A S U P P L E M E N T T O M O B I L E E N T E R P R I S E M A G A Z I N E J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4
B Y P A T B R A N S < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <
MAD04 MONOLITHIC MEAPS
MAD6 MOVING ON TO MAD
MAD10 MOBILE ENTERPRISE SECURITY
MAD12 FULL LIFECYCLE
Seventy percent of the respondents to the Gartner 2013 CIO survey be-lieve mobile technology will be a disruptive force for the next 10 years. That’s a long time before the market settles. So, in the meantime, IT leader-ship is still looking for solutions to man-age multiple device types and OSes, and tools to handle all the different use cases for mobility.
More than ever, CIOs are think-ing about what the mobile enterprise will look like in the long term, but the stakes are high now, and the road to mobility is not clear as obstacles are numerous and risk lurks in many unex-pected places.
How can they structure the chaos and transform their business? And create competitive advantage… the answer increasingly lies with enter-prise apps.
DEFINING THE APP
Most large to mid-sized enterprises have successfully rolled out one mobile app to some segment of their employee popu-lation. However, companies shouldn’t mistake that with being mobile.
Forward-thinking enterprises are taking a broader approach and creat-ing an end-to-end strategy for buildcreat-ing, deploying, managing and monitor-ing apps, to support a growmonitor-ing mobile workforce today and in the future.
Consumer-grade apps (albeit, often being used by employees) are avail-able through public app stores, but as Steve O’Brien, head of product market-ing for Antenna Software points out, “Apps mean different things to differ-ent people. We’re all aware of them, and there are millions of apps avail-able. But most apps that enterprises use — the ones they get value and ROI
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from — are not tools that you go to the public app store for and download on your iPhone. They are custom-built business-to-employee (B2E) apps. They perform specific functions, like CRM, sales force or field service automation; or they enable delivery and distribu-tion, for example.”
Enterprise apps are built for specific purposes, helping streamline opera-tions and making it easier to serve cus-tomers. They allow workers to capture more data faster and help automate previously tedious and time-consuming processes with the latest available de-vices. They are built, deployed, run and managed by the enterprise.
However, O’Brien says, “These apps are not ‘one and done.’ You can’t just build an app for the sales team and consider yourself finished.” While the sales team has an app, the marketing team needs a different one, and field service needs still another.
That does not mean they are uti-lized or run in siloes, “Some of these apps talk to each other. All of them talk to one or more backend systems,” says O’Brien. One may be connected to a time-tracking system for payroll; another needs data for logistics. Some
operate on premise, companies need to pay for servers and train staff to oper-ate the platforms. Development on a traditional M E A P c a n c o s t more than most en-terprises bargain for, because for one thing, as StarMobile CEO Todd Fryburger says, “The inherent problem with MEAPs is that they require very inva-sive changes to the application on the backend. Often you have to re-license applications you own, create new se-curity for the mobile realm, build new interfaces and generate custom code for multiple apps across multiple plat-forms using exotic skills.”
According to Fryburger, “MEAPs are good when you have workflow with high complexity and an offline data-base on the device that needs to be synchronized. But that’s maybe five to 10% of the use cases in the enterprise. The vast majority of the use cases for the enterprise are departmental or functional, where you might have 10 or 12 people from HR who need remote access when they’re away from the of-fice. You’re not going to invest multiple millions of dollars to mobilize that.”
In addition, Mayank Mehta, VP Product at Capriza, says, “The tradi-tional way people provide mobile ac-cess to backend applications has been very expensive and requires a long development time. This is especially problematic when companies want to provide mobile access to consum-ers, where speed is critical. Then you always need to develop subsequent apps cross over from B2E
to B2C when it comes to POS or an e-com-merce app as well.
So while there is a need for mul-tiple apps running on multiple systems within a business, O’Brien points out that IT does not want to have to “re-invent the wheel every time you build a new app.” That’s where partners and the right platform come in.
MONOLITHIC MEAPS
Most experts agree that traditional mobile enterprise application plat-forms (MEAPs) can’t meet the evolv-ing needs of the business. These monolithic platforms are built to sup-port a small set of apps for a limited number of use cases. They typically provide connectors to some of the larger legacy applications and fea-tures for static data mapping.
Moreover, they don’t work out of the box. As a rule of thumb, for every dollar spent on a MEAP, you need to spend one to two dollars on integra-tion services. Since virtually all of them
Most experts agree that tradional mobile
enterprise application platforms (MEAPs)
can't meet the evolving needs of the business.
versions of an app, which also takes a long time.”
The new generation of application development platforms do have some of the same functions as the traditional MEAPs. Cathal McGloin, CEO of Feed-Henry, says, “The basic principles of what a MEAP did continue to this day — the ability to build the app, handle authentication and backend integra-tion. The difference is that instead of being delivered on a siloed platform on-premise, these services are delivered as a more open set of services for mul-tiple applications on the cloud.“
Also with BYOD, he says, everybody is mobile. Whether it be an employee, cus-tomer, partner or consumer, a single plat-form has to serve these different needs.
CONSUMERIZATION
EXPECTATIONS
Plus, a clunky development platform can result in a clunky frontend and users will rebel. In the case of a recent mobile proj-ect at Avon, its attempt to deploy iPads and a new order management system to sales failed because of this.
The user experience was so cumber-some people could not do their jobs,
and a significant number of reps left. Avon ditched this multiyear project in December 2013 because the technol-ogy was so hard to use. Dollar losses were reported to be in the hundreds of millions, not to mention the soft cost of replacing the sales force.
In fact, mobile fails like this are fairly common — though not usually talked about. And companies must not for-get user expectations. O’Brien explains, “While enterprises have requirements different than apps from the general public, the trend towards consumeriza-tion has still had a big effect on the way enterprise apps look and function.”
Since employees use their mobile devices at home and use apps everyday personally for things like buying a train ticket, a cup of cof-fee or even playing a game, they anticipate a similar experience at work.
" T h e s e a p p s [consumer grade] work, and they’re beautiful, elegant and simple. None of these words are
typi-cally used in a conversation about en-terprise applications. Usually, they’re clunky and difficult and non-intuitive and ugly and slow. The impact of con-sumerization on enterprise apps is that the expectations are much, much high-er. If there’s an app that’s not usable, or it’s too slow, too ugly or too confusing, they just won’t use it.”
MOVING ON TO MAD
The new tools supporting the enterprise are generally referred to as mobile ap-plication development (MAD) platforms. According to Mehta, “What we — and companies like us — are offering, is a way to quickly develop apps that access backend systems. Because the speed of application development is an order of magnitude or two faster, and the cost is so much less prohibi-tive, early-stage companies can experi-ment more with mobile apps, and fine tune the use cases.”
Mehta also notes, “More mature companies, who already know which use cases they want to mobilize, ben-efit as well. They can develop their apps much quicker and with less cost.”
For example, if sales reps need to be able to update notes on their mobile de-vices, this can be done with mobile CRM. Instead of what may be a compli-cated dashboard on a desk-top, you can mobilize the bare minimum. “Mo-bile is about being
really task specific and making sure you can get in and out very quickly,” he says.
McGloin also ad-vocates for simplicity.
Whether it be an app for employees,
customers, partners or consumers, a single
platform has to serve the different needs.
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He explains that traditional MEAPs were silo solutions that did one or two things. If you had a field service team, they mobilized the back-end for one purpose. If you had sales team, they did the same thing for that group. But they couldn’t go much outside of that, because the whole application was integrated from top to bottom. They were vertically-integrated solutions.
Then with the explosion of apps in the public marketplace and the avail-ability of the cloud, suddenly people wanted to use mobile apps for every-thing — both personally and profes-sionally. “So we came up with a more open platform that would talk to a bunch of services that were hosted in the cloud. You could build differ-ent mobile solutions for various parts of the business, but all served from the same cloud-based platform,” says McCloin.
He compares this evolution to what happened with the web, “The whole evolution of apps is very similar to when the web first started. At first everybody had to get their website up and run-ning as quickly as possible to provide brochures and other basic information. Then companies realized they could do
developers must make early on in the design phase is wheth-er software on the client will be native code, HTML5 or hybrid. The following five factors should be considered when mak-ing a decision:
1. The speed of content rendering on the device. HTML5 content takes longer to render.
2. The speed of development. Apps can be developed much quicker us-ing HTML5.
3. The variety of devices/operating systems that must be supported. HTML5 is the best way to support a mixed environment.
4. Offline operation on the client: Of-fline operations are best developed with native code.
5. Security: HTML5 content is more difficult to encrypt effectively, and browser-based attacks are possible. On the other hand, native applica-tions benefit from OS-specific secu-rity features, such as authentication, encryption, and code signing (so any tampering with the application can generally be detected).
Many enterprises are selecting a hybrid architecture as a compromise. Presentation is based on HTML5 to support a variety of devices.
Offline functions are coded in a high-level programming language, and sensitive operations are conduct-ed with native calls and code to make use of OS-specific security features. much more with it.
It’s the same with mobility.”
Businesses started out us-ing the tech-nology for very specific purpos-es, but are now realizing how much more they can mobilize. “By nature, apps are small
pieces of functionality that are continu-ously updated. Instead of developing one app for a specific need and spend-ing nine months dospend-ing so, it’s about an ongoing process and more apps, meeting different needs. Organizations are starting to understand that they can put in place a platform to manage all those apps and provide common services. They don’t have to start over every time.”
With the latest MAD platforms, enterprises can put the foundation in place to build hundreds of apps if they want, all with the specific requirements of business in mind.
NATIVE, HTML5, OR HYBRID
One of the key architectural decisions
Businesses started out using the technology
for very specific purposes, but are now
realizing how much they can mobilize.
MOBILE ENTERPRISE
SECURITY
According to Steve Brumer, EVP of Sales and Marketing at Globo Mobile, “The current generation of apps are more mission critical.” When enterprises de-ploy B2E apps, the three most impor-tant security concerns are:
• Data leakage: Devices can be lost or stolen, which potentially exposes sensitive company information. Data privacy is best ensured through a combination of authentication and on-device encryption.
• Some MAD platforms provide func-tions to containerize apps. Then if the device is lost or stolen, the con-tainer, and everything within, can be wiped from the device to prevent breaches of confidentiality. • Unauthorized access: Not every
user should be able to access all parts of an app, and not every user should have access to all data. Ac-cess control is best ensured through identification and authentication, and through application software that partitions data and restricts access based on user credentials. Most MAD platforms are able to
grant access to a specific app — or functions within an app — based on user roles. Some also grant ac-cess based on the type of connection (WiFi or cellular), on the network used, or on device type.
• Virus attacks: Companies need to protect against viruses that might render devices unusable. When employees have a single device for both personal and business use, un-less business apps are containerized, viruses from public apps may infect business apps and data.
To minimize the number of times us-ers have to go through identification and authentication with all the different busi-ness apps they might use throughout the day, many MAD platforms provide single sign on. The one-time identifica-tion and authenticaidentifica-tion might occur at the time of device login, or it could occur when the user connects to the enterprise for the first time.
As for secur-ing apps, some
companies like to use app wrap-ping to secure apps individually, but Brumer doesn’t believe this is the best approach. He says, “It’s better to use a cross-platform container. All apps, email and data goes inside the con-tainer. Then if a device is lost or stolen, you can wipe the device clean by simply removing the secured container.”
SAVING THROUGH
THE CLOUD
Until recently, enterprises wanting to run a mobility solution had to install one or more servers on site. Servers and software sometimes cost millions of dollars and took nine to 12 months to deploy.
By contrast, the latest generation of MAD platforms tend to be cloud based, so companies no longer need to install hardware or software behind the firewall. As a result, customers save both time and money.
The company simply sets up a VPN connection or a punch-through con-nection from the cloud of their choice to their backend applications. All the services, such as authentication and caching, are done in the cloud layer.
McGloin says, “Our real value comes in from the cloud layer, where all the heavy lifting occurs. This is where the services are exposed and you can add new services as needed. We think that from an IT
perspec-tive, it’s not about how you build the apps, but about how you integrate those apps with the rest of the or-ganizations and the
The latest generation of MAD platforms
tend to be cloud based, so companies no
longer need to install servers on site to run
a mobility solution.
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backend systems and get data in and out of the platform.”
He explains that solution partners can provide management of the cloud resources, and lifecycle management of versioning. “If you have a next genera-tion app coming out, one of the biggest questions is how you deploy it. We take care of all the authentication and all the synchronization between the de-vice and the cloud and the cloud and the backend.”
FULL LIFECYCLE SUPPORT
To classify the current MAD platforms as simply development tools is limiting. With apps being part of the greater mobile strategy, enterprises need full lifecycle support, and that’s what the next gen platforms offer.
O’Brien says, “Development is where you start.” The platforms, how-ever, run from end to end to deploy-ment, management and monitoring.
The critical components of the life-cycle, according to O’Brien, are: • App Development - To support
developers, platforms provide a framework for application devel-opment, along with tools for
cod-ing. Some provide drag-and-drop capabilities. Others provide tools for more hardcore programming. Most platforms come with connectors to backend applications.
• App Deployment - To help enter-prises catalog their apps and allow access to them based on user roles, many platforms offer deployment features, which are often similar to the enterprise app store model. App deployment features may help operators make decisions about which apps are ready for deploy-ment, and which ones are still in testing. They may also support asset tracking and some sort of payment mechanism for internal charging to business units. • App Management and Security -
To help operators configure and troubleshoot apps, many platforms provide management functions. Some include device lockdown and device wipe to protect enterprise data when it’s suspected that a de-vice is lost or stolen. Some platforms even provide secure containers to separate enterprise apps and data from personal apps and data.
• Application Monitoring - To help enterprises track how many people are using an app, which functions they use most and what problems they may be experiencing, many platforms provide metrics and data analytic capabilities. By following usage patterns, enterprises can determine if their mobile applica-tion strategy is being implemented effectively, and as envisioned, and make changes accordingly. By providing full lifecycle support, the new generation of MAD platforms promises to help CIOs streamline the complex mobile environment of mul-tiple device types and OSes accessing data from multiple backend systems for a multitude of use cases.
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With apps being part of the greater mobile
strategy, enterprises need full lifecycle
support, and that's what the next gen MAD
platforms offer.
UPCOMING
SUPPLEMENTS
MARCH/APRIL
“The New Age of BYO”
MAY/JUNE
“Rugged Revealed”
JULY/AUGUST
“Ensuring Mobile Access”
SEPT./OCT.
FeedHenry provides a cloud-based mobile application platform that simplifies the development and management of mobile apps for enterprise. Based on open, scalable and agile technologies, the platform speeds the development of native, hybrid or HTML5 apps that securely connect to multiple backend systems and cloud services, and supports deployment of server-side code to private, public or hybrid cloud environments. www.feedhenry.com
GLOBO (LSE-AIM:GBO), is an international leader and technology innovator delivering Enterprise Mobility Management and Telecom software products and solutions. The Group operates internationally through subsidiaries and offices in US, UK, Europe, Middle East, and South East Asia offering a wide range of products to the corporate, public, and consumer market. www.globoplc.com
StarMobile is a disruptive, cloud-based solution that delivers enterprise mobility at a fraction of the cost and time of any other approach. Star-Mobile dynamically transforms any packaged on-premise or cloud-based application, or custom-built system, into a mobile application at 5 percent to 20 percent of the cost and time of any other method.
www.StarMobileInc.com
Capriza extends enterprise applications to mobility in a rapid and cost-effective way. Founded by the former executives of Mercury Interactive, Capriza simplifies and lengthens the life of existing business systems by delivering custom, HTML5 mobile views that give employees instant access to critical business data. www.capriza.com/MAD
Antenna, now part of Pegasystems, is a leading enterprise mobility specialist that helps global enterprises build, run, and manage mobile applications. Antenna’s mobile platform, AMPchroma, is the foundation that handles complex components of mobility that many businesses struggle with, namely security, integration, and management. Visit www.antennasoftware.com or www.pega.com.
