Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

By Larry Dignan | February 28, 2011, 11:48am PST

The mobile app market is booming and enterprises have plans to better target employees, partners and customers. The rub is that few information technology departments have the skills and resources to seriously make a mobile app run, according to Forrester Research.

In a report, Forrester documents the rise of the mobile app market. There are no big surprises, but Forrester argues that enterprises will see a range of issues as they launch mobile plans.

Among the key issues:

The innovation cycle. Mobile apps typically require three to four releases a year. Multiply those releases by platform and you see a serious problem for enterprises, which are used to upgrades every two or three years. IT departments just aren’t ready to move that quick.
Security. Security related issues for mobile app development can drive costs up three to four times.
User interfaces are hard. “The diversity of the platforms and the need to develop for the native device coupled with the purpose-built design of the apps will be very different from the browser-based development. This means a much greater focus on the overall user experience, not just the layout on the screen and the interactions but how you actually choose and design the narrow functions of the app,” said Forrester.
Back end systems need to deliver data more quickly. Mobile apps mean server-side issues. Mobile apps need data, say account balances and transactions, in 5 to 10 seconds. Enterprise databases may not be ready for big scale.
Where’s the budget? Support for these mobile applications is likely to be more difficult than generic email.

So what’s the fix? Forrester argues that enterprises are going to look for a lot of third party help. Third party apps and middleware are likely to be purchased from companies like Box.net and Pyxix. Also look for mobile development specialists, companies that manage apps and devices and consultants like IBM and Accenture to rake in more enterprise dough.

Forrester projects that building initial apps will be a $5.6 billion a year market by 2015; managing apps and devices will check in at $3.8 billion; and reinventing business processes and back-end systems for mobile will be a $7.6 billion market.

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Topics

Mobile, Information Technology, Tax, Forrester Research Inc., Mobile App, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

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Thank Apple

Thank Apple for this! they brought you apps and the app store back in 08!
Hasam1991
28th Feb
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RE: Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

@Hasam1991

And the App store has zero relevance to my enterprise IT shop. Anything that one of our employees downloads from an app store (iTunes or Android Market) is their own responsibility, paid for with their own money. iPhone isn't even a choice on our purchase list for company-paid cellphone and smartphone support, only Blackberry is a company-supported option. Not because the iPhone isn't cool or desirable, but because it is not currently manageable from a centralized point of view. Until Apple changes this, I don't expect iWhatever to make a huge dent in the enterprise.
terry flores
28th Feb
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Sorry to hear that

@terry flores I'm sorry to hear that the App Store has zero relevance to your IT shop. Apparently you missed the graph above concerning where your peers think "apps for customers" fit into the mix. Since customers are the people who keep us in business, we really can no longer afford to have people like you running IT around here. Would you prefer to resign to spend more time with your family, or shall I have Security escort you to the door?
Robert Hahn
28th Feb
- Flag
RE: Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

@Robert Hahn

Try again. The customers in my IT shop are the execs who manage the company, set policy, and allocate budgets. They are a lot more concerned about getting designs and products out the door than having the employees spend their time updating Facebook, playing Angry Birds or trading fantasy football players. The execs set the policy on what IT will or will not do for end-users, and so far it's all about lowest TCO and our "4S" strategy: standardization, stability, security, and support. Again, I hold hope that the new mobile platforms will evolve into something Enterprise IT can support, but it isn't there today.
terry flores
28th Feb
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RE: Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

@Hasam1991 Gotta agree with Terry on this one, the app store has absolutely nothing to do with enterprise IT, in fact if anything the app store apps will probably cause more issues for enterprises than anything else, my company does support android and the Ifaa I PHoooo IPHONE but all we support is our app that allows them to connect, nothing else, if another app breaks that, again, not our problem, if our app breaks something of theirs, not our problem, dont see where the app store fits into any of this...
nickdangerthirdi@...
28th Feb
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RE: Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

@Hasam1991
Consumer centric App Store won't work in Enterprises. Mobility is not just limited to consumer front, it has more need in the enterprises, and unfortunately none of the platform vendors including Microsoft, Google, Apple, RIM, HP etc. have a solution, guidance for it. Enterprises need collaboration in addition to AppStore. They have to coordinate between so many departments and shops inside and outside of their firm including clients, customers, trade partners, etc. The information has to cross boundaries and there are so many other factors including latency, security, etc. need to be counted in addition to protocols and interfaces.
Rama.NET
28th Feb
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Mobile IT needs a stable platform

The rate of change wouldn't be an issue if some things in the platforms were stable, such as a uniform security model, management interface, and some data standards. We get occasional calls from users who are asking "Why doesn't my XYZ app hook to my ABC app?" and the usual answer is that they were written by two different suppliers who had no intention of communicating to each other. Security is a nightmare, every week we find somebody who is in violation of corporate security policy because of stuff they've done with with their phone or their tablet. VPs who are on their second warning are finally starting to get the message that having HR datafiles on their tablet will get them fired.

Finally, I think the market dollar estimates are low. After some false starts with not-so-smartphones and PDA's, today's mobile devices and tablets are finally becoming a viable alternative to Wintel PCs and laptops. The mobile software market isn't controlled by one giant vendor like Microsoft. There's a lot of opportunity in small niche apps, if the apps developers learn to start catering to the enterprise user instead of kids and consumers.
terry flores
28th Feb
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RE: Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

@terry flores
I completely agree with you and as the platform vendors Microsoft, Apple, Google, RIM, and HP have to provide that guidance to the independent app developers, since they own their respective app stores, they have to come up with some kind of governing the apps behavior on their respective platforms at runtime, this is in addition to whatever they are doing with certification of the apps.
Rama.NET
28th Feb
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Too much navel gazing here

It sounds like some of you people need to buy an iPad and get the Amazon.com app to see what "customer facing apps" are about.

You don't get a vote as to what hardware your customers buy. You also can't pretend that now that you have a web site, you're done with customer-facing IT. You -will- be building apps for your firm's customers to use, or your successor will. Think this through: you will either develop or hire iOS programming skills, and you will field iPhone and iPad apps and you will put them in the App Store where your customers can get them. And you'd better do it before your competitors make it easier to learn about, and order, their products than it is to learn about and order yours.
Robert Hahn
28th Feb
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RE: Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

@Robert Hahn
But as an enterprise we need more than AppStore. What if I want to collaborate my apps with my clients or partners? What type of protocols and interfaces I should publish or consume? What are the security implications? How much of latency is acceptable? What are the governing laws that would allow my client and I be happy when we exchange information through our apps? Never thought about these right? See there is a lot of difference when you architect apps for enterprise consumption than consumer centric. I want to be easy on you, visit either Zachmann or TOGAF and you will see how it would be to architect apps for enterprises. I know it, I have years of experience in that area.

You are welcome.
Rama.NET
28th Feb
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You're not talking about Enterprise IT here

@Robert Hahn

Maybe that is the disconnect. My "customers" all wear the same ID badge that I do. And all 12,000 of them have to follow the same rules that I do. And while we do have some software product development, you could no more run that software on an iPad than you could fly to the moon on a bottle rocket.

So, I agree with you that companies who sell software as their main product line must take mobile devices and app stores seriously. But that wasn't the topic of the article.
terry flores
28th Feb
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It's everywhere

@terry flores I wasn't talking about selling software. Let's say you sell ethical drugs. How difficult does your firm want to make it for a doctor to find out about your new offerings? How about pipe fittings for semiconductor plants? The rep is is in the engineer's office right now with his iPhone. The engineer wants to know who has a 6" diameter pipe of a certain spec. Maybe it's drywall, or porcelain urinals, or roofing tiles. Doesn't matter. How difficult do you want it to be for the rep to find yours instead of The Other Guy's? There is no end to the number of people running around out there who need to find things out RIGHT NOW and do not care whether your firm or The Other Firm has the goods. They will buy from whomever they can find first. While you're tightening your security and demanding to see some guy's badge, he's buying from your competitor.
Robert Hahn
1st Mar
- Flag
Been there, done that

@Robert Hahn

We deployed all of the capabilities you mentioned and more awhile back, on the widest possible tech base, the Web. Customers and employees alike can access them mostly without regard as to whether they are using an iPad, laptop, or Droid. Is it as sexy as a custom-built iPhone app? No. Do customers get the privilege of downloading and paying for it? No. Will it evolve? Yes, maybe someday when the time is right and the platform is cost-effective and stable. There's a room full of analysts and policy-makers who look at it on a continuing basis, and they currently have the same outlook as the Forrester report, opportunity but too many challenges.
terry flores
1st Mar
- Flag
They grow up so fast

@terry flores "We deployed all of the capabilities you mentioned and more awhile back, on the widest possible tech base, the Web. "

So had Amazon. So had eBay. Anyone can use their web interfaces to search for products, list them, review specs, see reviews, and operate a shopping cart to purchase items.

In spite of which, both today have customer-facing iPad apps. Same capabilities from a "spec" standpoint, but difference user experiences. Now it is true that both Amazon and eBay are laggards in the tech business, and haven't done that well financially, so maybe they are taking risks that your company need not take. Who knows.

I've used both interfaces. The issue reminds me of the guy who gave the advice to Lotus Development that they need not hurry with a Windows version of 1-2-3. After all, they owned the spreadsheet market, and DOS apps ruled the Universe. Windows? Maybe someday, but it's a niche.

Somebody in your business will go first. It doesn't sound like it's going to be you. Good luck.
Robert Hahn
2nd Mar
- Flag
RE: Mobile app boom will tax enterprise IT

After reading all of the posts and replies, I think the conclusion is obvious; most everyone has a valid point, from the perspective of their situation.

But regardless of the perspective of the IT specialist posting here, when it comes to delivering information to the "company's" customers, IT has an interesting challenge, because while IT may have to serve the corporate master for internal systems, one way or the other, sales and marketing are going to drive the future of the delivery of information to the customer, and that is going to mean apps for iSomething, Android Something, Windows Something, etc. And whether IT buys the app development from third parties or ventures into the fray them selves, the bottom-line is the same; IT is still going to have to deliver data to what ever app servers serve the customer base. That interface between the "corporate" systems and the "public" systems is where the security specialists are going to have to spend much of their time (in addition to protecting the public systems from those who want to kill them).

There is no doubt, mobile apps (or what ever you want to call them now or in the future) are going to have to be dealt with, both on the public networks to serve customer's needs and on the internal corporate network, so that a company's employees are able to access information quickly and effectively to support every aspect of a modern day company's operations. Those medium and large companies who don't make the transition effectively and efficiently are going to be tomorrow's "has-beens."

This is more than an IT challenge; this is a corporate culture challenge....

Dr. Raymond C. Rask
rcrask
1st Mar
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