes over the Web and not all connections are very fast," he said. "Frankly, traditional software vendors had never thought of that."

Lusher also pointed to cloud computing, social media and the rise of data volume as other disruptors to the enterprise apps ecosystem.

He noted that the market for cloud-based enterprise apps includes service providers that bundle various cloud services by combining products from multiple vendors. This "best-of-breed approach" puts pressure on legacy software vendors, he said.

Lusher added that CRM vendors are now integrating social networking tools into their software to help organizations in their marketing and customer support services.

Elaborating on surging data volume as another disruptor, he said more companies today are implementing sensor data. They then need to identify ways to analyze and use the data collected, he added.