Mobile App Development Choices

If you are an enterprise or an ISV, you would have received an inquiry from your customers asking if there is a mobile app to access the product/solution anytime anywhere. With the advent of smartphones and easy access to mobile data, almost every domain such as manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, banking and more have implemented a solution that enables the users to perform their tasks with ease. From performing a transaction in your bank & buying groceries on the B2C space, reviewing proposals and approvals in the B2B environment, mobile apps are commodities.

The Center of Excellence group in coMakeIT has developed numerous mobile apps for our customers. The group takes the responsibility to appraise a prospect or a customer on various technology approaches available to build a solution.

There are three approaches to mobile app development. CoE group has expertise in developing mobile apps in the three approaches. Over a period of time, we have gained knowledge to evaluate the business requirements and suggest the best approach for the best ROI, long term scalability and maintenance of the app.

Decision Making – Functional requirements

Choosing between the various options – Web, Hybrid, Native in the early phases of development is critical as it directly impacts the development of additional features and maintenance in the future. The following factors influence the choice of technology-

Decision Making – Non-Functional requirements

In addition to the functional/feature requirements, other factors such as time to market, effort and long term strategy influence the choice of technology. For example, if you are sure that your user base is on Andriod, then it makes perfect sense to develop a Native App.

Here are a few inputs that contribute to decision making.

Final Thoughts

There are mobile apps everywhere, users are sick of installing the apps. When deciding to develop a mobile app, the business value obtained by the app should be thoroughly evaluated. The cost of developing the app should not be the decision making factor. If you don’t want to be restricted by frameworks, plugins third-party components and deliver an App that can work seamlessly, Native Apps are the way to go. There is going to be more emphasis on wearable devices, IoT, AI/ML. Chatbots are making their way into mobile to enable easy interaction with the service providers. Technology choices to build the app will enable you to integrate with future requirements.